Applications – TOPTICA Projects

Application

The Sodium Guide Star technology provides a well collimated, high-quality laser beam to efficiently excite Na D2-line fluorescence in an atmospheric sodium layer of the mesosphere at 90 km altitude (for details see system Parameter). The resulting sodium fluorescence appearance serves day and night for the following purposes:

Artificial guide star for adaptive optics (AO) in existing and upcoming next-generation astronomical telescopes
Daylight laser beacon for free-space optical laser communications and space situational awareness
Photonic sensor for atmospheric research, scientific investigations of earth’s magnetic field, solar winds, or air motion phenomena in the higher atmosphere.

Recent installations

First guide star laser delivered for ESO’s ELT

Executing a contract signed in late 2017, TOPTICA Projects GmbH delivers the first guide star laser system for the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) that is being built by with the […]

SodiumStar for the GTC

We are very excited for the first SodiumStar to go to an observatory located in Europe. The Gran Telescopio Canarias (also GRANTECAN or GTC) is a 10.4-m telescope at the […]

SodiumStars as Maunakea spare and for KAPA at Keck I

2019 saw two more SodiumStars going to Maunakea, one as a common spare for Keck, Gemini and Subaru Observatories and another one for the upcoming KAPA system at Keck I […]

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TOPTICA Projects is a start up based in Germany in the beautiful area of Munich.