Publications

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Experimental data for material plasticity and failure model calibration and validation were obtained from 304L stainless steel. Model calibration data were taken from smooth tension, notched tension, and compression tests. Model validation data were provided from experiments using thin-walled tube specimens subjected to path dependent combinations of internal pressure, extension, and torsion.

Exposure of optical materials to transient-ionizing-radiation fields can give rise to transient and/or permanent photodarkening effects. In laser materials, such as YAG, such induced optical loss can result in significant degradation of the lasing characteristic of the material, making its selection for optical device applications in radiation environments unfeasible. In the present study, the effects of ionizing radiation on the optical response of undoped and 1.1% Nd-doped single-crystal and polycrystalline YAG have been investigated. In the undoped materials it is seen that both laser materials exhibit significant loss at the 1.06 ?m lasing wavelength following exposure to a 40 krad, 30 nsec pulse of gamma radiation. In the undoped single-crystal samples, the transmission loss is initially large but exhibits a rapid recovery. By contrast, the undoped polycrystalline YAG experiences an initial 100% loss in transmission, becoming totally opaque at 1.06 ?m following the radiation pulse. This loss is slow to recover and a large residual permanent photodarkening effect is observed. Nd-doping improves the optical response of the materials in that the radiation-induced optical loss is substantially smaller in both the polycrystalline and single-crystal YAG samples. Preliminary results on the radiation response of elevated-temperature samples will also be reported.

Applications requiring injection of a high-power multimode laser into multiple fibers with equal energies, or specific energy ratios, provide unique design challenges. As with most all systems, engineering trades must balance competing requirements to obtain an optimal overall design. This is particularly true when fabrication issues are considered in the design process. A few of these competing design requirements are discussed in this conceptually simple system. This fiber injection system consists of three components; a refractive beam homogenizer, a diffractive beamsplitter, and a fiber array. We show the design process, starting with first-order design, for an example fiber injection system that couples a high-power YAG laser into seven fibers. Design goals include high efficiency, good beamsplitting uniformity, compact overall size, maximum mode filling of the fibers, and low cost of fabrication and assembly.

Polysilane materials exhibit large photo-induced refractive index changes under low incident optical fluences, making them attractive candidates for applications in which rapid patterning of photonic device structures is desired immediately prior to their use. This agile fabrication strategy for integrated photonics inherently requires that optical exposure, and associated material response, occurs in nonlaboratory environments, motivating the study of environmental conditions on the photoinduced response of the material. The present work examines the impact of atmosphere on the photosensitive response of poly(methylphenylsilane) (PMPS) thin films in terms of both photoinduced absorption change and refractive index modification. Material was subjected to UV light exposure resonant with the lowest energy optical transition associated with the conjugated Si-Si backbone. Exposures were performed in both aerobic and anaerobic atmospheres (oxygen, air, nitrogen, and 5% H{sub 2}/95% N{sub 2}). The results clearly demonstrate that the photosensitive response of this model polysilane material was dramatically affected by local environment, exhibiting a photoinduced refractive index change, when exposed under an oxygen containing atmosphere, that was twice that observed under anaerobic conditions. This effect is discussed in terms of photo-oxidation processes within the polysilane structure and in the context of the need for predictable photosensitive refractive index change in varied photoimprinting environments.

The manipulation of physical interactions between structural moieties on the molecular scale is a fundamental hurdle in the realization and operation of nanostructured materials and high surface area microsystem architectures. These include such nano-interaction-based phenomena as self-assembly, fluid flow, and interfacial tribology. The proposed research utilizes photosensitive molecular structures to tune such interactions reversibly. This new material strategy provides optical actuation of nano-interactions impacting behavior on both the nano- and macroscales and with potential to impact directed nanostructure formation, microfluidic rheology, and tribological control.

The main features in the ultraviolet spectrum of poly(methylphenylsilylene) can be interpreted as falling into four regions. These assignments of electronic transitions could be useful for the understanding of photoluminescence spectra, in increasing the efficacy of an interpreting the results of photobleaching experiments, in clarifying the mechanisms of photodegradation in poly(arylsilylene), and in the design of related new materials for specific optical applications.

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