Photon Trap
Photon Trap confines photons between two high-reflectance mirrors for amplifying the CW circulating laser power by orders of magnitude.
The applications of Photon Trap are:
- Laser Propulsion
- Optomechanical Research using High Power CW Lasers
- High Power CW Laser Power Calibration
- CW Optics Damage Threshold Measurement
- Beam Propagation Characterization for Test and Evaluation (T&E) of CW High Energy Lasers
Photon Trap demonstrated to produce a CW 540-kW intracavity laser power with 1-kW pumping.
Photon Trap Demonstration
Total CW radiation pressure over the entire mirror in the Photon Trap as a function of the CW intracavity laser power
The radiation pressure was measured with a radiation power meter that is essentially a horizontally operating digital scale. The intracavity laser power was measured optically by monitoring the leakage laser power through the end mirror with a known transmission coefficient.
Demonstration of Dielectric Mirror Damage Threshold Measurement
A damaged high power dielectric mirror during the CW laser damage threshold measurement
- Mirror reflectance: >0.999
- Mirror diameter: 2.5 cm
- Intracavity laser beam power at the damage threshold: 260 kW
- Intracavity laser beam diameter: 0.6 cm
- Measured CW damage threshold: 920 ± 80 kW/cm2