Shipboard Laser Detection

Naval vessels in port or operating close to shore can be threatened by rocket propelled munitions, mortars, or artillery systems that incorporate laser targeting systems (or target designators). The use of laser warning receivers (LWR) which can provide precise pointing to the illuminating laser source can enable valuable situation awareness and targeting for counter-fire to protect the threatened platform. Traditional pulsed LWR systems rely on main beam or port scatter from the laser source. Large ships or groups of ships would require numerous such LWR sensors for full ship or group coverage. The feasibility of using atmospheric scattering of lasers as a detection signature has been demonstrated by the Office of Naval Research (ONR) to provide pointing directions back to the laser source. The use of atmospheric scattering minimizes the necessity of multiple sensors for full ship or group coverage. The proposed Phase II effort is to design and build a CMOS image sensor for low light level applications such as the detection and location of laser beams from the atmospheric scattering of laser radiation.