Azimuth Corporation

MATERIALS RESEARCH AND SURVIVABILITY STUDIES II (MARSS II), TO-04

AFRL PHOTONIC MATERIALS

HIGH POWER AND/OR HIGH ENERGY LASER SYSTEMS ARE CRITICAL NEEDS FOR THE UNITED STATE AIR FORCE (USAF) AND THE UNITES STATES SPACE FORCE (USSF) TO MAINTAIN TECHNOLOGICAL SUPERIORITY AGAINST RAPIDLY EVOLVING THREATS. TO MEET THE GROWING DEMAND FOR HIGH-OUTPUT POWERS, NEW FIBER LASER SYSTEMS COMPOSED OF SINGLE CRYSTAL FIBERS (SCFS) WITH HIGHER THERMAL CONDUCTIVITIES, LASER DAMAGE THRESHOLDS, AND NONLINEAR MITIGATION, WHILE CAPITALIZING ON THE FLEXIBILITY AND THERMAL DISSIPATION OF FIBER GEOMETRIES, ARE ESSENTIAL. THE KEY TO UNLOCKING SCFS FULL POTENTIAL LIES IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF EFFECTIVE CLADDING TECHNOLOGIES. CURRENTLY AVAILABLE CRYSTALLINE FIBER LASERS (CFLS) SUFFER FROM MULTIMODE OUTPUT AND SIGNIFICANT PROPAGATION LOSSES DUE TO THE LACK OF A COMPATIBLE CLADDING SOLUTION. VARIOUS APPROACHES HAVE BEEN ATTEMPTED TO CLAD SCFS, BUT CHALLENGES PERSIST DUE TO THE NON-VISCOUS MELTING OF CRYSTALLINE MATERIALS WHICH IMPEDES THE USE OF CONVENTIONAL CORE/CLAD PREFORMS. ADDRESSING THESE CHALLENGES, HYPERBARIC-PRESSURE LASER CHEMICAL VAPOR DEPOSITION (HP-LCVD) EMERGES AS A PIONEERING TECHNIQUE, CAPABLE OF WRITING 3D CRYSTAL STRUCTURES WITH UNPARALLELED PRECISION. BY MANIPULATING DEPOSITION PARAMETERS, HP-LCVD ENABLES THE FABRICATION OF TAILORED CRYSTAL ARCHITECTURES AND CHEMISTRIES, PRESENTING A BREAKTHROUGH OPPORTUNITY FOR DIRECTLY WRITTEN CLADDING STRUCTURES ON SCFS. THE IMPLEMENTATION OF HP-LCVD WILL OFFER CONTROL OVER CRITICAL PROPERTIES, INCLUDING REFRACTIVE INDEX, WAVE GUIDING BEHAVIOR, AND OPTICAL CHARACTERISTICS. FURTHERMORE, HP-LCVD'S ABILITY TO CREATE CUSTOM CLADDING STRUCTURES ON SCFS PRESENTS A ROUTE TO ADVANCING CFL TECHNOLOGY BEYOND SIMPLY OVERCOMING THE CHALLENGES IN CONVENTIONAL CLADDING METHODS. HP-LCVD PRECISE AND TAILORED CRYSTAL GROWTH HAS IMPLICATIONS FOR STRUCTURALLY COMPLEX CLADDINGS ON PAR WITH PHOTONIC CRYSTAL FIBERS. THIS INNOVATIVE APPROACH PROMISES TO TRANSFORM THE CFL LANDSCAPE, USHERING IN AN ERA OF CUSTOM CLADDING STRUCTURES AND OPENING UP AVENUES FOR MULTI-KW SINGLE FREQUENCY OUTPUT FROM A SINGLE FIBER. THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS WORK IS TO ADVANCE CLADDING TECHNOLOGIES ON OPTICAL FIBERS, IN PARTICULAR CLADDING OF UNDOPED AND DOPED YTTRIUMALUMINUM GARNET (YAG) MATERIALS ON YAG LASER FIBERS. THE PRIMARY OBJECTIVE IS TO DEMONSTRATE A RARE EARTH DOPANT CONTAINED IN CLADDING FOR INDEX PROFILE MATCHING ON LASER FIBERS. SECONDARY OBJECTIVES INCLUDE MULTIPLE GRADIENTS ON CLADDING AND DEMONSTRATION OF CLADDING ROBUSTNESS. NOAH P. CHRISTIAN, PH.D. WILL SERVE AS THE PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROGRAM MANAGER (PI/PM) FOR THIS PROJECT. HE WILL LEAD THE LEIDOS EFFORTS TO DEVELOP THE MATERIALS AND METHODS FOR CLADDING THE SCF. HE WILL BE THE PRINCIPAL TECHNICAL CONTACT FROM LEIDOS TO INTERFACE WITH AZIMUTH AND AFRL DURING THIS DEVELOPMENT WORK.

ADMINISTRATIVE MANAGEMENT AND GENERAL MANAGEMENT CONSULTING SERVICES

PROVIDE PERSONNEL, MATERIALS, FACILITIES, AND MANAGEMENT AS REQUIRED TO COMPLETE TASKS IN SUPPORT OF THE CONTRACT SOW.