ADT0923

Welcome to your Digital Edition
of Aerospace and Defense Technology

September 2023
mobilityengineeringtech.com September 2023
An Introduction
to Quantum Computing:
Superposition in Focus
Thunderbolt 4: The
Answer for Small Form
Factor Chassis Modules?
Meeting DoD Testing
Standards for High Voltage
Lithium-Ion Systems
A New Approach to Studying
Aerodynamic Wing Loads
From the Publishers of
ADT Cover 0923_1.indd 1 8/23/23 2:44 PM
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mobilityengineeringtech.com September 2023
An Introduction
to Quantum Computing:
Superposition in Focus
Thunderbolt 4: The
Answer for Small Form
Factor Chassis Modules?
Meeting DoD Testing
Standards for High Voltage
Lithium-Ion Systems
A New Approach to Studying
Aerodynamic Wing Loads
From the Publishers of

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a i r b o r n . c o m
Aerospace & Defense Technology
Contents
FEATURES ________________________________________
Embedded Computing
4 How Thunderbolt 4 Helps Bring Fault-Tolerant, Distributed
Systems to Market
High Reliability Electronics
8 Delivering Operational Energy to Enhance Warfighter
Capability
Optoelectronics
12 Optoelectronic Analog Signal Transmission Takes Center Stage
Amidst Aerospace and Defense Innovation
Test & Measurement
14 Shaking Outside the Box to Advance Flight Research
RF & Microwave Technology
18 An Introduction to Quantum Computing
21 How Laser Communications Innovation is Finally Coming of
Age and Driving Innovation in Defense
TECH BRIEFS ______________________________________

23 Spatial Calibration for Accurate Long Distance Measurement
Using Infrared Cameras
24 Towards Greater Sensitivity: A Brief FTIR and Infrared-Based
Cavity Ring Down Spectroscopy Comparative Study
25 Determining Optical Material Parameters With Motion in
Structured Illumination
26 Deep Image Prior Amplitude SAR Image Anonymization
28 Free-Space Quantum Communications in Harsh Environments
DEPARTMENTS ____________________________________
30 Application Briefs
34 New Products
36 Ad Index
ON THE COVER ____________________________________

In an embedded world gone SOSA sensational, one
might believe that centralized ATR-style OpenVPX
systems are the best way to architect your next rugged
system. Could Apple and Intel’s 40Gbps Thunderbolt
4 commercial open standard provide an alternative
approach to SOSA while meeting its open system
architecture goals? To learn more, read the feature
article on page 4.
(Image: Syntetic Dreams/Adobe Stock)
2 mobilityengineeringtech.com Aerospace & Defense Technology, September 2023

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How Thunderbolt 4 Helps Bring
Fault-Tolerant, Distributed
Systems to Market
I
n an embedded world gone SOSA sensational, one might cooling it. Vetronics chassis must be bolted to a cold plate—no
believe that centralized ATR-style OpenVPX systems are easy challenge in space-constrained armored vehicle interiors.
the best way to architect your next rugged system. While Other ATR chassis are air-cooled with fans, blowing heat-
these chassis are routinely and successfully deployed on er-hot air from exhaust vents—sometimes too close to opera-
airborne, shipboard, and vetronics platforms, they are big, tors. All high performance electronic systems will get hot, and
heavy, costly, and a real challenge to cool and connect. An sub-dividing heat into smaller units is one way to deal with it.
alternate but equivalent rugged, deployable approach uses Breaking the system down into smaller, cooler small form fac-
one or more small form factor chassis modules, distributed tor (SFF) loads not only improves crew comfort with less heat
into any available space in the vehicle, interconnected via per SFF but makes it easier to provide cooling to each low-
Apple® and Intel’s® 40Gbps Thunderbolt™ 4, a commercial er-wattage load.
open standard that uses USB Type-C connectors with a single,
thin bi-directional copper or fiber cable. Broken Apart, Connected by Wire
With 4, 8, even 16 3U or 6U LRU (line replacement unit) If an eight-slot ATR chassis of OpenVPX modules consists of
boards inside an ATR chassis, 600 watts is on the low end of a single-board computer (SBC), a multiport Ethernet switch
systems that can push well over 2,000 watts in a 200 square for in-chassis and out-of-chassis networking, a graphics pro-
inch footprint or less. Assuming one can find the space for such cessing unit (GPU) or co-processor, mass storage, low-speed
a chassis in the vehicle or platform, there’s also the issue of I/O such as serial and 1553, plus multiple high-speed sensor
Techtility Design/Adobe Stock

Free Info at http://info.hotims.com/79414-xxx
Embedded Computing
open-standard interface that’s a super-

set of the open standard USB4, myriad
More
The USB-C that does it all Speed
40 Gbps
Thunderbolt 4 devices are available and
interoperable—from cameras to disk
drives to PCIe co-processing chassis and
More embedded computers. Thunderbolt 4 is
Pixels Two 4k
a thin, bi-directional cable that operates
at 40 Gbps and uses the USB-IF’s Type-C
interface—the same one available on
More
Up to 100W smart phones, laptops, and tablets. Most
Power
civilian devices can plug into Thunder-
bolt 4 and at least get power and USB
More 2.0/3.x data transfer. But there’s so
Protocols much more available.
Thunderbolt 4 uses the Type-C connector but makes available all of these interfaces on one copper or What is Thunderbolt 4?
fiber cable. (Image: Intel Corp.) Thunderbolt 4 is more than USB oper-
ating at 40 gigabits per second (Gbps).
I/O cards—this is notionally four to is randomly accessed; a distributed While USB 3.2 Gen 2 is 10 Gbps and
eight or more functional blocks. If this computing architecture physically USB4 is 20 Gbps, Thunderbolt 4 also
centralized system is to be distributed divides processing nodes and must provides DisplayPort alt mode, PCI
into multiple SFF modules for mount- therefore have a very fast—but long-dis- Express 3.0, networking up to 10 Gbps,
ing simplicity and heat load optimiza- tance—interconnect scheme. and Power Delivery up to 100 watts. On
tion, they need a high-speed connec- Thunderbolt 4 is the ideal “cable a single cable not unlike what’s available
tion between them. This isn’t just a case plant” on top of which to build distrib- to charge a cell phone, two 4K displays
of a remotely located storage drive that uted SFF computer architecture. An can be driven simultaneously (or a sin-
HOST AI
WORKSTATION I/O STORAGE
S I/O
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OR
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DISP
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GPGPU Cooler
X9 MISSION COMPUTER X9 SERVER COMPUTER

iNTEL® XEON™ W iNTEL® XEON™ D
12/17/24” DISPLAY 3U VPX (3X)
Thunderbolt 4 is the backbone of GMS’ X9 Spider system architecture, enabling distributed, ruggedized computing modules to support the demanding needs of
next-generation warfare.

Embedded Computing
Thunderbolt Docking Station

(Commercial)
4K @ 60 Hz
Optional
GMS LightBolt™ 4K @ 60 Hz
(Thunderbolt 4 over Fiber, with Power
X9 WSIO Up to 50m.
Keyboard Mouse
100 W Power 4
X9 HOST
(MISSION COMPUTER) X9 STORAGE
POWER
4
700 W Power
X9 POWER
Optional
GMS LightBolt™
(Thunderbolt 4 over Fiber, with Power
Up to 50m. 4
4
POWER
External
eGPU Chassis
(Commercial)
Power Delivery
EO/IR Sensor (over Thunderbolt™ or Ethernet)
Thunderbolt 4 is the backbone of GMS’ X9 Spider system architecture, enabling distributed, ruggedized computing modules to support the demanding needs of
next-generation warfare.
gle 8K display) with PCIe traffic, net- intelligence (AI) co-processor located makes system configuration simpler
working, and USB data at over 10 Gbps. close to an EO/IR sensor or SDR front while easing the cooling requirement as
The 100 watts of power is bi-directional, end at the far end of the ship, airplane each module now is a fraction of the
interconnecting distributed modules fuselage or ground vehicle. A single thin power of a centralized ATR. And there’s
such that whichever has more power copper or fiber cable connects them. no penalty for distance between mod-
available can send that power to up/ ules due to Thunderbolt’s bi-directional
downstream SFF modules. Thunderbolt Distributed Computing Architecture speed. Finally, lighter-weight Thunder-
4 devices can also be daisy-chained up to Benefits bolt 4 cables can be easier to route and
six hops. In this manner, fault-tolerant Unlike the single, dense, centralized save weight in a platform compared to
distributed systems can be envisioned. ATR chassis with its high heat load and traditional MIL-SPEC cables, while still
In a rugged, small form factor archi- single-site cooling requirements, Thun- providing ample speed, EMI immunity,
tecture, Thunderbolt 4’s Gen 3 PCI derbolt 4-connected small form factor and harsh environment ruggedness.
Express extension with power is a com- modules can be tucked into any avail-
pelling feature, allowing a compact 60 able location on the platform. Thunder- This article was written by Chris Ciufo,
watt CPU-based mission computer to be bolt 4 can provide 40 Gbps connectivity, Chief Technology Officer, General Micro
installed in one location, and intercon- PCIe bus extension, and even power up Systems. For more information, visit
nected with a distant GPU or artificial to 100 watts. Distributing the modules www.gms4sbc.com.
Aerospace & Defense Technology, September 2023 mobilityengineeringtech.com 7
Delivering Operational
Energy to Enhance
Warfighter Capability
A
s geopolitical threats intensify electric, autonomous and connected
around the globe, there are future. In recent months, GM Defense
several defense-related mod- has announced projects t hat help
ernization efforts underway advance that transition and deliver
that address the need for improved mis- enhanced capabilities to DoD.
sion effectiveness while also increasing I n O c t o b e r 2 02 2 , G M D e fe n s e
energy resilience and reducing fossil fuel announced a contract award supporting
dependency. At the U.S. Department of the Defense Innovation Unit’s (DIU)
Defense (DoD), Deputy Secretary Kath- Jumpstart for Advanced Battery Stan-
leen Hicks has been championing ener- dardization (JABS). The JABS program is
gy innovation. She has publicly stated a multi-phased project that is helping to
“it has to do with national security and shape the DoD’s understanding of high
what it takes to have the capabilities we voltage lithium-ion systems. Phase one
need for the warfighter today and going included an analysis to better under-
forward. That alignment with climate stand the difference between commer-
goals is excellent for us.” cial testing standards and DoD testing
Commercial industr y is already standards for lithium ion. Phase two
answering the call for energy resilience includes safety critical testing to NAV-
by investing billions of dollars in alter- SEA S9310 standards of a proposed solu-
native propulsion technologies that can tion for key learnings. Phase three looks
also increase tactical capabilities and at the integration of a commercial off
provide a more efficient use of energy in the shelf 12-module battery pack onto a
many operating environments, ulti- military platform. Key learnings from
mately reducing fuel logistics. GM each phase of JABS will help inform the
Defense, for example, is leveraging the integration requirements to support
$35 billion investments in electric vehi- future defense battery electric solutions.
cle and autonomous vehicle technology The requirements for JABS include a
by its parent company, General Motors high-voltage battery system that opti-
(GM), to help transition global defense mizes commercial electric vehicle cells,
and government customers to a more modules and components scalable from
50 volts to 1,000+ volts. GM Defense pro-

vided a scalable solution leveraging the
Ult ium Plat form, General Motors’
advanced battery electric vehicle propul-
sion architecture that will power more
Background Image: Malp/Adobe Stock
than 1 million units of commercial elec-

tric vehicles by 2025. The Ultium Plat-
form uses different chemistries and cell
form factors, making it adaptable to
changing needs and new technology
insertions as they become available.
Ult ium’s adaptability enables GM
Defense to ensure its global defense and
A computer-generated rendering of the energy storage unit being developed by GM Defense.
government customers have the latest
usage across DoD platforms while help-
ing to streamline testing and validation
of future electrified solutions.
The advanced technology and testing
counter unmanned aerial systems. The leveraged for JABS supports another DIU
system also enables Silent Watch opera- program called the Stable Tactical Expe-
tions, enhancing warfighter capabilities ditionary Electric Power (STEEP) project,
with low acoustic and thermal signa- awarded to GM Defense in June 2023.
tures. Ultimately, JABS is the initial step STEEP seeks to support tactical microg-
to getting high voltage lithium-ion bat- rid and energy management capabilities
technology available on the commercial tery certifications to support a variety of in austere locations, reducing logistical
market. GM Defense’s battery electric
prototype solution can scale beyond
JABS requirements to support a range of
military stationary and mobile plat-
forms that provide flexible energy distri-
bution for mission requirements.
Since winning the JABS award, GM
Defense has expanded its work under the
contract to include phase four – the inte-
gration of the high-voltage battery pack
into the company’s four passenger multi
mission and logistics vehicle. The bat-
tery pack is intended to provide mission
power in austere environments for
equipment and systems, ranging from
soldiers’ conformable wearable batteries The Jumpstart for Advanced Battery Standardization (JABS) prototype being developed by GM Defense
for their warrior mission systems to includes on Ultium battery module.

High Reliability Electronics
requirements and the reliance on fossil electric ground power units to power air- tric vehicle charging stations during
fuels as the primary energy source across crafts for the U.S. Air Force and develop- high demand. The system will be devel-
the DoD. DIU requirements for STEEP ing hydrogen fuel cell power generation oped to not only increase tactical gener-
include a commercially proven energy to support the U.S. Army Ground Vehi- ator fuel-efficiency, but also to decrease
storage system capable of 60 kW output cle System Center. GM Defense’s energy exposure to fuel supply threats, reduce
with the ability to work with existing storage solution, like JABS, also leverages fuel usage and costs, reduce greenhouse
fuel-powered generators. The system is GM’s Ultium Platform, and is designed gas emissions while reducing noise and
also required to include an intelligent to provide uninterruptable and sustain- heat signatures.
power management system that can able power for mission critical equip- Both of GM Defense’s solutions – JABS
control a microgrid to manage power ment in remote areas or where a stable and its energy storage solution – are crit-
output when needed. power grid is absent. Deployable as a ical enablers that deliver advanced com-
GM Defense is leveraging GM’s com- fixed or mobile unit, the system pro- mercial technologies to support global
mercial efforts as the basis of its energy vides stored energy wherever dropped defense and government customers’
storage system solution. Previous related and can provide backup power in natu- transition to a more electric, autono-
commercial projects include developing ral disasters or supplement battery elec- mous and connected future. Backed by
GM’s continued investments in com-
mercial battery electric technology, GM
Defense can leverage insights and
improvements as battery electric and
fuel cell technology matures, helping to
answer military and government require-
ments around the globe with the most
advanced commercial capabilities. As
part of the energy innovation chain tak-
ing place in various parts of the U.S., the
new technologies will enhance warfight-
er capabilities while also increasing ener-
gy resilience and reducing the depen-
dence on fossil fuels at the tactical edge.
This article was written by Rick Kew-

ley, Vice President, Product Develop-
ment & Advanced Engineering, GM
GM Defense’s multi-mission and logistics vehicle will include a newly developed prototype battery pack to Defense. For more information, visit
deliver mission power. www.gmdefensellc.com.
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Optoelectronic
Analog Signal Transmission
Takes Center Stage Amidst
Aerospace and Defense Innovation
I
t is hard to imagine an industry more transport for “remote” processing. It high bandwidth communication to
reliant on seamless, resilient, and brings transport of radio frequency sig- operate successfully. Most of the sig-
secure communication than aero- nals over fiber (RFoF) to the forefront, nals are transported over-the-air but
space and defense (A&D). Communi- which is an analog technique of convert- there is a need for transport between
cation and electromagnetic signal pro- ing radio frequency (RF) into light waves the processing equipment (e.g., at a
cessing are at the core of advanced for secure, resilient, long-distance data/ bunker) and the outside antenna. The
systems, which is why the trend towards signal transmission. challenge with high frequency tech-
higher frequencies (and millimeter nologies required to meet current and
waves) makes optoelectronic signal Data Intensive and Autonomous emerging needs is the high attenuation
transmission a critical topic in this sec- Future for Aerospace and Defense over cable or waveguide medium,
tor as technology advances at a rapid A&D domains rely increasingly on com- which makes long distance transport
pace and demands better performance. munications such as control signals for impractical. As does its heightened
Background Image: Cavan/Adobe Stock
A&D communication networks use a unmanned vessels, surveillance drones, sensitivity to natural and man-made
mix of digital and analog transmission, and tactical data from battlefield sensors. obstructions.
with emphasis on the former, but given In 2021, the Pentagon received $7.5 billion Presently, the Ku-band (12.5-18 GHz)
the industry’s proclivity towards lower to fund unmanned systems across the U.S. is one of the most common RF bands
latency and higher bandwidth applica- Air Force, Army and Navy. The Depart- used by the A&D for satellite communi-
tions, analog transmission will play an ment of Defense (DoD) has also recently cation, remote sensing, military com-
even larger role in the future. Passive and expressed interest in ramping up its use of munication (i.e., common data link),
active electromagnetic sensing (e.g., AI in defense technologies. radar systems and broadcast services. But
radar, radio telescopes, and other listen- All these applications are data-inten- the Ka-band (26.5-40 GHz) is emerging
ing devices) requires high fidelity signal sive, always requiring low latency and as a popular choice in military commu-
nication systems due to its higher data
transfer rates and increased capacity.
RFoF technology offers a distinct advan- RF Attenuation - Coaxial Cable vs. Fiber (to 40 Ghz)
tage here by converting RF into optical
signals traveling long distances over fiber
RF Attenuation (dB/100 feet)

optic cable, without attenuation and sig- 10
nal degradation. This is preferable to
transmitting over coaxial cable, which is
illustrated in figure 1. RG-58
Furthermore, RFoF systems can sup- 1 RG-6
port higher bandwidths, accommodat- LMR-400
ing the ever-increasing data demands of LMR-600

LMR-900
modern military operations. With the 0.1
Heliax 1.25”
proliferation of high-resolution sensors,
Fiber, <0.7 db/Km
sophisticated radars, and advanced
communication equipment, the need
for bandwidth scalability has become 0.01
0.1 0.5 2.5 12.5
paramount. RFoF links ability to support
higher data rates ensures that the A&D RF Frequency (GHz)
industries can keep up with evolving
technological demands. The fiber Figure 1. The chart shows why it is ideal to transmit conversion of RF into optical sigals traveling long
media is not bandwidth limited so distances over fiber optic cables as opposed to coaxial cable.
future upgrades do not necessitate infra-
structure rebuild. A&D communication. Traditional RF can disrupt communication and com-
Another benefit of RFoF is it bypasses systems may suffer from signal degrada- promise mission-critical data. RFoF
the encoding and decoding process tion or complete loss when subjected to technology’s transmission of optical sig-
associated with digital communica- harsh conditions like extreme tempera- nals through fiber provides inherent
tions, which introduces latency and cre- tures, moisture, lightning, or radiation. immunity to electromagnetic interfer-
ates more security vulnerabilities. Con- Conversely, fiber used in RFoF is inher- ence, safeguarding vital communica-
sider all the important communication ently durable and can withstand adverse tion links from electronic warfare
that begins over the air including mili- environments, ensuring continued threats and enabling uninterrupted
tary radar, avionics, cellular and satellite communication even in the most chal- information exchange.
communications, GPS and GNSS, etc. lenging circumstances. RFoF has emerged as a game-chang-
RFoF converts those RF signals to light For example, many of the Navy’s ing technology for A&D communica-
waves without introducing other pro- unmanned surface vessels (USV) use tion. Its ability to extend communica-
cessors that allow “listening” at both waveguides to transport Ku-Band CDL tion ranges, immunity to
endpoints. Fiber is nearly impossible to communications payloads between electromagnetic interference, enhanced
intercept without physically locating radome mounted high above deck of a security, low latency and high band-
and tapping it. The importance of secu- ship and equipment rooms situated width make it indispensable for modern
rity in A&D needs no explanation, but within the hulls of ships. However, A&D operations. However, successful
the stakes grow even higher when dis- rough ocean environments and corro- implementation of RFoF solutions in
cussing sabotaging autonomous weap- sion from saltwater causes significant this sector will depend on suppliers
ons, drones, and vehicles. RFoF is also waveguide interference because they with a flexible technical platform that
used today in SCIFs (sensitive compart- are fragile and must be kept extremely can be cost-effectively tailored by a spe-
mentalized information facilities) to clean and dry. Using optical fiber cables cific mission/application. As technolo-
establish completely secure Wi-Fi for as a replacement to transmit these pay- gy continues to advance, RFoF is poised
similar reasons. loads is more suitable for these condi- to play an even more significant role in
tions. The negative impact of commu- ensuring seamless, secure, and reliable
RFoF: Ideal to Support nicat ion downt ime on unmanned communication for the military and
Communication in Harsh vessels only becomes greater as the fleet aerospace industries.
Environments grows in scale.
RFoF technology exhibits high resil- Beyond physical damage or the envi- This article was written by Meir Bar-
ience in the face of physical damage or ronment, conventional RF systems are tur, President and CEO of Optical Zonu
environmental hazards, which is a stan- also susceptible to interference from Corporation. For more information,
dard expectation for the majority of electromagnetic pulses (EMPs), which visit www.opticalzonu.com.
Shaking Outside the Box
to Advance Flight
Research
According to the DLR team, these

measurements are useful for the devel-
opment of micro-aerial vehicles. “We
were inspired by the flapping wing pat-
terns of birds,” Schroeder said. “Under-
standing how wing configurations affect
STB in Action at the German the flow phenomena and aerodynamic
L
Aerospace Center forces around the wing can help us
agrangian Par t icle Tracking A group of researchers from the Ger- design vehicles that generate lift and
(LPT) is a popular flow visualiza- man Aerospace Center (DLR) recently thrust more efficiently, or that can han-
tion technique that lets scien- used the STB method to observe Collar’s dle wind gusts with more agility.”
tists track tracer particles in a triangle of forces — aerodynamic, elastic The DLR team carried out its experi-
three-dimensional volume using high- and inertial — acting on a flexible wing ments using a water tunnel that was
speed cameras. This method plays an as it flapped inside a water tunnel. The open at the top and had windows at
important role in many fluid mechanics DLR team, made up of Drs. Andreas the sides and bottom. Around the tun-
studies, particularly those that investi- Schroeder and Daniel Schanz, seeded nel, they placed eight 4-megapixel
gate turbulent flows. the tunnel with particle trackers, flow- (Mpx) high-speed cameras: six Phan-
Pushing the boundaries of this tech- ing around the wing, to calculate volu- tom v2640s and one Phantom v1840,
nique, some researchers are beginning to metric pressure fields and determine the along with one Phantom T1340. Three
use multiple high-speed cameras driven aerodynamic loads. At the same time, high-powered LED arrays provided illu-
Background Image: VanderWolf Images/Adobe Stock
by sophisticated 3D measurement soft- they used tracked markers, painted on mination. This experimental setup
ware which uses temporal information the wing’s surface, to determine the elas- also included a motorized wing mech-
contained in time-resolved data sets to tic and inertial forces. anism, which included three NACA
track particles in densely seeded flows. Data was captured with Phantom 0012 wings with different flexibilities.
This newer technique, called Shake the high-speed cameras and an integrated The wing mot ion was inspired by
Box (STB), predicts the positions of already imaging system from LaVision, which nature, as the team based each wing’s
tracked particles and then corrects errors is known for its expertise in flow and fo r m a n d m ove m e n t p a r a m e t e r s
using image matching. The algorithms fluid dynamics, offering systems built according to prior measurements of
triangulate the positions of new particles for advanced optical measurement owls in free flight.
in the measurement domain, enabling techniques including Time Resolved The eight Phantom cameras, operat-
scientists to look at higher-particle densi- Particle Image Velocimetry (TR-PIV) ing at 2 kilohertz (kHz), each contained
ties with greater positional accuracy com- and Par t icle Tracking Velocimetr y 72 GB of RAM, allowing the researchers
pared to traditional LPT. (PTV). to capture 12,597 consecutive images at
4-Mpx pixel resolution. According to
Schroeder, in a typical LPT experiment,
the entire measurement volume fits
inside the camera’s field of view. “How-
ever, the presence of the wing in the
tunnel always blocked the view for a
subset of cameras as the wing moved,”
he explains. To overcome this issue,
Schroeder and his colleagues lined up
the cameras in two groups of four, with
one group facing each side of the tunnel
and each unit linking back to a single
recording workstation via 10 GB Ether-
net. “With this setup, we always had
three or four cameras recording each
illuminated region in the volume,
enabling us to capture the particle dis-
tribution around the entire wing.”
To determine the elastic and inertial
forces acting on the wing, the research-
ers seeded the flow with 60-micrometer
(µm) spherical polyamide particles. They
also applied a random, white dotted pat-
tern to the wing’s surface, allowing them
to take time-resolved measurements of
the wing’s motion and shape within the
water volume. Over the course of the
experiments, the team captured 12,597
consecutive images per 6.3 second run,
for a total of six cycles.
How Shake the Box Works

Central to the success of these experi-
ments was STB Lagrangian particle
trac king whic h, according to t he
researchers, has two main ingredients.
The first ingredient is called Iterative
Particle Reconstruction (IPR). The DLR
team’s special tracking software detect-
ed the particle peaks on the captured The dynamic testing rig that was used in this evaluation.
images and then triangulated the parti-
cle positions using images from the original image of the particle to an next time-step and then corrected pre-
multiple cameras. image we create synthetically. As a diction errors by the shaking process.
“In particle reconstructions, the par- result, we can see the mismatch between “The value of STB is its ability to use
ticle’s 3D position is often slightly dis- the reprojected image and the original the available temporal information to
placed in relation to the true position,” image.” This process of moving the par- reduce the reconstruction complexity
Schanz explains. “This can be the result ticles around in space to optimize their o f e a c h t i m e - st e p ,” S c h a n z s a i d .
of noise, image overlap or the presence position is what is meant by “shaking “Because we’re using multiple cameras,
of ghost particles.” To overcome this the box.” we have a full time-series available to
issue, the position and intensity of each Although STB unlocks particle track- us. STB extracts the additional tempo-
reconstructed particle were optimized ing at higher seeding densities, ghost ral information we have from the mul-
by fitting the particle’s 3D position and particles remain a challenge. This is tiple images of the same particle in the
intensity to the camera images. This where the second main STB ingredient time-series.”
position optimization step, based on comes into play: exploitation of the tem- According to the scientist, the STB
image matching, is integral to IPR. poral domain. Using available temporal algorithms initially concentrated on the
According to Schanz, “We can optimize information, the tracking software first four time-steps (T1-T4) in the series.
a particle’s position by comparing the extended known particle tracks to the Reconstructing the particles for each of
Test & Measurement
a b c
The full view of the wing markers and particles: a) First is the raw image; b) second is the minimum over six images, extracted at the same phase position of the
wing movement; c) and third is the minimum image subtracted from the camera (a-b).
the four time-steps enabled the research At the fifth time-step (T5), the STB The STB algorithm continued in this
team to discriminate between the good algorithms used the information for the way, predicting, correcting and shaking
particles and the bad. “Ghost particles particles tracked so far to predict their more particles, until it worked its way
pop up randomly at different locations in position. “While we can do this with a through the entire time-series.
the time-steps, whereas true particles fol- high degree of accuracy, there are still
low a trajectory,” Schanz explains. “In inevitable errors due to things like parti- The Right Cameras for the Job
light of this fact, we can discern the good cle acceleration or noise,” Schanz said. While the quantity of high-speed
particles from the bad ones. We can also “To correct these deviations, we shake cameras was a requirement to see both
begin extending the known particle the box — subtracting the projected sides of the wing, the specific camera
tracks to the next step in the time-series.” image from the original image.” models were chosen based on factors
like frame rate, sensor resolution and
ease of useability. “For these experi-
ments, we knew we needed a repetition
rate of at least 2 kHz, or roughly 2,000
frames per second — maybe higher,”
Schantz said. “We also needed a sensor
resolution of at least 4 megapixels to
image enough particles to resolve the
spatial structures of the flow.”
Meeting these technical require-
ments, the Phantom v2640 and v1840
are capable of at least 4,500 fps at 2048
x 1952 resolution. The third high-speed
camera model used for these experi-
ments was the newer Phantom T1340. It
provided the researchers with the per-
formance required in a much smaller
form factor, ideal for environments
with limited space. Each of the Phan-
tom models feature a low noise rating
(8.7 e- or below) which is a tremendous
benefit that enables the capture of mea-
surable detail in dark and traditionally
difficult-to-capture regions of t he
image. All three camera types met the
requirement for sensor resolution and
exceeded the requirement for frame
Four Phantom cameras, installed on each side of the water tunnel, formed a common camera system. rate. “The Phantom cameras gave us the
Test & Measurement
highly detailed images we needed to image the particles for

our STB analysis,” Schanz said.
Phantom cameras work with LaVision DaVis, a complete
software package for intelligent imaging applications in the
field of flow measurement technology. While the researchers
used their own software for the particle tracking and STB anal-
ysis, they did use LaVision software for the image capture and
save process. The DLR team used to have to set up one PC per
camera — hardly a flexible solution for field experiments that
require multiple cameras. “For these wing experiments, we
simply connected all eight Phantom cameras to a single PC
configured by LaVision, which streamlined our setup signifi-
cantly,” Schroeder said.
The lightning-fast download speed, enabled by the Phantom
cameras’ 10 Gb Ethernet connection, was an important feature
for the researchers, who previously had to wait 30 minutes or
longer to download their images. “Standard Ethernet was not a
viable option whenever we went out into the field and had to
set up and take down our equipment quickly,” Schroeder said.
“The slow download speed wasted too much time.”
Alternatively, for these wing experiments, the team could
run all eight cameras and download all images simultane-
ously in a matter of minutes using 10 Gb Ethernet and the
integrated LaVision system. Optimizing the quality of the
images even further was “quiet mode.” This camera option
switches off the cooling fans during the recording process.
“This option eliminated a source of vibration that could
have impacted the accuracy of our measurements,” Schroed-
er said.
A Promising Look to the Future

While the DLR research team has yet to evaluate the data in
terms of its implications for flow physics — the delay being an
unfortunate side-effect of the COVID-19 pandemic — the
experiments incorporated many milestones, particularly
regarding the potential of STB to accurately track densely
seeded flows. The trials demonstrated that STB can be success-
fully performed using eight high-speed cameras, versus the
three or four cameras typically used as part of this technique.
The experiments revealed that variables, such as the lines of
sight of multiple cameras, can be successfully resolved with
obstacles occupying the same measurement volume as the
tracer particles.
“These experiments feature the highest fluid seeding densities
I’ve seen so far. The amount of cameras, the high sensor resolu-
tion and the quality of the setup have yielded such high quality
data. It all points to very promising results — and future research
endeavors,” said Alex Nila, the LaVision Applications Consultant
who worked with the DLR research team.
“Our evaluation is ongoing,” Schanz adds. “Our next task
will be to fit a 3D finite element model of the wing to the cap-
tured marker cloud, enabling us to fully describe the flexing
of the wing.”
This article was written by Toni Lucatorto, Product Manag-

er, Vision Research. For more information, visit: www.
phantomhighspeed.com.
An Introduction to
Quantum Computing
T
o begin with let us look at regu- within qubit. Consider figure 1. Each time the stimulus is applied is key, plus if
lar digital computers, or what atomic orbital is represented by an ener- we can constrain the energy levels to
physicists call a classical com- gy level measured in electron volts (eV), two, we have the fundamental building
puter. This performs data pro- with the lowest orbit called the ground blocks for manipulating 1s and 0s with a
cessing tasks by manipulating bits; each state. As a particle can also be a wave single electron.
bit can have a value of one or zero. A (wave-particle duality), its energy level Electrons also possess a type of angu-
quantum implementation of a computer has a frequency equal to the energy level lar momentum called spin. As the elec-
manipulates quantum bits (qubits). in eV divided by Planck’s constant (the tron moves from one energy level to
Qubits can have a value of one, zero or quantization constant). If we want the another, the spin momentum changes.
both simultaneously. When the bit is electron to move to a higher energy At the lower energy level, the momen-
simultaneously a one and a zero, (yes state, we apply EM energy at a frequency tum is pointing down, called the “spin-
one and zero at the same time, not oscil- equal to the desired energy level minus down.” When EM energy is applied, the
lating quickly between two states) the bit the current energy level, divided by spin changes until the momentum is
is said to be in a state of superposition. Planck’s constant. The frequency and point ing upwards as t he electron
Superposition is one of two key phe- achieves the next energy level. This is
nomena in quantum computing, the the “spin-up” state. When the electron
other being entanglement as they allow state can be defined like this, it is said to
us to quickly crack encryption, make possess an eigenstate, as both the posi-
artificial intelligence (AI) faster, or do tion and momentum are known and can
things like simultaneously build models be quantified through measurement. We
for weather and the stock market. can say spin-up represents a logical 1,
In this article we will focus on super- and spin-down represents a logical 0. So,
position. To understand this, we need to we now have a quantum implementa-
examine the properties of an electron, tion of a bit.
especially how electrons behave in Now let’s make it a qubit. As already
the presence of electromag- discussed there exist possibili-
netic (EM) fields and ties that an electron
how t his is can be in
used
ZinetroN/Adobe Stock

neither a spin-up or spin-down state, but

in-between or a superposition of the two Magnetic Moment
Facing Upwards
states. While superposition is funda- Electron in the excited state
E1 or 1
Orbits, shells or Energy Levels

mental to the operation of a quantum
computer, we have what is referred to as
the “measurement problem.” A state of E1 – E0
superposition only can exist if you don’t eV f
ħ
“observe” it - the idea behind the popu- Electromagnetic Energy (f)
larized Schrödinger’s cat example. In a
quantum system, observation is synony- E0 or 0
Electron in the ground state
mous with measurement. As a physicist Magnetic Moment
Facing Downwards
would say, the measurement causes the
particle to be projected to one of its Figure 1. Electron energy states as measured in electron volts.
eigenstates or as an electronics engineer
would say back to the logical 1 or 0.
There are many implementations of
quantum bits, ranging from solid-state
superconducting qubits to photon-based
systems using lasers and modified crys-
tals. Now, let’s discuss the Transmon sol-
id-state implementation. A Transmon or
Transmission Line Shunted Plasma
Oscillation qubit, is a type of solid-state
qubit. Fundamentally, it is a tuned LC
circuit connected to a transmission line,
Essentially a microwave
which resonates when an appropriate Implemented as a hybrid
resonant circuit
frequency is applied. superconductor/semiconductor
Figure 2 represents an actual quantum circuit
system. As the spin and energy level
change with the application of certain Cooled to <-450 degrees f
frequencies, a qubit is fundamentally (milli-kelvin)
based on several microwave resonant cir-
cuits connected via transmission lines, Figure 2. A quantum computer.
for both qubit control and measurement.
The inductive component in an actual tum behavior. This is established with Pi, and steadily move the readout further
qubit is replaced with a Josephson junc- the Rabi Oscillation Measurement. If a and further away from the pulse to pro-
tion. While still fundamentally an LC frequency for a specific amount of time duce a decay curve. This is a true quality
structure, this modifies the inductive is applied, a pulse, you can make the metric for qubits, as the longer it can
properties of the circuit so only two reso- electron move from the ground state to maintain a quantum state the more
nant or energy states can occur — since the excited state, and back again. This is effective it is at performing calculations.
the system must be constrained to two often also referred to as a rotation, with Figure 3 shows the Tabor Quantum
levels, 1 and 0. The circuit is packaged in the excited state being 180 degrees of Computing Measurement Control and
a protective shield with the RF connec- rotation and back to the ground state Measurement System.
tors exposed, then is cooled to about 360 degrees of rotation. A physicist often Quantum computers, like all comput-
minus 450 degrees Fahrenheit to ensure refers to the pulse of durations as Pi, 2Pi ers, utilize gates. While a classical com-
the system exhibits quantum behavior. or even Pi/2. Pi is the time it takes to puter utilizes NAND gates, built from
One of the key behaviors to establish rotate the electron 180 degrees and 2Pi transistors, quantum computer gates are
for a quantum bit is to determine its res- 360 degrees. In the Rabi oscillation mea- realized from the electrical pulses with
onant characteristics and determine at surement, we vary the pulse width to specific frequencies and lengths. A sim-
what frequencies it will exhibit quantum determine the exact length of Pi. plified example would be a ‘not’ gate
behavior. The que of the resonator is So now we know the exact resonant implementation, this would be the appli-
usually very high so the experimentalists frequency and the time it takes the elec- cation of a Pi pulse or inverting the spin.
will want to sweep a range of frequencies tron to spin-up and spin-down. The next We can add another gate to the sequence,
through the devices operating range to step is to determine how long the device the ‘Hadamard’ Gate or a Pi/2 pulse. As
determine the exact resonant frequency. can maintain quantum behavior. This is the qubit is in a state of superposition at
Once the resonance is known we need the Relaxation Time measurement. To this point it is neither a 1 or 0, if we mea-
to determine if the device exhibits quan- do this we apply a pulse of time length sure (or observe) the state of the qubit, it
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the military and defense industry life interference from the outside world na creates various electron or photon
because of our ability to under- would cause the probability to be weight- spins that can ultimately help crack
stand the sometimes unique and ed one way or another. codes and facilitate secure communica-
special situational requirements
With just two gates implemented on tions, although there is still a long way
and engineer a system specic to
those requirements. five qubits, we can effectively create a to go! Today most quantum computing
5-bit random number generator. Not machines reside in research labs, with
Director Series much of an application, however we scientists trying to solve problems such
have not discussed the phenomenon of as how much longer a state of superpo-
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range of accurate
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heating and the C-Not gate. Allowing for more com- work together.
cooling plex algorithms and applications to be
applications with a solved as discussed at the beginning of This article was written by Mark Elo,
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Andrey VP/Adobe Stock
How Laser Communications Innovation is Finally Coming of Age

and Driving Innovation in Defense
R adio is a well-established technology.

For over 100 years, it has been widely
used: in communication, radar, naviga- iame
ter
arth d
tion, remote control, remote sensing, Earth Earth ,1e
≈0
and other respects. It is popular because r
ete
it works; it is reliable. And yet laser has diam
h
shown itself to be a superior medium of art
0e
≈ 10
communication. Indeed, the laser-vs-ra-
dio debate is already getting old. What is
new – and what will truly change the
debate – are the transformations cur-
rently taking place in laser telecommu-
RF link Optical link
nications – transformations which will
drive innovation in defense.
It is perhaps worth pausing to remind
ourselves of what laser’s existing advan-
tages over radio are. Laser communica- Mars Mars
tions offer faster data transfer, and great-
er data capacity. And by virtue of their The example of a link between Mars and Earth illustrates the difference of beam divergence between
RF and laser. Radio waves and light are both electromagnetic waves, having very distant frequencies.
structure and size, lasers are almost However, when light is emitted by a laser, it is concentrated in a beam directed in one direction and not
impossible to detect, intercept, or jam. very divergent, unlike radio transmitters which diffuse the wave in a much more open cone.
Interference is also rare. Lasers do not
‘leak’ in the same way radio does, and, as
against the broad transmission style of
radio, they transfer information along a
very narrow beam, which cannot over-
lap with any other.
But it is the new innovations in the
field, rather than these advantages, that
will provide a technical and thus com-
petitive advantage for companies and
the military. That is why laser technolo-
gy is becoming such a key field in
defense. The Chinese are investing heav-
ily, and taking big steps forward in this
area, but the U.S. military had the fore-
sight and pragmatism to realize in the
1990s that the most exciting develop- Lasers have already proven their ability to enable robust satellite communications in atmospheric tur-
bulence. The use of Cailabs’ optical ground station (OGS) technology to enable high-throughput space
ments in defense and defense-adjacent telecommunications networks has gained recognition from organizations such as the French Ministry of
technology were taking place not in the the Armed Forces, AID, DGA, SSC, and CONTEC.

turbulence. The variability of the atmo-

sphere, involving differences in pressure,
temperature and composition, deviates
the optical paths of laser beams, affecting
their shape, quality, and intensity. In
other words, atmospheric turbulence
degrades the quality of the laser link.
Thanks to innovations in laser comms,
however, this problem has been solved.
Innovations like this one are driving
uptake. Outside of the work that Cailabs is
doing, there are such things as the Europe-
an Data Relay System (EDRS), a European
constellation of geosynchronous equato-
Since the invention of the laser, programs to develop offensive laser applications, such as anti-structure rial orbit (GEO) satellites that relay infor-
laser weapons, have attracted great interest. The arrival of new, easily implemented laser sources at the
end of the 1990s and the growing presence of drones on the battlefield since 2010 have given new credibil- mation and data by laser between satel-
ity to these programs. They show the potential value of laser Directed Energy Weapons (DEW) in the field. lites, spacecraft, unmanned aerial vehicles
(UAVs), and ground stations. Laser links
are evolving elsewhere: satellite-to-ground,
ground-to-ground, ship-to-satellites.
And increasingly, the problems that
laser communications can solve are
industrial, rather than technical. The
technical problem of pointing accuracy,
for instance – especially in the case of
satellite-to-satellite communication,
where two points on two objects moving
at great speed through vast areas have to
find one another – has been solved. The
problem of protecting human eyesight
from laser damage has also been solved.
Where once the problems in laser tech-
nology were chiefly academic and scien-
tific, we now have challenges in scaling,
in industrialization. What was recently
experimental is now operational. And
we thus find ourselves on the very cusp
of a transition from radio to laser for
numerous use cases. That is why interest
is growing. The superiority of laser over
The European Data Relay System (EDRS) is an independent European satellite system that reduces time radio in highly consequential fields,
delays in the transmission of large quantities of data. EDRS uses laser to relay information to and from
non-geostationary satellites, spacecraft, other vehicles and fixed Earth stations that otherwise are not such as defense, is undeniable.
able to permanently transmit/receive data. (Image: European Space Agency) Though laser technology has advantag-
es over radio, and those advantages are
military space but in the commercial companies with one foot in the commer- growing as innovation accelerates, what is
world. Commercial organizations were cial sector and one in defense. essential to realize is that they need not be
showing themselves to be better at creat- One of the major innovations in the in competition. Rather, laser is a comple-
ing technology, machinery and equip- field is ‘light-shaping’ – the manipulation mentary technology, rather than a rival.
ment of a quality and at a speed that was of multiple light beams for the purposes Radio is and for some time will remain the
greater than could be achieved by the of enhancing the reliability of data trans- workhorse of tactical, strategic and other
military itself. As a result, the Depart- fer, the quantity of data that can be trans- forms of communication. But in certain
ment of Defense began to distribute con- ferred, and the breadth of applications of contexts, and for specialized purposes,
tracts more widely, creating incentives laser communications. Pioneered and laser has an important role to play.
for further innovation in technology rel- developed by Cailabs, it has transforma-
evant to the military. The most promis- tive potential, in part due to its ability to This article was written by Jean-François
ing innovations in laser communica- get around a problem once thought to be Morizur, CEO of Cailabs. For more infor-
tions are therefore driven by smaller intractable: the problem of atmospheric mation, visit www.cailabs.com.
Tech Briefs
Spatial Calibration for Accurate Long Distance

Measurement Using Infrared Cameras
A new spatial calibration procedure has been introduced for infrared optical systems developed for
cases where camera systems are required to be focused at distances beyond 100 meters.
Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Armaments Center, Picatinny Arsenal, NJ
A ll commercially available camera

systems have lenses (and internal
geometries) that cannot perfectly
refract light waves and refocus them
onto a two-dimensional (2D) image
sensor. This means that all digital imag-
es contain elements of distortion and
thus are not a true representation of
the real world. Expensive high-fidelity
lenses may have little measurable dis-
tortion, but if sufficient distortion is
present, it will adversely affect photo-
grammetric measurements made from
the images produced by these systems. Figure 1. The image shows pincushion (left) and barrel (right) distortion effects.
This is true regardless of the type of
camera system, whether it be a daylight sic parameters of the camera and possi- out the field of view is critical for accu-
camera, infrared (IR) camera, or camera bly the distortion model, it is necessary rately building a model of the camera
sensitive to another part of the electro- to perform a calibration at the focus at distortion field.
magnetic spectrum. which measurements will be made. An investigation into various con-
The most common examples of large- When the focus is set to a far distance struction techniques for medium-scale
scale lens distortions are known as barrel (over 200 meters), conventional meth- IR calibration boards (larger than would
and pincushion effects, which are illus- ods for laboratory calibration are not fea- be used in laboratory environments, but
trated in figure 1. If these images were a sible because the calibration targets smaller than an ideal outdoor array) was
truly planar reproduction of the real required would be too large and placed conducted to find a design that exhibit-
world, the curved lines in the images too far away to fit indoors. ed the greatest contrast between the dots
would appear as straight lines. Essential- The most widely used spatial calibra- and the background. A variety of target
ly, this can be thought of as the focal tion tool was developed by Yvez-Bouquet boards were made of 4 × 8 ft (1.2 × 2.4 m)
length (conversion from pixel distance and is now included with its own graph- sheets of foil-faced polyisocyanurate
to real-world distance) not being uni- ical user interface (GUI) in the MATLAB insulation board. At this size and of this
form throughout the image. Spatial cali- Image Processing Toolbox (ref. 2). This material, the boards could still be moved
bration aims to build a transform to cor- convenient and automated method and twisted around by a single person.
rect for large-scale distortion effects and makes use of a flat target board of any During construction, a precision-print-
effectively flatten an image so that the size with a checker pattern. The tool ed template was used to position differ-
focal lengths (x and y) are uniform works by estimating the intrinsic and ent types of dots on the surface. Experi-
throughout the field of view. extrinsic properties of a camera to allow ments included varying paint colors,
Some photographic applications the conversion from 2D image coordi- sheens, and materials.
require that the focus of a camera lens be nates to the 2D real-world coordinates of The goal of the experiment was to
set to a long distance (beyond 200 the checkerboard intersections. To do identify which construction technique
meters). This allows distant objects to this, a sequence of images of the target provided the most consistent contrast
appear sharply in focus as opposed to board is recorded from various angles for mid-wave IR cameras. High contrast
indoor laboratory environments where and in various positions throughout the would be needed both when the camera
the focus may be set to a much closer dis- field of view. The operator can either use is tilted up (reflecting the sky) and down
tance. Some optical systems used for a stationary camera and move the target (reflecting the ground). Based on the
visual navigation or object tracking fall board or move the camera around a sta- images collected, it was determined that
into the long-distance focus category. tionary target board. Sufficiently captur- using a calibration board with a high-
This may also apply to situations where ing the target at various angles is critical gloss white paint and matte black paint
far-away objects or features are tracked for estimating the extrinsic parameters for the dots provided the most consis-
for the purposes of image stabilization. of the camera system, while sufficiently tent contrast. The best performance was
Since a change in focus affects the intrin- recording images of the target through- achieved when briefly exposing the sur-
Tech Briefs
face of the calibration board to the sun and making the dots easy to detect using ments Center. For more information,
for a period of approximately 20 sec- an automated circle-finding algorithm. download the Technical Support
onds. This warmed the matte black dots This work was performed by Ryan Package (free white paper) at mobili-
quicker than the white background, Decker for the Army Combat Capabil- tyengineeringtech.com/tsp under the
increasing contrast in the IR spectrum ities Development Command Arma- Lasers & Optics category.
Towards Greater Sensitivity: A Brief FTIR and Infrared-

Based Cavity Ring Down Spectroscopy Comparative Study
A presentation of work comparing efficacy of a traditional IR method used as a standard within the
U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM) and by international collaborators
with that of an emerging technology, cavity ring down spectroscopy (CRDS).
Army Combat Capabilities Development Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD
A threat in the form of chemi-

cal vapor may not be visible,
but rapid detection is critical for
must be a change in the mole-
cule’s dipole moment wit h
respect to the molecular vibra-
preservation of life and property. tion; this is the basis of the
In addition, understanding the absorption of the IR radiation
sur rounding environment and thereby a change in the
informs the posture that the war- spectral absorption profile. In
fighter will need to take. The addition to individual bonds
field of chemical vapor detection within a molecule, there are also
spans far beyond the warfighter larger moieties within the mole-
and is rich in research. A search cule which vibrate at character-
in SciFinder for “chemical vapor istic frequencies which provide
detection” provides over 400,000 structural or functional infor-
results with over 3,000 books, The Gasmet DX4000 gas analyzer (bottom right) with PSS (left) and mation and are nearly indepen-
external laptop (top right), a portable Fourier-transform infrared
2 6 , 0 0 0 r ev i ews , a n d n e a rly (FTIR) spectroscopy system, was used by the researchers to perform dent from the rest of the mole-
300,000 journal articles. The this work. cule’s structure.
focus of this document will be Cavity Ring-Down spec-
with an eye towards perimeter monitor- use cavity ringdown to determine the troscopy (CRDS) is a newer IR absorp-
ing for a wide range of gas-phase chem- absorption profile. tion-based technique made possible by
icals. To accomplish such sensing, com- While there are many ways to sense the use of tunable pulsed lasers. Rather
pound-specific sensors should not be gases, optical, infrared absorption-based than using a broadband (blackbody)
employed as they lack capability to techniques offer the capability to per- emitter as is done with traditional IR
detect or inform about the presence of form real-time, in situ analysis and techniques, a pulsed laser is tuned
many potential threats outside of their direct measurement of the vibrations of across wavelengths into an optical cavi-
selected targets. A viable technique for a molecule (in near- and mid-IR tech- ty. Instead of measuring the absorption
sensing a wide range of compounds is niques). A keen advantage is gained directly, the amount of light leaking
infrared absorption as most potential when using infrared absorption tech- through a highly reflective mirror with-
threats provide an infrared absorbance niques by applying a Fourier transform in the cavity is measured with respect
spectrum which arises from each com- to t he IR sig nal whic h allows for to time at each wavelength and a time
pound’s unique molecular structure. increased throughput (known as Jac- constant for the decay can be measured.
The purpose of this article is to pro- quinot’s advantage) and multiplexing This work was performed by Eric
vide a comparison between a com- (known as Felleget’s advantage) and can Languirand and Ian Pardoe for the
mercially available instrument long increase the signal-to-noise. U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Devel-
utilized as a standard within several Detailed information on the mecha- opment Command (DEVCOM) Chemi-
defense laboratories around the globe nism of IR absorption is extensively cal Biological Center. For more infor-
which employs FTIR methods for detec- documented in scientific literature. In mation, download the Technical
tion of environmental gasses in indus- short, gas-phase IR analysis of a chemi- Support Package (free white paper) at
trial environments to a newer class cal provides vibration-rotation spectra. mobilityengineeringtech.com/tsp
of IR absorption-based detectors that For a compound to be IR-active, there under the Lasers & Optics category.
Tech Briefs
Determining Optical Material Parameters With Motion in

Structured Illumination
A set of power measurements as a function of controlled nanopositioner movement of a planar film
arrangement in a standing wave field is presented as a means to obtain the thicknesses and the
dielectric constants to a precision dictated by noise in an exciting laser beam and the positioning and
detector process, all of which can be refined with averaging.
Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN
T he broad need for determining the opti-

cal properties of thin films in a multi-
tude of applications is usually served by
inversion for multiple parameters at each
wavelength becomes possible, and in a
mutual information sense, this is achieved
ter extraction, in order to constrain the
inversion. For example, such a model may
represent a Lorentzian resonance or impose
ellipsometry. Practical application of ellip- by taking intensity measurements at a a Drude model. While simplifying the
sometry generally requires prior con- known set of displacements in a cavity. extraction, this imposes an approximate
straints, typically in the form of a frequen- Ellipsometry measures the amplitude but not necessarily the correct description.
cy-dependent model. To provide for a ratio and the phase difference between Otherwise, a careful choice of the initial
suitable solution of the inverse problem, polarized light reflected from the surface of variables is needed in ellipsometry.
where film parameters are determined from a film and determines the refractive index There is a long history of using interfer-
a set of optical measurements. We present or thickness by fitting the experimental ometers to determine the relative position
motion in structured illumination as a data to an optical model that represents an of a surface, and to determine the refrac-
means to obtain additional information approximated sample structure. Generally, tive index of gases, and in fuel cells, includ-
and hence avoid the need for a material a model of the frequency-dependent dielec- ing water content changes in membrane
response model. Using this approach, tric constant is used for successful parame- fuel cells. White-light interferometry has
Aerospace & Defense Technology, September 2023

ADT Optical Zonu Ad 0923.indd 1
mobilityengineeringtech.com 25
8/8/23 12:33 PM
Tech Briefs
been used to retrieve the thickness of 1(b). Two dielectric slabs forming the
thin films, under the assumption that partially reflective mirrors have a refrac-
the frequency-dependent dielectric tive index of 1.5 (simulating crown
constant is known. glass) and a thickness of λ/5/5, with λ
L Thin Film
We present the concept of an inter- being the free-space wavelength,
ferometer arrangement where inten- T ∆y Substrate 1.5µ1.5m. The mirrors are separated by
sity measurements as a function of Slab with n =1.5
2.7λ (inner face-to-face distance). Note
controlled position of the sample, as that the length of the cavity was not
could be achieved with a piezoelectric tuned to resonance. An object of total
positioner, allow extraction of both Detector thickness λ/5/5 is comprised of two lay-
the thickness and dielectric constant (a) (b) ers of different materials: a slab with a
based on transmission measure- known refractive index of 1.5 and a
Figure 1. (a) The simulated measurement arrangement has a
ments. The simple intensity-based plane wave incident from the top, with the free-space wave- thin film on top with a thickness L and
measurement required avoids the length as λ=1.5µm. Two dielectric slabs act as partially reflecting refractive index n. Both L and n are to be
alignment and multiple polarization mirrors and form a low-Q cavity with a length of 2.7λ (inner
Loremof ipsum
determined simultaneously at the sin-
face-to-face distance). (b) An illustration of the magnitude
data typical of ellipsometry. Here, the the background electric field in which the film and substrate are gle frequency of the measurement, at a
film is moved in a structured back- placed and moved (not drawn to scale). free-space wavelength of λ.
ground field in steps, and the total This work was performed by Der-
power due to the background and tion and initial values in order to fit the gan Lin, Vivek Raghuram, and
scattered fields is measured. The method experimental data. Kevin J. Webb for the National Science
relies on cost-function minimization An illustration of the arrangement used Foundation and the Air Force Office of
using a forward model to compare the to obtain simulated data is shown in Fig. Scientific Research. For more informa-
measurements to a set of forward model 1(a). The 1D object to be characterized is tion, download the Technical Support
data corresponding to different sample located and scanned within a cavity hav- Package (free white paper) at mobili-
structures rather than repeated correc- ing a low quality (Q) factor that provides tyengineeringtech.com/tsp under the
tions to the theoretical dielectric func- the structured field, as illustrated in Fig. Lasers & Optics category.
Deep Image Prior Amplitude SAR Image Anonymization

An extensive evaluation of the Deep Image Prior (DIP) technique for image inpainting on Synthetic
Aperture Radar (SAR) images.
Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright Patterson Air Force Base, OH
S ynt het ic Aper ture Radar (SAR)

images are a powerful tool for study-
ing the Earth’s surface. They are radar
and elevation of the Earth’s surface. SAR
images are also used for monitoring nat-
ural disasters, such as earthquakes,
increased deployment of this technolo-
gy in commercial products and services.
The research community is concerned
signals generated by an imaging system floods, and landslides, as well as for about the potential misuse of SAR imag-
mounted on a platform such as an air- detecting changes in land-use patterns, es, which play a critical role in many
craft or satellite. As the platform moves, such as urbanization and deforestation. applications, particularly military ones.
t he system emits sequent ially Due to their nature of providing detailed The widespread availability of SAR imag-
high-power electromagnetic waves imager y regardless of daylight and es means that almost anyone can extract
through its antenna. The waves are weather conditions, SAR images are also sensitive information from them, such as
then reflected by the Earth’s surface, a precious asset in military applications. the location of troops or civilians during
re-captured by the antenna, and finally As a matter of fact, SAR images can be a conflict. As a result, some providers
processed to create detailed images of used to detect sensible military targets have begun to conceal features and infor-
the terrain below. like aircrafts, airports, ships, tanks or mation in their geospatial services, such
SAR images are employed in a wide other vehicles. as hiding traffic from maps that could
variety of applications. Indeed, as the In recent years, SAR images have reveal the location of refugees.
waves hit different objects, their phase become more widely available than ever All these elements make it clear that
and amplitude are modified according before. Many portals now offer SAR techniques that anonymize or conceal
to the objects’ characteristics (e.g., per- images for free, making them accessible target areas from remote sensing raster
mittivity, roughness, geometry, etc.). to researchers, students, and the general data are necessary. With this goal in
The collected signal provides highly public alike. This has led to a surge in mind, in this paper, we tackle the prob-
detailed information about the shape r e s e a r c h u s i n g S A R i m a ge r y a n d lem of removing sensitive objects from
Tech Briefs
Also, the generation of SAR imag-

es using CNNs has found some com-
pelling applications. Guo et al. relied
on Generative Adversarial Networks
(GANs) for generating fully synthetic
SAR images of military vehicles start-
ing from simple observation parame-
ters like platform azimuth and target
(a) (b) (c) (d) depression angles. Baier et al. generat-
ed both SAR and RGB satellite images
Figure 1. Example of Vertical-Vertical (VV) amplitude SAR image anonymization with the proposed
by providing as inputs land-cover maps
method. The urban agglomerate highlighted in red in the picture has been removed and substituted
with content similar to the surrounding area. (a) target image to anonymize; (b) final anonymized and digital elevation models to a condi-
image; (c) target image close-up; (d) final image close-up. tional GAN. Moreover, there have been
several other contributions exploiting
amplitude SAR images while preserving ular interest in DL tools like Convolu- RGB data to synthesize SAR images and
most of their content from a seman- tional Neural Networks (CNNs) due to vice versa, as well as methods exploit-
tic point of view, i.e., most of their their ability to learn complex features ing SAR images to improve the quality
land-cover content. directly from data without manual proof Electro-Optical (EO) images.
We accomplish this task by relying on cesses involved. Recently, DL has been All these DL-based solutions typical-
Deep Learning (DL) techniques for ana- exploited for SAR image de-speckling, ly need a training phase for the CNN
lyzing and processing SAR images. As a land-cover classification, oil spills detec- to “learn” how to properly process the
matter of fact, in recent years the SAR tion, change detection of land use pat- data for the task at hand. Training
research community has gained a partic- terns, and so forth. involves the collection of a corpus of
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Tech Briefs
data to optimize the parameters of the ting. Depending on the dimensions of This work was performed by Edoardo
networks. This data collection must the datasets, the complexity of the Cannas and Sara Mandelli for the Air
contain a considerable amount of sam- architecture, and the training process Force Research Laboratory. For more
ples to be representative of the data involved, the optimization of these information, download the Technical
distribution in the real world, and to methods can prove extremely compu- Support Package (free white paper)
allow for the creation of training, vali- tationally expensive and may require at mobilityengineeringtech.com/tsp
dation, and test splits to avoid overfit- considerable manual effort. under the Lasers & Optics category.
Free-Space Quantum Communications in Harsh

Environments
Exploring the possibility of all-weather secure quantum communication using
macroscopic quantum states of light.
Air Force Research Laboratory, Asian Office of Aerospace Research and Development, Tokyo, Japan
M ore than half a century has passed

since the birth of quantum signal
detection theory, which is the corner-
scheme for optical communications at
the center of our research, is based on
the foundations of quantum communi-
cations connected by optical fibers. In
the case of free-space optical communi-
cations, various environmental changes
stone of modern quantum communica- cation theory. For quantum cryptogra- caused by the weather affect the com-
tion theory. Quantum stream cipher, the phy to progress from a theoretical possi- munication channel. Therefore, quan-
quantum-noise-based direct encryption bility to a more realistic technology, tum communications, including cryp-
experimental and theoretical research t o g r a p h i c a p p l i c a t i o n s , m u st b e
must be complementary. considered from experimental and theo-
We have reported several experimen- retical perspectives under various harsh
tal and theoretical studies on the quan- weather conditions such as fog, rain,
tum stream cipher connecting two snow, and turbulence.
points via optical fibers and also fabri- Our project aims to explore the possibil-
cated a prototype based on them. To ity of all-weather secure quantum commu-
enhance the usability of a quantum nication using macroscopic quantum
stream cipher, free-space optical com- states of light. The goals of this project are
munications must be explored in addi- the (a) experimental elucidation and
tion to point-to-point optical communi- mathematical modeling of the propaga-
12
6
Noise level (db)
-3
-6
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
Loss of fog
The image shows noise level of anti-squeezed (blue) and squeezed light (red) vs. a loss of fog.

Tech Briefs
tion characteristics of macroscopic quan- tion as the conventional one. Further- bility distribution of the transmission
tum states of light owing to atmospheric more, since the cryptographic signal is coefficient. Using the model in reference
turbulence and (b) basic research on quan- directly detected without additional atten- [Semenov & Vogel], we investigated the
tum receivers for cryptographic applica- uation, it is expected to simultaneously error probability characteristics of the
tions in harsh environments. achieve decryption and homodyne detec- homodyne receivers and the optimal
We built a simulation chamber for a tion in the shot noise limit. quantum receiver under certain turbu-
uniform and non-uniform fog and We conducted a proof-of-concept lent conditions. Future issues include
experimentally observed the propaga- experiment of the proposed decryption treating various free-space communica-
tion characteristics of visible, near-infra- method (unpublished). In addition, the- tion channels, designing a system that
red, and single-mode squeezed light, oretical analysis was also performed. leverages the robustness of the homo-
respectively. The experiments confirmed Therefore, we confirmed that the experi- dyne receiver confirmed in this study,
that the effect of fog appeared mainly in ments and theory were consistent. How- and the realization problem of an opti-
the form of energy loss. Future work is ever, future work is needed to improve mal quantum receiver for the harsh envi-
required to simulate other environ- the experimental accuracy and closely ronments encountered in free-space
ments, not limited to fog, and experi- align experiments and theory by con- optical communications.
ment with entangled light, such as two- ducting theoretical analyses that include This work was performed by Souma
mode squeezed light. more practical conditions. Masaki for the Air Force Research
We devised an optical processing meth- We developed a simple method for Laboratory Asian Office of Aerospace
od that simultaneously performed decryp- numerically determining the error prob- Research and Development. For more
tion of quantum stream cipher and homo- ability characteristics of homodyne information, download the Technical
dyne detection. The proposed method receivers and optimal quantum receivers Support Package (free white paper)
that manipulates the phase of local light when the model of a turbulent commu- at mobilityengineeringtech.com/tsp
can perform the same decryption func- nication channel is given by the proba- under the Lasers & Optics category.
Aerospace & Defense Technology, September 2023

ADT Great River Technology Ad 0923.indd 1
mobilityengineeringtech.com 29
8/8/23 4:54 PM
Application Briefs
PHASA-35 Stratospheric Flight

BAE Systems
Arlington, VA
571-488-0456
www.baesystems.com
B ritish engineers have successfully completed a stratospheric

flight trial of BAE Systems’ High Altitude Pseudo Satellite
(HAPS) Uncrewed Aerial System (UAS) - PHASA-35. Over a 24-hour
period, PHASA-35 soared to more than 66,000 feet, reaching the
stratosphere, before landing successfully. The trial, completed in
June in New Mexico, allowed engineers to assess the performance air capabilities to the UK and its allies. PHASA-35, which has a 35
of the experimental solar-electric drone within the outer-reaches meter wingspan and carries a 15 kilogram payload, uses a range of
of the planet’s atmosphere. world-leading technologies including advanced composites, ener-
The flight marks a significant milestone in PHASA-35’s develop- gy management, solar electric cells and photovoltaic arrays to pro-
ment which began in 2018. Designed by BAE Systems’ subsidiary vide energy during the day which is stored in rechargeable cells to
Prismatic Ltd to operate above the weather and conventional air maintain ﬂight overnight.
traffic, it has the potential to provide a persistent and stable plat- The successful trial assessed the performance of the experimen-
form for various uses including ultra-long endurance intelligence, tal system across a range of areas. It is the first in a series of trials
surveillance and reconnaissance, as well as security. planned to confirm system performance, support development
It also has the potential to be used in the delivery of communi- activities and validate test points to enable PHASA-35 to be made
cations networks including 4G and 5G and could be used in a wide available in defense and commercial markets internationally.
range of applications, such as disaster relief and border protection, This test flight at White Sands Missile Range was coordinat-
as an alternative to traditional airborne and satellite systems. ed and directly supported by personnel attached to Naval Sur-
The PHASA-35 program sits within FalconWorks, a new center face Warfare Center, Port Hueneme Division, Detachment
for advanced and agile research and development within BAE Sys- White Sands.
tems’ air sector, designed to deliver a range of cutting-edge combat www.baesystems.com
Boeing T-7A Completes First Flight

Boeing
St. Louis, MO
314-435-7588
www.boeing.com
T he U.S. Air Force’s new pilot training aircraft, Boeing’s T-7A,

completed its first flight on June 28, 2023. The aircraft is the
first digitally designed tactical aircraft, developed using mod-
el-based systems engineering and 3D design tools.
During the 1 hour and 3 minute flight, U.S. Air Force Maj.
Bryce Turner, 416th Test Squadron, and Steve Schmidt, Boe-
ing T-7 Chief Test Pilot, validated key aspects of the aircraft
and demonstrated the power and agility of the Air Force’s
first advanced trainer to be digitally designed, built and test-
ed. The aircraft is one of five EMD aircraft that will be deliv-
ered to the Air Force Air Education and Training Command red-tailed fighters during World War II. The T-7A moved from
for further testing. firm concept to flight testing in 36 months. A combination of
“The stable performance of the aircraft and its advanced model-based engineering, 3D design and advanced manufac-
cockpit and systems are game changers for U.S. Air Force stu- turing increased first-time quality by 75 percent and reduced
dent pilots and instructors alike,” said Turner, whose grandfa- assembly hours by 80 percent compared to previous trainers.
ther and father were both U.S. Air Force fighter pilots. “We’ve In 2018, the Air Force awarded Boeing a $9.2 billion contract
come a long way in training since my family role models flew.” for 351 T-7A advanced trainers, 46 simulators and support. The
The T-7A’s vibrant red tails are a tribute to the Tuskegee Air- T-7A will replace the Air Force’s aging T-38 aircraft.
men, the first African American U.S. military aviators who flew www.boeing.com
Application Briefs
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319-295-1000
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Micro Systems
C ollins Aerospace has announced the completion of flight test-

ing for the MS-110 Multispectral Airborne Reconnaissance Sys-
tem to enter operational service. Following the first flight in July
2022 on an F-16 for an undisclosed international customer, Collins
deltron.com
executed a number of extensive flight tests and related ground
activities to confirm that the system’s wide area, long range sensor
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of delivering a total of 16 sensors to international fast jet operators Posi-Drive Lead Screw
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and is in various stages of contractual activities for another 13 pods
for three additional customers.
The advanced MS-110 builds on the success of the widely Take the work out of designing
deployed DB-110 with which it shares a common support and
linear motion
imagery exploitation infrastructure. Existing DB-110 operators
have the option of upgrading their pods to the MS-110 configu- systems!
ration at their own maintenance facilities, limiting cost and
operational downtime for this critical reconnaissance resource.
The multispectral features of the MS-110 improves intelligence
analysts’ ability to extract vital information from a wide variety
of target sets.
“With MS-110 development and integration completed, the crit-
ical intelligence made available by the system can be rapidly rolled
out to support multi-domain efforts,” said Andy Hunter, Director
and General Manager, Intelligent Sensing for Collins Aerospace.
“The extension and expansion of an Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite MADE IN USA ISO 9001:2015/AS9100D CERTIFIED
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Application Briefs
Digital Head-Up Display

Mercury Systems, Inc. airborne early warning aircraft such as the E-2 Hawkeye. The new
Andover, MA T-45 HUD with an integrated camera is based on Mercury’s
978-256-1300 low-profile HUD design that minimizes pilot discomfort, enhanc-
www.mrcy.com es situational awareness, and maximizes an aviator’s field-of-view.
It is also DAL-A certifiable—the highest level of design assurance
M ercury Systems, Inc. has received a five-year contract worth as

much as $83 million from the U.S. Naval Air Systems Com-
mand to deliver high-definition, digital head-up display (HUD)
that can be applied to airborne systems—allowing it to be used for
critical flight and mission tasks such as landing on aircraft carriers.
Pilots must understand a wealth of rapidly changing data
systems for the T-45 Goshawk training aircraft. This firm-fixed- while flying, and a HUD allows them to maintain awareness of
price delivery order was issued under a previously awarded basic this information without having to take their eyes off the sky to
ordering agreement. The Navy is the first look down at multiple instruments.
customer to adopt Mercury’s HUD1080 Current training aircraft use older
technology that enables aviators to see analog HUD systems that have a
critical flight and weapons data in real- bulky design, are out of production,
time without taking their eyes off the sky. and cannot integrate with the mod-
Under this program, Mercury expects ern enhanced vision systems used
to deliver nearly 300 HUD systems, with in today’s fighter jets. The integra-
the first $45 million production order awarded in conjunction tion of Mercury’s HUD into the T-45 solves the obsolescence
with this contract. The T-45 Goshawk is a tandem-seat jet trainer problem for the aircraft and ensures pilots are trained in an
used to train Navy and Marine Corps aviators to fly the U.S. mili- operationally realistic environment, as the systems are compat-
tary’s most advanced fighter jets, including the F/A-18E/F Super ible with upcoming T-45 avionics upgrades.
Hornet, F-35 Lightning, and the EA-18G Growler, as well as tactical www.mrcy.com
Upcoming...
Webinars
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Wednesday, September 13, 2023 at 2:00 pm U.S. EDT
Aerospace companies must maximize the availability of their fleets while anticipating and mitigating costly disruptions. Data is the
key. Extracting the full value of exponential amounts of complex data in the context of its usage can help reduce support costs and
downtime, providing a competitive advantage. This 60-minute Webinar will demonstrate how aerospace companies can implement
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Speakers:
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NETVIBES, Data Science Experiences,
Dassault Systèmes Dassault Systèmes
Please visit www.techbriefs.com/webinar397
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8/23/23 10:22 AM
Application Briefs
AEROSPACE CHANNEL
Sponsored by
Next Generation Airborne

Navigation System
Northrop Grumman
Woodland Hills, CA
224-200-7539
www.northropgrumman.com
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Hall Thrusters Could
N orthrop Grumman Corporation has conducted a successful

flight test of its advanced airborne navigation solution,
Embedded Global Positioning System (GPS) / Inertial Naviga-
be Key to Mars
Exploration
A University of Michigan team has
discovered that Hall thrusters can
tion System (INS) Modernization, known as EGI-M. It is the generate more thrust at smaller
first time that EGI-M, equipped with an M-Code capable receiv- sizes — making them a viable
er, has been tested in flight. option for future Mars missions.
M-Code technology enables missions to be conducted in
www.techbriefs.com/tv/
GPS-contested and GPS-denied environments. The M-Code hall-thrusters
capable GPS receiver is a core component of Northrop Grum-
man’s EGI-M program, engineered to quickly transmit posi-
tioning, navigation and timing information. The fully opera- NASA’s Parker Probe
tional EGI-M system will feature a modular platform interface, Gets (Relatively) Close
designed to be integrated with current platform navigation to the Sun
NASA’s Parker Solar Probe recently
systems, supporting advanced software and hardware technol- completed its 16th science orbit,
ogy upgrades now and in the future. including an approach that brought
“This flight test is a major step forward in developing our it within just 5.3 million miles of
the Sun’s surface as it traveled at
next generation airborne navi-gation system. The EGI-M capa- 364,610 miles per hour.
bility developed by Northrop Grumman enables our warfight- www.techbriefs.com/tv/
ers to navigate accurately and precisely through hostile and parker-solar-probe
contested environments,” said Ryan Arrington, Vice President,
Navigation and Cockpit Systems, Northrop Grumman.
Marine Band Matches
Testing took place in May aboard a testbed aircraft. Flight test
Spacecraft’s Acoustics
data confirmed that Northrop Grumman’s prototype EGI-M Levels
solution, the M-Code capable LN-351, performed at standards NASA’s PACE environmental
equal to its current LN-251 INS / GPS system, featuring modern science mission enlisted the help
fiber optic gyro technology. Critical design review for EGI-M of the U.S. Marine Band to see if
the musicians could match the
was completed in 2020. Launch platforms for Northrop Grum- acoustic levels the spacecraft is
man’s EGI-M are the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye and the F-22 subjected to in testing.
Raptor. Additional fixed-wing and rotary-wing platforms across www.techbriefs.com/tv/
pace-mission
Department of Defense and allied forces have selected Northrop
Grumman’s EGI-M as their future navigation technology to
support mission-critical systems.
www.northropgrumman.com
www.techbriefs.tv

ADT TBTV Ad 0923_1.indd 1 8/22/23 10:33 AM
New Products
NDT 1000 Inspection System Electro-Optical/Infrared Stabilized Gimbal

Rad Source (Buford, GA) has introduced the Leonardo DRS, Inc. (Arlington, VA) announced
NDT 1000 inspection system, capable of weld its next-generation stabilized, multi-sensor EO/IR
and solder, 3D printed model, reverse engi- payload gimbal for small to medium unmanned
neering and other verification or inspection aircraft systems, light fixed-wing aircraft and heli-
applications. The NDT 1000 has the capability copters. The small unmanned aircraft system Tac-
to efficiently inspect materials and assemblies tical Agile Gimbal (STAG)-8 gimbal is designed to
in industries where quality is a top priority, deliver improved intelligence surveillance recon-
including aerospace, defense, automotive, and naissance and targeting mission performance.
testing services. Materials of up to 0.5 inches thick, including steel The STAG-8 gimbal provides a combination of the
piping and welds, can be inspected in one second. newest small high-performance sensors including high-definition elec-
www.radsource.com tro-optical, high-definition mid-wave infrared, short-wave infrared,
laser range finder and a laser target designator.
PU-5200 Computer Display www.leonardodrs.com
ScioTeq (Kortrijk, Belgium) launched its
open and modular PU-5200 certifiable display 3U VPX Ethernet Switches
computer at the 2023 Paris Air Show. Replacing Extreme Engineering Solutions (X-ES)
ScioTeq’s previous generation of aircraft display (Verona, WI) cont inues to push t he
computers, this platform revolutionizes display boundaries of embedded computing with
computers by increasing the ease in porting the introduction of two cutting-edge, 40
and integrating applications by avionics system Gigabit 3U VPX Ethernet switches: the
integrators and allowing them to fully control XChange3030 and XChange3031. These
their own IP without external dependencies. ScioTeq’s next-gen dis- switches provide unparalleled data trans-
play computer utilizes the latest generation of ARM-core based pro- mission speeds while maintaining a pow-
cessors, providing powerful multi core computing and rendering er-balanced design, ensuring efficient
capabilities for complex operations. cooling and remarkable versatility to meet the demands of modern
www.scioteq.com networking solutions.
www.xes-inc.com
DTS1 Data Transport System
Curtiss-Wright’s Defense Solutions FlightLinx PLUS Fiber Optic Cable
(Ashburn, VA) division has introduced the OFS (Norcross, GA) announced an
latest variant in its popular DTS1 Data improved performance FlightLinx PLUS
Transport System family of network attached Fiber Optic Cable. The advanced FlightLinx
storage (NAS) devices. The new DTS1X brings a 10 PLUS builds on the success of OFS’s Flight-
Gbit Ethernet (GbE) interface to applications that r e q u i r e t h e Linx Cable products. The unique cable
storage and protection of large amounts of data on manned aircraft, design enables reliable and secure termina-
unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), unmanned underwater vehicles tions, enhanced clamping resistance, and
(UUV), unmanned surface vehicles USV), unmanned ground vehicles excellent fiber movement under compres-
(UGV), and intelligence surveillance reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft. The sion performance, during and after challenging airframe installations.
high-speed recorder captures data at speeds of ~450 MB/s (write) via its The 1.8 mm FlightLinx Plus ruggedized single jacket design is extremely
10 GbE interface and 1 GbE interface. light weight and has been tested to ARINC 802 performance require-
www.curtisswrightds.com ments for both single and dual jacketed cable performance.
www.ofsoptics.com
Angled RJ45 Connectors
TE Connectivity (Berwyn, PA) Boreas A Series Fiber Optic Gyroscope
has introduced its 45-degree angle Advanced Navigation (Sydney, Australia)
RJ45 connectors for Cat6 applica- has announced the expansion of its revolu-
tions, exceeds data rates of 1 Gb/s, tionary Boreas digital fiber-optic gyroscope
expanding design possibilities (DFOG) range, with the new A Series. The
into broader bandwidth Ethernet Boreas A90 and A70 are strategic-grade iner-
applications. Their enhanced design reduces signal interference, lowers tial measurement units (IMU) that deliver
operating costs, and features a 45-degree angle that allows for easier acceleration and orientation with superior accuracy, stability and reli-
assembly in hard-to-reach spaces. ability under all conditions with no reliance on GNSS. They also fea-
www.te.com ture automatic gyro compassing with industry-leading reductions in
size, weight, power and cost (SWaP-C) compared to competing systems
J312-S and J322-S Servers on the market.
Jabil (St. Petersburg, FL) introduced its www.advancednavigation.com
configure-to-order, high-performance
server platform, which is purpose-built to ATR Enclosures
support time-sensitive, low-latency cloud Pixus Technologies (Waterloo, Ontario)
and fintech applications. Jabil’s new J312-S 1U has released new 1/2 to 3/4 size ATRs aligned
and JS322-S 2U servers are powered by 4th Gen with the technical standard of SOSA. These
Intel® Xeon dual socket processors and feature cus- chassis support multiple 3U OpenVPX in
tomizable, high-speed, and low-latency I/O options, along with NVMe, various slot profile configurations. The new
SAS, and SATA hot-pluggable storage capabilities. Jabil’s J312-S and Pixus ATRs come in versions that hold VITA
J322-S servers take advantage of the unparalleled performance of 4th 48.2 conduction cooled boards in up to 12
Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processor microarchitecture to offer elevated slots and 10 slots respectively. They have supplemental airflow over the
power efficiency and data-integrity protection, ensuring better response fins inside the sidewalls for enhanced cooling up to 100 watt/slot
times for applications that run simultaneously. depending on the application environment.
www.jabil.com www.pixustechnologies.com

New Products
3U VPX Power Supply AXTAL Rack-Mount System

SynQor (Boxborough, MA) announced its new 3-Phase 100
to 140 VrmsL-N, 47-800 Hz AC input, 28 Vdc output VPX
power supply for critical military and aerospace applications.
This 3U VPX power supply, designed to meet VITA 62.1, VITA
47, and VITA 46.11 standards, allows designers in the defense
markets to power their chassis with the latest flexible, efficient
and reliable VPX technology. Q-Tech Corporation (Cypress, CA) has
www.synqor.com announced the availability of the AXTAL
AX9000 series. This series offers 10 MHz
Autotune Filter ultra-low noise frequency references with
Metamagnetics Inc. (Marlborough, MA) a leading very high OCXO, GPS-disciplined OCXO or
provider of RF system solutions for the aerospace, Rubidium stability down to 10-13. The
defense and commercial communications industries, A X TA L d i s t r i b u t i o n a m p l i f i e r s e r i e s
has announced its unique solution for addressing GPS AXDA9000 allows ultra-low noise and low
interference in congested and contested environments. jitter distribution of the 10 MHz and 1PPS
Autotune filter technology can reject unwanted signals, reference signals. The standalone or com-
allowing operators continuous access to GPS signals. It bined systems are used in a variety of com-
accomplishes this by automatically suppressing interfering signals that exceed designed power plex systems including atomic clocks, time
threshold and can simultaneously operate on any number of interfering signals. Metamagnet- servers, frequency combs and others. The
ics autotune filter products are characterized by low size, weight and power, a passive configu- frequency references AXIOM9000 (OCXO),
ration and are easily retrofittable. AXGPS9000 (GPS-disciplined OCXO) and
www.mtmgx.com AXRB9000 (Rubidium) as well as the distri-
bution amplifiers AXDA9000/9100 are all
Low-Noise Amplifiers packaged in 1U, 19-inch rack units.
Fairview Microwave (Irvine, CA) has launched a new series www.q-tech.com
of AC-powered low-noise amplifiers designed for enhanced
broadband performance. Fairview’s new line of AC-powered
low-noise amplifiers features state-of-the-art GaAs semicon-
ductor technology, enabling the amplifiers to achieve unpar-
alleled low-noise performance and high efficiency that
Product Spotlight
improve signal-to-noise ratios and allow for the detection of
weak signals. With octave bandwidths ranging from 10 MHz MULTIPHYSICS
up to 50 GHz, a 3 dB typical noise figure, and gain levels rang- MODELING AND
ing from 25 to 60 dB, these amplifiers offer exceptional performance and versatility that SIMULATION
makes them ideal for use in a wide range of applications.
www.fairviewmicrowave.com
APPLICATIONS
COMSOL Multiphysics ® is a
Silicon APD Receiver software environment for creat-
CMC Electronics (Montreal, Canada) has launched its new series of ing physics-based models and simulation apps and
managing simulation projects. Add-on products pro-
high-response 1064-nm silicon avalanche photodiode (APD) preamplifier
vide tools for electromagnetics, structural, acoustics,
modules from CMC Electronics are designed to improve laser applica-
fluid flow, heat transfer, and chemical simulations.
tions. These avalanche photodiode receivers boast a high signal to noise Interfacing products offer a unified workflow with all
ratio and are best in their class in terms of capability to provide accurate major technical computing and CAD tools. COM-
and consistent readings under challenging conditions. Both receivers are SOL Compiler™ and COMSOL Server™ are used
ideal for ultra-low light signals and can detect longer distances faster, for deploying simulation applications to colleagues
more accurately and consistently than similar products in their category. and customers. https://www.comsol.com/products
www.cmcelectronics.ca
COMSOL, Inc.
94GHz Elastomer Socket
Ironwood Electronics (Eagan, MN) introduced its new 94GHz Elasto-
mer socket for 300 watt applications, BGA3184. With lever operated SILVER
mechanism quickly and easily socket your 0.92mm pitch, 56x45mm
size with 3184 contacts on any development platform with performance
CONDUCTIVE
equivalent to direct solder version using high speed and low inductance SILICONE SYSTEM
elastomer that operates from -55 C to +160 C along with liquid cooled Master Bond MasterSil
lid that dissipates 300 watt power. 151S is an addition curing,
www.ironwoodelectronics.com two part silicone that may be used as an adhesive,
sealant, coating or form-in-place gasketing material.
RF Multiplexers A unique feature of this product is that despite its
Pickering Interfaces (Chelmsford, MA) announced a silicone chemistry, it passes NASA low outgassing
new range of PXI/PXIe RF (radio frequency) multiplexer specifications. It is ideal for applications where low
(MUX) modules featuring a new switching technology. stress is required. http://www.masterbond.com/
Ideal for wireless communications and semiconductor tds/mastersil-151s
test, the new MEMS-based RF multiplexers deliver vastly
increased operational life (up to 300×), faster operating
speed (up to 60×), higher bandwidth, and increased RF power handling versus traditional Master Bond
EMR (electromechanical relay) alternatives.
www.pickeringtest.com

Ad Index
Publisher. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Joseph T. Pramberger Advertiser Page Web Link
Director, Editorial and Digital Content Strategy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chitra Sethi
Senior Editor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Woodrow Bellamy
AirBorn Inc................................................................. 1.............................................................................. airborn.com
Associate Editor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Edward Brown
Digital Content Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Andrew Corselli
Annapolis Micro Systems, Inc............................... 31....................................................................annapmicro.com
Production Manager. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Adam Santiago
Production Coordinator. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . James Rodriguez
Budzar Industries, LLC............................................ 20.............................................................................budzar.com
Creative Director. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lois Erlacher
Graphic Designer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . John McCarthy
Marketing Director. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kaitlyn Sommer Central Semiconductor.......................................... 3......................................................................centralsemi.com
Senior Marketing Coordinator. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sam Mills
Marketing/Event Coordinator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chris Kendrick Click Bond, Inc.......................................................... 17........................................................................clickbond.com
Editor, Custom Content. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Amanda Hosey
Audience Development Director. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Christine Oldenbrook Coilcraft CPS.............................................................. 10...................................................................cps.coilcraft.com
Audience Development/Circulation Assistant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Erykah Davis
Subscription Changes/Cancellations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ADT@OMEDA.com
1-866-351-1125
COMSOL, Inc............................................................... 35, Cover 4............................................................comsol.com
SAE MEDIA GROUP Del-Tron Precision, Inc............................................ 31.............................................................................deltron.com

261 Fifth Avenue, Suite 1901, New York, NY 10016
(212) 490-3999
Executive Vice-President. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Luke Schnirring
Global MilSatCom 2023........................................... 11............................................................globalmilsatcom.com
Technology Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oliver Rockwell
Director of Digital Products. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Howard Ng
Great River Technology.......................................... 29..............................................................greatrivertech.com
Digital Media Associate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Md Jaliluzzaman
Digital Media Assistant. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rowena Pagarigan
International Telemetry
Digital Media Assistant. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Zita Zhang
Conference 2023...................................................... Cover 2...............................................................telemetry.org
Digital Production Associate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Andrew Greenberg
Digital Production Associate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Symba Wong
John Evans’ Sons, Inc............................................. 2...............................................................springcompany.com
Credit & Collection Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Stacie Pointek
Budget & Forecasting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Felecia Lahey
Master Bond Inc....................................................... 35.................................................................. masterbond.com
Accounting/Human Resources Manager. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sylvia Bonilla
A/R Clerk. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Crystal Ortiz
Office Manager. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Alfredo Vasquez MPL AG Switzerland................................................. 28......................................................................................mpl.ch
ADVERTISING ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Next-Gen UAM and

MA, NH, ME, VT, RI, Eastern Canada. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Brian Hines Unmanned Aircraft Summit 2023........................ Cover 3.................................................................sae.org/uam
(647) 296-5014
CT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Stan Greenfield
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (203) 938-2418 Optical Zonu Corp.................................................... 25...................................................................opticalzonu.com
NJ, PA, DE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . John Murray
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (973) 409-4685
TX, OK, LA, AR, MS, AL, TN, FL, SC, NC, GA, DC, WV, VA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ray Tompkins PIC Wire & Cable....................................................... 27............................................................................picwire.com
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(281) 313-1004
NY, OH. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ryan Beckman
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (973) 409-4687 Tech Briefs TV........................................................... 33...........................................................................techbriefs.tv
MI, IN, WI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chris Kennedy
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (847) 498-4520 ext. 3008
MN, ND, SD, IL, KY, MO, KS, IA, NE, Central Canada. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bob Casey
VPT, Inc........................................................................ 5..........................................................................vptpower.com
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(847) 223-5225
CA, WA, OR, AZ, NM, Rocky Mountain States. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tim Powers
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September 2023, Volume 8, Number 6

Next-Gen UAM and Unmanned
Aircraft Summit 2023
S e p t e m b e r 2 6 - 2 7, 2 0 2 3 | O n l i n e
S U P P O R T E D B Y
An Exclusive Online Event Dedicated to Advanced Aircraft

Regulations for AAM and UAM are evolving at a breathtaking pace, while the technologies behind automated
and unmanned aircraft are advancing even faster. As the landscape for air mobility changes, SAE International’s
Next-Gen UAM and Unmanned Aircraft Summit highlights how designers can prepare themselves for success
in the commercial and military unmanned aircraft markets.
Topics covered during the FREE online event include:

• The use of eVTOL aircraft for military applications
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Welcome to your Digital Edition

of Aerospace and Defense Technology

mobilityengineeringtech.com September 2023

From the Publishers of

ADT Cover 0923_1.indd 1 8/23/23 2:44 PM

From the Publishers of

The Link Between courses, technical sessions,

Open Air & Virtual Worlds

Horseshoe Las Vegas | NV >Exhibits:

Join us at ITC 2023 to learn what steps

TECH BRIEFS ______________________________________

ON THE COVER ____________________________________

(Image: Syntetic Dreams/Adobe Stock)

2 mobilityengineeringtech.com Aerospace & Defense Technology, September 2023

test flow certified, 10 kRad,

Techtility Design/Adobe Stock

4 mobilityengineeringtech.com Aerospace & Defense Technology, September 2023

open-standard interface that’s a super-

WORKSTATION I/O STORAGE

X9 MISSION COMPUTER X9 SERVER COMPUTER

6 mobilityengineeringtech.com Aerospace & Defense Technology, September 2023

Thunderbolt Docking Station

50 volts to 1,000+ volts. GM Defense pro-

than 1 million units of commercial elec-

Aerospace & Defense Technology, September 2023 mobilityengineeringtech.com 9

This article was written by Rick Kew-

Ultra-low Loss Power Inductors

Celebrate, Connect and Collaborate with

1000+ 80+ 45+ 35 4 3

RF Attenuation (dB/100 feet)

ing the ever-increasing data demands of LMR-600

According to the DLR team, these

How Shake the Box Works

highly detailed images we needed to image the particles for

A Promising Look to the Future

This article was written by Toni Lucatorto, Product Manag-

18 mobilityengineeringtech.com Aerospace & Defense Technology, September 2023

neither a spin-up or spin-down state, but

Orbits, shells or Energy Levels

Y •Single loop or cascade control

MY DSFW-5.502-C-FCB-S2(815W) 2.5/3.5 2 16.5 2.6

•10 Tons & Up

20 mobilityengineeringtech.com Aerospace & Defense Technology, September 2023

ADT Budzar Industries Ad 0823.indd 1 7/3/23 3:41 PM

How Laser Communications Innovation is Finally Coming of Age

R adio is a well-established technology.

Aerospace & Defense Technology, September 2023 mobilityengineeringtech.com 21

turbulence. The variability of the atmo-

Spatial Calibration for Accurate Long Distance

A ll commercially available camera

Towards Greater Sensitivity: A Brief FTIR and Infrared-

A threat in the form of chemi-

Determining Optical Material Parameters With Motion in

T he broad need for determining the opti-

Aerospace & Defense Technology, September 2023

Deep Image Prior Amplitude SAR Image Anonymization

S ynt het ic Aper ture Radar (SAR)

Also, the generation of SAR imag-

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Aerospace & Defense Technology, September 2023 mobilityengineeringtech.com 27

Free-Space Quantum Communications in Harsh

M ore than half a century has passed