SBIR Phase I: Self-Aligned Miniature External Cavity Tunable Laser from Blue-Violet to Infrared

这个小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第一阶段项目旨在开发一种微型、低成本的可调谐激光器，该激光器采用目前已经开发并可商业化的体全息滤光片技术。该项目将重点开发蓝紫色和近红外范围的可调光源，以满足上述市场。该项目的活动将导致开发一种新的结构：一种由超窄带多线滤光器实现的自对准外腔可调激光器。所提出的可调谐激光器的被动自对准特性是低成本制造的主要驱动力。ECTL结构的一个独特特征是它的轴对称。这使得能够使用轴对称部件，例如TO-CAN激光封装、透镜和体全息滤光片，从而进一步降低制造成本。体全息滤光片的超窄带光谱光管理能力使ECTL非常紧凑：一种初步的概念验证可调谐激光产生物理长度为12 mm、调谐范围为几纳米的单模光。如果该项目成功，该项目的结果将有许多商业应用。可调谐激光技术是一种可以应用于从蓝紫色(375 Nm)到红外(4000 Nm)的平台，并使用商用的低成本半导体激光器。匹配盒大小的可调谐激光器在如此大的光谱范围内具有诱人的性价比，将在不同领域打开市场细分市场，而最先进的可调谐激光器技术很少涉及这些细分市场。特别是，该技术可以通过监测和优化发动机和燃煤电厂等燃烧过程的效率，在降低碳排放量方面发挥作用。这项技术可以为增加环境站的部署做出贡献，因为它提供的光源只需今天S成本的一小部分。

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I Project is intended to develop a miniature, low cost tunable laser enabled by the volume holographic filter technology already developed and commercially available today. The project will focus in developing the tunable light source for the blue-violet and near infrared range in order to address the above-mentioned markets. It is intended that the activities of this project will result in the development of a novel architecture: a self-aligned external cavity tunable laser (ECTL) enabled by an ultra-narrow band multi-line filter. The passive self-aligning nature of the proposed tunable laser is the main driver for low cost manufacturing. A unique feature of the architecture of the ECTL is its axial symmetry. This enables the use of axially symmetric components such as TO-can laser packages, lenses and volume holographic filters which further reduces the cost of manufacturing. The ultra-narrow band spectral light management capability of the volume holographic filter enables an extremely compact ECTL: an initial proof of concept tunable laser generated single mode light with a physical length of 12 mm and a couple nanometer tuning range.If successful the outcome of this project will have many commercial applications. The tunable laser technology is a platform that can be applied from the blue-violet (375 nm) to the infrared (4000 nm) and use commercially available low cost semi-conductor lasers. The attractive price/performance ratio of the match-box size tunable laser, over such a large spectral range, will open market segments in different fields that have been sparsely addressed by the state-of-the-art tunable laser technology. In particular, the technology can play a role in decreasing the rate of carbon emission by monitoring and optimizing efficiencies in combustion processes such as engines and coal plants. The technology could contribute to increasing the deployment of environmental stations by providing the optical source at a fraction of today?s cost.