TECHNOLOGY AREAS: Sensors, Electronics, Battlespace

ACQUISITION PROGRAM: Radio Frequency Antennas & Topside Program Manager, code PMW 180-D4/E2

OBJECTIVE: Demonstrate an innovative, compact magnetic shield which provides a 1000 fold reduction in feild strength in the interior of the shield due to an externally applied magnetic field. Electronics that must run substantial numbers of leads from the inside to the outside are to be placed in the interior.

DESCRIPTION: Superconducting digital electronics operate by manipulating magnetic flux and must therefore be supplied with a magnetic field environment. This requires cancellation of the field associated with the earth and whatever platform the electronics is located on. Magnetic non-volatile memory (MRAM) can save substantial power but requires protection from intense external fields to operate properly. Hardening methods for conventional electronics to protect from damage from electromagnetic pulses may also involve such shielding. Moreover, satellites may one day use a strong artificial dipole magnetic field to steer ions away from the interior electronics and any human crew. All these applications are more likely if the magnetic shields are compact and light weight. Such shields could make the current >3 year space flight to Mars survivable by people. In current practice, if an electronics assembly is mounted on a disc x inches in diameter, the magnetic shield must extend at least 3x in the direction perpendicular to the disc to achieve the needed shielding factor. Such a long cylinder adds substantially to the volume and weight of the entire system and forces the leads to run large distances to escape the shield. Shields that mimic the form factor of volume they are protecting-- here short and squat to match the disc -- are desirable.

PHASE I: Develop a design concept and prove, at least by simulation, that a shield of the required characteristics can be constructed.

PHASE II: Conduct at least 2 cycles of component design/fabrication/ and test that demonstrates that the design concept is valid, can be integrated with a circuit board with 100 leads, and optimizes the choices of materials and geometry. It is desirable to demonstrate such shields' functionality in both the 1G and 1T applied field domains.

PHASE III: Insert such shields into wide band, superconducting electronics and/or military satellites.

PRIVATE SECTOR COMMERCIAL POTENTIAL/DUAL-USE APPLICATIONS: Superconducting electronics has already demonstrated direct reception of SatCom signals. The associated elimination of analog down conversion hardware corresponds to a cost savings of >40% on the system cost, so it is expected this innovation will be picked up by the commercial SatCom market once it is demonstrated by the military. MRAM has potential applications in providing instant-on electronics. The new concept expressed here for how to protect satellites from ionizing radiation will also apply to commercial satellites. Moreover, over half the cost of medical magnetic imaging systems using SQUIDs comes from the need to install the system in a magnetically shielded room. If those shields could be dramatically shrunk in size, their weight and cost would also fall.

REFERENCES:
1. http://www.magnetic-shield.com/faq/index.html

2. http://www.mushield.com/

3. http://www.islandone.org/Settlements/MagShield.html

KEYWORDS: magnetic shielding; 3D EM modeling; high permittivity materials; magnetic sensors

TPOC: Deborah VanVechten
Phone: (703)696-4219
Fax: (703)696-8496
Email: [email protected]
2nd TPOC: Anna Leese de Escobar
Phone: (619)553-5987
Fax: (619)553-1090
Email: [email protected]

** TOPIC AUTHOR (TPOC) **

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