SBIR-STTR Award

The science of solid materials has intrigued researchers for many decades with its complexity and large variety of possible applications. Laser surface treatments, the development of catalysts, and the fabrication of microstructures are only a few important examples illustrating the potential of this field. It is understood that the design of new materials, devices, or processing methods ideally should be based on direct information of the static and dynamic microscopic properties of the materials involved. Such information could be obtained by a diagnostic instrument able to both spatially resolve objects down to atomic dimensions and follow their motion with a temporal resolution of picoseconds, the time scale typical for structural rearrangements in condensed matter. Coherent electromagnetic radiation can serve as such a probe, provided it can be generated at sufficiently short wavelengths in a pulse of suitably short duration. Research progress in recent years clearly shows that a high-quality picosecond ultraviolet laser system is the key element in several promising schemes for the generation of the necessary electromagnetic radiation. The useful wavelengths of this radiation fall in the extreme ultraviolet and soft x-ray regions.The goal of the Phase I research effort is the quantitative understanding of the principal factors which determine the performance, complexity, reliability, and cost of such a laser system in order to establish the optimum configuration.The potential applications as described by the company: The anticipated result of this analysis is a strategy for development of a commercially feasible laser system to serve as a critical component in a new form of instrumentation for the generation of short wavelength radiation. While such a system by itself can fulfill a considerable range of diagnostic requirements, it is believed that the successful application of this technology as the primary electromagnetic driver for the production of short wavelength radiation will result in a compact, inexpensive, and reliable instrument in the 10 eV to 1000 eV spectral range widely useful in the private industrial sector.

There exists a continuously increasing body of experimental evidence that demonstrates that high-quality, short-pulse, excimer laser systems are prime candidates for the generation of spectrally bright coherent radiation in the extreme ultraviolet and soft x-ray spectral regions. Such excimer systems consist of (1) a unit generating a short, high-quality pulse at visible wavelengths, (2) a frequency shifter, (3) a chain of ultraviolet amplifiers.Research during Phase I has led to the identification of two schemes suitable for satisfying the requirements of points(1) and (2) which involve approximately 750/o of the present system's complexity and cost. The envisioned solution will highly reduce this complexity and cost. The objective of the Phase 11 research is to develop a prototype laser system that delivers a tunable, high-quality pulse of 10 psec duration in the range of < 450 to 700 nm. This radiation will then be converted to 248 nm and serve as the seed radiation for a KrF amplifier.Anticipated Results/Potential Commercial Applications as described by the awardee: The anticipated result of the Phase 11 research effort is the construction of a prototype laser which, at moderate cost, is able to deliver high spectral brightness pulses of < 10 ps duration over practically the whole visible spectral range. In conjunction with suitable wavelength shifters, this instrument will cover the ultraviolet spectral range down to and probably below 240 nm. It has to be expected that application of pulse compression techniques will make the temporal range of < I psec pulses accessible. This instrument will, by itself, represent a valuable research tool. Beyond this, its integration as the front end of an ultrahigh spectral brightness KrF laser system will result in a compact, low-cost laboratory instrument, delivering powers of > 10 GW at 5 eV photon energy. It has been demonstrated that such lasers are extremely well suited for the generation of coherent, extremeultraviolet radiation, and strong experimental evidence indicates that this range will be extended into the soft xmy region. This new, powerful, and cost-effective technology would overcome the fundamental limitations of the low-brightness, incoherent sources presently available and permit application to an unusually broad spectrum of important technical areas relevant both to pure scientific and industrial spheres.