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Completed TRL 3 (started at 1, targeting 3)
OEwaves Inc. offers to develop and demonstrate a compact diode laser system producing the wavelengths for operation of Cs based atomic sensor including Cs atomic interferometers. The system will include 852 nm and 894 nm lasers including modulation functions typically required for the operation of quantum sensors. The system will feature the properties required for long duration space applications. The system will be based on semiconductor lasers locked to monolithic microcavities using the self-injection locking technique. This technique results in a complete suppression of mode hops in the laser during its operational lifetime. The microcavity will not only stabilize the frequency of the laser but will also be used to measure and stabilize the power of the laser. The microcavity provides a modulatable laser that features exceptionally low residual amplitude modulation, allowing a robust lock as well as offset lock to the atomic transition of interest. The proof of principle validation of the technique has been demonstrated by earlier efforts at OEwaves. At the end of Phase II, our goal is to deliver a prototype that achieves better than 10-11/g acceleration sensitivity, and the required frequency stability (defined by the customer; varies depending on the laser use). A unique feature of crystalline WGM resonators pioneered by OEwaves is their high optical transparency leading to quality factors that routinely exceed 109. This will add to simplification in locking lasers to the modes of the resonator.
The laser development addresses the emerging Quantum Technologies market, which is expected to grow globally at a high double digit CAGR of from 2021 to 2030 to reach $3,518.3 million by 2030. A significant value of the laser development effort in this project is that it is based on an architecture not limited to lasers at Cs wavelengths but can apply to any wavelength lasers. The packaged laser will dramatically enhance the performance of a wide range of NASA as well as DOD systems.
This OEwaves technology can be used for atomic ion and neutral transitions covering the near-UV to the near-IR, the lasers are useful for quantum computing applications such as machine/deep learning, simulation and data modeling, optimization of traffic, financial analysis, cyber security. Other markets are atomic clocks, spectroscopy, inertial navigation systems (INS), and optical communication.
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