A DYNAMIC SOLID STATE LASER TESTBED(DLT) FOR SPACE

Rechargeable Solid state lasers in space can contribute to active tracking of missiles and decoys, active imaging, remote sensing, laser recharging of solar cells, laser fabrication, and long range communication. Sparkle Optics proposes to develop amuch-needed solid state laser testbed to anchor critical performance numbers in a 100-W class laser system, which is primarily designed for a space platform. The DLT testbed will produce data on testbed mass vs laser power and laser run duration, and dataon laser beam quality and jitter for future acrhitecture studies.Sparkle Optics believes that solid state laser media cannot remain stationary for high average power operation, and a paradigm shift is necessary. In a dynamic solid state laser, the laser medium rotates or translates. While laser power is generated inone part at high efficiency, heat is extracted from a different part of the same medium. The DLT testbed will be a solar-powered 100-W dynamic solid state laser.The significance of this proposal is that if successful, it will be a pathfinder for solid state laser applications at various power levels from 10 W to 100 kW. The DLT testbed can be upgraded within a short time for space qualification. SPARKLE OPTICSwill explore a paradigm shift and develop the dynamic solid state laser concept in a solar-powerd 100-W class DLT testbed. The testbed can be quickly upgraded for space use. This will be a first in the industry and will have many commercial applications.In the proposed dynamic solid state laser, the laser power scales from 10 W to 100 kW with the pump power, the number of disks and the disk diameter. The commercial potential of a dynamic solid state laser is significant due to this versatility. SparkleOptics will pursue commercialization opportunities in the following initial markets:10 W cw, Q-switched or mode-locked, with optional nonlinear optics: Semiconductor device fabrication, medical and scientific100 W cw, or Q-switched with UV generator: UV-machining1 kW with EUV or X-ray front end: Lithography for VLSIFuture Growth:10 kW cw: Industrial machining in Automotive and other high volume markets100 kW long pulse (60 s): Potential missile defense applicationsThere are satellite based commercial remote sensing applications of a moderate power laser equipped with a beam projection system and with fleixble pulse and wavelength format, such as in vegetation and weather monitoring. There are also commercializationopportunities in ship-based or airborne illumination applications, such as underwater mapping.