Development of a laser power beaming experiment

Because beaming power from a laser to solar cells is an option to meet increasing power demands of the DOD and elsewhere, a terrestrial power beaming experiment was conducted to uncover issues. The 2.5 kW laser beamed at 810 nm to utilize the atmospheric window at 800 to 890 nm. The 40 cell GaAs receiver array had four rows of cells connected in parallel each with ten cells in series. The test site is located at the Eglin Air Force Base, Florida and special test procedures to ensure participant safety were used. This paper describes the test equipment and laboratory and field power beaming results.