Characterisation of a spinning pipe gas lens using a Shack–Hartmann wavefront sensor

Abstract

A heated horizontal spinning pipe causes gases inside it to assume dynamics resulting in a graded index lens – a spinning pipe gas lens (SPGL). A CFD model is presented which shows that gas exchanges of the SPGL with the surroundings resulting in a near parabolic density distribution inside the pipe created by the combination of velocity and thermal boundary layers. Fluid dynamic instabilities near the wall of the pipe are thought to have an deleterious effect on the quality of the beam and its wavefront. Measurements of the wavefront of a propagating laser beam shows strong defocus and tilt as well as higher order aberrations, thereby reducing the beam quality factor (M2) of the output beam. Results are presented as a function of pipe wall temperature and pipe rotation speed.