Development of a US Gravitational Wave Laser System for LISA

[摘要] A highly stable and robust laser system is a key component of the space-based LISA mission architecture. We will describe our plans to demonstrate a TRL 5 LISA laser system at Goddard Space Flight Center by 2016. The laser system includes a low-noise oscillator followed by a power amplifier. The oscillator is a low-mass, compact external cavity laser, consisting of a semiconductor laser coupled to an optical cavity, built by the laser vendor Redfern Integrated Optics. The amplifier is a diode-pumped Yb fiber with 2 W output, built at Goddard. We show noise and reliability data for the full laser system, and describe our plans to reach TRL 5 by 2016.

[发布机构] NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt; MD; 20771, United States^1;University of Maryland, Department of Astronomy, CRESST, College Park; MD; 20741, United States^2

[关键词] External cavity lasers;Goddard Space Flight Center;Highly stables;Laser systems;Mission architectures;Optical cavities;Redfern integrated optics;Reliability data