SBIR-STTR Award

Phase I of this project is aimed to develop an advanced solid-state laser and to investigate the nonlinear optical systems applications of the microchannel-cooled semiconductor laser bar technology developed at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories. The planned result of the research is the development of a feedback controlled injection seeding system that produces single-frequency, diffraction-limited performance from the resonant diode bar. This system will make possible the direct nonlinear optical recessing of the 60 W diode-laser output, using semiconductor laser frequency stabilization techniques already developed. The planned Phase I research considers overall efficiency and low cost manufacturing technology as primary design goals. This novel approach could set new standards for efficiency and frequency stability in short wavelength lasers. This project is also pursuing resonant second and fourth harmonic generation of the 808 nm injection-seeded output to produce approximately 30 W in the violet (404 nm) or more than 15 W of highly coherent vacuum ultraviolet (202 nm) radiation,Anticipated Results/Potential Commercial Applications as described by the awardee:This work could provide the fundamental technology base for direct application of diode bar technology to nonlinear optical systems. In addition to the considera) e power sea ing -iat can e realized through this research, the reduced cost and compact size of these devices can stimulate rapid growth of existing laser markets. The 202 nm wavelength is of interest for high resolution photolithography and micromachining. The ultraviolet laser has the potential to substantially offset the use of mercury lamps as the illumination source for high density dynamic random-access memory chip fabrication. The ultimate success of the planned solid- state technology will be achieved by driving the cost per watt to the absolute minimum.