Eclipse Energy Systems

Nanorods is a company that received a SBIR Phase I grant for a project entitled: Multi-wavelength Infrared thermal Detectors and Imagers. Their project will develop a new infrared (IR) radiation sensor technology, which will allow the development of a new class of low-cost multi-wavelength thermal detectors which are also sensitive to light polarization. This technology will allow radiation detection from the near-IR to long-wave IR, a capability that is absent in competing detectors. Amorphous silicon and vanadium dioxide has been the dominant materials used for infrared light detection since the 1980s. The disadvantages of such detectors are: 1) insensitivity to the spectral content and polarization of the incident radiation, 2) difficulty in further miniaturization of the sensing pixels. This project will use a combination of nanomaterial and amorphous silicon layers as a new type of infrared sensing layer which can be integrated into silicon thermal detectors and is expected to overcome these limitations. This project will demonstrate: 1) Fabrication and integration of the new radiation sensing layers to create a series of thermal detectors; 2) Enhanced light absorption and spectral sensitivity at multiple IR wavelengths; 3) Size reduction of the sensing pixel to 10 microns; and 4) polarization sensitivity for incident light at 3 micron wavelengths. The broader impact/commercial potential of this project is the development of uncooled multi-color thermal detectors which are inexpensive and feature spectral and polarization sensitivity. These devices have the potential to displace expensive photon-based semiconductor IR detectors in many applications. The proposed technology will allow production of multi-color detectors on a single silicon wafer as well as sensing pixel miniaturization that will tremendously impact the fabrication cost, imaging resolution and device size. Successful commercialization of this thermal detection technology will substantially impact the field of low cost IR detection and imaging in applications such as fire detection, public health, environmental monitoring, space missions, industrial process monitoring, and security and military areas.

Polaris Sensor Technologies is a company that received a Department of Defense SBIR/STTR grant for a project entitled: Polarimetric Sensor for Airborne Platforms. The abstract given for this project is as follows: Polaris Sensor Technologies, Inc. is proposing in the Phase I to demonstrate the feasibility of polarization imaging by developing target detection and recognition algorithms that exploit the information contained in polarization imagery. Once the feasibility is established, Polaris will develop concepts and a sensor design for integration into the F/A-18. The Phase I Option deliverable will be a sensor design that meets the SHARP SWAP requirements with complete design documents ready for implementation in the Phase II. In the Phase II, Polaris will build, calibrate, and test the polarimetric sensor and make it ready for integration onto a Navy platform. Polaris Sensor Technologies is a company that received a Department of Defense SBIR/STTR grant for a project entitled: Rapid Field Test Method(s) to Measure Additive Concentrations in Military Fuel. The abstract given for this project is as follows: Detection of fuel quality and fuel additive status in petroleum at multiple points in the fuel delivery chain is highly desirable in order to prevent military vehicles from being disabled by low quality fuel. Polaris Sensor Technologies will develop a small portable sensor comprising spectral, optical and electrochemical technologies which when combined produce a portable instrument capable of detecting a fuel additive concentrations and measure a number of fuel quality metrics. The fuel additive sensor requires no sample preparation and is expected to provide a sensitive measurement of concentrations of relevant military fuel additives. Polaris Sensor Technologies will partner contract Southwest Research Institute, recognized authorities in Fuel quality, to develop the Portable Fuel Additive Sensor.

ACENT Laboratories, also known as Calspan Advanced Solutions, is a technology development company operating in the aerospace, defense, and automotive industries. The company offers a range of testing and technology development services, including crash, sled, tire, and barrier testing for vehicles, ground and airborne testing for aerospace applications, and jet engine test solutions. It also focuses on the development of technologies for high-speed flight, hydrogen storage and utilization, and carbon capture. It is based in Manorville, New York.

Naxellent is a company that received a SBIR Phase I grant for a project entitled: Smart transparent solar heat management films. Their project proposes to demonstrate a flexible transparent film technology that automatically reflects near infrared (NIR) solar heat above, but allows the same to transmit through below the room temperature. Using the large discontinuous change in refractive indices across a first order phase transition in liquid crystals (LCs), the proposed polymer and LC composite structure shows index matching at lower temperatures but shows significant index mismatching at higher temperatures. The index mismatched polymer and LC structure at higher temperatures is designed to transmit visible light but to reflect a broad band of NIR radiations. The developed film may be laminated or used as retrofits into glass windows for architectural and vehicular applications to reject solar heat on a hot summer day but allows the same to warm the interior on a colder winter day while the glass windows maintain clear at all times. Full use of such films may save consumers billions of dollars annually in air conditioning costs in summer. The flexible polymeric structure with vastly available materials and scalable thin film manufacturing technologies makes the technology economically very attractive and readily affordable, and successful development of the proposed film technology could have enormous environmental and economical impacts.

Brookhaven Technology Group, Inc. is a Setauket, NY based company that has received a grant(s) from the Department of Energy's SBIR/STTR program. The abstract(s) for these grant award(s) are provided as well since they provide insights into Brookhaven Technology Group, Inc.'s business and areas of expertise. Nanotubes made of carbon structures will be cross-linked and woven into self-supporting structures for use as charge-exchange foils. These foils are essential for operation of many accelerator applications. The research will lead to increased performance and reduced cost of operation of accelerators used in medicine, Homeland Security, and high energy physics research.

Rockfield Research Inc. is a Winchester, MA based company that has received a grant(s) from the Department of Energy's SBIR/STTR program. The abstract(s) for these grant award(s) are provided as well since they provide insights into Rockfield Research Inc.'s business and areas of expertise. A modernized transmitter protection system will be designed and a prototype built for the current drive experiment on the Alcator C-Mod tokamak fusion experiment at the MIT Plasma Science Fusion Center. This will increase the utility, economy, and safety of that fusion experiment; and the design will be generally extendable to future fusion, high energy, and phased array radar facilities. A modernized transmitter protection system will be designed and a prototype built for the current drive experiment on the Alcator C-Mod tokamak fusion experiment at the MIT Plasma Science Fusion Center . This will increase the utility, economy, and safety of that fusion experiment; and the design will be generally extendable to future fusion facilities.