ABSTRACT The multi-disciplinary accelerator based facilities at iThemba LABS are used intensively for nuclear physics experiments, radiotherapy and the production of radioisotopes. To increase the beam intensity for radioisotope production and to improve the beam quality of the 66 MeV proton beam, a double-gap horizontal half-wave flat-topping resonator has been developed for the separated-sector cyclotron to operate at the associated fixed frequency. This type of flattopping resonator has never before been implemented in a cyclotron and this study is the first to show that it can be done, featuring a special characteristic not offered by other types. The resonator is reviewed against the other types of resonators that are already in use at other institutes around the world. The flat-topping voltage of the selected type has a sinusoidal half-wave distribution along a radial line in each of its acceleration gaps with the nodal points located on the injection and extraction orbits. The flat-topping voltage therefore progressively increases from zero at both of the two most critical orbits in a cyclotron to a maximum at about halfway between them. As a result will this resonator, apart from its basic function to reduce the energy spread in the beam, not decrease the orbit separation at the injection and extraction orbits in the cyclotron, as is the case with other types of flat-topping resonators. This advantageous feature implies that the beam pattern in the cyclotron is not affected in the regions of the delicate injection and extraction components and therefore will these components or the operational control of the beam not require any modification to accommodate the resonator. In order to design a resonator that will meet our requirements, the theory of the beam dynamics and resonator characteristics were studied to ascertain the expected improvement in beam quality and beam intensity when a flat-topping resonator is implemented with the cyclotron. All resonator types were considered and studied in terms of their power dissipation, voltage distribution, harmonic number, space requirements and influence on the beam. The horizontal half-wave resonator type, with two acceleration gaps, was selected as the most suitable for our application, because of its preferred electromagnetic characteristics and its geometric shape that permits the installation inside an existing vacuum chamber through an existing flange. Initially a half-scale resonator model was build to test the feasibility of such a resonator and also to verify the calculation methods. Transmission line methods and numerical field analysis in 3D were applied to determine the resonator characteristics. In the former method a computer program, POISSON, was used to calculate curvilinear squares on sections through a triangular-shaped transmission line and in the latter method a commercial computer program, SOPRANO, was used. SOPRANO is part of an internationally acclaimed suite of programs and the acquired knowledge and skill to use this state-of-the-art software for the studying and designing of such and other electromagnetic devices also put the institute amongst the front-runners in the world. The calculated characteristics of the half- and full-scale resonator models, the study of the different electromagnetic modes that resonate in close proximity to the required frequency, the heat transport modelling and the theory and implementation of the coupling and tuning devices are all in good agreement with their respective measured results and are reported in this document. This study lead the way to have the first-ever double-gap horizontal half-wave flat-topping resonator in a cyclotron successfully commissioned at iThemba LABS and the first tests with beam report very stable operation. Accelerator physicists now have another option to utilize for the establishing of flat-topped acceleration voltages.

O trabalho experimental aqui apresentado tem como foco o desenvolvimento de um laser de estado sólido cujo desempenho foi otimizado de tal forma que contemple alta potência, alta qualidade de feixe e estabilidade, levando-se em conta os efeitos térmicos sofridos pelo meio ativo em regime de alta potência de bombeamento. Foram testadas cavidades para operação contínua em multimodo com alta potência de saída e cavidades operando em modo único TEM00. Para cavidades operando no modo fundamental, os ressonadores testados serão divididos em grupos de acordo com o seu comportamento no diagrama de estabilidade. A otimização de tais ressonadores foi realizada apenas alterando-se o raio de curvatura dos espelhos de entrada e saída e suas respectivas distâncias ao plano principal do bastão de Nd:YAG. Como resultado foi alcançada a maior eficiência de extração reportada na literatura para um ou dois módulos de Nd:YAG intracavidade. Os resultados dão uma visão geral sobre possíveis projetos de ressonadores para operação dinamicamente estável, com alta potência de saída e qualidade de feixe. Os dados obtidos servem como base para o desenvolvimento de novos lasers de alta potência e eficiência baseados em módulos DPSSL (Diode-Pumped Solid-State Lasers- Lasers de Estado Sólido Bombeados por Diodo) de baixo custo. / The experimental work presented here focuses on the development of a solid-state laser whose performance has been optimized for high power output, high beam quality, and high stability, taking into account the thermal effects experienced by the gain medium under high pumping power. Cavities for continuous wave (CW) operation in multimode with high output power and cavities operating in single mode TEM00 were tested. The resonators will be divided in groups according to their stability diagram. The optimization of such resonators was performed only by changing the curvature radius of the mirrors and their distances to the principal plane of the Nd:YAG rod. As a result was achieved the highest extraction efficiency reported in the literature for one or two intra cavity Nd:YAG modules. The results give an overview of possible designs of resonators for dynamically stable operation with high output power and beam quality. The data serve as basis for the development of new high-power lasers based on low cost DPSSL modules.

O trabalho experimental aqui apresentado tem como foco o desenvolvimento de um laser de estado sólido cujo desempenho foi otimizado de tal forma que contemple alta potência, alta qualidade de feixe e estabilidade, levando-se em conta os efeitos térmicos sofridos pelo meio ativo em regime de alta potência de bombeamento. Foram testadas cavidades para operação contínua em multimodo com alta potência de saída e cavidades operando em modo único TEM00. Para cavidades operando no modo fundamental, os ressonadores testados serão divididos em grupos de acordo com o seu comportamento no diagrama de estabilidade. A otimização de tais ressonadores foi realizada apenas alterando-se o raio de curvatura dos espelhos de entrada e saída e suas respectivas distâncias ao plano principal do bastão de Nd:YAG. Como resultado foi alcançada a maior eficiência de extração reportada na literatura para um ou dois módulos de Nd:YAG intracavidade. Os resultados dão uma visão geral sobre possíveis projetos de ressonadores para operação dinamicamente estável, com alta potência de saída e qualidade de feixe. Os dados obtidos servem como base para o desenvolvimento de novos lasers de alta potência e eficiência baseados em módulos DPSSL (Diode-Pumped Solid-State Lasers- Lasers de Estado Sólido Bombeados por Diodo) de baixo custo. / The experimental work presented here focuses on the development of a solid-state laser whose performance has been optimized for high power output, high beam quality, and high stability, taking into account the thermal effects experienced by the gain medium under high pumping power. Cavities for continuous wave (CW) operation in multimode with high output power and cavities operating in single mode TEM00 were tested. The resonators will be divided in groups according to their stability diagram. The optimization of such resonators was performed only by changing the curvature radius of the mirrors and their distances to the principal plane of the Nd:YAG rod. As a result was achieved the highest extraction efficiency reported in the literature for one or two intra cavity Nd:YAG modules. The results give an overview of possible designs of resonators for dynamically stable operation with high output power and beam quality. The data serve as basis for the development of new high-power lasers based on low cost DPSSL modules.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Physics / Kristan L. Corwin / The focus of this research is improving the pulse output energy of a mid-IR pulsed acetylene-filled Hollow-core Optical Fiber Gas LASer (HOFGLAS) system. Pump pulses and acetylene molecules interact with each other inside hollow-core photonic crystal fiber that effectively confines light and allows for strong gain. This results in lasing at 3.11 μm and 3.17 μm lines based on population inversion of acetylene molecules, which are optically pumped at rotational-vibrational overtones near 1.5 μm using 1 ns pulse duration from an optical parametric amplifier (OPA). This acetylene laser operates with no cavity mirrors because of a high gain in a single pass configuration. There are few laser sources in the mid-IR region while there are many applications for having a laser source in this range such as remote sensing, hazardous chemical detection, and breath analysis. This adds to the importance of the acetylene-filled HOFGLAS system. Some of the applications like remote sensing require high power. So, we moved toward power scaling this laser system by optimizing the laser operation through maximizing the OPA alignment to improve its modal content using longer length of fiber to increase the interaction length and improving the beam quality of the mid-IR emissions. The highest pulse energy ever obtained in the 3 µm mid-IR region from the acetylene-filled HOFGLAS after applying the improvements is reported here (1.4 μJ). Higher mid-IR pulse energies can be achieved by improving the pulse energy achievable from the OPA pump source and working with longer pulse duration to decrease the bandwidth of the OPA. This operation demonstrates many novel properties of acetylene-filled pulsed mid-IR hollow-core fiber lasers. The excellent spatial beam quality at highest power and phenomenological scaling of saturation power and efficiency with pressure that we observe point to the promise of power scaling and motivate further development of numerical models of the laser for deeper insight into these effects. M² measurement method was used to examine spatial beam quality and it was found to be fiber-dependent. For the improved setup, M² was investigated at several input pump powers in addition to the reproducibility checks. M² of 1.14 at the maximum output power motivates for beam combining to scale to higher power. The independence of efficiency on pressure is an evidence for reaching higher mid-IR power at a pressure where saturation behavior does not exist. achieving the highest mid-IR power to date, 1.4 μJ, encourages for building higher power OPA to produce high power mid-IR emissions. Taken as a whole, this laser exhibits novel behavior that motivates both numerical/theoretical investigation and further efforts to scale to higher powers.

The use of a beam quality correction factor,kQ, is needed in dosimetry of radiotherapy beams for correcting differences between chamber responses at the calibration beam quality, Q0 and at the quality beam of the user, Q. The purpose of this study is to determine the beam quality correction factor for the NE2571 ionization chamber widely used in radiotherapy and its dependence with the stopping-power and the chamber perturbation factors. In addition, an investigation of the use of parallel plate chambers for determining surface doses in photon beams is also performed using the EGSrnc Monte Carlo code system. Results obtained with PENELOPE show that simulations with phase-space files appropriately scored can be up to ten times shorter than using a full spectrum in the input-file. Values of kQ, and its components show good agreement with published values in the literature and are provided with typical statistical uncertainties of 0.2%. Values of kQ and absorbed dose to water conversion factors obtained with egs_chamber user code for parallel plate chambers are also provided with maximum statistical uncertainty of 0.7%. Therefore, the results obtained are expected to contribute with improving dosimetry protocols and the quality of life of radiotherapy patients. / O uso de uma fator de correção para a qualidade do feixe, kQ, é necessário em dosimetria de feixes radioterápicos para a correçãoo das diferenças entre a resposta de câmaras de ionização nas qualidades do feixe de calibração, Q0 e do usuário Q. O propósito deste trabalho consiste em determinar o fator de correção da qualidade de feixe para a câmara de ionização NE2571 amplamente utilizada em radioterapia e sua dependência com o stopping-power e os fatores de perturbação da câmara. Além disso, uma investigação do uso de câmaras de placas paralelas para determinar doses na superfície em feixes de fótons é também realizada usando o sistem de códigos em Monte Carlo EGSnrc. Resultados obtidos com o PENELOPE mostram que simulações usando phase-space, podem ser cerca de dez vezes menos longa do que simula ções usando um espectro completo no arquivo de entrada. Valores de kQ e suas componentes mostraram boa concordncia com dados publicados na literatura e são fornecidos com incertezas estatísticas típicas de 0.2%. Valores de kQ e fatores de conversão pra dose absorvida na água obtidos para as câmaras de placas paralelas com o código de usuário egs_chamber são também fornecidos com incerteza estatística máxima de 0.7%. Deste modo, espera-se que os resultados obtidos possam contribuir com o aperfeiçoamento de protocolos de dosimetria e com a qualidade de vida de pacientes radioterpicos.

The beam quality and the system efficiency of a diode-pumped solid-state laser source are directly related to the thermal profile inside the laser crystal. The thermal profile in a laser crystal should be made uniform in order to reduce the negative effects of the thermal lens. However, the absorbed pump profile that forms a uniform thermal profile inside the gain medium may adversely affect the system efficiency. In this thesis, a computational and empirical method was developed for designing pumping chambers that results in a suitable thermal profile inside the gain medium, and thus desired laser beam quality was achieved while keeping the system efficiency at an acceptable level. Accomplishment of this thesis work will lead to the design of pumping chambers and resonators in high power laser systems operating at even higher thermal loads.

The use of a beam quality correction factor,kQ, is needed in dosimetry of radiotherapy beams for correcting differences between chamber responses at the calibration beam quality, Q0 and at the quality beam of the user, Q. The purpose of this study is to determine the beam quality correction factor for the NE2571 ionization chamber widely used in radiotherapy and its dependence with the stopping-power and the chamber perturbation factors. In addition, an investigation of the use of parallel plate chambers for determining surface doses in photon beams is also performed using the EGSrnc Monte Carlo code system. Results obtained with PENELOPE show that simulations with phase-space files appropriately scored can be up to ten times shorter than using a full spectrum in the input-file. Values of kQ, and its components show good agreement with published values in the literature and are provided with typical statistical uncertainties of 0.2%. Values of kQ and absorbed dose to water conversion factors obtained with egs_chamber user code for parallel plate chambers are also provided with maximum statistical uncertainty of 0.7%. Therefore, the results obtained are expected to contribute with improving dosimetry protocols and the quality of life of radiotherapy patients. / O uso de uma fator de correção para a qualidade do feixe, kQ, é necessário em dosimetria de feixes radioterápicos para a correçãoo das diferenças entre a resposta de câmaras de ionização nas qualidades do feixe de calibração, Q0 e do usuário Q. O propósito deste trabalho consiste em determinar o fator de correção da qualidade de feixe para a câmara de ionização NE2571 amplamente utilizada em radioterapia e sua dependência com o stopping-power e os fatores de perturbação da câmara. Além disso, uma investigação do uso de câmaras de placas paralelas para determinar doses na superfície em feixes de fótons é também realizada usando o sistem de códigos em Monte Carlo EGSnrc. Resultados obtidos com o PENELOPE mostram que simulações usando phase-space, podem ser cerca de dez vezes menos longa do que simula ções usando um espectro completo no arquivo de entrada. Valores de kQ e suas componentes mostraram boa concordncia com dados publicados na literatura e são fornecidos com incertezas estatísticas típicas de 0.2%. Valores de kQ e fatores de conversão pra dose absorvida na água obtidos para as câmaras de placas paralelas com o código de usuário egs_chamber são também fornecidos com incerteza estatística máxima de 0.7%. Deste modo, espera-se que os resultados obtidos possam contribuir com o aperfeiçoamento de protocolos de dosimetria e com a qualidade de vida de pacientes radioterpicos.

The theory of stretching and compressing of short light pulses by the chirped volume Bragg gratings (CBG) is reviewed based on spectral decomposition of short pulses and on the wavelength-dependent coupled wave equations. The analytic theory of diffraction efficiency of a CBG with constant chirp and approximate theory of time delay dispersion are presented. Based on those, we performed comparison of the approximate analytic results with the exact numeric coupled-wave modeling. We also study theoretically various definitions of laser beam width in a given cross-section. Quality of the beam is characterized by the dimensionless beam propagation products (?x???_x)?? , which are different for each of the 21 definitions. We study six particular beams and introduce an axially-symmetric self-MFT (mathematical Fourier transform) function, which may be useful for the description of diffraction-quality beams. Furthermore, we discuss various saturation curves and their influence on the amplitudes of recorded gratings. Special attention is given to multiplexed volume Bragg gratings (VBG) aimed at recording of several gratings in the same volume. The best shape of a saturation curve for production of the strongest gratings is found to be the threshold-type curve. Both one-photon and two-photon absorption mechanism of recording are investigated. Finally, by means of the simulation software we investigate forced airflow cooling of a VBG heated by a laser beam. Two combinations of a setup are considered, and a number of temperature distributions and thermal deformations are obtained for different rates of airflows. Simulation results are compared to the experimental data, and show good mutual agreement.

Breitstreifenlaser haben eine breite Emissionsapertur, die es ermöglicht eine hohe Ausgangsleistung zu erreichen. Gleichzeitig führt sie jedoch zu einer Verringerung der lateralen Strahlqualität und zu ihrem nicht-stationären Verhalten. Forschung in diesem Gebiet ist anwendungsgetrieben und somit ist das Hauptziel eine Erhöhung der Brillanz, die sowohl die Ausgangsleistung als auch die laterale Strahlqualität beinhaltet. Um die zugrunde liegenden raumzeitlichen Phänomene zu verstehen und dieses Wissen zu nutzen, um die Kosten der Brillanz-Optimierung zu minimieren, ist ein selbst-konsistentes Simulationstool notwendig, welches die wichtigsten Prozesse beinhaltet. Zunächst wird in dieser Arbeit ein quasi-dreidimensionales elektro-optisch-thermisches Model präsentiert, welches wesentliche qualitative Eigenschaften von realen Bauteilen gut beschreibt. Zeitabhängige Wanderwellen-Gleichungen werden genutzt, um die inhärent nicht-stationären optischen Felder zu beschreiben, welche an eine Ratengleichung für die Überschussladungsträger in der aktiven Zone gekoppelt sind. Das Model wird in dieser Arbeit um eine Injektionsstromdichte erweitert, die laterale Stromspreizung und räumliches Lochbrennen korrekt beschreibt. Des Weiteren wird ein Temperaturmodel präsentiert, das kurzzeitige lokale Aufheizungen in der Nähe der aktiven Zone und die Formierung einer stationären Temperaturverteilung beinhalten. Im zweiten Teil wird das beschriebene Modell genutzt, um die Gründe von Brillanz-Degradierung, das heißt sowohl die Ursprünge der Leistungssättigung als auch des nicht diffraktionslimitierten Fernfeldes zu untersuchen. Abschließend werden im letzten Teil Laserentwürfe besprochen, welche die laterale Brillanz verbessern. Hierzu gehört ein neuartiges “Schachbrettlaser” Design, bei dem longitudinal-laterale Gewinn-Verlust-Modulation mit zusätzlicher Phasenanpassung ausgenutzt wird, um eine sehr geringe Fernfeld-Divergenz zu erhalten. / Broad-area lasers are edge-emitting semiconductor lasers with a wide lateral emission aperture that enables high output powers, but also diminishes the lateral beam quality and results in their inherently non-stationary behavior. Research in the area is driven by application and the main objective is to increase the brightness which includes both the output power and lateral beam quality. To understand the underlying spatio-temporal phenomena and to apply this knowledge in order to reduce costs for brightness optimization, a self-consistent simulation tool taking into account all essential processes is vital. Firstly, in this work a quasi-three-dimensional opto-electronic and thermal model is presented, that describes well essential qualitative characteristics of real devices. Time-dependent traveling-wave equations are utilized to describe the inherently non-stationary optical fields, which are coupled to dynamic rate equations for the excess carriers in the active region. This model is extended by an injection current density model to accurately include lateral current spreading and spatial hole burning. Furthermore a temperature model is presented that includes short-time local heating near the active region as well as the formation of a stationary temperature profile. Secondly, the reasons of brightness degradation, i.e. the origins of power saturation and the spatially modulated field profile are investigated and lastly, designs that mitigate those effects that limit the lateral brightness under pulsed and continuous-wave operation are discussed. Amongst those designs a novel “chessboard laser” is presented that utilizes longitudinal-lateral gain-loss modulation and an additional phase tailoring to obtain a very low far-field divergence.