Recent progress in sodium beacon development

Robert L. Johnson; Megan O. Byrd; Keith Wyman; Lee Kann

doi:10.1117/12.2562590

13 December 2020 Recent progress in sodium beacon development

Robert L. Johnson, Megan O. Byrd, Keith Wyman, Lee Kann

Proceedings Volume 11448, Adaptive Optics Systems VII; 114486P (2020) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2562590
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2020, Online Only

Conference Poster

Abstract

Researchers at the Starfire Optical Range have been researching laser beacons for AO for nearly 30 years. We developed four different sodium-wavelength lasers, all of which were based on diode-pumped, sum-frequency Nd:YAG oscillators. In 2016, we combined light from two commercial, 22 W, sodium-wavelength lasers to form a single beacon. These lasers, which use resonant-frequency doubling of light from a Raman fiber-amplifier, were built by MPB Communications and Toptica Photonics, under a contract from the European Southern Observatory. In 2019, we started to develop and procure a 75 W sodium-wavelength laser to enable better correction of turbulence in poor seeing. In conjunction with ESO, we have also started work to increase the return flux from sodium beacons by shifting or chirping the laser wavelength to compensate for recoil of optically pumped sodium atoms. Initial tests have demonstrated that chirping can increase beacon brightness by 10–20 percent.

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Robert L. Johnson, Megan O. Byrd, Keith Wyman, and Lee Kann "Recent progress in sodium beacon development", Proc. SPIE 11448, Adaptive Optics Systems VII, 114486P (13 December 2020); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2562590

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