AAWSAP DIRD, State of the Art and Evolution of High-Energy Lasers, March 2010

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Contents
Summary.................................................................................................................v
Introduction ........................................................................................................... 1
Basic Attributes of Kinetic Energy and HEL Weapons ......................................... 1
Elements of an HEL weapon ............................................................................... 2
Laser Devices ......................................................................................................... 3
Laser Fundamentals ........................................................................................... 3
Chemical Lasers ................................................................................................. 5
Solid-State Lasers .............................................................................................. 6
Rod and Slab Lasers ........................................................................................... 7
Fiber Lasers ....................................................................................................... 8
Ultra-Short Pulse Lasers .................................................................................. 10
Free-Electron Lasers ........................................................................................ 11
Beam Control and Atmospheric Propagation of Laser Devices.............................. 12
Brief History of DoD Laser Weapon Research ....................................................... 16
Laser-Material Interaction ................................................................................... 20
Vulnerability of Spacecraft to Laser Radiation...................................................... 22
Projection of Future HEL Weapon Capability ........................................................ 23
Recommendations ................................................................................................ 25
Sources of Further Information ............................................................................ 26
Figures
Figure 1. Utility of KE and HEL Weapons ................................................................. 2
Figure 2. Elements of an HEL Weapon System........................................................ 3
Figure 3. Basic Laser Concept................................................................................. 4
Figure 4. Cylindrical Gain Generator for HF Chemical Space Based Laser ............... 5
Figure 5. Common Solid-State Lasers and Their Wavelengths ................................ 6
Figure 6. Incoherent Combination of Single Mode Lasers at the Target.................. 9
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