Thermally-Adaptive Solid State Laser Crystal Mount

About this technology

Overview

NASA’s solid-state laser crystal mounting technology was developed for and implemented in high-energy pulsed 2-micron laser transmitters for airborne differential absorption LIDAR used in measuring carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere and Coherent Doppler lidar used for atmospheric winds. The mount is designed for cubic, tetragonal or orthorhombic laser crystals, such as yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG), yttrium lithium fluoride (YLF), and yttrium orthoaluminate (YALO), respectively, operating in high energy pumped laser transmitters. These crystals are prone to fracturing in use due to the heat generated and resulting unsymmetrical properties, such as thermal expansion, of the crystal. Most of the energy pumped into a laser crystal becomes excess heat. The faster and more uniformly this heat is dissipated, the better the laser beam performance and the lower the chance of crystal fracture. NASA’s laser crystal mount has been used in an actual laser transmitter system and has essentially eliminated the risk of thermally-induced damage to the laser crystal. Research indicated that the mount reduced the crystal damage rate from 17 crystals in a single year to no-damaged crystals for 4 years. The design offers unrestrained thermal expansion of the crystal while maintaining alignment position and continuous contact with the heat sink.