A High Energy Laser System Design and Performance Evaluation Tool

Abstract

Recent developments, primarily in solid state lasers and compact power supplies, make the application of an electrically powered high energy laser (HEL) as a tactical weapon feasible in the near term. Cost/performance design tradeoffs are needed to maximize the benefit of such a weapon. The Atmospheric Compensation Simulation code emulates the entire HEL system and allows designers to evaluate and optimize performance prior to hardware commitment. Simulation results indicate that the inclusion of an adaptive optics subsystem, to compensate for atmospheric effects, on a tactical HEL weapon system significantly improves system performance thereby decreasing required power or increasing lethal range or target set.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 1999
Accession Number
ADA364879

Entities

People

  • Donald Link
  • Russell Vernon
  • Steve Doerr

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Sensors
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Adaptive Optics
  • Chemical Oxygen Iodine Lasers
  • Deformable Mirrors
  • Detectors
  • Diffraction
  • High Energy Lasers
  • Laser Applications
  • Laser Weapons
  • Lasers
  • Light (Electromagnetic Radiation)
  • Mechanical Properties
  • Optics
  • Simulations
  • Solid State Lasers
  • Tactical High-Energy Lasers
  • Weapon System Effectiveness
  • Weapon Systems

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Parallel and Distributed Computing.
  • Pulsed Power and Plasma Physics.
  • Systems Analysis and Design

Technology Areas

  • Directed Energy