Cost Effective, Scalable, High Power, Mid -IR Optically (Laser) Pumped Molecular Laser Source

The Air Force and other branches of the armed forces require compact and cost-effective, high power (10s of Watts) sources of mid-infrared radiation at wavelengths within atmospheric transmission bands. Thermal issues in solid-state lasers have so farlimited the performance of these devices at long wavelengths. By contrast gas lasers can provide power scalability, however these devices are typically large and require significant logistical support to deploy.Aculight proposes a new approach to address this problem through the use of a fiber laser based pump source in combination with an optically pumped molecular gas laser. This approach blends the best properties of diodes and fibers (efficient, compact,reliable) with the power handling capability of gas converters. The proposed approach is inherently scalable to very high average powers by combining the outputs from many smaller fiber-based pumps in the gas converter, and is electrically driven,simplifying deployment logistics.In Phase I Aculight conclusively demonstrated the viability of such a pump source generating, to our knowledge, the highest narrowband pulse output from a fiber-based system with energies in excess of 100 microJoules. In Phase II we will develop anddeliver a narrowband, pulsed, diode-pumped fiber system operating at 1.567microns utilizing Erbium-doped fiber amplifiers (EDFA's)such as those employed in the telecommunications industry. This source will be used to demonstrate optical pumping of a COlaser which operates in the atmospheric transmission window at 4.7 microns.