High Power Ultra-Short Pulse Bulk Laser Amplifier at Eye-Safer Wavelengths

Aqwest proposes to further advance a novel solid-state laser operating in the vicinity of the eye-safer 2 µm wavelength and develop corresponding laser subsystems addressing urgent Navy needs.  Eye-safer lasers offer improved safety, which is important for remote sensing, propagation through the atmosphere, interaction with targets, and material processing in factories. The innovative laser will generate short pulses (nanosecond scale) at high pulse repetition rate.  The innovative laser is based trivalent thulium Tm ion doped into emerging high-performance host material. The Tm laser ion offers lasing over a broad tuning bandwidth, which allows for tuning into atmospheric windows for good propagation over long distances. In particular, we will develop a laser assembly operating at user-selectable wavelength for use in atmospheric propagation. In addition, we will develop 2 µm laser that is as harmonically converted into blue spectrum laser and a laser with MHz linewidth for remote sensing.