What would a 5.8GHz laser look like for radio links?

[ctech4285]

what would a 5.8ghz laser look like. i am just wondering because it would be so much nicer to do a radio link with a laser instead of a 2m antenna

 

[Borek]

At 5.8GHz it sounds more like maser.

 

[ctech4285]

interesting did not know that
has anything like that been used for sending a modulated signal?
i would imagine it behaves like a laser right?

 

[f95toli]

Masers have been around for even longer than lasers. So yes, you can send information using a modulated maser.

 

[Redbelly98]

what would a 5.8ghz laser look like.

One would need to know what the gain material is, and other details, before that can be answered.

i am just wondering because it would be so much nicer to do a radio link with a laser instead of a 2m antenna

Existing masers require a molecular beam in a vacuum chamber. Operating a vacuum pump is more cumbersome than having an antenna. Again, one would need to identify the gain material, and what conditions are required to achieve gain, before one can claim that it would be a nice easy device to operate.

The wavelength corresponding to 5.8 GHz is 5.2 cm, so I would think a good directional transmitter could be made using conventional electronics.

 

[ctech4285]

hmm yeah what gas has electrons with the right energy state for that frequency?

 

[f95toli]

Existing masers require a molecular beam in a vacuum chamber.

No they don't. There are all sorts of masers (just as there are all sorts of lasers); some e.g, work by using transitions in ions (say Fe) implanted in a solid medium (say sapphire).

That said, masers ARE much more cumbersome to use than lasers so they are rarely useful in practical applications.