A major defense application of quantum cascade lasers is missile protection of helicopters or airplanes, commonly known as “Direct Infrared Countermeasure”, or DIRCM.
These missile threats must be countered and in the recent years, laser-based countermeasure systems have increasingly been developed in complement of the traditional flares. The principle of laser-based countermeasure is to direct, from the helicopter or airplane, an infrared laser beam towards the heat-seeking infrared detector that is inside the missile head in order to jam, dazzle or even damage it.
mirSense has extensive experience and know-how in supplying DIRCM integrators with robust ITAR-free high-power QCL lasers with their electronics, from bare chips to sub-systems including driving electronics and HHL-packaged lasers. Depending on customer needs, mirSense can customize systems to delivery multi-watt optical power.
Defense customers may also be interested in quantum cascade lasers for the spectroscopy of toxic molecules, for example in stand-off detection of chemical cloud hazards, be it in a stadium or on the battlefield. In this regard, mirSense can also offer, besides laser sources, a complete spectrometer based on photoacoustics spectroscopy technology.
mirSense has extensive experience dealing with defense customers worldwide, from ministry of defense laboratories interested in a turnkey system for their lab experience to integrators who want a customized sample for integration in their product prior to starting series productions. Please contact us with your projects, we’d love to hear about your needs.
