title: PHARAO laser source flight model: design and performances.
abstract: In this paper, we describe the design and the main performances of the PHARAO laser source flight model. PHARAO is a laser cooled cesium clock specially designed for operation in space and the laser source is one of the main sub-systems. The flight model presented in this work is the first remote-controlled laser system designed for spaceborne cold atom manipulation. The main challenges arise from mechanical compatibility with space constraints, which impose a high level of compactness, a low electric power consumption, a wide range of operating temperature, and a vacuum environment. We describe the main functions of the laser source and give an overview of the main technologies developed for this instrument. We present some results of the qualification process. The characteristics of the laser source flight model, and their impact on the clock performances, have been verified in operational conditions.
authors.affiliation: Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales, 18 avenue Edouard Belin, 31400 Toulouse, France.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lévèque
authors.affiliation: Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales, 18 avenue Edouard Belin, 31400 Toulouse, France.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Faure
authors.affiliation: Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales, 18 avenue Edouard Belin, 31400 Toulouse, France.
authors.forename: F X
authors.initials: FX
authors.lastname: Esnault
authors.affiliation: Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales, 18 avenue Edouard Belin, 31400 Toulouse, France.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Delaroche
authors.affiliation: Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales, 18 avenue Edouard Belin, 31400 Toulouse, France.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Massonnet
authors.affiliation: Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales, 18 avenue Edouard Belin, 31400 Toulouse, France.
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Grosjean
authors.affiliation: Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales, 18 avenue Edouard Belin, 31400 Toulouse, France.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Buffe
authors.affiliation: Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales, 18 avenue Edouard Belin, 31400 Toulouse, France.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Torresi
authors.affiliation: Sodern, 20 Avenue Descartes, 94451 Limeil-Brévannes, France.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Bomer
authors.affiliation: Sodern, 20 Avenue Descartes, 94451 Limeil-Brévannes, France.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pichon
authors.affiliation: Sodern, 20 Avenue Descartes, 94451 Limeil-Brévannes, France.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Béraud
authors.affiliation: Sodern, 20 Avenue Descartes, 94451 Limeil-Brévannes, France.
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Lelay
authors.affiliation: Sodern, 20 Avenue Descartes, 94451 Limeil-Brévannes, France.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Thomin
authors.affiliation: LNE-SYRTE, CNRS, UPMC, Observatoire de Paris, 61 avenue de l'Observatoire, 75014 Paris, France.
authors.forename: Ph
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Laurent