Van-mounted lidar systems for detection and mapping of chemical warfare agents

Defense and intelligence: Development and field testing of many novel optical and biological sensors that serve national defense and intelligence needs.

SSL has developed differential absorption lidar (DIAL) systems for a variety of military and industrial applications. For example, we have developed van-mounted systems to detect and map chemical warfare agent clouds using carbon dioxide laser transmitters operating in the 10-micron spectral region. These systems were successfully field tested at the U.S. Army’s Dugway Proving Ground.

Custom optical design for microarray imaging applications

Sensor phenomenology and modeling: Sophisticated modeling codes for the design and development of various chemical and biological sensor systems.

SSL uses optics modeling codes to investigate a variety of novel structures for controlling the propagation of light. Optical design codes are used to develop custom optical system that meet exacting optical sensor requirements. Sophisticated computer simulation codes, such as COMSOL, are used to model optical, mechanical, chemical, and thermal performance of different sensor components and subsystems.

Backside interrogation of the circuit is used to reveal logic gates and their connections (highlighted in green). The complete set of all these connections forms the netlist, which is responsible for the high-level function of the device.

Trusted integrated circuits: Tools using a combination of advanced optical microscopy and Boolean analysis to verify integrated circuit (IC) design fidelity at the hardware level.

Modern integrated circuits are so complex that users effectively need to trust IC manufacturers to deliver a product that does not compromise its intended use. Moreover, the exact design of the circuitry is often proprietary and not made available to the end-user. Our goal is to bring back some of the security lost to the user by creating automated tools to detect tampering in either the design or manufacturing process and ensure that no circuitry exists that can cause unintended behavior.

As a part of DARPA's IRIS (Integrity and Reliability of Integrated CircuitS) program, SRI is advancing optical microscopy and design analysis techniques that will apply to 45 nm devices and beyond.

This large standoff iris recognition platform is able to recognize people from distances exceeding 25 meters. The motion, depth of field, and turbulence correction features make it tolerant to natural subject motion and suitable for use in a wide array of conditions, including outdoors.

Robust biometric recognition: Addressing problems of defocus, motion blur, subject range, and atmospheric turbulence that ordinarily prevent biometric data from being acquired in challenging environments.

Through the application of a number of novel computational imaging techniques, SRI researchers are able to increase the camera's depth of field, reduce motion blur, and correct for atmospheric turbulence. As a result, SRI is able to use off-the-shelf imaging components and little or no expensive tracking hardware. As a part of the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA) BEST (Biometric Exploitation Science and Technology) program, SRI was able to demonstrate iris recognition of subjects at ranges exceeding 25m, even while undergoing transverse motions up to 1 m/s.