High Speed MWIR Laser Attenuator

Physical Sciences Inc. (PSI), in collaboration with Boston Applied Technologies Inc. (BATi), the leading supplier of high performance solid-state optics for light control, proposes to develop a High Speed MWIR Laser Attenuator that will exceed Air Force defined key performance parameters (KPPs) and thereby substantially improve the capability of missile plume signature simulation tools, such as the towed optical plume simulator (TOPS). During Phase I, the PSI-led team plans to develop and characterize an Electro-Optical (EO) polarizer module that will form the basis for the attenuator assembly. The module will be comprised of an EO polarizer and control electronics from BATi together with commercial off the shelf polarizers selected during the Phase I effort. The EO polarizer module will increase the full depth modulation by a factor greater than four compared to the current attenuator used in the TOPS emitter. The Phase I feasibility demonstration will lay the foundation for a Phase II program during which an integrated High Speed MWIR Laser Attenuator assembly will be fabricated and tested on the TOPS system. Successful completion of this SBIR will lead to an innovative advancement in the control of the MWIR irradiance from missile signature simulation tools, and advance countermeasure systems.