SPECIAL NOTICE
A -- TECHNOLOGY/BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY NOVEL WAVEGUIDE DESIGN for LINE SELECTION in FIBER LASERS and AMPLIFIERS - Image: End-face view of the novel rare earth doped microstructured optical fiber developed at LLNL
- Notice Date
- 3/7/2017
- Notice Type
- Special Notice
- NAICS
- 238990
— All Other Specialty Trade Contractors
- Contracting Office
- Department of Energy, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (DOE Contractor), Industrial Partnerships & Commercialization, 7000 East Avenue, L-795, Livermore, California, 94550
- ZIP Code
- 94550
- Solicitation Number
- FBO335-17
- Archive Date
- 4/10/2017
- Point of Contact
- Connie L Pitcock, Phone: 925-422-1072
- E-Mail Address
-
pitcock1@llnl.gov
(pitcock1@llnl.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- End-face view of the novel rare earth doped microstructured optical fiber developed at LLNL that enables operation of fiber amplifiers and lasers in new spectral regions. The fiber has similar outer diameter, cleaving and splicing properties as conventional 125 micron diameter optical fiber. The center spot is doped with rare earth ions. The bright dots are gradient-index inclusions and the dark spots are fluorine-doped fused silica, there are no holes. TECHNOLOGY/BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY NOVEL WAVEGUIDE DESIGN for LINE SELECTION in FIBER LASERS and AMPLIFIERS A novel waveguide design that enables selection of the spectral region of operation of fiber lasers and amplifiers Opportunity : Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), operated by the Lawrence Livermore National Security (LLNS), LLC under contract no. DE-AC52-07NA27344 (Contract 44) with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), is offering the opportunity to enter into a research partnership to collaborate to further develop this technology and license intellectual property rights to ultimately commercialize this technology. Background : Rare earth doped fibers lasers can be robust and efficient sources of high quality light, but are usually limited to the highest gain transitions of the active species. But rare earths typically possess a multitude of potentially useful transitions that might be accessed if the dominant transition can be suppressed. In fiber lasers this suppression is complicated by the very high net gain the dominant transitions exhibit; effective suppression requires some mechanism distributed along the length of the fiber. Description : Lawrence Livermore researchers have developed a novel waveguide with resonant leakage elements that frustrate guidance at well-defined and selectable wavelengths. Based on this waveguide, the LLNL team has fabricated a Large Mode Area Neodymium doped fiber with suppression of the four-level transition around 1060nm, and demonstrated lasing on the three-level transition at 930nm with good efficiency. LLNL's invention relates to optical waveguides in dielectric materials, specifically optical fibers (and amplifiers), which are typically longitudinally invariant. The critical waveguide properties are the modes they support, the coupling between these modes, and their propagation constants (or effective indices, n eff ). In particular, LLNL's invention provides means to guide (and in some embodiments, to amplify) light of a given wavelength ( λ 1 ) in the main element while suppressing the guidance of light of a different, specific and undesired, wavelength ( λ 2 ). Advantages : The advantages of LLNL's novel waveguide design includes: •· allows for scaling the power by increasing the core size; •· supports well-defined modes, or transmission paths in the laser-that enables it to operate at a wavelength of 925 nanometers (nm) instead of neodymium's otherwise-strongest characteristic wavelength of about 1060 nm; •· useful for conversion to shorter wavelength harmonics (e.g. 463 and 308 nm) that would not be easily accessible in other laser systems. Potential Applications : The invention would be widely useful for spectral management of gain in fiber lasers and amplifiers. It can apply to directly emitting species, as well as up-conversion schemes. Examples include but not limited to: (1) Neodymium three-level transition around 930 nm, useful for remote sensing (e.g.,water vapor) and underwater communications (by harmonic conversion to the blue-green); (2) Neodymium transitions around 1,400 nm useful for fiber telecommunications; (3) Erbium/Ytterbium co-doped fibers at 1,550 nm, useful for power scaling by suppression of parasitic lasing around 1 µm; (4) Thulium doped up-conversion fibers at 1470 nm, by suppression of the dominant transition around 2 µm; and (5) ribbon fibers (slab waveguides implemented as fibers) Development Status: LLNL has filed a patent application for its Novel Waveguide Design for Line Selection in Fiber Lasers and Amplifiers invention that has been reduced to practice. LLNL has fabricated a Neodymium doped fiber based on this waveguide design, and from that constructed a fiber laser. LLNL has achieved lasing on the three-level 4F3/2 to 4I9/2 transition at 930nm, with multi-watt output power and good efficiency and beam quality. LLNL is seeking industry partners with a demonstrated ability to bring such inventions to the market. Moving critical technology beyond the Laboratory to the commercial world helps our licensees gain a competitive edge in the marketplace. All licensing activities are conducted under policies relating to the strict nondisclosure of company proprietary information. Please visit the IPO website at https://ipo.llnl.gov/resources/industry/working-with-us for more information on working with LLNL and the industrial partnering and technology transfer process. Note: THIS IS NOT A PROCUREMENT. Companies interested in commercializing LLNL's Novel Waveguide Design for Line Selection in Fiber Lasers and Amplifiers technology should provide a written statement of interest, which includes the following: 1. Company Name and address. 2. The name, address, and telephone number of a point of contact. 3. A description of corporate expertise and facilities relevant to commercializing this technology. Written responses should be directed to: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Industrial Partnerships Office P.O. Box 808, L-795 Livermore, CA 94551-0808 Attention: FBO 335-17 Please provide your written statement within thirty (30) days from the date this announcement is published to ensure consideration of your interest in LLNL's Novel Waveguide Design for Line Selection in Fiber Lasers and Amplifiers technology.
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- Record
- SN04426478-W 20170309/170307235340-ea9786aa267af153028692f46e9774dc (fbodaily.com)
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