Fiber Coupled Pulse Shaper for Sub-Nanosecond Pulse Lidar

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I effort will investigate the feasibility of using electro-optic (EO) beam scanning element to control coupling into a fiber as a fiber coupled pulse shaper. The goal of the pulse shaper is to reduce a 4-6ns pulse to 0.4-0.6ns pulse at 1064nm and/or 532nm at input powers at the 2mJ level. The highest utility of the proposed pulse shaper is its programability allowing it to deliver different pulse widths and different pulse shapes. Although this approach to pulse shaping inherently truncates the power of the input pulse, the shaper will find its greatest value in investigating the optimal pulse shape and parameters in a given optical system. As an added benefit, this technology can be directly morphed into a new type of Q-switch for solid state lasers requiring fewer optics, lower drive voltage and high damage threshold. The proposed effort is broken down into 3 primary tasks: 1) fabricate EO scanning elements, 2) assemble a benchtop pulse shaper for characterization and 3) Investigate drive electronics with sub ns rise times and moderately high voltage.