IMPROVED CO2 LASERS FOR REMOTE ATMOSPHERIC SENSING

COHERENT CO2 DOPPLER LIDAR IS A POWERFUL EMERGING TECHNOLOGYFOR REMOTE SENSING OF ATMOSPHERIC WIND FIELDS WHOSE EFFECTIVENESS AND POTENTIAL HAVE BEEN RECENTLY DEMONSTRATED BY SEVERAL GROUPS. STUDIES OF WIND FIELDS UNDER VARIOUS CONDITIONS (INCLUDING SEVERE WINDSTORMS) HAVE RESULTED IN UNIQUE DATA SETS UNOBTAINABLE FROM OTHER, MORE TRADITIONAL ATMOSPHERIC SENSORS. WHEN UTILIZED FROM AIRBORNE OR SPACE-BASED PLATFORMS, THE POTENTIAL UTILITY OF PULSED CO2 DOPPLER LIDAR FOR WIND FIELD MEASUREMENTS IS ENORMOUS BECAUSE OF THE INCREASED SPATIAL AREA COVERED, A CRITICAL REQUIREMENT FOR IMPROVED WEATHER FORECASTING. HOWEVER, THERE IS A NEED TO BOTH EXTEND THE USEFUL RANGE OF CO2 LIDARTRANSCEIVERS AND TO ENCOURAGE A MORE WIDESPREAD USAGE THROUGH LOWERED COSTS AND HIGHER RELIABILITY. UTILIZING SEVERAL PROPRIETARY ADVANCED CONCEPTS IN PULSED CO2 LASER TECHNOLOGY, SCIENCE RESEARCH LABORATORY (SRL) PROPOSES THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN 11 JOULE PER PULSE, 50 PULSE PER SECOND CO2 LASER AMPLIFIER SUITABLE FOR DOPPLER LIDAR MEASUREMENTS OF REMOTE WIND FIELDS AT RANGES UP TO 70 KM (COMPARED WITH 1 JOULE, 20 PPS AND 30 KM RANGE FOR THE BEST EXISTING SYSTEM, AN EXPENSIVE CUSTOM-BUILT INSTRUMENT). A NOVEL CONDUCTION COOLED LASER HEAD WILL BE INCORPORATED INTOSRL'S EXPANDING BEAM LASER ARCHITECTURE FOR OPTICAL EXTRATION, AND THE LASER WILL BE DRIVEN BY SRH6S PATENTED ALL-SOLID-STATE PULSE POWER TECHNOLOGY. THESE INNOVATIONS ENABLE A LASER COST 2-3 TIMES LOWER THAN PRESENTLY AVAILABLEPULSED CO2 SYSTEMS WITH COMPARABLE OUTPUTS. THE PROPOSED PHASE I EFFORT WILL CENTER ON A DETAILED FEASIBILITY AND DESIGN STUDY, LEADING TO PROTOTYPE TESTING IN PHASE II. SUCCESSFUL DEVELOPMENT OF THE PROPOSED LASER WOULD ALSO REPRESENT A NEW CLASS OF AFFORDABLE, RELIABLE PULSED CO2 LASERS WITH 500-1000 W AVERAGE POWER. IN ADDITION TO REMOTESENSING APPLICATIONS INCLUDING DOPPLER LIDAR AND ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING, THESE LASERS WILL FIND APPLICATIONS IN MEDICAL SURGERY, METALWORKING AND PRODUCT MARKING. INTERNATIONAL MARKETS FOR THESE ADVANCED LASER SYSTEMS WILL ENHANCE OUR NATION'S ECONOMIC COMPETITIVENESS.