Cork\u2019s Tyndall National Institute has wrapped up a multi-year project with the European Space Agency (ESA).<\/p>\n
The Cork-based institute has been assisting in the development of the world\u2019s first space-based \u2018gravitational wave\u2019 observatory.<\/p>\n
The organisation, based out of University College Cork (UCC), contributed critical expertise to the ESA\u2019s laser interferometer space antenna (Lisa) mission, which is scheduled for launch in 2035.<\/p>\n
Lisa will be the first observatory of its kind to detect gravitational waves from space, revealing new insights into the most powerful events in the universe, such as pairs of black holes coming together and merging.<\/p>\n
The Tyndall Institute\u2019s role focused on evaluating the reliability of commercial photonic components, small but vital parts that will help power Lisa\u2019s ultra-precise laser system.\u00a0<\/p>\n
These lasers will span millions of kilometres between three spacecraft flying in formation, measuring minuscule changes in distance caused by gravitational waves.<\/p>\n
The Cork-based centre conducted long-term reliability testing and detailed construction analysis on a wide range of active and passive photonic devices, including laser diodes, photodiodes, UV LEDs, modulators, switches, isolators, and more.<\/p>\n
Each component was assessed against the ESA\u2019s demanding space standards, with risk levels identified for their potential use in the Lisa laser system.<\/p>\n
OUTCOME<\/p>\n
According to the Tyndall Institute, the outcome is a comprehensive dataset that will help the ESA make informed decisions about which components to use, ensuring the mission\u2019s laser system performs as intended when deployed.<\/p>\n
Principal engineer at Tyndall, Finbarr Waldron said this project \u201cshowcases the depth of Tyndall\u2019s expertise in photonics and reliability engineering\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cSpace is a very unforgiving environment, and many commercial photonic components are built using materials that may not be suitable for use in space,\u201d Mr Waldron said.<\/p>\n
\n \u201cOur task was to rigorously test and analyse these components to determine whether or not they could withstand the extreme conditions of launch and long-term operation in space.\u201d\n <\/p>\n
The Tyndall Institute is a leading European deep-tech research centre, that specialises in integrated information and communications technology (ICT) materials, devices, circuits, and systems. It is Ireland\u2019s largest research and technology organisation (RTO), specialising in both electronics and photonics.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Cork\u2019s Tyndall National Institute has wrapped up a multi-year project with the European Space Agency (ESA). The Cork-based…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":281169,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[270],"tags":[781,18,19,17,133,451,15914],"class_list":{"0":"post-281168","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-space","8":"tag-cork-news","9":"tag-eire","10":"tag-ie","11":"tag-ireland","12":"tag-science","13":"tag-space","14":"tag-ucc"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/115883405807118327","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/281168","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=281168"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/281168\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/281169"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=281168"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=281168"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=281168"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}