1. NON-PROPRIETARY DATA NASA SBIR/STTR Technologies Structured nonlinear optical materials for LIDAR-based remote sensing Identification and Significance of Innovation This NASA Phase II STTR effort established a fabrication process to produce domain- engineered bulk and waveguide magnesium-oxide-doped lithium niobate (MgO:LN) for use in LIDAR-based remote sensing. Use of bulk and waveguide-based domain engineered MgO:LN will allow the manufacture of efficient and compact wavelength conversion modules for second-harmonic generation, sum-frequency and difference- frequency generation. In addition, these devices can be configured for broadband and high-gain optical parametric amplification in the near-IR spectral region providing a path to the development of compact, single wavelength, spectroscopically useful coherent light as well as programmable optical comb (multi-wavelength) sources. Technical Objectives and Accomplishments NASA and Non-NASA Applications Contact Info Dr. Philip Battle, AdvR Inc. 2310 University Way, Bozeman MT 59715 battle@advr-inc.com, 406-522-0388 TRL range at end of contract: 3+ AdvR, Inc. – Bozeman, MT PI: Dr. Philip Battle Contract No.: NNX11CC59C Refine electric field poling process to allow fabrication of high quality domains both in bulk and in waveguide MgO:LN structures. Develop a proton diffusion model to accurately predict waveguide index profile and optical mode properties of annealed and reverse proton exchanged waveguides in MgO:LN. Fabricate and package engineered MgO:LN structures optimized for use in the ASCENDS laser platform under development at NASA Goddard. During this both annealed proton exchange and reverse proton exchange waveguides in MgO:LN was developed. Waveguide losses as low as 0.10dB/cm have been measured and second harmonic normalized conversion efficiency as high as 30%/W/cm2 in the 1550 nm spectral regime have also been documented. The m-line technique was used to estimate the soft anneal depth as a function of exchange time and temperature both for a 100% Benzoic acid bath and for a 1% diluted acid bath. High-power tests showed that as much as 100mW of SHG at 780nm could be sustained in the MgO:LN indicating the possibility of developing high-gain waveguide-based optical parametric amplifiers in periodically poled MgO:LN. Using submount poling, large aperture (up to 2 mm) bulk MgO:LN were poled with periods in the 30-  m range for generation of high energy light at 1.67  m for laser-based remote sensing of methane. NASA ASCENDS Mission: pulsed high power, broadband, 1530 nm SHG Methane sensing for Earth and Planetary Science : QPM OPA for high power, tunable 1.67µm generation. NASA TWiLite and ACE: highly efficient waveguide based SHG (532 nm generation) Precision spectroscopy Frequency metrology Environmental and pollution monitoring Medical diagnostics Fiber pigtailed periodically poled MgO:LN waveguide chip. High power doubling tests in the 1550 nm regime indicate that waveguides can sustain at 100mW at 780 nm. 2 mm thick, 31 µm period bulk poled MgO:LN for high power, OPO-based generation of 1.67 µm radiation for remote sensing of methane.