Authors

J. M. Lopez-Alonso; B. Monacelli; J. Alda;G. D. Boreman

Comments

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Abbreviated Journal Title

Opt. Eng.

Keywords

infrared lasers; signal processing; principal components; ANTENNAS; MICROBOLOMETERS; Optics

Abstract

IR lasers are widely used in electro-optical applications, especially in detector characterization systems. These lasers can be extremely sensitive to fluctuations in the operational temperature of their cavity and other environmental factors. Due to these influences, the laser output signal normally fluctuates randomly. These variations make it difficult to characterize the laser waist position and exact focus, which in turn causes difficulty with detector measurement. We apply a multivariate statistical approach to characterize and filter these variations and to calculate the "best focus" of a carbon dioxide laser operating at 10.6 mu m. Using this method, the "best focus" can be calculated with great accuracy and can be easily implemented during postsignal processing. Also, this technique can potentially be applied to other situations in which laser signal instability is significant.

Journal Title

Optical Engineering

Volume

44

Issue/Number

5

Publication Date

1-1-2005

Document Type

Article

Language

English

First Page

10

WOS Identifier

WOS:000232590600023

ISSN

0091-3286

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