Award Data

Physical Sciences Inc. proposes to develop and mature the Network Fusion Radiation Analysis Tool (NFRAT) to address the need for an enhanced radiation hazard mapping, localization and identification capability in support of contamination avoidance operations and sensitive site exploitation. The NFRAT software will utilize dynamic representations of the radiological environment and statistical mode ...

The U.S. Dept of Defense is seeking a low power (< 30mA @ 3V), US-sourced, ultra-wideband voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO). Fuzing applications that employ Height of Burst (HOB) sensors utilize specialized chipsets that set the operating range and output power for these systems, and different applications require specific parameters given operational environments, input power, form factor, etc. ...

Gamma dosimetry is an integral part of radiation safety and protection for a wide range of military operations. For these applications, Geiger Müller (GM) tube is used as the standard gamma dose rate sensor. The cost-to-performance metric for this sensor type has reached a plateau and new sensor materials are needed for the next generation of dosimeters. Recently there has been a vast development ...

Encapsulation materials are crucial for long-term reliability of high voltage and high temperature power device packaging as they help prevent electrical discharges in air as well as protect the devices against humidity, dirt and shock. However, the currently available commercial encapsulants are severely deficient in their high temperature performance, especially above 250C. Although several diff ...

SI2 Technologies, Inc. (SI2) proposes to develop 3D-printed for spacecraft microelectronics. Leveraging SI2’s extensive additive manufacturing experience, SI2’s low-SWaP, low-cost shielding will be designed to protect both unmounted and board-mounted microelectronics. This approach will accommodate multiple types and sizes of semiconductor packages, including 484 ball Fine Pitch Ball Grid Arra ...

Atom Trap Trace Analysis (ATTA) has proven to be a valuable technique for detecting rare gas radioisotopes. By tuning the frequency of a laser to the resonance of a desired isotope, only atoms of that isotope are captured by a magneto-optical trap (MOT) and detected by observing its fluorescence with a CCD camera. Existing approaches rely on manually selecting a region-of-interest (ROI) of image p ...

In the condition of a nuclear event, it is critical that warfighters and first responders are equipped with active dosimeters and dose rate meters.  These tools can be made from scintillation-based detector systems that require a high performance photodetector.  The silicon photomultiplier is a compact photodetector that would be ideal for such a detector system, yet their performance suffers fr ...

Underground facilities provide concealment and protection for an array of activities conducted by US adversaries, including production, storage, and deployment of WMDs.  Communications with these subterranean facilities is a challenge at best. The current solution relies on conventional free-space RF radio links. However, RF propagation underground is not well understood and the variable and the ...

Field-portable radiation detectors are a widely used technology for defense, environmental monitoring, and industry applications dealing with radioactive sources. From nuclear weapon accident emergencies to routine monitoring for health and safety, having reliable, field ready equipment is essential for mission success. However, the alpha and beta radiation detectors currently available in the mar ...

Missions of importance to the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA), particularly missions countering weapons of mass destruction (WMD), are difficult to conduct in subterranean environments. While there has been substantial work in using individual robots to remotely explore these environments, the difficulties presented in the subterranean realm provide an opportunity for multiple robots to coo ...