SBIR Phase I: Miniaturized Lightweight Broadband True-time Delay Phased-array Antennas

Information

  • NSF Award
  • 0319053
Owner
  • Award Id
    0319053
  • Award Effective Date
    7/1/2003 - 21 years ago
  • Award Expiration Date
    12/31/2003 - 21 years ago
  • Award Amount
    $ 99,969.00
  • Award Instrument
    Standard Grant

SBIR Phase I: Miniaturized Lightweight Broadband True-time Delay Phased-array Antennas

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will investiate a new miniaturized, highly efficient, and reconfigurable optical feed transmit/receive architecture for airborne and space-borne phased-array antennas. The system will provide multiple simultaneous beams for a large-scale phased-array antenna operating in broad frequency bands. The true-time delay module, employing Erbium-amplified polymer waveguide (EAPW), has great advantages in providing high efficiency, lightweight, and small size features when used in space-based radar applications. The most innovative feature is obtained by the utilization of EAPW that allows optical gain along the true-time delay lines. Optical switch technique provides large delay selections enabling the module to operate in ultra-broad radar bands. The scalable architecture due to the integration of wavelength division multiplexing devices further makes the approach power efficient and suitable for very large arrays. To demonstrate the feasibility of this project, the simulation and experimental demonstration of Erbium-amplified polymer waveguides and optical switches will be performed during Phase I. Success of these tasks will lay a solid foundation for the phase II and phase III continuation.<br/><br/>The market for the high performance phased-array antenna transmit/receive architectures is a rapidly growing area for commercial applications, as well as for remote sensing. Design of a transmitter/receiver for commercial applications suffers very similar challenges as in military applications. Therefore, the solutions developed for remote sensing will be immediately applied to such communication systems as satellite-to-satellite communications and ground-based wireless communications.

  • Program Officer
    Muralidharan S. Nair
  • Min Amd Letter Date
    6/13/2003 - 21 years ago
  • Max Amd Letter Date
    6/13/2003 - 21 years ago
  • ARRA Amount

Institutions

  • Name
    Omega Optics, Inc.
  • City
    Austin
  • State
    TX
  • Country
    United States
  • Address
    8500 Shoal Creek Blvd
  • Postal Code
    787576856
  • Phone Number
    5129968833

Investigators

  • First Name
    Yihong
  • Last Name
    Chen
  • Email Address
    maggie.chen@omegaoptics.com
  • Start Date
    6/13/2003 12:00:00 AM

FOA Information

  • Name
    Telecommunications
  • Code
    206000