SBIR Phase II: Zero Thermal Expansion Alloys For Lasers

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop new alloys whose thermal expansion properties can be tailored for laser applications. The tailored thermal expansion alloys will prevent shifts in laser output frequencies, i.e. laser color, by preventing the natural temperature-induced thermal expansion and contraction that occurs in laser housings. This temperature stability is extremely important for fiber-optic systems that are the backbone of the telecommunications industry. According to Strategies Unlimited, the telecommunications laser market was $3.515 billion in 2014, and it is expected to increase with the increasing number of mobile devices and growing demand for high-speed internet. While oil and gas telecommunications systems were identified as the beachhead market, the alloys developed through this project will also have potential to add value to the wider telecommunications market and a number of other industrial and electronics applications. The intellectual merit of this project lies in a new method to exhibit unprecedented control over thermal expansion properties in metal alloys. The discovery that mechanical deformation tailors or "programs" the thermal expansion of a bulk metal to match that of other common materials (metals, polymers, and ceramics) will change the way scientists and engineers design for thermal compensation. These alloys can also be tailored not to expand or contract with temperature changes and even be made to shrink when heated. This wide range of tailored alloy responses is achieved without chemical changes or composite fabrication methods upon which competing technologies rely. This Phase II project will reduce the risks associated with implementing the tailored thermal expansion alloy technology in laser applications by developing high thermal conductivity alloys and testing prototypes. Alloys will be purchased, engineered to have a desired coefficient of thermal expansion, and tested for laser performance. The expected outcome of this work is the realization of tailored thermal expansion alloys in laser prototypes.