Photonics

The explosion of connected devices and digital services is generating massive amounts of new  data. Digital world is growing exponentially from 4.4 zettabytes (10 21 or 1 sextillion bytes) of digital data created in 2013 to an expected 44 zettabytes by 2024. To make this data useful, it must be stored and analyzed …

Laser weapons use high power lasers to  damage or destroy adversary equipment, facilities, and personnel. The technology provides major advantages for military applications due to High precision and rapid on-target effect, precise and scalable effects, Avoidance of collateral damage caused by fragmenting ammunition, Low logistics overhead and minimum costs per …

Silicon, which has been a leading material in microelectronic industry for decades, is an attracting platform for photonic Integrated Circuits ( PICs )  thanks to transparency in the most widely used telecom wavelength bands, high refractive index contrast with cladding materials (SiO2, polymers, air), well-known processing conditions and production scalability …

U.S. military researchers are asking for industry’s help in developing a combination hybrid analog, digital, photonic, and electronic processor to help analyze RF and optical signals for situational awareness. The project seeks to enable U.S. and allied warfighters to understand in near-real-time all the waveform details, source type and class, …

China is developing a new type of spy satellite using ghost imaging technology which could spot stealth aircraft and see through smokescreens and camouflage.   Ron Meyers, quantum physicist at the Army Research Laboratory. Meyers explained ghost imaging, a technique that allows a high resolution camera to produce an image …

Access to spectrum is also critical for future swarm of UAVs, In a vision shared by innovators, entrepreneurs, and planners in both defense and civilian contexts, the skies of the future will be busy with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Unseen but central to the realization of this vision is wireless communication …

The most important element of space is geosynchronous orbit, a circular orbit 22,300 miles above the planet where satellites appear to be stationary above the surface of the earth. British science fiction writer, futurist and inventor Arthur C. Clark mathematically determined the orbit in 1947, the general said.   The …

Urban Warfare Operations are complicated by a three-dimensional environment, limited fields of view and fire because of buildings, enhanced concealment and cover for defenders, below-ground infrastructure, and the ease of placement of booby traps and snipers. DARPA  is  investing in many novel camera technologies . In the event of urban …

Many types of sensors have been proposed for detection of small targets such as tanks and trucks including passive infrared imaging sensors and active Radars. Passive sensing systems, for many types of targets, especially airborne ones, use target motion as a cue for the target detection. However, for stationary small …