Maritime Intelligent Decision Aiding System (MIDAS) for Enhancing Organic Mine Countermeasures (MCM) Operations

Not Available Computer Optics Inc. proposes to develop an optically addressed spatial light modulator (SLM) based on Micro Electro-Mechanical System (MEMS) technology. The SLM is driven electrostatically so that it draws virtually no power and provides pure analog phase modulation. Analog phase modulation allows true signal processing in the Fourier domain which exceeds that possible with current binary modulators. Most significantly the mirror motion is approximately 2 microns which corresponds to 6pi depth of modulation at 632.8 nanometers or 3 times that provided by today¿s technology. The device is formed from a pixelated array of piston driven micro-mirrors each with a restoring spring made from polysilicon. The MEMS array planarity is dependent on the substrate which is nominally lambda/5 but will be significantly improved by a factor of four with COI¿s precision polishing techniques. Planarity is essential in phase modulators when working with optical signal processing since any departure represents systematic error. In order to contain costs we will use standard Commercial Off The Shelf processes to manufacture the device. All the drive circuitry and sensor arrays will be manufactured separately using CMOS technology. The result is that processing algorithms can be implemented directly into the integrated circuit for pennies per chip.