SBIR-STTR Award

This proposal explores the possibility of using SpaceFiber, doped ZBLAN optical laser fiber manufactured at the International Space Station by Flawless Photonics, to create fiber lasers generating powerful mid-infrared coherent light capable of producing a LiDAR system with the ability to accurately detect, range, and characterize objects of any material as small as 2 meters out to distances of 50Km or more, depending on atmospheric conditions, day or night. Such a LiDAR "radar" requires a pulsed coherent laser beam exceeding 100W, is diffraction limited, and can operate in the ideal mid-infrared window of 2.2-2.3 microns to maximize light transmission to and from the target, is minimally affected by solar background radiation, and is eye-safe to be able to operate in-theater.

Flawless Photonics proposes the use of an innovative, Commercial-off-the-Shelf (COTS), Technical Readiness Level–7 (TRL-7) Laser Detection and Ranging (LiDAR)SpaceFiber™technology solution that uses a beam of laser light to illuminate a target and detect the reflection to determine range to that target similar to RADAR but using light instead of radio waves. Widely used in autonomous automobiles, LiDARcan construct a 3D image of the surroundings by sweeping the beam creating scan lines with simple point reflections representing pixels and Time of Flight (TOF) being used to determine distance and motion, and finally computer processing being used to integrate the data into a composite image. RADAR is ubiquitous in its use to track airborne objects out to great distances by bouncing radio waves of various frequencies off those objects and measuring the return. However, RADAR has limitations in its ability to track small objects made of materials that do not reflect radio waves well, such as small drones made of wood, plastic, or composites, or stealth vehicles specifically designed to absorb or deflect RADAR.Because of radars relatively long wavelengths in the electromagnetic spectrum, the angular size (physical object size combined with the distance to the target) of a target is limited making the early detection of small plastic drones, for example, problematic. What is needed is a remote sensor that is capable of detecting small objects under 2m in size out to distances of 50Km or more, rapidly and if possible, characterize the object to identify threats. LiDAR is also now a ubiquitous technology used for ranging, mapping, autonomous vehicles, and many other applications with the ability to create 3D models of the environment around the light or laser source.Using a variety of methods to emit and detect laser pulses, information such as range, speed, and shape of objects are able to be determined with great accuracy. However modern LiDARs do have limitations that hold them back from being used to detect and target aerial objects and threats including beam size, power,range, eye safety, and others.Flawless Photonics leverages their SpaceFiber™to create fiber lasers in the mid-infrared spectrum capable of producing a LiDAR system with the ability to accurately detect, range, and characterize objects of any materialas small as 2 meters out to distances of 50Km or more