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Development of Ultra-Fast, Low grating lobe Optical Beam Scanners for Laser Radar (LADAR) Seeker

Award Information
Agency: Department of Defense
Branch: Army
Contract: W31P4Q-06-C-0489
Agency Tracking Number: A052-142-1283
Amount: $729,258.00
Phase: Phase II
Program: SBIR
Solicitation Topic Code: A05-142
Solicitation Number: 2005.2
Timeline
Solicitation Year: 2005
Award Year: 2006
Award Start Date (Proposal Award Date): 2006-09-15
Award End Date (Contract End Date): 2008-10-13
Small Business Information
1366 Ridge Master Drive
State College, PA 16803
United States
DUNS: 153219675
HUBZone Owned: No
Woman Owned: No
Socially and Economically Disadvantaged: No
Principal Investigator
 Claire (Fang) Luo
 Senior R&D Engineer
 (814) 238-5982
 claire_luo@yahoo.com
Business Contact
 Stuart Yin
Title: President/Chief Technolog
Phone: (814) 238-5982
Email: shizhuo_yin@yahoo.com
Research Institution
N/A
Abstract

The objective of this Phase II effort is to develop an innovative, low cost, ultra-fast scanning speed laser radar (LADAR) seeker by effectively integrating an unconventional optical phased array, a unique optical pre-amplifier, and an all-optic pulse repetition rate enhancer. This will enable the realization of unprecedented LADAR seeker capabilities, including (1) ultrafast scanning speed, (2) low grating lobes, (3) high spatial resolution, (4) high performance, (5) small footprint, and (6) low cost. During the Phase I stage, we have experimentally demonstrated that the proposed core technologies are feasible, providing a solid foundation for us to develop a ready-to-use ultra-fast high performance LADAR seeker prototype during Phase II. Specifically, (1) the fast scanning speed (up to ns), low grating lobe, low loss beam scanning can be realized by using our unconventional optical phased array technology; (2) the weak returning LADAR signal can be optically pre-amplified, which significantly reduces the complexity of the LADAR receiver and the lasing power requirement of the LADAR transceiver; and (3) the repetition rate of the laser source can be passively increased by using an all-optic repetition rate enhancer, which will allow the LADAR seeker to be used in high speed applications.

* Information listed above is at the time of submission. *

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