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Laser Spark Ignition: Laser Development and Engine Testing

Conference Paper · January 2004

DOI: 10.1115/ICEF2004-0917

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LASER SPARK IGNITION: LASER DEVELOPMENT AND ENGINE TESTING
Michael H. McMillian, Steven D. Woodruff, Steven W. Richardson and Dustin L. McIntyre
U.S. Dept. of Energy National Energy Technology Laboratory
ABSTRACT
Evermore demanding market and legislative pressures require
stationary lean-burn natural gas engines to operate at higher
efficiencies and reduced levels of emissions. Higher in-
cylinder pressures and leaner air/fuel ratios are required in
order to meet these demands. Contemporary ignition systems,
more specifically spark plug performance and durability, suffer
as a result of the increase in spark energy required to maintain
suitable engine operation under these conditions. This paper
presents a discussion of the need for an improved ignition
source for advanced stationary natural gas engines and
introduces laser spark ignition as a potential solution to that
need. Recent laser spark ignition engine testing with natural
gas fuel including NOx mapping is discussed. A prototype
laser system is constructed and tested and the results are
discussed and solutions provided for improving the laser
system output pulse energy and pulse characteristics.
INTRODUCTION
Advancing the state of the art of ignition systems for lean-burn
stationary natural gas fueled engines is critical to meeting
increased performance requirements. Severely reduced spark
plug performance and durability is an unfortunate consequence
as engines are simultaneously being pushed to higher power
densities and leaner stoichiometry in order to improve
efficiency. High turbo charger boost is used to increase in-
cylinder pressure at time of combustion which offsets power
density losses due to leaner operation. Fuel lean and high
pressure conditions require significant increases in ignition
energy to ignite these mixtures when using conventional spark
plug technology. Providing the necessary spark energy to
operate these engines significantly reduces the service life of
Proceedings of ASME ICE Division
2004 Fall Technical Conference
Long Beach, CA, USA
October 24-27, 2004
ICEF2004-917
present-day spark plugs. The lack of durable spark plugs is a
limiting factor in the further development of high efficiency
lean burn natural gas reciprocating engines.
Investigating laser spark ignition as an alternative ignition
source is justified due to the potential to improve ignition
system durability and possibly to improve engine performance.
NETL is currently working to compare a laser spark ignition
system with conventional spark ignition systems in a single
cylinder natural gas fueled engine as well as bench scale studies
into some fundamental issues surrounding the laser spark
phenomena. In conjunction with studies of the ignition and
combustion in engines using laser spark, NETL is developing a
prototype low-cost laser spark ignition system. This paper
briefly discusses our progress to date in regards to engine
testing and laser system development. Comparisons of
combustion and emission parameters between conventional
spark ignition and laser spark ignition are provided and include
constant fueling knock, misfire, thermal efficiency, and NOx
emissions mapping of a single cylinder lean burn natural gas
engine.
BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION FOR LASER
SPARK IGNITION (LSI)
Fuel-lean combustion in natural gas engines is desirable in that
it yields lower combustion temperatures which lead to lower
NOx emissions, and higher thermal efficiency due to lower heat
losses and higher compression efficiency due to higher gamma
(γ = cp/cv). However, there are several aspects of spark-ignited
lean burn engines that result in ignition and combustion
challenges. Lean mixtures of natural gas and air are relatively
difficult to ignite with the required minimum ignition energy
1 Copyright © #### by ASME
increasing asymptotically near both the rich and lean ignition
limits. This is demonstrated by Figure 1in which the minimum
ignition energy (MIE) of methane-air and hydrogen-air
mixtures were investigated using the spark created from
breakdown of a 5 ns pulse neodymium yttrium alumina garnet
(Nd:YAG) laser at 1.064 μm [1]. Further, the qualitative shape
of the data is identical to that of the theoretical laminar flame
speed [2]. The literature almost exclusively reports ignition in
terms of the minimum required energy, however, it is also
suspected that MIE is a convoluted effect of both energy and
spark volume [3]. With conventional spark plugs, spark
volume is mostly dependent on both the spark gap and by the
spark energy but is generally limited by the spark gap.
Figure 1. Ignition energy required for methane-air mixtures at 1
atm pressure as a function of methane volume fraction.
Lean-burn engine efficiency also benefits from increased power
density due to a greater specific power/heat loss ratio.
However, the resulting increase in in-cylinder pressure at the
time of ignition impedes the quality of the electric spark
discharge from conventional spark plug based ignition systems.
The potential for further efficiency gains are through even
higher in-cylinder pressure exist if ignition system lifetime
constraints can be overcome. In 1889, Friedrich Pashchen
published a paper [4] which describes what is now known as
Paschen's Law. The law essentially states that the breakdown
characteristics of a gap at constant temperature are a function of
the product of the gas pressure and the spark gap. This is
demonstrated in Figure 2 which graphs theoretical required
breakdown voltage for a uniform electric field as a function of
pressure for three spark gaps. As can be seen, the required
breakdown voltage increases dramatically with both pressure
and spark gap. This assumes a uniform electric field, as would
be present in the gap of two infinitely parallel plates.
Geometries that feature pointed edges would allow lower
breakdown voltages but such geometries would also be fraught
with additional gap distance wear rates. The pressure in
Paschen’s Law could be replaced by the gas density to include
temperature effects as it is essentially the mean free path of
impact electron ionizations in the electron avalanche process
(once initial triggering ionization has occurred) that controls the
breakdown process. In conventional spark systems, initial ions
required for this process are provided by surface electrons
(surface charge density) at the cathode. Electrons leaving the
cathode and colliding with gas molecules in the gap initiate and
sustain the spark. Reciprocating engines which employ
increased power density for both efficiency and cost
improvement have elevated in-cylinder pressures at the time of
ignition thus requiring higher breakdown voltages which results
in increased spark plug wear. Decreasing the spark gap to
accommodate increased pressures decreases the spark size
which detrimentally affects ignitability. Stationary gas engine
mean effective pressures (MEP) have increased significantly
and are expected to increase further in order to achieve desired
efficiencies. Spark plug manufacturers have had to utilize
expensive precious metals as both cathode and anode materials.
This, along with additional required voltage, increases installed
cost and exacerbates wear thus demanding shorter maintenance
and replacement intervals.
80000
70000
Breakdown Voltage (Vb) (0.4mm)
60000 Breakdown Voltage (Vb) (0.8mm)
Voltage Breakdown (V)
Breakdown Voltage (Vb) (0.2mm)
50000
40000
30000
20000
10000
0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Pressure (atm)
Figure 2. Paschen’s Law – Breakdown Voltage in Air
(Tungsten Electrode) as a Function of Pressure for 0.2mm,
0.4mm and 0.8mm spark gaps.
In laser induced breakdown in gases, the breakdown process is
very different. In the case of very low pressure, (p < 4 atm
which are lower than typical reciprocating engine pressures)
initial electrons are provided by multi-photon ionization. In
this process a given gas molecule, such as methane (ionization
potential of 12.51 eV), must absorb approximately 13 photons
from a Nd:YAG (photon energy 1.0 eV @1.064 μm) or 130
photons from a CO2 laser (photon energy 0.1 eV @ 10 μm).
This process is clearly photon energy dependent favoring
shorter wavelengths [5,6,7]. At higher pressures encountered in
engine cylinders in which homogeneously nucleated carbon and
hydrocarbons are present, this process is likely dominated by
thermal ionization due to heating of impurities. In essence,
impurities are heated to the extent that free electrons are
generated at the surface or generated via heat transfer in the
surrounding gases [6,7]. Once the initial electron pool is
generated, the driving mechanism for electron avalanche is the
inverse bremsstrahlung process in which electrons absorb
radiative energy [5]. This process is directly proportional to the
probability of electron-photon interactions and therefore
proportional to gas density and hence pressure. This is
demonstrated in Figure 3 which shows breakdown energy
proportional to p-n for air [5]. Other common gases present in
2 Copyright © #### by ASME
engine combustion chambers have similar pressure dependence
but differ slightly regarding the required breakdown intensity.
Figure 3. Breakdown thresholds in air for Nd:YAG laser at
532nm and 1064nm and 5.5 ns pulse.
From this simple analysis, providing the necessary ignition
energy to ignite low emission ultra-lean burn natural gas
engines or highly efficient (high BMEP) engines severely
impacts spark plug life and creates a significant operating cost
to the user. The lack of spark plugs with the required durability
is quickly becoming the limiting factor for their development.
Laser radiation does not suffer from the same constraints as
conventional spark systems and in fact benefits from higher
pressure levels. The investigation of laser ignition’s feasibility
and performance is warranted by the potential to improve
ignition system durability as well as its potential to improve
engine combustion and emission performance. Recent engine
testing with laser spark ignition has demonstrated the potential
for extension of the lean misfire limit and subsequent reduction
in emission levels [8]. This potential may be due to many
convoluted effects and requires further investigation.
In contrast to conventional spark plug ignition, the point of
ignition (spark) from a laser can be positioned at a considerable
distance from potential heat sinks thus eliminating problems
involving flame kernel heat transfer quenching common in
spark plugs. High peak power laser pulses can be focused to a
point to create strong sparks with high surface area. Laser-
induced sparks can create instantaneous temperatures and
pressures approaching 106 K and 103 atm, respectively with a
sudden release of large quantities of reactive and excited
chemical species [5]. These extreme local conditions relative
to the surrounding gas give rise to rapid, supersonic expansion
and dissipation of energy in the form of heat thus providing for
hydrocarbon bond breaking and radical species production [6].
In this discussion we have provided a justification for
consideration of laser spark ignition as a next generation
ignition system for lean-burn engine technology. It must be
noted that other highly competitive (some in commercial use)
ignition systems deserve high merit or consideration. These
approaches include micropilot ignition, prechamber ignition,
plasma igniters and railplugs, corona discharge etc. They all
have their own merits and demerits and a discussion of the
myriad of conventional and non-conventional ignition systems
is beyond the scope of this paper.
Past theoretical studies of laser ignition have lead to the
statistical development and comparison of ignition delay and
ignition probability models to experimental observations
allowing the direct correlation of gas (usually methane)
concentration to ignitability and ignition delay [9,10].
Theoretical analysis has also led to the development of shock
wave heating models, which aid in the explanation of the
propagation of hot expanding gas, produced by the laser spark,
that perpetuates the combustion process [7,9,10,11]. Further
theoretical examinations and the availability of experimental
data have allowed researchers to develop more precise
estimations of the minimum required laser induced breakdown
energy required for ignition of combustible gases [5,6,11,12] as
well as focal length effects [6].
The method by which the laser induces breakdown in a
combustible gaseous mixture has been divided into four basic
processes: thermal heating, nonresonant breakdown, resonant
breakdown and photochemical excitation [12]. Thermal heating
takes place when the laser beam is incident on a solid target and
induces excitation by heating the target or by exciting a
rotational or vibrational modes of oscillation in the surrounding
gas [12,13,14]. Resonant breakdown occurs when the incident
radiation ionizes the gas molecules and frees up electrons to
absorb the radiation energy and in turn ionize other gas
molecules leading to an avalanche breakdown [12].
Photochemical ignition occurs when a single photon dissociates
a molecule thus allowing the ionized constituents to react with
the surrounding gases [12,15,16]. Non-resonant breakdown
occurs when laser light is focused into a gas and the electrical
field component of the light is strong enough to initiate the
electrical breakdown of the gas [10,12]. The non-resonant
breakdown mechanism as well as thermal heating are the
predominant factor governing the results presented in this work.
Experimental studies have been vital to extending the value of
the theoretical examinations and in gaining a further
understanding of the combustion process. Combustion vessel
[5,9,11,13,14,16-25] and open flame jet [10,15,26]
experimentation with methane (CH4) and other combustible
gases have proven invaluable in the search for better fuel
economy and emissions and provide a better understanding of
the general ignition and combustion processes. Results of the
laser spark combustion vessel studies has indicated a shortened
ignition delay [5,7,9,13,14] and higher peak pressures [5,13,27]
than an electrical spark ignited combustion event. Some
studies investigated the ignition energy effect on the
combustion process and found that for stoichiometric
conditions the amount of energy had only a slight pressure
dependence [5,6,9,19,20], however more energy was required
for breakdown as the equivalence ratio approached either lean
or rich conditions [6,11,20]. Other studies have examined
multi-point laser ignition as a means of gaining quicker
combustion which allows for higher thermal efficiency due to
reduced time for thermal losses during the combustion event
and overall shorter travel distances for the flames [14,17]. The
most promising result of the combustion vessel examination of
laser ignition is the ability of the optical energy to ignite and
3 Copyright © #### by ASME
more readily burn lean mixtures [7,13,16,19,22,27]. This offers
the potential for extending the lean limit in spark ignited
engines which is, in part, the purpose of the present study.
Laser ignition studies performed on internal combustion
engines have allowed researchers to directly study the effect
that laser induced ignition has on the operating and emissions
characteristics of an operating engine. Past and recent studies
have indicated a higher and quicker combustion pressure rise
with laser ignition [9,28,29]. The experimentation performed
by Dale et al., used a gasoline-fueled stoichiometric operating
internal combustion engine for testing [27]. The research
performed by Ma et al., involved a motored slider crank
mechanism that was not self sustaining [7]. To date, prior work
at NETL and in Austria represent the only natural gas-fueled
lean-burn engine studies [28,29].
Laser spark minimum ignition energies reported thus far
show several features. The laser ignition energy depends on
the focal spot volume and pressure. Longer focal length lens
and lower pressure tend to require higher ignition spark
energy. The effect of the pressure is due to the decreased
collisional frequency and number density of the fuel
molecules in the ignition volume. Generally the ignition
energies are similar to the minimum ignition energies
measured using electric spark in the far-lean and far-rich
regions. However, in the stoichiometric or near-
stoichiometric region, the ignition energy values are
consistently slightly higher than the minimum ignition energy
using electric spark ignition [30].
Still there are many unresolved barriers to implementation of
cost effective laser spark ignition technology. Recently, the
Advanced Reciprocating Engine Consortium (ARES)
manufacturers released a system requirements document that
requires a 6,000 hr mean time between failures (MTBF) to be
competitive with conventional spark systems. Laser costs are
continuing to plummet. Low-cost, durable diode pumped
solid-state lasers hold promise for removal of barriers to laser
ignition technology. The most pressing technological barrier
is the need for a robust method for delivery of high peak
power laser energy into the engine cylinder.
Recent engine testing using laser ignition directed by an open
beam path is reported in this paper. An open beam path is,
however, unsuitable for commercial engine applications due to
safety and durability issues. It is, however, a convenient
interim method for engine testing. Introducing laser energy via
optical fibers represents a highly desirable approach to secure,
safe and potentially effective laser energy delivery although
this method is not without its problems The peak power density
levels required to create a spark in gas phase media is greater
than current optical fiber transmission power limits which is on
the order of 1-3 Gw/cm2. While a few tens of millijoules of
laser power in a 10 nanosecond pulse can be transmitted in a
large diameter fiber, i.e. >800 micrometers, it is difficult to
reduce the image of the end of the fiber to 50 micrometers or
less to generate the peak power density needed to create the
spark. Power levels of >1012 watts per cm2 are required to
generate a spark in air [5]. A 10 millijoule, 10 nanosecond
pulse would have to be focused to a 11 micrometer diameter
spot to generate 1012 watts per cm2. The optics required to
demagnify an 800 micrometer (a typical fiber diameter) spot to
11 micrometers (-80X) would yield a very short fast final lens
with an impractically short focal length. Using a slow optical
fiber with a numerical aperture (na) of ~.22 and a 100
micrometer diameter fiber, it would be possible to use a 25 mm
diameter, 23 mm focal length lens positioned 250 mm from the
fiber to give a spot size of 10 micrometers 25 mm away from
the lens. However, the energy density in the fiber would be
1.3x1010 watt cm-2, still approximately an order of magnitude
greater than the damage thresholds for currently available
common mode fibers. Even with these challenges, significant
recent progress at Colorado State University [31] and at
Argonne National Laboratory [32] has been made with novel
fibers and focusing technology.
Other approaches to laser energy distribution and delivery are
being developed at the National Energy Technology
Laboratory (NETL). One such approach has focused on
research and development of a small, low cost diode pumped
laser system that could be distributed at each engine cylinder.
Laser technology exists that will satisfy the needs of the laser
ignition system however current high power systems are too
large, too expensive and employ potentially dangerous high
voltage circuitry. Costs for currently available small, diode
pumped solid-state laser systems that produce the peak power
required for laser sparks (>1012 Watts/cm2) are excessive
(>$100,000). Further, current laser systems are generally
designed for laboratory use and greatly exceed performance
and/or volumetric limitations. Developing a dedicated laser
system will enable the establishment of the pertinent operation
geometry, materials, and parameters required for the future
commercial embodiment of a laser spark ignition system.
The current developmental approach for the advanced laser
ignition system is to use existing technology to develop a
miniaturized laser system on the same geometric order of
existing spark plugs. Such a system will be designed to
produce sufficient energy to induce a laser spark once focused.
The system must also be designed to operate at a repetition rate
of greater than fifteen hertz and be able to withstand the
thermal and shock loadings encountered on an engine.
Engine Testing
As early as 1978, laser spark ignition was demonstrated as a
technologically viable means of engine operation [27].
However since that time limitations associated with the cost
and size of the required laser hardware have not allowed for
any practical application a of laser spark ignition system on an
operating engine. Further limiting the need to develop a laser
spark system has been the availability of inductive coil and
capacitive discharge ignition systems that performed
sufficiently well. As noted earlier, market and regulatory
conditions are now demanding that stationary gaseous fuel
engines be simultaneously operated at high specific power, high
efficiency, and low emissions. These demands have led to high
density, fuel lean in-cylinder combustion conditions which
require elevated spark voltage to ignite the mixtures with
conventional spark plug systems. This increase in spark
4 Copyright © #### by ASME
voltage represents a significant decrease in maintenance
intervals and increase in spark plug cost [33]. In order to
realize additional efficiency and emissions potential current
ignition technology limitations will have to be overcome.

Recently laser spark ignition’s potential as an improved

ignition source for stationary lean burn gaseous fueled engines
has been demonstrated [29, 34]. Kopecek, et al successfully
operated a natural gas engine for 100 hours with an air/fuel
equivalence ratio of λ = 1.8 utilizing laser spark ignition and
other conditions equivalent to spark-ignited operation [29]. No
ignition related problems were reported during the testing
interval. In later work, Kopecek explored the use of a laser
induced spark as a means of combustion timing control for
HCCI applications. He successfully demonstrated laser
stimulated engine operation was much more tolerant of inlet air
temperature changes and that combustion advance was strongly
effected by the laser stimulation with excess air ratios as high
as λ = 2.7 [35]. McMillian, et al have evaluated the knock,
misfire, and emissions characteristics of a single cylinder lean
burn engine utilizing laser spark ignition [8,28,32]. In these Figure 4. 14 mm Side Gap Spark Plug
series of test a single cylinder engine was operated on natural
gas in a lean burn mode. Tests are conducted using an open
beam path laser spark ignition system and a conventional spark
plug based system for contrast. A 14 mm side-gap type spark
plug was used for the conventional spark plug testing. The
energy delivered to the spark plug was measured to be
approximately 68 millijoules per spark with spark duration of
7-8 milliseconds. Energy losses, radiative and to the
electrodes, were unknown. Laser spark tests were performed
with a 1064 nm Nd:YAG laser at energy levels that resulted in
approximately 50 millijoules per spark delivered over
approximately 5 nanoseconds. A photograph of the side gap
spark plug can be found in Figure 4. Photographs of the of laser
spark plug with engine adaptor and laser spark plug can be
found in Figures 5 and 6. The results of this work concluded
that the misfire limit of the engine was significantly extended
for laser ignition. The engine knock limit exhibited a slight
decrease due to laser ignition. This was attributed to small Figure 5. Engine Adaptor and Laser Spark Plug
differences in combustion phasing and remaining differences in
start of combustion as ignition delay was significantly shorter
in the laser spark system. Ignition delay was shorter for laser
ignition resulting in a 1-2oCA advance in SOC, at equal spark
timing, over the conventional spark plug system. Burn duration
was slightly longer for laser spark combustion. The resultant
phasing differences are likely manifested in the slight decrease
indicated in the brake thermal efficiency values for laser
ignition. The laser-spark ignition system increased the total
operating envelope of the engine, defined as the area between
the knock and misfire thresholds, by 46% when compared to
the conventional ignition system. The laser spark system was
able to achieve NOx emissions at half the minimum level of the
spark plug system, 25ppm corrected to 15% O2 vs. 50 ppm
corrected to 15% O2, at the same level of thermal efficiency. A
summary of these results can be seen in Figure 7. Finally,
hydrocarbon emissions were comparable for the laser spark and
conventional spark plug ignition systems.
Figure 6. Laser Plug Lens and Pressure Barrier Assembly

5 Copyright © #### by ASME

 0.75
= 33 degrees btdc, (2 sided s.d. error bars)(t-test indicates
significance only of 2<1,3,4)
Phi for 5% COV IMEP- Laser
Phi for 5% COV IMEP- Spark Plug
Phi at Knock-Laser
Laser Ignition System Development
0.70
Phi at Knock- Spark Plug
Equivalence Ratio (Phi)

Phi for 25 ppm- Laser

0.65
0.60
0.55
0.50
18 20 22 24 26 28 30
Spark Timing (Degrees BTDC)
Figure 7. Misfire, Knock, and Constant NOx Lines for Laser
and Conventional Spark Ignition Systems (1800 rpm, constant
natural gas fueling rate of 1.82 g/s, ~12 bar BMEP, inlet air
temperature 40oC, oil temperature 80oC, coolant temperature
80oC, misfire threshold 5% IMEP COV)
Two types of conventional spark plugs were considered for the
aforementioned testing, side-gap plug and J-gap plug. The
side-gap plug style was chosen over the standard J-Gap plug for
the testing due to slight perceived advantages in start up and
cyclic variability performance. The two types of conventional
plugs were later tested to elucidate any performance
differences. Both plug types were tested at different orthogonal
orientations in the engine at a constant equivalence ratio,
fueling rate, and spark timing that resulted in engine conditions
that were near misfire. Each plug orientation was repeated
three times and the percent indicated mean effective pressure
coefficient of variation (% IMEP COV) recorded as the
performance measure. Statistical t-tests indicated no difference
in performance was realizable using the side-gap plug over the
J-gap plug. There was however a statistical difference between
one of the plug orientations for the J-gap plug and its other
orientations. The results of this testing is summarized in Figure
8, note the plug position and orientation is shown relative to the
engine’s inlet and exhaust valves.
6 J-gap Orientation
5 Side-gap
4 Orientation #6
IMEP COV (%)
Phi for 50 ppm- Spark Plug
Research efforts to this point have focused on the effects of
38.1% thermal efficiency-Laser laser ignition on the combustion and emissions of the engine.
38.1% thermal efficiency-Spark Plug
Ignition system development has been limited to the actual
igniter or laser spark plug. The ignition system itself will
ultimately be comprised of an optical and/or electrical
distribution system that will deliver the required optical and/or
electrical signals required to operate the laser spark plug. The
optical delivery regime will deliver low peak power laser
pumping energy via fiber optics to end pump a laser cavity
located at or near the ignition site. The electrical delivery
32 34 36 38 regime will deliver high power electrical pulses to side
pumping laser diodes mounted around the laser media located
at or near the ignition site. However the laser spark plug is the
current research focus. Some background and status are
provided below.
The traditional laser, or continuous wave laser, is constructed
by placing a laser gain medium inside an optical cavity
resonator. The resonator consists of a high reflector (HR)
mirror and an output coupler (OC) or partially reflective mirror
as shown in Figure 9.
OC HR
50 Watt LD Pumps
Laser Rod
50 Watt LD Pumps
Figure 9: Continuous wave (CW) laser schematic
The laser medium, Nd:YAG, is then optically pumped, in this
case by six 50 Watt continuous wave (CW) laser diodes tuned
to 808nm. Other pumping mechanisms are available and
J-gap, Orientation widely used but they all suffer from poor efficiency as
#1
J-gap Orientation compared to the laser diode pumping. As efficiency and size
#2
will drive the cost, less efficient and robust pumping schemes,
#3
J-gap Orientation such as flashlamp pumping, are impractical. The optical pump
#4
energy acts to excite specific atoms doped into the laser
Orientation #5
Side-gap medium; in this case Neodymium is the active atomic dopant
within the Nd:YAG laser material. As the Neodymium atoms

are excited into higher atomic states they store optical energy
3
Inlet fora short time (fluorescence lifetime <10 nanoseconds).
I t k Inlet Inlet Inlet Inlet
2
Inlet During this time a significant number of neodymium atoms
Ex
decay to another longer lived (230 microseconds) excited
1 Ex Ex Ex Ex Ex energy state. The longer lived excited states then begin to
#1
#2 #3 #4 #5
#5
#6 decay to a lower energy state emitting photons. If a photon of
0 this second or lasing wavelength interacts with another
1

Plug Type
similarly excited Neodymium atom, it induces stimulated
emission, which produces a photon of the same wavelength that
Figure 8. IMEP COV (%) for J-gap and Side-Gap Plugs at Ave. travels in the same direction and with the same phase as the
Equivalence Ratio =0.55, Fueling = 1.69 g/s NG, Spark Timing initial photon. The cavity mirrors act to reflect the lasing
photons back and forth through the medium where they induce

6 Copyright © #### by ASME

more and more stimulated emissions. A threshold is reached as
the number of photons reflecting between the cavity mirrors OC HR
50 Watt LD Pumps
grows. The output coupler acts to release a portion of the
lasing photons within the cavity to produce an output beam that
consists of coherent, single frequency, low divergent photons.
A laser of this geometry will operate at a steady state output as Laser Rod
long as the pump energy is applied.

Laser systems that use flash lamp pump sources typically

operate in the region of 1-3% efficiency. Compared to
flashlamp pumping, laser diodes have demonstrated a dramatic
improvement in pumping efficiency by exciting directly into an
absorption band.
Figure 10 shows typical efficiency ranges for pulsed pump
operation of the laser currently under development. The laser
was pumped with 1 to 5 millisecond diode laser pulses at 5 Hz.
The repetition rate was limited to 5 Hz because the laser rod
was not being actively cooled. In this arrangement, five
different output coupler reflectivity’s were tested as a function
of input power. The highest efficiency achieved in this test was
approximately 18.9%.
20.0
18.0
16.0
Efficiency ((Eo/Ei)*100)
50 Watt LD Pumps
PQSW
Figure 11: Q-switched laser schematic.
The PQSW acts to stop the laser cavity from producing an
output at the initial stages of pumping. If the laser is allowed to
produce output, as described in the case of the CW setup, the
overall number of excited states is greatly reduced and limited.
The Q-switch restricts large scale laser action until the number
of excited states builds to orders of magnitude larger than the
number before threshold in a typical CW laser system. At a
predetermined time the shutter or Q-switch is opened to
complete the cavity allowing laser action to deplete the excited
states. The energy available from nearly the entire population
of excited states become part of the laser output pulse within a

14.0 few nanoseconds.

12.0
This type of laser output does not typically produce the large
10.0
average output power like that of the CW laser system.
8.0 However the pulse energy produced is dumped from the cavity
6.0 90% OC in a single pulse or packet of energy within 5-20 nanoseconds.
80% OC This mode of operation can produce the peak power that is
4.0 70% OC
60% OC
required for spark breakdown. For instance, if a 15 mJ pulse
2.0
50% OC with a 7.5 ns width is produced, the peak power would be
0.0 approximately 2 MW. A laser beam of this magnitude could
240 260 280 300 320 340 360 easily be focused to induce spark breakdown. Development of a
Input Power (Watts)
compact, low-cost laser system that will produce 15-20 mJ
Figure 10: Continuous wave diode pumped laser experimental pulse energies with pulse widths on the order of 5-10
output efficiency results. nanoseconds is required for successful implementation of laser
ignition system.
The pulse-driven diode pumped CW laser produces a low peak
power pulse where the peak power is defined as the output Research is currently underway to develop such a system. A
energy divided by the output full width half maximum lab-scale version of this arrangement is shown in Figure 12.
(FWHM) pulse width. The peak power output of the laser
under test is on the order of 10-80 Watts in QCW mode. In
order to induce an electrical discharge or spark a laser beam
must deliver a packet of energy within the timescale of
nanoseconds. Peak power may be increased to the order of
Megawatts by the addition of a fast shutter mechanism within
the laser cavity creating a “pulsed laser.” Such a fast shutter is
a passive Q-switch (PQSW) illustrated in Figure 11.

Figure 12: Lab-scale laser system

7 Copyright © #### by ASME

This laser system utilizes a 10 cm cavity with a 3mm diameter 6.50
by 4cm long 1.0% Nd:YAG laser rod pumped by six 50 Watt 90% OC
6.00
laser diodes tuned for 808 nm. The current study arrangement 80% OC
5.50 70% OC
has focused on five output coupler reflectivity’s. The PQSW

Efficiency ((Eo/Ei)*100)
60% OC
were comprised of cut and polished chromium yttrium alumina 5.00
50% OC
garnet (Cr:YAG) crystals. The Cr:YAG acts to obstruct the 4.50
cavity by absorption until a sufficient cavity fluence, photons
4.00
per cross-section per unit time, is incident on the face of the
crystal. The incident photons bleach the PQSW causing it to 3.50
become increasingly transparent to the laser radiation. This 3.00
process continues until a laser pulse ensues. The time
2.50
dependence of the bleaching process as a function of pump
power is shown in Figure 13. 2.00

0.0010 1.50
90% OC 250 270 290 310 330 350 370
80% OC Input Power (Watts)
Q-Switch Delay (seconds)

0.0008 70% OC
60% OC Figure 14: 60% Q-switch output efficiency verses input power.
50% OC
The efficiency of the Q-switched laser is significantly lower
0.0006
than under pulsed pumped operation as seen in figure 14. This
is due to the loss induced by the PQSW and the resulting lower
0.0004 duty cycle when operating in Q-switched mode. The trend of
the slopes of the efficiency curves is similar to the pulsed
pumped efficiency curves in figure 10. The increase in
0.0002
efficiency is actually due to the increasing pumping fluence
resulting in a more rapid onset of lasing. The actual output
0.0000 energy per pulse is relatively constant as seen in figure 15.
250 270 290 310 330 350 370 Comparing figures 14 and 15, it is apparent that the pulse
Input Power (Watts) energy is primarily dependent on the cavity configuration and
Figure 13: Q-switch delay for 60% passive Q-switch verses the dPQSW properties, and less so on the output coupler
input power. reflectivity, at least in the 50 to 80 % range. Note that the 90%
reflectivity output coupler appears to be restricting the potential
It can be seen from Figure 13 that each successively transparent
output, evidenced by figures 10, 14, and 15, although
output coupler has a longer delay verses pump power. The
experience shows it does result in easier laser alignment.
amount of time needed to populate the necessary level of
0.009
excited states and to sufficiently bleach the PQSW increases 90% OC
with the decrease in reflectivity of the output coupler. 0.008 80% OC
Similarly the delay decreases for each output coupler as the 70% OC
0.007
Output Energy (Joules)

60% OC
input power increases due to the increased pumping fluence. 50% OC
0.006

The addition of the PQSW to the laser cavity introduces loss to 0.005
the cavity. The 60% initial transmission PQSW under test
0.004
initially blocks 40% of the incident energy from contributing to
the gain and allows the lasing energy state to reach a higher 0.003
population level. At the same time the PQSW is absorbing 0.002
photons from the spontaneous emission of the excited laser
media into a long-lived excited state and reducing the 0.001

population of its ground state. This results in a bleaching of the 0.000

PQSW at the lasing wavelength, increasing its transmission to 250 270 290 310 330 350 370
approximately 86%. When there is sufficient population in the Input Power (Watts)
lasing excited state to realize appreciable gain through the Figure 15: 60% Q-switch output energy verses input power.
increased transmission of the bleached PQSW, lasing will begin
which will also rapidly saturate the PQSW and result in a short
giant pulse from the laser. The PQSW delay (Figure 13) and the PQSW output energy
(Figure 15) data indicate that the pump pulse energy need be no
more than sufficient to generate a pulse. For a given pump
pulse power, there is a minimum pulse time required to
populate the lasing state and saturate the PQSW, and if only
one pulse is desired, any further pumping only heats up the
laser rod.

The data presented indicate that three aspects of design should

be studied in order to improve the output characteristics of the

8 Copyright © #### by ASME

laser system. The first parameter is the pump power and the
subsequent fluence that is created within the laser medium. It
is clearly seen that as the pump power is increased the laser
system operates more efficiently. The second parameter is the
optimization of the output coupler. It is seen that there exists
an optimum output coupler reflectivity that will maximize both
the output energy and the laser system efficiency. Another
factor not studied here is the curvature of the cavity mirrors
which affects the transverse mode structure of the output. The
third parameter is the Q-switch initial transmission value to
determine if there is an optimum loss and bleaching factor that
maximizes the laser output energy and possibly the system
efficiency.
CONCLUSIONS
This paper presents a discussion of the need for an improved
ignition source for advanced stationary natural gas engines and
introduces laser spark ignition as a potential solution to that
need. Recent laser spark ignition engine testing suggests the
potential for lean misfire limit improvement and associated
improvements in NOx emissions.
A prototype laser system was constructed and tested. The test
results are discussed and guidance provided for improving the
laser system output pulse energy and pulse characteristics. The
experimental data has demonstrated that increases in input
power result in improved laser operation. The data also shows
that increased input power results in decreased Q-switch delay
and increased output efficiency, but also relatively constant
pulse output energy throughout the range of input power
values. Efficiency appears to be a function of pump power and
output coupler reflectivity. Optimization of the pulse output
energy may be determined by the Q-switch transmission values
and/or cavity optics and must be investigated further.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors would like to acknowledge the dedicated efforts of
Mr. Richard Eddy the technician/operator at the NETL
Reciprocating Engine Systems Laboratory. The authors would
like to thank the U.S. DOE’s Advanced Reciprocating Engine
Systems Program and Natural Gas Infrastructure Program for
their support.
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