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| Computational Physics |
The Department of Engineering Physics is actively pursuing research in the Department of Defense critical technology areas of computational fluid dynamics, computational electronics and nano-electronics, and computational chemistry and materials science. The computational resources of AFIT are significantly enhanced by the presence of one of the four Major Shared Resource Centers of the Department of Defense at Wright Patterson. Currently five faculty members and eight graduate students are pursuing research in the computational physics area....MORE |
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| Nuclear
Technology |
Research in Nuclear Technology includes
both nuclear weapons and effects and counterproliferation. Nuclear
weapons and effects research areas include neutral particle transport
methods, blast modeling, radioactive source term from weapons,
fallout transport and dose estimates, x-ray simulation modeling,
radiation effects in electronics, and radiation hardening. Counterproliferation
research areas include counterproliferation analysis, NBC sensors
and spectroscopy, nuclear fuels chemistry and nuclear radiation
imaging.....MORE |
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Optical,
Atomic/ Molecular & Laser Physics
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Optical sciences and the basic
properties of atomic and molecular interactions are becoming
increasingly important to critical technologies for the Department
of Defense. We are actively engaged in experimental research
in the areas of lasers, non-linear optics, spectroscopy, and
chemical kinetics. Particular applications include chemical
and gas lasers, directed energy weapons, remote sensing, and
optical diagnostics for manufacture of high temperature superconductor
materials. Currently three faculty members and eleven graduate
students are pursuing research in these areas. Current experimental
programs are using laser induced fluorescence, photolysis,
Fourier transform spectroscopy, thin film deposition and laser
ablation techniques, diode laser, molecular beam, fast visible
and near IR imaging, and chemical flow tube techniques to study
the fundamental problems in chemical physics. In addition,
nonlinear optics techniques are being investigated for applications
in high energy lasers. Specifically, nonlinear optical effects
in optical fibers are used to develop beam combining and cleanup
systems as well as phase conjugation systems. Several specific
projects are discussed....MORE |
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| Remote
Sensing & Signature Analysis |
Remote Sensing and Signature Analysis
research areas include remote sensing technologies, signal and
image processing, characterization and integration, multispectral
and hyperspectral imaging (MSI/HSI) analysis, radiation transfer
through the atmosphere, passive coherent location (PCL), modulation
of the environment, and computational processes of large data
sets....MORE |
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| Semiconductor Materials & Device Characterization |
The experimental solid-state physics group conducts advanced research on the optical, electrical and magnetic properties of semiconductor bulk, hetero-structure, super-lattice and quantum-well materials that range from narrow- to wide-band-gap. These include InAs, GaSb, Si/SiGe, CuInGaSe, GaAs, AlGaAs, GaN, AlGaN, SiC, and ZnO. The objective of this research is to provide a better understanding of (1) the intrinsic and extrinsic characteristics of the materials and structures, themselves, and (2) the electronic and opto-electronic devices fabricated from these materials. These devices are typically used in such USAF applications as: photonics - light emitting diodes, semiconductor lasers, optical and infrared detectors; micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS); high-temperature, high-frequency and high-power electronics; and spintronics....MORE |
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| Space Weather |
Space Weather research areas include geomagnetism, space weather modeling, and operational assessments of system impacts due to Space Weather. Recent and ongoing research has included validation efforts for several state-of-the-art space weather computer models of the magnetosphere-ionosphere system. In addition, a Windows-based code to compute indices of geomagnetic activity using a new technique has been validated and applied to a newly operational magnetometer site in Northern Utah. Finally, we have validated and characterized space weather data collected by the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP). The results of this work will greatly benefit the next generation of space weather prediction models, which will rely heavily on an “artificially intelligent” combination of observations and physics-based codes....MORE
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