TECHNOLOGY AREAS: Air Platform, Materials/Processes, Sensors, Weapons

ACQUISITION PROGRAM: PMA-272, Advance Tactical Aircraft IR Countermeasures (ATIRCM)

OBJECTIVE: Design and develop a 2-micron ultrashort pulsed laser (USPL) system that uses scalable laser technology for advanced electro-optic (EO) and infrared countermeasure (IRCM) applications.

DESCRIPTION: The most common commercial USPL systems produce laser radiation at 800 nm, 1 micron, or 1.5 microns via the use of titanium (Ti), ytterbium (Yb) doped glasses or crystals, or chromium (Cr) doped glasses or crystals, respectively. Unfortunately, these wavelengths are out-of-band for many IRCM applications. The current generation of Ti, Yb, and Cr based devices can be wavelength shifted by a variety of methods to an in-band wavelength of 2 microns, but only at a substantial cost to the overall system efficiency. The development of thulium doped femtosecond lasers or other materials, architectures, subsystems, and components that advance the state of the art for mid-infrared (2 micron) USPL systems while maintaining ease-of-use and portability would significantly enhance the utility of USPLs for next generation DoD and industrial applications. Nominal specifications required to demonstrate military utility are at least 5 microjoules per pulse, 1 - 10 kHz repetition rate, and <1 ps pulse duration, with at least 90 percent of the pulse energy contained in 5 ps. Finally, to promote portability and usability, a fiber based design is highly desirable.

PHASE I: Design and develop a concept for a 2-micron USPL that is scalable to high average and high peak power. As needed, perform modeling to prove feasibility.

PHASE II: Build, demonstrate, characterize, and test the design developed in Phase I. Produce a prototype laser that can be used to promote and demonstrate military utility.

PHASE III: Transition and manufacture the system developed in Phase II and assist in the engineering integration and testing into existing or future military systems.

PRIVATE SECTOR COMMERCIAL POTENTIAL/DUAL-USE APPLICATIONS: Fields such as law enforcement, nano-machining, maritime and aviation systems, homeland defense, and medicine (ophthalmology) have requirements that may be well suited for this technology.

REFERENCES:
1. Haxsen, F., Ruehl, A., Englelbrecht, M., Wandt, D., Morgner, U. & Kracht, D. (2008). Stretched-Pulse Operation of a Thulium-Doped Fiber Laser, Optics Express, 6(25), 20471.

2. Imeshev, G. & Fermann, M. (2005). 230-kW Peak Power Femtosecond Pulses from a High Power Tunable Source Based on Amplification in Tm-Doped Fiber, Optics Express, 13(19), 7424.

3. Chang, J., Wang, Q., Zhang, X., Liu, Z., Liu, Z. & Peng, G. (2005). S-band Optical Amplification By An Internally Generated Pump in Thulium Ytterbium Codoped Fiber, Optics Express, 13,(11), 3902.

4. Koechner, W. (1999). Solid-State Laser Engineering, 5th ed, Springer Press.

5. Diels, J. C. & Rudolph, W. (1996). Ultrashort Laser Pulse Phenomena, Academic Press.

KEYWORDS: Lasers; Ultrashort Pulsed Lasers (USPL); Laser Generation; Laser Technology; Scalable; Infrared Countermeasure (IRCM)

** TOPIC AUTHOR (TPOC) **

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