Award Data

In this Phase II SBIR effort we will dramatically reduce the size, weight, and power requirements of a passive millimeter wave imaging system based on optical upconversion. To this end, we will integrate custom silicon-germanium low noise amplifiers that have been designed to efficiently couple with our high performance lithium niobate upconversion modules. In Phase I we analyzed the design requ ...

Commodity graphics processing units (GPUs) offer tremendous computational throughput for relatively little cost. They have been shown to outperform microprocessors in the important metrics of FLOPS/dollar, FLOPS/Watt, and FLOPS/unit space and have already been applied to a wide range of numerically intense problems. In Phase I of this project, we demonstrated their potential to enhance complex C ...

Mezzo fabricates high performance micro tube heat exchangers. In this proposal, extremely light weight versions of these heat exchangers made from polymers will be examined for use on high altitude unmanned air vehicles (UAVs). The anticipated weight of these heat exchangers is expected to be less than 25% that of a conventional (i.e. plate-fin) heat exchanger.

QuantaSpec, Inc., proposes to produce a highly efficient, compact, personnel-worn combat ID beacon visible to a large variety of overhead imaging pods. Multiple incidents of fratricide have highlighted the need for improved combat ID and Identify Friend or Foe (IFF) technology. Recent advances in emitter technology have enabled a new class of signaling device to become practical. QuantaSpec, Inc., ...

Diffraction LTD will develop a multi-spectral battery powered combat ID beacon. Key emitter technologies will include vacuum encapsulated photonic crystals in the MWIR and LWIR spectral bands. In Phase 1, a complete optical, electrical, and mechanical design of the beacon will be produced. A model taking into account emitter characteristics, atmospheric transmission, ambient lighting, and vario ...

Under the DARPA sponsored Naval Advanced Amorphous Coating (NAAC) program, a novel, thermal sprayed amorphous metal coating has been developed. Such a coating has demonstrated superior mechanical and corrosion resistance properties. Although the coating is designed to be life-of-ship, the application and operational conditions may compromise the integrity of the coating. For example, the applicati ...

Through the Social Shape Up System teachers will use a handheld device to manage their classroom by monitoring and track classroom behaviors in pre-K to eighth grade classrooms. The product will include the curriculum consisting of eight research-based strategies for shaping behavior, a web-based, database-driven system to store, manage, and report student behavior, and the mobile/handheld device ...

In this SBIR effort we will design (Phase I) and demonstrate (Phase II) an integrated silicon electronic-photonic upconversion receiver that when used with our photonic backend will allow for a highly sensitive, real-time, and economical millimeter wave (mmW) imaging system. The development of this chip leverages recent progress in CMOS and SiGe HBT high speed analog circuit design and integrates ...

For Phase 2, Diffraction proposes to develop a small, lightweight, low profile, battery powered multi-spectral combat ID beacon. The beacon will output enough energy in the mid wave infrared (MWIR) bands to be visible to nearly all US and allied targetin