NASA Awards $750,000 EPSCoR Grant for Project Using Ultraviolet Light for Space Communications

NASA awarded an EPSCoR grant worth $750,000 to the "III-Nitride Ultraviolet Laser Diodes for Harsh Environments, Space-Based Communications, and Remote Sensing" project. The initiative focuses on enhancing high-data-rate communications between satellites and Earth, particularly for deep space missions. 

EPSCoR is short for Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research.

Morgan Ware, an associate professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the U of A, serves as the lead scientific investigator for the project. With co-investigator Robert "Drew" Fleming at Arkansas State University, the project is administered through the Arkansas Space Grant Consortium by the principal investigator, Constance Meadors. In addition, Paul Minor joins the team as an industrial adviser from Ozark Integrated Circuits Inc.  

"The primary goal of the project is to facilitate the transformation of space-based information transfer from radio to optical wavelengths, while looking towards future deep space relays using ultraviolet light," Ware explained. "Currently there is an effort at NASA to move from very traditional radio-based communications to communications based on the modulation of light. Current efforts use lasers like those used in fiber optic communications, which make up nearly all terrestrial communication backbones. This would make possible a thousand to million or more times improvement in data transfer rates. However, these optical signals must transmit through the air, or in the case of satellite-to-satellite communication, through space. 

"To achieve this, we will make semiconductor laser diodes using various alloys of the nitride family of semiconductors including aluminum nitride, gallium nitride and indium nitride. This amazing group of materials spans from the so-called ultra-wide bandgap aluminum nitride providing structural rigidity, optical transparency and harsh environment tolerance to the so-called narrow bandgap indium nitride providing optical wavelength tunability and electrical conductivity. Using different combinations of these materials we will monolithically build each component of a vertical cavity surface emitting laser, or VCSEL," Ware said.  

While the long-term focus is on advancing communications technology, the project is rooted in advanced semiconductor research, which spans multiple scientific disciplines and industries. This underscores the potential growth and importance of wide and ultra-wide bandgap materials in technological development. 

If successful, the technology could greatly speed up satellite-to-satellite or deep space communications. According to Ware, "there is a growing need for high data transfer rates from very distant systems. Having the capability to watch pseudo-live video feed from the Mars rovers, for example, would make future explorations there significantly more productive." 

The next steps for the project involve simulating and testing the semiconductor alloys and nanostructures to ensure they can emit the desired wavelength of light, while remaining unstrained to prevent cracking and future degradation. At the same time, "we want to ensure the lasers and other optical components can operate effectively in the harsh environments of space," Ware said. 

The results of this and similar research endeavors have the potential to fundamentally change space exploration as satellites and other space probes travel farther from Earth. The development of semiconductor based UV lasers will not only significantly increase data transmission rates, enabling faster communication between Earth, satellites and distant space missions, they also provide a platform for satellite-based remote sensing using laser excitation, to probe the more complicated chemistries of other planets' atmospheres. 

Ware is a member of the Institute for Nanoscience and Engineering at the U of A, which houses the graduate program in materials science and engineering, and where most of the research will be performed. He is also a member of the Arkansas Power Group, which is currently deeply invested in wide and ultra-wide bandgap semiconductor research.