Optical aberrations in gas lenses

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dc.contributor.authorMafusire C.
dc.contributor.authorForbes A.
dc.contributor.authorMichaelis M.M.
dc.contributor.authorSnedden G.
dc.date.accessioned2011-05-15T16:00:21Z
dc.date.available2011-05-15T16:00:21Z
dc.date.issued2010
dc.description.abstractGas lenses work on the basis that aerodynamic media can be used to generate a graded refractive index distribution which can be used to focus a laser beam. An example is a spinning pipe gas lens (SPGL). It is a steel pipe whose walls are heated to a preselected temperature and then rotated along the axis to any desired speed to generate a cooler core of incoming air. A laser beam propagating through these lenses is focussed in space. However, experimental observation has shown that distortions are generated in the beam. We provide a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model of the lens and experimental results of the Zernike aberrations measured using a Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor which show that the aerodynamic medium in the lens have a deleterious effect on laser beam quality (M2). The effect on the SPGL is that the beam deterioration increases with rotation speed and temperature though the worst M2 measured at speed 20 Hz and temperature 155 °C was ∼3.5 which is fairly good. © 2010 SPIE.
dc.description.versionConference Paper
dc.identifier.citationProceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering
dc.identifier.citation7789
dc.identifier.issn0277786X
dc.identifier.other10.1117/12.862855
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/11655
dc.subjectAt-speed
dc.subjectBeam quality factor
dc.subjectDeleterious effects
dc.subjectExperimental observation
dc.subjectGas lens
dc.subjectGraded refractive indices
dc.subjectOptical aberration
dc.subjectOptical aberrations
dc.subjectPre-selected
dc.subjectRotation speed
dc.subjectShack-Hartmann wavefront sensors
dc.subjectSpinning pipe gas lens (SPGL)
dc.subjectZernike aberrations
dc.subjectAerodynamics
dc.subjectComputational fluid dynamics
dc.subjectGases
dc.subjectLaser beams
dc.subjectOptical instruments
dc.subjectPipe
dc.subjectRefractive index
dc.subjectSpeed
dc.subjectLenses
dc.titleOptical aberrations in gas lenses
dc.typeConference Paper
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