High Energy Laser

Joint Technology Office (HEL-JTO)

Recent Developments and Current

Projects in HEL Technology

February 2012

Cleared for Public Release, 377ABW-2011-1103

Outline

• Introduction to HEL-JTO

• JTO Technology Thrusts

• JTO Major Projects

• Service Programs

• Summary

High Energy Lasers (HEL)

Attributes

• Precision engagement at a distance

• Low collateral damage

• Re-usable

• Less than lethal through lethal effects

System Level Challenges

• Compact, light-weight, and rugged systems

• Sufficient power on target

• System reliability

• Cost effectiveness / alternatives

HEL Target Effects

• Jam/spoof or destroy optical sensors

• Thermal damage

HEL Science &Technology

Challenges

High-Power Lasers

• Thermal management for solid-state lasers

• Eye-safer wavelengths and development of novel gain media

• Advanced processing and characterization of ceramics

• Short-pulse (femtosecond) phenomena

Beam Control

• Aim-point maintenance, precision tracking, and jitter control

• Propagation through turbulent atmosphere, through boundary layers, and in maritime environment

• Windows, coatings and active optics

HEL Lethality, Modeling & Simulation

• Accurate prediction of lethality for future systems

• Battle damage assessment

• Detailed end-to-end physics and system level models

Opportunities

High-Power Lasers

• Efficient and reliable diode-arrays, high brightness diodes

• High-power fibers

• Beam combination of multiple high-power fibers

• New ceramic materials

• Diode Pumped Alkali Lasers

Beam Control

• Advanced adaptive optics

• Advanced disturbance mitigation schemes

• Phased arrays

HEL-JTO Formation

• FY00 National Defense

Authorization Act request to

develop laser plan

• FY00 High Energy Laser

Executive Review Panel

chartered

Report of the

High Energy Laser

Executive Review Panel

Department of Defense

Laser Master Plan

March 24, 2000

JTO Charter:

• Advocate HEL technology

development for DoD

• Coordinate among the Services

and Agencies

• Develop technology investment

strategy for DoD

• Manage a portfolio of

government/industry/academia

R&D projects

A Coordinated Approach for

HEL Weapons System Development

HEL-JTO Organization

Army

Representative

Executive Assistant/

Network/DE2AC

Air Force

Representative

Tech Area,

Contracts Monitor

Technology Council S&T Executives

(Army,Navy, AF,

MDA, DARPA, DTRA)

Tech Area,

Contracts Monitor

Tech Area,

Contracts Monitor

Technology Area Working Groups

Contractor

Technical and

Administrative

Support

ASD (R&E) •Operational

Oversight Air Force S&T

Executive •Admin

Oversight

AFRL/RD

Support

•Contracting

•Financial

•Public Affairs

•Security

Director

Navy

Representative

MDA

DARPA

Approved for Public Release

Budget/Finance

Fire Control

Wavefront

Sensor

Heat

Heat Heat

Atmospheric Propagation - Thermal Blooming - Turbulence

Laser Devices - Solid State - Gas - Free Electron

Beam Control

Effects

Power Conditioning

Beam Conditioning & Adaptive Optics

Th

erm

al M

an

ag

em

en

t Beam

Combining

Example: Solid

State Laser

Pointing

Illuminator

Laser-Target

Interaction

Engagement & System Modeling

Windows &

Mirrors

HEL-JTO Technology Thrust Area

Advanced

Concepts

Approved for Public Release

Elements of a Practical Laser

for Military Applications

• Scalability (mission requirements)

• Efficiency (size and weight)

• Beam Quality (gain media thermal

control/correction, propagation)

• Simplicity (logistics, packaging)

• Robustness (reliability)

•Wavelength (collateral eye safety,

diffraction effects, atmospheric

propagation)

•System thermal management

•Platform integration

Outline

• Introduction to HEL-JTO

• JTO Technology Thrusts

• JTO Major Projects

• Service Programs

• Summary

Solid State Laser Thrust Area

• Advantages

– All electric - logistically friendly

– Smaller, lighter

– Good propagation window at 1 micron; eyesafer wavelengths

available

• Opportunities

– High power fibers

– Combination of multiple fibers

– Ceramic gain material

• Challenges:

– Efficient, reliable and very bright diode arrays

– Increase power without thermal distortions

– Efficiency

Solid State Laser Portfolio

• High power fibers

• Beam combining techniques

• High Power Fiber Components

Fiber

Dielectric Edge Mirrors (DEMs)

Beam Combiner Stacked Oscillators

Er-doped PCF High Power

Laser Fiber

Fusion Spliced All-Fiber Isolator

•Ceramic gain materials

•Eye safer wavelength (slabs and fibers)

•Efficient and High Temperature diode arrays

10%Yb:Lu2O3 ceramic

Emission of lasers in the eye-

safe wavelength range and

atmospheric transmission

VCSEL Array

assembled on

Patterned

Surface

Composite Heat

Spreader

Solid State Laser Portfolio

Gas Laser Thrust Area

• Advantages

– Can scale to VERY high powers

• Opportunities

– Diode Pumped Alkali Lasers (DPAL)

– Efficient Chemical Oxygen-Iodine Lasers (COIL)

• Challenges (DPAL):

– Narrow pump wavelength

– Flowing media

– Atmospheric Propagation

• Challenges (COIL):

– Logistics

– Efficiency and size

Gas Laser Portfolio

Diode Pumped Alkali Lasers

• Diode Laser Pumped Alkali Vapor Lasers with Exciplex-

Assisted Absorption

• High Power Diode Pumped Alkali Lasers and Analog

Systems

• Three Dimensional, Time Dependent Simulation of Diode

Pumped Alkali Lasers

• Scaling of a Flowing Alkali Laser System

• Propagation Studies of Alkali Lasers

Visualization of a previous flowing DPAL

simulation

12”-telescope & tunable diode laser

absorption spectrometer to study alkali laser

wavelengths

Gas Laser Portfolio

Chemical Oxygen Iodine Lasers

• Catalytic Enhancement of Singlet Oxygen Yield and Small

Signal Gain in EOIL Systems

• High Pressure COIL

• Very High Flux, High Efficiency COIL for Improved Specific

Power

Counter Flow SOG

Reduced laser weight and volume

Free Electron Laser Thrust

• Advantages

• Tunable wavelength for

maritime propagation

• Shipboard protection against

asymmetric threat

• No hazardous gases or

chemicals

• Opportunities

• All electric ship integration

• Megawatt potential

• Challenges

• Injectors and Cathodes

• High Intensity Optical

Components

• Efficient wiggler

Free Electron Laser Portfolio

• Evaluation of Advanced Photocathodes for

High Current Injectors

• Efficient Photocathodes with Current

Amplification for High Power FELs

• FEL Injector Technology

• Ring Resonator FEL

wiggler

Near-concentric

Near-confocal

Ring-near-confocal

Free Electron Laser Portfolio

• Investigation of Longitudinal Space Charge

• Novel FEL Cavity Optic

• Optimization of FEL System Wall-Plug Efficiency

beam power

back to RF

DC power

(magnets)

beam power

out of RF

RF, cryo

power

e- source, RF,

cryo power

FEL power out

beam power into dump

Beam Control Thrust Area

• Challenges

– Platform Jitter

– Atmospheric

disturbances

– High Power

Optics/Coatings

– Aimpoint detection

and maintenance

– Aero-optic

disturbance

• Opportunities

– Advanced algorithms

– High speed, very

dense deformable

mirrors

– Wavefront sensors

Mission: Efficiently transmit very high optical

power from a laser source on a dynamic

platform into a small spot on a distant

dynamic target

Beam Control Components &

Subsystems

Beam Control

Aero-optics Characterization & Modeling

Atmospheric Characterization & Modeling

Beam

Generation Beam

Sizing

Maintenance/Safety/Diagnostics

Target

Atmosphere

WFOV

Sensing

Acquisition

Illuminator

Beam Wavefront Correction

Beam Path Conditioning

Beam Alignment, Positioning, & Inertial Stabilization

Wavefront Sensing Track Sensing

Track Illuminator Beacon Illuminator

Beam Sampling

& Sharing Beam

Sizing

Beam

Pointing Beam

Expansion

Algorithms & Processing Algorithms & Processing

Performance Diagnostics

Infrastructure

Platform Motion

Sensor

Noise

Beam Control Portfolio

• Propagation Studies

• Algorithm Development

• Advanced Adaptive Optics

• Focal Plane Arrays

• Integrated Demonstrations

• Light Weight Beam Director

• Novel Concept Exploration

• Too “Risky”(or too Hard) for Other Thrusts

• Includes:

• Advanced Materials

• Beam Combination

• Novel Architectures

Advanced Concepts Thrust

Advanced Concepts Portfolio

• Passive Phasing Analysis

• Large Linewidth Spectral Beam

Combining

• Gradient Doped Ceramic Laser

Gain Media

• Hollow-core Fiber Laser

• 2-D VCSEL Pump

• A Liquid Crystal Spatial Light

Modulator

• Holographic Adaptive Laser

Optics Systems

H Detector

Input Output

DM

Advanced Concepts Portfolio

• Rare-Earth Doped

Sapphire Laser

• Obscuration-Free Phase

Locking of HEL Tiled

Fiber Array

• Anti-Reflective Surface

Structures

• Coherent Beam using

Diffractive Optical

Elements Laser

Array Beam

SamplerDOEOutput

Beam

Output

Coupler

Transform

Lens

Phase controller Detector

Modeling & Simulation Thrust Area

Develop tools to support the HEL

community

The application of well grounded

science to HEL research and

development. Focusing on the

development and support of

computational tools

Science and

Engineering

Military Utility

The investigation of the military

worth of future tactical HEL

systems, employment methods and

supporting decision aids.

Representations of HEL in current

and future DoD Models.

Integrated Seamless combination of

engineering

performance/analysis modeling

& simulation tools with

computational warfighter

support tools

Lethality Thrust Area

• Analysis and Test to Determine Lethal Capability of Lasers – Full Scale Tests performed

– Tools and Diagnostics for the HEL community

– Laser Beam Diagnostic Software and Hardware

– Laser Vulnerability Tool (LVT) – Communications to Government and

Industry

• Laser Lethality Knowledge Base (LLKB)

120mm Mortar

Outline

• Introduction to HEL-JTO

• JTO Technology Thrusts

• JTO Major Projects

• Service Programs

• Summary

• Build on JHPSSL and Joint Program successes

• Substantially improve system efficiency

• Combine laser performance goals with size,

weight, ruggedization and affordability goals

Robust Electric Laser Initiative

(RELI) - Motivation

Joint HEL-JTO, Army and Air Force

Program with Navy interest

29

Power Supply

(Platform Dependent) Adaptive

Optics

Beam

Director

Solid-State

Laser

Amplifier

Laser Diode

Array

Thermal Management System

(Platform Dependent)

RELI

RELI: Robust, Fieldable Laser System

Tailorable to desired platform

Efficient, lightweight, small, affordable

Push towards Common Goal: Robust, Fieldable, Tailorable Electric Laser

RELI will focus on laser efficiency and beam quality and minimizing weight and

volume. It will not develop TMS or power production and conditioning

technology.

RELI Performance Metrics

• Performance analyzed & measured in three critical areas: • Laser Metric – Power in the Bucket Efficiency (PIBE)

– Power, Efficiency and Beam Quality

– Analyze Phase 1; Full Demo Phase 2

• Physical Metric – Power/Weight

– Power/Volume

– Analyze Phase 1; Partial Demo Phase 2

• Fieldability Metric (i.e. Temp, Vibration, Dust)

– Based on Anticipated Environments

– Analyze Phase 1; Partial Demo Phase 2

Scalability Scalable to 100kW Minimum

Technical Justification

Risk Reduction

Laser EO Efficiency Bucket

Electric Available

Photons Out

Approved for Public Release

RELI Summary

• The ROBUST ELECTRIC LASER INITIATIVE will lead to rugged efficient

technology coupling well with DARPA and other DoD initiatives

– Provides options for light weight, militarily useful, high power laser systems

• Revised laser metric best represents operational requirements

– Allows contractors more flexibility in system design

• Natural JHPSSL follow-on of sources for next generation programs:

– Army: High Energy Laser-Technology Demonstrator

– Air Force: Electric Laser on a Large Aircraft

– Navy: TACAIR Future Naval Capability

Approved for Public Release

Outline

• Introduction to HEL-JTO

• JTO Technology Thrusts

• JTO Major Projects

• Service Programs

• Summary

Approved for Public Release

33

“Secure the High Ground”

Army Solid State Laser Testbed

Experiment (SSLTE)

33

Objective: Perform Near-Term Demonstrations Using the Tactical High Energy Laser (THEL) Beam Control System and the JHPSSL Device at the High Energy Laser Systems Test Facility (HELSTF)

• Provides Early Field Experiment Capability to

Further SSL Technology Development

• Enables Mission Area Assessment Decisions and

Allows Exploration of Best Application for HELs

• Leverages Existing Assets to Provide Early High

Power Risk Reduction Testing for Planned HEL TD

• Establishes a SSL Testbed at HELSTF for

Continued Test and Evaluation Operations by the

Army and DoD

JHPSSL

Device

THEL

BCS

34

“Secure the High Ground”

Modularity/Open

Architecture Allows for

Expansion to Future Force

Deployable, Mobile, More

Self Sustaining Lethal

Capability

Provides Joint Service

Force Protection (Area)

Weapon Capability

Solid State Laser

Technologies Scalable to

Combat Vehicles (Small

Unit Protection)

High Energy Laser Technology Demonstrator

Weapons System Development

10022008CG-AUSA001b

Fire Unit

External

Sensor

BMC4I

Potential Secondary Mission:

Surveillance / Target

Demonstrate in a Relevant Operational Environment at HELSTF that a

Mobile Solid State Laser Weapon System can Provide an Effective

Mission Capability to Counter Rocket, Artillery, And Mortar Projectiles.

Capable of Operating in a

Full Spectrum, Networked/

Information Based

Battlefield Environment

Navy Laser Weapon System

Test Results

• Naval Sea Systems

Command (NAVSEA),

with support from Naval

Surface Warfare Center

(NSWC) Dahlgren

executed LaWS testing in

June 2009 & June 2010

• Successfully tracked,

engaged, and destroyed

in flight UAVs at NAWC

China Lake and San

Nicholas Island

• Nine targets total were

engaged and destroyed

in progressively

challenging tests

Maritime Laser Demonstration

(MLD)

Maritime Laser Demonstration

Existing MLD Prototype at NG/Space Park

FIRST SUCCESSFUL LASER

WEAPON LETHALITY

DEMONSTRATION FROM US

NAVY SURFACE SHIP

(APRIL 2011)

NAVY SDTS

HEL

JTO SMDC

MLD INSTALLED ON

USS PAUL FOSTER

DD-964

Summary

• Comprehensive JTO portfolio advancing the state of the art in

HEL technologies

• RELI – will develop efficient, light weight laser sources

• HEL Demonstrations & Service Initiatives

– JHPSSL Integration at HELSTF – Army

– HEL TD – Army

– Airborne Laser ‘Shoot-down’ – Missile Defense Agency

– Laser Weapon System-Navy

– Maritime Self-Defense – Navy

An Exciting Time for High Energy Laser

Technology Advancement