New sources of high‐power coherent radiation

MAR 01, 1984

Free‐electron lasers and cyclotron‐resonance masers show considerable promise for producing previously unattainable levels of power at wavelengths ranging from millimeters to the ultraviolet.

DOI: 10.1063/1.2916158

Phillip Sprangle

Timothy Coffey

Recent progress in novel techniques for generating high‐power coherent radiation promises to make available sources with a variety of new and exciting applications. Interestingly, the new techniques have more in common with those used in the earliest sources of coherent radiation—the various microwave generators—than with those used in the more recent optical lasers. Development of new sources based on these techniques is proceeding rapidly at research centers around the world, because the new sources have a great potential for extending the currently available range of wavelengths and levels of power, while maintaining high operating efficiencies. The areas of application that stand to benefit include spectroscopy, advanced accelerators, short‐wavelength radar, and plasma heating in fusion reactors.

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More about the authors

Phillip Sprangle, Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC.

Timothy Coffey, Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC.