IGF::OT::IGF THIS PHASE II SBIR PROGRAM WILL BUILD ON SUCCESSFUL PHASE I WORK TO PROVIDE TECHNOLOGY READINE…

Public award description

IGF::OT::IGF THIS PHASE II SBIR PROGRAM WILL BUILD ON SUCCESSFUL PHASE I WORK TO PROVIDE TECHNOLOGY READINESS LEVEL 4 (TRL-4) LABORATORY BRASSBOARD DEMONSTRATION OF LASER SOURCES AND NON-LINEAR WAVELENGTH CONVERTERS WITH SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS IN EFFICIENCY AND REDUCTION IN SIZE, WEIGHT, AND POWER CONSUMPTION COMPARED TO SYSTEMS CURRENTLY AVAILABLE FOR SPACE-BASED INSTRUMENTS PLANNED FOR THE COMING 10 TO 15 YEARS. THIS NEW-GENERATION TECHNOLOGY IS NEEDED TO REDUCE THE SIZE AND WEIGHT OF FLIGHT HARDWARE TO MAKE IT COMPATIBLE WITH AFFORDABLE, MORE CAPABLE SATELLITE PAYLOADS. IN PARTICULAR WE PROPOSE TO DEMONSTRATE A NOVEL LASER TRANSMITTER ARCHITECTURE CAPABLE OF PROVIDING A FACTOR OF TWO TO THREE HIGHER AVERAGE POWER, PULSE ENERGY, AND EFFICIENCY THAN LASER SYSTEMS FLOWN ON FIRST-GENERATION SPACE-BASED ACTIVE REMOTE SENSING SYSTEMS. OUR PROPOSED PROGRAM ALSO INCLUDES BRASSBOARD DEMONSTRATION OF A HIGHLY-EFFICIENT WAVELENGTH CONVERSION TO THE BLUE SPECTRAL REGION (450-500 NM) DESIRED FOR OCEANOGRAPHIC LIDAR SENSORS, OF INTEREST BOTH FOR ACE AND NEARER-TERM EARTH VENTURE MISSIONS.