Related papers: The ALFA Laser: Beam Relay and Control System
Robo-AO is the first astronomical laser guide star adaptive optics (AO) system designed to operate completely independent of human supervision. A single computer commands the AO system, the laser guide star, visible and near-infrared…
We report on the atom optical manipulation of an atom laser beam. Reflection, focusing and its storage in a resonator are demonstrated. Precise and versatile mechanical control over an atom laser beam propagating in an inhomogeneous…
The Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) will enable direct observations of low-frequency gravitational waves, offering unprecedented insight into astrophysical and cosmological phenomena. LISA's heterodyne interferometric measurement…
Optical interferometry has been successful at achieving milliarcsecond resolution on bright stars. Imaging performance can improve greatly by increasing the number of baselines, which has motivated proposals to build large (~ 100 m) optical…
Laser guide stars created by Rayleigh scattering provide a reasonable means to monitor atmospheric wavefront distortions for real-time correction by adaptive optics systems. Because of the $\lambda^{-4}$ wavelength dependence of Rayleigh…
We present an optical element for the separation of superimposed beams which only differ in angle. The beams are angularly resolved and separated by total internal reflection at an air gap between two prisms. As a showcase application, we…
We describe a flasher system designed for use in monitoring the gains of the photomultiplier tubes used in the VERITAS gamma-ray telescopes. This system uses blue light-emitting diodes (LEDs) so it can be operated at much higher rates than…
Technological advances will allow the placement of many Terahertz detectors at the focal plane of a single telescope. For a telescope of a given diameter and wavelength of operation, there is a limit to the number of usable detectors…
The Laser-wire will be an essential diagnostic tool at the International Linear Collider. It uses a finely focussed laser beam to measure the transverse profile of electron bunches by detecting the Compton-scattered photons (or degraded…
A Central Laser Facility is a system often used in astroparticle experiments based on arrays of fluorescence or Cherenkov light detectors. The instrument is based on a laser source positioned at a certain distance from the array, emitting…
LISA is a proposed space-based laser interferometer detecting gravitational waves by measuring distances between free-floating test masses housed in three satellites in a triangular constellation with laser links in-between. Each satellite…
Robo-AO, a fully autonomous, laser guide star adaptive optics and science system, is being commissioned at Palomar Observatory's 60-inch telescope. Here we discuss the instrument, scientific goals and results of initial on-sky operation.
A fraction of a laser beam array, whose unknown phase relationships must be set to prescribed values, is launched into a scattering media with random transmission. The resulting output speckle pattern is sampled by an array of photodiodes…
Exceptional pulse contrast can be critical for ultraintense laser experiments, particularly when using solid density targets, and their use is becoming widespread. However, current plasma mirror technology is becoming inadequate for the new…
We demonstrate a blind zone-suppressed and flash-emitting solid-state Lidar based on lens-assisted beam steering (LABS) technology. As a proof-of-concept demonstration, with a design of subwavelength-gap one-dimensional (1D) long-emitter…
We present the design and implementation of a side entry laser system designed for an ultra-high vacuum scanning transmission electron microscope. This system uses a versatile probe design enclosed in a vacuum envelope such that parts can…
A multi-level tunable reflection array wide-angle beam scanning method is proposed to address the limited bandwidth and small scanning angle issues of current terahertz beam scanning technology. In this method, a focusing lens and its array…
The major cornerstone of future ground-based astronomy is imaging and spectroscopy at the diffraction limit using adaptive optics. To exploit the potential of current AO systems, we have begun a survey around bright stars to study…
The Gemini Multi-conjugate Adaptive Optics System - GeMS, a facility instrument mounted on the Gemini South telescope, delivers a uniform, near diffraction limited images at near infrared wavelengths (0.95 microns- 2.5 microns) over a field…
We present the upGREAT THz heterodyne arrays for far-infrared astronomy. The Low Frequency Array (LFA) is designed to cover the 1.9-2.5 THz range using 2x7-pixel waveguide-based HEB mixer arrays in a dual polarization configuration. The…