A Microwave Measurement Facility for Dispersed RF Chaff Materials

Physical Sciences Inc., together with its STTR partner, New Mexico State University proposes, to develop the design of a prototype microwave measurement facility for dispersed radio frequency (RF) chaff materials in this Phase I STTR effort.  The resulting design would be built and tested in Phase II establishing a unique, compact testbed for quick, relatively low-cost screening of laboratory-scale quantities of new/novel chaff materials designed for the 2 – 40 GHz (Threshold), 2 – 150 GHz (Objective) frequency range.  The proposed program includes tasks to: 1) test/optimize a high efficiency chaff dispersal approach capable of uniformly dispersing unagglomerated chaff throughout the testbed volume, 2) designing the microwave measurement system, 3) designing the testbed enclosure, and 4) developing an integrated testbed design that incorporates the dispersal method with the test enclosure and microwave measurement designs to address key performance parameters for the testbed established with input from Army representatives.  The resulting design will be reviewed with Army representatives and optimized based upon their feedback.