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Scientific Assessment of Free-Electron Laser Technology for Naval Applications
Summary
The committee will assess the current capabilities of free-electron lasers to deliver large amounts of energy to a target. It will assess the prospects for developing such devices with megawatt average power capabilities and identify the key technical problems that must be solved to achieve such performance. The committee will evaluate the feasibility of achieving power, energy, and other technical parameters specified by the Office of Naval Research and will not be charged to make its own determination of the requirements for effective directed-energy weapons. The committee will issue a report(s) after approximately 12 months.
Statement of Task
The committee will prepare a report addressing the following charges:
- Review the current state-of-the-art and anticipated advances for high-average-power free-electron lasers (FELs). Using performance characteristics defined by the Navy for directed-energy applications, analyze the capabilities, constraints, and tradeoffs for FELs.
- Evaluate the scientific and technical development path from current demonstrated capabilities toward the eventual goal of achieving megawatts of radiated power at wavelengths suited to naval applications; consider the realistic constraints of ship-board installation.
- Identify the highest priority scientific and technical gaps along the development path from present-day capabilities through a 100 kW test facility to a megawatt demonstration project. Recommend a phased approach for this development path using staged milestones with explicit performance and success criteria at each stage.
- Assess the capabilities and constraints related to beam steering and atmospheric propagation at wavelengths suited to naval applications for an FEL-based system.
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Committee and Staff Members
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Committee Membership
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Thomas Katsouleas, Chair, University of Southern California
Ricardo Alarcon, Arizona State University
John Albertine, Independent Consultant
Ilan Ben-Zvi, Brookhaven National Laboratory
Sandra Biedron, Argonne National Laboratory
Charles A. Brau, Vanderbilt University
William Colson, U.S. Naval Postgraduate School
Ronald C. Davidson, Princeton University
VADM Paul G. Gaffney II, Monmouth University
Lia Merminga, Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility
Joel D. Miller, The Johns Hopkins University
Brian E. Newnam, Los Alamos National Laboratory, retired
Patrick O’ Shea, University of Maryland
Donald Prosnitz, RAND Corp.
Elihu Zimet, Independent Consultant
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NRC Staff
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Donald C. Shapero, Director
Cy Butner, Senior Program Officer
Caryn Knutsen, Senior Program Assistant
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Activities
Future Meetings
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Past Meetings
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There are no future meetings currently planned.
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April 4-5, 2008
Keck Center of The National Academies
Washington, DC
Agenda
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January 17-18, 2008
Keck Center of The National Academies
Washington, DC
Agenda
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Feedback
To send comments or suggestions to the committee, please send e-mail to bpa@nas.edu. Feedback will be posted on this website as it is received.
Related Links
The committee is pleased to acknowledge support from the Office of Naval Research.
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