Particle beam sources and associated techniques for generating high energy particles require the use of high average-power laser light sources. However, the generation of high power tunable light has historically proven to be difficult, mostly due to thermal instabilities. This project will develop a Ti:sapphire-based system that significantly reduces the thermal management requirement and generates light. The objective is to design and construct a light source tunable in the range of 700-850 nm, with a pulse repetition rate between 0.5-3.0 GHz and average output power of 10 Watts. Phase I will design and construct a high power Ti:sapphire pump source. Then, a modular system will be designed and scalability recommendations will be made for Phase II.
Commercial Applications and Other Benefits as described by the awardee: In addition to the application in High Energy Physics, a tunable laser with both high peak power and high energy per pulse would have significant material processing advantages. Application areas include including military, medical healthcare, materials processing, and manufacturing
