"We are proposing assessing a novel approach towards forming beams using optical techniques. One advantage of our approach, which takes advantage of MEMS and detector arrays, is that the complexity of the beam forming circuitry scales as the square root ofthe size of the array. Another advantage is… More

Applying benefits of huge amount of R&D invested in terrestrial optical communications. One outcome is working fieldable 40gb/s per wavelength optical communcication system Most efficient modulation/coding system practical.

The next generation architecture must become more protocol independent and bit rate independent. Numerous sensors and other sources will contribute to the traffic on a laser communications backbone platform. They will vary in rate (kilobits/s togigabits/s) and in protocol.We will assess, then… More

Laser radar seekers are used in kill vehicle missiles for functions ranging from target recognition and discrimination to end game guidance. Frequently, the laser radar performance is limited by the pointing error of the fine steering mirror. Improvedmethods of measuring the angular position of… More

DARPA has identified the need for very large mobile phased array antennas. The need includes theater area ground based systems, airborne systems, and space based systems. The antennas will range from 100,000 elements to greater than 1,000,000 elements. High performance beamforming networks are… More

Based on work performed in the Phase I SBIR "Optical Network Devices and Protocols for Space", we propose an effort to develop and demonstrate critical elements for future broadband space-based optical communications networks. This proposal provides background, identifies requirements, and proposes… More

IR seekers are used in kill vehicle missiles for functions ranging from target recognition and discrimination to terminal guidance. Improved methods of measuring the angular position of the mirror would allow better feedback control of the mirror and thus significantly improve the overall… More

Saraswati Associates is pleased to submit the following Phase I proposal. In this proposal we present our approach to develop technology for very large phased array antennas with many simultaneous beams and flexible wide bandwidth operation. Saraswati has developed the innovative CORONA beam… More

The Air Force has identified the need for very large mobile phased array antennas. The expected size of antennas will range from hundreds of elements to greater than 1,000,000 elements. Equivalent high performance beamforming networks are required. The antenna systems will require wide… More

We are pleased to propose a program to design and to build an innovative, high performance optical time delay unit (TDU) for phased array antennas. In order to find the optimum choice of implementation, we examined techniques such as MEMs optical cross connect switches, integrated optic switch… More

Our baseline incorporates a unique photonic approach. a)Photonic sampler antenna with unparalleled features: low EMI and EMP inherent in optical fiber, b) conformal elements fed by optical fiber resulting in easy S/C integration, c) photonic beamforming network for millisecond rate direction… More

We are pleased to propose a program to design and to build a high performance space qualifiable tunable laser diode to meet the stringent requirements for transformational communication systems. Saraswati has multiple contracts in the area of transformational communication sub-systems. … More

Saraswati Associates has demonstrated feasibility of an innovative photonic wavelength routed Multi-channel Photonic Programmable Time Delay Unit that can allow disruptive advances in the radar processing equipment. It may enable architectures that improve search performance and eliminate major… More

In Phase I, Saraswati demonstrated feasibility of a multiple beam 100% true time delay beamformer for an on-board satellite Threat Warning System. The beamformer was be designed to be integrated with a Sampler photonic antenna. When the development is fully completed, the final product will be… More

The goal of this project is to eliminate the current base modules and replace them with a distributed modular tactical packaging system. This system will allow for greater flexibility, reduced encumbrance and an easier to use electronics package which will allow both man-mounted and hand-held… More

The M2DART provides a portable simulator system that can be deployed for a variety of training tasks and at numerous locations around the globe. Although its uncollimated, tiled displays allow for a small footprint, the viewing distance is both close (nominally 36") and varies significantly as a… More

Increasing bandwidth is becoming essential in today's battlefield due to the level of communication that is necessary to support soldiers fighting in constantly changing hostile conditions. Unfortunately, space based communication systems have lagged behind the development of high data rate land… More

The Saraswati Coherent Optical REceiver (SCORE) utilizes an a very innovative approach to achieve record receiver sensitivity for high bandwidth optical communications. The SCORE approach supports 10-100 Gb/s communicaton on a single wavelength. SCORE can utilize dense wavelength division… More

SA Photonics is proposing a program to develop a blue-green optical source for air-to-underwater LIDAR-RADAR imaging applications. Our proposed high energy, highly adjustable and phase-locked Modulated Imaging LIDAR Optical Source (MILOS) meets or exceeds all of the parameters listed in the… More

SA Photonics is proposing a program to develop a high speed electro-optic sensor for a high power directed energy power density meter, the SA Photonics' Power density meter (SA-PDM). We will utilize a photonic approach with no active electronic elements in the sensor probe thus allowing detection of… More

SA Photonics is pleased to propose a program to develop an electromagnetic threat warning sensor. The innovative electro-optic high power microwave sensor boosts 10x sensitivity compared to standard LiNbO3 sensors and has extremely high damage threshold. The sensor system consists of a series of… More

To get around the obvious limitations of current state of the art underwater acoustic communications systems, it is important to consider the use of optical communications in the next generation of underwater communications systems. An underwater optical communications network has various… More

SA Photonics and Stanford University are pleased to propose the development of an innovative, high accuracy sense and control system for wide field of view ball joint gimbal mirrors. The SA Photonics mirror angle sense system utilizes optical sensors to directly measure the mirror angular position. … More

Night vision has been a key enabling technology for the past 30 years that has allowed US pilots to "own the night". In many engagements, our dominance of the nighttime environment was the decisive factor in victory. One of the big disadvantages of night vision systems is that they have not… More

SA Photonics is pleased to propose a program to develop a low cost navigation grade Fiber Optic Gyro development program. There has long been a desire to build a low cost fiber optic gyro using single mode fiber, but various noise sources have precluded this dream from being realized. The scientists… More

Warfighters operating in a night environment are always in search of more situation awareness. For decades, this situation awareness (SA) has been provided at night via monocular (PVS/7 or PVS/14) night vision goggles or binocular (ANVIS) goggles. Although these systems have served our soldiers… More

SA Photonics is pleased to propose a program to develop a double-band shipboard defense laser system (DOSLS) based on our High Energy, and Tunable pulse Optical Source (HETOS) technology for shipboard defense applications and other military and commercial applications. The proposed light system is… More

As more flight training is done in simulators instead of aircraft, the effects of simulator sickness on pilots is having a bigger impact on their training schedule. Navy pilots not only have to deal with simulator sickness, but with the compounding effect of being on-board a moving ship, whose… More

SA Photonics is pleased to propose a program to develop a highly sensitive receiver for hybrid lidar-radar applications. The receiver, named MILOS_RX, incorporates precision time-of-flight and RF carrier phase measurement which are both critical in hybrid lidar-radar applications. The SA Photonics… More

SA Photonics is pleased to propose our Navigation-Grade Fiber Optic Gyro (NFOG). The target application for this NFOG is to provide high accuracy azimuth data for Far Target Locator systems. For this program, the goal is to replace current Digital Magnetic Compass systems with an inertial product… More

Increasing bandwidth is becoming essential in today's battlefield due to the level of communication that is necessary to support soldiers fighting in constantly changing hostile conditions. Unfortunately, space based communication systems have lagged behind the development of high data rate land… More

The M2DART provides a portable simulator system that can be deployed for a variety of training tasks and at numerous locations around the globe. Although its uncollimated, tiled displays allow for a small footprint, the viewing distance is both close (nominally 36") and varies significantly as a… More

SA Photonics is proposing a Phase II program to develop a high speed electro-optic sensor for a high power directed energy power density meter, the SA Photonics' Power density meter (SA-PDM). The SA-PDM utilizes a photonic approach with no active electronic elements in the sensor probe thus… More

The declining threat of "superpower" aggression coupled with the increase in activity from asymmetric threats such as rogue states and terrorist groups has motivated the Navy to put much more emphasis on littoral combat. Unfortunately, Littoral waters are typically more turbid than deep ocean… More

There is ample evidence that training infantry in a realistic environment is beneficial; however there is not an easy transition path due to the complexities of interfacing with a mobile soldier. Although there are many challenges, the most difficult ones to overcome are that an augmented reality… More

Night vision has been a key enabling technology for the past 30 years that has allowed US pilots to own the night. In many engagements, our dominance of the nighttime environment was the decisive factor in victory. One of the big disadvantages of night vision systems is that they have not provided… More

Motion blur or smear can limit the performance of liquid crystal displays (LCDs). Its cause is attributable to two main factors the relatively slow LCD response time and the non-impulse (sample-and-hold) nature of LCD pixel addressing. The first effect causes the image from one frame to persist into… More

SA Photonics is pleased to propose the development of the Topaz modulated optical source for underwater sensing and communication. The unit will emit mulitple watts of blue light in the 450-460 nm for deep water transmission and on key Fraunhofer lines for solar noise reduction. The unit supports… More

The current integrated missile harness fairing assembly (IMHFA) is thick, heavy and hard to maintain due to the large number of copper signal and power cables involved. SA Photonics' LightCables architecture replaces all signal cables with one or more fiber optic cables terminated by a signal… More

SA Photonics is pleased to propose the COMET modular satellite laser system. The system integrates tunable laser diodes, fiber amplification, and wavelength division multiplexing to produce a highly flexible and scalable light source suitable for satellite communication and sensing needs. BENEFIT:… More

SA Photonics has demonstrated the ability to develop a low cost, small form factor, high performance Fiber Optic Gyro using advanced light source technology and high performance noise reduction. The key focus of the proposed Phase I is to extend the technology to enable very small and lightweight… More

Due to the high cost and long lead time of space based thermal management systems, there is an increased need for a space qualified thermal network system which can maintain critical components within an acceptable range during operation and be flexible in design to adapt to a wide range of… More

During this Phase I SBIR Program, SA Photonics has demonstrated the ability to develop a low cost, small form factor high performance Fiber Optic Gyro. The key focus of this program was to both reduce the size and the cost of this assembly, while maintaining performance to the level of navigation… More

Radar Warning Receivers (RWRs) are an integral part of Tactical Aircraft Protection Systems and are used to quickly detect imminent threats so that countermeasures or other actions can be used to avoid attack. Threat Radar signals include pulsed Doppler signals with typical carrier frequencies from… More

SA Photonics ia pleased to propose a system approach to solving the issues that come with measurement and analysis of Phased array jamming systems. Our system, SPARC (SA Photonics Phased Array Characterization System), includes 4 main elements; The probe sub-system (photonic based signal acquisition… More

There is increasing need for arbitrary RF waveforms with very wide instantaneous bandwidths for defense and commercial applications. Standard electronic approaches have limited bandwidth and are sensitive to electromagnetic interference. Photonic approaches are believed to be the solution because… More

SA Photonics is pleased to propose the development of a hybrid LIDAR/RADAR receiver. The SA Photonics implementation incorporates a very high gain and low noise photonic detector. SA Photonics will integrate low noise, high dynamic range electronics with the photodetector to provide maximum… More

Quantum cryptography, and in particular Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) is a secure method to distribute a secret key between two distant authorized partners whose security is based on the laws of physics. Current public key cryptosystems have not been proven to be secure and are based on the… More

SA Photonics and the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) are please to propose the development of MIMO SAR/GMTI techniques. The approach is to leverage the extensive amount of research that has been conducted in an academic setting and to assess the feasibility of the transition of these… More

As more countries hostile to the U.S. gain access to and develop ballistic missile technology, the threat of attack against U.S. territory or its allies steadily increases. The continued advancement of Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS) interceptors to support longer range missions on more… More

SA Photonics' CORONA architecture is a photonic multi-beam beam former. It supports large phase array size of 40,000 to 400,000 elements with scanning angle of +/- 60 degrees. It supports multi-beam operation of minimum 10 beams with wide frequency range of over 2 octaves covering X band as well as… More

Gyros are commonly used to measure the rotation of antenna pedestal platforms to enable very accurate antenna pointing. These gyros need to have very good angular stability and work over uncontrolled platform environment. But gyros currently deployed in this application space lack the needed long… More

SA Photonics is pleased to propose the SENTRY closely spaced object (CS0) space situational awareness system. THe SENTRY system leverages SA Photonics'' technology in LIDAR, LIVAR, and free space optical communincation by employing: SA Photonics'' innovative light source technology, the Acu-Point… More

The need for higher bandwidth communications supporting video as well as data transmission to the warfighter is driving the development of satellite-based free space lasercom. However, the current state-of-the-art in laser transmitter technology is mainly directed at fiber optics systems which have… More

The unlimited field of regard of head mounted displays (HMDs) provide military users significant advantages in situational awareness. Because of the limited resolution of the HMD display source, HMD designers are often faced with the "resolution/field of view invariant", which says that an HMD can… More

SA Photonics is pleased to propose the FALCON space situational awareness system (SSA). The system combines high sensitivity passive sensors with a high performance compact LIDAR. The combination allows long range detection of ASOs along with precision object range and range rate determination. … More

UAVs offer a low cost, highly capable aerial platform that can be used without risk to aircrews. The value of the RQ-4 Global Hawk and the MQ-1C Warrior in Operation Iraqi Freedom, and the war in Afghanistan, has been well publicized. New, high resolution sensor payloads and an overall increase in… More

Due to the high cost and long lead time of space based thermal management systems, there is an increased need for a space qualified thermal network system which can maintain critical components within an acceptable range during operation and be flexible in design to adapt to a wide range of… More

SA Photonics is pleased to propose the COMET Software Defined Laser system for satellite applications. The COMET laser source is an integrated source that supports LIDAR, wavelength diversity broadband sensing, and laser based free-space communication applications from a single laser source. The… More

Missile systems requiring lock-on after launch capability require Inertial Measurement Units (IMU) that exhibit low drift to support navigation functions and high output data rates to support target tracking. Missile warheads impose size constraints and environmental performance requirements on the… More

Compressive sensing is based on the notion that the information content of a signal may be much less than its instantaneous bandwidth, and that this signal"sparseness"can be exploited directly during the sensing operation. When applied to the sampling of pulsed Radar signals, compressive… More

SA Photonics is pleased to propose the development of the dynamic phased array characterization (DPAC) system. DPAC combines very high precision and stability probe technology with the Blazer high speed synchronized receiver and customized signal processing and display software to enable… More

Motion blur or smear can limit the performance of digital display systems. Smear comes from two main display attributes their non-zero response time and their finite hold time. The first effect causes the image from one frame to persist into the subsequent frame, while the second effect ensures… More

Naval submarines depend on reliable methods of communicating status to Fleet Command. In the event of a disaster, it is imperative to have a backup method to transmit a distress signal. SEPIRBs (Submarine Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacons) provide this function. Once released these beacons… More

SA Photonics' Jammer Emulator (JEM) is a flexible and programmable wideband DRFM Jammer Emulator intended to be able to rapidly evaluate the impact of new threat waveforms. JEM is a high resolution, dual channel jammer simulator that supports large varieties of DRFM and ECM emulation capabilities. A… More

SA Photonics is pleased to propose the development plan for our FALCON Miniature Laser Designator (MLD) for small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV). Laser designators have been successfully fielded on large UAVs such as Global Hawk and Predator, but the large size, weight, and power of these… More

SA Photonics, in conjunction with our teammates at the University of Arizona, have developed LARS, the low-cost augmented reality system. This system is a see-through HMD used for training and simulation. LARS was designed using an innovative freeform prism combiner which is small, lightweight and… More

First responders operate in emergency situations that require ruggedized gear that can survive temperature, impact, and moisture. Utilizing the communication devices that first responders already carry on them has many benefits including: always on-scene, reduced cost of distributing equipment,… More

This proposal develops a new system to track the past location of persons and materiel, based on rapid and accurate collection and classification of pollen grains. Plant pollen stands out among naturally occurring geolocation markers for the following reasons: Pollen is abundant and collects on… More