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Cranbury, N.J., August 24, 2005
Princeton Lightwave, Inc.(PLI), a producer of near
infrared high-power diode lasers and application
specific detectors for communications, defense, and
sensing applications, announced today that the
Department of Defense’s High Energy Laser Joint
Technology Office (JTO) has awarded second year funding
to PLI in order to continue the development of highly
scalable eye-safe solid state lasers using InP diode
pumping with ultra-low photon defect.
Central to this Broad Agency Announcement program
from the Department of Defense is the development of
stacks of InP diode pump laser arrays with very high
output powers. These laser stacks will be optimized for
pumping an Er:YAG gain medium at wavelengths very close
to the solid state laser emission wavelength. Such a
design using resonance pumping will greatly reduce
undesirable heating of the gain medium and allow for the
scaling of the laser system to multi-kilowatt outputs
while maintaining high beam quality. The second year of
program support will enable PLI and its research
partners at the Army Research Laboratory in Adelphi, MD,
to demonstrate a 1 kilowatt eye-safe Er:YAG solid state
laser.
“The transition to InP-based long wavelength pump
lasers is a natural progression for the next generation
of eye-safe solid state and fiber lasers,” stated
Dimitri Garbuzov, PLI’s Chief Scientist. “In
addition to alleviating active media overheating, the
use of InP-based pump sources avoids a critical problem
inherent to GaAs diode lasers associated with the
degradation of the diode laser mirror facets. The photon
flux for InP pump lasers can be several times larger
than that of traditional GaAs-based pumps at comparable
device lifetimes.”
“PLI’s achievements during the first year of this
JTO-sponsored program included the first demonstration
of 100 W from a diode-pumped Er:YAG solid state laser
emitting near 1.65 microns and dramatically increased
output power at 1530 nm from InP pump laser bars,”
says PLI’s CTO, Mark Itzler. “We are excited about
the prospects for this program’s second year, and we
look forward to surpassing 1 kW power levels with this
solid state laser technology.“
About Princeton Lightwave, Inc.
Headquartered in Cranbury, New Jersey, PLI provides
leading edge semiconductor lasers and detectors as well
as sub-systems based on these components for optical
communications, defense, and sensing applications. PLI's
extensive product capability is based upon unique InP
and GaAs optical chip development, packaging and
integration technology, and system-level optical and
electronics design. Its multi-disciplinary team designs
and delivers components and system-level products based
on high power pump modules, single-mode and multi-mode
light sources, and high performance detectors.
For more information visit http://www.ofsoptics.com.
PR Contact: pr@princetonlightwave.com
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