Novel Tunable Dye Laser for Lidar Detection, Phase I

A tunable dye laser for Lidar detection will be fabricated based on the innovative dye-doped Holographic Polymer Dispersed Liquid Crystals (HPDLC) technology. The demonstration of the tunable lasing of dye-doped holographic polymer dispersed liquid crystal is the main focus during the Phase-I research, while the commercial tunable-laser product will be realized in Phase-II. By carefully choosing the materials including liquid crystal, UV-polymerizable monomer, emitter dye and optimizing the holographic-writing process, dye-doped HPDLC is formed as an one-dimensional photonic bandgap material, Mirrorless Lasing in the dye-doped HPDLC occurs at the reflection band edges. Applied voltage tunes the reflection peak of the HPDLC as well as the center wavelength of emitting laser. The whole laser device is solid state and highly resistant to shock and vibration as it has no moving parts. Since the innovative laser device is based on the thin film technology, there is no bulky laser cavity and the cost of the HPDLC thin films are low due to easy-to-achieve large scale manufacturing. The unit price of the HPDLC thin film can be so low that it is economical to throw away and replace a HPDLC thin film device once the dye reaches the end of its life.

This is a mature technology (TRL 7+) — the realistic path in is usually NASA's Technology Transfer Program: licensing an existing NASA patent, or a Space Act Agreement to use NASA facilities/expertise directly. NASA also runs a startup licensing program with no upfront fee for companies formed to commercialize a specific NASA technology.

None of these are guaranteed paths for this specific project — TechPort itself doesn't have an "apply" button. Reaching out to the contact(s) above with a specific question is usually the fastest way to find out what's actually open.