Award Data

System requirements elicitation is a time consuming process with an extremely high penalty for errors. Mistakes made in the requirements phase will cost 50 times more to fix while they are uncovered in the production phase as compared to fixing them in the requirements phase. VIStology and Northeastern University are proposing to develop an approach for supporting the requirements elicitation phas ...

In this Phase I SBIR project for MDA, Vectraxx of Glen Allen, Virginia will address the critical problem of correlating tracks from RF to IR sensors. This is an essential element to the sea-based component of the MDA"s Ballistic Missile Defense System. The objective of this R & D effort is to leverage frequency features of both RF and IR sensors in order to advance correlation, association, and ...

The Ballistic Missile Defense System"s ability to detect and track enemy missiles against space, ocean, or terrain backgrounds, including any intervening clouds as well as atmospheric turbulence, requires prior knowledge of the environmental radiance conditions to support the development of optimal airborne sensors and detection approaches. To support sensor development there is a need for an accu ...

This Phase I SBIR program will initiate the development of a large-format mid-wave infrared (MWIR) scene projector based on the Company's existing membrane-mirror spatial light modulator technology. The scene projector is based on a VLSI membrane-mirror light modulator (VLSI-MMLM) that uses a deformable membrane mirror to modulate an off-chip light source. Prototype infrared scene projectors ...

In order to provide the highest level Quality of Service (QoS) for both tracking and discrimination functions it is imperative that information from all sensors be associated correctly. Due to potential bandwidth, latency and timeline impacts, it may be necessary to limit downlinked Airborne Infrared (ABIR) data to portions of the focal plane around exceedances of interest. As a result, we propose ...

ANTEOS, Inc. proposes to develop new generation of photonic crystal laser diodes with narrowed emission spectrum, improved thermal stability and overall performance for application in diode-pumped alkali vapor lasers (DPAL) systems. Already demonstrated proprietary process will be employed for holographic recording of relief-free gratings and photonic crystal structures with high refractive index ...

The diode pumped alkali laser (DPAL) allows for a potentially scalable approach towards a MW-class high energy laser system. By using an alkali vapor gain medium, one overcomes the intrinsic thermo-optical limitations of more conventional diode-pumped solid state laser (DPSSL) media. High spectral brightness diode pump sources are proposed by TeraDiode as the enabling element for efficient, kW-c ...

Physical Sciences Inc. (PSI) proposes to develop a nanostructured, alkali vapor resistant, antireflective coating for use on Diode Pumped Alkali Laser (DPAL) windows. The materials will be deposited from chemical solutions via dip coating. A dual layer AR coating design is proposed including a dense alkali impervious base layer and a porous non-reactive top layer. The result of the Phase I effort ...

Compact, efficient, mega-watt power level lasers are being developed by the MDA for the mission of destroying targets over a range of many hundreds of kilometers. A candidate laser technology with the promise of meeting this mission goal is based on alkali gas that is optically pumped by multiple, electrically driven diode lasers. One current problem limiting the potential operational lifetime o ...

One of the principle challenges in developing a robust missile defense architecture is the characterization and classification of objects in a threat complex. The Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS) performance depends on data from diverse EO/IR and RF sensors. The objective of this proposal is to investigate innovative concepts for long range real-time discrimination of ballistic missile th ...