Our Technology
Advanced Optical Sources
Applied Energetics is a leader in Directed Energy Solutions. The company’s dual-use technology consists of unique, proprietary fiber-based architecture, providing solutions that have both unmatched wavelength-and pulse-agility.
Capability
Directed Energy Optical Sources
Applied Energetics utilizes patented, dual-use technologies to advance critical industries. Leveraging AE’s proprietary fiber-based architecture and wavelength-and pulse-agility capability, our ultrashort pulse technology enables our customers to achieve specific effects across different use cases with an unmatched blend of size, weight and power attributes. While initially designed to meet the emerging needs and priorities for the national security community, Applied Energetics’ directed energy technology also has commercial applications in both the biomedical and advanced manufacturing industries
About the technology
Fiber-Based Laser Architecture
Applied Energetics’ proprietary fiber-based architecture is a key differentiator for our technology. Compared with traditional continuous wave (CW) technology with larger footprints, AE’s architecture enables orders of magnitude size-weight-power reductions on all deliverables, creating powerful, dual-use and agile systems that can fit a host of platforms while delivering very high intensity, ultrashort pulses of light to the required target.
Using this unique architecture as a laser source for an integrated system will enable Applied Energetics to develop, integrate and deliver a suite of technologiesy that best meet the needs and requirements of its customers.
Wavelength & Pulse Agility
Applied Energetics’ optical fiber-based laser architectures enable unmatched wavelength agility as well as pulse duration agility. Using innovative and highly specialized frequency shifting techniques, wavelengths can be custom tuned from the deep ultraviolet to the far Infrared. In addition, temporal outputs can be adjusted from CW to sub-picoseconds. The technology enables the customer to adjust the lasers’ operating parameters, ultimately creating more flexibility to change wavelength and pulse width. This feature allows for optimization of laser performance for defense or commercial applications.
The Results
Smaller, Lighter, Powerful
Size | Weight | Power
In recent years there has been a growing need for significant reductions in the size, weight and power consumption (SWaP) of laser devices in the commercial and national security sectors. For technologies such as LiDAR on autonomous vehicles to USP lasers for desktop additive and subtractive manufacturing, to systems built into microscopy, obtaining a smaller and more-portable footprint is crucial for the greater universal integration of these USP lasers systems. Likewise, in the defense sector, rapidly deployable, agile, and powerful lasers to help address emerging sophisticated and unsophisticated threats are being highlighted as an immediate requirement by the federal government. Current deployment of directed energy-based laser technology continues to play a significant role in both offensive and defensive measures. However, lasers which are CW can be quite large and require more sophisticated and costly means of cooling and powering to keep these lasers fielded and ready for immediate threat intercept.
High Peak Power
AE’s proprietary USP laser technology provides a significantly more compact solution than current CW laser platforms while still delivering high peak power. CW laser systems are typically used to heat a target and, during continuous illumination, this heat transfer leads to melting or charring of the material. Using CW output powers that now exceed 100 kilowatts (1kW = 1000 watts), it can take anywhere from seconds to minutes to impact a target. By contrast, the team at AE has delivered USP lasers to national security customers that exceed 5 terawatts (1 TW = 1 trillion watts) in peak power, with the difference being that this peak power from a USP laser is delivered in a pulse that is less than a trillionth of a second. During this short pulse duration, and having such a high peak intensity, near-instantaneous ablation of the surface of the threat takes place. The net result of our innovative USP approaches are highly effective lasers with mountable footprints that require only a fraction of the SWaP of other directed energy technologies.
Experience & Passion
Learn About Our Leadership
Applied Energetics’ novel directed energy design concepts are driven through the thought leadership and experience of a scientific and business development team grounded in real work applications and a breadth of commercial, government and academic perspectives.