Definitive Contract NNG07CA16C by National Aeronautics And Space Administration with Advanced Science And Novel Technology

SBIR PHASE 2 AWARD FOR EFFORT ENTITLED: RADIATION-TOLERANT, SPACE WIRE-COMPATIBLE SWITCHING FABRIC. ADVR, INC WILL DEVELOP A FIBER COUPLED, HIGH POWER, ELECTRO-OPTICALLY CONTROLLED, PHASE MODULATOR FOR THE NASA LASER INTERFEROMETER SPACE ANTENNA (LISA). THE DEVICE SHOULD BE CAPABLE OF PHASE MODULATING A 1 W OR GREATER, CONTINUOUS WAVE OPTICAL SIGNAL AT MULTI-GIGAHERTZ RATES AT 1064 NM. THE KEY INNOVATION IS THE USE OF A WAVEGUIDE EMBEDDED IN A NON-LINEAR OPTICAL MATERIAL SUITABLE FOR HIGH OPTICAL POWER HANDLING. THE PHASE MODULATORS USED FOR LISA MUST BE RUGGED AND MUST PERFORM OPTIMALLY IN A RADIATION ENVIRONMENT OVER THE MISSION LIFETIME. TO ACHIEVE THIS GOAL, THE PHASE MODULATOR DEVELOPMENT WILL INCLUDE A FIBER-IN-FIBER-OUT DESIGN THAT WILL READILY LEND ITSELF TO FUTURE SPACE QUALIFICATION FOR MECHANICAL STABILITY OF THE PACKAGE AND RADIATION DAMAGE RESISTANCE OF THE NON-LINEAR OPTICAL MATERIAL. THE PHASE I EFFORT SUCCESSFULLY ESTABLISHED THE FEASIBILITY OF THE WAVEGUIDE APPROACH BY ACHIEVING HIGH POWER IN A WAVEGUIDE, MODULATING THE WAVEGUIDE, AND PERFORMING PRELIMINARY RADIATION TESTING OF THE MATERIAL. DURING THE PHASE II EFFORT, THREE ESSENTIAL ISSUES WILL BE ADDRESSED. THESE ISSUES ARE LONG TERM OPTICAL PERFORMANCE OF THE CHOSEN SUBSTRATE, TRAVELING WAVE ELECTRODE DESIGN FOR EFFICIENT MODULATION, AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF A PACKAGING PLATFORM SUITABLE FOR FUTURE SPACE QUALIFICATION. THE HIGH POWER, FIBER COUPLED PHASE MODULATOR ENABLES THE CREATION OF A DEVICE THAT IS NOT COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE. THERE ARE SEVERAL NASA APPLICATIONS THAT WILL BENEFIT FROM THIS TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT. THE MODULATOR WILL FIND USES IN HIGH POWER LASERS SYSTEMS TO PROVIDE SIDEBANDS ONTO A CARRIER SIGNAL AND LIDAR SYSTEMS WHICH UTILIZE HIGH POWER FIBER AMPLIFIERS. AN ADDITIONAL APPLICATION IS A VISIBLE LIGHT MODULATOR FOR LOCKING A LASER WAVELENGTH TO A GAS ABSORPTION REFERENCE. THE HIGH OPTICAL POWER CAPABILITY OF THE PHASE MODULATOR PROVIDES THE PRIMARY BASIS FOR ADVR TO ENTER THE COMMERCIAL MARKET WITH THIS PRODUCT. THE FIBER COUPLED PHASE MODULATOR PROVIDES AN ALTERNATIVE TO CURRENTLY AVAILABLE FREE SPACE COUPLED PHASE MODULATORS THAT CAN HANDLE SIMILAR OPTICAL POWERS, BUT ARE BULKY AND REQUIRE HIGH DRIVE VOLTAGE TO OPERATE. ADDITIONALLY, THE FIBER COUPLED MODULATOR IS CAPABLE OF HANDLING SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER OPTICAL POWERS THAN COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE FIBER COUPLED LITHIUM NIOBATE WAVEGUIDE PHASE MODULATORS.