Optics and Photonics Essential Technologies for Our Nation (2013) / Chapter Skim
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4 Defense and National Security
4 Defense and National Security
Pages 102-126
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Topics covered include surveillance; night vision; laser rangefinders, designators, jammers, and communicators; laser weapons; fiber-optic systems; and special techniques focusing on chemical and biological species detection, laser gyros for navigation, and optical signal processing.
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These laser weapons can destroy a boosting ballistic missile, causing whatever warhead is on the missile to fall back on the nation that fired the missile. Recently the Airborne Laser Test Bed (ALTB)
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Additional areas of impact include the following: precision laser machining, optical lithography for electronics, optical signal interconnects, solar power for remote energy needs, and generation of a stable timebase for the Global Positioning System (GPS)
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. The following subsections provide an update for the areas of surveillance, night vision, laser systems operating in the atmosphere and in space, fiber-optic systems, and special techniques (e.g., chemical and biological species detection, laser gyros, and optical signal processing)
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The specific developments are not covered in detail in this report. Laser Weapons The Missile Defense Agency demonstrated the potential use of directed energy to defend against ballistic missiles when the Airborne Laser Test Bed successfully destroyed a boosting ballistic missile on February 11, 2010.
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Special Techniques The special techniques (i.e., chemical and biological species detection and optical signal processing) evaluated in the 1998 Harnessing Light report have evolved in different ways.
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in their paper "Synthetic-Aperture Imaging Laser Radar: Laboratory Demonstration and Signal Processing," the first Synthetic Aperture Imaging Ladar (SAIL) image of a fixed, dif
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2005. Synthetic-aperture imaging laser radar: Laboratory demonstration and signal processing.
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2011. "Synthetic Aperture Ladar Flight Demonstration." Conference paper.
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Sparse Aperture Laser Sensing The use of small-aperture modules can lead to revolutionary optical sensing and communications approaches, eliminating large, complex, and expensive apertures.25,26,27,28 Many sub-aperture modules have a much shorter focal length than one large EO aperture with the same F number. As a result, the overall aperture array will be much shallower and will weigh much less than the monolithic system.
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2008. Laser beam projection with adaptive array of fi ber collimators.
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SOURCE: Image available from DARPA Information Innovation Office, Autonomous Real-time Ground Ubiquitous Surveillance-Imaging System (ARGUS-IS) , at http://www.darpa.mil/Our_Work/I2O/Programs/ Autonomous_Real-time_Ground_Ubiquitous_Surveillance-Imaging_System_%28ARGUS-IS%29.aspx.
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By using switchable shutters to move from one angular location to another, the BNS system dramatically changed the ratio of staring time to stepping time, reducing the step time to approximately 1 msec. The demonstration was accomplished using a 1 km × 1 km MWIR focal plane array, which covers an area of 3 km × 3 km using a Hex-7 scan pattern; 4 km × 4 km MWIR cameras have been developed, and with a Hex-19 pattern would cover a 20 km × 20 km circular pixel area.
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2007. Reconfigurable mask for adaptive coded aperture imaging (ACAI)
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48 with the megawatt-class oxygen iodine laser emitted from the nose of the aircraft. After this successful test, ABL was con verted to the Airborne Laser Test Bed to explore issues associated with potential follow-on activities.
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is to demonstrate 150 kW of power in a lightweight package. In June 2011, DARPA completed the laboratory testing of a fundamental building block for HELLADS, a single laser module that successfully demonstrated the ability to achieve high power and beam quality from a significantly lighter and smaller laser.54 Another DARPA program that is developing an approach to laser weapons is the Adaptive Photonic Phase Locked Elements (APPLE)
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2007. "Adaptive Photonic Phase Locked Elements: An Overview." 59 Page, Lewis.
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The primary disadvantage of free-space optical communications is the limited penetration of significant cloud depths, resulting in DOD programs combining RF and optical communications to maintain continuous link management. Because the technology for laser communications is very similar to that of laser radar sensors, both areas have jointly benefited from the advances in each.60 However, it is also believed that there is possible synergy by fully merging optical surveillance technology, laser weapon technology, and free-space laser technology based on the reduced communication paths, close integration of sensors, and increased reliability.
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SOURCE: Defense Industry Daily.
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There has been a steady migration of photonics manufacturing overseas64 at precisely the same time that these technologies are becoming critical in defense applications. Some of this migration has been driven by the need to cut costs for high-volume consumer products, but there is an alarming shift of manufacturing 63 Yariv, A
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technology.65 With insufficient funding from the DOD to maintain first and assured access to many critical photonics components, companies are unable to maintain a manufacturing capability when potentially larger commercial markets are restricted. Manufactur ing for cutting-edge photonics has become increasingly globalized over the past several years, and ITAR controls have not been changed to reflect these shifts.
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ITAR controls have also hastened the steady migration of photonics manufacturing for advanced technologies overseas, where companies want to be positioned for commercial applications of those technologies. These companies have also begun moving research groups overseas to facilitate a rapid development cycle for such capabilities.
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FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS Finding: The committee notes that there have been several areas of optics and photonics with significant advancement for defense and security since the NRC's report Harnessing Light: Optical Science and Engineering for the 21st Century was published in 1998. These areas include the following: · Long-range, laser-based identification capabilities, including multiple ap erture and synthetic aperture demonstrations, wide-area passive surveil lance capabilities in the visible and infrared regions, and signal processing capabilities to handle some of the new sensor data; · Long-range, high-powered laser demonstrations from flight platforms for
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This problem, which is not unique to photonics within defense-related technologies and systems, is believed to be primarily due to these factors: · The ongoing migration of optics and photonics capabilities offshore as the manufacture and assembly of these components and systems becomes increasingly globalized; and · The inability of companies to maintain a U.S.-based manufacturing ca pability for critical technologies when the larger commercial markets are restricted due to ITAR controls, which have not been changed to reflect the globalization of manufacturing for cutting-edge photonics systems and components. Key Finding: Silicon-based photonic integration technologies offer great potential for short-distance applications and could have a great payoff in terms of enabling continued growth in the function and capacity of silicon chips if optics for interconnection could be seamlessly included in the silicon complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS)
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defense and intelligence agencies should fund the development of optical technologies to support future optical systems capable of wide-area surveillance, exquisite long-range object identification, high-bandwidth free-space laser communication, "speed-of-light" laser strike, and defense against both missile seekers and ballistic missiles. Practical application for these purposes would require the deployment of low-cost platforms supporting long dwell times.
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