From Event: SPIE LASE, 2023
The Franco-German »MERLIN Project« was initiated in 2010. The small satellite MERLIN (Methane Remote Sensing LiDAR Mission) will map the methane in the earth’s atmosphere. Fraunhofer ILT has developed the LiDAR laser source and is currently integrating the Engineering Qualification Model. The laser consists of a laser oscillator pumped by fiber coupled diode laser modules, an INNOSLAB amplifier and KTP-based frequency converter. The amplifier pump is based on qcw stacks which are homogenized in the slow axis direction and focused in the fast axis direction. We will present the design of the pump optics and results of reliability tests. In addition, we will give an outlook on the development of a laser source for a future wind LiDAR mission.
© (2023) COPYRIGHT Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Martin Traub, Stephan Wissenberg, Thomas Westphalen, Sarah Klein, Jana Ammersbach, Marie Livrozet, Bastian Gronloh, Dominik Esser, Martin Giesberts, Heinrich Faidel, Dominik Mohr, Hans-Dieter Hoffmann, and Constantin L. Haefner, "Highly reliable diode laser pump sources for the space qualified MERLIN laser platform and future wind LiDAR missions," Proc. SPIE 12403, High-Power Diode Laser Technology XXI, 124030A (Presented at SPIE LASE: January 29, 2023; Published: 14 March 2023); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2657282.