ELECTROCHOMIC AIRCRAFT CANOPIES

THE DEVELOPMENT OF VARIABLE EMITTANCE DEVICES FOR BROADBAND COUNTERSURVEILLANCE APPLICATIONS IN THE NEAR-UV, VISIBLE, NEAR-INFRARED, AND 3-5 UM AND 8-12 UM INFRARED WINDOWS IS PROPOSED. A LARGE EMITTANCE MODULATION THAT CAN BE ELECTRICALLY TUNED TO MATCH THE BACKGROUND EMITTANCE OF DIVERSE TERRAIN TYPES IS ANTICIPATED. THE VARIABLE EMITTANCE SWITCHING IS BASED ON ELECTROCHROMIC REACTIONS IN TRANSITION METAL OXIDES. THE PHASE I OBJECTIVE IS TO IDENTIFY ELECTROCHROMIC MATERIALS AND CORRESPONDING DEVICE DESIGNS THAT ARE APPROPRIATE FOR COUNTERSURVEILLANCE IN EACH WAVELENGTH REGION. A COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW OF ELECTROCHROMIC MATERIALS AND DEVICE CONFIGURATIONS WILL BE UNDERTAKEN AND AN ANALYSIS OF ANTICIPATED EMITTANCE SWITCHING PERFORMANCE MADE. THE REVIEW WILL INCLUDE AN EVALUATION OF OTHER TECHNOLOGIES THAT MIGHT PROVIDE ACTIVE EMITTANCE SWITCHING, INCLUDING POLYMER ENCAPSULATED AND GUEST-HOST LIQUID CRYSTALS. TWO TYPES OF ELECTROCHROMIC DEMONSTRATION DEVICES THAT PROVIDE BROADBAND EMITTANCE MODULATION IN THE INFRARED (2-16 UM) AND EMITTANCE (REFLECTANCE) MODULATION IN THE NEAR-INFRARED (0.7-1.5 UM) WILL BE FABRICATED AS PART OF THE IDENTIFICATION AND EVALUATION PROGRAM. THE DEVICES WILL DEMONSTRATE KEY FEATURES OF THE ELECTROCHROMIC TECHNOLOGY AND AID IN IDENTIFYING TECHNICAL AND MANUFACTURING LIMITATIONS. ANTICIPATED SWITCHING CHARACTERISTICS OF THE DEMONSTRATION DEVICES INCLUDE: A CONTINUOUSLY ADJUSTABLE 3-5 UM AND 8-12 UM EMITTANCE MODULATION OF 0.3 TO 0.8; A NEAR-INFRARED REFLECTANCE MODULATION OF 10% TO 80%; EMITTANCE (REFLECTANCE) CONTROLLED BY A DC VOLTAGE (<1.5V); AND MINIMAL POWER TO SWITCH <0.1 WATT-HR/M2) AND TO MAINTAIN (<0.1 MILLIWATT-HR/M2) A SET EMITTANCE LEVEL.