Compact and Robust Ultrafast Laser Source at 2.1 um Topic 16.c

Ultrafast infrared laser systems have been proposed for use in many areas of DOE and industrial applications. Current available infrared femtosecond lasers are unstable, complicated, cost-intensive, inefficient, and bulky. Fiber lasers have become key workhorses for power scaling of ultrafast laser sources because of their advantages including inherent simplicity, compactness, low-cost, high efficiency, outstanding heat-dissipating capability, and excellent beam quality. Leveraging on our substantial experience in developing ultrafast fiber lasers at 2 m and our unique short-length highly doped fiber laser technology for ultrashort pulse amplification with low nonlinear distortions, NP Photonics, in collaboration with the College of Optical Sciences at the University of Arizona, proposes to develop a compact and robust single-polarization ultrafast fiber laser source at 2.1 m with exceptional operation stability and reliability. In this Phase I program, we will focus on the development of a compact and robust mode-locked all-fiber laser oscillator with exceptionally high polarization extinction ratio and highly holmium-doped polarization maintaining fiber amplifiers for energy scaling of ultrafast laser at 2.1 m. A compact and robust ultrafast laser source at 2.1 m meeting or exceeding the requirements of DOE’s applications will be developed in Phase II. In addition to DOE applications, the proposed high- energy ultrafast lasers can also be used for direct energy weapons, material processing, highly nonlinear process in atoms and molecules, and scientific research.