Optical Engines, Inc. — Department of Energy SBIR Phase II: C52-34a

Description

In the Phase 1 program Optical Engines Inc successfully developed the required technologies and components for a monolithic fiber amplifier harness based on 85um 3C Ultra Large Mode Area (ULMA) gain fibers. These types of ULMA fibers are required for achieving multi mj per pulse operation in Chirped Pulse Fiber Amplifiers (CPA) with reduced fiber non linearities needed for low femtosecond (fs) operation and hundreds of Watts of average power. To date these ULMA fibers such as Photonic Crystal Fiber (PCF) Rod fibers and Chiral Coupled Core (3C) fibers have only been used in architectures where the signal and pump are coupled via free space optical means. For higher average powers, robustness, reliability, and reduced size and cost in large count parallel fiber amplifier systems, a monolithic system is absolutely necessary and OEI has delivered to the University of Michigan a fully monolithic 3C fiber amplifier module. These 3C ULMA type fibers are especially challenging because by their very nature they are weakly guiding and thus very sensitive to any micro bending and other stresses that might come about during the use of these fibers to create monolithic components such as combiners and mode adapters. Optical Engines has the unique capabilities and expertise to create these low stress monolithic devices for fully integrated fiber amplifier harnesses based on ULMA fibers. In the Phase 2 program OEI will develop this harness into a fully integrated fiber amplifier module and deliver 4 development amplifiers and 4 production amplifiers to LBNL for integration into their 40 Channel ultrafast coherently combined fiber laser array. This phase effort will directly lead to commercial sales both into the LBNL fiber array and also into the $7B ultrafast laser market with a fully commercialized product. In addition, OEI will develop a cost reduced amplifier module for use in envisioned multi thousand count laser arrays. This phase 2 product will result in a fully developed commercialized product for immediate availability into the lager ultrafast commercial market.