Fiber Delivery Systems for Ultrashort Pulse Lasers

By virtue of their extremely short pulses, typically less than a picosecond, ultrashort pulse (USP) lasers have unique interactions with matter, interactions that include the ability to ablate materials without introducing heat to the target, surface texturing and diagnostic, sensing, and imaging capabilities. In military environments, ultrashort pulse lasers have the potential to offer effective counter measures to advanced seeker threats. To date, deployment of this technology has been limited by an absence of a delivery fiber capable of handling the power intensity a USP laser. In this Phase I application, Raydiance proposes to design and develop a delivery fiber capable of handling millijoule class pulses. Key project tasks will include designing and analyzing fiber delivery parameters, testing design scalability with a hollow core fiber and a high pulse energy laser, and finally designing and modeling a complete fiber delivery system, which will include a specific optical fiber and input/output coupling hardware. Should an option be granted, Raydiance will test and analyze peak power and average power limitations of existing beam delivery fibers, and, finally, develop sourcing for the specified hollow core fiber and confirm the design feasibility for building a prototype system for an ensuing Phase II program.