The Development of an Optic Fiber Based Hybrid Spectroscope

Laser & Plasma Technologies (LPT), teamed with the National Science Foundation (NSF) Center for Lasers at the University of Virginia (UVA), proposes an advanced optical fiber coupled hybrid spectroscope for in situ characterization of organic compounds. The proposed approach provides information on organic compounds by analyzing spectra obtained from Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) and Raman Spectroscopy (Raman) with a novel approach of using a single pulsed laser. The hybrid spectroscope yields elemental compositions from LIBS and molecular information from Raman strongly complement each other. The use of optical fibers offers advantages of small, light, and flexibility for various NASA planetary missions. An innovative laser beam scanning head provides an ultra-compact solution to achieve 1D or 2D raster scanning from a robotic arm. LPT has extensive expertise in material detection and monitoring by optical sensing technologies. The expertise combined with LPT's core competencies in advanced laser micromachining and optical sensing, provides a solid foundation to achieve the goal of this project. A Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of 4 is anticipated by the end of the Phase I project.

The technology development in this project directly addresses NASA's needs of increasing instrument resolution, precision and sensitivity for planetary missions. The proposed technology is designed for in situ characterization of organic compounds at real time with advantages of compact, light, low power (SWaP) and flexibility. This technology also can be used other NASA space and ground programs for chemical detection and monitoring. Addition to characterization of organic compounds, the technology can be used to detect other element composites. Most importantly, the proposed approach offers a flexible and low cost scheme to ensure the accurate, reliability, and integrity to planetary mission success.

The low-cost of the technology will help the technology enter the commercial, military, and industrial markets. The proposed technologies could be directly applied to similar applications operated by other government and commercial enterprises. For example, industries can benefit from chemical monitoring, environmental protection can benefit from chemical detection and contamination monitoring, medical applications can benefit from biomarker tracking, and military can benefit from detection of explosive materials and chemical agents.

This is early/mid-stage (TRL 4) — 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.

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.