Space-qualified laser system for the BepiColombo Laser Altimeter

Kallenbach, Reinald; Murphy, Eamonn; Gramkow, Bodo; Rech, Markus; Weidlich, Kai; Leikert, Thomas; Henkelmann, Reiner; Trefzger, Boris; Metz, Bodo; Michaelis, Harald; Lingenauber, Kay; DelTogno, Simone; Behnke, Thomas; Thomas, Nicolas; Piazza, Daniele; Seiferlin, Karsten (2013). Space-qualified laser system for the BepiColombo Laser Altimeter. Applied optics, 52(36), pp. 8732-8746. Optical Society of America 10.1364/AO.52.008732

[img]
Preview
Text
ao-52-36-8732.pdf - Published Version
Available under License Publisher holds Copyright.
author can archive publisher's version/PDF on a non-profit server (Sherpa/Romeo)

Download (3MB) | Preview

The space-qualified design of a miniaturized laser for pulsed operation at a wavelength of 1064 nm and at repetition rates up to 10 Hz is presented. This laser consists of a pair of diode-laser pumped, actively q-switched Nd:YAG rod oscillators hermetically sealed and encapsulated in an environment of dry synthetic air. The system delivers at least 300 million laser pulses with 50 mJ energy and 5 ns pulse width (FWHM). It will be launched in 2017 aboard European Space Agency’s Mercury Planetary Orbiter as part of the BepiColombo Laser Altimeter, which, after a 6-years cruise, will start recording topographic data from orbital altitudes between 400 and 1500 km above Mercury’s surface.

Item Type:

Journal Article (Original Article)

Division/Institute:

08 Faculty of Science > Physics Institute > Space Research and Planetary Sciences

UniBE Contributor:

Thomas, Nicolas, Piazza, Daniele, Seiferlin, Karsten Michael

Subjects:

500 Science > 520 Astronomy
600 Technology > 620 Engineering
500 Science > 530 Physics

ISSN:

0003-6935

Publisher:

Optical Society of America

Language:

English

Submitter:

Cléa Serpollier

Date Deposited:

04 Jul 2014 09:59

Last Modified:

02 Mar 2023 23:24

Publisher DOI:

10.1364/AO.52.008732

BORIS DOI:

10.7892/boris.45626

URI:

https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/45626

Actions (login required)

Edit item Edit item
Provide Feedback