Award Data

The expected life of satellite Li-Ion batteries is determined by many factors, including thermal considerations, electrode chemistries, orbit and mission life, DOD, and pulse power requirements. First-principles battery model literature pertains primarily to orbital cycling at moderate DOD under isothermal conditions without variable power loads. Knowledge must be extended to encompass wider life ...

Terrorist use of radioactive nuclear materials via nuclear and/or radiological dispersion devices (dirty bombs) is a serious threat. Therefore, it is crucial to detect proliferation of nuclear material. Critical challenges include: (a) high sensitivity detection of signature emissions from radioactive isotopes, and (b) cost-effectiveness for deployment of sensor networks across large storage facil ...

Hypersonic missile defense systems are being designed to reach global threats. During flight, external surfaces are predicted to reach temperatures in excess of 2200C. As a result, innovative, high performance thermal protection systems (TPS) are of great demand. Among ultra-high temperature ceramics (UHTC), it is well known that ZrB2- and HfB2-based materials have high melting temperatures and ...

High G Aerodynamic Controls | Approved for Public Release 18-MDA-9707 (3 Jul 18)

Gallium Nitride (GaN) substrates are ideal materials for fabrication of high-power and high-frequency devices based on III-V materials. The current state-of-the-art Chemical Mechanical Polishing (CMP) methods are plagued by several challenges, including, surface charge affects due to surface contamination, and sub-surface damages, which can limit the quality of III-V devices. Furthermore, there is ...

In response to SBIR topic MDA09-T006, USCI proposes to develop the first medium-level integrated circuit for radiation-tolerant applications. The advanced integrated circuit will be demonstrated based on a novel yet simple design SiC transistor that has the potential to provide a factor of 10X improvement in performance comparison to state-of-the-art. The SiC transistor can be fabricated by a subs ...

This Phase II effort will further develop a technique to improve current seeker discrimination and tracking capabilities using a unique particle filter algorithm (PFA) approach. The advancement represents a significant upgrade to current and future seekers facing advanced threats in stressing environments. Quantifiable improvements over many facets of the current approach have been realized during ...

During the proposed Phase 1 research and development effort, the project team will design an innovative turbopump system for a target vehicle upper stage using “Green" liquid propellants that meet Missile Defense Agency's requirements. The use of a turbopump will result in an upper stage that has a greater than 50% improvement in delta velocity in comparison to a previously designed, pressure fe ...

Gyroscopes are found in nearly every airplane, many cars, robots, missiles, and more. The reason for such broad, wide-spread use is simple: gyroscopes are excellent tools for determining rotation, and can be quite sensitive. Improving the sensitivity of optical gyroscopes while also reducing their size and weight has proven to be a significant challenge. To provide a solution, Los Gatos Researc ...

Aerius Photonics is proposing to develop high-power Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Lasers (VCSELs) and arrays on 4” substrates with an integrated thermal management approach to improve the thermal performance on an entirely wafer-level manufacturing compatible process. This is critical as waste heat and wafer-scale manufacturing approaches are driving factors for performance and costs in a la ...