Award Data

The proposed project is to demonstrate a novel technique for producing GaN single-crystal boules that yield GaN wafers and substrates suitable for fabrication of GaN high-power devices. The two key attributes of the proposed novel GaN growth technique (a bulk crystal growth technique) are: a high growth rate and an ability to achieve a superior crystal quality. The novel GaN crystal growth techn ...

Ammonia is not only one of the most produced chemicals worldwide for fertilizer, but also a real carbon-neutral liquid fuel (CNLF), which is important for renewable energy storage and transportation. The well-known traditional Haber-Bosch (HB) process annually generates more than 120 million metric tons of ammonia for fertilizer, with about ~1.0% of the world’s annual energy consumpti ...

Several important emerging applications require efficient, high-speed high-duty-cycle, amplitude modulation of high levels of microwave power, with low cost and small size-and-weight. The modulation frequency and average power required for these applications are far beyond the capabilities of existing technology. MRC proposes to research and develop two alternative methods of achieving square-wa ...

We propose to develop a highly sensitive, low cost system for underwater perimeter control. The setup, designed for protection of waterside facilities and infrastructure, consists of a fiber-optic cable placed in front of a critical or high-value asset, connected to a compact readout system. A single source sends out acoustic sonar pulses. Sensor structures embedded in the fiber in conjunction wit ...

We propose to prove the feasibility of a high speed non ionizing time domain terahertz (THz) measurement system to replace nuclear gauges. Nuclear source gauges (such as beta and gamma) are used in industrial process monitoring and control, often to measure thickness or mass in paper, plastics, rubber, and food stuffs in manufacturing and packaging. A single system based on low power non-ionizing ...

A pulsed neutron generator is proposed for the detection of special nuclear material. A recently developed RF-excited plasma neutron generator will be pulsed to produce the activating neutrons whose pulse length is 100 microseconds with a fall time of less than 1 microsecond. High pulse repetition rates and high peak neutron yields can be otained depending upon the RF generator used. Using the T-T ...

Handling false alarms produced by animals is a special problem for unattended ground sensors (UGS) because of the number of ways that animal signatures can mimic those of humans. Specifically, animal footsteps are impulsive, much like humans; the contact of a foot or hoof on the ground produces a sudden noise that rapidly fades away. Seismic, acoustic, and passive infrared (PIR) sensors are often ...

To address the HSARPA need to detect humans hiding in cargo shipping containers, Physical Optics Corporation (POC) proposes to develop a new Human Occupancy Detection (HOD) system. The HOD will be based on POC's sensor fusion and neural networks pattern recognition technology, combined with a novel chemical gas sensor array. The HOD detects human presence by detecting and identifying major human r ...

On this effort Toyon Research Corp. and The Pennsylvania State University are developing deep learning-based algorithms for object recognition and new class discovery in look-down infrared (IR) imagery. Our approach involves the development of a hybrid classifier that exploits both transfer learning and semi-supervised paradigms in order to maintain good generalization accuracy, especially when li ...

This Small Business Innovative Research Phase I project consists of fundamental research into molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) nanoparticles to act as sensing points in novel detection system for explosives. The system is based upon MIP nanoparticles deposited upon a MEMS-based chemicapacitive sensor array. As the MIP nanoparticle binds the explosive, the polarizability of the material changes ...