Solid State Gyroscope for Advanced Interceptors

The objective of this SBIR project is to develop a solid state gyroscope for use in Guidance, Navigation, and Control (GNC) hardware for current and next generation interceptor systems. The gyroscope will operate on the principle of inertial sensing by the manipulation of electron trajectory in a vacuum. Electrons emitted by a diamond cold cathode are attracted with a net directional velocity to an anode. In the absence of external forces, a steady-state flow of electrons to the anode will arise for a given electric field between the anode and cathode. However, the occurrence of an external force will alter the path of the electrons. By arranging multiple anodes in relation to the emission source, the external force may be quantified. These external forces may be G-forces (acceleration, deceleration, and inertial change). The proposed diamond solid state gyroscope will be extremely sensitive to the desired forces yet insensitive to temperature, radiation and other un-intended forces. In the proposed Phase I program, AET will design the solid state gyroscope and demonstrate feasibility through modeling, simulation, for various load and environmental conditions.