Optoelectronics

Lusospace has experience in developing systems for measuring and controlling Laser stability in frequency and output power. One of the most interesting examples is a high-power laser head for the LISA mission that was developed by LusoSpace as prime in cooperation with Laser Zentrum Hannover.

The LISA mission is extremely challenging mainly due to the highly demanding instrumentation requirements. The laser needs to have an extremely stable frequency (down to the hertz) and intensity (RIN) for approximately 10 consecutive days. To achieve a high finesse (~200k) optical reference cavity for the PDH lock, an ultra-high stable reference for the RIN lock and sideband phase noise was required. On the other hand, temperature control for most of the components including the electronics itself with closed feedback of the output signal was also a major driver for the design.

Additionally, LusoSpace has a strong heritage in assessing photonic components for space usage, completing not only the environmental tests (e.g. shock, random vibration, thermal cycling @ atmospheric pressure and high vacuum, gamma and proton radiation) but also performance tests to evaluate degradation of the components.