Space-Ready Chip-Integrated Titanium:Sapphire Lasers

Brightlight Photonics proposes to develop a universal nanophotonic laser solution in the wavelength ranges 675 - 1000 nm and 375 - 475 nm for quantum technologies including optical atomic clocks, cold atom interferometers, and solid-state quantum sensors. The wavelength range 675 - 1000 nm will be addressed by a single, wideband Titanium:Sapphire (Ti:Sapphire) gain medium, integrated onto a nanophotonic chip. On-chip frequency doubling with thin-film lithium niobate (TFLN) will further extend the range to 375 - 475 nm. One of the major impediments to compactifying atomic clocks, interferometry setups, and solid state sensors is their common reliance on bulky, expensive lasers. Chip-integration of high-performance lasers below 1 micron wavelength remains an outstanding challenge. Reducing this critical barrier to adoption of optical atomic clocks in space applications could enable deep-space navigation, explorations of dark matter, gravitational waves, and tests of general relativity as well as cold atom interferometers for inertial navigation and next-generation gravimeters. Our target foothold into commercial applications is optical atomic clocks for inertial navigation. The current atomic clock market is roughly $500 million annually, with the low-SWaP portion growing rapidly to accommodate the DoD need to operate in frequency-jammed theaters. At the same time we aim to diversify our commercial approach by establishing ourselves as a component supplier for cold atom quantum processors: reducing optical setups from rack-mounted lasers splaying across complex optical tables to an on-chip light source package integrated with EOMs. The SBIR Phase I funds will be used to build a low-linewidth demonstration laser locked to a rubidium vapor cell. We will also design high-gain on-chip amplifiers, explore pump-diode optimization, analyze the feasibility of integrating on-chip modulation components, and study the potential NASA needs of our technology.