Abstract
The adequacy of commercial quasi-continuous high-power laser diode arrays (HPLDAs) as pump sources for spaceborne lasers has been assessed by endurance tests up to shots under various stress conditions, vacuum operation up to shots, and proton radiation tests. Observations of the evolution of the electro-optic parameters and of the near-field patterns of the HPLDAs during endurance tests have revealed that some diode bars could reach the required lifetime of a multibillion shots, suggesting how to build long lifetime HPLDAs by proper selection of the diode bars. The robustness of the HPLDAs against the proton environment experienced in a typical low Earth orbit has been checked. Finally, high-power laser diode arrays have been operated under vacuum, showing a behavior similar to that of HPLDAs operating in atmospheric conditions.
© 2006 Optical Society of America
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