Laser testing at the intermediate maintenance level

As the state of the art in laser tech nology continues to advance, the main tainability of such devices becomes an increasingly significant problem. The traditional techniques of measuring laser divergences with long focal length optics and fixed apertures are adequate when laboratory facilities and con trolled environments are available. However, evolving maintenance concepts now include the requirement of replacing interferometer subassemblies at the Intermediate Maintenance level. This, in turn, requires that beam parameter testing, including energy, divergence, and optical boresighting, be performed in a less than optimum environment. This paper will examine the problems and potential approaches to measuring angu lar beam divergence of pulsed lasers using intermediate-Level Automatic Test Equipment, given the constraints of limited working space (usually a van or shelter) and low-skilled personnel. The objectives sought include "hands-off" measurement capability, with data.ca pable of being interpreted by the ATE computer, and an equipment configuration which is compatible with field support facilities.