Award Data

This proposal will outline a bi-directional software defined Free Space Optics (FSO) laser communications testbed with flexible optical elements and reprogrammable waveform and signal processing elements. Vulcan Wireless Inc. currently manufacturers a 1550nm, eye safe, software defined Laser Communications Testbed MD-LC-1 and will use this as a basis for the Phase 1 effort. We will also be teaming ...

ABSTRACT: We propose development of an efficient physics-based computational capability for real-time radar location of targets in cluttered environments. Our effort will focus, in particular, on air traffic targets in static natural environments that include dynamic effects such as spinning wind turbines. The proposed methodology models radar signal scattering in cluttered environments on t ...

Space surveillance is the component of space situational awareness focused on the detection of resident space objects (RSOs) and the use of multisource data to track and identify space objects. While the propagation of the states of RSOs has been investigated extensively over the last fifty years, the correct propagation of their covariance or the more general (non-Gaussian) probability distribut ...

The problem addressed in this effort is to automatically learn historical ephemeris space catalog time, position, and velocity entity track update error uncertainties (i.e., without track error covariances) and to automatically (e.g., without expert event labeling) produce: – unmodeled non-gravitational space catalog update flags – abnormal unmodeled catalog update flags with abnorma ...

To meet the requirements of the AF18A-T015 solicitation, MaXentric and University of California San Diego are proposing the development of a low loss, high linearity capacitor. The tunable capacitor target is a compact integrated design, capable of a tuning range up to 4:1, with a minimum Q of 80 at 4 GHz, and handling up to 20W CW. During phase I, UCSD studied a novel varactor structure to improv ...

A growing number of electronic applications within the Air Force, such as devices for power conditioning and distribution, RF power amplification, and high power lasers have been identified for increased heat transfer requirements to maintain operational temperatures at acceptable levels while increasing the performance through higher power. However, this same target research that requires increas ...

ABSTRACT: The proposed research will demonstrate feasibility of a high temperature insulating, load bearing thermal protection system (TPS) using a hybrid composite technology. This program will incorporate a hierarchically porous ceramic core material in a sandwich structure with a conventional polymer matrix composite (PMC) and ceramic matrix composite (CMC) to fabricate an enhanced TPS. This m ...

The Air Force has a strategic need for a fuel source that is renewable (and which does not rely on foreign petroleum sources). Several approaches to a renewable fuel source have been investigated; with “artificial photosynthesis” being one example. At its core, the photosynthesis reaction is a photoinduced charge separation reaction with light being concentrated by antenna complexes onto a c ...

This Small Business Technology Transfer program will develop a spectroscopic polarimeter-on-a-chip using novel plasmonic resonant cavities sensitive to linear polarization over a narrow wavelength range. Spectral selection will be possible through geometric scaling, with this work concentrating on the visible to near infrared wavelength band. Dielectric gratings with subwavelength period will act ...

ABSTRACT: In this STTR effort a small business company Obalon LLC is teaming up with industry leader Aerospace Corporation for development of novel photostructural glass ceramic composition (PhotoCon) with capability of laser induced 3D conductor patterning inside the bulk material. The development fully utilizes available infrastructure and team's expertise for commercial glass ceramics pro ...