Compact, Rugged, and Low-Cost Wavelength-Versatile Burst Laser

Current of the shelf commercial laser systems that are used for LIBS and other optical detection techniques are too costly, large, low performance and unreliable. The reason for it is because commercial laser systems are designed for continuous operation. Only one or few laser pulses are needed for detection, therefore, low cost burst lasers with the proper parameters are needed. Burst mode operation requires low power, therefore small size, and if properly designed it can be significantly simplified while delivering high performance. The objective of this proposal is to design and construct three burst laser prototypes based on Phase I that are low cost, very compact, high performance, and very reliable for field testing by the Army. In Phase I we have demonstrated a high performance breadboard burst laser with the required parameters and concluded with a conceptual design the feasibility to meet the cost, size and weight. In Phase II we will design and construct first prototype and ensure full satisfaction of its performance, perform minor modifications if necessary, and then construct the remaining two prototype lasers. We have full confidence that we will meet all of our goals based on the performance we obtained in Phase I.