Group items tagged

The Air Force and the Department of Defense have need for deployable, reconfigurable, multifunctional antennas. They must be versatile, mechanically sound, and have predictable and reproducible properties. Physical reconfigurability is an especially effective means to enable such antennas. A goal is for these antennas to achieve in each configuration properties and performance over time equivalent to those of static, single-function antennas. Current approaches and capabilities do not allow for multiple-conformation, physically reconfigurable antennas to be realized fully. This research topic seeks novel approaches for physically reconfigurable hardware to complement software approaches to manipulating and adapting on-the-fly Radio Frequency (RF) properties through means of folding, deforming, and electromagnetic tuning. The end products of this approach are to be antennas and possibly other front-end RF components that provide significantly enhanced and adaptable electromagnetic capabilities compared to current devices. Mechanisms of physical reconfigurability can include, but are not limited to, approaches utilizing origami and kirigami designs.

The Office of Naval Research (ONR) is interested in receiving proposals for efforts that will advance and demonstrate science and technology for the next generation electronics and devices under the following focus area: Electronics technology enablers for wideband Simultaneous Transmit and Receive (STAR) capabilities Background The need for concurrent military antenna operations across wide spectral ranges in heavily congested electromagnetic environments continues to expand. Steady advances in RF and mixed-signal electronics technology continue to fuel increased system performance capabilities through the use of higher operating frequencies and broader bandwidths. Higher resolution for active sensors/imagers, higher data rate terrestrial and satellite communications links, and more effective electronic warfare (EW) and Information Operations (IO) are a few of the advances that high-speed electronics continues to enable. Many solid state device technologies from Silicon to Gallium Nitride, Niobium to Photonics, are contributing to these military system advances. Significant electronic challenges arise when these EW/IO, communications and radar systems are required to operate concurrently, with both transmit and receive functionality utilizing either a single aperture or multiple apertures. The concurrency problem is exasperated by the desire of each system to project more power from smaller overall platform footprints in order to maximize performance and minimize signature. While electronics technology advances have led to significant military antenna system performance gains, the ability to operate these systems concurrently in a STAR configuration without severe performance degradation continues to be severely lacking. The need for improved wideband STAR enabling electronics technology is the primary focus of this BAA.

Proposals for potential FY14 Exploratory Development/Applied Research (Budget category 6.2) projects are sought under the following focus areas: 1. Low-profile conformal multi-band (e.g., X/Ku/Ka) multi-beam digital phased array antennas with reduced beam squint and low side lobes and scan loss; 2. Transformative concepts/designs (arrays, waveform, signal processing etc.) to enhance performance and aperture size/power efficiency in high bandwidth troposcatter communications; 3. Passive wavelength filter technologies for the 450-550 nm blue-green underwater communications receiver (band-pass widths as applicable to a variety of laser/LED sources), with wide field-of-view (> +-20 degrees), low insertion loss and high isolation; 4. Innovative concepts and approaches for spectrum co-existence (underlay/overlay, spatio-temporal/spectral management and deconfliction) of military waveforms with commercial wireless communications; 5. Dynamic network (traffic) scheduling, throughput and robustness enhancement codes/algorithms/protocols under nonstationary channel conditions; and 6. Machine learning algorithm/protocol and techniques for autonomous network management ONR is also receptive to highly innovative ideas in other general communications and networking areas that are not within the designated focus areas above, but nonetheless are important to the Navy/Marine Corps, as determined under the synopsis section above.

The Electronics, Photonics, and Magnetic Devices (EPMD) program seeks to improve the fundamental understanding of devices and components based on the principles of micro- and nanoelectronics, photonics, magnetics, optoelectronics, electromechanics, electromagnetics, and related physical phenomena. The program enables discovery and innovation advancing the frontiers of nanoelectronics, spin electronics, molecular and organic electronics, bioelectronics, non-silicon electronics, flexible electronics, microwave photonics, micro/nano-electromechanical systems (MEMS/NEMS), sensors and actuators, power electronics, and mixed signal devices. EPMD supports related topics in quantum engineering and novel electromagnetic materials-based high frequency device solutions, radio frequency (RF) integrated circuits, and reconfigurable antennas needed for communications, telemedicine, and other wireless applications. The program supports cooperative efforts with the semiconductor industry on new nanoelectronics concepts beyond the scaling limits of silicon technology. EPMD additionally emphasizes emerging areas of diagnostic, wearable and implantable devices, and supports manipulation and measurement with nanoscale precision through new approaches to extreme ultraviolet metrology.

CubeSat constellations and swarms have been identified as a new paradigm for space-based measurements to address high-priority science questions in multiple disciplines. However, the full potential of CubeSat constellations and swarms for scientific studies has not yet been realized because of: i) the limitations of some of the existing key CubeSat technology, ii) knowledge gaps in the design and optimization of CubeSat technology for swarms and constellations, and iii) the increasing cost of more sophisticated CubeSat technology. The technology challenges include high bandwidth communications in CubeSat-to-CubeSat and CubeSat-to-ground scenarios, circuits and sensors miniaturization, on-board signal processing, and power generation. The vision of a satellite mission consisting of 10-100 CubeSats will require focused investment and development in a myriad of CubeSat-related technologies to build a cost-effective constellation or swarm of CubeSats. This will require transformative approaches for designing and building CubeSat subsystems and sensors, and innovative production approaches that will reduce the cost of implementing large-scale constellation missions.Spectrum allocations for data transmission and possible electromagnetic interference between or within constellations of CubeSats are issues that also will need to be considered. This solicitation describes an Ideas Lab focused onCubeSat Innovations to push the envelope of space-based research capabilities by simultaneously developing enabling technologies in several domains, including propulsion systems, sensor design, electronic circuits, antennas, satellite-to-ground and satellite-to-satellite communications and wireless networking, and power management. The vision of this Ideas Lab is to support research and engineering technology development efforts that will lead to new science missions in geospace and atmospheric sciences using self-organizing CubeSat constellations/swarms.

The objective of the ALAS program is to conduct research and development (R&D) of innovative technological solutions to enhance radio frequency (RF), electro-optical (EO), and multi-spectral (MS) system technologies and sensors along with advancing test measurement techniques and methods necessary to meet cutting edge and emerging warfighter needs. Enhanced RF sensing technologies and systems include; improved radar systems, exploration of RF waveforms, signal processing and algorithm exploration, sensor resource management (SRM), and improved EO-RF systems. Advancing test measurement techniques and methods includes; clutter characterization and mitigation, bistatic and multi-static measurement, distributed/multispectral sensing measurement, and improved antenna and radar cross section (RCS) measurement.

The Electrical, Communications and Cyber Systems (ECCS) Division supports enabling and transformative research that fuels progress in engineering applications with high societal impacts. ECCS programs encompass novel electronic, photonic, and magnetic devices; communication systems, novel integrated circuits, antennas, sensors; machine learning, control, and networks, to name a few. The fundamental research supported by ECCS impacts a wide range of applications such as communications, energy and power, healthcare, environment, transportation, manufacturing, and other areas. ECCS strongly emphasizes the integration of education into its research programs to support the preparation of a diverse and professionally skilled workforce. ECCS also strengthens its programs through links to other areas of engineering, science, industry, government, and international collaborations. The Addressing Systems Challenges through Engineering Teams (ASCENT) program is a strategic investment of ECCS that emphasizes new collaboration modalities among the various ECCS supported sub-disciplines. ASCENT encourages robust collaborations between the devices, circuits, algorithmic, and network research communities to develop innovative projects. ASCENT seeks proposals that are bold and ground-breaking transcending the perspectives and approaches typical of disciplinary research efforts. ASCENT projects are expected to lead to disruptive technologies or nucleate entirely new research fields motivated by the most pressing societal challenges the global community faces.