Lightweight Low Contamination Laser Beam Dump

This SBIR proposal is to develop lightweight, compact, and low-contamination laser beam dumps suitable for airborne and space-based high-energy laser (HEL) applications. The concept is based on a novel refractory-fiber radiation absorber that has lowreflectivity (10 J/cm2 in 1 ns) and is suitable for use with either pulsed solid-state lasers or continuous chemical lasers. The absorber can sustain high temperature (2500K) and can serve as a radiation-cooledhigh-energy dump. It can also be integrated with high-capacity phase-change heat sink materials to remain cool in environments where the maximum dump temperature is limited and the laser is operated intermittently.Phase 1 will investigate concept feasibility and suitability for tactical HEL environments. Beam dump requirements for current DoD HEL programs will be defined. Novel fiber absorber configurations designed for those requirements will be fabricated andlaser tested. The weight, size, and performance of laser beam dumps integrated with candidate thermal control options will be assessed. Recommendations for Phase 2 development will be identified. Phase 2 would further develop the materials and design of afull-scale engineering test unit for characterization at HEL facility. Lightweight compact low-contamination laser beam dumps have military applications in airborne and space-based HEL systems, in inertial fusion research, in laser machining and materials processing, in opto-electronic communications, and in laser surgery.