Award Data

This Small Business Technology Transfer Phase I project will develop ultradense, low-power plasmonic integration components and devices for on-chip manipulation and processing of optical signals. Both passive and active components will be studied. Detailed performance predictions will be obtained through finite element modeling (FEM) of the harmonic Maxwell’s equations. The FEM provides detai ...

The design of future hypersonic vehicles requires detailed understanding of flow regimes ranging from rarefied to continuum. Hypervelocity flows are characterized by high temperatures, real gas effects, nonequilibrium chemistry, and ionization. The goal of this project is to develop unified kinetic/continuum solution methods with automatic domain decomposition for a wide range of Air Force applic ...

Higher efficiency solar cells are needed to reduce solar array mass, volume, and cost for Air Force space missions. Intermediate-band quantum-dot (QD) solar cells can yield dramatically higher efficiencies than current multi-junction (MJ) technologies. However, several issues must be addressed to demonstrate manufacturable, high efficiency devices. CFDRC aims to develop: 1) High-efficiency, ligh ...

The objectives of this Phase-II research effort is focused on transitioning noninvasive diagnostic techniques based on ultrafast lasers for characterizing nanoenergetic materials and their performance in rocket engine environments. Through the use of ultrafast laser imaging and spectroscopy, it is possible to isolate and characterize each physical process from initiation through energy release an ...

The objectives of this Phase-II research effort is focused on transitioning noninvasive diagnostic techniques based on ultrafast lasers for characterizing nanoenergetic materials and their performance in rocket engine environments. Through the use of ultrafast laser imaging and spectroscopy, it is possible to isolate and characterize each physical process from initiation through energy release an ...

The U.S. Air Force trains and educates a large and diverse workforce to meet requirements across a complex array of missions. Early-stage training in many Air Force Specialty Codes can consist of large corpora of foundational, static material, so training that motivates airmen is a necessary element in helping ensure a supply of qualified personnel in mission-critical areas like aerospace maintena ...

Extracting information from different modalities of data is one of the greatest challenges in this era of exponential data growth, as well as one of the most promising horizons for the development of new capabilities for military, commercial, and scientific applications. Virtually all areas of defense, industry, and science are becoming increasingly dependent on the ability to analyze multimodal d ...

Military applications for CBRNE/GWTO and C4ISR require R&D for materials to protect personnel and equipment. However, challenges remain in experimental synthesis and characterization of new materials, such as providing insight into observed properties for further advancement. Thus, it is essential to develop a predictive modeling and simulation approach that will not only provide a fundamental u ...

The ever-decreasing size of the electronic microchips and the ever-increasing density of electronic components required to support future Air Force platforms are creating the problem of substantial localized heat generation that can impair component operation. State of the art thermal interface materials (TIMs), that are used to dissipate heat from the source to the spreader in a microchip, are se ...

Quantitative predictions of reactive flow dynamics from large-scale simulations of Liquid Rocket Engines (LRE) appear to be model dependent. Relationships and coupling among the dominant mechanisms most responsible for destabilization are obscured by the complexities of the model and subtle consequences of inherent ad hoc approximations not supported by mathematical rationale. The reliability of ...