The atmosphere is in a constant state of flux. Different pockets of air have different temperatures and densities which affect the light passing through it in different ways. This 'turbulence' limits how well you can see distant objects, and effectively puts a limit on the resolution that can be achieved with ground based telescopes. However, at the size of ground-based telescopes has gradually been increasing due to the advent of adaptive optics; this can be used to correct for the blurring caused by turbulence. There are now a number of Very Large Telescopes (VLTs), with 8-10 meter diameters that have been commissioned with adaptive optics. Based on the success of these systems, a much larger facility, the Extremely Large Telescope, (ELT), with a diameter of 30 meters is now being considered by a European Consortium lead by the European Southern Observatory (ESO) The Zonal Bimorph Deformable Mirror (ZBDM) is an important new AO technology that has resulted from five years of investment at BAE SYSTEMS Advanced Technology Centre. ZBDMs exploit the benefits normally associated with bimorph mirrors; simple construction, cost effective manufacture, and inherent ruggedness, but at the same time, they have the potential to be scaled up to large apertures with many thousands of elements. In addition, the low element capacitance (typically two orders of magnitude less than that of an equivalent stacked actuator DM), will make the driver for the mirror significantly easier to implement with much less heat dissipation. The main objective of this proposal is to carry out a risk reduction study on the development of this technology for medium (2-5mm pitch, 200-400mm aperture) sized deformable mirrors for the Astronomical Instrumentation which is to be included in the planned European Extremely Large Telescope facility (e.g. for multi-conjugate adaptive optics and for the planet-finder instrument). ZBDM technology has the flexibility to fulfil a number of AO roles. One particular area is to offer a solution to the limitations in the maximum stroke available with high density (2-5mm) DM's. For example, 2mm pitch mirrors based on stacked actuator technology typically provide a maximum stroke of 2µm. The thin, lightweight ZBDM structure should enable the integration of both 'tweeter' and 'woofer' DMs to realise a dual-stage, high PV stroke 'planet-finder' class device. A single layer, 61 element test mirror fabricated using internal funds has recently demonstrated an inter-actuator stroke of ±1.4µm, coupled with a lowest device resonance of 5 kHz and a PV stroke of ±8µm. Analytical modeling suggests that a dual stage ZBDM with a tweeter pitch of 2mm could deliver a maximum stroke of ±5µm. This proposal covers a two year risk reduction programme that would be exploited through a bid into the FP7 programme to progress the technology towards a full scale prototype. The main objective of this first stage is to undertake a series of risk reduction exercises which will increase the maturity of the technology, and to fabricate a small scale demonstrator which will provide a firm basis for the full scale prototype phase. o Device models will be used to determine the characteristic trade-off between maximum peak-valley (PV) stroke and bandwidth, the range of influence functions that can be achieved, and the inter-dependence of layers for a dual stage mirror. o Assembly and polishing trials will be undertaken in order to determine the best way to reduce / eliminate the risk of print through and maximize mirror flatness. o The current design is based on standard 'soft' PZT, which exhibits hysteresis; a number of strategies for reducing this effect have already been identified. These will be assessed, and the most promising technique will be used in the small scale demonstrator. While ZBDM technology can also be applied to larger mirror types, these applications are being addressed directly by the ELT Large AO Mirror Progr

This research addresses the important but as yet unresolved problem of providing a design methodology for sensor configuration for control and fault tolerance based on specific system reliability requirements. The primary focus is that of optimised sensor selection for efficient robustness properties of the system, assuming a consistent controller design, with relation to faults prior to system reconfiguration (i.e. a form of passive fault tolerance attempting to reduce complexity at the basic level). The proposed framework will be evaluated within a reconfigurable scheme for further system robustification. In particular the proposed research concentrates upon practical engineering applications that are dynamically complex, electro-mechanical in nature typified by the kinds of systems in aerospace, automotive and railway. Demonstration of the developed methodologies is envisaged via an experimental test rig.

Communications has recently seen a surge in popularity with the vast increase in mobile phone usage. Both the phones and the infrastructure, which allows them to communicate, requires electronic components of extremely high performance which are very small in size. This proposal aims at making new miniaturised electronic components. The components of interest operate at very high frequencies (greater than 1GHz) in the microwave frequency regime. It is possible to build new miniature components because of two relatively new manufacturing processes being developed at Birmingham University. The manufacturing processes have the ability to machine materials to an incredible accuracy to produce very small, very precise shapes. These shapes are designed to perform the electronic signal processing function in the new devices. The machining is not by mechanical means but by chemical etching and the materials to be machined are silicon and an epoxy resin. Clearly with this new material a great deal of effort is required on the design of the new microwave circuits as well as continued development of the micromachining process. The outcome of the project will therefore be new processes to make the components as well as some components themselves. Although mobile communications was mentioned above as an example of where the components could be used, there are many more uses of the new components. Communications at extremely high frequencies (up to and above 100GHz) and radar systems are excellent examples of potential uses.

This project aims to design and manufacture a prototype demonstrator of millimetric radio front-end based on the core technology previously developed under EPSRC grant GR/R16945. These will be targeted at massproduced, low cost consumer products such as automotive radar in the 79GHz radio band. In doing this, we intend to demonstrate the robustness of the business case for millimetric radio systems using the electromagnetic bandgap (EBG) enhanced active conical horn technology.The millimeter wave spectrum at 30-300 GHz is of increasing interest because of the wide bandwidths available. However, as the existing technology is expensive and complex, the business case for mass-produced consumer products is currently very weak. The proposed project will overcome this by developing a cost-effective integrated solution. We therefore intend to capitalise on this potential growing market by developing a robust business plan as a result of this additional work package to drive future business growth and, by working through an external consultancy, develop links into key markets that can exploit this technology for the benefit of the UK.

The growth in mobile wireless communication systems has been rapid in recent years particularly for mobile telephone and network systems from 900MHz to about 6GHz. This has directly led to advances in technology such as the development of small multi-band antennas, compact wideband components and the application of frequency selective surfaces (FSS) and related electromagnetic band gap (EBG) materials. At frequencies below this such as the military communication bands at 30MHz, foliage penetrating radar at 110-200MHz, broadcast bands at 100MHz and 200MHz, deep space missions and satellite emergency beacons 100-400 MHz and TETRA at 400MHz, relatively little has been achieved mainly due to the large physical size involved at these frequencies. At these low frequencies monopole like antennas tend to be used and these represent single fault failures that are particularly crucial in space and military applications. The purpose of this application is to design miniaturised low profile antennas and integrate them over high impedance EBG/FSS surfaces (HIS) for long wavelength applications providing a platform independent antenna installation. The antennas would not only be small but also able to be integrated onto many vehicular platforms independent of interactions with the vehicle surface. The main challenge is to develop antenna and HIS structures that are physically much smaller than the wavelength and yet effective in their application in small EBG array configurations. To this end both passive and active lumped circuit element components will be incorporated into novel antenna and HIS surfaces to reduce their size. The performance of small arrays of HIS elements will be studied to improve their performance particularly when integrated with miniaturised low frequency antennas.