Award Data

Next-generation missile defense systems will utilize infrared sensing technologies that will require efficient cooling at low temperatures. We propose to develop an innovative solid-state cryocooler that can provide cooling at temperatures below 35 K while rejecting heat at temperatures up to about 300 K. The cooler uses compact, efficient electrochemical compressors with no moving parts to enha ...

Reserve lithium oxyhalide and silver/zinc batteries are power sources of choice for many missiles and other weapons systems. These batteries achieve long shelf life by storing the liquid electrolyte separately in a reservoir. Upon activation, the electrolyte is rapidly injected into the battery cells, most often using a pyrotechnic gas generator. The design of the system and the diagnosis of pe ...

This proposal addresses the requirement to significantly improve the affordability, maintainability and performance of KKV DACS components. Exothermics and their Phase 1 partner Southern Research Institute will endeavor to increase the performance, lower the cost and enhance the technical property characteristics of SDACS and hypersonic components by examining the use of a new class of ultrahigh t ...

We propose to experimentally investigate MOCVD (Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition) as a technique for growing high-quality Type-II InAs/(In)GaSb SLS (Strained Layer Superlattice) photodiode epi material. In collaboration with the University of Maryland, our goal is to grow, process, and measure longwave infrared detector material and devices and compare them to identical MBE (Molecular Beam ...

Spire Semiconductor proposes a novel MOCVD growth scheme that will substantially reduce the production costs of inverted multi-junction solar cells. Incorporating quantum well structures will be investigated as a means to improve device efficiency and end of life cell performance in the space environment. The theoretical target efficiency is 39.8% under the AM0 spectrum.

Dark current plays an essential role in the performance of LWIR InAs/GaSb SL-based FPAs. Previous improvements in material quality and device design have significantly suppressed bulk contributions to the dark current. The dark current due to surface defects becomes prominent with decreasing detector size, as in the case of high-resolution FPAs. Furthermore, for LWIR FPA with very small band gap e ...

Future missile detection systems will require improved thermal management for cooling gimbal-mounted sensors and optics. Current systems utilize cryocoolers placed on the gimbal, which necessitates the cryocooler heat to be rejected directly from the gimbal. A far superior approach in terms of payload mass would locate the warm elements of the cryocooler on the stationary platform near the space ...

Missile seekers would benefit from a focal plane array (FPA) that allowed high-speed single or multiple-windowing acquisition of the target or targets while maintaining situational awareness of the rest of the field of view. Such data reduction helps where bandwidth is limited, e.g. arrays with formats larger than 1Kx1K, allowing tracking of high-speed missiles at high frame rates. Readout multi ...

We propose to develop a high-performance longwave infrared focal plane array (FPA) based on Type-II InAs/(In)GaSb strained-layer-superlattice (SLS) technology and deliver it packaged in a portable handheld CAMERA. In Phase 1, a matrix of recipes was designed and grown, several wafers were processed, arrays were fabricated and characterized, and material and process issues identified. In Phase 2, ...

We propose to develop a 2Kx2K 2-Color focal plane array (FPA) that provides pixel-registered and simultaneous imaging in two MIDWAVE infrared spectral bands. We will use a novel bandgap-engineered sensor that minimizes spectral crosstalk between the two midwave bands better than current sensor technologies. The FPA also uses a readout multiplexer that provides massive on-chip data compression by ...