Guide Star Laser

SodiumStar – High-power
guide star laser @ 589 nm

Credit: ESO/F. Kamphues

Guide Star Laser

SodiumStar – High-power
guide star laser @ 589 nm

Credit: ESO/F. Kamphues

SodiumStar

The all new SodiumStar is a reliable turn-key guide star laser system optimised für maximum return flux. Higher output power than ever before, alongside additional options that increase the achievable return flux, enable high.speed adaptive optics, observations at visible wavelengths, and daytime observations. The improved SodiumStar system also comes in a smaller form-factor and at reduced weight for easier integration at smaller telescopes.

New features:

  • High-power versions
  • Single-sideband repumper for increased power efficiency
  • Frequency chirping to mitigate spectral bleaching
  • Linewidth-broadening for saturation mitigation
Spec Sheet
Optical System Specification
Laser output power20 W, 30 W, 40 W, 50 W,
custom power levels on request
Laser wavelengthλ₀ = 589.15902 nm; sodium D2a line
Laser frequency tunabilityTunable ±200 MHz across the center of the sodium D2a line
Frequency stability (peak-peak)±40 MHz (over 8 hours)
Laser linewidth (FWHM)Single frequency, 5 MHz (FWHM)
(adjustable with LWE option)
Power stability (peak-to-peak)< 10 %; measured over t = 8 hours,
averaged over 1 s
Relative intensity noise RIN (rms)< 6 % over 10 ms at a measurement frequency of 10 kHz
Beam Size d₄σ(z)d₄σ(z) = 3.0 mm (1/e² beam diameter), z = 0 + 2 m from aperture
Beam ellipticitye(z) is between 0.93 and 1.07
Wavefront error (rms)≤ 70 nm RMS
Beam pointing (peak-peak)< 160 µrad
Beam shift (peak-peak)< 100 µm
Polarization extinction ratio PERPER > 20 dB
Linear polarization stabilityAzimuth accuracy is ± 2°
Repumper power fraction0 … 15 %, adjustable
Cooling system specification
Coolant temperature17 … 19 °C
Coolant temperature stability± 0.5 K/h
Coolant flow rate2–3 l/min (LH); 4–6 l/min (EC)
General specification
Power consumption< 1.0 kW
Operating temperature range–10 … 25 °C
Relative humidity< 95 %, non-condensing
Max operating elevation (above sea level)< 4300 m
Dimension laser head (without insulation cover)860 mm × 565 mm × 345 mm (w / d / h)
Weight laser head (without insulation cover)83 kg
Dimension laser head (incl. insulation cover)1110 mm × 835 mm × 460 mm (w / d / h)
Weight laser head (including insulation cover)100 kg
Dimension electronic and control cabinet820 mm × 830 mm × 1250 mm (w / d / h)
Weight electronic cabinet270 kg
Measurements
Shack-Hartmann wavefront measurement of the output beam with rms wavefront error of 23 nm.
Pointing and lateral shift of the laser output beam during a tilting test of the laser head carried out at full operational power level of 22 W of output power at 589 nm.
Long-term stability of the laser wavelength locked to the spectroscopy-stabilized reference laser. The standard deviation is 5.3 MHz, and the peak-to-peak deviation is 49 MHz. The red lines show the specification of ± 40 MHz