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Mid-infrared Laser Based on Cascaded Raman Wavelength Shifting in Fibers

Award Information

Agency:
Department of Defense 		Branch:
Army 		Award ID:
68429 		Program Year/Program:
2004 / STTR
Agency Tracking Number:
A045-012-0043 		Solicitation Year:
N/A 		Solicitation Topic Code:
N/A 		Solicitation Number:
N/A
Small Business Information
OMNI SCIENCES, INC.
647 Spring Valley Drive Ann Arbor, MI -
View profile »
Woman-Owned: No
Minority-Owned: No
HUBZone-Owned: No
 
Phase 1
Fiscal Year: 2004
Title: Mid-infrared Laser Based on Cascaded Raman Wavelength Shifting in Fibers
Agency / Branch: DOD / ARMY
Contract: W911NF-04-C-0078
Award Amount: $100,000.00
 

Abstract:

Spectral fingerprinting for chemical agent detection or industrial process and analytic chemistry requires a compact, lightweight, tunable mid-infrared (mid-IR) laser. A room temperature, fiber-based mid-IR laser is proposed that starts with a pump laser in the near-IR, and then down-shifts the light based on cascaded Raman wavelength shifting in mid-IR fibers. The laser is widely tunable by simply tuning a seed semiconductor laser, and the power can be scaled up to watts by using larger core size fibers. The mid-IR laser leverages the mature technology base from telecommunications, where our team has considerable experience on Raman technology. We use simulation codes carefully tested in near-IR wavelengths to design the proposed mid-IR lasers, and we show that the Raman wavelength shifting process is extremely efficient. New technical challenges arise from using mid-IR fibers based on chalcogenides or fluorides, but these should be engineering challenges rather than fundamental limitations. The Phase I project has three main objectives. First, prove the accuracy of the simulations and better understand the properties of the mid-IR fibers. Second, demonstrate experimentally cascaded Raman wavelength shifting in the mid-IR fibers. Finally, generate light in the 3-5 micron wavelength range using off-the-shelf telecom technologies and mid-IR fibers.

Principal Investigator:

Michael J. Freeman
Director of Research
7344200190
mikefreeman@voyager.net

Business Contact:

Michael J. Freeman
Director of Research
7344200190
mikefreeman@voyager.net
Small Business Information at Submission:

OMNI SCIENCES, INC.
647 Spring Valley Drive Ann Arbor, MI 48105

EIN/Tax ID: 200921205
DUNS: N/A
Number of Employees:
Woman-Owned: No
Minority-Owned: No
HUBZone-Owned: No
Research Institution Information:
University of Michigan
Elect. Eng. and Comp. Sci., 1301 Beal Avenue, 1110 EECS
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
Contact: Mohammed N. Islam
Contact Phone: (734) 647-9700
RI Type: Nonprofit college or university