Fiber compressor for high energy femtosecond fiber lasers Navy SBIR FY2008.1 Sol No.: Navy SBIR FY2008.1 Topic No.: N08-047 Topic Title: Fiber compressor for high energy femtosecond fiber lasers Proposal No.: N081-047-0409 Firm: PolarOnyx, Inc 470 Lakeside Drive, Suite F Sunnyvale, California 94085 Contact: Jian Liu Phone: (408) 245-9588 Web Site: www.polaronyx.com Abstract: Based on our success in developing the world first commercial 100 micro Joule femtosecond fiber laser system and our leading technology development in ultrashort pulsed fiber laser, PolarOnyx proposes, for the first time, a compact and eye safe all fiber based high energy/power (>1 mJ and <200fs) fiber amplifier to meet with the requirement of the solicitation N08-047. A fiber compressor in compression of the pulses at energy of 1 mJ is proposed. Issues of damage threshold and mode expansion have been identified and solutions are proposed. A tabletop experiment of 100 uJ energy will be demonstrated in Phase I time frame for proof of the concept. A demonstration of >1 mJ will be given in Phase II. Benefits: The proposed high energy fs fiber laser can be used in many military applications, such as space, aircraft, and satellite applications of LADAR systems and communications, laser weapons, and target designation and illumination. PolarOnyx will develop a series of products to meet various requirements for military deployments. With successful development of the laser, the technology proposed by PolarOnyx will provide a vital tool to solve the existing and potential issues and merge with the huge markets including ?Material processing. This includes (1) all types of metal processing such as welding, cutting, annealing, and drilling; (2)semiconductor and microelectronics manufacturing such as lithography, inspection, control, defect analysis and repair, and via drilling; (3) marking of all materials including plastic, metals, and silicon; (4) other materials processing such as rapid prototyping, desk top manufacturing, micromachining, photofinishing, embossed holograms, and grating manufacturing. ?Medical equipment and biomedical instrumentation. The high power amplifier/laser can be applied to ophthalmology, refractive surgery, photocoagulation, general surgery, therapeutic, imaging, and cosmetic applications. Biomedical instruments include those involved in cells or proteins, cytometry, and DNA sequencing; laser Raman spectroscopy, spectrofluorimetry, and ablation; and laser based microscopes. Return