PI AT ARKLIGHT PROPOSES TO IMPLEMENT PHOTON COUNTING DETECTORS AT NEAR-IR (1-1.8 MICRONS ) AND MID-IR (3-4…

Public award description

PI AT ARKLIGHT PROPOSES TO IMPLEMENT PHOTON COUNTING DETECTORS AT NEAR-IR (1-1.8 MICRONS ) AND MID-IR (3-4 MICRONS ) WITH SINGLE PHOTON SENSITIVITY BASED ON FREQUENCY UP-CONVERSION DURING PHASE 2, REPRESENTING AN INNOVATIVE LIDAR TECHNOLOGY FOR ASCENDS MISSION. BY WORKING WITH PROF. DING AT LEHIGH UNIVERSITY, PI WILL EXPLORE FUNDAMENTAL LIMITS TO QUANTUM EFFICIENCIES FOR UP-CONVERSION DETECTION AT 1.57 MICRONS . SHE WILL IMPLEMENT, CHARACTERIZE, AND OPTIMIZE SINGLE UP-CONVERSION DEVICE CAPABLE OF DETECTING 1.57 MICRONS AND 1.27 MICRONS . SHE PLANS TO ACHIEVE DETECTIONS OF CO2 AND O2 USING IMPLEMENTED UP-CONVERSION DEVICE. SHE WILL INVESTIGATE FUNDAMENTAL LIMITS TO NOISES FOR UP-CONVERSION DETECTIONS. SHE WILL COMPARE AMONG PPLN, PPKTP, AND PPLT AS UP-CONVERSION MEDIA. SHE WILL EXPAND DETECTION WAVELENGTHS TO COVER RANGES OF 1-1.8 MICRONS AND 3-4 MICRONS . SHE PLANS TO INTRODUCE NOVEL TECHNIQUES FOR IMPROVING PERFORMANCES OF UP-CONVERSION DEVICES. SHE WILL INVESTIGATE VERSATILITY OF UP-CONVERSION DEVICES UNDER HARSH ENVIRONMENTS. TO ACHIEVE ALL THESE OBJECTIVES, SHE HAS LAID OUT A DETAILED WORK PLAN DESCRIBING ALL THE SPECIFIC TASKS NECESSARY. THROUGH OPTIMIZATIONS, SHE WILL ACHIEVE THE QUANTUM EFFICIENCY OF 50%, DARK COUNT RATE OF 50 HZ, BANDWIDTH OF GHZ, ELECTRICAL CONSUMPTION OF<1 W, WEIGHT OF<1 LB, AND DIMENSION OF 7X4X4 (ALL IN INCHES).