Almost all sodium laser guide star (LGS) systems in the world are based on pulsed lasers. We review the relevant sodium physics and compare different laser pulse formats. Selected formats are discussed on the basis of numerical simulation results. One of the key findings is that the brightness of most existing LGS facilities could be boosted at, as we argue, reasonable expense. Recommendations are presented to enhance the LGS return flux and to design future LGS lasers, including those suitable for spot tracking in the mesosphere to mitigate the spot elongation problem.

Date Published: 13 September 2012
PDF: 12 pages
Proc. SPIE 8447, Adaptive Optics Systems III, 84470H (13 September 2012); doi: 10.1117/12.924882

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 8447:
Adaptive Optics Systems III
Brent L. Ellerbroek; Enrico Marchetti; Jean-Pierre Véran, Editor(s)