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Solid-state electronic devices are often subjected to high voltage transients generated by switching, lightning, or electrostatic discharge. These transients can cause mission critical components to fail. Varistors are increasingly used to avoid such failures. The current varistor devices, however, are not well suited for high frequency applications and the increasing trend towards device miniatur ...

BMDO seeks development of novel low-to-no outgassing joining/bonding techniques for advanced composites. Explosive welding, employing actual chemical explosives, is a versatile process that can be used, in principle, with any two materials. In some situations involving difficult materials, explosive bonding is the only practical joining method. Typically, a layer of explosive is carefully coated o ...

A THEORETICAL PROGRAM IS PROPOSED TO INVESTIGATE A COMPACT, LOW-VOLTAGE INFRARED GRATING LASER WITH MULTI-KILOWATT OUPUT CAPABILITY. THE RADIATION IS GENERATED BY THE PASSAGE OF AN ANNULAR BEAM OF ELECTRONS THROUGH A COAXIAL PAIR OF CONDUCTORS, THE INNER CONDUCTOR BEING A CORRUGATED CYLINDER WHICH FORMS THE GRATING. THE ELECTRON BEAM IS GUIDED BY AN AXIAL MAGNETIC FIELD. THE DIMENSIONS OF THE OPTI ...

AN IMPORTANT COMPONENT OF ARCJET THRUSTERS IS THE INSULATOR HOLDING THE CATHODE BASE AND SEPARATING THE ELECTRODES. THE CURRENT BASELINE MATERIAL IS BORON NITRIDE (BN), WHICH IS WELL KNOWN FOR ITS HIGH ELECTRICAL RESISTIVITY AND HIGH THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY. HOWEVER, AT ARCJET OPERATING TEMPERATURE, BN HAS A DRAMATIC INCREASE IN ELECTRICAL CONDUCTIVITY AND A DECREASE IN THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY. ADDITION ...

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Reconfigurable computing architectures based on Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) offer extaordinary real time processing rates in inexpensive programmable hardware. The key to using FPGAs for reconfigurable computing is to reformulate algorithms in terms of parallel operations that are easily implemented with chains of simple processing elements. Currently available commercial integrated cir ...

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Rocket motors that develop greater thrust with lower weight and volume require-ments are an ever present goal of the BMDO. One method of providing this is through formulation of higher energy propellant mixtures. TPL proposes to develop a new method of effectively producing new high perfor-mance propellant constituents for launch, orbit-orbit transfer and station keeping propulsion systems. The p ...