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Briefs
Aerospace

Atomic Fountain for Research in Quantum Sensing Nears Completion of First Phase

Dr. Frank Narducci, Chair of the NPS Department of Physics, and his Ph.D. student U.S. Navy Cmdr. Jens Berdahl, are nearing completion of the first phase of construction in what will be a superlatively precise atomic-based instrument. Read on to learn more about it.

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Electronics & Computers

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...

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Articles
Physical Sciences

This Laser Clock Could Transform Satellite Navigation Accuracy

A new laser clock from the German Aerospace Center has achieved a record level of accuracy for optical clocks with gas cells: in 30 million years, it would be off by just one second. Read on to learn more about it and what it could mean for satellite navigation accuracy.

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Articles
RF & Microwave Electronics

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.

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Articles
RF & Microwave Electronics

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.

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Briefs
Photonics/Optics

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.

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Briefs
Aerospace

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.

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Manned Systems

Navy, Marine Corps Test New Laser System for Precision Aircraft Painting

A new capability at Fleet Readiness Center East (FRCE) is streamlining the aircraft painting process, allowing the depot to decrease maintenance turnaround time and...

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Manned Systems

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...

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Articles
Electronics & Computers

Image Sensors and Cameras Based on Colloidal Quantum Dots for Defense Applications

This article reports on the image sensor technology and the VS20 camera product developed at Emberion. The article describes the image sensor design comprising the sensor stack based on a p-i-n photodiode implementation with PbS QDs sandwiched between thin-film hole transport (HTL) and electron transport (ETL) layers as well as the CMOS ROIC architecture and pixel front-end interfacing the photodiode stack.

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Briefs
Electronics & Computers

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.

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Articles
Photonics/Optics

NASA’s Optical Communications Demo Transmits Data Over 140 Million Miles

This achievement provides a glimpse into how spacecraft could use optical communications in the future, enabling higher-data-rate communications of complex scientific information as well as high-definition imagery and video in support of humanity’s next giant leap: sending humans to Mars.

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Articles
RF & Microwave Electronics

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.

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Application Briefs
Manned Systems

Quantum Sensing Atomic Gyroscope

The Defense Science Board identified three areas of quantum technology that will be most relevant to the DoD's technological superiority: sensing, encryption, and communications.

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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.

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Briefs
Aerospace

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.

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Briefs
Aerospace

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.

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Briefs
Photonics/Optics

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.

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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.

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Articles
Photonics/Optics

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.

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Electronics & Computers

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...

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Propulsion

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...

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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.

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Articles
Aerospace

The Future of Automated Guided Vehicles for Aerospace and Defense

This year marks the 70th anniversary of the first automated guided vehicle, and AGVs have been moving things around on humans’ behalf ever since.

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Photonics/Optics

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...

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Articles
RF & Microwave Electronics

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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Briefs
Weapons Systems

Advanced Airborne Defensive Laser for Incorporation on Strike Fighter Aircraft

Short-range missiles pose a significant threat to U.S. strike fighters.

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Briefs
Defense

MOVPE Growth of LWIR AlInAs/GaInAs/InP Quantum Cascade Lasers: Impact of Growth and Material Quality on Laser Performance

Quantum cascade lasers are compact coherent optical sources that emit over a wide wavelength range in the mid- to long-infrared as well as into part of the terahertz spectrum.

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Weapons Systems

Raytheon Pairs Laser Weapon with NASAMS Air Defense System

One of the advanced technologies Raytheon Intelligence & Space (RI&S) is promoting at this year's AUSA Annual Meeting and exhibition is their High-Energy Laser Weapon...

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