About the Research Program

FOCUS II: Faserlaserbasierter Optischer Kammgenerator unter Schwerelosigkeit II (fiber based optical comb generator under zero gravity)

FOKUS II targets further miniaturization of optical frequency combs (OFCs) for deployment on a microgravity platform. After successful missions of the FOKUS OFC on sounding rockets Texus 51 (April 2015) and Texus 53 (January 2016) launched from Esrange/Kiruna, Sweden, we developed the successor FOKUS II as dual comb system with miniaturized control electronics and reduced power budget. FOKUS II is fully qualified for microgravity platforms, including operation in vacuum. Being a dual comb system, FOKUS II allows for easy comb mode number determination. The scientific goals of this mission include tests of local position invariance and clock-clock comparisons by measuring an iodine referenced cw laser provided by Humboldt University, Berlin.

Countdown for the FOKUS II mission on TEXUS 54/55 is foreseen for April 2018. We are grateful for continuous funding of the FOKUS missions by DRL/Germany.