SBIR Phase I: Novel Amplification Technology as a Path to Practical Application of USP Technology

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will focus on the development of a compact novel gain medium with application to a wide variety of pulsed lasers, including ultrashort pulse (USP) lasers,(less than 1 picosecond pulse length) and longer pulse lasers (greater than 1 picosecond to hundreds of nanoseconds). The average power and peak power levels of such pulse lasers are currently limited by the power handling of the amplifier gain medium, resulting in severe pulse distortions or beam distortion at high owers. Moreover, the amplifier limitations in USP lasers require bulky stretching and compression methods resulting in large, environmentally unstable lasers. The proposed compact gain medium will have over an order of magnitude increased peak power handling over todays available gain media and will be readily scalable to high average power without beam distortions. The research will focus on an understanding of the performance, prototype design and demonstration of key parameters of the gain medium, including gain, efficiency,power,beam quality and pulse quality. The proposed approach results in a solution that is robust, compact, highly manufacturable, and scalable to high powers and pulse energies. The broader impacts/commercial potential of this project will be the integration of computing, software, and broadband technology with USP photonics,this project will drive the USP industry toward practical consumer devices. However, for USP lasers to be significantly transformational in the commercial space, an order of magnitude reduction in size and cost while increasing power output is necessary. If executed, this effort will fuel an explosion of new applications estimated to reach a multi-billion dollar market value within five years. Such applications include selective cancer removal, precise material machining such as for making vascular stents and thin film photovoltaic cells, gene transfection, and imaging. This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).