EXCITING TECHNOLOGY LLC — Department of Defense SBIR Phase I: AF183-027

Description

This effort will combine Exciting Technology (ET) knowledge of non-mechanical beam steering, and its patent pending optical phased array steering technology, with our free space optical communications expertise to make a very low SWAP free space lasercom device. This effort will provide a low SWAP lasercom unit with rapid beam steering, capable of automatically acquiring the opposite node with minimum user pointing. While the patent pending ET technology is the beam steering technology of choice, Exciting Technology LLC has exceptional knowledge of low risk alternate beam steering technologies that will be evaluated. If chosen for a phase 2, Exciting Technology LLC will be able to demonstrate random angular access, high accuracy, high steering speed, beam point over a 2 dimensional cone with a half angle > 20 degrees, with no moving parts. Angular switching speed will be < 1 msec, possibly < 1 µsec, depending on which non-mechanical beam steering is used. Data rates will be > 1 Ghz at ranges of 1-30 Km. In low visibility conditions there will be a range/bandwidth trade off. We will address low SWAP, battery powered, and random access pointing.