Design of High-Speed, High-Endurance Mine Warfare Craft

Not Available APTI proposes use of its Photonically Controlled Dynamically Re-configurable Circuits technology, developed under IR&D funding, to develop re-configurable, broadband, phased array antennas for receive/transmit applications in the Buoyant Cable Antenna (BCA) system. The technology is based on use of semiconductor wafers whose local conductivity is dynamically controlled by laser diode arrays. The photo-injected plasma alters the conductivity of the illuminated wafer; by controlling the individual elements of the illuminating array, the desired conducting regions can be drawn on the wafer. APTI has conducted theoretical studies as well as proof-of-principle experiments of these photo-conducting antennas. The overall objective is the development of re-configurable phased arrays in the UHF-EHF range, suitable for operation as BCA's. The Phase I objective is to perform design trade off studies of the array configurations, wafer materials and laser requirements that optimize the novel re-configurable array concepts. Broadband vs. narrow-band designs, size and performance characteristics will be analyzed for implementation in the Phase II laboratory tests.