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Once again, science fiction has predicted science fact.
Remember those movies where the hero (or villain) uses a beam from a compact laser to blow a rocket out of the sky? Last December, that generic bit of sci-fi drama took a step closer to reality. In a demonstration at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, the solid-state heat-capacity laser (SSHCL) burned a 1-centimeter-diameter hole straight through a 2-centimeter-thick stack of steel samples in 6 seconds. The electrical current to do so came from a wall outlet and cost no more than 30 cents. While large chemical lasers have successfully shot down tactical rockets, the SSHCL design supports the weight and size requirements for a future mobile deployment.
The SSHCL, designed and developed at Lawrence Livermore, is the prototype of a laser tactical weapon, which shows promise as the first high-energy laser compact enough in size and weight to be considered part of the Army’s future combat system (FCS) for short-range air defense. The FCS is a component of the Army’s vision of sensors, platforms, and weapons with a networked command and control system. The more advanced version of the laser weapon system, now under development, will be battery-powered and—at 2 meters long and less than a meter across—small enough to be mounted on a hybrid-electric high-mobility multipurpose wheeled vehicle (Humvee). In this configuration, the Humvee’s generator and batteries could power both the vehicle and the laser, requiring only diesel fuel to support full operation.
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A team led by *** ***** in the Physics and Advanced Technology Directorate is developing an adaptive resonator system that will sense distortions in the wavefront and correct them in the system. The resonator—which is based on adaptive optics technology developed at Livermore—includes a deformable mirror, control electronics, and sensors to detect the shape of the laser pulse’s wavefront. A deformable mirror will be placed inside the laser resonator, and a wavefront sensor will be used to measure the output beam during operation. The sensor measures the difference between the actual shape and a perfect, flat wavefront. Computer-controlled actuators on the mirror then raise or lower small sections of the mirror’s surface to correct distortions in the incoming light so that a high-quality beam is maintained from the laser resonator.
Remember those movies where the hero (or villain) uses a beam from a compact laser to blow a rocket out of the sky? Last December, that generic bit of sci-fi drama took a step closer to reality. In a demonstration at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, the solid-state heat-capacity laser (SSHCL) burned a 1-centimeter-diameter hole straight through a 2-centimeter-thick stack of steel samples in 6 seconds. The electrical current to do so came from a wall outlet and cost no more than 30 cents. While large chemical lasers have successfully shot down tactical rockets, the SSHCL design supports the weight and size requirements for a future mobile deployment.
The SSHCL, designed and developed at Lawrence Livermore, is the prototype of a laser tactical weapon, which shows promise as the first high-energy laser compact enough in size and weight to be considered part of the Army’s future combat system (FCS) for short-range air defense. The FCS is a component of the Army’s vision of sensors, platforms, and weapons with a networked command and control system. The more advanced version of the laser weapon system, now under development, will be battery-powered and—at 2 meters long and less than a meter across—small enough to be mounted on a hybrid-electric high-mobility multipurpose wheeled vehicle (Humvee). In this configuration, the Humvee’s generator and batteries could power both the vehicle and the laser, requiring only diesel fuel to support full operation.
edit....
A team led by *** ***** in the Physics and Advanced Technology Directorate is developing an adaptive resonator system that will sense distortions in the wavefront and correct them in the system. The resonator—which is based on adaptive optics technology developed at Livermore—includes a deformable mirror, control electronics, and sensors to detect the shape of the laser pulse’s wavefront. A deformable mirror will be placed inside the laser resonator, and a wavefront sensor will be used to measure the output beam during operation. The sensor measures the difference between the actual shape and a perfect, flat wavefront. Computer-controlled actuators on the mirror then raise or lower small sections of the mirror’s surface to correct distortions in the incoming light so that a high-quality beam is maintained from the laser resonator.
The tactical version is to be neodymium-doped gadolinium–gallium– garnet (Nd:GGG) crystals 20 cm in diameter generating 100 kilowatts and firing at up to 200 times a second
Dr. Mordrid
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