Beam control for high-energy laser devices

Beam-control systems for high-average-power lasers began in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Early systems propagated the beams across laboratories using heavy-water-cooled copper optics and open-beam trains with commercial fans to provide fresh air. They have evolved in the intervening 40-plus years...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Optical engineering 2013-02, Vol.52 (2), p.021005-021005
Main Authors: Merritt, Paul H, Albertine, John R
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Beams (radiation)
Copper
Devices
Distortion
Evolution
Laser beams
Lasers
Trains
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Summary:Beam-control systems for high-average-power lasers began in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Early systems propagated the beams across laboratories using heavy-water-cooled copper optics and open-beam trains with commercial fans to provide fresh air. They have evolved in the intervening 40-plus years to include highly sophisticated gimbaled-control systems with extremely high-reflectance uncooled optics and adaptive optics to compensate for less-than-ideal laser beams and for atmospheric distortions. An overview of that evolution is presented.
ISSN:0091-3286
1560-2303
DOI:10.1117/1.OE.52.2.021005