Short-Pulse Mode for Laser Designators

There is a need to improve the ability to detect and identify non-cooperative targets via technological improvements in existing laser designators that can be implemented in the existing inventory of military aircraft with reasonable levels of modification to the aircraft and/or their avionics. We believe that the most important improvement that could be made in the laser properties is providing shorter pulsewidths (~1 ns) to enable range-resolved feature resolutions on the order of a few centimeters. Our concept for providing a new laser designator configuration, which provides the new short-pulse capability without compromising the existing designator functionality is presented in this proposal. In our design, the short-pulse, 1-micron feature will be provided by a passively Q-switched (PQS) Nd:YVO4 laser oscillator in a new master oscillator/pre-amplifier "front-end" that is completely separate from the designator oscillator. The high-energy amplification will be common to both the existing designator and the new short-pulse mode. The short-pulse eyesafe output will be generated at the output end of the system by a completely separate optical parametric generator (OPG). Structuring the system so that only the power amplifier section is shared exploits the primary energy storage section of the designator without compromising its functionality or reliability.