Laser induced damage testing: Equipment and techniques
A laser damage test station was designed and built at the AlliedSignal Inc., Kansas City Division (KCD). The purpose of this effort was to establish the capability for testing polished optical fibers for high energy laser transmission to support the Direct Optical Initiation (DOI), optical firingset program. A single shot, conditioned threshold type laser damage test was implemented. A flashlamp pumped, multimode, Q-switched, Nd:YAG laser was utilized as the test source. The test laser`s operational parameters were extensively characterized. The pulse width, beam divergence and polarization state of the laser were all held constant throughout the tests. A single plano-convex lens was utilized to focus the laser beam energy into the optical fibers. A focusing geometry was utilized which avoided bulk damage and minimized damage at the fiber`s core/cladding interface. A special holding fixture was fabricated, which minimized the mechanical stresses on the fiber during testing. Several uncoated, step-index, multimode, optical fibers were damage tested to verify the functionality of the test station. The fibers all had a 400 {mu}m diameter core of pure fused silica, a 440 {mu}m diameter fluorine doped fused silica cladding and a 15 {mu}m thick polyimide buffer layer. The fibers were tested up to a fluence level greater than 55.7 J/cm{sup 2} or until damage was observed. Cleaning, inspection, and testing procedures were developed and documented.
- Research Organization:
- Allied-Signal Aerospace Co., Kansas City, MO (United States). Kansas City Div.
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC04-76DP00613
- OSTI ID:
- 10170004
- Report Number(s):
- KCP-613-5080; ON: DE93017143; TRN: 93:002181
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: PBD: Jul 1993
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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