Ann Arbor, MI--The U.S. Army has awarded an SBIR Phase I contract to Arbor Photonics to develop a compact and rugged femtosecond laser for hazardous material detection. The company will develop an ultrafast fiber laser that emits pulses with a duration shorter than 100 fs and and energy of greater than 100 μJ.
The laser will be based on Arbor Photonics’ chirally-coupled-core (3C) optical fiber, which has an internal structure that maintains a single-spatial-mode output even when the fiber's core is very large. This allows higher-energy output, as the pulses' energy is spread out over a larger core cross-sectional area. 3C fiber has previously been used to amplify nanosecond pulses with up to 100 kW peak power, 100 W average power, and single-mode (M2 < 1.1) beam quality. “This grant will extend the use of 3C fiber to amplification in the ultrashort pulse operating regime, and, in conjunction with other novel components, will enable a laser system with performance beyond that of commercially available ultrafast lasers," says Phillip Amaya, CEO of Arbor Photonics.
The laser will help the Army achieve accurate and sensitive remote detection of hazardous materials. Arbor Photonics will also develop commercial applications for this technology.
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