Ballistic Missile Innovative Electro-Optic Products

The purpose of this proposal is to demonstrate the feasibility of applying dense microelectronics packaging to enable the next generation of rugged, miniature 3D stacked microcomputer modules as part of the image recognition and guidance package in SMART weapons. The enabled functionality (modules) includes the ability to process large amounts of digital data from sensor packages, store and process this information to provide guidance and targeting information to the appropriate portion of the weapon. The enabling technologies are based on advancements derived from the recent packaging developments for cell phones, pagers, etc, but carried to a higher level by virtue of the developments proposed herein. The 2 inch by 2 inch by ½ inch (see below) low cost, self contained 3D microcomputer module will work in the most stringent environmental conditions of smart weapons, survive typical ballistic missile conditions, while dissipating 45-50 watts. "Clustering' these small modules would enable missile/weapons developers the ability to improve target recognition by employing parallel processing (more processors in the same volume) and provide better guidance accuracy by improved `scene' recognition. As a stand alone, these small modules would offer the opportunity to add `smarts' to ever smaller weapons.