Arbor Photonics Receives SBIR Phase IB Award to Develop 3C Optical Fiber

Provider of advanced fiber lasers systems, Arbor Photonics, has received the National Science Foundation’s SBIR Phase IB award for its contribution on ‘High Power Pulsed Fiber Lasers for EUV Lithography’. The Phase IB award will support the development of 3C (Chirally-Coupled Core) optical fiber to attain 200 W lasers in the 1030 to 1090 nm wavelength.

The 3C fiber concept uses an internal structure to generate a single mode output from bulky core fibers. Current generations of 3C optical fibers with 35 µm diameter have generated more than 100 kW power output. The short pulsed output was produced at 100 W with M² lesser than 1.1. The existing fiber design’s diameter will be increased to 50 µm to meet the growing performance goals.

The SBIR Phase IB award has been granted after the Phase I award, which focused on creating high-power, fiber laser modules with narrow linewidth and excellent beam quality. These advanced features will enable spectral integration of laser channels to generate a beam of nanosecond pulses. The laser system has been designed for use in Laser Produced Plasma Extreme Ultraviolet Lithography. The Extreme Ultraviolet Lithography will be required to design advanced semiconductors by 2016.