Low-Cost-By-Design Widely Tunable Mid-Wave Infrared Surface Emitting Lasers Navy SBIR FY2015.1 Sol No.: Navy SBIR FY2015.1 Topic No.: N151-023 Topic Title: Low-Cost-By-Design Widely Tunable Mid-Wave Infrared Surface Emitting Lasers Proposal No.: N151-023-0172 Firm: EOS Photonics 30 Spinelli Place A Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138 Contact: Romain Blanchard Phone: (617) 945-2214 Web Site: www.eosphotonics.com Abstract: We envision a coherently coupled QCL array architecture featuring 2nd order DFB gratings to vertically couple out light with excellent beam quality and high output power. This approach does not require cleaving of the devices or facet coatings and is therefore inherently more robust and manufacturable than facet emitters. Additionally, we will implement electronically-controlled tuning elements to allow for fast broadband tuning of the emission wavelength. Benefits: The broadly-tunable high power QCL source developed here will disrupt the IRCM market and be tremendously beneficial for the protection of ships, aircraft and helicopters from MANPADS. This technological advance can also serve a number of other military market segments, from target illumination to free-space optical communication and identification, friends or foes (IFF) systems. Additionally, the co-emergence of modern Mid-IR Focal Plane Arrays (FPA) with increasingly powerful QCLs is a natural union. A high power QCL source would be an ideal light source for rapidly rastering the pixels of an FPA so as to acquire chemical "photographs" in various dual-use environments. Return