The graded index (GRIN-like) medium generated by a gas inside a heated pipe when it is rotated about its longitudinal axis has the ability to focus a laser beam. However, recent research has shown that the medium generated has a deleterious effect on laser beam quality. By using wave optics, more information on the nature of this medium was acquired. This has led to a better understanding of the individual aberrations generated, beam quality deterioration and more accurate determination of its focal length. This has shown that such lenses are better understood using wave optics that with ray geometric theory. The latest in computer software was used to complement these findings by showing velocity and density distributions in the pipe to better explain the behaviour of this device.
Reference:
Mafusire, C, Forbes, A, Michaelis, MM and Snedden, GC. 2009. Wave aberrations in a spinning pipe gas lens. 7th International Workshop on Adaptive Optics for Industry and Medicine., White Lake Resort Shatura, Russia, 8-11 June 2009, pp 22
Mafusire, C., Forbes, A., Michaelis, M., & Snedden, G. C. (2009). Wave aberrations in a spinning pipe gas lens. http://hdl.handle.net/10204/4637
Mafusire, C, A Forbes, MM Michaelis, and Glen C Snedden. "Wave aberrations in a spinning pipe gas lens." (2009): http://hdl.handle.net/10204/4637
Mafusire C, Forbes A, Michaelis M, Snedden GC, Wave aberrations in a spinning pipe gas lens; 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10204/4637 .
