Raytheon Company

The University of Arizona

Arizona Board of Regents, a Body Corporate

William Owens

Delmar L Barker

Richard J Wright

Abram G Young

Perry H Frahm

Emerald James Adair

Gregory E Longerich

David C Robillard

Ross D Rosenwald

John Warren Beck

Hao Xin

Kenneth L Moore

Nitesh N Shah

Thomas M Crawford

Mead M Jordan

James G Sierchio

Myron E Calkins, Jr

Kent P Pflibsen

Chadwick B Martin

Jon Leonard

Brian J Zelinski

Patrick O Kano

S Eric Mattingly

Andrew F Varecka

A releasable ball lock hinge is disclosed. The releasable ball lock hinge includes a first body operable with a hinge ball and a release ball. Each ball can be movable within respective openings of the first body. The releasable ball lock hinge also includes a second body configured to rotatably interface and removably couple with the first body. The hinge ball releasably engages the second body. The second body has a release recess operable with the release ball to disengage the hinge ball and alternately couple and release the first body and the second body based on a relative position between the first body and the second body.

Releasable ball lock hinge

A hyper-velocity impact sensor is configured to probe a mass of material consumed upon impact with an object. The probe can extract density and thickness characteristics of the impacted object, which can be used to classify the object.

Hyper-velocity impact sensor

A KV-based missile defense system and method of strategic engagement provides performance improvement for both singleton and raid scenarios by launching multiple interceptors that place a follower KV in a trailing position with respect to a lead KV. Knowledge of the target cloud gained by the lead KV is transmitted to the follower KV and incorporated to inform the target selection of the follower KV. The follower KV trails the lead KV with sufficient spacing in time and distance to select a target and maneuver to engage the target pre-acquisition. This also allows the follower KV to receive and incorporate knowledge of target impact by the lead KV. This knowledge may be transmitted back to another follower KV and so forth in a 'string' of KVs to inform target selection and down to the ground to inform strategic engagement. Updated non-KV observational data can be uplinked and transmitted forward along the string to the lead KV.

Long range KV-to-KV communications to inform target selection of follower KVS

An apparatus for displaying a scene with light in a range of infrared wavelengths, includes: an array of elements configured to emit light in a range of infrared wavelengths, each element having one or more nanotubes; a stimulator configured to apply a stimulus to each element in the array in order for each element to emit light in the range of infrared wavelengths; and a processor configured to send a signal to the stimulator in order to apply the stimulus to one or more selected elements in the array to display the scene.

Infrared scene projector

A multiple field-of-view telescope and optical sensor system and imaging methods using the system. In one example, an optical sensor system includes a primary imaging detector having a first field of view, a telescope configured to receive and focus electromagnetic radiation onto the primary imaging detector along a primary optical axis, a secondary detector having a second field of view different from the first field of view, and relay optics configured to direct and focus a portion of the electromagnetic radiation onto the secondary detector. In certain examples, the system further includes a fold mirror positioned to reflect the portion of the electromagnetic radiation to the relay optics.

Dual field of view telescope

An optical imaging system and method in which a second channel is used to provide alignment data for achieving image frame stacking of image data in a first channel. In one example, image stacking of infrared images is achieved by obtaining and analyzing corresponding visible images to provide alignment data that is then used to align and stack the infrared images.

Method and apparatus for image stacking

A variable length light shield is disclosed for an electro-optical sensor within a nose cone. The light shield includes a base, a telescopic shade supported by the base, and a ring rotatably supported about the base. The light shield also includes a guide tube disposed proximate the ring with an end extending away from the ring about a side of the telescopic shade. The light shield further includes an extension spring supported by the guide tube with an end coupled to the telescopic shade. Additionally, the light shield includes a cable extending through the guide tube and the extension spring, with one end of the cable coupled to the ring and another end of the cable coupled to the telescopic shade. The extension spring is configured to exert a force on the telescopic shade to extend the telescopic shade. Rotation of the ring causes retraction of the telescopic shade.

Variable length light shield for an electro-optical sensor within a nose cone

Isotopically-enriched graphene and isotope junctions are epitaxially grown on a catalyst substrate using a focused carbon ion beam technique. The focused carbon ion beam is filtered to pass substantially a single ion species including a single desired carbon isotope. The ion beam and filtering together provide a means to selectively isotopically-enrich the epitaxially-grown graphene from given carbon precursor and to selectively deposit graphene enriched with different carbon isotopes in different regions.

Carbon ion beam growth of isotopically-enriched graphene and isotope-junctions

Engineered defects are reproduced in-situ with graphene via a combination of surface manipulation and epitaxial reproduction. A substrate surface that is lattice-matched to graphene is manipulated to create one or more non-planar features in the hexagonal crystal lattice. These non-planar features strain and asymmetrically distort the hexagonal crystal lattice of epitaxially deposited graphene to reproduce 'in-situ' engineered defects with the graphene. These defects may be defects in the classic sense such as Stone-Wales defect pairs or blisters, ridges, ribbons and metacrystals. Nano or micron-scale structures such as planar waveguides, resonant cavities or electronic devices may be constructed from linear or closed arrays of these defects. Substrate manipulation and epitaxial reproduction allows for precise control of the number, density, arrangement and type of defects. The graphene may be removed and template reused to replicate the graphene and engineered defects. As such, expensive and time-consuming techniques can be justified to create the template. The capability to control the defect pattern in graphene enables the creation of structured devices such as waveguides, resonant cavities and electron devices in graphene.

In-situ growth of engineered defects in graphene by epitaxial reproduction

An imaging system () includes an array () of photonic band gap material cells. The band gap material has an absorption edge at about the emission frequency of a source () of electromagnetic energy. Images from a field of view () directed onto the photonic band gap array () increase the temperature of the illuminated cells, shifting the absorption edge frequency for those cells. A focal plane array () detects the electromagnetic radiation transmitted through the photonic band gap array () from the source (). The intensity of the transmitted radiation is proportional to the shift in the photonic band gap edge.

Imaging system and method using a photonic band gap array

A shock wave barrier comprises a periodic structure having the proper symmetry and local contrast modulation of the acoustic index to divert an incident shock wave by using constructive/destructive interference phenomena that produce a 'band gap' in the transmission spectrum of the periodic structure. In general, shock wave energy within the band gap is reflected from the structure. Defect cavities may be formed in the periodic structure to create transmission resonances or 'windows' in the band gap. A portion of the incident energy passes through the window and is concentrated in the defect cavities where it is dissipated by other means. The band gap can be quite wide, at least 50% of the center wavelength, and thus can provide an effective barrier from a wide variety of threats with varying blast pressure and range. The structure may be periodic in two or three dimensions providing a band gap barrier in two or three dimensions, respectively.

Shock wave barrier using multidimensional periodic structures

A method of fabricating pillared graphene assembles alternate layers of graphene sheets and fullerenes to form a stable protostructure. Energy is added to the protostructure to break the carbon-carbon bonds at the fullerene-to-graphene attachment points of the protostructure and allow the bonds to reorganize and reform into a stable lower energy unitary pillared graphene nanostructure in which open nanotubes are conjoined between graphene sheets. The attachment points may be functionalized using tether molecules to aid in attachment, and add chemical energy to the system. The arrangement and attachment spacing of the fullerenes may be determined using spacer molecules or an electric potential.

Fabrication of pillared graphene

Carbon nanostructures are synthesized from carbon-excess explosives having a negative oxygen balance. A supercritical fluid provides an environment that safely dissolves and decomposes the explosive molecules into its reactant products including activated C or CO and provides the temperature and pressure for the required collision rate of activated C atoms and CO molecules to form carbon nanostructures such as graphene, fullerenes and nanotubes. The nanostructures may be synthesized without a metal reactant at relatively low temperatures in the supercritical fluid to provide a cost-effective path to bulk fabrication. These nanostructures may be synthesized 'metal free'. As the supercritical fluid provides an inert buffer that does not react with the explosive, the fluid is preserved. Once the nanostructures are removed, the other reaction products may be removed and the fluid recycled.

Carbon nanostructure synthesis from carbon-excess explosives in supercritical fluid

A heat transfer device exploits the properties of photonic crystal solids with resonant defect cavities to execute a thermodynamic cycle to accomplish the conversion between heat flow and useful energy. In a heat pump or refrigerator configuration, an actuator cyclically performs work on the photonic crystal to cycle the photonic crystal between a first state to permit the crystal to collect thermal energy from a cold region to heat the crystal and a second state to permit the photonic crystal to radiate electromagnetic energy to a hot region to cool the photonic crystal. A mechanism cycles the emission band of the photonic crystal for more efficient collection of heat energy and radiation of electromagnetic energy in the cycle.

Heat transfer devices based on thermodynamic cycling of a photonic crystal with coupled resonant defect cavities

A thermally powered source of IR or THz radiation combines low dimension nano-scale oscillators such as nano-wires and nano-tubes with micro-scale photonic crystal resonant defect cavities for efficient generation, coupling and transmission of electromagnetic radiation. The oscillators have M=0, 1 or 2 resonant dimensions on a micro-scale (approximately 1 um to approximately 1 mm) to emit radiation having a local peak at a desired wavelength in the IR or THz regions. The oscillators have at least one non-resonant dimension on a nano-scale (less than approximately 100 nm) to suppress vibration modes in that dimension and channel more thermal energy into the local peak. The photonic crystal defect cavities have N=1, 2 or 3 (N&#x3e;M) resonant dimensions on the microscale with lengths comparable to the length of the oscillator and the desired wavelength to exhibit a cavity resonant that overlaps the local peak to accept and transmit emitted radiation. The energy from multiple oscillator/defect cavities pairs can be collected and transmitted by an internal waveguide or external mirrors and lens to a specified location where it is output. To improve coupling efficiency, the oscillators and defect cavities preferably exhibit a physical symmetry so that they are substantially 'mode matched'. The integration of nano-scale emitters with micro-scale photonic crystal defect cavities creates a new class of metamaterials that more efficient generate radiation.

Growing community of inventors

Tucson, AZ, United States of America

William Owens