Award Data

The unique electronic properties of periodically-arranged indium arsenide/gallium antimonide (InAs/GaSb) mesas in the type-II strained layer superlattices (SLS) make them a superior alternative to the conventional HgCdTe sensors for longwave infrared focal plane array (LWIR FPA) detectors. However, despite the highly promising quantum structures of SLS, its performance is currently limited by high ...

Advanced lightweight ablative materials are needed to provide additional performance gains for next-generation ballistic missile defense system (BMDS) interceptors. The interceptor third stage, in particular, will benefit substantially from a reduction in inert weight, which enables increased missile stack velocity. Operational targets for the interceptor third-stage rocket motor (TSRM), and for o ...

Uncertainty quantification (UQ) can be performed with existing MDA M&S tools if efficient algorithms are developed and deployed. OptTek proposes to explore innovative methods and algorithms to 1) quantify output variation from all input uncertainties providing distributional information and extreme value identification, 2) isolate output variation from individual input uncertainties and from input ...

San Diego Composites (SDC) is developing a toroidal composite overwrap pressure vessel (COPV) for use on next generation propulsion systems. A development effort sought to optimize the electron beam welding process parameters to reduce weld integrity sensitivity to poor fit up conditions when butt-welding the thin titanium liners integral to these composite overwrapped tanks. Results from this dev ...

Low Thermal Electronics, Inc. proposes to design a stand-alone, programmable voltage source capable of supplying precision voltages in the range of zero to 1,000 volts direct current (DC), with options for scaling up to 10,000 volts, and with a total expanded uncertainty (k=2) of less than 10uV/V for the 10,000 volt version. This instrument will improve state-of-the-art measurements in high resist ...

ColdQuanta seeks to develop compact vapor cells designed specifically for high-accuracy RF metrology with Rydberg atoms. Sensors utilizing these vapor cells can take advantage of Rydberg atoms’ exceptional sensitivity to RF, microwave, and millimeter radiation between 1 and 1000 GHz. Featuring resolutions down to the uV/cm level, the accuracy of these devices will be at least ten times better th ...

Advanced manufacture requires low-latency and high-reliability wireless communications between the sensors/actuators and the central controller. However, the current wireless protocols cannot meet such stringent latency and reliability requirements. In this project, InfoBeyond advocates L2Wireless (Low-Latency High-reliability Wireless Protocol Using Cooperative Relaying and Network Coding) to add ...

The ISABEL program will create symbolic execution signatures to classify bugs in the NIST Bugs Framework. Using the symbolic execution signature ISABEL will find a program input to trigger the bug using fuzz testing. ISABEL will integrate its bug categorization and bug triggering capability with a software development environment using a flexible framework that will allow both open source and comm ...

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase 1 project will evaluate the feasibility of an innovative optical sizer for estimating drop sizes in sprays that have very small drops. The technique is based on the NIST provisional patent (application number 62/358,264). The NIST invention sorts particles by size over the range of 10nm to 10μm. Drop sizing is achieved in these sprays using an intense ...

The vision is to provide decision-makers with effective, fast, and inexpensive analysis tools to answer "What-If" and "What-Should" questions about manufacturing systems. Value Stream Mapping (VSM) is a modeling methodology with widespread contemporary use in manufacturing, and our strategy is to start with VSM as a deployment beachhead for the eventual deployment of a more generic manufacturing s ...