NASA SBIR 2008 Solicitation

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/Zip, Phone)
AdValue Photonics Inc
4585 S. Palo Verde Road, Suite 405
Tucson, AZ 85714 - 1962
(520) 790-5468

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/Zip, Phone)
Shibin Jiang
sjiang@advaluephotonics.com
4585 S. Palo Verde Road, Suite 405
Tucson, AZ 85714 - 1962
(520) 790-5468

Expected Technology Readiness Level (TRL) upon completion of contract: 4 to 5

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (Limit 2000 characters, approximately 200 words)
Accurate measurement of atmospheric parameters with high resolution needs advanced lasers. In this SBIR program we propose to develop innovative Q-switched high power 2-micron fiber laser with pulse energy greater than 10mJ, repetition rate of 10Hz to 1KHz, and pulse duration of 200ns using innovative highly efficient Tm-doped glass fiber. This new fiber laser will be an all-fiber laser system consisting of actively Q-switched fiber laser and fiber amplifiers. This proposed all-fiber laser system is compact, highly efficient, robust and highly reliable, which is especially suited for NASA's application where operating environment is always extremely rough. In Phase I we will design and fabricate Tm-doped glasses, design and fabricate single mode and double cladding single mode Tm-doped fibers, and demonstrate Q-switched single frequency 2-micron fiber laser and amplifiers.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS (Limit 1500 characters, approximately 150 words)
This proposed innovative Q-switched high peak power single frequency fiber laser can be used as innovative lidar component for measurements of the atmosphere and surface topography of the Earth, Mars, the Moon, and other planetary bodies. Because it is fiber based, this Q-switched high peak power single frequency laser is compact, efficient, and extremely reliable.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS (Limit 1500 characters, approximately 150 words)
There are a number of potential non-NASA commercial applications for Q-switched high peak power single frequency Tm3+-doped fiber laser. This eye-safe laser source can be used to build commercial lidar for ranging and surface topography applications, as the light source for generating mid-IR lasers, and for research and development.

NASA's technology taxonomy has been developed by the SBIR-STTR program to disseminate awareness of proposed and awarded R/R&D in the agency. It is a listing of over 100 technologies, sorted into broad categories, of interest to NASA.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING

Optical