Development of a US Gravitational Wave Laser System for LISA. (April 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Camp, J; Numata, K
• Is Part Of: Journal of physics. Number 610(2015)
• Publication Date: 2015-04
• Subjects: Physics -- Congresses; 530.5
• DOI: 10.1088/1742-6596/610/1/012033
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1742-6588

Abstract

Abstract: 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.