TECHNICAL DIVISIONS
Advanced Technology – Division 8
The Advanced Technology Division performs research and development on component and subsystem-level technologies that can enable new approaches to Department of Defense (DoD) systems and that advance the state of the art for U.S. industry. The division's expertise covers a wide front including chemistry, computer science, device physics, integrated circuit design and fabrication, lithography, materials, nanofabrication, optics, optoelectronics, packaging, photonics, quantum information systems, and radio-frequency technology. The Advanced Technology Division strives to understand DoD systems and develops technologies that "will make a difference."
| Groups |
Group 81—Chemical Sensing and Synthetic Materials
The Chemical Sensing and Synthetic Materials Group combines chemistry, nanofabrication, and simulations to develop new technologies in the areas of chemical defense, diagnostic and forensic analysis, and sensors. The work includes the development and testing of chemical sensors for trace explosive and toxic chemical detection (both point and standoff), development of nanoplasmonic- and metamaterials-based devices with new functionalities, and development of sensors, on both the micro- and nanoscale, that combine chemistry with newly engineered materials.
Group 82—Laser Technology and Applications
The Laser Technology and Applications Group develops application-specific solid-state lasers, beam control and diagnostics for high-energy laser systems, and optically based biological- and chemical-agent sensors for DoD applications. Examples of research activities include creating cryogenic-laser-based illuminators for sensor applications, demonstrating wavelength and coherent laser-beam-combining techniques for scaling fiber amplifier and diode laser arrays to higher brightness, developing a ground terminal for an advanced NASA laser experiment to a moon-orbiting satellite, and developing high-discrimination bioaerosol sensors for defense against bioagent attacks. These activities span the range from demonstrating innovative laser devices in the laboratory to designing and field-testing complete optical systems.
Group 83—Electro-Optical Materials and Devices
The Electro-Optical Materials and Devices Group develops compound semiconductor materials and devices. The group also develops and applies photonic components, including semiconductor lasers, amplifiers, and detectors for enhancing the capabilities of DoD systems. Examples of research activities include high-brightness and high-power diode lasers, vertical cavity surface-emitting lasers, quantum cascade lasers, photon-counting avalanche photodiodes, mid-infrared lasers and detectors, and thermoelectric and energy-conversion devices. Disciplines span from epitaxial materials research, growth, and characterization through electronic and photonic device modeling, design, fabrication, testing, and subsystem integration.
Group 86—RF and Quantum Systems Technology
The RF and Quantum Systems Technology Group works in three distinct areas: low-power, small- form-factor electronics such as sensor network communication nodes and radio-frequency identification (RFID) systems; high-performance transmitters and receivers for radar, electronic support measures (ESM), and other DoD applications; and quantum information science centered on superconducting, trapped-ion, and photonic modalities. The group is very “hands on” and has extensive experimental, prototyping, and field-measurement activities. Extensive electronics design, test, and packaging infrastructures have been developed to support the activities in the group. Examples of research activities include development of high-performance, mixed-signal board-level and integrated circuits for RF receivers, transmitters, and other analog-centric subsystem development and demonstrations. The group has extensive experience in superconducting electronics, centered on Josephson-junctions for single-flux quantum circuits and qubits for quantum computing. The work in the group spans a very diverse set of disciplines, including analog circuit design, materials science, microfabrication process development, RF design, advanced electronic packaging technology, and quantum and solid-state physics. Despite the seemingly disconnected activities in the group, all of the projects share a common theme of advanced electronics for challenging applications and build on a common electronics development infrastructure.
Group 87—Advanced Imagers and Silicon Technology
The Advanced Imagers and Silicon Technology Group develops advanced silicon-based focal-plane technologies for both DoD and scientific applications, such as ground- and space-based surveillance, adaptive optics, and astronomy. Focal planes may address special requirements, for example, large-format gigapixel arrays, very high-speed imagers (100 ps exposures), time-of-arrival detectors (LADAR receiver), and low-light-level imaging applications. Scientific research examples include the design, fabrication, and testing of world-class charge-coupled device (CCD) imaging devices used in a variety of high-end scientific applications (for example, focal planes for the Chandra X-ray telescope and other preeminent astronomical observatories); demonstration of silicon-based photon-counting detector arrays; and development of 3D-integrated active-pixel sensors.
The group applies its silicon microelectronics capabilities to develop new electronic, photonic, microelectromechanical structures and optical devices, with a special focus on silicon-on-insulator (SOI) complementary metal-oxide semiconductor technology. Examples of research activities include demonstration of new processes enabling extreme environment operation (cryogenic, high temperature, subthreshold, radiation, etc.); 3D integration of multiple layers of SOI circuits with applications to advanced focal planes and 3D computing architectures; development of silicon photonic devices for signal processing applications; demonstration of approaches to scaling silicon devices into the nanometer regime; development of microelectromechanical structured devices for RF and optical-switching applications; and the development of advanced digital focal-plane readout technologies for advanced imaging applications. The group has expertise in device and integrated-circuit design, fabrication, custom packaging, and camera control and readout electronics.
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