CHESTER — A Delaware County Keystone Innovation Zone (KIZ) company announced it has been awarded a two year – $1 million US Navy contract.
RL Associates, Inc. has been contracted by the US Navy to deliver a prototype of a Wide Field of View, Narrowband Holographic Optical Filter for Improved Spectral Filtering in High Altitude Antisubmarine Warfare Systems. This ASW system involves the detection of weak optical signals in the presence of significant unwanted background noise such as solar radiation. The filters presently available have either a narrow linewidth OR a wide field of view. The narrow linewidth allows the detector to filter out the unwanted solar light, while allowing only the laser return. This however, drastically reduces the field of view, making the searching of a large area of ocean extremely difficult. The RL Associates Inc. filter is able to filter out the unwanted background light, like the sun, without sacrificing field of view. This will allow the Navy to use its anti-submarine warfare system around the clock. At present, the system, without the RL Associates Inc. filter, has significant limitations operating in sunlight, as the reflections of the sun off the water blind the detector and make the system useless. The filter is being constructed in such a way as to ensure the final result will be functional within the current ASW system, thus saving the cost of modifying the ASW system.
The Delaware County KIZ program was established in May 2006 as a state-designated area for the encouragement of innovative thinking, creativity and technology transfer through strong local partnerships and resources. Villanova University and Widener University are the host institutions of higher education for the Delaware County KIZ which assists local entrepreneurs, start-up companies, and progressive businesses with implementing an innovative idea from start to finish.
The Delaware County KIZ facilitates partnerships between community players, economic development organizations and education institutions which provide clients with local resources and services for development, innovation, and growth that will enable emerging companies to move forward with developing and commercializing their products and processes. Equally as important, the Delaware County KIZ is a catalyst to partner emerging tech-based companies.
To find out more about the Delaware County KIZ, call (610) 499-7534 or visit www.delcokiz.org.