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MRI: Acquisition of a High Power, Tunable Diode Laser to Upgrade the Na Lidar System at the Andes Lidar Observatory

PI Zhuangren Liu

This MRI grant supports the replacement of an aging master oscillator in the Na wind/temperature lidar at the Andes Lidar Observatory (ALO), located in Cerro Pachón, Chile.

MRI Laser The ALO is an upper atmosphere observatory that houses the Na lidar and several airglow instruments, and a nearby meteor radar. They are operated by the University of Illinois, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, the Aerospace Corporation, and Utah State University. This suite of instruments provides comprehensive measurements of the upper atmosphere in a wide range of spatial and temporal scales. The frequency doubled, high power, tunable diode laser from Toptica Photonic Inc. is an easy to operate, very reliable laser that will simplify the lidar transmitter, significantly increase the reliability and operational hours, as well as reduce operational cost.