SBIR-STTR Award

Optical Vortices through Laser Beam Engineering for Remote Sensing Applications
Award last edited on: 4/28/2022

Sponsored Program
SBIR
Awarding Agency
DOE
Total Award Amount
$1,150,000
Award Phase
2
Solicitation Topic Code
01d
Principal Investigator
Jeremy Yeak

Company Information

Opticslah LLC

2350 Alamo Avenue SE Suite 280
Albuquerque, NM 87109
   (505) 363-8012
   solutions@opticslah.com
   www.opticslah.com
Location: Single
Congr. District: 01
County: Bernalillo

Phase I

Contract Number: DE-SC0017728
Start Date: 00/00/00    Completed: 00/00/00
Phase I year
2017
Phase I Amount
$150,000
Because it can be used in situ without the need for any sample preparation, optical emission spectroscopy techniques are favored as a spectroscopic tool to remotely detect and interrogate nuclear materials. While they have been successful in the lab, field tests results are lacking because high laser intensity is needed at standoff distances. Furthermore, the return signal from optical interrogation drops drastically as 1/r2 with r being the distance from the detector to the sample. Our proposed technology applies a multimodal optical emission spectroscopy – utilizing both laser- induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) and Raman spectroscopy – to provide both atomic and molecular measurements of the REE in both solid and aqueous media. This can be performed on site and in-line without any sample preparation. A multivariate analysis of the measured spectrum will enable the user to classify different types of coal and its by-products, and may provide sensitivity down to the sub- ppm level. For long range detection, optical vortices have shown remarkably robust propagation through turbulent atmosphere. In this work, we will conduct proof-of-concept experiments to demonstrate the advantages of nanosecond optical vortices for laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy where the characteristic emission spectrum may be enhanced at the detector. The proposed technology using high energy nanosecond optical vortices will be able to detect a wide range of materials, such as explosives, organic, radiological and special nuclear materials at standoff distances. Due to its long-range capability, this sensor can also be used for weather monitoring LIDAR, remote sensing, optical communication and material processing.

Phase II

Contract Number: DE-SC0017728
Start Date: 00/00/00    Completed: 00/00/00
Phase II year
2018
Phase II Amount
$1,000,000
Because it can be used in situ without the need for any sample preparation, optical emission spectroscopy (OES) techniques, such as laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) are favored as a spectroscopic tool to remotely detect and interrogate nuclear materials. Although they have been successfully demonstrated in the lab, results taken at test fields are lacking because high laser intensity is needed at standoff distances. Furthermore, the return signal from optical interrogation drops drastically as 1/r2with r being the distance from the detector to the sample. We propose using optical vortices to confine the optical LIBS emission within a small conic angle to increase its signal strength, particularly in the direction of the user for remote sensing applications. This is different when using Gaussian beams for LIBS where the emission of laser plasma is isotropic. We have successfully demonstrated in Phase I that the detected signal strength can be doubled when using vortices compared to conventional Gaussian beams without additional improvement or modification to the laser system. Vortices are also known to be particularly robust against atmospheric turbulences. This will enable a stronger and precise intense laser beam delivery at range for interrogation of nuclear materials. Furthermore, our technology can be applied to various nanosecond, picosecond and femtosecond laser pulses, and can be used not only in LIBS, but also for absorption, fluorescence and Raman spectroscopy. In addition to using optical vortices for LIBS, we will combine Gaussian and vortex beam collinearly to further increase the LIBS signal at the detector. These Gaussian and vortex beams may be femtosecond, nanosecond or both, and be of different wavelengths. Outdoor LIBS experiments are also planned to demonstrate the viability of this technology for field applications. Because of the versatility of optical vortices for ablation, we will also develop an optical spectrometer based on dual frequency comb for multi-element and multi-isotope detection of nuclear materials. Commercial Applications and Other

Benefits:
The proposed technology using high energy nanosecond optical vortices will be able to detect a wide range of materials, such as explosives, organic, radiological and special nuclear materials at standoff distances. Due to its long-range capability, this sensor can also be used for weather monitoring LIDAR, remote sensing, optical communication and material processing. Our dual frequency comb will be an alternative to mass spectrometer for on-site field tests of nuclear materials.