Application of reactor-pumped lasers to power beaming

Power beaming is the concept of centralized power generation and distribution to remote users via energy beams such as microwaves or laser beams. The power beaming community is presently performing technical evaluations of available lasers as part of the design process for developing terrestrial and space-based power beaming systems. This report describes the suitability of employing a nuclear reactor-pumped laser in a power beaming system. Although there are several technical issues to be resolved, the power beaming community currently believes that the AlGaAs solid-state laser is the primary candidate for power beaming because that laser meets the many design criteria for such a system and integrates well with the GaAs photodiode receiver array. After reviewing the history and physics of reactor-pumped lasers, the advantages of these lasers for power beaming are discussed, along with several technical issues which are currently facing reactor-pumped laser research. The overriding conclusion is that reactor-pumped laser technology is not presently developed to the point of being technially or economically competitive with more mature solid-state technologies for application to power beaming. 58 refs.