AAWSAP DIRD, Laser Lightcraft Nanosatellites, November 2010

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SUMMARY OF EMERGENT HIGH-POWER SOLID-STATE AND FREE­
ELECTRON LASER TECHNOLOGIES
Bulk Slab Solid-State Laser
Under the auspices of the Joint High Power Solid-State Laser (JHPSSL) program,
Northrop Grumman broke the all-important 100 kW beam power threshold in early
2009 by firing a 7-amplifier chain bulk slab solid-state laser (BSSSL) that produced a
beam output power of almost 106 kW (see Figure 19). Each amplifier chain is
assembled with several high-gain power modules. The laser operated for more than
five minutes, achieved electro-optical efficiency of 19.3%, and reached full power in
less than 0.6 seconds with a beam quality of better than 3.0, Whereas the test
demonstration saw five minutes of continuous operation for the laser, altogether the
system has been operated at above 100 kW beam power for a total duration of more
than 85 minutes. Adding an eight amplifier chain that the system was designed for will
increase the beam power to 120 kW.
Figure 19. Northrop Grumman's Joint High Power Bulk Slab Solid-State Laser (courtesy of
the Directed Energy Professional Society).
Even though 100 kW beam power has long been the proof-of-principle sought for
weapons-class lasers, it should be noted that many militarily useful effects can be
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