Large Area Millimeter Wave Dosimetry

Active Denial Systems are non-lethal, counter-personnel directed energy weapons that project focused energy beams in the millimeter-wave spectrum to induce an avoidance response and repel individuals without injury. Calibration of such weapons requires accurately measuring millimeter-wave flux density over large areas at distances corresponding to the range of ADS weapons. To ensure that the beam is both effective and non-injurious requires knowledge of electromagnetic radiation and propagation, as well as the physiology underlying millimeter-wave dosimetry and tissue heating response. QorTek's approach to millimeter-wave dosimetry features a phased antenna array with integrated thin-film Resistive Temperature Detector (RTD) elements to monitor incident radiation in real time. QorTek will draw on three areas of expertise: (1) microwave antenna design, to develop a large-area phased-array total power radiometer operating at the 94 GHz ADS emitter frequency; (2) thin-film sensors, to develop instrumentation for precise, calibrated millimeter-wave power measurement; (3) biomedical heat transfer and instrumentation, to understand the physiological effects of non-ionizing radiation at wavelengths near 3 mm. QorTek has ample in-house resources to meet the first two areas of need. To meet the third we will partner with a renowned authority on physiological heat-transfer, Dr. David Nelson, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Michigan Technological University.