Low-Noise, Parametric, Photonic Oscillator in Short-Wave Infrared (SWIR) Band

ABSTRACT: In contrast to the NIR band, which is supported by an infrastructure of devices developed to serve telecommunication applications, the SWIR band remains out of reach for critical defense and commercial applications. While it is relatively simple to construct a low-noise oscillator within the conventional NIR window, its equivalent requires qualitatively new physics when operated at wavelengths beyond 1700nm. As an illustration, the conventional oscillator architecture relies on a low-noise emitter, low-loss waveguides, and a sensitive receiver. Such a component complement exists in the NIR band and is well developed due to the introduction of the fiber lightwave infrastructure nearly two decades ago. Unfortunately, this technology cannot be easily mapped onto the SWIR band since gain in conventional semiconductors does not scale beyond 1800nm, receiver sensitivity falls off rapidly after 1700nm, and conventional fiber loss is greatly increased beyond 1750nm. Consequently, if a SWIR equivalent of a low-noise NIR photonic oscillator is to be successfully constructed, either new emission/reception physics must be identified or a new approach must be taken. Recognizing that new semiconductor physics is unlikely, this proposal describes a new technical path to SWIR photonic oscillators. BENEFIT: Coherent LIDAR/LADAR Transceiver Doppler-Derived IFF and Target Classification Chemical and Biological Sensing and Spectroscopic Discrimination