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文中主要讨论了平面波导激光器、固体薄片激光器、浸入式液冷固体激光器、碱金属蒸汽激光器、相干合成光纤激光器等新型电驱动高能激光光源的技术发展现状、关键技术、以及未来作为战术激光武器应用的潜力。相对固体板条激光和光纤激光,这些新型激光在功率定标能力、体积重量等方面具有潜在优势,因此近年来在国际上获得较广泛关注,部分技术体制还获得相当大的突破。特别是HEL-JTO支持下的RELI项目,支持了平面波导激光器、固体薄片激光器、浸入式液冷固体激光器、共孔径相干合成光纤激光器等多种新型激光技术。
表1所示为不同技术体制激光的优缺点与关键技术对比。具体到新型电驱动高能激光的武器级应用,应结合装载平台自身的特性。目前看来,在这些新型激光中,浸入式液冷固体激光作为战术激光武器的主战光源具有很好的应用前景,但需要提升其电光转换效率,延长激光器的可持续工作时间。其他新型激光中,平面波导激光在高功率状态下的多级放大难题和非导波方向光束质量控制困难是制约其走向高功率的技术瓶颈,平面波导的制备工艺获得大幅度进步前,预期平面波导激光的输出功率难以满足多数作战场景要求。目前尚看不到固体薄片激光定标到100 kW以上功率水平的可行性,因此其为战术激光武器主战光源的前景并不看好。碱金属蒸汽激光的输出功率应该能够提升至100 kW以上,但其是否能实现高光束质量产生、以及工程化应用是否存在问题尚待观察。拼接孔径相干合成的光纤激光看起来突破100 kW并不存在大的技术困难,但全系统的轻小型化仍然是制约其作为战术激光武器应用的关键问题。
Technical system Advantage Shortcoming Key technology Planar waveguide laser High light to light conversion efficiency; No non linear effect; High output power of single module Material preparation is difficult; Multi level amplification is difficult; Difficult to control beam quality in non waveguide direction Fabrication technology of planar waveguide; Efficient uniform pump coupling technology; High efficiency seed injection technology Sheet laser High light to light conversion efficiency; High thermal management efficiency Sheet welding is difficult; Beam quality control is difficult; Small energy storage of single module Low deformation welding technology of thin sheet; Multi pass pump coupling technology; High efficiency laser extraction technology; Beam quality control technology Immersion liquid-cooled solid state laser Small size and light weight; High energy storage of single gain module;Easy power scaling and amplification Beam quality control is difficult; The coolant is toxic Solid liquid interface loss suppression technology; Laminar cooling technology; Pressure equalizing and shunt technology; Beam quality control technology Alkali metal vapor laser Small size and light weight; High light to light conversion efficiency; Efficient thermal management Low pump light absorption efficiency; Alkali metal vapor is easy to cause pollution of optical devices Pump band broadening Technology; LD wavelength locking technology; Steam cycle technology Coherent synthesis of fiber laser High light to light conversion efficiency; Easy power scaling and amplification Sub laser output power is limited; Complex system and difficult integration High power single frequency fiber laser technology; Large scale compact integration technology Table 1. Advantages, disadvantages and key technologies of various new lasers
Status and development trend of overseas new type electric drive high-energy laser technology
doi: 10.3788/IRLA20220283
- Received Date: 2021-12-04
- Rev Recd Date: 2022-02-25
- Publish Date: 2023-01-18
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Key words:
- new type laser /
- PWG laser /
- thin-disk laser /
- liquid immersed solid-state laser /
- alkali vapor laser /
- coherent beam combining of fiber lasers
Abstract: The status and development trend of overseas new type electric drive high-energy lasers, such as PWG laser, thin-disk laser, liquid immersed solid-state laser, alkali vapor laser and coherent beam combining of fiber lasers, are discussed in this paper. The applied potential of these new type lasers used as light source of laser weapon is analyzed. They can at least solve some problems faced by high-energy bulk solid-laser or fiber laser. Because of some shortcomings or problems to be solved, its output power, beam quality, or volume and weight cannot reach the level of a typical high-energy solid-state laser or fiber laser. The advantages and disadvantages of these new electrically driven high energy lasers are discussed in detail, and their technical development prospects are preliminarily analyzed and judged.