Measurement of resonant bend loss in anti-resonant hollow core optical fiber: erratum.

An error on the part of the authors in drafting resulted in Eq. (3) being incorrect in the published paper [Opt. Express25, 20612 (2017)10.1364/OE.25.020612]. We present a corrected version of the equation. It should be noted that this does not affect the presented results or conclusions of the paper.

Picosecond laser microwelding of AlSi-YAG for laser system assembly.

We report the successful picosecond laser welding of AlSi and YAG. This material combination is of significant interest to the field of laser design and construction. Parameter maps are presented that demonstrate the impact of pulse energy and focal position on the resultant weld. Weld performance relevant to industrial applications is measured, i.e., shear strength, process yield, and absolute thermal resistance are presented.

Manufacturing of Microfluidic Devices with Interchangeable Commercial Fiber Optic Sensors.

In situ measurements are highly desirable in many microfluidic applications because they enable real-time, local monitoring of physical and chemical parameters, providing valuable insight into microscopic events and processes that occur in microfluidic devices. Unfortunately, the manufacturing of microfluidic devices with integrated sensors can be time-consuming, expensive, and "know-how" demanding. In this article, we describe an easy-to-implement method developed to integrate various "off-the-shelf" fiber optic sensors within microfluidic devices. To demonstrate this, we used commercial pH and pressure sensors ("pH SensorPlugs" and "FOP-MIV", respectively), which were "reversibly" attached to a glass microfluidic device using custom 3D-printed connectors. The microfluidic device, which serves here as a demonstrator, incorporates a uniform porous structure and was manufactured using a picosecond pulsed laser. The sensors were attached to the inlet and outlet channels of the microfluidic pattern to perform simple experiments, the aim of which was to evaluate the performance of both the connectors and the sensors in a practical microfluidic environment. The bespoke connectors ensured robust and watertight connection, allowing the sensors to be safely disconnected if necessary, without damaging the microfluidic device. The pH SensorPlugs were tested with a pH 7.01 buffer solution. They measured the correct pH values with an accuracy of ±0.05 pH once sufficient contact between the injected fluid and the measuring element (optode) was established. In turn, the FOP-MIV sensors were used to measure local pressure in the inlet and outlet channels during injection and the steady flow of deionized water at different rates. These sensors were calibrated up to 140 mbar and provided pressure measurements with an uncertainty that was less than ±1.5 mbar. Readouts at a rate of 4 Hz allowed us to observe dynamic pressure changes in the device during the displacement of air by water. In the case of steady flow of water, the pressure difference between the two measuring points increased linearly with increasing flow rate, complying with Darcy's law for incompressible fluids. These data can be used to determine the permeability of the porous structure within the device.

Polylactic is a Sustainable, Low Absorption, Low Autofluorescence Alternative to Other Plastics for Microfluidic and Organ-on-Chip Applications.

Organ-on-chip (OOC) devices are miniaturized devices replacing animal models in drug discovery and toxicology studies. The majority of OOC devices are made from polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), an elastomer widely used in microfluidic prototyping, but posing a number of challenges to experimentalists, including leaching of uncured oligomers and uncontrolled absorption of small compounds. Here we assess the suitability of polylactic acid (PLA) as a replacement material to PDMS for microfluidic cell culture and OOC applications. We changed the wettability of PLA substrates and demonstrated the functionalization method to be stable over a time period of at least 9 months. We successfully cultured human cells on PLA substrates and devices, without coating. We demonstrated that PLA does not absorb small molecules, is transparent (92% transparency), and has low autofluorescence. As a proof of concept of its manufacturability, biocompatibility, and transparency, we performed a cell tracking experiment of prostate cancer cells in a PLA device for advanced cell culture.

Impact of nonlinear effects on transmission losses of hollow-core antiresonant negative curvature optical fiber.

We investigate the impact of input pulse duration and peak power of a femtosecond laser on pulse broadening and propagation losses in selected hollow-core antiresonant fiber (HC-ARF). The mixed effects of strong self-phase modulation and relatively weak Raman scattering broaden the spectral width, which in turn causes a portion of the output spectrum to exceed the transmission band of the fiber, resulting in transmission losses. By designing and setting up a gas flow control system and a vacuum system, the nonlinear behavior of the fiber filled with different pressurized gases is investigated. The experimental results show that replacing the air molecules in the fiber core with argon can weaken pulse broadening and increase the transmittable peak power by 14 MW for a given 122 MW input, while a vacuum system can reduce the nonlinearity to a larger extent, therefore enhancing the transmission of HC-ARF by at least 26 MW.

Review of Microfluidic Devices and Imaging Techniques for Fluid Flow Study in Porous Geomaterials.

Understanding transport phenomena and governing mechanisms of different physical and chemical processes in porous media has been a critical research area for decades. Correlating fluid flow behaviour at the micro-scale with macro-scale parameters, such as relative permeability and capillary pressure, is key to understanding the processes governing subsurface systems, and this in turn allows us to improve the accuracy of modelling and simulations of transport phenomena at a large scale. Over the last two decades, there have been significant developments in our understanding of pore-scale processes and modelling of complex underground systems. Microfluidic devices (micromodels) and imaging techniques, as facilitators to link experimental observations to simulation, have greatly contributed to these achievements. Although several reviews exist covering separately advances in one of these two areas, we present here a detailed review integrating recent advances and applications in both micromodels and imaging techniques. This includes a comprehensive analysis of critical aspects of fabrication techniques of micromodels, and the most recent advances such as embedding fibre optic sensors in micromodels for research applications. To complete the analysis of visualization techniques, we have thoroughly reviewed the most applicable imaging techniques in the area of geoscience and geo-energy. Moreover, the integration of microfluidic devices and imaging techniques was highlighted as appropriate. In this review, we focus particularly on four prominent yet very wide application areas, namely "fluid flow in porous media", "flow in heterogeneous rocks and fractures", "reactive transport, solute and colloid transport", and finally "porous media characterization". In summary, this review provides an in-depth analysis of micromodels and imaging techniques that can help to guide future research in the in-situ visualization of fluid flow in porous media.

Tamper-proof markings for the identification and traceability of high-value metal goods.

A customized UV nanosecond pulsed laser system has been developed for the fast generation of tamper-proof security markings on the surface of metals, such as stainless steel, nickel, brass, and nickel-chromium (Inconel) alloys. The markings in the form of reflective phase holographic structures are generated using a laser microsculpting process that involves laser-induced local melting and vaporization of the metal surface. The holographic structures are formed from an array of optically-smooth craters whose depth can be controlled with ± 25nm accuracy. In contrast to conventional security markings, e.g., engraved serial numbers, etched part numbers and embossed polymer holographic stickers, which are only attached to the metal products as an adhesive tape, the phase holographic structures are robust to local damage (e.g. scratches) and resistant to tampering because they are generated directly on the metal surface. This paper describes a novel laser-based process for security marking of high-value metal goods, investigates the optical performance of the holographic structures, and demonstrates their application to watches.

Measurement of resonant bend loss in anti-resonant hollow core optical fiber.

We present the results of measurements of resonant spectral bend loss using a novel apparatus in a series of hollow core anti-resonant optical fibers, important for their applications in the delivery of industrial power ultra-short laser pulses. The measured bend losses exhibit clear wavelength-bend diameter resonances. We demonstrate, in good agreement with theoretical analysis, that the sensitivity to bend diameter (in terms of minimum bend radii) is dependent on the ratio between cladding and core structure size. By decreasing the cladding capillary diameter: core diameter ratio from 0.70 to 0.43 the minimum bend diameter is decreased from >160 mm to ~15 mm at a wavelength of 800 nm. Furthermore it is demonstrated that the exact position of the loss bands is highly dependent on the orientation of the fiber structure with the bend plane.

Towards industrial ultrafast laser microwelding: SiO2 and BK7 to aluminum alloy.

We report systematic analysis and comparison of ps-laser microwelding of industry relevant Al6082 parts to SiO2 and BK7. Parameter mapping of pulse energy and focal depth on the weld strength is presented. The welding process was found to be strongly dependent on the focal plane but has a large tolerance to variation in pulse energy. Accelerated lifetime tests by thermal cycling from -50° to +90°C are presented. Welds in Al6082-BK7 parts survive over the full temperature range where the ratio of thermal expansion coefficients is 3.4:1. Welds in Al6082-SiO2 parts (ratio 47.1:1) survive only a limited temperature range.

Direct CO(2) laser-based generation of holographic structures on the surface of glass.

A customized CO(2) laser micromachining system was used for the generation of phase holographic structures directly on the surface of fused silica (HPFS(®)7980 Corning) and Borofloat(®)33 (Schott AG) glass. This process used pulses of duration 10µs and nominal wavelength 10.59µm. The pulse energy delivered to the glass workpiece was controlled by an acousto-optic modulator. The laser-generated structures were optically smooth and crack free. We demonstrated their use as diffractive optical elements (DOEs), which could be exploited as anti-counterfeiting markings embedded into valuable glass-made components and products.

Avoiding the requirement for pre-existing optical contact during picosecond laser glass-to-glass welding: erratum.

The results presented in Fig. 8 were incorrect; the growth in the weld structure presented was due to the laser taking 3 ms to reach full power. Here we present a corrected version of the figure and associated discussion. It should be noted that this affects only the exact number of pulses required to form the weld structure and some of the low pulse number observations. This does not therefore affect the theory presented in the paper. In addition Fig. 9 and Fig. 10 were reversed in the published version. The correct figures are presented below.

Avoiding the requirement for pre-existing optical contact during picosecond laser glass-to-glass welding.

Previous reports of ultrafast laser welding of glass-to-glass have indicated that a pre-existing optical contact (or very close to) between the parts to be joined is essential. In this paper, the capability of picosecond laser welding to bridge micron-scale gaps is investigated, and successful welding, without cracking, of two glasses with a pre-existing gap of 3 µm is demonstrated. It is shown that the maximum gap that can be welded is not significantly affected by welding speeds, but is strongly dependent on the laser power and focal position relative to the interface between the materials. Five distinct types of material modification were observed over a range of different powers and surface separations, and a mechanism is proposed to explain the observations.

High energy green nanosecond and picosecond pulse delivery through a negative curvature fiber for precision micro-machining.

In this paper we present an anti-resonant guiding, low-loss Negative Curvature Fiber (NCF) for the efficient delivery of high energy short (ns) and ultrashort (ps) pulsed laser light in the green spectral region. The fabricated NCF has an attenuation of 0.15 dB/m and 0.18 dB/m at 532 nm and 515 nm respectively, and provided robust transmission of nanosecond and picosecond pulses with energies of 0.57 mJ (10.4 kW peak power) and 30 µJ (5 MW peak power) respectively. It provides single-mode, stable (low bend-sensitivity) output and maintains spectral and temporal properties of the source laser beam. The practical application of fiber-delivered pulses has been demonstrated in precision micro-machining and marking of metals and glass.

Shaping the surface of Borofloat 33 glass with ultrashort laser pulses and a spatial light modulator.

We demonstrate an application of a liquid-crystal-based spatial light modulator (LC-SLM) for the parallel generation of optically smooth structured surfaces on Borofloat 33 glass. In this work, the picosecond laser beam intensity profile of wavelength 515 nm is spatially altered by a LC-SLM, and then delivered to the workpiece in order to generate surface deformations whose shape corresponds to the image generated by the LC display. To ensure that localized melting occurs without ablation, the glass surface is covered by a thin layer of graphite prior to laser treatment to provide increased linear absorption of the laser light. After laser treatment the residual graphite layer is removed using methanol and the whole sample is annealed for 1 h at a temperature of 560 °C, making the laser-induced surface deformations optically smooth.

Picosecond laser welding of similar and dissimilar materials.

We report picosecond laser welding of similar and dissimilar materials based on plasma formation induced by a tightly focused beam from a 1030 nm, 10 ps, 400 kHz laser system. Specifically, we demonstrate the welding of fused silica, borosilicate, and sapphire to a range of materials including borosilicate, fused silica, silicon, copper, aluminum, and stainless steel. Dissimilar material welding of glass to aluminum and stainless steel has not been previously reported. Analysis of the borosilicate-to-borosilicate weld strength compares well to those obtained using similar welding systems based on femtosecond lasers. There is, however, a strong requirement to prepare surfaces to a high (10-60 nm Ra) flatness to ensure a successful weld.

Picosecond and nanosecond pulse delivery through a hollow-core Negative Curvature Fiber for micro-machining applications.

We present high average power picosecond and nanosecond pulse delivery at 1030 nm and 1064 nm wavelengths respectively through a novel hollow-core Negative Curvature Fiber (NCF) for high-precision micro-machining applications. Picosecond pulses with an average power above 36 W and energies of 92 µJ, corresponding to a peak power density of 1.5 TWcm⁻² have been transmitted through the fiber without introducing any damage to the input and output fiber end-faces. High-energy nanosecond pulses (>1 mJ), which are ideal for micro-machining have been successfully delivered through the NCF with a coupling efficiency of 92%. Picosecond and nanosecond pulse delivery have been demonstrated in fiber-based laser micro-machining of fused silica, aluminum and titanium.

A Novel Process for Manufacturing High-Friction Rings with a Closely Defined Coefficient of Static Friction (Relative Standard Deviation 3.5%) for Application in Ship Engine Components.

In recent years, there has been an increased uptake for surface functionalization through the means of laser surface processing. The constant evolution of low-cost, easily automatable, and highly repeatable nanosecond fibre lasers has significantly aided this. In this paper, we present a laser surface-texturing technique to manufacture a surface with a tailored high static friction coefficient for application within driveshafts of large marine engines. The requirement in this application is not only a high friction coefficient, but a friction coefficient kept within a narrow range. This is obtained by using nanosecond-pulsed fibre lasers to generate a hexagonal pattern of craters on the surface. To provide a suitable friction coefficient, after laser processing the surface was hardened using a chromium-based hardening process, so that the textured surface would embed into its counterpart when the normal force was applied in the engine application. Using the combination of the laser texturing and surface hardening, it is possible to tailor the surface properties to achieve a static friction coefficient of ≥0.7 with ~3-4% relative standard deviation. The laser-textured and hardened parts were installed in driveshafts for ship testing. After successfully performing in 1500 h of operation, it is planned to adopt the solution into production.

Application of a liquid crystal spatial light modulator to laser marking.

Laser marking is demonstrated using a nanosecond (ns) pulse duration laser in combination with a liquid crystal spatial light modulator to generate two-dimensional patterns directly onto thin films and bulk metal surfaces. Previous demonstrations of laser marking with such devices have been limited to low average power lasers. Application in the ns regime enables more complex, larger scale marks to be generated with more widely available and industrially proven laser systems. The dynamic nature of the device is utilized to improve mark quality by reducing the impact of the inherently speckled intensity distribution across the generated image and reduce thermal effects in the marked surface.

Compensation for time fluctuations of phase modulation in a liquid-crystal-on-silicon display by process synchronization in laser materials processing.

We demonstrate the adverse influence of temporal fluctuations of the phase modulation of a spatial light modulator (SLM) display device on nanosecond laser micromachining. We show that active cooling of the display reduces the amplitude of these fluctuations, and we demonstrate a process synchronization technique developed to compensate for these fluctuations when applying the SLM to laser materials processing. For alternative SLM devices developed specifically for laser wavefront control (which do not exhibit such flickering problems), we show that our process synchronization approach is also beneficial to avoid machining glitches when switching quickly between different phase profiles (and hence beam patterns).

Application of cooled spatial light modulator for high power nanosecond laser micromachining.

The application of a commercially available spatial light modulator (SLM) to control the spatial intensity distribution of a nanosecond pulsed laser for micromachining is described for the first time. Heat sinking is introduced to increase the average power handling capabilities of the SLM beyond recommended limits by the manufacturer. Complex intensity patterns are generated, using the Inverse Fourier Transform Algorithm, and example laser machining is demonstrated. The SLM enables both complex beam shaping and also beam steering.