Monolithic solid-state lasers for spaceflight

Michael A. Krainak; Anthony W. Yu; Mark A. Stephen; Scott Merritt; Leonid Glebov; Larissa Glebova; Aleksandr Ryasnyanskiy; Vadim Smirnov; Xiaodong Mu; Stephanie Meissner; Helmuth Meissner

doi:10.1117/12.2077812

20 February 2015 Monolithic solid-state lasers for spaceflight

Michael A. Krainak, Anthony W. Yu, Mark A. Stephen, Scott Merritt, Leonid Glebov, Larissa Glebova, Aleksandr Ryasnyanskiy, Vadim Smirnov, Xiaodong Mu, Stephanie Meissner, Helmuth Meissner

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 9342, Solid State Lasers XXIV: Technology and Devices; 93420K (2015) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2077812
Event: SPIE LASE, 2015, San Francisco, California, United States

Abstract

A new solution for building high power, solid state lasers for space flight is to fabricate the whole laser resonator in a single (monolithic) structure or alternatively to build a contiguous diffusion bonded or welded structure. Monolithic lasers provide numerous advantages for space flight solid-state lasers by minimizing misalignment concerns. The closed cavity is immune to contamination. The number of components is minimized thus increasing reliability. Bragg mirrors serve as the high reflector and output coupler thus minimizing optical coatings and coating damage. The Bragg mirrors also provide spectral and spatial mode selection for high fidelity. The monolithic structure allows short cavities resulting in short pulses. Passive saturable absorber Q-switches provide a soft aperture for spatial mode filtering and improved pointing stability. We will review our recent commercial and in-house developments toward fully monolithic solid-state lasers.

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Michael A. Krainak, Anthony W. Yu, Mark A. Stephen, Scott Merritt, Leonid Glebov, Larissa Glebova, Aleksandr Ryasnyanskiy, Vadim Smirnov, Xiaodong Mu, Stephanie Meissner, and Helmuth Meissner "Monolithic solid-state lasers for spaceflight", Proc. SPIE 9342, Solid State Lasers XXIV: Technology and Devices, 93420K (20 February 2015); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2077812

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