Setup of a Beam Control System for High Power Laser Systems at DLR

Different types of high power or high energy lasers in the multi kW class are currently available or are under development with promising progress reports. A major challenge is to deliver as much as possible of the available power onto a small and fast moving target over a long distance through a disturbing atmosphere. High resolution imaging is a common way to identify the category of targets dedication and to determine the spatial position relative to the observer. By illuminating the target with a laser the imaging system becomes more resilient towards ambient light and the exposure time can be reduced drastically. Fast and deterministic control loops are demanding for the moving parts in order to maintain a high accuracy for the pointing of the turret and aiming of the laser countermeasure system. Here, we report on the progress of such a beam control system developed at the Institute of Technical Physics of DLR. In an overview we present the beam control system and explain different sub-systems. Performance tests were taken at our outdoor test range. We investigated various scenarios for probing the limits of the tracking and pointing accuracy with a target sample mounted on a fast moving linear stage. We present first results of the beam control system performance.