SBIR-STTR Award

The US Navy and to a larger extent the Department of Defense has multiple needs for compact, rugged, efficient, reliable, long life, and high performance pulsed power systems for Directed Energy applications such as High Energy Lasers (HEL) and High Power Microwave (HMP) sources. The objective of this proposed effort is to significantly reduce the size and weight, and improve the efficiency of pulsed power systems for flashlamp pumped Nd:Glass HEL applications, suitable for operation as a pod-contained payload supporting operation in the next generation of tactical aircraft laser weapons. The final system requirements indicate that over an order of magnitude improvement in size, weight and power (SWaP) from the current laboratory laser system will be necessary. Achieving these goals will require a paradigm shift in the pulse power technology. This paradigm shift must come from the basic components used in the pulse power system which include capacitors, high voltage switches, and inductors, as well as laser efficiency improvement due to pump chamber design.

Benefit:
The developed pulse power technology of this proposal would undoubtedly provide benefits to ground- and sea-based high energy lasers and programs in all the DoD services for applications such as directed energy weapons, missile defense and laser countermeasure systems.

Keywords:
Nd:Glass, Nd:Glass, pulse power, High Energy Laser, Pulsed, Flashlamp Pumped

JP Innovations, LLC (JPI) and Scientific Applications and Research Associates, Inc. (SARA) propose to design, build, test, characterize and deliver to the US Navy a complete High Pulse Energy laser system. This system will consist of multiple high voltage, high current pulse power units which will drive large bore flash-lamps in multiple laser pump chambers. The complete system will be self-contained in a wheeled frame, enabling the Navy to easily move the system, even onto the outdoor test range should the Navy desire to do so. SARA's advanced design capacitor technology will be used to dramatically reduce the volume and weight of the necessary energy storage capacitors. This technology creates a very high voltage, high density energy storage capacitor in a compact, dry package (no oil). The pulse power units use optically triggered, high voltage / high current switching to mitigate electro-magnetic interference issues. The lasers will use advanced optical and opto-mechanical resonator design concepts, creating a very rugged and field-worthy high energy laser system with excellent beam characteristics. The entire system will be easy to operate, with a simple graphical user interface running on a remote laptop computer.

Benefit:
The primary potential customer for this technology is the US Navy, though both the Army and the Air Force might also have needs that could be met using this technology. A compact, rugged, efficient and field worthy high energy laser (HEL) system has been aggressively pursued by the DoD for many years. Current HEL programs are based on large CW laser systems; most of them are fiber laser based. Many individual fiber laser output beams are combined to create a high output power single laser beam with favorable beam characteristics. This approach, while technically feasible, is extremely expensive. The proposed approach creates a much lower cost, more compact and rugged system that can perhaps be installed into an aircraft fuel pod, which might not be feasible for the CW laser systems previously mentioned. As such, the proposed approach may make it possible to fulfill a mission requirement that current technology cannot, for a need that is currently unmet. The best commercial application for this technology is to produce a high energy shock peening laser system for materials treatment. The laser systems currently addressing this market are extremely expensive due to their design approach, and all are very large system installations, requiring 440V 3 Phase input power, which can limit industrial utility. This type of system does deep subsurface treatment of metals and perhaps carbon fiber panels to improve part lifetime, corrosion resistance, and material strength. A compact, portable high energy laser system could open up new markets in this field, bringing shock peening capability to the typical factory floor. Using this technology, JPI could offer a shock peening system at a much lower price than the established manufacturers, because the materials and assembly cost of the proposed laser system are significantly lower than existing systems. This could dramatically increasing market penetration of this type of device for this application area.

Keywords:
Nd:Glass, Flash-lamp pumped, high voltage, Compact, High Energy Laser, pulse power