SINGLE LONGITUDINAL MODE ALEXANDRITE LIDAR TRANSMITTER

WE PROPOSE TO DEVELOP A BROADLY TUNABLE NARROWBAND FREQUENCY STABILIZED PULSED ALEXANDRITE LIDAR TRANSMITTER SUITABLE FOR AIRBORNE AND SPACEBORNE MISSIONS. THIS LASER TRANSMITTER WILL PROVIDE NEAR TRANSFORM LIMITED OUTPUT PULSES ACROSS THE 760 TO 770 NM SPECTRAL REGION. OUR APPROACH WILL BE BASED ON A NUMBER OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS THAT PROMISE DRAMATIC IMPROVEMENT IN LASER PULSE ENERGY, AND FREQUENCY STABILITY. SPECIFICALLY, WE WILL DEVELOP AN ACTIVELY STABILIZED, DIODE LASER INJECTION-LOCKED ALEXANDRITE RING LASER. TO DO THIS WE WILL FIRST DEMONSTRATE THE FEASIBILITY OF THE APPROACH IN OUR PHASE I EFFORT WHICH INCLUDES THE DESIGN, FABRICATION, TESTING, AND OPTIMIZATION OF A TESTBED LASER PROTOTYPE. THIS STUDY WILL RESOLVE THE MOST CRITICAL PERFORMANCE ISSUES AND WILL PERMIT THE MORE EXTENSIVE DEVELOPMENT OF A LIDAR TRANSMITTER MEETING ALL NASA REQUIREMENTS INCLUDING SCALING TO HIGHER POWER AND PULSE ENERGY IN PHASE II. IN ADDITION TO MEETING NASA'S DEMANDING REQUIREMENTS, THE PROPOSED SYSTEM WOULD HAVE SUBSTANTIAL APPLICATIONS IN OTHER AREAS OF SPECTROSCOPY, REMOTE SENSING, AND POLLUTION MONITORING IN ADDITION TO FIELDS SUCH AS HOLOGRAPHY THAT SEEK EFFICIENT PULSED LASER SOURCES HAVING LONG COHERENCE LENGTH.