Grant: Idea to Innovation

The objective of this project is to launch a start-up company dedicated to the commercialization of femtosecond fiber lasers to address a one billion dollar serviceable market. Based on a careful analysis of the most important market segments, we will focus on microscopy as the market entry application, for two reasons -1) the microscopy application does not require any regulatory approvals and will provide an immediate revenue source that will propel us towards more lucrative market segments, and 2) rapid market adoption is expected since the proposed product will be sold to microscopy companies as a direct replacement for the much more expensive solid state lasers that are currently used. The applicant has developed a novel femtosecond fiber laser technology that delivers high output power (> 0.4W), short pulses (<300fs) at a fraction of the cost of existing solid state laser counter-parts. The novelty of our technology is twofold. The first is the use of the optical gain medium throughout the optical cavity instead of using a short piece of gain fiber. The second aspect is the elimination of dispersion compensation mechanisms resulting in higher output power, greater stability, and a simpler cavity. The applicant require funding from I2I to develop a portable all fiber femtosecond laser prototype. The applicant has been in discussions with a number of microscopy partners and will continue those discussions through the duration of the project, with the goal of securing an alpha customer for the technology. With a committed customer, we will create a start-up company that will seek financing from venture capital investors, with whom Dr. Anis has a strong relationship based on her start-up experience.