US Government As Represented by the Secretary of the Army

Other

USA As Represented by Secretary of the Navy

United States of America As Represented by the Secretary of the Air Force

Thomas G Roberts

Thomas E Honeycutt

Brian R Strickland

Romas A Shatas

John D Stettler

George R Edlin

William F Otto

Harry C Meyer, Iii

Raymond W Conrad

Thomas A Barr, Jr

James D Holder

Hugh W Greene

Herbert B Holl

Edward L Wilkinson

Robert Shawn Thompson

Thomas G Miller

Robert W Jones

Gregory G Spanjers

Norman M Witriol

Andrew H Jenkins

William L Gamble

Jason Guarnieri

Michael J Lavan

Billie O Rogers

Lee O Webster

Thomas L Honeycutt

William P Sherer

Kenton L Haynes

Andrews H Jenkins

Larry J Havard, Jr

Calvin C Easterbrook

Holly Victorson

Nathan DeVilbiss

James Winter

Peter Thomas

Charles M Rust

Ryan Olcott

Timothy Klatt

A sensor assembly that replaces a single focal plane array detector with two focal plane array detectors orientated with respect to each other such that a power splitter divides an incoming light source equally between each detector. The two detectors are selected such that the locations of poorly-operating pixels in each detector do not overlay. The output signals of each detector are then electronically or analytically combined to yield 100 percent operability. Separate switchable wavelength filter wheels having one or more different wavelength filters may be positioned between the power splitter and each of the detectors. The power splitter may be replaced by a polarization splitter. One detector can be translated perpendicular to the incoming light source relative to the second detector to compensate for new poorly-operating pixels and/or to improve the spatial resolution.

Sensor assemblies using redundant two-dimensional detector arrays

A thin foil stripper and simple non-obstructing power meter for a space based neutral particle beam system consisting of a panel of thin foils supported by resistance wires and mounted on a wheel or disk in such a manner that the surface used for stripping the beam may be changed or replaced periodically. The power meter consists of four resistors arranged in the form of a bridge, a power source (battery), a detector (voltmeter), and a display unit (recorded, etc.). Two of the resistors consist of the wires which support the foils and are nearly identical. The other two resistors are used to balance the bridge. When one of the strippers is exposed to the neutral particle beam, the support wire is heated, the resistance changes, and the bridge becomes unbalanced. The magnitude of the voltage produced is proportional to the power in the beam. The power meter is non-obstructing.

Supported thin foil stripper and simple non-obstructing power meter for a space based neutral particle beam system

A light weight decoy for deceiving radar and forward looking infrared tracking systems. The decoy provides the same radar cross-section as that of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) and is thermally massive across the entire black body spectrum. Thermal massiveness is accomplished by measuring the temperature of the decoy outer surface and the temperature of the space surrounding the decoy, obtaining the differential temperature, and radiating heat within the decoy to maintain the surface thereof at a temperature similar to that of an ICBM.

Thermally massive radar decoy

A negative ion source with an automatic control system wherein a low power igh frequency discharge is used to sustain a high power low voltage dc discharge in a chamber that magnetically confines the plasma produced. The low power high frequency discharge and the high power low voltage direct current discharge are two discharges along with the gas flow rate which are independently adjusted, automatically, so that the conditions for optimum production of vibationally excited hydrogen molecules consistent with the production of maximum H.sup.- output current is obtained and maintained. This chamber is separated by a magnetic filter field from a second chamber which maintains the low temperature plasma in the second chamber necessary for the optimum production of H.sup.- ions by the process of dissociative attachment, utilizing the vibrationally excited molecules produced by the first chamber.

HF sustained, DC discharge driven negative ion source with automatic

A negative ion source is disclosed wherein an electron beam produced in one chamber is used to sustain a discharge in another chamber whose conditions are independently adjusted for optimum production of vibrationally excited hydrogen molecules. By including a provision for an independently controlled source of low energy electrons in a region near the extraction aperture, the optimum conditions for creation of H.sup.- ions by dissociative attachment are produced. In this manner the current and brightness of a H.sup.- beam may be maximized.

Electron beam driven negative ion source

A solid state stripper for stripping H.sup.- to H.sup.O is provided that includes a very thin solid state material such as polyvinylidene chloride, mica, and cellophane that is moved at a predetermined speed in front of an accelerated beam of negative ions to cause the negative ions to be stripped to form neutral ions as they pass through the solid state stripper material.

Solid stripper for a space based neutral particle beam system

A power generation system utilizes an electromagnetic tether having a three conductor, coaxial configuration which allows the circuit to be closed internal to two orbiting objects. An outer cylinder of the tether is a conductor which is used to cut or pass through the earth's magnetic field to produce a voltage output. A cylinder within the outer cylinder is made of a metal such as soft iron and is used to shield a central conductor from the earth's magnetic field. The two outer cylinders are insulated from the center conductor except at one of the tethered objects where they are electrically connected. This causes the end of the center conductor to be at the same electrical potential as the tethered object when there is an infinite load. Useful power is produced at the other object, which may be a space ship, when a switch is closed and the potential is between the outer cylinder and the center conductor.

Tether power generator for earth orbiting satellites

A method of locating an electrostatic discharge event in a predetermined ucture by sensing electromagnetically that an electrostatic discharge event has occurred and producing a trigger signal from the electromagnetic sensing to control a recording device for the starting of time, utilizing a plurality of acoustic detectors about the structure for sensing the acoustic of the electrostatic discharge event, determining the time elapsed between the starting of time by the electromagnetic sensing and the signals sensed by the acoustic detectors and utilizing the information gained from the times sensed and the predetermined locations of the sensors to determine the location of the electrostatic discharge event in the predetermined structure.

Method of detecting and locating an electrostatic discharge event

The IFF System consists of an unpolarized light source like an infrared laser or a short wavelength radar. On a friendly target, a wire grid polarizer is mounted so that the polarization can be varied. Mounted to the back of the grid is a corner reflector which sends the signal right back on itself and utilizes the principle of optical enhancement so that the return signal is collomated and diffraction limited. A wire grid polarization analyzer is also mounted so as to be rotatable and is mounted in front of a detector for receiving signals reflected from the target.

System and device for recognition or IFF use

A wire resistor is mounted so that its position may be rotated continuously. The resistance of the wire (when subjected to the high energy laser beam) is measured as a function of position by use of a bridge circuit for determining the resistance and a potentiometer for determining the position. This device may also be used to analyze moderate power (greater than 1 watt) cw laser beams but here it is necessary to chop the beam in order to obtain the data.

Polarization analyzer for high energy pulsed laser beams

A beam intensity monitor for monitoring high energy particle beams by placing the monitor across the path of a particle beam to intercept a small portion of the particle beam as it passes therethrough. The monitor comprises primarily a four resistor bridge arrangement driven by a power source and utilizing a voltmeter as a detector for changes in bridge voltage. One of the four resistors functions as the sensor for the monitor. The sensor comprises an elongated wire resistance that is folded, coiled or otherwise shaped to encompass an area or region through which the neutral particle beam is directed to pass. The resistance wire is heated by passage of the particle beam therethrough, being impacted by approximately 0.1% of the beam, causing the bridge to become unbalanced. The magnitude of the voltage produced is proportional to the power in the beam. Simultaneously, phosphor beads attached to the elongated wire are also struck by the particles in the beam. These particles cause the phosphor to fluoresce and the light which is emitted from the phosphors is observed by a television camera, providing a measure of the spatial distribution of the particles within the beam.

Beam intensity monitor for a high energy particle beam system

A system for measuring the density of certain ions or neutrals within a plasma without probe intervention. When cylindrical symmetry is present, the system also provides measurement of spatial distribution of excited ionic states within the plasma. The system allows spatial distribution of contaminant ions in magnetic confinement thermonuclear fusion devices to be monitored. These functions are accomplished by directing two laser beams through a region containing a plasma. The laser means are at respective wavelengths chosen to be in and closely adjacent to a spectral region near the electronic transition frequency of the ionic species of interest in the plasma. The intensities of the two wavelengths are then measured and compared to obtain the desired data and characterization.

Apparatus for plasma diagnostics

The meter consists of wire resistors arranged so as to sample the energy in a laser beam at different locations in the beam. Each resistor is part of a bridge which includes three other resistors, a power source, a detector (volt meter) and a display unit which may be a recorder. One of the three additional resistors may be an additional set of wires which are made nearly identical to the set being used to sense the laser beam's position or to determine its intensity distribution. When the wire resistors are exposed to the laser beam the wires are heated, their resistance changes, and the various bridges become unbalanced. The magnitude of the voltage produced in each bridge is proportional to the energy in the laser pulse at the location of each wire.

Precision laser beam positioner and spatially resolved laser beam

A device for determining the direction of a neutral particle beam relative o a reference direction is provided. The technique of laser resonant fluorescence is used. Measurements are made near the doppler free angle and a direct view prism means is used for automatically compensating for small drifts in the laser frequency is used to insure that the most accurate alignment results are obtained even with laser frequency changes.

Compensated laser resonant fluorescence beam sensing device for neutral

A system of lasers which produces a single pulsed laser beam carrying many channels of digital information simultaneously. The information content of each laser output pulse is determined by the presence or absence of one or more input signal channel frequencies. The presence or absence of each frequency is provided by a plurality of low power CW lasers operating at different frequencies and which are selectively gated in a binary fashion by pulse coded digital input signals to provide digitized low power laser outputs in accordance with the digital input signals. The low level pulses of the various optical frequencies are combined and utilized to preload a relatively high power pulsed CO.sub.2 output laser. A pair of mirror assemblies are utilized to respectively combine the multifrequency channel pulses and transmit a single pulsed output laser beam generated by the pulsed output laser. The presence or absence of each frequency component in each output pulse is determined by the frequency components preloading the cavity modes of the pulsed high power output laser.

Growing community of inventors

Huntsville, AL, United States of America

Thomas G Roberts