Award Data

THE DEVELOPMENT OF HIGH POWER, HIGH REPETITION RATE CLOSING SWITCHES HAS RECENTLY BECOME IMPORTANT FOR MANY PULSED POWER APPLICATIONS. HISTORICALLY, HIGH REPETITION RATE SWITCHES FOR PULSED POWER APPLICATIONS HAVE EITHER BEEN SPARK GAPS OR THYRATRONS. THYRATRONS HAVE HIGH REPETITION RATES, BUT ARE LIMITED TO LOW VOLTAGES AND LOW CURRENT. CONVERSELY, SPARK GAPS CAN CARRY HIGH CURRENTS AND STAND-OFF ...

MANY OF THE SYSTEMS FOR SDI INVOLVE PULSE POWER AND HIGH VOLTAGE SYSTEMS, INCLUDING LASERS, PARTICLE BEAM ACCELERATORS, AND RAILGUNS. ONE OF THE SIGNIFICANT PROBLEMS YET TO BE SOLVED IN DEVELOPING OPERATIONAL SDI SPACECRAFT IS THE MANAGEMENT OF ELECTRIC FIELDS WITHIN THE SPACECRAFT, THE PRIMARY WEAPON SYSTEM, AND ITS POWER SUPPLY AND CONDITIONING EQUIPMENT. THE ELF CODES UNIQUELY HAVE THE ABILITY ...

Radiation Hardening of Monolithically Integrated Quantum Well Intermixed Semiconductor Components.Photonic devices (diode lasers, modulators, photodetectors, etc.) are undergoing rapid transition into terrestrial and space applications. However, roadblocks still exist for monolithically integrating these components for optoelectronic integratedcircuits (OEICs). Since semiconductor growth technolog ...

Under this Phase I SBIR Kestrel Corporation proposes to demonstrate the advantages of a novel optical technique for measuring wavefront aberrations as a means for aligning large, segmented, space telescopes such as those that might be employed in a SpaceBased Laser (SBL) Weapon system. The same technology has applications as a wavefront sensor for determining aberrations in the transmitted beam. ...

We propose developing a compact, optical fiber-based Raman scattering instrument for rapid, in-situ analysis of composites, solid rocket motors, and propellants. The instrument will incorporate diode laser-based, full-spectrum Raman scattering forcontinuous in-situ remote monitoring of the composite and propellant chemistry. Narrow well defined Raman peaks and lack of sample preparation requirem ...