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Development of metamaterial-based thermal management systems (forced convection fluidic cold plate) to stabilize Photonic Integrated Circuit (PIC) instruments for deployment in upper atmosphere sounding systems (stratosphere/mesosphere). The project addresses critical thermal instability, optical power limitations, and harsh environment challenges facing PICs. Work includes cold plate design using TPMS-based metamaterial structures, anisotropic morphology optimization, fabrication, testing, and PIC integration. Also includes evaluation of on-chip lasers, stabilization techniques, material platforms, and PIC fabrication for upper atmosphere applications.
Thermally stabilized, low-SWaP PIC instruments suitable for upper atmosphere sounding; metamaterial cold plate designs optimized for hydrodynamic balance and mass minimization (consistent with EXCITE mission heritage); potential patent application following manufacturing post-processing; improved environmental monitoring capability via miniaturized photonic sensors
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