Simulations of a short Rayleigh length 100 kW FEL and mirror stability analysis

Download
Author
Campbell, Thomas E.
Date
2002-12Advisor
Colson, William B.
Armstead, Robert L.
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
A MW class free electron laser capable of delivering energy at the speed of light can improve ASCM defensive capability for Navy ships. Many design challenges must be overcome to make such a weapon possible. One such challenge is to maintain the power density on laser cavity mirrors at acceptable levels. The use of a short Rayleigh length to increase beam spot size at the mirror is studied as a possible solution to this problem. In this thesis, it is shown that by using a short Rayleigh length FEL, power densities at the mirrors are significantly reduced without causing a noticeable reduction in performance. For a short Rayleigh length FEL, the resonator cavity is sensitive to misalignment and vibration. The effect of mirror tilt due to vibrations is explored and the results show that as mirror tilt increases, FEL efficiency does decreases. However, a mirror tilt several orders of magnitude greater than currently achievable active alignment tolerances is required before the FEL efficiency is noticeably affected. In this thesis, it is shown that mirror tilt within achievable tolerance limits will not adversely affect the performance of a FEL.
Rights
This publication is a work of the U.S. Government as defined in Title 17, United States Code, Section 101. Copyright protection is not available for this work in the United States.Collections
Related items
Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.
-
Optical correction of space-based telescopes using a deformable mirror system
Mueller, Mark C. (Monterey, California: Naval Postgraduate School, 2016-12);Adaptive optics offer the potential to reduce the high cost and long lead time associated with manufacturing mirrors for spaced-based telescopes by allowing lighter materials to be substituted. These lighter materials lack ... -
Correction of a space telescope active primary mirror using adaptive optics in a woofer-tweeter configuration
Allen, Matthew R. (Monterey, California: Naval Postgraduate School, 2015-09);The Department of Defense seeks to improve space-based imaging capabilities by building larger space telescopes designed for higher orbits in order to provide timely accurate imagery to the military and national decision ... -
Impact of large field angles on the requirements for deformable mirror in imaging satellites
Kim, Jae Jun; Mueller, Mark; Martinez, Ty; Agrawal, Brij (2018-01);For certain imaging satellite missions, a large aperture with wide field-of-view is needed. In order to achieve diffraction limited performance, the mirror surface Root Mean Square (RMS) error has to be less than 0.05 ...