Mid-wave Infrared (MWIR) Illuminator for Ground and Small Unmanned Aircraft System (SUAS) Targeting

We propose the development of an ultra-compact and highly reliable quantum cascade laser (QCL) two-color module with operating range from 100m to over 3km for weapon-mounted applications and up to 10km for small unmanned aircraft systems. Operational characteristics of QCLs in the module will be carefully tailored to provide the required optical power intensity on the target at the highest wall plug efficiency to ensure the longest run time from batteries. Electronic control of each laser will enable the user to operate the system with one or any combination of QCLs, thus optimizing the run-time with CONOPS. Output optical beam will be circularized on laser chip level to reduce the cost of the beam expander optics. The module will measure less than 3"x 1"x 2"with continuous run times of up to 30 minutes and intermittent 30 second on 1 minute off cycles for up to 4 hours. The manufacturing analysis shows that that fabrication cost of the laser module of $5,000 for the batch size of at least 1,000 units is realistic.