Redfern Integrated Optics has announced that it has been awarded a Phase 1 SBIR contract for further development of its breakthrough single-frequency narrow-linewidth semiconductor laser, suitable for spaceflight operation.

RIO is the leading supplier of low noise external cavity lasers and subsystems for the security, structural health monitoring, wind energy, clean oil and gas exploration and production, and metrology markets.

RIO's proprietary external-cavity semiconductor laser technology is based on the hybrid integration of an InP gain chip and a planar lightwave circuit (PLC) with Bragg gratings.

Packaged in a standard 14-pin compact "butterfly" package, the laser performance is characterized by a single-frequency output in the 1550nm spectral region with a linewidth less than 2kHz, low phase noise, low relative intensity noise (RIN), high immunity to vibrations, all under a wide range of operating temperatures.

"The well-recognized performance and reliability of our laser was instrumental in its selection by NASA as the prime candidate for deployment in upcoming space missions," said Dr. Radu Barsan, chairman, president and CEO of RIO.

"Already qualified to Telcordia standards and deployed in volume in the field in LIDAR and fiber optic sensing applications, RIO's semiconductor laser is uniquely suited for space qualification."

RIO's PLANEX, ORION, and RIO-Grande lasers are ideal solutions in multiple applications where absolute accuracy, lifetime reliability over demanding field conditions, and high resolution are critical.

Such applications include remote sensing, distributed temperature, strain, or acoustic fiber optic monitoring, high resolution spectroscopy, LIDAR and other precision metrology applications.