Compact, Low-Cost, Frequency-Locked Semiconductor Laser for Injection Seeding High Power Laser

This NASA Small Business Innovative Research Phase II project will develop a compact, low-cost, wavelength locked seed laser for injection locking high powered Nd:YAG lasers used in a range of lidar remote sensing applications including molecular profiling of the atmosphere. Precise wavelength control of the seed laser will be achieved by actively locking the laser wavelength to an absorption line in molecular iodine. The key innovation in this SBIR effort is the use of nonlinear optical waveguides both to frequency modulate and to frequency double a portion of the seed laser beam to generate the appropriate optical signal for locking to the iodine absorption line. Using an all-waveguide based approach will result in a compact, robust package that will withstand temperature, shock, and vibration levels associated with NASA's airborne and space based remote sensing platforms.