Tech_Issue 1 2009_0127_Final:TechToday_012709 ... - Raytheon

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Feature Continued from page 21 concept, it became clear that the ideal device to absorb ambient energy and disrupt the radar was indeed a variation of the quantum dot used in the conceptual QuIP super-processor. A single quantum tunnel diode could be used as an energy harvester and allow for remote on/off control. Importantly, this functionality could be packed into microelectronic chips small enough to be used as the pigment in a fog generator. To prove out the notional idea, some archived samples of quantum tunnel diodes were tested in the Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems APC Innovation Center using an in-place probe station, light source, signal generator, and spectrum analyzer. As conjectured, injecting energy into the diode generated a DC voltage that charged up an on-chip capacitor. When this power was removed, the voltage dropped ENGINEERING PROFILE Peter Gould SAS Engineering Vice President and Chief Engineer “Solutions that cost less, that are simpler to build and are more reliable for our customers … all of this opens up when we start looking at problems in new ways,” according to Peter Gould, Space and Airborne Systems vice president for Engineering and chief engineer. Throughout his career, Gould has seen the connections between creative innovations and business wins. Gould was actively involved 22 2009 ISSUE 1 RAYTHEON TECHNOLOGY TODAY to a level that caused the diode to spontaneously oscillate. This experiment provided the confidence needed to engage with potential customers, one of whom was keenly interested. Playing in the Innovation Sandbox This project would have lain dormant if there hadn’t been an innovation lab with equipment available to go in and test the concept. Resonant tunneling diodes (RTDs) that were more than 10 years old were used to show that the concept worked. These parts had been sitting in a dry-box in the innovation lab for a long time and by most accounts should have been thrown away. The RTDs were never designed to be used this way, but they solved an important problem in an unintended fashion. There are many more technological gems populating Raytheon’s innovation labs just waiting for someone to find a new way of using them. in capturing new business such as the X-Band Radar, Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, Joint Land Attack Cruise Missile Defense Elevated Netted Sensor System, and SPY-3 Multi- Function Radar. He was also responsible for providing program support on the Seasparrow and MILSTAR programs. “Sometimes we need to have a different way of looking at a problem and come up with a totally different solution in order to be competitive,” he said. Offering an example of an especially effective innovation he’s seen in his career, Gould, a 33year Raytheon veteran, describes working on the mechanical design of the Ground Based Radar Theater Missile Defense antenna. He and his team used liquidcooled assemblies to cool the transmit/receive (T/R) modules on the antenna; the assemblies used blind-mate fluid couplings to connect to the antenna. Because of the size of the antenna, there were thousands of blind-mate fluid couplings buried within the structure when assembled. The system was going to be used in a tactical environment where it would be subject to road shock and vibration, so ensuring a leak-free assembly was essential. This was challenging, though, as using the liquid coolant was the only way they had of cooling the plates. “We were in a trap,” Gould said. While attending a technical presentation, Gould saw that there might be a new way of dealing with this problem. He said that at the presentation, “They demonstrated pyrolytic graphite sandwiched between aluminum sheets as a heat transfer mechanism.” He thought this technology might work for cooling the T/R modules in an antenna application. It is important to note that none of these ideas arose in response to a well-defined customer requirement, but rather fell out of free thinking about how to solve multiple big-picture problems. With this in mind, engineers should try to frame their own problems and not wait for someone to define the problem or the solution space. One person’s kinetic kill vehicle seeker is another person’s can of electronic fog. Rubik’s Cube is a registered trademark of Seven Town Ltd. Brandon Pillans b-pillans@raytheon.com Contributor: Gary Frazier Gould was a department manager at the time, and he and his team studied the potential of this solution, acquired some funding, and ultimately came up with a solution that worked: a dry fit assembly that didn’t require the use of fluid. This technology was ultimately used in the mechanical architecture for the winning approach for the SPY-3 radar. Gould emphasized that looking beyond the standard way of doing things opened up a whole new approach that he and his team were able to turn into a competitive advantage. “This is now the backbone of how large-surface active aperture antennas are built.” Gould’s commitment to innovation continues. “We have to always be looking at different ways of solving what appears to be the same old problem.”
Raytheon’s Innovation Partnerships Cultivating External Sources of Innovation Part of Raytheon’s technology strategy incorporates external sources of innovation as a complement to its internal and contracted research and development efforts. Raytheon invests and teams on applied research that supports the company’s core and growth market pursuits. Collaborating with universities, federally funded research and development centers, and other companies helps ensure Raytheon remains a leader in integrated technology solutions. Here are several examples of the hundreds of initiatives Raytheon supports. UNIVERSITY RESEARCH Universities are at the forefront of basic and applied research in the United States and abroad. Raytheon taps this source by sponsoring research through its University Program in areas that align to business needs, build awareness of important innovations, and enable the company’s growth strategy. In the current academic year, Raytheon is sponsoring more than 35 university-directed research projects (see table on page 24 for some highlights). Solving the Indoor Positioning Problem One of the most-requested capabilities of first responders and dismounted soldiers is the ability to track users in indoor and underground situations. There is little to no GPS coverage in environments such as residential buildings; warehouses; parking garages; heavily forested areas; and underground tunnels, caves and mines. No single technology exists that effectively solves this problem. Seeking a solution, Raytheon is supporting directed research projects in the area of indoor positioning/precision personnel location, including one with Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI). The university is conducting research into the performance of Raytheon’s Worcester Polytechnic Institute’s personnel location research workshop MicroLight handheld network radio system for indoor positioning and robustness. One of the goals is to construct and demonstrate a prototype system that integrates the MicroLight tactical radio with existing WPI beacon technology. For nearly a decade, WPI’s Precision Personnel Location (PPL) research group has been a leader in researching solutions to the problems of precision first-responder indoor location. The PPL group’s collaboration with Raytheon aims to configure a loosely coupled (federated) solution based on information generated by both the Raytheon MicroLight system and the WPI radio frequency PPL technology. The objective is to obtain improved performance of both systems by fusing location information. The research will also evaluate the coupled system and document the cooperative benefits derived from the diversity of location technologies these two systems represent. The research has the potential to greatly enhance the viability of MicroLight as a source of position location information, maintain market-entry barriers to other communications providers, and support growth in commercial markets such as public safety, public utilities and communications for mining safety. Feature Sensing and Responding to Explosive Threats In October 2008, Raytheon joined the new U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS)-funded Center of Excellence for Awareness and Localization of Explosive Related Threats (ALERT). Co-led by Northeastern University and the University of Rhoad Island, ALERT is a partnership among leaders in academia, industry and laboratories that are collaborating on research projects that will lead to the development of cutting-edge technology to protect the United States from explosiverelated threats. As an ALERT industrial partner, Raytheon will collaborate on research that focuses on the long-range needs of homeland security. These include developing an ultra-reliable passenger and cargo screening method, the neutralization of newly improved explosives, and the detection of suicide bombers at a safe distance. Advancing Networks of Low-Cost Radars Since 2002, Raytheon has been the lead industry partner in CASA (the Center for Collaborative Adaptive Sensing of the Atmosphere), a National Science Foundation Engineering Center multidisciplinary partnership. Its vision is to advance mankind’s ability to observe, understand, predict and respond to hazards through fundamental inquiry, new technology, and systems integration, while providing education opportunities for tomorrow’s leaders. CASA builds upon a relationship between University of Massachusetts Amherst and Raytheon that began more than 25 years ago with the establishment of an Advanced Study Program. CASA now consists of five government, 10 industry, and seven academic partners. Continued on page 24 RAYTHEON TECHNOLOGY TODAY 2009 ISSUE 1 23
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Page 44: Copyright © 2009 Raytheon Company.

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