Fiber optic systems are deployed in a variety of settings as strain sensors to locate small disturbances along the length of the optical fiber cable, which is often tens of kilometers long. This technology has the advantages of low cost and design simplicity, as the sensor is its own source of telemetry and may be easily repaired or replaced. One of the limitations of current technology is noise from optical backscatter events in the fiber resulting in a degraded signal in individual spatial zones leading to signal fading. Detection within these zones along the length of the fiber is then obscured. Signal multiplexing may be used to increase sensitivity and signal-to-noise ratio and reduce signal fading. In such an architecture, multiple channels are multiplexed together and transmitted along the fiber. In this article, we report on results from two different systems that were tested using such techniques. Results are then compared with a single channel system.
We report complex permittivity, conductivity, magnetic susceptibility, and attenuation for soils collected from a typical
site in a current theater of operations. Our experimental setup consists of three network analyzers along with custombuilt
sample holders and data reduction and analysis software. The sample holder has the advantage of large sample
volume and a resulting higher signal to noise ratio. This system was developed to determine the electrical properties of
soils over a wide frequency range from 100 Hz to 8 GHz. The lower frequencies are applicable to capacitive sensors for
small shallow targets, while the higher frequencies are applicable to ground-penetrating radar (GPR) from 50 MHz to 2
GHz and beyond. S-parameter data is collected and reduced using a method, initially developed by Nicolson and Ross
(1970)1, for the determination of dielectric permittivity, magnetic permeability, and loss tangent from measured Sparameter
data. Experimental results are compared with site geology and mineralogy. Applications include detection of
tunnels, land mines, unexploded ordinance (UXO), concrete reinforcements, and other shallow compact targets.
The Geotechnical and Structures Laboratory at the US Army Corps of Engineers, Engineer Research and Development
Center (ERDC) has developed a near-surface properties laboratory to provide complete characterization of soil. Data
from this laboratory is being incorporated into a comprehensive database, to enhance military force projection and
protection by providing physical properties for modelers and designers of imaging and detection systems. The database
will allow cross-referencing of mineralogical, electromagnetic, thermal, and optical properties to predict surface and
subsurface conditions. We present an example data set from recent collection efforts including FTIR in the Near-IR,
MWIR, and LWIR bands, magnetic susceptibility (500 Hz to 8 GHz), and soil conductivity and complex permittivity
(10 μHz to 8 GHz) measurements. X-ray data is presented along with a discussion of site geology, sample collection
and preparation methods, and mineralogy. This type of data-collection effort provides useful constraint information of
soil properties for use in modeling and target detection. By establishing real ranges for critical soil properties, we are
able to improve algorithms to define anomalies that can indicate the presence of land mines, unexploded ordnance
(UXOs), improvised explosive devices (IEDs), tunnels, and other visually obscured threats.
Nanometer high performance InP Schottky detectors are scaled to IR wavelengths. The increased cutoff frequency of the Schottky detector was accomplished by both reducing its capacitance to attofarad range and also by reducing the contact resistance. The Schottky detectors were fabricated on InGaAs/InP substrates with the doping level as high as 1 x 1019 cm-2. The typical Schottky detector anode size was 0.1 x 1 μm2. Planar broadband antennas were designed for LWIR wavelengths to couple the radiation into the nanometer size detector. Several different IR antenna designs were evaluated, including complimentary square spirals, bow ties and crossed dipoles. A 6 × 7 array of antenna-coupled Schottky detectors was characterized at DC, yielding a 20 KΩ zero-bias resistance and a responsivity of 6 A/W for the entire array. The arrays were characterized at 2.5 THz, as well as in the IR (3-5μm and 10.6 μm). The current results for polarization sensitivity confirm that an antenna-coupled mechanism is responsible for the measured responsivity with the highest value measured at the THz range.
A scanning Fabry-Perot transmission filter composed of a pair of dielectric mirrors has been demonstrated at millimeter
and sub-millimeter wavelengths. The mirrors are formed by alternating quarter-wave optical thicknesses of silicon and
air in the usual Bragg configuration. Detailed theoretical considerations are presented for determining the optimum
design. Characterization was performed at sub-mm wavelengths using a gas laser together with a Golay cell detector and
at mm-wavelengths using a backward wave oscillator and microwave power meter. High resistivity in the silicon layers
was found important for achieving high transmittance and finesse, especially at the longer wavelengths. A finesse value
of 411 for a scanning Fabry-Perot cavity composed of three-period Bragg mirrors was experimentally demonstrated.
Finesse values of several thousand are considered to be within reach. This suggests the possibility of a compact terahertz
Fabry-Perot spectrometer that can operate in low resonance order to realize high free spectral range while simultaneously
achieving a high spectral resolution. Such a device is directly suitable for airborne/satellite and man-portable sensing
instrumentation.
A test procedure is developed for an infrared laser scene projector, and applied to a projection system that we develop based on digital micromirror technology. The intended use will be for simulation and target training. Resolution and noise are significant parameters for target perception models of infrared imaging systems. System resolution is normally measured as the modulation transfer function (MTF), and its noise modeled through an appropriate signal standard deviation metric. We compare MTF measurements for both mid-wave (MWIR) and long-wave IR (LWIR) bands for an infrared laser scene projector based on the digital micromirror device (DMD). Moreover, we use two complimentary models to characterize imaging camera noise. This provides a quantitative image-quality criterion of system performance.
As the deployment of IR sensors increases in the military arena, so does the need for testing, calibration and training in realistic infrared environments. This paper introduces liquid crystal on silicon (LCOS) technology and discusses key elements required to successfully transition these displays to the infrared. The resulting devices are not only appropriate for infrared scene projectors, but can also be used as infrared adaptive optics or non-mechanical beamsteering elements.
We compare modulation-transfer-function (MTF) measurements for both mid-wave (MWIR) and long-wave IR (LWIR) bands for an IR-laser scene projector based on the digital micro-mirror device (DMD). We evaluate MTF for both IR-CO2 (10.6 micron) and IR-HeNe (3.39 micron) laser systems. This gives a quantitative image-quality criterion for verifying system performance using identical configurations of the DMD, lens, and screen. Different angles of illumination for the MWIR and LWIR were used, to give an output beam always perpendicular to the DMD. For this experiment a set of bar-target images was used to measure the residual modulation depth at the fundamental spatial frequency of the bars. As expected, the MWIR projector system has better MTF than the LWIR system because of diffraction effects occurring at the 17-micron pixels of the DMD.
Anchoring phenomena and their effect on focal conic domain (FCD) instabilities in the smectic A phase were studied for two different geometries: (a) field-driven nucleation of FCDs in a homeotropic cell and (b) anchoring-driven transition in a planar cell from field-induced homeotropic state.
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