These short courses were offered in conjunction with the Fourteenth Annual Directed Energy Symposium, held 14-18 November 2011 in La Jolla, California. Continuing Education Unit (CEU) credits were awarded upon successful completion of these DEPS short courses.
Course 1. Introduction to High Energy Laser Systems Classification: Unclassified, Public Release Instructor: John Albertine, Consultant Duration: Half-day course CEUs awarded: 0.35 Course Description: This lecture will introduce the field of HEL weapons and their associated technologies using an interweaving of technical requirements, history, and accomplishments. The basic attributes of HEL weapons will be covered, leading into discussions of laser-material interaction, lethality, potential weapon applications, system requirements, laser power scaling, propagation, and beam control. DoD interest in tactical applications, current technical issues, and areas of research emphasis will be highlighted. Intended Audience: This course is geared to those with a technical background who seek an overview of HEL technology and the current state of the art. Individuals who are beginning to work in the field or technical managers who wish an integrated overview would benefit from the class. Instructor Biography: Mr. Albertine has his B.S. and M.S. in Physics from Rose Polytechnic Institute and Johns Hopkins University respectively. Prior to working for the Navy, he was a senior staff physicist in the Space Division of The Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory. From 1976 through 1997, he worked in the Navy's High Energy Laser (HEL) Program Office, directing the Navy’s technology development for the last 15 years. During that time, he led the development and test of the first megawatt class HEL system in the free world. He retired from civil service in 1997 and now consults for OSD, the Air Force, ONR, the Navy HEL program office, and Penn State in the Directed Energy field. Mr. Albertine is a member of the Air Force Science Advisory Board and has served as Executive Vice President and a member of the Board of Directors of the Directed Energy Professional Society. Mr. Albertine is also a DEPS Fellow.
Course 2. Introduction to High Power Microwave Systems Classification: Unclassified, Public Release Instructor: Dr. Al Kehs, Army Research Laboratory Duration: Half-day course CEUs awarded: 0.35 Course Description: This course will provide an introduction to RF Directed Energy weapons, also known as High Power Microwave (HPM) weapons. The course consists of four parts: 1) a general introduction to the basic terms and concepts, 2) a discussion of the varous types of effects that can be induced and how they are characterized, 3) the technologies that enable RF-DEW weaponization, and 4) hardening techniques and technologies. At the end of the class, students will know what RF-DEWs are and how they differ from classical Electronic Warfare and nuclear EMP. Students will learn the various ways in which microwaves couple into a target (i.e., front door/back door, in-band/out-of-band) and some of the many sorts of effects that they can precipitate. Technology discussions will show the difference between narrow band (NB) and ultra-wide band (UWB) sources, antennas and diagnostics, as well as the principal elements of the power systems needed to support them. The course concludes with a discussion of hardening techniques and technologies. Topics to be covered include:
Intended Audience: Newcomers to the field of RF-DEW or managers with some background in science and engineering will benefit the most from this course. Instructor Biography: Dr. Kehs retired in 2007 from the Army Research Lab where he had held a string of positions in the High Power Microwave management and research areas that stretched over most of his 30 year career at the lab. He is a former DEPS board member and has taught the Introduction to HPM course several times in the past. Dr. Kehs received the BS and MS degrees in Electrical Engineering in 1970 and 1973 and the MS and PHD degrees in Physics in 1984 and 1987 - all from the University of Maryland. He currently works as a part-time contractor for General Technical Services, LLC with an office at the Army Research Lab.
Course 3. Windows, Substrates, and Coatings for HEL Applications Classification: Unclassified, Public Release Instructor: Bill Decker, Defense Acquisition University Duration: Half-day course CEUs awarded: 0.35 Course Description: This short course will discuss the current state of the art in windows, substrates and coatings when used in HEL systems. Windows for solid state and chemical lasers will be discussed, with the advantages and disadvantages of each material presented. Similar reviews of optical substrates for reflective optics and coatings for high energy laser systems will be presented. Sources of supply will be identified, along with recent experiences with each material. The pros and cons of these material and coatings choices will be reviewed as well as how these choices play into systems design and trades. Intended Audience: Program Managers, Systems Engineers, of HEL Systems. A fundamental understanding of optics is assumed. Instructor Biography: Mr. Decker is currently a Professor of Systems Engineering at the Huntsville Campus of the Defense Acquisition University and concurrently is the Director for the DAU Technology Transition Learning Center of Excellence. His experience includes over 30 years in electro-optics with ten years experience in high energy laser systems, including THEL, ABL, ATL and HELLADS, all while employed by Brashear (a division of L-3 Communications) in Pittsburgh, PA. Mr. Decker holds a MS in Physics from the Naval Postgraduate School and a BS in Engineering from Cornell University.
Course 4. Optical Turbulence Classification: Unclassified, Public Release Instructor:Joe Watkins Duration: Half-day course CEUs awarded: 0.35 Course Description: This class will discuss the statistical analysis of turbulence induced changes in the refractive index of air. Students will develop the background necessary to formulate the structure functions used to quantify the random effect of turbulence in the classical analysis given by Andrews and Phillips. Classical, weak and strong fluctuation theory will be reviewed, as well as recent papers that discuss fitting experimental data of the beam’s position as a function of time to differing probability density functions. Topics to be covered include:
Intended Audience: Undergraduate in science and/or engineering who desire a basic knowledge of the effect of optical turbulence on beam propagation. Students currently in an undergraduate curriculum may also benefit, as this material is taught to midshipmen at the Naval Academy. Instructor Biography: CDR R. J. Watkins Jr. is an Associate Professor and the Associate Chairman in the Mechanical Engineering Department at the US Naval Academy. CDR Watkins is also the Director of the Directed Energy Research Center at the Academy, which he began shortly after his arrival in 2005. He was selected for the Permanent Military Professor (PMP) program in 2000 and began his studies at the Naval Postgraduate School in 2001. His research was directed by Distinguished Professors Brij Agrawal and Young Shin and was in the adaptive control of optical beam jitter. He was awarded the PhD in Mechanical Engineering in 2004. CDR Watkins also holds the Master of Science in Astronautical Engineering, a B.S. equivalency in Electrical Engineering and a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Auburn University as well as a Professional Engineers License from the state of California. CDR Watkins is a 19 year veteran of the U.S. Navy’s Submarine Force, serving in three nuclear submarines, where his last afloat tour was as Executive Officer of USS LOUISVILLE, SSN 724. He was qualified as a nuclear engineer with the Navy as well as for command at sea prior to his selection as a PMP.
Course 5. Introduction to Free Electron Laser Systems Classification: Unclassified, Public Release Instructors: Dinh Nguyen, Los Alamos National Laboratory Duration: Full-day course CEUs awarded: 0.70 Course Description: The purpose of this course is to introduce the audience to the physics and technologies of free electron lasers (FEL) driven by radio-frequency (RF) linear accelerators (linac). The topics to be covered include rudimentary concepts of laser and electron beam physics, the generation, acceleration and transport of high-brightness electron beams, wiggler/undulator radiation, and the production of high-power, coherent laser beams using various FEL architectures. Emphasis will be placed on practical design considerations of various FEL sub-systems, e.g. electron injectors, cathodes, superconducting RF accelerators, energy recovery beam transport, wiggler designs and photon beam optics. The audience will gain the basic accelerator and FEL knowledge that will aid them in selecting and/or designing various sub-systems of an energy recovery linac FEL. Intended Audience: Prerequisites for this short course include an undergraduate science degree and an optional college-level electricity & magnetism course. Instructor Biographies: Dinh C. Nguyen received B.S. with Honor in Chemistry at Indiana University, Bloomington in 1979 and Ph.D. in Chemistry at the University of Wisconsin, Madison in 1984. Since joining Los Alamos National Laboratory in 1984, he has done pioneering work in single molecule detection, up-conversion solid-state lasers, RF photoinjectors, advanced photocathodes, and high-gain amplifier FEL concepts such as the self-amplified spontaneous emission (SASE) and regenerative amplifier. The high-gain SASE experiments that he performed in 1997 are the first in a series of experiments that have culminated in the first X-ray FEL at SLAC. His current research includes the development of high-power FEL, high-average-current RF injectors, rugged photocathodes and new ideas of hard X-rays FEL. Dinh Nguyen is a member of the American Physical Society, the International FEL Program Committee, and the FEL Technology Area Working Group. He has published more than 60 refereed journal articles and numerous conference papers.
Course 6. Physics of High Energy Lasers - Target Interaction Classification: Unclassified, Limited Distribution Instructor: Vladimir Semak Duration: Full-day course CEUs awarded: 0.70 Course Description: The dominant physical processes accompanying interaction of high energy laser beam with a target in fast moving gas are described. Basic models for laser - solid interaction including collisional and colissionless absorption of radiation, heat transport, and hydrodynamics are described for the laser interaction time ranging from constant wave to femto-second and for laser irradiance 104 - 1018 W/cm2. Experimentally verified physical models that, in particular, describe melting through material, material removal mechanisms and removal efficiency are presented for different interaction conditions. Particular emphasis is made on the problems, which remain insufficiently studied such as laser evaporation, interaction of fast gas flow with melt pool, and ultra-short laser pulse heating of condensed matter. This course will establish deep understanding of the fundamental physics of laser-solid/laser-plasma interaction specifically tailored to the developers of laser weapon systems and the survivability specialists. Also, this course will provide theoretical guidance in design of weapons with optimized lethality, efficient and lower cost testing of laser weapons, and design of materials that will provide high survivability against high energy laser weapons. Objectives of the course:
Intended Audience: The course will be offered on two levels: 1) conceptual awareness level requiring basic knowledge of general physics and math and tailored for any science and engineering background; and 2) practical implementation level requiring background that includes undergraduate courses in thermodynamics, electricity-magnetism, optics, and mathematical analysis. Instructor Biography: Vladimir’s expertise is the physics of laser material interaction and plasma physics. His current interest is in modeling of ultrrashort and ultrahigh intensity laser interaction with condensed and gashouse matter. Previously he performed experimental investigation, theoretical and numerical modeling of heat transfer, melt hydrodynamics, surface and evaporation that are relevant to laser weapons applications, laser drilling, welding and cutting of metals. He also conducted extensive investigation of laser induced plasmas and related gas dynamic phenomena; measurement and simulation of ion thruster plasmas; and study of thin film laser induced vapor deposition. He participated in the industrial projects on laser surface modification of NARLOY combustion chamber, laser drilling of titanium hip prosthesis without spatter, laser drilling of surgical needles, and laser surface alloying of the wind tunnel nozzles.
Course 7. Improved Concurrent Electromagnetic Particle-in-Cell (ICEPIC): A Massively Parallel Simulator for High Power RF Sources, Amplifiers, Accelerators and More Classification: Unclassified, Limited Distribution Instructor: Nathaniel Lockwood Duration: Full-day course CEUs awarded: 0.70 Course Description: The High Powered Microwave High Performance Computing Software Applications Institute (HPM HSAI) software suite is designed to perform high fidelity simulations of a full, integrated HPM system, from basic components, such as pulse power, source, and antenna, to evaluating battlefield effectiveness. This class is intended for potential users of the HPM HSAI software suite who have a basic familiarity with scientific and engineering level simulations. Instruction on simulation codes that form the HPM HSAI software suite such as Joint RF Effects Model (JREM) and the Improved Concurrent Electromagnetic Particle-In-Cell (ICEPIC) are intended as introductions to the capabilities and operation of the software. The ICEPIC and JREM codes were developed by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Directed Energy Directorate to evaluate High Power Microwave system performance. The ICEPIC code enables virtual prototyping of an HPM source or system using physics based Finite Difference Time Domain and particle-in-cell method. The JREM code uses a Uniform Theory of Diffraction ray-tracing method, probability of effect models and sophisticated fault tree analysis to simulate an HPM engagement with an electronic target. The HPM Institute Simulation Management Software (HSMS) provides a graphical user interface that enables the assembly of multi-level and multi-physics codes to simulate both the operation and military effectiveness of an HPM system. The HSMS software enables easy access to and management of simulations performed on the defense shared resources center (DSRC) supercomputers. This tutorial will provide a hands-on demonstration of how to simulate various devices using ICEPIC and JREM within HSMS framework. In addition the class will provide a tutorial on pre and post processing tools such as visualization, parameter scan, and optimization tools that can be used with ICEPIC and JREM. The end goal of the course is to have the user leave with the software and the knowledge of how to develop simulations which accurately predict the performance of an HPM system. Intended Audience: Students who can profit from your course are technical personnel with at least an undergraduate education in science or engineering. Some experience in the field of high performance computing, high powered microwave systems and scientific/engineering simulation will greatly improve the utility of the course to the student. Instructor Biography: Dr Nathaniel Lockwood is a plasma physicist with more than 13 years of experience in leading, developing, managing, and simulating defense related technologies and 12 years experience as an officer in the USAF. His expertise includes collisional plasma transport, relativistic electron beam interactions with matter, gas chemical kinetics, terahertz explosives detection, electronic warfare, High Power Microwave (HPM) devices and field emission electron guns. He has spent 6 years using and developing the Particle-In-Cell code, ICEPIC. He has developed and implemented several computational models and performed numerous investigative studies of plasma-material interactions, high power microwave and terahertz source components, and electronic warfare systems.
Course 8. Thermal Management Classification: Unclassified, Public Release Instructor: Tom Fisher Duration: Half-day course CEUs awarded: 0.35 Course Description: Thermal phenomena often limit the performance of high-power systems. This course considers heat and mass transfer by conduction in both steady and transient conditions, convective heat transfer for external and internal flows, and radiation exchange between surfaces and radiation transfer in absorbing-emitting media. Multimode thermal management solutions will be highlighted for cooling of power devices. Intended Audience: Those with an undergraduate science or engineering degree, and an interest in cooling technologies. Instructor Biography: Timothy S. Fisher received Ph.D. and B.S. degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Cornell University in 1998 and 1991, respectively, and joined the Purdue’s School of Mechanical Engineering and Birck Nanotechnology Center in 2002 after several years at Vanderbilt University. In 2008 he was a Visiting Professor in the Chemistry and Physics of Materials Unit of the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR, Bangalore, India), and he now holds the position of Adjunct Professor in the International Centre for Materials Science at JNCASR and co-directs the JNCASR-Purdue Joint Networked Centre on Nanomaterials for Energy. From 2009 to 2011, he has served as a Research Scientist at the Air Force Research Laboratory’s newly formed Thermal Sciences and Materials Branch of the Materials and Manufacturing Directorate.
Course 9. Introduction to Beam Quality Measures Classification: Unclassified, Public Release Instructor: Sean Ross, AFRL/DE Duration:Half-day course CEUs awarded: 0.35 Course Description: This half day short course covers the general subject of high power laser beam quality. Topics covered include: definitions and applications of common measures of beam quality including Brightness, Power-in-the-bucket, M-squared, 'times diffraction limited', strehl ratio, beam parameter product etc. Special emphasis will be given to choosing an appropriate beam quality metric, tracing the metric to the application of the laser system and to various conceptual pitfalls which arise in this field. Material presented will come from general scientific literature as well as original work done by Dr. Ross and Dr. Pete Latham, both from the Air Force Research Laboratory Directed Energy Directorate. Intended Audience: This course should benefit anyone with an interest in laser beam quality, including program managers, scientists, engineers, and military personnel who are not experts in the field. Instructor Biography: Dr. Sean Ross has been with the Air Force Research Laboratory, Directed Energy Directorate, High Power Solid State Laser Branch since he received his PhD from the Center for Research and Education in Optics and Lasers (CREOL) in 1998. Research interests include nonlinear frequency conversion, high power solid state lasers, thermal management and laser beam quality. Beginning in 2000, frustration with commercial beam quality devices led to the work eventually presented in the Journal of Directed Energy, Vol. 2 No. 1 Summer 2006 "Appropriate Measures and Consistent Standard for High Energy Laser Beam Quality". This paper and its conference version (presented at the 2005 DEPS Symposium) have received awards from the Directed Energy Professional Society and the Directed Energy Directorate.
Course 10. HEL Warfighters (Canceled) Classification: Classified Secret Duration: Half-day course CEUs awarded: 0.35
Course 11. Maritime Atmospheric Propagation Classification: Unclassified, Public Release Instructor: Steve Hammel Duration: Half-day course CEUs awarded: 0.35 Course Description: At the end of this coruse, students should understand the basic effects of the atmosphere on propagating optical beams. They will get an overview of the relevant databases and models available to enable a propagation assessment for most maritime environments. Both the capabilities and the limitations of the various effect models will be reviewed, and the best current choices will be suggested. Topics to be covered include:
Intended Audience: An undergraduate education in science and engineering is assumed for this course. The course is aimed at students who have some experience in the field. Nevertheless, this is a broad overview and none of the concepts presented will involve extended technical detail. Instructor Biography: Dr. Steve Hammel leads the atmospheric optics group at the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center, San Diego. Dr. Hammel received a Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics from the University of Arizona in 1986. His group is actively engaged in the modeling and measurement of optical beams propagating in the maritime environment. Dr. Hammel was the government lead for the recent two-year Navy Zuniga Shoal maritime atmospheric propagation test for HEL applications, and he currently serves as chief scientist for the Pacific Sail project to install and test a stabilized multi-function optical system on a Naval ship. His group has been involved with extensive modeling of HEL systems for the maritime environment.
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