From theoretical considerations it is well known that pulsed CO2 lasers with beam peak powers of 50 MW and a pulse length of 20 μs should be able to launch small satellites. To overcome limitations from ultra high power densities in a single laser source, a new concept proposes a beam source which consists of several individual laser systems. Short laser pulses emitted by 16 Q-switched CO2 laser sources with more than 50 MW power, as of coaxial electrode geometry with excellent beam power to volume ratio, will be combined on a common optical beam path to form a longer single pulse as required. Coaxial lasers have already been built successfully, although without Q-switching. As a main component of the above concept a new optical beam switching element - a "plasma mirror" - which can withstand ultra high power densities that must serve as a Q switch and as a beam path switch is proposed. From the literature it is well known that very dense plasmas are able to reflect an incoming laser beam totally if the plasma frequency, depending on the electron density, equals the laser radiation frequency. As a first step for the development of such a device the absorptivity and reflectivity of iron argon plasmas for CO2 laser beams has been studied theoretically and experimentally by the authors with the result, that for plasma electron densities of 1017 cm-3 nearly 100% are absorbed due to "inverse bremsstrahlung", but that the plasma frequency and thus reflectivity can not be reached, since the electron density is too small in plasmas as contained in electrical arcs.
{"title":"CO2 laser with 65MW pulses and 100kW power: concept and first steps of development","authors":"D. Schuöcker, B. Holzinger","doi":"10.1117/12.783092","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1117/12.783092","url":null,"abstract":"From theoretical considerations it is well known that pulsed CO2 lasers with beam peak powers of 50 MW and a pulse length of 20 μs should be able to launch small satellites. To overcome limitations from ultra high power densities in a single laser source, a new concept proposes a beam source which consists of several individual laser systems. Short laser pulses emitted by 16 Q-switched CO2 laser sources with more than 50 MW power, as of coaxial electrode geometry with excellent beam power to volume ratio, will be combined on a common optical beam path to form a longer single pulse as required. Coaxial lasers have already been built successfully, although without Q-switching. As a main component of the above concept a new optical beam switching element - a \"plasma mirror\" - which can withstand ultra high power densities that must serve as a Q switch and as a beam path switch is proposed. From the literature it is well known that very dense plasmas are able to reflect an incoming laser beam totally if the plasma frequency, depending on the electron density, equals the laser radiation frequency. As a first step for the development of such a device the absorptivity and reflectivity of iron argon plasmas for CO2 laser beams has been studied theoretically and experimentally by the authors with the result, that for plasma electron densities of 1017 cm-3 nearly 100% are absorbed due to \"inverse bremsstrahlung\", but that the plasma frequency and thus reflectivity can not be reached, since the electron density is too small in plasmas as contained in electrical arcs.","PeriodicalId":249315,"journal":{"name":"High-Power Laser Ablation","volume":"13 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2008-05-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"131871603","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
V. Craciun, D. Craciun, I. Mihăilescu, G. Socol, N. Stefan, M. Miroiu, A. Galca, G. Bourne
Pulsed Laser Deposition (PLD) is an ideal technique to be used for combinatorial approaches. By simply changing the deposition targets one can obtain alternating layers with different periodicities both vertically and laterally, along the substrate surface. By changing the laser impact area location and the number of pulses on each target used for ablation, one can grow films with a continuous variation of the chemical composition, which will be a function of the location on the substrate. To illustrate the advantages and versatility of this Combinatorial PLD (C-PLD) technique, several examples of films used in applications where more than one property should be tailored or optimized are presented. Investigations of thermo-chemical stability, chemical bonding and crystalline structure of thin films of mixtures of HfO2 and Al2O3 that are used as high-k dielectric layers in advanced C-MOS transistors is the first example, followed by a study of structural, mechanical, optical and electrical properties of mixtures of indium tin oxide and doped or pure zinc oxide that are used as transparent and conductive layers. The third example is from the deposition of multilayers of ZrC and ZrN with variable thicknesses to obtain hard coatings.
{"title":"Combinatorial pulsed laser deposition of thin films","authors":"V. Craciun, D. Craciun, I. Mihăilescu, G. Socol, N. Stefan, M. Miroiu, A. Galca, G. Bourne","doi":"10.1117/12.782589","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1117/12.782589","url":null,"abstract":"Pulsed Laser Deposition (PLD) is an ideal technique to be used for combinatorial approaches. By simply changing the deposition targets one can obtain alternating layers with different periodicities both vertically and laterally, along the substrate surface. By changing the laser impact area location and the number of pulses on each target used for ablation, one can grow films with a continuous variation of the chemical composition, which will be a function of the location on the substrate. To illustrate the advantages and versatility of this Combinatorial PLD (C-PLD) technique, several examples of films used in applications where more than one property should be tailored or optimized are presented. Investigations of thermo-chemical stability, chemical bonding and crystalline structure of thin films of mixtures of HfO2 and Al2O3 that are used as high-k dielectric layers in advanced C-MOS transistors is the first example, followed by a study of structural, mechanical, optical and electrical properties of mixtures of indium tin oxide and doped or pure zinc oxide that are used as transparent and conductive layers. The third example is from the deposition of multilayers of ZrC and ZrN with variable thicknesses to obtain hard coatings.","PeriodicalId":249315,"journal":{"name":"High-Power Laser Ablation","volume":"7 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2008-05-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"133009830","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Rongqing Tan, Yijun Zheng, Changjun Ke, Kuo Zhang, Donglei Wang, Chongyi Wan, Shiming Liu, Jin Wu
Momentum coupling coefficients of TEA CO2 laser pulses for a parabolic aluminum shell were investigated. Momentum coupling coefficients were measured with a pendulum in a chamber, the energy of the incident laser pulse was varied from 8.3J to 50.9J, and the gas pressure in the chamber was changed from 100 kPa to 20 kPa in our experiments. Experimental data were analyzed thoroughly. It was found that the coupling coefficients under the air pressure of 100kPa decreased very slowly from 242 N/MW to 170 N/MW for the incident energy from 50.9J to 15.1J but decreased sharply for the energy between 15.1 J to 13.8 J. And it was different for the air pressure below 100 kPa. Indoor free flight of our parabolic shell was also analyzed, coupling coefficients and some other parameters were deduced from the experimental data.
{"title":"Investigation on momentum coupling coefficient for a parabolic shell","authors":"Rongqing Tan, Yijun Zheng, Changjun Ke, Kuo Zhang, Donglei Wang, Chongyi Wan, Shiming Liu, Jin Wu","doi":"10.1117/12.785898","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1117/12.785898","url":null,"abstract":"Momentum coupling coefficients of TEA CO2 laser pulses for a parabolic aluminum shell were investigated. Momentum coupling coefficients were measured with a pendulum in a chamber, the energy of the incident laser pulse was varied from 8.3J to 50.9J, and the gas pressure in the chamber was changed from 100 kPa to 20 kPa in our experiments. Experimental data were analyzed thoroughly. It was found that the coupling coefficients under the air pressure of 100kPa decreased very slowly from 242 N/MW to 170 N/MW for the incident energy from 50.9J to 15.1J but decreased sharply for the energy between 15.1 J to 13.8 J. And it was different for the air pressure below 100 kPa. Indoor free flight of our parabolic shell was also analyzed, coupling coefficients and some other parameters were deduced from the experimental data.","PeriodicalId":249315,"journal":{"name":"High-Power Laser Ablation","volume":"112 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2008-05-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"133715086","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Laser and discharge parameters in mixtures of rare gases with halogens driven by a pre-pulse-sustainer circuit technique are studied. Inductive energy storage with semiconductor opening switch was used for the high-voltage pre-pulse formation. It was shown that the pre-pulse with a high amplitude and short rise-time along with sharp increase of discharge current and uniform UV- and x-ray preionization allow to form long-lived stable discharge in halogen containing gas mixtures. Improvement of both pulse duration and output energy was achieved for XeCl-, XeF-, KrCl- and KrF excimer lasers. Maximal laser output was as high as 1 J at efficiency up to 4%. Increase both of the radiation power and laser pulse duration were achieved in N2-NF3 (SF6) and He-F2 (NF3) gas mixtures, as well.
{"title":"Efficient gas lasers pumped by generators with inductive energy storage","authors":"V. Tarasenko, A. N. Panchenko, A. E. Tel’minov","doi":"10.1117/12.782575","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1117/12.782575","url":null,"abstract":"Laser and discharge parameters in mixtures of rare gases with halogens driven by a pre-pulse-sustainer circuit technique are studied. Inductive energy storage with semiconductor opening switch was used for the high-voltage pre-pulse formation. It was shown that the pre-pulse with a high amplitude and short rise-time along with sharp increase of discharge current and uniform UV- and x-ray preionization allow to form long-lived stable discharge in halogen containing gas mixtures. Improvement of both pulse duration and output energy was achieved for XeCl-, XeF-, KrCl- and KrF excimer lasers. Maximal laser output was as high as 1 J at efficiency up to 4%. Increase both of the radiation power and laser pulse duration were achieved in N2-NF3 (SF6) and He-F2 (NF3) gas mixtures, as well.","PeriodicalId":249315,"journal":{"name":"High-Power Laser Ablation","volume":"446 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2008-05-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"133281665","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
E. Gatskevich, G. Ivlev, V. Volodin, A. Dvurechenskii, M. Efremov, A. Nikiforov, A. Yakimov
The laser annealing of Ge/Si heterostructures with Ge quantum dots (QD's) embedded on the depth of 0.15 and 0.3 μm has been studied. The samples were irradiated by 80-nanosecond ruby laser pulses. Irradiation energy density was close to the melting threshold of Si surface. The nanocluster structure was analyzed by Raman spectroscopy. Changes in composition of QD's were observed for both types of samples. The decrease in dispersion of nanocluster sizes after laser irradiation was obtained for samples with QD's embedded on 0.3 μm depth. The numerical simulations on the basis of Stefan problem showed that the maximum temperatures on the depth of QD's bedding differ by ~ 100 K. This difference is likely to lead to different effects of laser annealing of heterostructures with QD's.
{"title":"Influence of pulsed laser annealing on the properties of Ge quantum dots in Si matrix","authors":"E. Gatskevich, G. Ivlev, V. Volodin, A. Dvurechenskii, M. Efremov, A. Nikiforov, A. Yakimov","doi":"10.1117/12.782601","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1117/12.782601","url":null,"abstract":"The laser annealing of Ge/Si heterostructures with Ge quantum dots (QD's) embedded on the depth of 0.15 and 0.3 μm has been studied. The samples were irradiated by 80-nanosecond ruby laser pulses. Irradiation energy density was close to the melting threshold of Si surface. The nanocluster structure was analyzed by Raman spectroscopy. Changes in composition of QD's were observed for both types of samples. The decrease in dispersion of nanocluster sizes after laser irradiation was obtained for samples with QD's embedded on 0.3 μm depth. The numerical simulations on the basis of Stefan problem showed that the maximum temperatures on the depth of QD's bedding differ by ~ 100 K. This difference is likely to lead to different effects of laser annealing of heterostructures with QD's.","PeriodicalId":249315,"journal":{"name":"High-Power Laser Ablation","volume":"303 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2008-05-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"114588324","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Surface cleaning is a key step in many industrial processes and especially in laser surface treatments. During laser cleaning of metallic alloys using pulsed lasers, surface modification can be induced due to transient thermal effect. In ambient atmospheric conditions, an oxidation of the cleaned surface can be detected. The aim of this work was to characterize this transient oxidation that can occur below the laser energy domain leading to any phase change (melting, ablation) of the cleaned substrate. A Q-switched Nd:YAG laser (1.06 μm) with 10 ns pulse duration was used for this study. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and secondary ion mass spectroscopy were used for surface analysis of irradiated samples. Thermal oxidation took place on the aluminium-magnesium alloy (5000 series) during the irradiation in air (fluence range 0.6-1.4 Jcm-2). It has been demonstrated that this 10 ns laser thermal oxidation and the steady state thermal oxidation have the same mechanism. When the laser fluence reached 1 J cm -2 , the oxide formed by the thermal oxidation became in a large extent crystalline and its outer part was entirely covered by a continuous magnesium oxide layer.
在许多工业过程中，特别是在激光表面处理中，表面清洗是一个关键步骤。在使用脉冲激光对金属合金进行激光清洗时，由于瞬态热效应会引起表面改性。在环境大气条件下，可以检测到清洁表面的氧化。这项工作的目的是表征这种瞬态氧化，这种氧化可能发生在激光能量域以下，导致清洁基底的任何相变(熔化、烧蚀)。采用脉冲时间为10ns的调q Nd:YAG激光器(1.06 μm)。采用x射线光电子能谱和二次离子质谱对辐照样品进行表面分析。铝镁合金(5000系列)在空气(影响范围0.6 ~ 1.4 Jcm-2)辐照过程中发生热氧化。结果表明，10ns激光热氧化与稳态热氧化具有相同的机理。当激光通量达到1 J cm -2时，热氧化形成的氧化物在很大程度上变成结晶，其外部完全被连续的氧化镁层覆盖。
{"title":"Pulsed laser cleaning of aluminium-magnesium alloys: effect of surface modifications on adhesion","authors":"M. Autric, R. Oltra","doi":"10.1117/12.782989","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1117/12.782989","url":null,"abstract":"Surface cleaning is a key step in many industrial processes and especially in laser surface treatments. During laser cleaning of metallic alloys using pulsed lasers, surface modification can be induced due to transient thermal effect. In ambient atmospheric conditions, an oxidation of the cleaned surface can be detected. The aim of this work was to characterize this transient oxidation that can occur below the laser energy domain leading to any phase change (melting, ablation) of the cleaned substrate. A Q-switched Nd:YAG laser (1.06 μm) with 10 ns pulse duration was used for this study. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and secondary ion mass spectroscopy were used for surface analysis of irradiated samples. Thermal oxidation took place on the aluminium-magnesium alloy (5000 series) during the irradiation in air (fluence range 0.6-1.4 Jcm-2). It has been demonstrated that this 10 ns laser thermal oxidation and the steady state thermal oxidation have the same mechanism. When the laser fluence reached 1 J cm -2 , the oxide formed by the thermal oxidation became in a large extent crystalline and its outer part was entirely covered by a continuous magnesium oxide layer.","PeriodicalId":249315,"journal":{"name":"High-Power Laser Ablation","volume":"23 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2008-05-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"127929277","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
K. Khishchenko, M. Veysman, N. Andreev, V. Fortov, P. Levashov, M. Povarnitsyn
A theoretical model is developed for the interaction of intense femtosecond laser pulses with solid targets on the basis of the two-temperature equation of state for an irradiated substance. It allows the description of the dynamics of the plasma formation and expansion. Comparison of available experimental data on the amplitude and phase of the complex reflection coefficient of aluminum with the simulation results provides new information on the transport coefficients and absorption capacity of the strongly coupled Al plasma over a wide range of temperatures and pressures.
{"title":"Modeling of optical, transport, and thermodynamic properties of Al metal irradiated by intense femtosecond laser pulses","authors":"K. Khishchenko, M. Veysman, N. Andreev, V. Fortov, P. Levashov, M. Povarnitsyn","doi":"10.1117/12.782772","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1117/12.782772","url":null,"abstract":"A theoretical model is developed for the interaction of intense femtosecond laser pulses with solid targets on the basis of the two-temperature equation of state for an irradiated substance. It allows the description of the dynamics of the plasma formation and expansion. Comparison of available experimental data on the amplitude and phase of the complex reflection coefficient of aluminum with the simulation results provides new information on the transport coefficients and absorption capacity of the strongly coupled Al plasma over a wide range of temperatures and pressures.","PeriodicalId":249315,"journal":{"name":"High-Power Laser Ablation","volume":"8 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2008-05-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"114734711","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Sheldon S. Q. Wu, T. Soules, R. Page, S. Mitchell, V. K. Kanz, R. Beach
Resonance transition rubidium laser (52P1/2→52S1/2) is demonstrated with a hydrocarbon-free buffer gas. Prior demonstrations of alkali resonance transition lasers have used ethane as either the buffer gas or a buffer gas component to promote rapid fine-structure mixing. However, our experience suggests that the alkali vapor reacts with the ethane producing carbon as one of the reaction products. This degrades long term laser reliability. Our recent experimental results with a "clean" helium-only buffer gas system pumped by a Ti:sapphire laser demonstrate all the advantages of the original alkali laser system, but without the reliability issues associated with the use of ethane. We further report a demonstration of a rubidium laser using a buffer gas consisting of pure 3He. Using isotopically enriched 3He gas yields enhanced mixing of the Rb fine-structure levels. This enables efficient lasing at reduced He buffer gas pressure, improved thermal management in high average power Rb lasers and enhanced power scaling potential of such systems.
{"title":"Resonance transition 795-nm rubidium laser using He buffer gas","authors":"Sheldon S. Q. Wu, T. Soules, R. Page, S. Mitchell, V. K. Kanz, R. Beach","doi":"10.1117/12.782376","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1117/12.782376","url":null,"abstract":"Resonance transition rubidium laser (52P1/2→52S1/2) is demonstrated with a hydrocarbon-free buffer gas. Prior demonstrations of alkali resonance transition lasers have used ethane as either the buffer gas or a buffer gas component to promote rapid fine-structure mixing. However, our experience suggests that the alkali vapor reacts with the ethane producing carbon as one of the reaction products. This degrades long term laser reliability. Our recent experimental results with a \"clean\" helium-only buffer gas system pumped by a Ti:sapphire laser demonstrate all the advantages of the original alkali laser system, but without the reliability issues associated with the use of ethane. We further report a demonstration of a rubidium laser using a buffer gas consisting of pure 3He. Using isotopically enriched 3He gas yields enhanced mixing of the Rb fine-structure levels. This enables efficient lasing at reduced He buffer gas pressure, improved thermal management in high average power Rb lasers and enhanced power scaling potential of such systems.","PeriodicalId":249315,"journal":{"name":"High-Power Laser Ablation","volume":"23 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2007-08-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"114465423","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
B. Kellett, D. Griffin, R. Bingham, R. N. Campbell, A. Forbes, M. Michaelis
Hybrid space propulsion has been a feature of most space missions. Only the very early rocket propulsion experiments like the V2, employed a single form of propulsion. By the late fifties multi-staging was routine and the Space Shuttle employs three different kinds of fuel and rocket engines. During the development of chemical rockets, other forms of propulsion were being slowly tested, both theoretically and, relatively slowly, in practice. Rail and gas guns, ion engines, “slingshot” gravity assist, nuclear and solar power, tethers, solar sails have all seen some real applications. Yet the earliest type of non-chemical space propulsion to be thought of has never been attempted in space: laser and photon propulsion. The ideas of Eugen Saenger, Georgii Marx, Arthur Kantrowitz, Leik Myrabo, Claude Phipps and Robert Forward remain Earth-bound. In this paper we summarize the various forms of nonchemical propulsion and their results. We point out that missions beyond Saturn would benefit from a change of attitude to laser-propulsion as well as consideration of hybrid “polypropulsion” – which is to say using all the rocket “tools” available rather than possibly not the most appropriate. We conclude with three practical examples, two for the next decades and one for the next century; disposal of nuclear waste in space; a grand tour of the Jovian and Saturnian moons – with Huygens or Lunoxod type, landers; and eventually mankind’s greatest space dream: robotic exploration of neighbouring planetary systems.
{"title":"Space polypropulsion","authors":"B. Kellett, D. Griffin, R. Bingham, R. N. Campbell, A. Forbes, M. Michaelis","doi":"10.1117/12.784659","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1117/12.784659","url":null,"abstract":"Hybrid space propulsion has been a feature of most space missions. Only the very early rocket propulsion experiments like the V2, employed a single form of propulsion. By the late fifties multi-staging was routine and the Space Shuttle employs three different kinds of fuel and rocket engines. During the development of chemical rockets, other forms of propulsion were being slowly tested, both theoretically and, relatively slowly, in practice. Rail and gas guns, ion engines, “slingshot” gravity assist, nuclear and solar power, tethers, solar sails have all seen some real applications. Yet the earliest type of non-chemical space propulsion to be thought of has never been attempted in space: laser and photon propulsion. The ideas of Eugen Saenger, Georgii Marx, Arthur Kantrowitz, Leik Myrabo, Claude Phipps and Robert Forward remain Earth-bound. In this paper we summarize the various forms of nonchemical propulsion and their results. We point out that missions beyond Saturn would benefit from a change of attitude to laser-propulsion as well as consideration of hybrid “polypropulsion” – which is to say using all the rocket “tools” available rather than possibly not the most appropriate. We conclude with three practical examples, two for the next decades and one for the next century; disposal of nuclear waste in space; a grand tour of the Jovian and Saturnian moons – with Huygens or Lunoxod type, landers; and eventually mankind’s greatest space dream: robotic exploration of neighbouring planetary systems.","PeriodicalId":249315,"journal":{"name":"High-Power Laser Ablation","volume":"101 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1900-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"131487660","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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