I-Corps: Development of a Deep Ultraviolet Laser

这个I-Corps项目更广泛的影响/商业潜力是可能开发一种发射深紫外光的窄带宽连续波激光器。紫外激光技术的关键挑战之一是长期稳定性，因为紫外激光束往往会使激光系统内部使用的各种材料（包括窗口和反射镜涂层以及激光晶体）退化。 所提出的技术旨在实现深紫外光的有效输出，并限制腔内激光镜的退化。 目前，材料科学和量子技术领域对UV技术的需求正在增加。此外，紫外激光技术被认为是量子计算领域的关键技术。 未来，拟议中的激光技术可能在其他领域有用，包括生物医学研究，如基因编辑，半导体检测和图案化。这个I-Corps项目是基于一个紧凑和模块化的频率转换阶段的潜在发展，发射波长为190-200 nm的连续波深紫外激光束。 所提出的技术旨在实现深紫外光的有效输出，并限制激光腔中光学元件的退化。最初，所提出的技术有两个目标应用：光电子能谱和冷原子研究。这两种应用都需要深紫外激光，而冷原子研究还需要使用连续波激光。此外，激光器的波长被设计为可调谐的，这是在UV波长下工作的商业连续波激光器系统中不可用的先进功能，这可以促进针对不同应用的激光器的配置。 该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is the potential development of a narrow bandwidth continuous wave laser that emits deep ultraviolet (UV) light. One of the key challenges in UV laser technology is long-term stability as UV laser beams tend to degrade the various materials used inside the laser system, including the window and mirror coatings and laser crystals. The proposed technology is designed to achieve efficient output of deep UV light as well as limit the degradation of laser mirrors in the cavity. Currently, the demand for the UV technology is increasing in the fields of materials science and quantum technologies. Further, UV laser technology is thought to be a key enabling technology for the field of quantum computing. In the future, the proposed laser technology potentially may be useful in other areas including biomedical research such as gene-editing, semiconductor inspection and patterning.This I-Corps project is based on the potential development of a compact and modular frequency conversion stage that emits continuous wave deep UV laser beams at the wavelengths of 190-200 nm. The proposed technology is designed to achieve efficient output of deep UV light as well as limit the degradation of optical components in the laser cavity. Initially, the proposed technology has two target applications: Photoelectron spectroscopy and cold atom research. Both applications require deep UV lasers, while cold atom research additionally requires the use of continuous wave laser. In addition, the wavelength of the laser is designed to be tunable, an advanced functionality not available in commercial continuous wave laser systems working in UV wavelengths, which may facilitate configuration of the laser for different applications. This proposed light source may accelerate materials research and quantum technologies including ion-based quantum computing.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.