Lasers for LISA

overview and phase characteristics

authored by

M. Tröbs, S. Barke, J. Möbius, M. Engelbrecht, D. Kracht, L. D'Arcio, G. Heinzel, K. Danzmann

Abstract

We have investigated two alternative laser systems for the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA). One consisted of the laser of LISA's technology precursor LISA Pathfinder and a fiber amplifier originally designed for a laser communication terminal onboard TerraSar-X. The other consisted of a commercial fiber distributed feedback (DFB) laser seeding a fiber amplifier. We have shown that the TerraSar-X amplifier can emit more than 1W without the onset of stimulated Brillouin scattering as required by LISA. We have measured power noise and frequency noise of the LISA Pathfinder laser (LPL) and the fiber laser. The fiber laser shows comparable or even lower power noise than the LPL. LISA will use electro-optical modulators (EOMs) between seed laser and amplifier for clock noise comparison between spacecraft. This scheme requires that the excess noise added by the amplifiers be negligible. We have investigated the phase characteristics of two fiber amplifiers emitting 1 W and found them to be compatible with the LISA requirement on amplifier differential phase noise.

Organisation(s)

Institute of Gravitation Physics

External Organisation(s)

Laser Zentrum Hannover e.V. (LZH)
European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC)
Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics (Albert Einstein Institute)

Type

Conference article

Journal

Journal of Physics: Conference Series

Volume

154

ISSN

1742-6588

Publication date

2009

Publication status

Published

Peer reviewed

Yes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Physics and Astronomy(all)

Electronic version(s)

https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/154/1/012016 (Access: Open)