Award Data

Physical Sciences Inc. (PSI) proposes to develop, evaluate, and test its candidate architecture for multistatic radar for Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD). The innovative architecture is based on nonlinear Kalman Filter data fusion with multiple dynamical models with compensation for ship platform errors, and a parallelized multiple hypothesis tracking/association methodology (MHT). The key result ...

Triton, together with our academic and industrial partners, proposes to develop and fabricate dynamic filters based on metamaterials. These dynamic filters are being engineered to enhance the efficacy of focal plane arrays used in interceptor sensors, resulting in significant cost savings. The filter will offer a dynamically tunable pass band, which will reject stray light coming in off-wavelen ...

Certain lanthanide halides have significantly higher light output than NaI:Tl, the comparison standard for scintillators, plus other important properties, including fast decay times and excellent proportionality. Unfortunately, lanthanide halides grown by traditional melt processes have high production costs and limited availability. Crystals are usually limited to about 5 cm x 5 cm, right cylinde ...

A 128 x 128-format avalanche photodiode (APD) focal plane array (FPA), including a low-power dual-mode readout integrated circuit (ROIC) and low excess noise, high gain (M>1,200) will be developed for laser radar (LADAR) applications requiring reduced SWAP. The FPA gives LADAR seekers an advanced active tracking sensor capability, providing a sufficiently wide field of regard (FOR) to eliminate th ...

The AlInN alloy lattice matched to GaN is predicted to improve the performance and reliability of GaN-based high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) and monolithic microwave integrated circuits for military and commercial applications. High power and high frequency operation, along with high reliability, radiation and ESD resistance, are expected in discrete devices and integrated systems emplo ...

The overall goal of the Phase II effort is to develop the novel ultra-rapid chemical mechanical finishing (UCMF) process for SiC mirror manufacturing, and commercialize this process in collaboration with existing vendors using existing equipment infrastructure. Unlike glass and metallic systems, the high hardness and chemical inertness of SiC currently limit the finishing of SiC mirrors to mechani ...

Atmospheric effects, especially the impact of clouds, play a major role in remote sensing applications, and in particular, the design of defense and surveillance systems. Of special importance, are the effects of clouds and terrain on ballistic missile launch detection and tracking. The detection of ballistic missile launches beneath an optically opaque cloud field in the presence of a solar-ref ...

Several current BMDS sensors and advanced technology concepts are using or considering passive exploitation of signature features outside the 2.5-5.0 micron range. However, current signature models are focused primarily on this relatively narrow band in the infrared. We propose to develop a set of software modules called PAWS (Propulsion Kinetics for Alternate Wavelength Signatures) and integrate ...

The goal of this program is to produce large area Cadmium Zinc Telluride (CZT) substrates for growth of Mercury Cadmium Telluride (MCT) films for application in IR Focal Plane Arrays. Two growth processes will be pursued in this program. The grown CZT crystals will be processed into substrates. MCT films will be grown on these substrates and their properties will be characterized.

Designed and successfully demonstrated in the laboratory by Mechanical Solutions, Inc. (MSI) during Phase I, the fast and slow cook-off mitigation sensor (FASCOMS) generated sufficient electrical power from the surrounding environment to function a military-standard squib, which can control a thermally initiated venting system (TIVS) on a large solid rocket motor (SRM). The FASCOMS monitored the ...