Award Data

Radio Frequency (RF) offers many advantages over Electro-Optical/Infrared for seekers on hypersonic electromagnetic rail guns (EMRG) launched interceptors, but has not been used due to the small aperture limited by the projectile diameter. Tanner Research has overcome this limitation with the endfire antenna, with an aperture that depends on its length, making it ideal for projectile platforms. ...

Diode Pumped Alkali Vapor Lasers (DPAL) are a promising technology for high power directed energy lasers because of several favorable characteristics, notably the small quantum defect which results in very little deposition of waste heat in the lasing medium and potentially good conversion efficiency and beam quality. Existing diode pumps have spectra that are too wide and inaccurately controlle ...

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 ...

ChromoLogic LLC is developing Quantitative Optical Traceability Technology ("QuanTEK") to meet the need for a secure, rapid, and cost effective authentication of electronic components. QuanTEK consists of optical enrollment and authentication subsystems that allow the operators at multiple points in the supply chain to securely transmit information related to the identity and origin of electronic ...

Realization of high-performance compact lasers will require the development of substrates and advancements in optical coatings that can withstand the harsh environments of corrosive gases, high temperatures, and high energy densities. Toward this end we intend to undertake the development of novel optical coatings that will simultaneously provide the necessary protection and maintain the optical ...

Exact formulations of weapon-to-threat assignment problems have long been identified as binary polynomial optimization problems which are theoretically difficult (Non-deterministic polynomial-time-hard or NP-hard), thus previous research for implementation in the area has focused on heuristic solution methods or methods which compromise full formulation with limits on assignment. The introduction ...

Hypergolic fuels are used in missiles for inducing spontaneous ignition. These fuels are toxic, and require monitoring of leakage. In Phase I, InnoSense LLC (ISL) developed a working model and demonstrated the detection of Monomethylhydrazine (MMH) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2). ISL"s detector exhibits immunity to interferents, showing long-term operational stability, and withstands shock and vibr ...

Intelligent Optical Systems (IOS) proposes to continue adapting and maturing its recently developed intrinsically safe hypergolic leak detection technology, based on its well-established optical sensing techniques, for a modular liquid hypergolic propulsion (LHP) leak detection sensor. IOS has identified stable and sensitive colorimetric indicators for monomethylhydrazine (MMH) and nitrogen oxide ...

The purpose of this project is to develop coatings for use inside of the gain cavity of next generation Diode Pumped Alkali Lasers (DPALs). These coatings will be applied to transparent surfaces of the cavity used to couple the pump energy into the gain media and allow the transmission of the alkali lasing wavelength. Both of these benefits will improve DPAL performance and extend lifetime. Acre ...

Advanced laser diode technology developed using silicon MEMS packaging enables the construction of an efficient and compact line-narrowed diode stack combined with a Volume Brag Grading (VBG) to create a Diode Pumped Alkali Laser (DPAL). A single laser diode bar, with 20pm spectral line-width, has demonstrated more than 30W of CW output power at 780nm pumping a rubidium vapor laser. However, cur ...