On-Axis Optical Bench for Laser Ranging Instruments in Future Gravity Missions

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleResearchpeer review

Authors

  • Yichao Yang
  • Kohei Yamamoto
  • Miguel Dovale Álvarez
  • Daikang Wei
  • Juan José Esteban Delgado
  • Jianjun Jia
  • Gerhard Heinzel
  • Vitali Müller

External Research Organisations

  • CAS - Shanghai Institute of Technical Physics
  • University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (UCAS)
  • Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics (Albert Einstein Institute)
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Details

Original languageEnglish
Article number2070
JournalSensors
Volume22
Issue number5
Publication statusPublished - 7 Mar 2022

Abstract

The laser ranging interferometer onboard the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment Follow-On mission proved the feasibility of an interferometric sensor for inter-satellite length tracking with sub-nanometer precision, establishing an important milestone for space laser interferometry and the general expectation that future gravity missions will employ heterodyne laser interferometry for satellite-to-satellite ranging. In this paper, we present the design of an on-axis optical bench for next-generation laser ranging which enhances the received optical power and the transmit beam divergence, enabling longer interferometer arms and relaxing the optical power requirement of the laser assembly. All design functionalities and requirements are verified by means of computer simulations. A thermal analysis is carried out to investigate the robustness of the proposed optical bench to the temperature fluctuations found in orbit.

Keywords

    GRACE, Heterodyne readout, Inter-satellite ranging, Laser interferometry

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Cite this

On-Axis Optical Bench for Laser Ranging Instruments in Future Gravity Missions. / Yang, Yichao; Yamamoto, Kohei; Dovale Álvarez, Miguel et al.
In: Sensors, Vol. 22, No. 5, 2070, 07.03.2022.

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleResearchpeer review

Yang, Y, Yamamoto, K, Dovale Álvarez, M, Wei, D, Esteban Delgado, JJ, Jia, J, Heinzel, G & Müller, V 2022, 'On-Axis Optical Bench for Laser Ranging Instruments in Future Gravity Missions', Sensors, vol. 22, no. 5, 2070. https://doi.org/10.3390/s22052070
Yang, Y., Yamamoto, K., Dovale Álvarez, M., Wei, D., Esteban Delgado, J. J., Jia, J., Heinzel, G., & Müller, V. (2022). On-Axis Optical Bench for Laser Ranging Instruments in Future Gravity Missions. Sensors, 22(5), Article 2070. https://doi.org/10.3390/s22052070
Yang Y, Yamamoto K, Dovale Álvarez M, Wei D, Esteban Delgado JJ, Jia J et al. On-Axis Optical Bench for Laser Ranging Instruments in Future Gravity Missions. Sensors. 2022 Mar 7;22(5):2070. doi: 10.3390/s22052070
Yang, Yichao ; Yamamoto, Kohei ; Dovale Álvarez, Miguel et al. / On-Axis Optical Bench for Laser Ranging Instruments in Future Gravity Missions. In: Sensors. 2022 ; Vol. 22, No. 5.
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abstract = "The laser ranging interferometer onboard the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment Follow-On mission proved the feasibility of an interferometric sensor for inter-satellite length tracking with sub-nanometer precision, establishing an important milestone for space laser interferometry and the general expectation that future gravity missions will employ heterodyne laser interferometry for satellite-to-satellite ranging. In this paper, we present the design of an on-axis optical bench for next-generation laser ranging which enhances the received optical power and the transmit beam divergence, enabling longer interferometer arms and relaxing the optical power requirement of the laser assembly. All design functionalities and requirements are verified by means of computer simulations. A thermal analysis is carried out to investigate the robustness of the proposed optical bench to the temperature fluctuations found in orbit.",
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