Nufern: Awarded Military Contracts for 46 High-Power Fiber Laser Amplifiers
Nufern, a leading manufacturer of specialty optical fibers, optical fiber gyroscope coils, fiber lasers and amplifiers, has been awarded multiple contracts on competitively-bid programs to build a total of 46 compact, >1 kW fiber amplifiers in support of multiple government laser efforts. Nufern has been the leading supplier of high-performance kW-class fiber amplifiers since 2007, and has worked with the prime contractors and government agencies on a variety of Research and Development programs.
These amplifiers, to be delivered later this year, will be used in the development and testing of coherent optical phased array and spectrally combined array technologies that enable scalable laser weapons that are ten times lighter and more compact than existing high-power chemical laser systems. These technologies represent a significant improvement in performance, and could perform laser radar, target designation, tactical, and self-protection tasks.
“The award of these multi-million dollar contracts is a testament to the innovative abilities of our scientists, engineers, technicians, and other support staff that was crucial from conceptualization to productization stages and everything in between” says Scott Christensen, Director of Government, Military and Aerospace Sales. “The entire Nufern team is pleased to be able to expand its fiber laser manufacturing operations here in East Granby to meet the volume demands of these critical programs.”
Coherently combinable single-mode fiber-based systems can provide overall laser efficiencies greater than 35 percent, while maintaining near-diffraction-limited beam quality. To produce a weapons-grade system, however, their output power must be increased without introducing additional optical phase noise and modal instability. It is envisioned that a coherent array of 10's of subapertures, each driven with a multi-kW coherently combinable fiber laser amplifier, would enable ~100 kW class laser systems for precision strikes against both ground and air targets. This technology will enable the practical use of high-power lasers on a broad spectrum of military platforms without degradation of their original missions.
About Nufern
Nufern, based in East Granby, CT, is a leading U.S. manufacturer of fiber laser and amplifier modules and specialty optical fibers serving industrial, military/aerospace, medical and telecom applications. Nufern is a wholly owned subsidiary of Rofin-Sinar Technologies Inc., a U.S. company headquartered in Plymouth, MI and Hamburg, Germany. Rofin-Sinar is one of the world's leading developers and manufacturers of high-performance lasers and laser-based solutions with more than 42,000 laser units installed worldwide and more than 4,000 customers. For more information, call toll-free: (866) 466-0214, or visit www.nufern.com.
These amplifiers, to be delivered later this year, will be used in the development and testing of coherent optical phased array and spectrally combined array technologies that enable scalable laser weapons that are ten times lighter and more compact than existing high-power chemical laser systems. These technologies represent a significant improvement in performance, and could perform laser radar, target designation, tactical, and self-protection tasks.
“The award of these multi-million dollar contracts is a testament to the innovative abilities of our scientists, engineers, technicians, and other support staff that was crucial from conceptualization to productization stages and everything in between” says Scott Christensen, Director of Government, Military and Aerospace Sales. “The entire Nufern team is pleased to be able to expand its fiber laser manufacturing operations here in East Granby to meet the volume demands of these critical programs.”
Coherently combinable single-mode fiber-based systems can provide overall laser efficiencies greater than 35 percent, while maintaining near-diffraction-limited beam quality. To produce a weapons-grade system, however, their output power must be increased without introducing additional optical phase noise and modal instability. It is envisioned that a coherent array of 10's of subapertures, each driven with a multi-kW coherently combinable fiber laser amplifier, would enable ~100 kW class laser systems for precision strikes against both ground and air targets. This technology will enable the practical use of high-power lasers on a broad spectrum of military platforms without degradation of their original missions.
About Nufern
Nufern, based in East Granby, CT, is a leading U.S. manufacturer of fiber laser and amplifier modules and specialty optical fibers serving industrial, military/aerospace, medical and telecom applications. Nufern is a wholly owned subsidiary of Rofin-Sinar Technologies Inc., a U.S. company headquartered in Plymouth, MI and Hamburg, Germany. Rofin-Sinar is one of the world's leading developers and manufacturers of high-performance lasers and laser-based solutions with more than 42,000 laser units installed worldwide and more than 4,000 customers. For more information, call toll-free: (866) 466-0214, or visit www.nufern.com.
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