SBIR Phase I: Novel Solid-State Dye Lasers

这个小企业创新研究第一阶段项目是开发低成本、高性能、可调谐的固态染料激光器，使用液晶聚合物作为分布式反馈主机。所提出的激光器具有从紫外到红外的偏振窄带表面发射。这些激光器结构简单，结构紧凑，光机械性能稳定。作为固态激光器，这些激光器对环境安全且用户友好。初步结果表明，这些固态染料激光器是可行的。已观测到低阈值、窄光谱带宽的圆偏振激光发射。在第一阶段，这些新型激光器将被系统地研究，以确定最佳设计的目标。这些薄膜染料激光器的可行制造工艺也将被开发出来。在第二阶段，优化的原型激光系统将被设计、建造和现场测试。这些原型将导致实验室环境之外的便携式应用的商业产品。设想的系统尺寸约为5厘米x 5厘米x 15厘米，其中99%由泵浦激光器占据。如果使用半导体二极管激光器作为泵浦源，具有红外输出的系统将大大减小尺寸。紧凑的固态可调谐染料激光器具有多种应用。例如，它们可用于实地监测化学和生物危害以及监测空气污染。其他应用包括安全光通信、目标指定、生物医学诊断、光学海量数据存储和高亮度信息显示。

9860041 This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project is to develop low-cost, high-performance, tunable solid-state dye lasers using liquid crystalline polymer as a distributed-feedback host. The proposed lasers are surface-emitting with a polarized narrowband emission from UV to infrared. These lasers are of simple construction, extremely compact and opto-mechanically robust. Being solid-state, these lasers areenvironmentally safe and user-friendly. Preliminary results have demonstrated that these solid-state dye lasers are feasible. Low-threshold, circularly polarized laser emission with narrow spectral bandwidth has been observed. In Phase I, these novel lasers will be systematically studied with the goal of defining optimal designs. Viable fabrication processes for these thin-film dye lasers will also be developed. In Phase II, optimized prototype laser systems will be designed, constructed and field-tested. These prototypes will lead to commercial products for portable applications beyond the laboratory environment. Envisioned system sizes are about 5 cm x 5 cm x 15 cm, 99% of which is occupied by the pump laser. If a semiconductor diode laser as a pump source is used, system with IR output would be dramatically reduced in size. Compact solid-state tunable dye lasers have diverse applications. For example, they can be used in field to monitor chemical and biological hazards and monitor air pollution. Other applications include secured optical communications, target designation, biomedical diagnostics, optical mass data storage and high-brightness information displays.