Fiber Optic Sensors for Directed Energy Weapons Diagnostics

The Air Force Research Laboratory's High Power Microwave (HPM) Program has an on going effort investigating the effects microwave and radio frequency emissions on electronics. HPM weapons have the potential to dominate in command and control warfare by suppressing enemy air defenses and unmanned aerial vehicles. A short burst of high-power microwave energy can be lethal to electronics while having no affect on humans operating the equipment. Since HPMs are non-discriminatory and attack all electronics, it is essential to monitor the vulnerability and damage caused to an electronic system due to microwave emissions. Conventional diagnostics equipment is designed on an electronics platform, which is unreliable during in situ studies because measurements are taken inside the microwave affected zone. An alternative diagnostic method is to convert the electric field effects into an optical signal which will allow for the unaffected collection and transfer of diagnostic information to be transferred out of the microwave affected zone for analysis. Luna Innovations proposes an optic-based monitoring system using Luna's patented sensor technology as a platform for developing a state-of-the-art EMI sensor system for characterizing HPM weapon effectiveness. Luna has assembled an exceptionally strong and experienced technical team to perform the proposed research program.