Application of optical switching technology in a lunar laser ranging system based on a superconducting detector

Abstract

The TianQin laser ranging station has successfully obtained the effective echo signals of the all five corner-cube reflectors on the lunar surface by using a 1064 nm Nd:YAG laser with 100 Hz repetition frequency and a 2×2 array of superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (SNSPDs). The application of the SNSPD in the lunar laser ranging system (LLRS) has demonstrated its detection ability, but it loses its superconducting state and cannot work under strong stray light conditions. In this paper, a high-speed optical switch experimental device based on 100 Hz is developed to solve the application problem of the SNSPD in the LLRS, and its main technical parameters are tested. The results show that the maximum running distance of the switch is 200 µm; the switching time is better than 2 ms; and the extinction ratio is better than 57 dB. Moreover, the application of the high-speed optical switch experimental device in the lunar laser ranging system is designed, and the effective detection time between two laser pulses (10 ms) is determined to be 6.1 ms.