RL ASSOCIATES, INC. — Department of Defense SBIR Phase I: N162-103
RL ASSOCIATES, INC. — SBIR Phase I award from Department of Defense.
- Amount
- $79,958
- Agency
- Department of Defense · Navy
- Program / Phase
- SBIR · Phase I
- Topic
- N162-103
- Solicitation
- 2016.2
- NAICS
- —
- Place of performance
- PA
- Period
- 2016-09-22 → 2017-03-30
Description
RL Associates, Inc. proposes to conduct a feasibility study leading to the improvement in manufacturability of narrowband, wide field of view, volume holographic optical element (VHOE) arrays for use in Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) systems on various aerial platforms. Improvements in this area will decrease production costs and production cycle time. These improvements will also provide a reliable source of light-weight, small form factor optical elements for use in complex optical systems that require the collection of a narrowband, wide field of view signal in both nighttime and daytime operations. <br>There are many factors influencing VHOE array performance. Among those are: <br><span style='mso-spacerun:yes'></span>modeling and design of the VHOEs<br><span style='mso-spacerun:yes'></span>photosensitive substrate (film) thickness variation and composition<br><span style='mso-spacerun:yes'></span>recording parameters and configuration<br><span style='mso-spacerun:yes'></span>analytical assessment of the VHOE performance<br>We propose to investigate several approaches to improving holographic film consistency. We will examine alternate film types (a silver-Dichromated Gel hybrid, and a polymer film) and test several film plating techniques (larger formats, differing deposition tools, and spin-coating).