SBIR Phase I: Electro-Optically Tunable Diode Lasers for Sensing Applications

SBIR 第一阶段：用于传感应用的电光可调谐二极管激光器

• 批准号: 0912642
• 负责人: Mike Anderson
• 金额: $ 10万
• 依托单位: Vescent Photonics LLC
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2009
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2009-07-01 至 2009-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0912642&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: SBIR; Phase; Electro; Optically; Tunable

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will reduce mechanical external-cavity diode lasers to a centimeter-sized waveguide chip using a novel giant electro-optic effect. The device, a waveguide external-cavity semiconductor laser (WECSL), will be environmentally robust, compact, entirely electro-optic and capable of continuous, mode-hop-free tuning of 100 nm in 500 ms. The laser will also exhibit a side-mode-suppression ratio of 40 dB and a (fast) line width of ~100 kHz. The broader impacts/commercial potential of this project will be a low-cost technology platform of WECSLs, and their precision performance specifications will enable laser-based sensors to assume a prominent role in commercial applications. In biophotonics, tunable lasers can replace broadband light sources and enhance the performance of optical coherence tomography instruments that measure the tissue layers in the human retina and the vascular system. Distributed fiber sensing arrays greatly benefit from tunable lasers that probe Bragg sensors spaced along the fiber. Distributed fiber sensors needing low-cost tunable lasers are being developed for chemical and biological sensing, pressure sensing, and vibration, strain and temperature sensing. Low-cost tunable lasers are also needed for environmental sensing of toxic industrial compounds and safety monitoring for lower explosive limits in mining and other industrial operations."This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5)."

这个小型企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目将使用新型的巨型电光效应将机械外腔二极管激光器减少到厘米大小的波导芯片。该器件是一种波导外腔半导体激光器（WECSL），将具有环境鲁棒性、紧凑性、完全电光性，并能够在500 ms内连续、无模式跳变地调谐100 nm。该激光器还将具有40 dB的边模抑制比和~100 kHz的（快）线宽。该项目更广泛的影响/商业潜力将是WECSL的低成本技术平台，其精度性能规格将使基于激光的传感器在商业应用中发挥重要作用。在生物光子学中，可调谐激光器可以取代宽带光源，并增强测量人类视网膜和血管系统中组织层的光学相干断层扫描仪的性能。分布式光纤传感阵列极大地受益于可调谐激光器，其探测沿光纤沿着间隔的布拉格传感器。分布式光纤传感器需要低成本的可调谐激光器正在开发的化学和生物传感，压力传感，振动，应变和温度传感。低成本可调谐激光器还需要用于有毒工业化合物的环境感测以及采矿和其他工业作业中爆炸下限的安全监测。“该奖项是根据2009年美国复苏和再投资法案（公法111-5）资助的。"