High power Ultra-violet laser beacon

The US Space Force seeks to enhance the coverage of the nation’s Space Surveillance Network with smaller, perhaps mobile, optical telescopes.  It seeks to do so by developing key components for these smaller telescopes that will preserve operational performance.  Although atmospheric turbulence can limit the performance of ground-based telescopes, laser beacons are an established technique to overcome the adverse effects of turbulence. There is a demonstrated need for a UV Rayleigh laser beacon for military purposes that will enable the desired performance for a compact optical telescope. Physical Sciences Inc. (PSI) in collaboration with UCF CREOL, will design and develop an innovative, low SWaP, high-pulse energy, high-average power UV Rayleigh beacon. The proposed laser beacon is based on a solid state Yb-doped YAG high-power laser with consequent 3rd harmonic generation using non-linear optics. The laser will provide a high-quality beam with pulse energies of 50 mJ and a repetition rate of 2.5 kHz while having low SWaP suitable for military operations.