Patent ID: 8064488

Claim:
A mid infrared laser system for ultrasonic testing composite material of a target, comprising: a laser ultrasonic unit having a generation laser source and a detection laser source mounted in the unit, the generation laser source comprising: an yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG) laser having an output beam with a wavelength of about 1 micron; a pump diode operatively coupled to the YAG laser; a first optical frequency converter operatively coupled to the YAG laser output beam and having an output beam, where the first optical frequency converter output beam has a wavelength of about 1.94 microns; a mid infrared emission head coupled to the first optical frequency converter output beam comprising a laser device and a second optical frequency converter, the laser device coupled to receive the first optical frequency converter output beam and having an output directed to the second optical frequency converter; an output generation beam from the second optical frequency converter comprising an idler beam having a wavelength of about 5.7 microns and a signal beam having a length of about 3.2 microns and directed at a target for creating ultrasonic thermo-elastic displacements in a surface of the target; and wherein the detection source generates a detection beam from the laser ultrasonic unit that is scattered upon contact with the displacements to form phase modulated light; and the system further comprises: collection optics that receives and processes the phase modulated light to provide data representative of the displacements.