Aug 18 2008
Applied Energetics, Inc., today announced that it has received a follow-on contract option for continued development of Light Filament Sensor Technology from the U.S. Army.
The Light Filament Sensor program is aimed at developing a system for detecting and identifying trace concentrations of various chemicals from stand-off distances. The technology is based on the unique ability of ultrashort pulse lasers to generate persistent optical filaments of ionized air, and to elicit unique spectral signatures in the targeted chemicals. Success in this program may lead to development of dual-use (military and commercial) sensor / detection systems with applications in bomb detection and identification, airport screening, and other defense and security applications, as well as identification of toxins or toxic residue in industrial or post-military settings.
The $351,286 award was issued by the U.S. Army Research Organization (ARO – Research Triangle Park, NC) as a twelve month follow-on option to the Light Filament Sensor Phase II STTR contract awarded in September 2007, and brings the total value of the STTR program to $740,788 for the two year effort. The DoD’s STTR program is similar in structure to the Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) program, but funds cooperative R&D project involving both a small business and a research institution (i.e. university, federal R&D center, non-profit research institute, etc). The purpose of the STTR Program is to create an effective vehicle for moving technologies from national research institutions to the market.
Applied Energetics is teamed with the Denton Group of the University of Arizona for this effort, with Applied Energetics providing the laser transmitter and laser test facilities, and Denton Group being responsible for providing the sensors and cataloging chemical signatures.