Award Data

PSI proposes an innovative approach to harvesting the large kinetic energy available during the re-entry of flight modules. The ability to capture a significant fraction of this energy depends upon the type of the re-entry trajectory. Energy capture for high Beta vehicles occurs at low altitude whereas the opposite occurs for large, blunt low Beta vehicles. It is also important to capture the e ...

Many optical systems can be temporarily disabled due to fogging of the surface. While coatings and treatments exist to prevent fogging, they are either temporary or have intrinsic drawbacks. For example, traditional additive-based anti-fog coatings have a slow response time and suffer from a continuous loss of the additives during the product lifetime. Superhydrophilic anti-fog coatings developed ...

The proposed effort will implement modifications to the Adaptive Infrared Imaging Spectroradiometer (AIRIS), a long wavelength infrared (LWIR) hyperspectral imaging sensor developed by Physical Sciences Inc. (PSI), to increase that sensor’s utility for long duration vehicle tracking in urban environments, collect and analyze field test data to support development of vehicle recognition algorithm ...

In this Phase II SBIR program, we will construct a laser source that can be applied to the generation of blue-green laser radiation. Such sources are of great interest to the Navy for both anti-submarine warfare and communications at depth and speed, as blue-green light matches the minimum of seawater transmission for a variety of conditions. In addition, there are military applications in pumpi ...

In this STTR project, Science Research Laboratory (SRL) and Boston University Photonics Center (BU Photonics) will develop a revolutionary optical technology for detecting localized increases in temperature on time scales ranging from nanoseconds to microseconds. Localized diode heating is a critical factor limiting the lifetime of LDs; such heating causes optical and electrical instabilities that ...

There is a critical need for revolutionary approaches for thermal management of 21st century semiconductor devices and hardware, such as advanced high performance computers, high-power laser diodes and solar cells for the conversion of sun light to renewable energy. The one limiting factor for all of the above extremely important and compelling technologies is waste heat management that can remove ...

Science Research Laboratory proposes to develop a pulsed, tunable mid-IR source with average power greater than 55 watts and high pulse repetition frequency (20 kHz). The program is divided into a baseline and two options. In the baseline program we will develop a continuous-wave laser operating at a wavelength of 2.1 microns with a power of approximately 120 watts. In the option programs, the 2.1 ...

Laser diodes (LD) have many desirable properties, e.g. small size and high electrical-to-optical efficiency. For ease of use, most applications require coupling the LD photons to an optical fiber. Attaching the LD-die to a heat-sink is a key packaging procedure. The heat-sink material is generally copper since it is the lowest thermal-resistance metal but its CTE (coefficient of thermal expans ...

SI2 proposes to apply its metamaterial and antenna systems expertise to design and build an efficient miniature wideband metamaterial antenna system that performs close to the theoretical limits of gain and efficiency. The antenna system can be mounted on a number of platforms as the loading effects of mounting are mitigated due to the proposed novel approach. Our approach also includes an intel ...

Fogging of optical components results in substantial reduction in image quality and light transmission, hindering the function of crucial military devices such as specialty eyewear, optical scopes and optical filters. Current solutions to creating an anti-fog surface often entail temporary solutions such as wiping the surface with surfactants or warming up the surface in a coat pocket before use. ...