SBIR/STTR Research Award
High-Sensitivity, Low-Noise Visible Imaging of YAG-Laser-Illuminated Scenes
Award amount
$49,106Program and phase
SBIR · Phase IAward year
1992Award details
- Awarding agency
- Department of Defense
- Branch
- Missile Defense Agency
- Recipient company
- Spire Corporation
- Proposal award date
- Not reported
- Contract end date
- Not reported
- UEI
- RG46KJGARZF4
- Solicitation number
- Not reported
- Topic code
- Not reported
Research abstract
Somebody's taking a bead on your satellite and you're blissfully unaware? Not if Spire can help it! This little group of entrepreneurs proposes a new infrared-detector sensitive to the 1.06 micron YAG-laser light used by just about everyone for target designation and ranging. Sure, GaAs photocathodes work fine for detection and imaging,but they're blind to YAG light. The answer is to use an InGaAs negative-electron-affinity transmission-mode structure lattice-matched to InP. Spire claims this combination will yield good quantum efficiency in the 0.9 to 1.6 micron range, won't require active cooling, and can be used in imaging devices. Varo Inc, a leading supplier of night-vision systems, thinks Spire is on to something; they're pitching in to test and commercialize the concept.
Technology keywords
Not reported
Research funding history
429 SBIR/STTR records share this UEI (1983–2014). Reported award amounts total $73,907,551. Reported amounts are not federal obligations.
Phases: Phase I, Phase II
Agencies: Department of Defense, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, National Science Foundation, Department of Energy, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Commerce