AFRL Funds Fiber Laser Research Published Feb. 28, 2008 By Air Force Office of Scientific Research AFOSR ARLINGTON, Va. -- AFRL-funded researchers created fiber lasers as thin as a human hair. Dr. Jerome V. Moloney, director of the Arizona Center for Mathematical Sciences, located in Tucson, heads up the research team. During the course of the AFRL-sponsored program, his team developed unique technologies enabling the integration of laser-active ions into fully functional and packaged fiber laser devices. The availability of ultrafast fiber lasers will provide compact and cost-effective solutions spanning a number of technologies with direct relevance to the Air Force. The new technology enables the replacement of cumbersome and expensive ultrafast laser sources with compact, hardy, and economical fiber-based devices that will link laser research with real-life applications. The research established four world records for continuous-wave, single-wavelength fiber devices. By using special glass fibers with high ion concentrations, the researchers were able to generate record-breaking peak power with the compact, economical, all-fiber devices. The team envisions further development efforts involving fully functional prototypes of fiber laser sources that can be transported and tested in the field. Dr. Moloney's team is licensing the technology for commercialization through the University of Arizona's Office of Technology Transfer and is also working with AFRL to transition the technology. The team is now looking into new military applications that will create opportunities in the areas of materials processing, nonlinear optics, and terahertz remote sensing.