High-peak-power lasers have many other applications besides weapons simulation. Among them are optical proximity fuses for a large variety of missiles, from ground-to-ground to air-to-air and all varieties in between, as well as naval missiles. Such optical fusing technology is used by the U.S. as well as many of our allied nations. For example, during the major production years of the Sidewinder missile, 1975 to 1990, Laser Diode supplied over 400,000 lasers for this one program alone.
Other commercial applications for high-peak-power lasers include sensing for industrial robotics, surveying instruments, and civilian and military range-finding applications, which cover the gamut, from relatively simple laser-based golf rangefinders to highly sophisticated ceilometers that measure cloud height above airports in excess of 12,000 ft. Because of eye-safety concerns, a new generation of range finders will use 1550-nm pulsed lasers as the source. In addition, fiber pigtailed single-diode quasi-CW lasers may soon find increased usage for ordnance initiation in military programs—several programs are now close to production.
Stephen Lerner
Product Manager
High Power Components
Laser Diode Inc.
Div. Tyco Electronics Corp.
[email protected]
Finally, it is appropriate to mention that the article in World News provided a fair representation of the information conveyed in the original article that appeared in Applied Physics Letters.
Frank Duarte
Senior Research Physicist
Rochester, NY
[email protected]
REFERENCES
1. S. Yokoyama, A. Otomo, and S. Mashiko, Appl. Phys. Lett. 80, 7 (2002).
2. C. H. Chen, J. L. Fox, F. J. Duarte, and J. J. Ehrlich, Appl. Opt. 27, 443 (1988).
CORRECTION
The photo of the laser guide-star system at the Keck II telescope (April, p. 30) should have been credited to A. Contos, W. M. Keck Observatory.