Alfalight Selected by DARPA for Phase II of the Super High-Efficiency Diode Sources Program; $1.4M Funding Will Contribute Toward Achieving Increased Laser Efficiency and High-Efficiency at 480 Watts.

MADISON, Wis. -- Alfalight, Inc., a technology innovator and manufacturer of highly efficient and reliable high-power diode lasers, announced that it has been awarded $1.4 million in funding for Phase II of the Super High Efficiency Diode Sources (SHEDS) program, sponsored by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). This follows Alfalight's successful completion of Phase I in which Alfalight developed working diode lasers that surpassed the targeted 65% efficiency. Phase II will enable Alfalight to continue making fundamental improvements to the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of pump laser diodes and to develop high-efficiency, high-power diode laser stacks. High PCE laser diodes are a key enabling component for high-power laser systems, amplifiers, and industrial lasers by allowing higher output power with less waste heat.

"With DARPA's support, Alfalight has made an extraordinary leap in diode laser efficiency and capability," said Manoj Kanskar, vice president of Research & Development at Alfalight. "The Phase II SHEDS award is a vote of confidence in our ability to deliver innovation on demand. We are excited about the challenges this phase presents and about the prospect for even further improvements in diode laser performance."

Alfalight demonstrated 71% efficiency in a 970nm, 55W laser bar at 25(degree)C in November 2004, and was certified by NIST in March 2005 to have met the Phase I program objectives. Phase II of the program has a target of 80% PCE in a 480W stacked array at 50(degree)C. Alfalight will focus on efficiency enhancement by further reducing the optical and electrical loss mechanisms of current designs, and by creating fundamentally more efficient diode laser structures using quantum dots and unique epitaxial growth methods.

The SHEDS program results will be highlighted at DARPATech 2005 in Anaheim, CA, August 9-11. Alfalight's latest results will be presented at the International Congress on Applications of Lasers & Electro-Optics (ICALEO) in Miami, FL, November 1, 2005 by Dr. Kanskar.

For more information about Alfalight's commercial laser diode products or about this program please contact Jeremy Draper at [e-mail] or 608-240-4826.

About Alfalight

Alfalight, Inc. is a technology innovator and manufacturer of highly efficient and reliable high-power diode lasers for industrial, defense, and telecommunications markets worldwide. The company's advanced Aluminum-Free Active region (ALFA) diode lasers provide industry-leading efficiency, reliability, power and brightness. Alfalight has exclusive license to patents that include high-power narrow-spectrum stabilized lasers, single-mode lasers, and short-wavelength lasers. Alfalight's current high-power diode laser product line includes free-space and fiber-coupled single emitters as well as fiber-coupled multi-emitter pump modules. For more information, visit www.alfalight.com.