N.P. PHOTONICS, INC. — Department of Defense SBIR Phase I: NP Photonics proposes to develop a miniature UV pulsed laser source operating below 280 nm

Description

NP Photonics proposes to develop a miniature UV pulsed laser source operating below 280 nm for NAVY"s applications to counter hostile fire identification (HFI) and degraded visual environments (DVE) by providing superior LIDAR and 3D imaging. The UV laser source is based on a novel IR fiber laser based approach coupled to a harmonic frequency converter. This approach offers transform-limited linewidth, single spatial mode, linearly polarized output, and high optical power with high pulse energy. Superior performance is made possible because of NP"s all fiber-based single-frequency, Q-switched pulsed laser seed and large core highly Yb-doped phosphate fiber amplifiers. A monolithic MOPA-based fiber laser has the advantages of being compact, rugged, reliable, low-cost, and light-weight. The operating wavelength of the IR fiber laser engine is 1030-1080 nm, which then is frequency quadrupled using commercial PPKTP and CLBO crystals in order to deliver light below 280 nm. Using this approach, we propose to demonstrate peak/average power ~100 kW/1-3 W and pulse energy ~ 1 mJ for 2-5 ns pulses with repetition rate of 1-10 kHz; the UV light output will have diffraction-limited beam quality with high frequency and pulse stability, and transform-limited linewidth.