SBIR Phase II: Diode-Pumped, High-Power, Cr:LiSAF-Based Ultrafast Laser and THz Source

这项小型企业创新研究（SBIR）的第二阶段将开发超快激光系统，该系统可能代表直接二极管泵浦、固态超快光源技术的重大进步。在第一阶段的初始工作中，通过使用创新的侧泵浦设计，展示了二极管泵浦激光器创纪录的连续波功率水平（2W）。在第二阶段，该设计将进一步改进，并用作再生放大器的基础，以产生峰值功率。被动锁模二极管泵浦激光器的输出应该为再生放大器提供种子脉冲。整体超快光源应该更简单，更小，最终比目前的功率相等的蓝宝石超快激光系统更便宜。为了演示所提出的技术的实用性，将构建一个时域太赫兹（THz）光谱仪，基于光整流太赫兹源和电光探测器，两者都由激光系统驱动。直接二极管泵浦的超快激光器代表了一种使能技术，允许超快和太赫兹系统从实验室出现，并进入广泛的科学和工业应用。提出的超快激光器和太赫兹光谱仪都可能具有重大的科学和商业影响的潜力。由于设计简单，成本较低（约为50%），学术界和工业界的更广泛的研究小组将能够获得超快光源和太赫兹仪器。该系统的低成本、简单性、高可靠性和小尺寸也将极大地扩展和加速超快激光和太赫兹辐射在生物技术、医学成像、精密微加工、工业过程控制和安全系统中的应用。

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II will develop the ultrafast laser system that could represent a significant advance in the technology of directly diode-pumped, solid state, ultrafast sources. In the initial Phase I effort, a record cw power level ( 2W) from diode-pumped Lasers were demonstrated through the use of an innovative, side-pumped design. In Phase II, this design will be further improved and utilized as the basis for a regenerative amplifier to generate high peak powers. The output of a passively mode-locked, diode-pumped laser should provide the seed pulses for the regenerative amplifier. The overall ultrafast source should be simpler, smaller and ultimately less expensive than present, power-equivalent, sapphire-based ultrafast laser systems. As a demonstration of the utility of the proposed technology, a time-domain terahertz (THz) spectrometer will be constructed, based on an optical-rectification THz source and an electro-optical detector, both driven by the laser system. The directly diode-pumped ultrafast laser represents an enabling technology, allowing ultrafast and THz systems to emerge from the laboratory and into the widespread scientific and industrial applications The proposed ultrafast laser and THz spectrometer both could have the potential for significant scientific and commercial impact. With the lower cost (on the order of 50%) made possible by the simplicity of design, a wider range of research groups in academia and industry will be able to obtain ultrafast sources and THz instrumentation. The lower cost, simplicity, higher reliability and smaller size of the systems will also greatly expand and accelerate the use of ultrafast lasers and THz radiation in biotechnology, medical imaging, precision micro-machining, industrial process control and security systems.