NASA SBIR 2016 Solicitation

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/Zip, Phone)
Fibertek, Inc.
13605 Dulles Technology Drive
Herndon, VA 20171 - 4603
(703) 471-7671

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/Zip, Phone)
Dr. Brian Mathason
bmathason@fibertek.com
13605 Dulles Technology Drive
Herndon, VA 20171 - 4603
(703) 471-7671

CORPORATE/BUSINESS OFFICIAL (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/Zip, Phone)
Ms. Tracy Perinis
tperinis@fibertek.com
13605 Dulles Technology Drive
Herndon, VA 20171 - 4603
(703) 471-7671

Estimated Technology Readiness Level (TRL) at beginning and end of contract:
Begin: 3
End: 4

Technology Available (TAV) Subtopics
Lidar Remote Sensing Technologies is a Technology Available (TAV) subtopic that includes NASA Intellectual Property (IP). Do you plan to use the NASA IP under the award?
No

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (Limit 2000 characters, approximately 200 words)
Fibertek proposes to develop a spaceflight prototype 1940 nm, 100 W thulium (Tm) laser suitable for NASA spaceflight and long-duration unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) missions. The proposal is innovative because it demonstrates 100 W of polarization maintaining (PM) performance at 1940 nm. We expect a 2x to 3x improvement in efficiency compared to available commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) unpolarized Tm fiber lasers, and the laser will be packaged for high reliability for spaceflight operation. This SBIR leverages commercial Tm laser technology, published scientific test data, available optical components, and Fibertek's validated Tm fiber laser model. A spaceflight 100 W PM Tm laser is enabling and provides a path to space for a pulsed, Q-switched 2 um Ho:YLF laser with up to 80 mJ/pulse at 100-200 Hz. Lidar performance design studies from a low earth orbit (LEO) satellite indicate that 80 mJ of pulsed 2 um energy enables the simultaneous measurements of CO2 and water vapor using Integrated Path Differential Absorption (IPDA) and global wind light detection and ranging (lidar). NASA laser experiments have shown the 100 W of 1940 nm peak pump power is needed to generate 80 mJ/pulse.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS (Limit 1500 characters, approximately 150 words)
Satellite, ISS, UAS, Aircraft-Based Carbon Dioxide, Water Vapor, and Methane Lidar
Coherent Lidar, Clouds, and 3D Wind Lidar

POTENTIAL NON-NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS (Limit 1500 characters, approximately 150 words)
Coherent lidar for wind or hard-target velocity detection
Infrared countermeasures (IRCM) DoD market
Coherent 3D imaging lidar