Papers by errico armandillo
Filling of toroidal traps with laser plasmas
ABSTRACT

Pulse propagation of CO2laser amplifiers
Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics, 1975
Numerical predictions of pulse amplification in atmospheric CO2 laser ampli- fiers are discussed.... more Numerical predictions of pulse amplification in atmospheric CO2 laser ampli- fiers are discussed. A conventional four-temperature kinetic model is first used (with a self-consistent electron-beam source term) to establish the kinetic temperatures of relevant COZ vibrational levels in a pumped amplifier or arbitrary gas composition and pressure. The power amplification of a (single-line) pulse of arbitrary duration propa- gating through this amplifier is then examined in the simplifying approximation that Nz-COz relaxation can be neglected. The treatment includes multi-level (rotational and vibrational) energy exchange, and Fermi coupling between the (100) and (020) levels. Coherent effects, of importance for sub-nanosecond propagation, are handled with terms including the dipole-dephasing time TZ. Asymptotic pulse shapes are observed,

International Conference on Space Optics — ICSO 2004, 2017
The idea of deploying a lidar system on an Earthorbiting satellite stems from the need for contin... more The idea of deploying a lidar system on an Earthorbiting satellite stems from the need for continuously providing profiles of our atmospheric structure with high accuracy and resolution and global coverage. Interest in this information for climatology, meteorology and the atmospheric sciences in general is huge. Areas of application range from the determination of global warming and greenhouse effects, to monitoring the transport and accumulation of pollutants in the different atmospheric regions (such as the recent fires in Southeast Asia), to the assessment of the largely unknown microphysical properties and the structural dynamics of the atmosphere itself. Spaceborne lidar systems have been the subject of extensive investigations by the European Space Agency since mid 1970's, resulting in mission and instrument concepts, such as ATLID, the cloud backscatter lidar payload of the EarthCARE mission, ALADIN, the Doppler wind lidar of the Atmospheric Dynamics Mission (ADM) and more recently a water vapour Differential Absorption Lidar considered for the WALES mission. These studies have shown the basic scientific and technical feasibility of spaceborne lidars, but they have also demonstrated their complexity from the instrument viewpoint. As a result, the Agency undertook technology development in order to strengthen the instrument maturity. This is the case for ATLID, which benefited from a decade of technology development and supporting studies and is now studied in the frame of the EarthCARE mission. ALADIN, a Direct Detection Doppler Wind Lidar operating in the Ultra -Violet, will be the 1 st European lidar to fly in 2007 as payload of the Earth Explorer Core Mission ADM. WALES currently studied at the level of a phase A, is based upon a lidar operating at 4 wavelengths in near infrared and aims to profile the water vapour in the lower part of the atmosphere with high accuracy and low bias. Lastly, the European Space Agency is extending the lidar instrument field for Earth Observation by initiating feasibility studies of a spaceborne concept to monitor atmospheric CO2 and other greenhouse gases . The purpose of this paper is to present the instruments concept and related technology/instrument developments that are currently running at the European Space Agency. The paper will also outline the development planning proposed for future lidar systems.
Optics Letters, 1985
We describe a novel apoditic filter characterized by a near-Gaussian transmission function and ca... more We describe a novel apoditic filter characterized by a near-Gaussian transmission function and capable of operating in high-power lasers. By using this filter within the telescopic cavity of a XeCl laser we have obtained a laser output beam with a near-Gaussian intensity distribution. The achieved beam size is comparable with and the beam quality is superior to those achievable with an equivalent diffractive unstable cavity.
Estimation of the minimum laser linewidth achievable with a grazing-grating configuration
Optics Letters, 1983
The influence of beam divergence on second-order grating dispersion terms is found and discussed.... more The influence of beam divergence on second-order grating dispersion terms is found and discussed. It is shown that divergence in the plane normal to the plane of incidence sets the lowest limit of the achievable linewidth. By using a double-grating configuration to achieve both spectral narrowing and tuning, one can obtain a laser line width down to approximately 0.01 A in a discharge-pumped XeF laser.
High-power nitrogen laser
Applied Physics Letters, 1982
The design and performance of a discharge excited N2 laser which can produce pulses of 337-nm rad... more The design and performance of a discharge excited N2 laser which can produce pulses of 337-nm radiation with peak powers in excess of 5 MW and durations of 4 ns [full width at half-maximum (FWHM)] are described. The output beam is reproducible, uniform, and of large (25×35 mm) cross section. The peak value of the radiance is greater than 3×1011 Wsr−1.
<title>Water vapor and wind-velocity measurements from space using 2-μm wavelength</title>
Infrared Spaceborne Remote Sensing IV, 1996
AEROSPATIALE, prime contractor, presents the main results related to the activities performed in ... more AEROSPATIALE, prime contractor, presents the main results related to the activities performed in order to demonstrate the feasibility of a coherent 2 micrometer lidar instrument capable of measuring water vapor and wind velocity in the planetary boundary layer, and to determine the main subsystem critical items: (1) selected instrument configuration and associated performances, (2) 2 micrometer laser configuration with phase conjugation, (3) coherent receiver chain architecture, (4) frequency locking and offsetting architecture. The second phase of this study will be dedicated to breadboard the most critical elements of the instrument at 2 micrometers in order to technologically consolidate the feasibility of such an instrument.

<TITLE>2-ΜM Space Lidar for Water Vapor and Wind Measurements</Title>
Optics in Atmospheric Propagation, Adaptive Systems, and Lidar Techniques for Remote Sensing, 1997
ABSTRACT AEROSPATIALE, prime contractor, presents the main results related to the activities perf... more ABSTRACT AEROSPATIALE, prime contractor, presents the main results related to the activities performed in order to demonstrate the feasibility of a coherent 2 micrometers lidar instrument capable of measuring water vapor and wind velocity in the planetary boundary layer, and to determine the main subsystem critical items: selected instrument configuration and associated performances, 2 micrometers laser configuration with phase conjugation, coherent receiver chain architecture, and frequency locking and offsetting architecture. The second phase of this study will be dedicated to breadboard the most critical elements of the instrument at 2 micrometers in order to technologically consolidate the feasibility of such an instrument.

<title>European Space Agency technology activities for spaceborne Doppler wind lidar</title>
Lidar Techniques for Remote Sensing, 1994
ABSTRACT The European Space Agency is supporting the development of key technologies for future s... more ABSTRACT The European Space Agency is supporting the development of key technologies for future spaceborne Doppler wind lidar instruments. The focus for this work is the ALADIN (Atmospheric Laser Doppler Instrument) program which is directed towards the establishment of a coherent CO2-laser based lidar system to improve operational meteorology and climate science. Technology support for this program has to date centered on the development of a 10 J class electron-beam sustained CO2 laser. The stringent alignment tolerances necessary for coherent spaceborne lidar systems have been addressed by the manufacture and test of a single-axis lag-angle and image-motion compensator. Receiver related work has to date concentrated on advanced signal processing algorithms. An alternative approach to coherent DWL (Doppler Wind Lidar) that shows promise for the longer term is a 2 micrometers lidar based upon InGaAs detection and the all-solid-state Tm:Ho:Host laser. These technologies, which may also find application within a spaceborne water-vapor DIAL (Differential Absorption Lidar), have been the subject of experimental activities in relation to spectroscopy, cw lasing and heterodyne efficiency. Also under development is incoherent DWL operating in the ultra-violet which, whilst not capable of the ultimate sensitivity of coherent lidar, is attractive for its reduced alignment tolerances and can be considered for climate and atmospheric research.
Lifetime studies of an e-beam sustained CO2 laser for spaceborne Doppler wind lidar
SPIE Proceedings, 1994
The European Space Agency program for Development of a CO2 Laser for Spaceborne Doppler Wind Lida... more The European Space Agency program for Development of a CO2 Laser for Spaceborne Doppler Wind Lidar Applications addresses both performance and lifetime aspects. Lifetime issues are of particular importance due to the 109 pulse life requirement for a spaceborne laser operating continuously at 10 Hz for a period of three years. Particularly critical lifetime issues for an e-beam sustained laser
Optics Letters, 1997
A high-eff iciency diode-pumped Q-switched Nd:YAG oscillator designed for future spaceborne appli... more A high-eff iciency diode-pumped Q-switched Nd:YAG oscillator designed for future spaceborne applications has been demonstrated and characterized. The laser is based on a side-pumped slab geometry and uses an unstable resonator with a radially variable-ref lectivity output coupler. The laser provides an output pulse energy of 100 mJ at a 100-Hz repetition rate, with a near-diffraction-limited beam and an overall electricaloptical efficiency exceeding 6%.

Geoscientific Instrumentation, Methods and Data Systems Discussions, 2019
The Daedalus mission has been proposed to the European Space Agency (ESA) in response to the call... more The Daedalus mission has been proposed to the European Space Agency (ESA) in response to the call for ideas for the Earth Observation programme's 10 th Earth Explorer. It was selected in 2018 as one of three candidates for a Phase-0 feasibility study. The goal of the mission is to quantify the key electrodynamic processes that determine the structure and composition of the upper atmosphere, the gateway between the Earth's atmosphere and space. An innovative preliminary mission design allows Daedalus to access electrodynamics processes down to altitudes of 150 km and below. Daedalus will perform in-situ measurements of plasma density and temperature, ion drift, neutral density and wind, ion and neutral composition, electric and magnetic fields and precipitating particles. These measurements will unambiguously quantify the amount of energy deposited in the upper atmosphere during active and quiet geomagnetic times via Joule heating and energetic particle precipitation, estimates of which currently vary by orders of magnitude between models. An innovation of the Daedalus preliminary mission concept is that it includes the release of sub-satellites at low altitudes: combined with the main spacecraft, these sub-satellites will provide multi-point measurements throughout the Lower Thermosphere-Ionosphere
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Papers by errico armandillo