News: Optoelectronics
25 March 2021
Intevac awarded $1.8m directed-energy weapons contract
Intevac Inc of Santa Clara, CA, USA has received a $1.8m development contract award from the US directed-energy weapons development agency Joint Directed Energy Transition Office (DE JTO) in Albuquerque NM, representing the funding for year one of a projected three-year, $7m development effort.
In this program, Intevac Photonics will develop a gated short-wavelength infrared (SWIR) sensor for high-energy laser (HEL) 2D fine tracking and adaptive optics system applications, building on the firm’s experience in its fielded LIVAR (Laser Illuminated Viewing and Ranging) camera technology and legacy fine tracking/adaptive optics sensor technology first used on the Airborne Laser (ABL) program.
Based on its patented Electron Bombarded Active Pixel Sensor (EBAPS) technology (which incorporates a III-V semiconductor photocathode in proximity-focus with a high-resolution, backside-thinned CMOS chip anode), Intevac’s digital night-vision sensors provide state-of-the-art capability to the most advanced avionic fighting platforms in the US Department of Defense inventory, the firm asserts.
“The gated SWIR camera developed under this program represents a return of Intevac to the rapidly growing directed energy (DE) weapons systems market,” says Timothy Justyn, executive VP & general manager of Intevac Photonics. “DE systems are expected to become a critical component of our military’s advanced weapons systems and represent a significant future market opportunity for Intevac,” he adds.
“This contract award demonstrates the US military’s continued commitment to Intevac’s SWIR LIVAR technology for new systems applications,” says Intevac’s president & CEO Wendell Blonigan.
