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Briefs Aerospace
Could Metasurfaces Be The Next Quantum Information Processors?
Optics researchers in the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences have created specially designed metasurfaces — flat devices etched with nanoscale light-manipulating patterns — to act as ultra-thin upgrades for quantum-optical chips and setups. Read on to learn more.
Application Briefs Photonics/Optics
A New Record for Optical Power Beaming
DARPA recognized the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory during their POWER Phase 2 Industry Day, for contributions to the Persistent Optical Wireless Energy Relay program, which shattered existing records for optical power beaming over distance. Read on to learn more.
INSIDER Design
German Satellite's Multispectral Camera Improves Weather Forecasting Data
The German Space Agency is planning the launch of the Metop-SGA1 satellite of the European Organization for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT)...
INSIDER Connectivity
Fiber Deep Upgrade Improves Cyber Resilience for JBPHH
An Air National Guard fiber cable installation team is implementing the 'Fiber Deep' project on Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii. This project aims to save up to $10 million by...
Articles Photonics/Optics
Microcomb Chips Could Improve Accuracy of GPS Systems
The optical atomic clocks that exist today are bulky and require complex laboratories with specific laser settings and optical components, making it difficult to use them outside lab environments, such as in satellites, remote research stations, or drones. Now, a research team has developed a technology that makes optical atomic clocks significantly smaller and accessible for more widespread use in society. Read on to learn more.
Briefs Unmanned Systems
Army Researchers Develop Chemical Threat Scanning on the Fly
U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Chemical Biological Center researchers are developing a way to scan for chemical biological agent on surfaces on the fly. It is called Hyperspectral Threat Anomaly Detection, or HyperThreAD for short. Read on to learn more about it.
Articles Connectivity
Next Level Rugged Fiber Optic Interconnects: A New Era of High-Speed Data Transmission in Defense
In addition to the high level of complexity, the upcoming generation change from fifth- to sixth-generation fighter jets poses major challenges for component suppliers and accelerates the pace of technological competition. Read on to learn more.
INSIDER Sensors/Data Acquisition
Using Squeezed Light to Develop Sensors That Defy Defense Limits
Raytheon’s BBN Technologies is developing next-generation, compact, low-power, deployable photonic sensors that will provide users with better awareness of environmental...
Articles Photonics/Optics
Everyday Life, Improved by Light: GRYPHON’s Photonic Discoveries
GRYPHON will leverage recent developments in nonlinear photonics and photonic-electronic integration to develop microwave sources with noise performance that meets or exceeds that of the best discrete oscillator modules. Read on to learn more about the endeavor.
Articles Photonics/Optics
Space Lasers: Aiming Towards Next Leap in Global Communications
Space lasers are transforming the world. Not the far-off future of science fiction, but the universe of how data and communications flow today — everywhere from deep space missions to countless applications here on earth, including consumer internet services, military operations, and banking transactions. Read on to learn more.
Articles Materials
MEMS-Based Accelerometer to Measure Microgravity for In-Orbit Manufacturing
Looking ahead, the continued development of MEMS technology will likely unlock new possibilities for space exploration and utilization, ensuring that projects like ForgeStar remain at the forefront of scientific and technological progress. Read on to learn more.
Briefs Photonics/Optics
Streamlined Microcomb Design Provides Control With The Flip of a Switch
Researchers at the University of Rochester describe new microcomb lasers they have developed that overcome previous limitations and feature a simple design that could open the door to a broad range of uses. Read on to learn more.
Briefs Manufacturing & Prototyping
Researchers Demonstrate the First Chip-Based 3D Printer
Imagine a portable 3D printer you could hold in the palm of your hand. Researchers took a major step toward making this idea a reality by demonstrating the first chip-based 3D printer. The prototype chip has no moving parts, instead relying on an array of tiny optical antennas to steer a beam of light. Read on to learn more.
Briefs Photonics/Optics
NRL Research Physicists Explore Fiber Optic Computing Using Distributed Feedback
U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) researchers have outlined a novel contribution in fiber optics computing in a paper recently published in Communications Physics Journal that brings the Navy one step closer to faster, more efficient computing technologies.
Articles Photonics/Optics
Physicists Develop a New Type of Antenna
This research and demonstration presents a simple technique for a remote Rydberg-atom-based RF sensor, which was verified for distances of up to 30 m between the passive sensing unit and the base station — currently limited by the length of the hallway used in the demonstration.
INSIDER Defense
ATHENA Sensor Brings Generational Leap to Airborne MANPAD Protection
Since their introduction, Man-Portable Air Defense Systems – heat-seeking, shoulder-fired missiles – have been a persistent threat to U.S. Army aviation. Infrared...
Products Manufacturing & Prototyping
New Products
See the new products, including the NDT 1000 inspection system, a PU-5200 certifiable display computer, RJ45 connectors, servers, and more.
Briefs Photonics/Optics
Free-Space Quantum Communications in Harsh Environments
The project aims to explore the possibility of all-weather secure quantum communication using macroscopic quantum states of light.
Articles RF & Microwave Electronics
How Laser Communications Innovation is Finally Coming of Age and Driving Innovation in Defense
Though laser technology has advantages over radio, and those advantages are growing as innovation accelerates, what is essential to realize is that they need not be in competition.
Briefs Imaging
Spatial Calibration for Accurate Long Distance Measurement Using Infrared Cameras
All commercially available camera systems have lenses (and internal geometries) that cannot perfectly refract light waves and refocus them onto a two-dimensional (2D) image sensor. This means that all digital images contain elements of distortion and thus are not a true representation of the real world.
Briefs Photonics/Optics
Towards Greater Sensitivity: A Brief FTIR and Infrared-Based Cavity Ring Down Spectroscopy Comparative Study
Cavity Ring-Down spectroscopy (CRDS) is a newer IR absorption-based technique made possible by the use of tunable pulsed lasers. Rather than using a broadband (blackbody) emitter as is done with traditional IR techniques, a pulsed laser is tuned across wavelengths into an optical cavity.
Briefs Photonics/Optics
Determining Optical Material Parameters With Motion in Structured Illumination
Ellipsometry measures the amplitude ratio and the phase difference between polarized light reflected from the surface of a film and determines the refractive index or thickness by fitting the experimental data to an optical model that represents an approximated sample structure.
Briefs RF & Microwave Electronics
Deep Image Prior Amplitude SAR Image Anonymization
Synthetic Aperture Radar images are a powerful tool for studying the Earth’s surface. They are radar signals generated by an imaging system mounted on a platform such as an aircraft or satellite. As the platform moves, the system emits sequentially high-power electromagnetic waves through its antenna.
INSIDER Imaging
Euclid Space Telescope Begins Mission to Study Dark Energy and Matter
ESA’s Euclid spacecraft lifted off on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, on July 1, 2023. The successful launch marks the...
INSIDER Photonics/Optics
Filtered Rayleigh Scattering Enables Laser-Optical Measurement of Turbofan Thrust
Pratt & Whitney and Virginia Tech announced a pioneering new technology for calculating thrust using lasers to enable high-fidelity measurement of key gas...
Briefs Photonics/Optics
Overcoming Performance Limitations of Distributed Brillouin Fiber Laser Sensors
Distributed fiber sensors are a powerful tool for structural health monitoring and environmental sensing due to their ability to remotely monitor the strain at 1,000s of locations using low-cost optical fiber.
Briefs Materials
Electro-Optic Materials Research
Here, a summary of the main lines of effort for the Electro-Optics Materials Research program including its goals and major accomplishments of the past five years.
INSIDER Software
AFTC Gains New Test Capability
As weapon system designers continue to innovate for the defense of the nation, the Air Force Test Center must advance the test capabilities available to develop and prove the superiority of those systems...
Articles Photonics/Optics
Designing Multi-Channel Microwave Radio Systems Using Optical Interconnects
Imagine if it was possible to build multi-channel microwave radio systems leveraging optical rather than copper interconnects.
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