Agile Etalon Filter for Differential Absorption LIDAR

Modern sensing systems often are required to pick out a very specific wavelength in a sea of other light (such as in daylight), making precise optical filtering a vital part of many sensing systems. Michigan Aerospace Corporation (MAC) plans to design, build and test an agile, frequency-tunable Fabry-Perot interferometer (etalon) for use as an optical filter of background light as part of a Differential Absorption LIDAR (DIAL) system. MAC's extensive history with designing and building rugged etalons for NASA and other customers will be key to this effort. Phase I will involve the design of this specific etalon and the testing of a faster method for precisely tuning it. Phase II will then involve the construction and test of the etalon.

This new, faster-tuning etalon technology will be approriate not only for NASA DIAL/IPDA-type LIDAR systems, but also for other NASA remote-sensing tasks requiring rapidly-tunable wavelength discrimination. The ruggedness of the design will ensure the ability to use such etalons in airborne and space applications, as well as with ground systems.

Non-NASA applications will be similar to NASA applications for precise, rapidly-tunable optical filters for sensing systems of all kinds, including those in rugged environments (airborne, shipborne, etc).

This is early/mid-stage (TRL 3) — the most realistic path in is NASA SBIR/STTR, which funds small businesses and research institutions to develop technology aligned with NASA's needs (equity-free, phased funding). Check whether a current SBIR/STTR solicitation topic overlaps with this project's technology area, or contact the project directly (above) to ask.

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