WIDELY TUNABLE GAS LASER FOR REMOTE SENSING OF THE STRATOSPHERE

REMOTE SENSING AND RANGE-RESOLVED MEASUREMENTS OF ATMOSPHERIC GASES, AEROSOLS, BIOLOGIC SPECIES, PHYSICAL PARAMETERS OF ATMOSPHERE AND OCEANS, AND GEOLOGIC MINERALS WITH COHERENT LIGHT PULSES IS AN EMERGING TECHNOLOGY WHICH IS ONLY CONSTRAINED BY THE AVAILABILITY OF SUITABLE NARROWBAND TUNABLE LASER SOURCES. THIS PROJECT ADDRESSES THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN ADVANCED, COMPACT MULTIGAS LASER FOR AIRBORNE AND SHUTTLE-BASED LIDAR SYSTEMS. NEWLY DEVELOPED EXCIMER LASER AND PULSE POWER TECHNOLOGY PERMITS THE DESIGN OF A LASER WITH EXTENDED TUNABILITY IN THE IR AND UV PARTS OF THE SPECTRUM AND WITH GREATLY INCREASED EFFICIENCY. THE LASER WILL BE LINE-TUNABLE OVER MORE THAN 200 SPECTRAL LINES IN THE NEAR AND FAR IR, CONTINUOUSLY TUNABLE OVER THE 9 AND 10 BANDS OF CO2, AND WILL HAVE SOME TUNABILITY AROUND SELECTED EXCIMER BANDS IN THE UV. NARROWBAND PULSE ENERGIES WILL BE BETWEEN 100 MJ AND 1 J AT PULSE FREQUENCIES UP TO 50 HZ. THIS PERFORMANCE IS CONSIDERABLY BETTER THAN THAT OF PRESENT LIDAR SYSTEMS. IN ADDITION TO THE IMPROVED TUNABILITY AND OPTICAL POWER LEVEL, THE LASER WILL BE DESIGNED FOR EXTENDED LIFE AND RELIABILITY. PHASE I WILL BE A DESIGN OPTIMIZATION STUDY FOR THE ADVANCED LASER; PHASE II, THE CONSTRUCTION AND TESTING OF A PROTOTYPE.