50
High-Pulse-Rate
Sources for Active Imaging Systems—Q-Peak, Inc.,
Dr. Alex
Dergachev,
Dr.
DOE Grant No.
DE-FG02-04ER84049
Amount: $749,921
In support of systems to detect the proliferation of nuclear
weapons, Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) has developed a photon-counting,
Remote Ultra-Low Light Imaging sensor that has many advantages over
conventional range-imaging devices.
However, the photon-counting design requires a laser with unique
characteristics: namely, a pulse rate in
the 1 kHz-1 MHz range with a pulsewidth less than 1 ns. This project will develop compact seed lasers,
to generate the needed pulse format, along with a compact power amplifier
capable of power levels of 10 W or higher.
The seed lasers will use 1064-nm, short-cavity, diode-pumped solid state
lasers with either passive or active Q-switches. The amplifier
will be an adaptation of a commercial product, configured for this particular
application. Phase I designed the
passively Q-switched seed laser; designed, constructed, and tested a
short-cavity, actively Q-switched laser; tested an amplifier stage; and
conducted an initial design of the packaging for the entire laser source. Both spreadsheet and rate-equation models for
the passively and actively Q-switched lasers were developed and verified against
experimental data. In Phase II, the
semiconductor-based, passive Q-switches, will be fabricated; a breadboard
facilty to test the lasers and the power amplifier will be built; system output
will be converted into a green wavelength; and the entire system will be packaged
into a ruggedized, modular configuration. At the end of Phase II, the system will be
delivered to LANL for testing and system integration.
Commercial Applications and Other Benefits as described by the awardee: Beyond the application to non-proliferation sensors, the Remote Ultra-Low Light Imaging sensor should be applicable to: NASA, for precision landing sensors; the DoD for intelligence on and tactical imaging of areas of interest; and various environmental agencies in need of accurate imaging data for, say, crop and vegetation analysis. The high-pulse rate laser source also should find use in Geiger-mode detectors, micromachining, and laser display systems.