The Office of Naval Research has long been interested in the potential…

The Office of Naval Research has long been
interested in the potential of directed energy
weapons for shipboard defense at the speed of
light. Recently, ONR has funded development
of a laser that could operate in a maritime
environment and be consistent with the
Navy's planned all-electric ship. One
promising technology, the high average power
infrared free electron laser (FEL), provides
intense beams of laser light that can be tuned
to atmosphere-penetrating wavelengths.

ONR has sponsored FEL research at several national laboratories and universities. One such laser, housed
at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility in Virginia, delivered 10 kilowatts of infrared laser
light in July 2004, making it the most powerful tunable laser in the world. This beam power continues to
increase as further development work is done. The use of a superconducting radio frequency accelerator
and an energy-recovering electron recirculator provide significant savings in energy consumption and
operating costs.

ONR is funding the operation and optimization of the Jefferson Lab's 10 kW FEL, and will sponsor
further studies on topics including laser materials damage and atmospheric propagation to assess the
potential of new laser-based shipboard defense strategies. Free electron lasers show promise for a wide
array of applications in defense and manufacturing, and they support advanced studies of chemistry,
physics, biology, and medical science.

The Navy is also interested in the ultraviolet and terahertz light that the FEL can produce at world-record
powers. The Navy plans to build on its laboratory partnerships and its support of the FEL, scaling to the
megawatt power level needed for speed-of-light shipboard defense.



JLab FEL Specifications:

Average Power: 10 kW
Wavelength Range: 1­14 microns (infrared)
Time Structure: 0.5 ­ 1.7 picosecond pulses at 75 MHz