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Register a new userA High-Performance, Low-Cost Laser Shutter using a Piezoelectric Cantilever Actuator
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We report the design and characterization of an optical shutter based on a piezoelectric cantilever. Compared to conventional electro-magnetic shutters, the device is intrinsically low power and acoustically quiet. The cantilever position is controlled by a high-voltage op-amp circuit for easy tuning of the range of travel, and mechanical slew rate, which enables a factor of 30 reduction in mechanical noise compared to a rapidly switched device. We achieve shuttering rise and fall times of 11 $mu$s, corresponding to mechanical slew rates of 1.3 $textrm{ ms}^{-1}$, with an timing jitter of less than 1 $mu$s. When used to create optical pulses, we achieve minimum pulse durations of 250 $mu$s. The reliability of the shutter was investigated by operating continuously for one week at 10 Hz switching rate. After this period, neither the shutter delay or actuation speed had changed by a notable amount. We also show that the high-voltage electronics can be easily configured as a versatile low-noise, high-bandwidth piezo driver, well-suited to applications in laser frequency control.
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We have designed and tested an automated simple setup for quickly measuring the profile and spot size of a Gaussian laser beam using three cost-affordable light sensors. Two profiling techniques were implemented: imaging for the CMOS 2D array (webcam) and scanning knife-edge-like using a single photodiode and an LDR. The methods and sensors were compared to determine their accuracy using lasers of two different wavelengths and technologies. We verify that it is possible to use a low-cost webcam to determine the profile of a laser with 1% uncertainty on the beam waist, 1.5% error on the waistline position, and less than 3% error in determining the minimum spot radius. The photodiode measurement is the most stable since it is not affected by the change in laser intensity. In addition, we show that it is possible to use an inexpensive LDR sensor to estimate the laser spot size with an 11% error.
We report on the design and the expected performance of a low cost hybrid detection system suitable for operation as an autonomous unit in strong electromagnetic noise environments. The system consists of three particle detectors (scintillator modules) and one or more RF antennas. The particle detector units are used to detect air showers and to supply the trigger to the RF Data acquisition electronics. The hardware of the detector as well as the expected performance in detecting and reconstructing the angular direction for the shower axis is presented. Calibration data are used to trim the simulation parameters and to investigate the response to high energy ($E>10^{15} eV$) extensive air showers.
The advances in the fields of scanning probe microscopy, scanning tunneling spectroscopy, point contact spectroscopy and point contact Andreev reflection spectroscopy to study the properties of conventional and quantum materials at cryogenic conditions have prompted the development of nanopositioners and nanoscanners with enhanced spatial resolution. Piezoelectric-actuator stacks as nanopositioners with working strokes $>100~mumathrm{m}$ and positioning resolution $sim$(1-10) nm are desirable for both basic research and industrial applications. However, information on the performance of most commercial piezoelectric-actuators in cryogenic environment and in the presence of magnetic fields in excess of 5,T is generally not available. In particular, the magnitude, rate and the associated hysteresis of the piezo-displacement at cryogenic temperatures are the most relevant parameters that determine whether a particular piezoelectric-actuator can be used as a nanopositioner. Here, the design and realization of an experimental set-up based on interferometric techniques to characterize a commercial piezoelectric-actuator over a temperature range of $2~mathrm{K}leq{T}leq260~mathrm{K}$ and magnetic fields up to 6,T is presented. The studied piezoelectric-actuator has a maximum displacement of $30~mumathrm{m}$ at room temperature for a maximum driving voltage of 75,V, which reduces to $1.2~mumathrm{m}$ with an absolute hysteresis of $left(9.1pm3.3right)~mathrm{nm}$ at $T=2,mathrm{K}$. The magnetic field is shown to have no substantial effect on the piezo properties of the studied piezoelectric-actuator stack.
We demonstrate the use of a piezoelectric actuator to apply, at low temperatures, uniaxial stress in the plane of a two-dimensional electron system confined to a modulation-doped AlAs quantum well. Via the application of stress, which can be tuned in situ and continuously, we control the energies and occupations of the conduction-band minima and the electronic properties of the electron system. We also report measurements of the longitudinal and transverse strain versus bias for the actuator at 300, 77, and 4.2 K. A pronounced hysteresis is observed at 300 and 77 K, while at 4.2 K, strain is nearly linear and shows very little hysteresis with the applied bias.
We present a method of broadening the dynamic range of optical interferometric detection of cantilever displacement. The key idea of this system is to use a wavelength-tunable laser source. The wavelength is subject to proportional-integral control, which is used to keep the cavity detuning constant during a measurement. Under this control, the change in wavelength is proportional to the cantilever displacement. Using this technique, we can measure large displacements ($>1 mathrm{mu m}$) without degradation of sensitivity. We apply this technique to high-frequency electron spin resonance spectroscopy and succeed in removing an irregular background signal that arises from the constantly varying sensitivity of the interferometer.
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