I-Corps: Development of a Deep Ultraviolet Laser

I-Corps项目更广泛的影响/商业潜力是开发一种发射深紫外（UV）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降解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。该技术旨在实现深紫外光的高效输出，并限制腔内激光反射镜的退化。目前，材料科学和量子技术领域对紫外技术的需求日益增加。此外，紫外激光技术被认为是量子计算领域的关键使能技术。在未来，提出的激光技术可能会在其他领域有用，包括生物医学研究，如基因编辑，半导体检查和图案。I-Corps的这个项目是基于一种紧凑的模块化变频平台的潜在发展，该平台可以发射波长为190-200纳米的连续波深紫外激光束。该技术旨在实现深紫外光的高效输出，并限制激光腔中光学元件的退化。最初，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器，而冷原子研究还需要使用连续波激光器。此外，激光的波长被设计为可调谐的，这是一种先进的功能，在商业连续波激光系统中无法在紫外线波长下工作，这可能有助于为不同的应用配置激光。这种提出的光源可以加速材料研究和量子技术，包括基于离子的量子计算。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，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.