Worldwide demand for low Earth orbit satellites is increasing at an unprecedented pace, driven by diverse needs such as faster and more affordable Internet access, and faster revisit rates with finer resolution for imaging data. The satellite payload instruments performing communications or imaging functions are becoming increasingly sophisticated and capable and require the collection of increasing amounts of telemetry data to ensure the safe and reliable operation of the satellite.

Lightning strikes to jet airliners are common - about once every 1000 flight hours. The DO-160G standard, Environmental Conditions and Test Procedures for Airborne Equipment, is a standard for the environmental testing of avionics hardware. Many airplane manufacturers specify DO-160G Section 22, lightning induced transient susceptibility, as a requirement for critical systems like guidance, radars, communications, engine control, and heat and air controls. Aircraft fuselage, wing and tail flight controls, wing tips, fin tips, engine nacelles, and landing gear are the areas most likely to be hit by lightning strikes.

FPGAs have become an increasingly important resource for software radio systems. Programmable logic technology now offers significant advantages for implementing software radio functions such as DDCs (Digital Downconverters). Over the past few years, the functions associated with DDCs have seen a shift from being delivered in ASICs (Application-Specific ICs) to operating as IP (Intellectual Property) in FPGAs.

Wolfspeed, a Cree company, provides field-tested silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN) power and RF solutions. As a leader in wide-bandgap semiconductor technology, Wolfspeed partners with designers to build faster, smaller, lighter, and more powerful electronic systems.

By integrating the design of antennas and electronics, researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology have boosted the energy and spectrum efficiency for a new class of millimeter-wave transmitters, allowing improved modulation and reduced generation of waste heat.

Laser diodes and laser diode arrays (LDAs) are widely used throughout military systems, for sighting and range finding, but also at high power levels as offensive and defensive weapons. In companion with much higher-power chemical lasers, these high-power optical sources can generate kilowatts of optical power (as arrays) for use in neutralizing incoming missiles, rockets, and armaments and for long-distance offensive strikes. But laser diodes are also still inefficient, and a great deal of the energy supplied to a laser diode or an LDA is converted into heat, which must be safely dissipated to ensure a long operating lifetime for the solid-state devices.

Artificial intelligence developments are set to fundamentally transform mobility, whether it is mobility of weapon payloads, supply deliveries, urban commuters, warehouse goods, delivery packages, or intercontinental bulk shipments.

Enhancing the performance of GeSn p-i-n photodiodes using gold metal nanostructures.

The goal of this research project was to advance the science and technology of silicon-based photonic devices using SiGeSn heterostructures. Such devices work in mid-IR spectral range and form the foundation for mid-IR photonics that enable on-chip systems for applications ranging from vibrational spectroscopy, chem/bio sensing, medical/health uses, to environmental monitoring. This project was mostly directed toward improving GeSn detectors with the use of surface plasmons induced by carefully designed metal nanostructures. The goal was to replace the current mid-IR detectors that are usually photodiodes made from narrow bandgap III-V or II-VI semiconductor compounds such as InGaAs, InSb, HgCdTe (MCT) or type-II In-GaAs/InGaSb superlattice. These photodiodes are incompatible with the CMOS process and cannot be easily integrated with Si electronics. The GeSn mid-IR detectors developed in this project are fully compatible with the CMOS process.

The purpose of this research was to investigate non-volatile memory device technologies that could be applied to reconfigurable electronics applications to provide power reduction, radiation tolerance, smaller size, and improved reliability over existing non-volatile memory devices. The research encompasses: 1) materials and device design, and 2) fabrication and testing of the devices. The types of memory devices that were investigated are divided into three categories:

Mouser Electronics, Inc. (Mansfield, TX) is now stocking the MSP432 mixed-signal microcontrollers from Texas Instruments (TI). TI’s MSP432 microcontrollers are based on a powerful, 32-bit ARM® Cortex®‑M4F core with a floating point unit and memory protection management. The microcontroller includes two 16-bit timers, four 32-bit timers, and a 14-bit analog to digital converter (ADC) that converts at 1MSPS. The microcontroller also boasts four high-drive input and output (I/O) pins that can support up to 20mA. The microcontrollers support capacitive touch capability, as well as digital glitch filtering on some I/O pins.