III-Nitride Based Compact 320-355 nm UV Lasers Navy SBIR FY2016.1 Sol No.: Navy SBIR FY2016.1 Topic No.: N161-005 Topic Title: III-Nitride Based Compact 320-355 nm UV Lasers Proposal No.: N161-005-0036 Firm: Nour, LLC 1500 Sheridan RD UNIT 8A Wilmette, Illinois 60091 Contact: Ryan McClintock Phone: (847) 467-4093 Abstract: Existing ultraviolet laser diodes with wavelengths much shorter than 355 nm suffer from poor performance. This is partially due to limited research in this area, but a large part is also due to material and processing issues unique to deep UV lasers. New approaches to achieving III-Nitride UV lasers at wavelengths shorter than 355nm are needed to meet the Navy's ambitious goals of having 1 W of CW output power; traditional approaches to III-Nitrides are unlikely to be able to achieve the desired laser performance. Instead it is necessary to develop revolutionarily novel approaches to the growth and fabrication of Al(In)GaN based UV lasers. This proposed effort will involve studying the growth, processing, testing, and demonstration of high power UV multi-quantum wells and lasers. It will cumulate in the initial demonstration of UV lasers and a feasibility study for pushing this technology toward even higher powers. This work will lay out the ground work for a Phase II effort in which we will continue to implement novel approached to demonstrating high-power UV lasers. Benefits: By the end of Phase II it is expected to demonstrate and deliver the first watt-level power 320 to 355 nm UV Lasers. Achieving such devices will require major breakthroughs in the existing technology. The Phase I program proposed herein will seek to develop novel technology that has a strong potential to allow the realization of such devices. By the end of the Phase I initial device demonstrations will have been made to layout a groundwork for realizing high power UV nm laser. The availability of UV laser diode will directly support the Navy applications such as to counter hostile fire identification (HFI), Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR), and three-dimensional (3D) imaging through smoke, dust and smog. UV lasers can also be used for applications such as non-line of sight communication, portable bio-agent detection, and next generation optical data storage. The technologies developed may also have crossover potential for other devices based on the III-Nitride material system, including high power microwave electronics, THz detectors and detector arrays, UV LEDs, as well as visible and ultraviolet photodetectors. Return