Recent developments in dual-laser digital holography for plasma-facing surface characterization

A digital holography device is currently undergoing development at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory for the purpose of measuring surface topography, with the goal of deployment as a real-time plasma-facing component diagnostic for the study of materials that could be utilized in a nuclear fusion device. The holography system utilizes one or two lasers depending on the scale of surface features under measurement. Measurements of surface roughness were performed in a single-laser mode and compared with the data from profilometry, with a linear correlation of increased holographic measurement fidelity as surfaces became smoother. Characterization of the dual-laser operating mode has been performed via surface measurement of stainless steel targets with 'stair-step' features in various sizes. Results demonstrated that surface features with known sizes as small as 25.4 μ {m} could be resolved. Measurements were within \sim 55 μ {m} or less deviation from the actual sizes, and measurement accuracy was improved as feature size was increased, corresponding to the effect of noise becoming less pronounced. A target exposed to plasma generated by an electrothermal (ET) arc source was analyzed with flat-field correction and averaging of sequential image frames to demonstrate the improved measurement quality in preparation for future use of holography on ET arc-exposed targets.