|
Post by amimai on Nov 10, 2016 1:33:38 GMT
I have been thinking, is it better to have 1 big 1GW laser pumping out a single wavelength or 10 small 100MW lasers pumping out a spread of 10 wavelengths so that no mater what you are getting maximum absorption and energy transfer?
available laser wavelength and efficiencies at 1cm Arc Lamp
1900nm : Thulium Silica Fiber (Krypton 0.48%) 1550nm : Erbium Silica Fiber (Krypton 1.99%) 1060nm : YAG (Krypton 5.52%) 1060nm : GGG (Krypton 4.58%) 1050nm : YLF (Krypton 3.80%) 1030nm : Ytterbium Silica Fiber (Mercury 0.06%) 0790nm : Thulium Saphire (xenon 4.46%) 0694nm : Ruby (xenon 1.65%)
a Krypton YAG laser seems most efficient (5.52%) for getting the most energy on target, but a mix of all of them would average 2.82% efficiency
also sapphire violet is the outright best for MW Intensity at range, but im not sure how that would translate into damage since its nearly 20% less efficient then YAG lasers
|
|
|
Post by goduranus on Nov 10, 2016 2:03:42 GMT
Now that you can use lasers at 1000km, i think it's always better to use Purple or UV lasers. The tighter divergence will overcome the lower efficiency at long ranges.
|
|
|
Post by apophys on Nov 10, 2016 11:13:16 GMT
All the wavelengths posted here are before frequency doubling, which greatly improves intensity, and thus greatly improves long-range damage. Infrared would need rather large apertures to recover intensity and stay relevant. You can make it work, sure, but it'll be heavier and/or less armored, and the cross-section would be a lot worse.
Nd:YAG + krypton directly outclasses Nd:GGG + krypton and Nd:YLF + krypton (all are green when doubled; the wavelengths are basically the same).
Ti:Sapphire + xenon will probably become the most used now, for smaller-aperture lasers. Ruby + xenon has quite poor efficiency.
Nd:YAG + krypton remains the most powerful choice if you don't mind somewhat bigger apertures.
|
|