Atmospheric turbulence adversely affects the propagation of laser radiation, in particular within the boundary layer near to the ground. In the Active Optical Systems (TP-AO) department, systems are being developed which aim to compensate for this atmospheric interference for emitting laser radiation and for imaging objects under active laser illumination.
A second area of activities is the qualification of laser optics for application in high power lasers or for use in orbit. For this purpose, optics are subjected to damage threshold tests which comply with international standards. Nonlinear optical crystals are compared with regard to their conversion efficiency and radiation resistance under proton and gamma radiation. Furthermore, investigations on laser induced contamination are carried out.