Timing precision of active Q-switched mode-locked laser and fire control system for the synchronous satellite laser ranging

Author

Kunimori, Hiroo ; Otsubo, Toshimichi ; Engelkemier, Bret ; Yoshino, Taizoh ; Greene, Ben

Author_Institution

Commun. Res. Lab., Minist. of Posts & Telecommun., Tokyo, Japan

Volume

44

Issue

3

fYear

1995

fDate

6/1/1995 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

832

Lastpage

835

Abstract

We have developed a laser fire synchronization system which controls the firing time of the laser so that each laser pulse reaches a target satellite exactly within 100 ns at a specified epoch. A conventional Nd:YAG active-passive laser has been modified to an active Q-switched mode-locked laser to reduce the laser delay jitters with respect to commanded time. An epoch-triggered fire control system has also been introduced to ensure commanded time to take account of the target range prediction, station clock error, and other fixed delays. Timing jitters of 70 ns RMS have been demonstrated on a geodetic satellite after evaluating laser delay offset, predicted range error, and station clock drift. Improvements to the 10 ns level by further laser control upgrades are possible

Keywords

Q-switching; delays; jitter; laser mode locking; laser ranging; measurement standards; neodymium; optical links; satellite telemetry; solid lasers; synchronisation; time measurement; 10 ns; 100 ns; 70 ns; Nd:YAG active-passive laser; YAG:Nd; YAl5O12:Nd; active Q-switched mode-locked laser; commanded time; epoch-triggered fire control; fire control; firing time; fixed delays; geodetic satellite; laser delay jitters; laser delay offset; laser fire synchronization; passive mirrors; station clock drift; station clock error; synchronous satellite laser ranging; target range prediction; target satellite; timing precision; Clocks; Control systems; Delay effects; Fires; Laser mode locking; Optical control; Optical pulses; Satellites; Synchronization; Timing;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Instrumentation and Measurement, IEEE Transactions on

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0018-9456

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/19.387344

Filename

387344