2019-2020 Assessment of the Army Research Laboratory (2021) / Chapter Skim
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5 Materials and Manufacturing Sciences
5 Materials and Manufacturing Sciences
Pages 61-83
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From page 61... ...
The specific optical sciences and photonics programs reviewed were integrated photonics, quantum information sciences (quantum optics) , sensor protection, and advanced solid-state lasers.
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From page 62... ...
The advanced solid-state lasers group continues to be one of the "crown jewels" for ARL by driving infrared laser technology with the recent achievement of lasing at 3 microns in new, low-phonon energy hosts such as barium fluoride and yttrium lithium fluoride. The sensor protection scientific team is commended for the clever iridium chemistry that is being pursued to develop broadband reverse saturable absorption materials and the guided-mode resonance (GMR)
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From page 63... ...
Slow-light simulations of the resonator have been performed, and the ARL team is working closely with AIM Photonics of Albany, New York, to fabricate the splitter and delay structures for use with an RF demonstration platform. ARL has participated in eight fabrication "runs" that were conducted to date at the AIM foundry, and ARL staff are working remotely with the AIM fabrication facility on a continuing basis.
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From page 64... ...
The quality of the researchers is impressive. Quantum Information Science Quantum information science (QIS)
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From page 65... ...
to determine the vulnerability of Army platforms, and provide protection against threat lasers. Sensor protection involves extensive materials characterization and modeling to understand nonlinear optical phenomena in specially designed and engineered organic and inorganic materials.
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From page 66... ...
The entire poster session was impressive and well received. For example, the sensor protection scientific team is commended for the clever iridium chemistry that is being pursued to develop broadband reverse saturable absorption materials and the GMR filters.
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From page 67... ...
ARL seeks RSA materials that function across various wavelength regimes and time scales, and has robust in-house synthetic and photophysical characterization efforts for the development of RSA materials. Transition metal chromophores containing ruthenium and iridium metal centers and their unique ground and excited state properties have resulted in RSA and 2PA providing sensor protection.
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From page 68... ...
Army. The group has dedicated significant effort into developing a platform for experimentally evaluating new laser materials, including the ability to measure the thermal conductivity, spectroscopy, excited state lifetimes, and dynamics of these materials.
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From page 69... ...
Advanced Solid-State Lasers The setup for measuring the thermal conductivity of various laser materials as a function of temperature is clearly a workhorse characterization setup with extensive and useful data presented. The group could explore expanding this experiment to include other measurements critical to evaluating laser operation.
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From page 70... ...
National security, prosperity, and preeminence are all inextricably linked to mastery and control of every region of the electromagnetic spectrum. ELECTRONICS AND OPTOELECTRONICS The research themes of the electronics and optoelectronics areas are diamond electronics, microdevices, materials-driven antenna design, optical power devices, emerging materials, and RF and digital electronics.
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From page 71... ...
The work on developing SiC and AlGaN devices is advanced, well thought out, and broad enough to have a chance of success even though doping such large bandgap materials has historically proved difficult. Emerging Materials The emerging materials poster session covered approaches to two applications spaces -- IR devices and low-power electronics.
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From page 72... ...
protection of integrated circuits on-demand printing of dielectric materials, with the ability to tune properties and performance. The ultimate goals of developing specific electronics supply and protecting them are timely and will have high impact, and the research topics addressed have identified areas in which significant advances are needed to realize overmatch for the safety and security of the Army.
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From page 73... ...
ENERGY SCIENCE Six areas of research falling under the umbrella of energy science were reviewed: (1) artificial muscle, (2)
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From page 74... ...
Chemically Powered Artificial Muscle This area within the energy science group is derived from ARL director's initiative that supports projects in the energy science area and in the sensors and vehicle technology areas. The overall goal of the research is to develop materials and technologies to convert chemical energy from fuels directly into mechanical energy with relatively high-energy efficiency, high power, and fast response without a need for intermediate electrical systems -- for example, fuel cells and electrical actuators.
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From page 75... ...
Reversible redox actuation of a finger-shaped object was demonstrated with approximately 2 Hz frequency, and a light-activated fuel-powered actuator was shown to exhibit a work capacity of 50 J/kg that is approximately 6 times larger than a typical mammalian muscle work capacity. Energy Harvesting for Fuel Flexibility The overall goal of this effort is to operationalize foundational research to unburden the soldier/squad with a focus on logistics reduction, mobility, situational awareness, and survivability.
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From page 76... ...
Energy Storage and Batteries The energy storage and batteries efforts within the energy sciences group seeks to establish the fundamental knowledge base of electrical energy storage technologies. This emphasizes batteries, to enable the development of devices that are, above all, safe, while delivering high energy, high power, fast recharge, and long cycle life.
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From page 77... ...
These transmission efficiencies are among the highest reported for stretchable and wearable materials, and the ARL team is among the best in the world in this area. High-frequency acoustical wireless energy transmission is well suited for longer distances -- for example, tens of cm -- and is accomplished through air and metals and through air-filled metal tubes.
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From page 78... ...
The ARL team has a holistic view on wireless energy transmission that likely gives it a valuable perspective on how best to approach energy transmission for various application details. Pyroelectric energy conversion work is of high quality and is generating significant publications in high-impact journals.
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From page 79... ...
Army researchers could fill this need by defining the most relevant metrics and tests for those metrics. Thoughtful engagement by ARL researchers regarding metrics could help propel the ARL team to a leadership position.
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From page 80... ...
The development of the ultra-concentrated electrolyte for LIBs represents the signal accomplishment of ARL in the electrical energy storage area. Understanding and developing solutions to the factors leading to poor coulombic efficiency, low power density, and rapid capacity fade would represent a 80
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From page 81... ...
Concerns about liquid metal penetration into small pores could also be met and be resolved using various surface treatments as noted by the ARL team. The pyroelectric material work appears to be making steady but significant progress toward useful devices for using waste heat for electrical energy generation.
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From page 82... ...
The sensor protection scientific team is commended for the clever iridium chemistry that is being pursued to develop broadband reverse saturable absorption materials and the GMR filters. Among the impressive accomplishments of the integrated photonics research team is the dramatic improvement in the performance of optical frequency combs and the successful demonstration of electrically steerable phased arrays.
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From page 83... ...
Thoughtful engagement by Army researchers regarding metrics could help propel the ARL team to a leadership position. Recommendation: The Army Research Laboratory (ARL)
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