Improving laser beam quality and laser beam steering in DE-HELs (Directed Energy-High Energy Lasers)
Lasers are an increasingly critical part of the DoD roadmap for threat detection and defense. High-energy lasers are used to destroy or disable drones, cruise missiles, and mortar projectiles. Primes and their tier 2 and 3 suppliers have hit significant milestones, with successful land-based demonstrations. Successful widescale, multi-platform roll-out will require significant advances in SWaP-C and engineering innovation to meet high power requirements, improve beam control to maintain a narrow spot size and focus on a fast-moving target, and overcome atmospheric effects that can degrade laser beam quality.
In pursuit of mobile systems, high-energy laser systems and directed energy systems, many of which are fiber lasers, can increase power output while minimizing weight with embedded positioning modules, such as:
- Linear stages for laser beam optimization, steering and tuning
- Rotary stages and multi-axis smart modules for point-to-point laser beam steering
In the race to develop and deploy directed energy systems across platforms, laser system innovators are pursuing multiple approaches. One recent demonstration, the Crossbow directed energy system, utilizes a single 3kw optical fiber. Many similar systems use multiple fibers connected to a single aperture, which offers the potential for higher energy output but presents a challenge in tuning the laser beam for collimation.
As seen at AUSA: Crossbow Laser Defense System
A mobile anti-UAS laser system for neutralizing Group 1 and 2 drones. The fiber-feed laser performance is continuously optimized using smart linear stages.
New Scale Technologies’ micro positioning systems are in use in defense and aerospace programs to improve beam alignment and beam quality. The recent success of the SCARA robots for the Subaru Telescope address similar challenges. These micro fiber positioners have been deployed in a close-packed array to rapidly configure an array of fibers to the precision of 5 µm. With thousands of fiber positioning units in service, New Scale has proven both reliability and scalability of this solution, with applications for laser beam collimation.
Embedded positioning modules are uniquely suited to meet the challenges of air or ground based laser systems. Designed with minimal moving mass and a high degree of mechanical integration, smart modules inherently improve resilience to vibration and mechanical stress.
Their compact form factor allows them to be embedded directly into tightly constrained spaces, reducing the need for bulky external components and complex cabling. The ability of these modules to operate at low voltages without the need for voltage boosters is a good fit for directed energy systems where power efficiency is critical and thermal management is a constant concern.
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