High Altitude Non-Acoustic Antisubmarine Warfare (ASW) Navy SBIR FY2005.2 Sol No.: Navy SBIR FY2005.2 Topic No.: N05-119 Topic Title: High Altitude Non-Acoustic Antisubmarine Warfare (ASW) Proposal No.: N052-119-0176 Firm: Intevac, Inc. Photonics Technology Division 3560 Bassett Street Santa Clara, California 95054-2704 Contact: Ross LaRue Phone: (408) 496-2254 Web Site: www.intevac.com Abstract: Intevac proposes to develop an Intensified Photodiode (IPD) which can be gated on and off very quickly with relatively low voltage. This gated IPD would be an ideal detector for laser pulse reflections from ship or airborne lasers used for probing for objects in sea water. Gating the detector on for only the time periods when reflections could be received from possible objects of interest greatly extends detector lifetime and reduces noise, thus increasing object detectability. Intevac produces an IPD which, as presently designed, cannot be easily gated. We propose to investigate design of an IPD to permit high speed, low voltage gating and extend lifetimes. Phase 1 is a design study of a technical approach which could be successful with minimum additional tube complexity and cost. A Phase 1 Option is the exploration of a grid structure in the IPD if the initial investigation concludes that it is necessary or desirable. Benefits: The successful completion of this program will result in a highly sensitive detector with very good noise characteristics which would be usable by both military and commercial customers. The detector can be built with photocathodes to operate from the blue to near infrared wavelengths, with excellent sensitivity and bandwidth. Significant applications exist in biological investigations and military object detection programs. Intevac intends to work directly with users and with systems integration organizations to optimize acceptance this new detector technology. Return