Aqua-Ionic Detector

The U.S. Navy is seeking a compact MEMS-based sensor system to detect and classify surface or subsurface bodies in coastal shallow waters, bays, port areas, and waterways, on the basis of weak electromagnetic (EM) signals or EM field deviations. Available technology is limited to acoustic detectors and magnetometers. To address the Navy need for an underwater EM field detector, Physical Optics Corporation (POC) proposes to develop a new Aqua-Ionic Detector (AID) based on the nonlinear conductivity of solid electrolytes. In contrast to its bio-prototype, the shark, the proposed detector will detect the gradient of an ionic charge even in a static position. The AID will be a low-observable underwater sensor, sensitive to low-frequency distortions of EM fields, meeting the Navy need to detect small and slow moving objects in the cluttered environment of littoral waters. It will include an on-chip array of microfluidic sensor cells, electronics, battery pack, and transceiver for networking the sensor grid nodes. In Phase I, POC will demonstrate the feasibility of the AID approach by fabricating and testing a conceptual prototype. In Phase II, POC plans to develop a series of device prototypes to iteratively improve performance and demonstrate the technology in a realistic tactical environment.