This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project will develop world?s first commercial diode pumped mode-locked titanium sapphire fiber laser based on visible laser diodes pumping a titanium sapphire fiber. By using direct semiconductor laser diode pumps as the engine, and fiber as the gain medium, this two stage fiber laser design approach represents a paradigm shift away from conventional fragile, expensive bulky four stage solid state crystal laser cavities, which utilize diode pumped second harmonic green lasers for pumping titanium sapphire. Therefore, this project has substantial technical merit because it aims to pioneer and commercialize a new class of visible laser diode pumped fiber laser technology and provide substantial learning into laser and fiber optic materials technology. The broader impact/commercial potential of this project for the biomedical imaging community would be transformative, expanding the adoption of advanced nonlinear imaging techniques beyond the elite research institutions, and making them available to the broader biomedical imaging community in hospitals and commercial companies conducting bio-research. The laser enables a multi-photon absorption and single photon emission process for deep, high resolution live tissue imaging that provides insights into study stem cell biology, the cellular effects of human disease, physiology, neurobiology, embryology and tissue engineering. Additionally, the laser?s high peak powers has ablative that can be leveraged to address ophthalmic and ablative surgery, precision materials processing, and tattoo removal. This system is designed to address the needs of the large and growing multi-photon imaging and biomedical systems market segment, and replace the excessively expensive and complex modelocked titanium sapphire lasers systems.
