Fracticide Preventing Friend Identification Tag Based on Photonic Band Structure Coding

A desirable Identification Friend/Foe (IFF) system should contain no actively emitting responders, so that friendly forces can remain undetected by the enemy. A programmable, replaceable and easily mountable friend identification tag (FIT) that works with existing target search and surveillance systems is desired. Responding to the call for a new photonic technology that would enable future Navy C4I systems, WaveBand Corporation (WaveBand) proposes to develop a novel FIT that is fabricated using a photonic band structure (PBS). Recent research at several universities showed both theoretically and experimentally that narrow transmission bands can be generated by a PBS in the microwave regime. This finding is used in the design of WaveBand's FIT, which produces responses at programmable frequencies to the interrogating microwave/millimeter wave radar. The proposed FIT has the unique features of being passive, difficult to mimic, and easy to replace; it conforms to any platform or to a soldier's uniform and will be inexpensive in mass fabrication. Phase I of this research will establish the minimum required radar cross-section and frequency contrasts of FIT and will demonstrate experimentally the concept's feasibility. Phase II will result in a complete IFF system prototype demonstration.