Award Data

Industrial Control Systems (ICS) are critical elements in electrical, water, oil/gas, and manufacturing services involving supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA), distributed control systems (DCS), and programmable logic controllers (PLCs). These systems allow operators to monitor sensor data and remotely control field devices. Initially, these devices were designed for closed-network or ...

Hypersonic missile defense systems are being designed to reach global threats. During flight, external surfaces are predicted to reach temperatures in excess of 2200C. As a result, innovative, high performance thermal protection systems (TPS) are of great demand. Among ultra-high temperature ceramics (UHTC), it is well known that ZrB2- and HfB2-based materials have high melting temperatures and ...

The demand for higher performance and rapid transition of new technologies into extreme performance has lead to the need for engineered materials and surface modification technologies. The present proposal is focused on finding a surface engineered solution that can withstand exceptionally harsh environments such as those found in supersonic ground test tracks or rail gun environments. This SBIR p ...

Military applications, such as IRCM (Infrared Countermeasures) and stand-off sensing, require highly efficient optical sources with power outputs for room temperature continuous wave operation of several to a hundred watts in the 3-5 micron and 8-12 micron spectral bands. While quantum cascade lasers (QCLs) have become the sources of choice in these spectral regions, the only realistic option to ...

An eye-safe optically pumped laser based on a gas-filled hollow optical fiber will be demonstrated to lase at both near infrared (IR) and mid IR wavelengths. These lasers will be the first in a new class of IR lasers, based on the combination of hollow-f

Prime Research and the University of North Carolina at Charlotte propose to devevelop space-variant nano-optical elements to integrate passive spectral and polarization filters directly into infrared focal plane arrays. This novel technology will enable multi-mode detection by allowing pixels to be uniquely tuned for wavelength and polarization across a focal plane array using a simple fabricatio ...

In this Phase II proposal, the main thrust is to build a hardware MCICD prototype, and validate the FAR/FNR through real vehicle testing. By leveraging the existing LADAR based sensing platform in CMU, we expect to shorten the development cycle and reduce the overall cost. Extensive real vehicle testing is expected both in staged scenarios and in normal traffic. In this Phase II program, we also p ...

Quallion and the University of South Carolina propose to continue their modeling efforts to develop a more comprehensive LEO simulation model to encompass more varied satellite conditions to meet USG (United States Government) modeling needs.

Compelling applications of infrared ultrafast lasers—ranging from ship self defense and aircraft self defense, to medical and micromachining applications—have defined a critical performance point at about one millijoule per pulse from a reliable and robust portable laser system with high average power. Increasing amplifier efficiency is a critical need in order to reach high average powers nee ...

Ultrafast laser technology offers compelling capabilities for national defense, state-of-the-art health care, and the materials processing industry. The development of this technology into commercial form factor hardware has been limited mostly by the size, cost, complexity, and/or pulse energy limitations of current ultrafast laser systems. Optical fiber based ultrafast lasers have dramatically d ...