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What We Do Developing and building state-of-the-art solutions for challenging problems faced by the U.S. Navy has been our core expertise for several decades.
Modern submarines host thousands of sensors that are used for tactical purposes and also to collect data that are subjected to later analysis such as mission reconstruction.
APL-UW is the implementing organization for the Pacific Northwest component of the NSF Ocean Observatories Initiative: Regional Scale Nodes. This underwater cabled observatory will be installed off the Washington and Oregon coasts to span the Juan de Fuca plate. We are engineering leads for this high bandwidth, high power distribution system, and will also deliver the scientific instrument packages that connect to it. More >>Expertise Custom Recording Systems We develop custom recording systems and also the interfaces between them and ship's sensors for every U.S. Navy submarine. We also develop the highly specialized signal processing tools used to analyze the collected data. High-Definition Sonars We have developed a new class of high-definition sonars used to inspect and identify objects in turbid water where optical systems fail and continue to explore applications for them. They can identify underwater intruders as part of harbor security, and can be deployed on remotely operated submersibles where they can scan for objects of interest. The sonars are even being used to count migrating salmon by fisheries researchers. 
DIDSON high-definition sonar images: fish (L) and stingrays (R) Photonics Photonics is the use of light to acquire, transfer and store data of all types. Systems operating with light are expected to replace many electronic devices in the future. Researchers are developing fiber optic modulators and switches based on organic electro-optic polymer materials. We are also working on spectroscopic identification of materials using terahertz radiation. |
Gary Harkins, EPS Department Director What's New? 
Visions'11 Cruise Our engineers participated in VISIONS'11, a major research cruise aboard the R/V Thomas G. Thompson. Their work prepared for installation of the Regional Scale Nodes underwater cabled observatory (part of NSF’s Ocean Observatories Initiative). View the excellent graphics and real-time underwater video collected by remotely operated vehicle ROPOS. Areas of exploration included the Oregon Margin at Hydrate Ridge and Axial Volcano, more than 200 miles off the Washington coast. More >>
Detecting IEDs APL-UW conducts basic scientific research to increase the predictive capabilities of counter-IED efforts and to detect IEDs at distance and speed before they can cause harm. More >>
Photonics Research Senior Engineer and Affiliate Associate Professor Antao Chen's photonics group is engaged in multidisciplinary research on advanced fiber optic materials and devices to address the bandwidth needs of the future. More >>
XRay Flying Wing Glider Principal Engineer and Affiliate Associate Professor Jim Luby leads the Laboratory's team in developing the large undersea glider in partnership with Scripps Institution of Oceanography. More >> |
In the News Conscripting terahertz sensors Photonics Spectra, Lynn Savage 1 Apr 2012 Teraherz waves are useful to security agents and military personnel alike for revealing concealed weapons, chemical explosives and biological agents. A technique developed by APL-UW researchers permits a better spectral signal-to-noise ratio from targets, even given very rough surface equivalents and only a few disjoint terahertz measurements of the target particles. The researchers report, however, that more work is needed to nail down the minimum number of measurements needed for certainty. Metal detector knows how much cash is in your wallet New Scientist, Jacob Aron 21 Mar 2012 Physicists Christopher Fuller and Antao Chen at the University of Washington in Seattle realized that large bundles of bank notes contain enough magnetic material to be detected at a distance, potentially allowing police to catch people attempting to smuggle cash over the border. Undersea cable laid for 'transformative' ocean observatory KUOW Radio, Tom Banse 24 Aug 2011 This spring, there was a big volcanic eruption in the Pacific Northwest. It happened under the ocean off the northern Oregon coast. All this week, a University of Washington research ship is streaming live video via satellite of lava flows in the undersea crater. Recent Papers Huang, S., J. Luo, H-L. Yip, A. Ayazi, X-H. Zhou, M. Gould, A. Chen, T. Baeher-Jones, M. Hochberg, and A.K.-Y. Jen, "Electro-optical materials: Efficient poling of electro-optic polymers in thin films and silicon slot waveguides by detachable pyroelectric crystals," Adv. Mater., 24, doi:10.1002/adma.201290057, 2012. 8 Mar 2012, Link Wang, D., H. Sun, A. Chen, S.-H. Jang, A. Jen, and A. Szep, "Chemiresistive response of silicon nanowires to trace vapor of nitro explosives," Nanoscale, early online release, doi:10.1039/C2NR30107E, 2012. 24 Feb 2012, Link Chen, A., and E. Murphy, "Broadband Optical Modulators: Science, Technology, and Applications." CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, 2011, 568 pp. 16 Nov 2011 |
