Solid-state lasers emitting in the 1.5–1.6 μm spectral range are very promising for eye-safe laser range finding, ophthalmology, fiber-optic communication systems, and optical location. The aim of this work is the investigation of spectrosposcopic and laser properties of gain medium based on borate crystal for abovementioned lasers.

Spectroscopic and laser properties of Er,Yb:YAl3(BO3)4 crystals with different concentrations of dopants were investigated. Polarized absorption and emission cross-section spectra were determined. The ytterbium- erbium energy transfer efficiency was estimated. The maximal energy transfer efficiency up to 97 % was obtained for Er(4 at.%),Yb(11 at.%):YAl₃(BO₃)₄ crystal.

The laser operation of heavily doped crystals with erbium concentration up to 4 аt.% (2.2^1020 cm^3) was realized. By using of Er(2 at.%),Yb(11 at.%):YAl₃(BO₃)₄ crystal a maximal continuous- wave (CW) output power of 1.6 W was obtained at 1522 nm with slope efficiency of 32 %. By using of Er(4 at.%),Yb(11 at.%):YAl₃(BO₃)₄ crystal a maximal peak output power up to 2.2 W with slope efficiency of 40 % was realized in quasi-continuous-wave regime of operation. The spatial profile of the output beam was close to TEM₀₀ mode with M² < 1.2 during all laser experiments.

Based on the obtained results, it can be concluded that Er,Yb:YAl₃(BO₃)₄ crystals are promising active media for lasers emitting in the spectral range of 1.5-1.6 pm for the usage in laser rangefinder and laser- induced breakdown spectroscopy systems, and LIDARs.

Currently, along with growth in industrial production, the requirements for product quality testing are also increasing. In the tasks of defectoscopy and defectometry of multilayer materials, the use of thermal nondestructive testing method is promising. At the same time, interpretation of thermal testing data is complicated by a number of factors, which makes the use of traditional methods of data processing ineffective. Therefore, an urgent task is to search for new methods of thermal testing that will automate the diagnostic process and increase information content of obtained results. The purpose of article is to use the advances in deep learning for processing results of active thermal testing of products made of multilayer materials and development of an automated system for thermal defectoscopy and defectometry of such products. The proposed system consists of a heating source, an infrared camera for recording sequences of thermograms and a digital information processing unit. Three neural network modules are used for automated data processing, each of which performs one of the tasks: defects detection and classification, determination of the defect depth and thickness. The software algorithms and user interface for interacting with system are programmed in the NI LabVIEW development environment.

Experimental studies on samples made of multilayer fiberglass have shown a significant advantage of the developed system over using traditional methods for analyzing thermal testing data. The defect classification (determining the type) error on the test dataset was 15.7 %. Developed system ensured determination of defect depth with a relative error of 3.2 %, as well as the defect thickness with a relative error of 3.5 %.

One of the ways to solve multiple problems of optical diagnostics is to use photovoltaic converters based on semiconductors with intrinsic photoconductivity slightly doped with deep impurities which form several energy levels with different charge states within the semiconductor′s bandgap. Peculiarities of physical processes of recharging these levels make it possible to construct photodetectors with different functionality based on a range of simple device structures.

The aim of this work is to analyze peculiarities of conversion characteristics of single-element photovoltaic converters based on semiconductors with intrinsic photoconductivity, to systematize their properties and to represent structures of photovoltaic convertors as a device structures suitable for implementation in measurement transducers of optical diagnostics systems.

Based on the analysis of the characteristics of the conversion characteristics of single-element photovoltaic converters based on semiconductors with intrinsic photoconductivity and the requirements for their design, a dash series of photovoltaic converters was developed for use in the measuring transducers of optical diagnostics systems. The possibility of constructing functional measuring transducers for multiparameter measurements of optical signals is shown.

The development of novel methods, scientific devices and means for measuring magnetic fields generated by ultra-low current is among promising directions in the development of medical equipment and instruments for geodetic surveys and space exploration. The present work is to develop a small sensor capable of detecting weak magnetic fields, which sources are biocurrents, radiation of far space objects and slight fluctuations of the geomagnetic field. Scientists estimate the strength of such magnetic fields as deciles of nanotesla. 

The key requirements for the sensors of ultra-low magnetic field are: resolution, noise level in the measurement channel, temperature stability, linearity and repeatability of the characteristics from one produced item to another. The aforementioned characteristics can be achieved by using planar technologies and microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) in such advanced sensors.

The work describes a complete R&D cycle, from creating the computer model of the sensor under study to manufacturing of a working prototype. To assess the effect of the geometry and material properties, the Jiles–Atherton model is implemented which, unlike the majority of the models used, allows considering the non-linearity of the core, its hysteresis properties and influence of residual magnetization.

The dimensions of the developed sensor are 40×20×5 mm, while the technology allows its further diminishment. The sensor has demonstrated the linearity of its properties in the range of magnetic field strength from 0.1 nT to 50 µT for a rms current of excitation of 1.25 mA at a frequency of 30 kHz. The average sensitivity for the second harmonic is 54 µV/nT.

The improvement of efficiency, reliability and productivity of ultrasonic testing of objects with cohesion between materials connected by welding, soldering, gluing, etc. is 'an important problem of the modern production technologies. The purpose of the paper is to determine in 3D space the conditions for increasing the sensitivity and reliability of the flaw detection in the cohesion zone between materials when the form of defect interface can be different.

In the first part of the theoretical study the features of the formation of the acoustic fields of ultrasonic waves scattered from solid's interface when spot of an acoustic beam crosses the boundary of the defective region in the shape of an ellipse or a long strip have been investigated. In this case, the boundary conditions in the defect area change discretely or linearly.

It was suggested to use a phase shift between reflected waves from the defect and defect-free interfaces as the more informative parameter depending on the cohesion between materials. There is shown that there are conditions to achieve sufficiently high sensitivity detection of interface defects when the scattered waves receiving are to be at angles outside the main directivity lobe of the scattering field pattern. The evolution features of the scattering field structure which are needed for the development of the method of evaluation the cohesion of materials has been got.

The paper considers the operation of radioisotope measuring devices under dynamic conditions, when the Poisson pulse flux at the output of the radiation detector becomes unsteady and the nonlinearity of the calibration curve of the device, the stochasticity of the radiation signal and the inertia of the meter significantly complicate the task of estimating the measured physical parameter. of the device and analysis of the possibility of its application for linearization of the characteristics of the device, increasing the speed of the devices and solving the measuring problem in real time.

The process of nonlinear transformation of the radiation signal in the system is analyzed on the basis of the assumption about the exponential distribution of the intervals between the pulses of the information flow at the output of the radiation detector. A generalized algorithm for the synthesis of a given transformation function of a time-pulse computing device of a radioisotope device has been developed according to its mathematical description. To describe the transformation function given by a set of points, it is proposed to use its approximation by a power series.

The proposed calculation formulas are verified by modeling in the Scilab program on a specific example of linearization of the curve of a radioisotope altimeter with a given tabular calibration characteristic. The results obtained confirm the expediency of using time-pulse computing devices for linearizing the conversion curve of radioisotope devices in real time.

Carrying out calculations according to the proposed algorithms by means of modern microelectronics opens up new possibilities for expanding the field of application of radioisotope devices in dynamic problems of industrial flaw detection, measuring the parameters of object movement, thickness of rolled products and coatings, in devices for continuous monitoring of liquid media.

Improving the technology of diamond turning of aluminum alloys is of great importance for expanding the application areas of metal-optical products based on aluminum in aerospace technology. The aim of this work was to study the effect of surface inhomogeneities of the initial aluminum alloy substrates on their optical and mechanical characteristics and to determine ways of improving the quality of aluminum reflector mirrors manufactured using nanoscale single point diamond turning. 

The investigated reflector mirrors were made from AMg2 aluminum alloy. The optical surface treatment was carried out on a precision turning lathe with an air bearing spindle using a special diamond cutter with a blade radius of ≤ 0.05 μm. The analysis of the surface structure of the AMg2 alloy substrates was carried out by scanning electron microscopy / electron microprobe. The quality control of the surface treatment of the manufactured reflector mirrors was carried out by atomic force microscopy. The reflectivity and radiation resistance of these samples were also investigated.

It is shown that an important problem in the manufacture of optical elements from aluminum alloys is the inhomogeneity of the structure of the initial material, associated with the presence of intermetallic inclusions. Heat treatment of the AMg2 alloy substrates at T ≥ 380 °C makes it possible to improve the quality of surface and the radiation resistance of aluminum mirrors both by removing mechanical stresses and by partially homogenizing the starting material. The optimum is heat treatment at the maximum allowable temperature for the AMg2 alloy T = 540 ºС, as a result of which there is a complete disappearance of intermetallic inclusions with an increased magnesium content. The use of high-temperature heat treatment of AMg2 alloy substrates allows, in comparison with unannealed samples, to reduce the surface roughness from 1.5 to 0.55 nm, to increase the reflectivity of mirrors at a wavelength of 1064 nm from 0.89 to 0.92, and to increase the laser damage threshold from 3.5 to 5 J / cm².

The development of wave solid-state gyroscopes (VTG) is one of the promising areas of development of gyroscopic angular velocity sensors. VTG from the standpoint of manufacturing technology, tuning and control systems, as well as accuracy characteristics, has a number of advantages compared to other types of gyroscopes. When developing VTG, they strive to reduce the gyroscope's own care, zero signal bias, and the non-linearity of the scale factor in the operating temperature range However, when creating the device, due attention is often not paid to the existing opportunities to improve the dynamic accuracy of the gyroscope by developing promising structural solutions for building control circuits and information processing. The solution to this problem was the goal of the work.

Using the methods of the theory of automatic control, the dynamics of a wave solid-state gyroscope with a metal resonator and piezoelectric elements in the closed-loop mode of Сoriolis acceleration compensation are studied. Piezoelectric elements perform the functions of displacement and force sensors.

Two promising structural solutions for constructing VTG control and information processing circuits are proposed and considered. Relations are established for selecting the parameters of the links of these contours, which provide an increase in the dynamic accuracy of the gyroscope. In the first case, the proposed structure for constructing the VTG allows us to significantly reduce the dynamic errors caused by the difference in the scale coefficient of the VTG at different frequencies of the measured angular velocity in the bandwidth. Such a structure for constructing a VTG can be recommended when solving a measurement problem in which it is necessary to accurately measure the angular velocity, and the phase lag of the output signal in relation to the measured angular velocity is of secondary importance. In the second case, the proposed structure of the VTG construction corresponds to the transfer function of the relative measurement error with secondorder astatism, and the absolute measurement error in the frequency band of 10 Hz does not exceed 0.1 %.

Receiving modules of single-photon communication channels should provide the least loss of transmitted information when measuring low-power optical signals. In this regard, it is advisable to use photon counters. They are highly sensitive, but are characterized by data logging errors. Therefore, the purpose of this work was to investigate the effect of the intensity of the recorded optical radiation during the transmission of binary symbols «0» on the probability of erasing these symbols in a single-photon communication channel containing a photon counter based on an avalanche photodetector as a receiving module with a passive avalanche suppression scheme.

The lower and upper threshold levels of pulses recorded at the output of the photon counter, as well as the statistical distributions of the mixture of the number of dark and signal pulses at the output of the photon counter when registering binary symbols «0» P_st0( N ) and «1» P_st1( N ) were determined. For this, a technique was used to reduce information loss. As a result, the minimum probability of erasing binary symbols «0» P(–/0) was achieved.

The performed experimental results showed that to achieve the minimum probability of erasing binary symbols «0» P(–/0) = 0,11·10⁻², it is important to select not only the intensity of the used optical radiation J , but also the supply voltage of the avalanche photodetector U, at which the dead time of the photon counter is −2 minimal, and its quantum detection efficiency is maximum: J0 ≥ 98,94·10⁻² rel. units and U = 52,54 V.