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Coherent High Power Diode Laser Array

Award Information
Agency: Department of Defense
Branch: Army
Contract: W9113M-10-C-0013
Agency Tracking Number: A092-119-0748
Amount: $69,818.00
Phase: Phase I
Program: SBIR
Solicitation Topic Code: A09-119
Solicitation Number: 2009.2
Timeline
Solicitation Year: 2009
Award Year: 2010
Award Start Date (Proposal Award Date): 2009-11-01
Award End Date (Contract End Date): 2010-04-30
Small Business Information
5408 NE 88th Street, Bldg E
Vancouver, WA 98665
United States
DUNS: 799811646
HUBZone Owned: No
Woman Owned: No
Socially and Economically Disadvantaged: No
Principal Investigator
 Paul Leisher
 Manager, Advanced Technol
 (360) 713-5230
 paul.leisher@nlight.net
Business Contact
 Mike Cooper
Title: Business Unit Controller
Phone: (360) 566-4460
Email: mike.cooper@nlight.net
Research Institution
N/A
Abstract

In this proposal, nLight and its collaborator, Prof. Kent Choquette, of the University of Illinois, seek to directly address limiting factors which have prevented the development of coherent high power diode laser arrays. The proposed approach leverages a novel method of fabricating in-phase coherently-coupled VCSEL arrays combined with high power packaging based on microchannel cooler technology. The laser design utilizes high density gain pixilation introduced by small proton-implanted current confinement apertures. What makes this approach fundamentally different than the others before it is this gain pixilation is performed with little-to-no optical loss introduced between adjacent emitters. This allows the arrays to lock up in the preferred in-phase supermode (with on-axis intensity peak in the far-field), without the need to individually address and control relative phasing of constituent emitters. These high-density coherent VCSEL arrays will then be In-soldered to Cu microchannel coolers, and power scaling can then be achieved by simply scaling the area of the array, with preliminary calculations suggesting powers as high as 1 kW are realizable from a 1 cm x 1 cm chip.

* Information listed above is at the time of submission. *

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