Description: The overall goal of the SBIR effort to develop a fully packaged, environmentally hardened, diode-based, locked wavelength, seed laser for seeding next generation Nd:YAG lasers currently being developed for future space-based, lidar measurements. Many of these lidar technologies require an injection-seeded pulsed laser transmitter based on a highly reliable, single-longitudinal-mode seed laser. The objective of the proposed Phase II-E is to accelerate the advancement and commercialization of the seeder technology developed under the current Phase II effort for commercial seeding applications where compact, reliable pulsed systems are required. Matching funds from this SBIR Phase II-E proposal would be used to further advance this technology for the development and integration of a diode-based seeder with a diode pumped Q-switched Nd:YAG laser specifically designed for high efficiency in a robust, compact package. A direct diode seed laser will reduce the overall size, weight, and power of the seeder module and accelerates the establishment of a US manufacturer of compact, robust, diode-based seed lasers for future missions at the NASA Langley Research Center. This addresses the need for compact, efficient, lidar component technologies for use in space-based environments and supports the SBIR mission to advance and commercialize innovative technology.

Benefits: Designated Class Mission for Aerosols, NASA LaRC (Hostetler, Cook, et al.) Explorer Class Mission for winds and methane, NASA LaRC (Hostetler, Cook, et al.) Incubator Class Technology for water vapor, NASA LaRC (Hostetler, Cook, et al.) Future upgrades to the following airborne lidars (to reduce SWAP) Airborne High Spectral Resolution Lidar (HSRL), NASA LaRC (Hostetler, Cook, et al.) Airborne High Altitude Lidar Observatory (HALO), NASA LaRC (Nehrir, et al.)

Seed laser source for pulsed lasers Seed laser source for amplifiers Laser source stabilization Commercial lidar systems Environmental and pollution monitoring Fiber and free-space comunications Biotechnology Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy