SBIR-STTR Award

Frequency stabilization in pulsed laser waveforms
Award last edited on: 9/20/2002

Sponsored Program
SBIR
Awarding Agency
DOD : Navy
Total Award Amount
$661,384
Award Phase
2
Solicitation Topic Code
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Principal Investigator
Ali Javan

Company Information

Laser Sciences Inc

8e Forge Parkway
Franklin, MA 02038
   (508) 553-2353
   ackley@laserscience.com
   www.laserscience.com
Location: Single
Congr. District: 04
County: Norfolk

Phase I

Contract Number: N87-030
Start Date: 00/00/00    Completed: 00/00/00
Phase I year
1987
Phase I Amount
$50,102
A design phase program is proposed for the development of a process and equipment for use in frequency control of pulsed lasers to achieve very high frequency stability ( 1 in 10 to the 10th power or 10 to the llth power. There exists a variety of important laser radar applications for which energetic laser pulses are needed at a frequency stability at this level. The existing method to achieve such high stability consists of a MOPA configuration in which the output of a stable CW laser is amplified in a large pulsed power amplifier bank. This approach suffers from two major drawbacks SF large size and inability to retain the frequency stability in the presence of the intense acoustics and microphonics environment in an aircraft. LSI's proposed "v"-processor for pulsed laser frequency control is based on an adaptive process. The "v"-processor senses the fluctations of an incident laser pulse at its input referenced against a stable optical clock. The processor removes the fluctuations from the same pulse electro-optically at a delayed time. It also anchors the pulse frequency at the clock frequency. The proposed design-phase will formulate a hardware development program to be implemented in phase II. The hardware development will include a complete v-processor.

Phase II

Contract Number: NAVY87-030
Start Date: 00/00/00    Completed: 00/00/00
Phase II year
1989
Phase II Amount
$611,282
An engineering effort is proposed as Phase II for the development of a process and equipment for use in frequency control of pulsed lasers to achieve very high frequency stability, to the limit given by the inverse of the pulse duration. There exists a variety of important laser radar applications for which energetic laser pulses are needed at a frequency stability at this level. The existing method to achieve such high stability consists of a mopa configuration in which the output of a stable cw laser is amplified in a large pulsed power amplifier bank. This approach suffers from two 14ajor drawbacks: large size and instability to retain the frequency stability in the presence of the intense acoustics and microphonics environment in an aircraft. LSI's proposes "v"-processor for pulse laser frequency control is based on an adaptive process. The "v"-processor senses the fluctuations of an incident laser pulse at its input referenced against a stable optical clock. The processor removes,the fluctuations from the same pulse electro-optically at a delay time. It also anchors the pulse frequency at the clock frequency. The proposed engineering phase will develop a complet "v"-processor of the form outlined in this proposal based on design efforts completed in Phase I.