Award Data

In 2011, there were 60,000 dairy farms in the US. Of there, 56,600 had herds of fewer than 500 animals. Currently, manure digester installations are only considered economical for herds of at least 500 animals. There require turbine or diesel generator sets of 100 Kilowatt size and larger. The need exists for a smaller waste to energy conversion approach for implementation on small farms were ...

Electronic waste (e-waste) is one of the most rapidly growing waste problems worldwide. Improper handling of e-waste results in vast amounts of toxic waste being sent to landfill and leaching into the water supply. Due to these concerns e-waste recycling is a rapidly growing industry. Unfortunately, most current e-waste recycling processes rely on either manual hand sorting or differential dens ...

The potential threat of directed energy weapons (DEW) and other high peak power electromagnetic transient signals require radar systems to implement front door protection against high power signals. Fast ultra wideband (UWB) and high power microwave (HPM) signals are not successfully blocked by most current protection technologies. The Phase I work demonstrated a quasi-passive, solid state e ...

In Phase I, Sivananthan Laboratories (SL) demonstrated the ability to polish Si(211) wafers, as supplied by a vendor with an already fine polish, to an even better surface smoothness and uniformity. SL also demonstrated the molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) growth of CdTe films with better crystalline quality and uniformity using SL-polished 2 cm x 2 cm Si(211) samples, compared to those grown on the ...

Under the work proposed here, we will develop a physics based comprehensive software for modeling the behavior of a diode pumped alkali laser: DPAL. The software will be designed primarily for a He-Rb DPAL. However, it could easily be applied to DPALs based on other alkali atoms, such as Cs. Furthermore, the model would be versatile enough to be applicable to other high energy lasers as well. ...

Accurate prediction of aero-thermal demise of post-intercept debris is a high priority for the United States Missile Defense Agency (MDA). Predictive tools for assessing the aero-thermal demise of intercept debris are needed to support BMDS effectiveness evaluations, flight test and range safety operations, and consequence mitigation assessments. During this Phase I effort, Shearwater Technology ...

Three dimensional (3D) imaging and single-wavelength active sensors are very effective for distinguishing moving targets, such as missiles, from decoys and for cutting through natural clutter and thermal noise. For systems equipped with ALS to accurately acquire, track and point moving objects, extremely sensitive detectors are required to be able to provide the bandwidth and resolution necessary ...

In this program, we will develop a breakthrough technology that will enable wafer-scale epitaxial lift-off (ELO) of GaN power device heterostructures from low-dislocation-density bulk GaN substrates. This technology will be used to provide a low-cost vertical junction field effect transistors (VJFETs) with high breakdown voltage (greater than 1,200 V) and high current capability (greater than 100 ...

"In this program, we will develop a breakthrough technology that will enable wafer-scale epitaxial lift-off (ELO) of GaN power device heterostructures from low-dislocation-density bulk GaN substrates. This technology will be used to provide a low-cost vertical junction field effect transistors (VJFETs) with high breakdown voltage (greater than 1,200 V) and high current capability (greater than 100 ...

A team of EP Purification and the University of Illinois engineer and chemists is pursuing the commercialization of low cost microchannel plasma modules capable of efficiently producing ozone for water treatment. The conservation of water resources for human consumption is a growing national priority. Contamination of ground municipal water by animal manure, fertilizer and pharmaceuticals, for e ...