Lasers in Defence : An Overview of Contemporary Status and Emerging Trends

摘要

Lasers have influenced every conceivable area of application in the last couple of decades. During this period, there has been an explosive growth in commercial, industrial, medical, scientific, technological and above all military usage of laser devices and systems. While the expansion of non-military application spectrum of lasers is primarily driven by emergence of a large number of laser wavelengths followed by ever increasing power levels and reducing price tags at which those wavelengths could be generated, the military applications of lasers and related electro-optic devices have grown mainly because of technological maturity of the lasers that were born in the late 60's and the early 70's. Technological advances in optics, optoelectronics and electronics leading to more rugged, reliable, compact and efficient laser devices are largely responsible for making them indispensable in modern warfare. In this paper, we present an overview of the emergence of lasers for Defence applications, their current status worldwide and the role they are almost set to play in the twenty first century battlefield. Also is included a brief on the developmental activity in the field of laser devices at Laser Science and Technology Center, Delhi.