Advanced Electronics and Optics
Abstract
Advanced Electronics is a series of efforts addressing advanced manufacturing technologies for a wide range of applications such as sensors, radars, power generation, switches, and optics for defense applications. These efforts provide significant productivity and efficiency gains in the defense manufacturing base. These manufacturing technologies accelerate delivery of technical capabilities to impact current warfighting operations, and manufacturing technologies to reduce the cost, acquisition time and risk of our major defense acquisition programs. Tin Whisker Mitigation project: One significant issue is the need to move toward lead-free electronics. However, current methods to produce lead-free solder create further issues such as the formation of unwanted tin whisker structures, which can cause electronics to short out. The Tin Whisker Mitigation project will demonstrate controlled grain structure in soldered joints and plated surfaces. The objective is to show significantly reduced or completely prevented tin whisker growth, while maintaining the original performance characteristics of the test components. Silicon Carbide (SiC) High Efficiency Power Switches: Another emerging manufacturing technology undergoing development is for Silicon Carbide High Efficiency Power Switches to enable a new class of power electronics that allows flexible new architectures at higher voltages, higher frequencies, less volume / weight, higher temperatures, higher efficiency (reduced fuel consumption), and better power quality for Program Executive Office Ground Combat Systems and the Air and Missile Defense Radar Radar Power Conversion Module. Mini Short Wave Infrared (SWIR) Cameras and ManTech for SWIR Imagers: Thermoelectric Cooler (TEC)-less SWIR imagers are being developed that are smaller, use less power, have a lower cost than currently available SWIR imagers, and offer improved functionality over sensors presently in use. These new SWIR imagers will be used by warfighters including SOF to see target designation lasers during day and night, to identify friend or foe at long range at night, and to operate with covert lasers. Applications include several night vision and targeting system programs with the Army, Navy, Air Force, and SOCOM. Manufacturability of Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Lasers (VCSELs): One emerging manufacturing technology undergoing development focuses on the manufacturability of VCSELs. This effort will allow the enhanced use of high-power laser diode technologies by reducing their operational cost, increasing their reliability and yield, and improving their large array scalability without substantially increasing the processing and packaging requirements. Will apply a modern factory approach of a fab-less front-end with specialized in-house process steps, allowing more flexibility for DoD procurement cycles and leveraging installed, previously-invested capital. This project is expected to benefit numerous programs, including: PUMA, RAVEN, TigerShark, Anubis, Spectre-FINDER, Speckles, TigerMoth, WAAS, PAWS, IPODS, AngelFire, MAV-OBAT, nLoss, LOS-short, CLRF, JETS, IDNST, TLDS, Big Safari, OEF, OIF, STINGER , and ARGUS. Future efforts will focus on advances in fuel cells, radars, conformal sensors, and solder free electronics.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Accomplishment
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 2014
- Source ID
- 6fb03a88f5fb6444a87a6ae31315d05b