Abstract :
For use aboard a satellite or deep-space vehicle, a sun-pumped laser has been announced that needs no electric power and no cryogenics, and that would weigh less than 20 pounds in flight configuration. Using reflected energy from a lightweight parabolic solar concentrator, the proprietary device has produced a CW output of 25 mW at 300°K in ground level sunlight; an improved model in space sunlight could produce powers greater than one watt CW. The concentrators are electro-formed from nickel to give light weight and accuracy. The diameter of each is 30 inches, but only half that area is needed to provide laser threshold. The circle-of-confusion measurement in the 30-inch concentrator is one mm.
