Development of Mid-IR Lasers for Laser Remote Sensing
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Development of mid-IR lasers for Laser Remote Sensing Alexander Soibel, Kamjou Mansour, Gary Spiers and Siamak Forouhar Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology 4800 Oak Grove Dr, Pasadena, CA 91109 ABSTRACT There is a need in NASA for development of mid-infrared (mid-IR) lasers, such as Quantum Cascade (QC) lasers, for in-situ and remote laser spectrometers. Mid-IR, compact, low power consumption laser spectrometers have a great potential for detection and measurements of planetary gases and biological important biomarker molecules such as H2O, H2O2, CH4, and many additional chemical species on Mars and other planets of Solar systems. Other applications of mid-IR QC lasers are in high power remote Laser Reflectance Spectrometer (LRS) instruments for future NASA outer solar system explorations. In LSR instruments, QC lasers will act as the illumination source for conducting active mid-IR reflectance spectroscopy of solidsurfaced objects in the outer Solar System. LRS instruments have the potential to provide an incredible amount of information about the compositions of surfaces in the outer Solar System. In this work, we will discuss our current effort at JPL to develop and improve the mid-IR QC lasers to a level that the laser performance, operational requirements and reliability will be compatible with the instruments demands for space exploration applications. INTRODUCTION The mid-infrared spectral range (5 - 20 µm) is of particular interest for remote sensing of material composition as many chemical species have absorption features in this wavelength range that are associated with molecular rotational-vibration transitions [1]. These include molecules such as H2O, CO2, N2O, CH4, CO, NH3, NOx, HCl, and many other compounds whose absorption spectra are shown in Figure 1. Detection of these molecules is essential for many applications in space research, atmospheric chemistry, pollution control and industrial processing. Space research applications include in-situ and remote sensing of the gases in planetary atmospheres, isotope detection and the identification of the surface composition of planetary and lunar bodies. For example, water (H2O) that has a strong absorption lines in midIR spectral range, is a critical component in biological activity. Remote or in situ detection of the location of the water reservoirs on Mars will contribute to successful realization of the human explorations programs that were recently outlined in new NASA Vision for Space Exploration. Moreover, study of partitioning among vapor, liquid, and solid phases of water is a high–priority for future unmanned Mars mission that address the possibility of life on Mars. Spectroscopy in the 4.5 to 10-µm region has the potential to provide an incredible amount of information about the compositions of surfaces in the outer Solar System. However, the lack of sunlight and cold conditions, make reflected solar spectroscopy and thermal emission spectroscopy difficult to perform. Both solar illumination (
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