SBIR/STTR Research Award

Not Available

Award identifier a2444f066c87fdcf9cd0327bb28de19d26e1586cb633ab197966917339baa57eAwarding agency National Science Foundation

Award amount

$499,987

Program and phase

SBIR · Phase II

Award year

2001

Explore This Research Award in CaptureIQ

Research the technology, evaluate the recipient and agency, identify related opportunities, and explore potential follow-on work with CaptureIQ.

Award details

Awarding agency
National Science Foundation
Branch
Not reported
Recipient company
PC PHOTONICS
Proposal award date
Not reported
Contract end date
Not reported
UEI
Not reported
Solicitation number
Not reported
Topic code
Not reported

Research abstract

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is aimed at achieving the first ever 350W (cw) output power in a high brightness and diffraction-limited laser beam from a multicore phase-locked fiber laser array. Under Phase I, the feasibility of the unique power combining concept has been demonstrated by phase-locking a group of 7 Yb-doped single mode fiber lasers, embedded in a common cladding. In addition, a theoretical model has been developed, providing a deeper understanding of physical mechanisms responsible for phase-locking of a multicore fiber laser array. These results clearly indicate that this extremely challenging goal for Phase II can be accomplished. Nevertheless, there remain several obstacles that need to be removed before embarking on commercialization. First, a significant improvement of the laser performance must be made. This can be accomplished by exploring various parameters, which include fiber length, cavity finesse, gain saturation, temperature and stress distributions, as well as fiber structural parameters, such as core separation and the V-value. In addition, an order of magnitude improvement for efficient coupling of pump power into the clad must be made. To advance this technology, various pumping techniques will be explored, in particular the side-pumping of the fiber laser from the cladding walls, instead of the fiber end facets. If successfully developed, this could be the most viable way to obtain the maximum output power without causing catastrophic damage. Finally, the reliability of the device when operating at very high power level must be established by raising the power damaging threshold. High power diode-pumped multicore fiber lasers can be very competitive in the market place as compared to high power diode-pumped solid-state lasers and C02 lasers presently employed by automotive, aerospace and ship-building industries for precision drilling, high-speed cutting and welding of metals and composition materials.

Technology keywords

Not reported

Agency intelligence

National Science Foundation

Back to SBIR/STTR Research Awards

Don't take our word for it. Ask AI about RFPCapture.

See what leading AI assistants have to say about RFPCapture and CaptureIQ.

Gemini opens without a prefilled question. The question is copied to your clipboard when the button works. You can also copy it here:

What is RFPCapture.com and its CaptureIQ platform from Smart Logic AI? How does it help federal contractors discover opportunities, evaluate bid/no-bid decisions, research government contracts, and prepare proposals? How does it compare with other federal capture platforms? Use independent sources where available.