Lenses

New Products: June 2021 Aerospace & Defense Technology

A folded zoom lens, miniature rotary encoders, starter generator control, and more.

A Comparative Evaluation of the Detection and Tracking Capability Between Novel Event-Based and Conventional Frame-Based Sensors

This research establishes a fundamental understanding of the characteristics of event-based sensors.

An Ultrafast Testbed for Comprehensive Characterization of Photonics, Electronic, and Optoelectronic Properties of Integrated Nanophotonic Structures

High-speed testing technology will enable advances such as new digital signal processing and computing platforms in the optical domain.

3D-Printed Glass Enhances Optical Design Flexibility

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) researchers have used multi-material 3D printing to create tailored gradient refractive index glass optics that could make for better...

New Diamond Super-Material Enhances Aircraft Survivability

A diamond composite is the ultimate optics and semiconducting super-material.

How Miniaturized Distributed Modular Architecture Advances Avionics Design

A centralized IMA approach offers several advantages.

Hydraulic Cylinder Position Sensor Technology

As the demand for greater control and functionality increases, position-sensor-instrumented hydraulic cylinders are becoming more important in the heavy industry, mobile equipment, and subsea...

Designing a High-Speed Decoy Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV)

Drone aircraft and their uses have been evolving quickly, supported by a great deal of ongoing research. One area of increasing interest is the decoy drone, designed to mimic the...

Superstrong Al Alloys May Change Aerospace Manufacturing Processes

Purdue University researchers have developed a superstrong material that may change some manufacturing processes for the aerospace and automobile industries.

High Energy Computed Tomographic Inspection of Munitions

An advance computed tomography (CT) system was recently built for the U.S. Army Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center, Picatinny Arsenal, NJ, for the inspection of...

Armor Plating Has Built-In Transparent Ceramic Eyes

Protecting yourself usually involves a tradeoff. If you want maximum physical protection, whether from biting predators or exploding artillery shells, it generally compromises your ability...

Structural Composites with Tuned EM Chirality

Work on structural composites with tunable chiral elements has produced electronically tunable overall chiral composites, mechanically tunable chiral composites, flat lenses with soft hyperbolic...

Miniature Snapshot Multispectral Imager

Multispectral imagers use an optical device that can separate the colors to obtain the spectral content in the scene. Such an optical device could be a grating or prism, a filter wheel, a diffractive...

Designing COTS Optics Into Defense Projects

When settling in to design a new optical device for a defense application, it is often desirable to use Commercial Off The Shelf (COTS) optical components wherever possible. COTS optics offer many...

Fiber Optic Gyroscope Technology Improving Weapons Systems Performance

Autonomous vehicles require gyroscopes for navigation and stabilization of the platform in demanding battlefield, aerospace and undersea environments. Autonomous vehicles...

Focus-Tunable Lenses

Edmund Optics® (EO) (Barrington, NJ.) offers two liquid-filled lenses from Optotune of Switzerland. The Electrically Focus-Tunable Lenses provide a single-lens tool for focus and zoom objectives. When the user applies a...

Developing a Beam Former for Electronically Steered Antennas

There are several applications for phased arrays in Army communication systems. This spans frequency bands ranging from UHF to Ka bands and performance requirements that include...

Laser-Based System for Measuring and Analyzing Vibrations

A system for noncontact measurement and analysis of vibrations of an electronic circuit board or a similar lightweight, nominally flat, rectangular object has been developed. This...

Near-Field Light Lenses for Nano-Focusing of Beams of Atoms

Near-field light lenses for focusing beams of light and beams of atoms to spots having a width of no more than several nanometers are undergoing development. There are numerous...

Cleaning and Protecting Large Mirrors Using a Polymer Solution

Cleaning and protecting optics is a challenge — contamination must be removed without damaging the surface. Preventing recontamination for extended periods of time after...

Miniaturized GPS Controlled-Reception-Pattern Antenna Array

A miniaturized Global Positioning System (GPS) antenna array is being developed for use on aircraft on which the room available for installation of this or any other equipment is...

Surface-Emitting Laser Arrays Bring Light to the Top

Laser diodes are an integral part of everyday life, incorporated into commonplace items as diverse in function as laser pointers, fiber-optic communications systems, and DVD players....