LIGHT-PULSE GENERATOR FOR HIGH-SPEED PHOTOGRAPHY USING SEMICONDUCTOR-DEVICES AS A LIGHT-SOURCE

A high speed pulsed light generator system has been developed for the optical analysis and imaging of fast processes in fluid dynamics. As a light source, one or more high power LEDs are used. The maximum light power generated by one diode is 1 W. The pulse repetition rate is up to 2 MHz and the pulse width can be adjusted in the range 50 ns to 10 μs. The light emitted from the diodes has a wavelength of 660 nm. Due to its pronounced coherence, it is especially suited for the observation of light-phase-shifting objects by interferometric methods. Examples of the application of the generator are presented.