Adventures In Engineering: Lasers And Mechatronics

Adventures in Engineering:Lasers and MechatronicsRobert Morris UniversityThe Penn State Electro-Optics Center15 November 2014Westinghouse Science Honors InstitutePresented by:Benjamin Campbell, Ph.D.A portion of this material is based upon work supported by the Office of Naval Research; contract number N00014-05-D-0275Delivery Order 0010. Any opinions, findings and conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this material are those of theauthor(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Office of Naval Research

Lasers and MechatronicsEducational BackgroundPenn State1998 - 2003B.S. Physics, Electronics OptionMinor: MathematicsMinor: BusinessMinor: Astronomy and AstrophysicsM.S. Electrical EngineeringRobert Morris UniversityEngineering Ph.D.2005 - 2008

Lasers and MechatronicsWhat is aLaser?

How Do Lasers Work?Lasers and MechatronicsLight Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation Assume that all the atoms start outfrom the ground state. Then most of them are pumped up to ahigher energy level E3. They quickly fall from the short-livedlevel E3 to the metastable upper levelE2, which has a much longer lifetime(typically thousands of times longer).A model of a three-level laser The result is the population inversionbetween energy level E2 anddepopulated level E1, which are thelaser transition levels.

Lasers and MechatronicsHow Do Lasers Work?Pumping for a Population InversionPumping is the process ofdelivering energy to thelasing material to create apopulation inversion. Themost common forms ofenergy delivery are: Electricity Light

Lasers and MechatronicsLaser Light is: Coherent. Different parts of the laser beam are related to each otherin phase. These phase relationships are maintained over long enough time sothat interference effects may be seen or recorded photographically. Thiscoherence property is what makes holograms possible.1. Spatial Coherence2. Temporal Coherence Monochromatic. Laser light consists of essentially onewavelength, having its origin in stimulated emission from one set of atomicenergy levels. Typically Highly Collimated. Because of bouncingback between mirrored ends of a laser cavity, those paths which sustainamplification must pass between the mirrors many times and be very nearlyperpendicular to the mirrors. As a result, laser beams are very narrow and do notspread very much.

Lasers and MechatronicsThe Inner Workings of a Laser PointerThe typical output poweris less than 1 mW

Lasers and MechatronicsUltrashort Pulse DrillingMaterial is ablated by squeezing energy into an ultrashort timespan to superheat and liberate the surface material before heattransfer negatively affects the surrounding material

Lasers and MechatronicsHow Short is 9pico-10-12femto-10-15atto-10-18One attosecond (onebillionth of a billionth ofa second) is theapproximate time that ittakes light to travel thediameter of an atomIn 200 femtoseconds,light can barely travelthe thickness of a strandof hair (60 micrometers)

Lasers and MechatronicsPower (Energy)/(Time Duration)1 Watt (1 Joule)/( 1 Second)A laser pointer is a Continuous Wave (CW) laser.If it has an output of 1milliWattfor 1 second, the energy is 1milliJoule.For example, we will use 0.242 milliJoulesIf we compress that energy into a pulse that is 200femtoseconds we get a laser pointer with a power of.

Lasers and Mechatronics1.21 GigaWatts!

Lasers and MechatronicsUltra-Short Pulse Laser MachiningImproved Performance and Lower Pollution5-ton diesel truckBenefitsPrecise machining with negligible heataffectsHigher reliability and improvedperformanceLower pollutionFemtosecond laser-drilled holes.Improved Fuel Injection

Lasers and MechatronicsFun with Lasers (Courtesy of Ben Hall at PSU’s ARL)Laser Bending Videohttp://youtu.be/HUM1tAszhjQAnd some laser music!http://youtu.be/9hUHD9EGMQE

Lasers and MechatronicsLaser Writing Inside Materials Unfocused lasers can betransmitted throughtransparent materials If the laser is focused, itwill only interact with thematerial over a fluencethreshold (high energydensity) The material will bedamaged at the focus withthe highest fluence. Moving the focus withinthe material will shape thedamage zone.

Lasers and MechatronicsHow Small Can We Laser Etch?The Gettysburg Address etched on a Lincoln PennyThe Gettysburg Addresscontains 267 words (1189characters) and is compressedinto an area measuring lessthan 4mm (3/16 inch) by 6mm(1/4 inch). The height of eachletter is 1/10 of a millimeter tall(four-thousandths of an inch),

Lasers and MechatronicsLaser micromachining theDeclaration of Independenceon a Jefferson nickelThe Declarationof Independence contains:6,716 Characters1,327 WordsThe program to etchthe nickel was:4,427 pages in size 10 font252,298 lines of code.Still enough room left to add the signaturesof the founding fathers below the text.

Lasers and MechatronicsSchool of EngineeringMathematicsand Science at RMU Private School with small class sizes (typically 20 or less) Engineering degrees with concentrations in Mechanical,Biomedical, Software and Industrial Engineering,Masters in Engineering Management Science/Math Majors in Biology, EnvironmentalScience, Mathematics and Actuarial Science Planning on Launching a Mechatronics Minor in 2014 Minor in Alternative Energy and Sustainability

Lasers and MechatronicsMechatronics Mechatronics is a new term that covers threeareas of engineering:– Mechanical Engineering– Software Engineering– Electrical Engineering Multidisciplinaryapproach to robotics andautomation

Lasers and MechatronicsNeural Interface

Lasers and MechatronicsNeural Interface

Lasers and MechatronicsNeural Interface Exploring mental controlof more advanceddevices Using Arduino controllerto read signals from EEGheadsets and triggerother devices Exploring control of LegoMindstorm based robotsvia Bluetooth

Lasers and MechatronicsArtificial Finger ProjectWhat is the Problem?- Prosthetic hands cannot operate touch screens- Most gloves inhibit touch screen use- Many different types of touchscreens are madeEngineering Investigation- What types of touchscreens can we identify- Test common materials on each- Design new materials to be universal activator

Lasers and MechatronicsArtificial Finger ProjectBuilding prototypes to effect capacitance fieldsthrough insulating material.Student designed app for testing accuracy oftouching targets. Comparing: Normal fingersFinger with Band-aidGlove with conductive fingertipStylusPrototype prostheses

Lasers and MechatronicsDesigning a Low-Cost Otoscope forDeveloping Countries Using a Nontraditional Power SourceSarah Robb, Derrick Wells, Josh Leipheimer,Nicole Stone, & Devon CesarioFaculty Advisors:Dr. Ben CampbellDr. Won Joo

Lasers and MechatronicsEngineering World Health (EWH)EWH is a dynamic global organization servingengineering students, healthcare professionalscommunities around the world and, most importantly,patients in need. Training Programs Student Chapters– Kit Building– Summer Institute– Design Competition

Lasers and MechatronicsEngineering World Health:Projects that Matter

Lasers and MechatronicsBME Device: Otoscopes Magnifies and illuminates Used to diagnose and viewdisorders of the – Ear– Eyes– Throat– Nose

Lasers and MechatronicsSpecific Need/Potential MarketIn many developing countries Electricity is unavailable/unreliable Healthcare is inaccessible/unavailable/expensiveAfrica (1 billion) 2.3 healthcare professionals per 1,000 peopleUS (314 million) 24 healthcare professionals per 1,000 people

Lasers and MechatronicsInspiration

Lasers and MechatronicsCircuit

Lasers and MechatronicsPrototype

Lasers and MechatronicsComparison to Commercial Products

Lasers and MechatronicsRMU Summer Camps Electro-Optics Summer Camp Animatronics Summer Camp Zombie Apocalypse Summer Camp

Lasers and MechatronicsRMU Research RMU Engineering Learning Factory

Lasers and MechatronicsThe Learning Factoryhttp://youtu.be/k92vlAvnFz0

Lasers and MechatronicsPGSS at Carnegie MellonThe Pennsylvania Governor’s School for the Sciences www.pgss.mcs.cmu.edu5 week intensive residential summer programStudy advanced topics in Biology, Chemistry, ComputerScience, Mathematics and PhysicsChoose from electives and a lab in those subjectsComplete an original research project in a teamFree program for rising seniors, applications due Jan 31thof Junior year (no late applications accepted)

Lasers and te:https://sites.google.com/a/rmu.edu/campbellb/

Lasers and Mechatronics Laser Light is: Coherent. Different parts of the laser beam are related to each other in phase. These phase relationships are maintained over long enough time so