SBIR Phase I: Low-Cost, High-Power, Ultra-Low-Noise Lasers

该小型企业创新计划（SBIR）第一阶段项目将创建一个基于半导体的激光器，具有高功率和最终的低噪声性能，优于所有当前基于半导体的激光器，并提供与最好的光纤和固态激光器相当或更好的噪声性能，后者更复杂，效率更低，成本更高。该计划将利用量子点（QD）和先进的多量子阱（MQW）有源区与新型器件结构，以创建最先进的高功率，低α因子增益芯片;与创新的光纤布拉格光栅（FBG）集成，利用定制的色散特性，形成具有出色稳定性，高输出功率和极低噪声性能的外腔激光器（ECL）。 该项目更广泛的影响/商业潜力是显著降低在传感、通信、成像和测试等应用中需要高功率、低噪声激光器的系统的成本，促进广泛部署。应用包括许多传感系统;在能源领域，用于感测风力涡轮机叶片中的应力，用于更安全的石油和天然气勘探，感测有害气体或分子，以及感测桥梁、核电站、飞机和船舶等重要基础设施中的应力和裂纹形成。光通信的应用包括用于灾难恢复的自由空间通信、先进的数字通信系统和用于无线移动的互联网系统的来自基站的回程模拟信号。生物光子学应用于适当波长的激光以改善医学成像。该计划将为基础激光研究向前迈出一步，也为光谱实验提供低成本工具。广泛的应用为所有美国公民的生活质量，健康，安全和环境提供了显着的改善。以替代技术1/10的成本生产激光器将对市场造成重大破坏，从现有产品中夺走市场，更重要的是大幅扩大系统级应用的市场。

This Small Business Innovation Program (SBIR) Phase I project will create a semiconductor-based laser with high power and the ultimate in low-noise performance besting all current semiconductor based lasers, and providing equivalent or better noise performance than the best fiber and solid-state lasers, which are more complex, less efficient, and much higher cost. The program will take advantage of Quantum Dot (QD) and advanced Multiple-Quantum-Well (MQW) active regions with novel device structures to create state-of-the-art high power, low alpha-factor gain chips; integrated with an innovative fiber Bragg grating (FBG) utilizing tailored dispersion characteristics to form an external cavity laser (ECL) with excellent stability, high output power and extremely low noise performance. The broader impact/commercial potential of this project is to significantly reduce the cost of systems requiring a high power, low noise laser, in applications including sensing, communications, imaging, and testing, promoting widespread deployments. Applications include many sensing systems; in the energy sector sensing stress in wind turbine blades and for safer oil and gas exploration, sensing harmful gases or molecules, and sensing stress and crack formation in vital infrastructure such as bridges, nuclear power stations, aircraft and ships. Applications in optical communications include free space communications for disaster recovery, advanced digital communication systems and back-hauling analog signals from base stations for wireless mobile internet systems. There are biophotonics applications for lasers at appropriate wavelengths to improve medical imaging. This program will provide a step forward in fundamental laser research, also providing a low-cost tool for spectroscopic experiments. The wide range of applications provides for a significant improvement in the quality of life, health, safety, and the environment for all US citizens. Producing the laser at 1/10 the cost of alternate technologies will create a major disruption in the market, taking market from existing products, and more importantly dramatically expanding the market place for system level applications.