Focus on LongWave Photonics, LLC

My Note: I recently posted an article taken from the NASA webpage which featured their work with LongWave Photonics, LLC. I wanted to share some of the information I found on the company webpage with readers. http://www.longwavephotonics.com/
I tried to find out about the companies principals and history but I could only find Dr. Alan Lee co-founded LongWave Photonics LLC. 12.17.2009

LongWave Photonics LLC is developing terahertz imaging systems and high powered terahertz sources based on Quantum Cascade Laser (QCL) technology. LongWave Photonics' QCL systems deliver milliwatt average power levels over a range frequencies from 1.8 to 5 THz in a compact, cryogen free package. These high average power levels allow real-time imaging, spectroscopy and tomography for research and industrial applications

                         Real-Time Terahertz Imaging of a Maple Seed enabled by high-power QCLs

Easy QCL: Turnkey Terahertz Source

The Easy QCL is a terahertz QCL system capable of producing peak power levels of >20 mW and average power levels of >1 mW at frequencies between 1.8 and 5 THz. The system features user replaceable QCL modules for maximum experimental flexibility, in a compact package that minimizes optical table use.

(Easy QCL Data Sheet

Spectroscopy

Terahertz quantum cascade lasers (QCLs) have narrow linewidths (< 1 MHz) and electrical/thermal tuning ranges of several GHz. This combination allows high resolution laser absorption spectroscopy at frequencies between 1.8 and 5 THz. At frequencies above 3 THz, the terahertz QCL is the only source capable of these measurements. For additional, broader tuning, additional devices can be integrated in a simple, electronically controlled package.


In a tunable diode laser spectroscopy (TDLAS) configuration , a single-mode QCL is operated in continuous-wave mode and electronically/thermally tuned across the absorption lines of low pressure gasses in a gas cell. A small AC signal is added to the QCL bias causing small frequency oscillations. As the laser is tuned across the absorption line, this oscillation is detected by a lock-in amplifier referenced to the frequency of the AC signal. This results in a measurement of the first derivative of the absorption line. Alternatively the lock-in amplifier can be referenced to the first harmonic of the AC signal, resulting in a measurement of the second derivative of the absorption line (2f spectroscopy), as shown here with a methanol (CH3OH) gas cell.

News

March 1, 2012: NASA Spinoff Magazine: When Kennedy Space Center started looking for new capabilities to inspect the thermal materials for future space vehicles, it solicited proposals through the STTR program. NASA worked with Boston-based LongWave Photonics LLC on a source of terahertz radiation called the quantum cascade laser (QCL). By 2011, LongWave started selling the Easy QCL to academic, industrial, and government researchers. Read full story November 10, 2011: LongWave Photonics awarded National Science Foundation Phase I SBIR for the development of tunable terahertz quantum cascade lasers. Read full story June 6, 2011: Startup Company LongWave Photonics Receives NASA STTR award for NDT OCT Application of Terahertz Quantum Cascade Laser 3D Imaging. Read full story April 19, 2011: LongWave Photonics awarded NASA Phase II SBIR for the development of 3D imaging of space flight materials using terahertz quantum cascade lasers. Read full story