23.06.2023 • Contributions

New lasers for climate research

How do you measure the temperature of individual atoms at an altitude of ninety kilometers?

Weather reports, climate models, or rocket launches – they all need precise data from the atmosphere. Scientists can use lidar systems to shoot laser beams into the sky to acquire such data. A team from the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT and the Leibniz Institute for Atmospheric Physics IAP has developed a portable lidar system that works autonomously.

The mobile lidar system sends five beams into the night sky. With four small...
The mobile lidar system sends five beams into the night sky. With four small and one large telescope, it detects the photons from up to 100 km altitude and provides climate data in real time. (Source: Fraunhofer ILT / Ralf Baumgarten)
The alexandrite laser is strongly folded and pumped with a fiber-coupled source...
The alexandrite laser is strongly folded and pumped with a fiber-coupled source (right). On the left, a mirror ‘recycles’ the remaining pump radiation. (Source: Fraunhofer ILT)
In November 2022, the teams from Fraunhofer ILT and Leibniz IAP installed a new...
In November 2022, the teams from Fraunhofer ILT and Leibniz IAP installed a new laser in another of the four lidar systems. (Source: Fraunhofer ILT / Ralf Baumgarten)

It took ten years from the first discussions to the first successful mesosphere measurement with the new diode-pumped alexandrite laser. Alexandrite is a very special laser crystal: It can be tuned over a broad spectrum from 730 to 800 nm. Unlike titanium sapphire, it can also store abundant energy in the process. Thanks to these properties, it is particularly suitable for high pulse energies. The prototype of the alexandrite lasers, illustrating the conversion from (infra)red to (ultra)violet, will be exhibited at Laser World of Photonics, hall A3, booth 441.

Reference: New lasers for climate research: How do you measure the temperature of individual atoms at an altitude of ninety kilometers? PhotonicsViews, first published online 15 June 2023

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