COMPACT LIGHTWEIGHT CO2 LASERS FOR STRATEGIC DEFENSE APPLICATIONS

DURING THE PAST DECADE, SUBSTANTIAL INVESTMENTS HAVE BEEN MADE IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF GAS DISCHARGE PUMPED CO2 LASERS FOR MILITARY AND CIVILIAN APPLICATIONS. COMPACT, LIGHTWEIGHT CO2 LASERS CURRENTLY ARE BEING DEVELOPED FOR AIRBORNE AND SPACE-BASED RADAR APPLICATIONS DIRECTED TOWARD TARGET RANGING, IMAGING, AND DISCRIMINATION. THE THREE MAJOR COMPONENTS OF A CO2 LASER RADAR ARE THE LASER HEAD AND FLOW LOOP, THE PULSED POWER SYSTEM AND THE OPTICS AND BEAMS CONTROL SYSTEM. A SELF SUSTAINED DISCHARGE CONCEPT IS BEING DEVELOPED THAT ISEXPECTED TO RESULT IN THE STABLE AND EFFICIENT EXTRACTION OF LARGE SPECIFIC ENERGIES (50 J/LITER) FOR PULSE LENGTHS AS LONG AS 100 MICRO-SEC. THIS FACTOR OF TEN INCREASE IN THE ENERGY PER UNIT VOLUME, IF ACHIEVED, WOULD ENABLE LASER HEADS TO BE FABRICATED WITH FACTORS OF FOUR TO FIVE TIMES SMALLER IN VOLUME AND WEIGHT THAN WITH CONVENTIONALDISCHARGE APPROACHES. FURTHERMORE, THE REDUCED CROSS SECTION OF THE OPTICAL BEAM WOULD RESULT IN A SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION IN THE SIZE AND WEIGHT OF THE OPTICS AND BEAM CONTROL SYSTEM. THIS CONCEPT WOULD RESULT, WHEN SUCCESSFUL, IN COMPACT, ELECTRTICALLY PULSED CO2 LASERS. THESE LASERS WOULD BE USEFUL IN COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS RANGING FROM LASER WELDING AND METAL WORKING TO LASER SURGERY.