November 2023 - Physical Sciences Inc.

Press Release

Physical Sciences Inc. (PSI) has been awarded a contract from the Office of Naval Research (ONR) to develop an expendable optical system for operation on an autonomous underwater platform for long duration deployments with the ability to remotely reconfigure mission profiles and transmit collected data.

PSI, in cooperation with our university partner, will develop a Velocimetric Flash LiDAR (VFL) for Underwater Autonomous Vehicles (UAV). The VFL will combine (and extend) two capabilities previously developed and demonstrated at PSI: an underwater flash lidar (UWFL) and an expendable seawater optical attenuation meter (K-meter). K-meter mode is a high speed, low power mode that supports measurement of seawater optical properties including extinction and the diffuse attenuation coefficient. This mode can act as a trigger, where a sudden increase in these quantities would be indicative of a scene with increased content (e.g. air bubbles, marine snow or hard targets), warranting further investigation. The system would then transition into UWFL mode, where ranging and imaging information about the scene can be gathered to assess, for example, 3D bubble concentration, presence of white caps, or (with successive measurements) marine snow fall rates. The resulting data will be processed on board to extract the key pieces of information (e.g. optical property, bubble concentration, marine snow fall rates, etc) to minimize required data transmission bandwidths. The Phase I program will demonstrate the feasibility of the VFL architecture, specifically focusing on measuring surrogate marine snow fall rates.

For more information contact:

Elizabeth C. Schundler
Group Leader, Optical Systems Technologies
eschundler@psicorp.com
Physical Sciences Inc.
Office: (978) 689-0003

Acknowledgement of Sponsorship: This work is supported under a contract with the Office of Naval Research. This support does not constitute an express or implied endorsement on the part of the Government.

Press Release

Physical Sciences Inc. (PSI) has been awarded a contract from NASA to develop a cost effective ground-based laser system that can serve as a beacon laser and as a transmitter to communicate with satellites in deep space at a distance of Mars and beyond.

For deep space optical communications (OC) at astronomical distances such as Mars and beyond, a multi-kW average power laser that can be coded to send data is needed. OC will revolutionize space-based science and exploration capabilities by enabling data rates up to 100 times faster than currently used radio frequency based systems. PSI proposed to develop a laser architecture for a ground beacon and uplink laser transmitter. The innovation is a simple tapered fiber design that can produce high energy pulses at low pulse repetition rate (PRF) and also low energy pulses at high PRF. The versatility of the design fills the gap between these two types of lasers. In Phase I, the laser was operated at 1 MHz with 150 μJ pulse energy and also operated at 30 MHz with 5 μJ pulse energy. The former is suitable for the long link distance to Mars, and the latter is suitable for a high data rate at 60 Mb/s. The proposed technology can also be applied to Er-doped fiber lasers to produce a near 1.5 micron wavelength suitable for a downlink laser.

For more information contact:

Dr. David M. Sonnenfroh
Area Manager, Atmospheric Sciences
sonnenfroh@psicorp.com
Physical Sciences Inc.
Office: (978) 689-0003

Acknowledgement of Sponsorship: This work is supported under a contract with NASA Stennis Space Center. This support does not constitute an express or implied endorsement on the part of the Government.

Press Release

Physical Sciences Inc. and its university partner propose to develop a chemical model that accurately predicts the performance of hydroxyl terminated polybutadiene (HTPB) polymer commonly used as a propellant binder in rocket motors. The model will utilize chemical and physical data from HTPB feedstock to predict propellant cure kinetics, mechanical properties, and aging performance. The model will incorporate an algorithm with the capability to provide formulation recommendations to achieve cured propellants with precise performance specifications. In Phase I, PSI will conduct a design of experiments (DOE) by independently modifying the chemical functionalities on HTPB while collecting curing and performance data. This comprehensive data set will be used to determine statistically significant associations that correlate HTPB chemical variables with gumstock performance properties. The DOE results gathered in Phase I will be used to build and validate a predictive software model in Phase II. This HTPB predictive algorithm will serve as a tool that will enable formulators to adjust propellant formulation parameters to achieve performance properties without the schedule and cost risks associated with rework. Successful development of the proposed HTPB predictive algorithm will provide the Navy with a critical technology that reduces costs and risks throughout the DoD tactical missile supply chain.

For more information contact:

Dr. Colin M. Hessel
Group Leader, Advanced Interfacial Materials
chessel@psicorp.com
Physical Sciences Inc.
Office: (978) 689-0003

Acknowledgement of Sponsorship: This work is supported under a contract with the Office of Naval Research. This support does not constitute an express or implied endorsement on the part of the Government.

_{Distribution A: Approved for Public Release. ONR Document Control Number: (DCN) 0543-1113-23}

Press Release

Physical Sciences Inc. (PSI) has been awarded a contract from the Naval Air Warfare Center to develop a software tool—the Photonic-Integrated Circuit (PIC) Reliability and Evaluation (PICRE) tool—to predict the reliability of new silicon photonics (SiP) technology.

Physical Sciences Inc. (PSI) and our university partner have teamed to identify and quantify failure mechanisms within silicon photonic integrated circuits (PICs) and then develop a software tool—the PIC Reliability and Evaluation (PICRE) tool—to predict the reliability of new silicon photonics (SiP) technology. In contrast to microelectronics, the reliability of SiP devices and systems is not thoroughly understood and no standard reliability models exist to predict their lifetime. As the Department of Defense (DoD) needs confidence in the reliability and long-term stability of these SiP devices prior to their deployment on fielded assets, developing such models is key to the adoption of SiP technology in DoD applications. PSI’s PICRE tool will address this critical need by synthesizing physics-based and empirical reliability-models to predict SiP reliability and pinpoint SiP failure mechanisms.

For more information contact:

Dr. Christopher Evans
Group Leader, Scalable Photonic Technologies
cevans@psicorp.com
Physical Sciences Inc.
Office: (978) 689-0003

Acknowledgement of Sponsorship: This work is supported under a contract with the Naval Air Warfare Center. This support does not constitute an express or implied endorsement on the part of the Government.