Dynamically Step Locked Seed Laser for Cross-Cutting SmallSat Water Vapor and Methane DIAL, Year 1

WV DIAL transmitters currently use 4 discrete semiconductor seed lasers that are each stabilized to a different part of a WV line to cover a large dynamic range. Each laser is locked to a fixed point and has limited tuning capability. The 4 seeds are multiplexed onto a single fiber and sent to the pulsed laser using an optical switch which is then sequentially switched between on a shot-to-shot basis for the DIAL measurement. The individual seed lasers each require control and locking electronics which are bulky. The switch also serves as a single point failure and exhibits poor optical cross talk. SWAP of the current technology is not compatible with space flight. The proposed technology would significantly reduce SWAP and complexity and enable operation on small satellite platforms. The dynamic tuning approach coupled with a high bandwidth Phased Locked loop will allow for continuous tuning of the seed laser frequency over the full DIAL spectrum with just a single laser. A feed forward current signal is used to select a new frequency set point between each shot such that the PLL can lock to the newly set wavelength. This approach allows for intelligent optimization of the transmitted wavelength on a shot to shot basis from the spacecraft to optimize absorption as a function of latitude. The objective is to complete the electronics design in anticipation of the final deliverable from our industry partner and to develop a mechanical and electrical package that is can be space qualified in future efforts.

For water vapor lidar up to four wavelengths positioned on a water line are required to adequately measure water vapor profiles throughout the troposphere. To reduce the number of lasers by half and reduce SWaP by over 80% compared to traditional bulk optic methods, this project will integrate a photonic integrated circuit being developed by industry partners with intelligent FPGA processing to create one compact integrated package suitable for operation on small satellite platforms.

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