Dense Arrays for High-Fidelity, Optically-Sampled Passive Millimeter-wave Imaging

Under the proposed effort, PSI will continue to develop a novel pmmW imaging technology developed under a prior Navy program to realize dense form factor arrays. This technology is based on an optical upconverted distributed aperture technology that can make large effective apertures in low SWaP form factors thereby maximizing achievable resolution. This sensor technology has already reached TRL 6 with successful flight tests on rotorcraft for DVE mitigation, however, further reductions in NETD are desired. Under this effort, PSI will design and build fully dense optically sampled millimeter-wave arrays for the creation of video-rate passive millimeter-wave imagers with improvements in imager sensitivity of almost an order of magnitude. Such imagers could open a range of other applications areas particularly germane to DoD interests such as force protection, IED detection, and standoff security scanners.