| Abstract Scope |
A levitation device equipped with environmental controls and oxygen mitigation has been used to analyze molten samples using laser heating. This device uses two lasers to enable heating of various high temperature materials: 400W CO2 laser (10.6µm wavelength) and 500W Ytterbium Fiber laser (1.07µm wavelength). The system uses a vacuum pump, gas scrubber, and ultra-high pure Argon to mitigate reactions. The temperature is determined using two single-color laser pyrometers at 0.9µm (750–3500°C) and 0.65µm (750 – 5000°C). This system is designed to determine the melting point of 3mm diameter spherical samples of various metals (Ni, Nb, Ta, Ti, W), oxides (Al2O3, HfO2, Ta2O5, ZrO2, TiO2, Nb2O5), and diborides (TiB2, NbB2, ZrB2, HfB2, TaB2). The melting point was determined by analyzing the cooling curve created from heating the samples above the melting point and observing the recalescence as the sample solidifies. Corrections were made for sample emissivity to ensure temperature accuracy. |