Laser system design for the generation of a sodium-layer laser guide star

摘要

ign considerations for a laser system used to generate a sodium-layer guide star are presented. Laser technology developed for the Atomic Vapor Laser Isotope Separation (AVLIS) program is shown to be directly relevant to this problem and results of a demonstration using the AVLIS laser to generate such a guide star are shown. The design of a compact laser suitable for use at a large telescope such as the Keck is also presented.