NSF Award
9560735
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop a new, electronically tunable laser source, capable of emitting narrowband emission in the mid-infrared (IR) region - from 2 microns to approximately 4 microns. Purely electronic tuning and high efficiency of difference frequency generation in a nonlinear crystal will be achieved by use of a specially designed acousto-optic tunable filter. The filter serves two purposes: selecting two lasing wavelengths simultaneously generated inside the cavity and controlling the cavity gain for each of those wavelengths. The gain control will ensure optimum pulse energies and pulse synchronization for efficient generation of mid-IR emission in a nonlinear KTiOPO4 (KTP) crystal. Development of this tunable laser for the mid-IR spectral region will enlarge the areas of application of laser spectroscopy and greatly increase the ability of differential absorption lidar techniques to detect atmospheric contaminants. Such applications include, but are not limited to, remote atmospheric sensing and other environmental monitoring.
