Abstract: A phase locked loop (PLL) comprises: a reference oscillator to generate a reference clock having a reference frequency; a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) to generate a VCO clock having a VCO frequency controlled in response to a control signal applied to the VCO; a first integrator to integrate the reference frequency into a first ramp slope; a second integrator to integrate the VCO frequency into a second ramp slope; and a slope comparator to generate a slope difference between the first ramp slope and the second ramp slope and that is conveyed by the control signal, such that the control signal is configured to drive the VCO frequency toward the reference frequency to minimize the slope difference and frequency lock the VCO frequency to the reference frequency.

Abstract: A precursor formulation of an energetic composition with improved electrostatic charge dissipation, including an amorphous carbon black having a specific surface area of at least about 1,200 m2/g, in an amount from about 0.05% by weight to about 0.25% by weight. Also disclosed is a precursor formulation of a propellant composition with improved electrostatic charge dissipation. The amorphous carbon black having a specific surface area of at least about 1,200 m2/g may enhance electrostatic charge dissipation of the HTPB-based propellant composition, without affecting a breakdown voltage of the propellant composition.

Abstract: One example includes a clock distribution system. The system includes a resonator feed network comprising a plurality of resonant transmission lines that each propagate a clock signal. The system also includes at least one resonator spine. Each of the at least one resonator spine can be conductively coupled to at least one of the resonant transmission lines, such that each of the at least one resonator spine propagates the clock signal. The system further includes at least one resonator rib conductively coupled to at least one of the at least one resonator spine. Each of the at least one resonator rib can be arranged as a standing wave resonator to propagate the clock signal.

Abstract: One example includes a tunable current-mirror qubit. The qubit includes a plurality of flux tunable elements disposed in a circuit loop. A first portion of the flux tunable elements can be configured to receive a first input flux and a remaining portion of the flux tunable elements can be configured to receive a second input flux to control a mode of the tunable current-mirror qubit between a microwave excitation mode to facilitate excitation or quantum state manipulation of the tunable current-mirror qubit via a microwave input signal and a noise-protected mode to facilitate storage of the quantum state of the tunable current-mirror qubit. The qubit also includes at least one capacitor interconnecting nodes between respective pairs of the flux tunable elements to facilitate formation of Cooper-pair excitons in each of the microwave excitation mode and the noise-protected mode.

Abstract: One example includes an instrument system. The system includes instrument components at least partially disposed in an evacuated chamber within an instrument housing. The system also includes a barrier that is configured to seal the evacuated chamber. The barrier includes a plurality of instrument electrodes that are electrically coupled to the instrument components and extending through the barrier. The system further includes a diffusion block formed of a non-diffusive material and coupled to the instrument housing to seal an evacuated cavity within the instrument housing between the barrier and the diffusion block.

Abstract: A compact, uniaxially-aligned series of lenses are shaped and coated to allow coaxial viewing of two different fields of view on the same focal-plane array by selecting a type of light. The selection can be, for example, by spectrum or polarization. Zonal coatings on the lens surfaces permit for a catadioptric narrow field-of-view light path. The lens assembly accomplishes simultaneous dual field-of-view in a durable package without respective motion of optical elements, without substantial gaps between the lenses, and at lower cost than other assemblies.

Abstract: A capacitively-driven tunable coupler includes a coupling capacitor connecting an open end of a quantum object (i.e., an end of the object that cannot have a DC path to a low-voltage rail, such as a ground node, without breaking the functionality of the object) to an RF SQUID having a Josephson element capable of providing variable inductance and therefore variable coupling to another quantum object.

Abstract: A phase locked loop (PLL) comprises: a reference oscillator to generate a reference clock having a reference frequency; a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) to generate a VCO clock having a VCO frequency controlled in response to a control signal applied to the VCO; a first integrator to integrate the reference frequency into a first ramp slope; a second integrator to integrate the VCO frequency into a second ramp slope; and a slope comparator to generate a slope difference between the first ramp slope and the second ramp slope and that is conveyed by the control signal, such that the control signal is configured to drive the VCO frequency toward the reference frequency to minimize the slope difference and frequency lock the VCO frequency to the reference frequency.

Abstract: In an example, a machine learning (ML) processor emulator can be configured to emulate a legacy processor for emulating a legacy program. The emulator environment can include virtual registers storing operand data on which an operation is to be performed based on a respective instruction from instruction data representative of the legacy program. The ML processor emulator includes a processor ensemble engine that includes ML modules generated by a different ML algorithm, and a voting engine. Each ML module can be configured to emulate an instruction set of a processor and process the operand data according to the operation of the respective instruction to produce a set of candidate result data. The voting engine can be configured to identify a subset of candidate result data from the set of candidate result data and provide output data with content similar to the subset of candidate result data.

Abstract: A code development engine can be programmed to evaluate build code that can be representative of program code at an instance of time during or after a software development of the program code to identify and correct coding errors in the build code. A code run-time simulation engine can be programmed to simulate the build code in a modeled program code environment for the program code to identify and correct coding failures in the build code. A build code output module can be programmed to evaluate the build code to determine whether the build code is acceptable for use in a program code environment based on a level of acceptable risk for the build code in response to the coding error and/or coding failure being corrected in the build code.

Abstract: A coherently beam combining (CBC) fiber laser amplifier system including beam shaper array assembly and a beam source that provides a plurality of beams having a low fill factor profile. The assembly includes an input beam shaper array having a plurality of input cells positioned adjacent to each other that are shaped to cause the beam to expand as it propagates away from the input array to be converted from the low fill factor profile to a high fill factor profile and cause the profile to taper to a lower value at a perimeter of each input array cell. The assembly further includes an output beam shaper array having a plurality of output cells positioned adjacent to each other that are shaped to cause the beam to stop expanding so that the output array provides a plurality of adjacent beams with minimal overlap and a minimal gap between the beams.

Abstract: Systems and methods are described herein for determining an optimized flight route for an aerial vehicle. In some examples, weather conditions for the aerial vehicle during a flight can be predicted based on weather data. At least two flight route segments based on the predicted weather data can be determined. The at least two flight route segments can include one of a solar flight route segment and a thermal flight route segment. A respective flight route segment of the at least two flight route segments can be discarded that can cause the aerial vehicle to violate a flight constraint. A replacement flight route segment for the respective discarded flight route segment can be determined. An optimized flight route for the aerial vehicle can be generated based on the replacement flight route segment and at least one remaining flight route segment of the at least two flight route segments.

Abstract: One example includes a switch system. The system includes a first signal port and a second signal port. The system also includes a first switching path arranged between the first and second signal ports. The first switching path includes at least one first switch and at least one of the at least one first switch being configured as a high-speed switching device. The system further includes a second switching path arranged between the first and second signal ports in parallel with the first switching path. The second switching path includes at least one second switch and at least one of the at least one second switch being configured as a high-performance switching device.

Abstract: A hybrid coherent beam combining (CBC) and spectral beam combining (SBC) fiber laser amplifier system including a beam shaper array assembly and a beam source that provides a plurality of beams having a low fill factor profile. The assembly includes an input beam shaper array having a plurality of rectilinear input cells positioned adjacent to each other that are shaped to cause the beam to expand as it propagates away from the input array to be converted from the low fill factor profile to a high fill factor profile. The assembly further includes an output beam shaper array having a plurality of output cells positioned adjacent to each other that are shaped to cause the beam to stop expanding so that the output array provides a plurality of adjacent beams with minimal overlap and a minimal gap between the beams.

Abstract: A method for fabricating a composite part using a 3D printing machine. The method includes forming a support structure by depositing consecutive support structure layers including rows of filaments made of a support structure material from the machine on a build plate, smoothing out a top surface of the support structure after it is formed, and forming the part by depositing consecutive part layers including rows of filaments made of a part material from the machine on the support structure.

Abstract: Superconducting integrated circuit layouts are proofed against the detrimental effects of stray flux by designing and fabricating them to have one or more ground planes patterned in the x-y plane with a regular grid of low-aspect-ratio flux-trapping voids. The ground plane(s) can be globally patterned with such voids and thousands or more superconducting circuit devices and wires can thereafter be laid out so as not to intersect or come so close to the voids that the trapped flux would induce supercurrents in them, thus preventing undesirable coupling of flux into circuit elements. Sandwiching a wire layer between patterned ground planes permits wires to be laid out even closer to the voids. Voids of successively smaller maximum dimension can be concentrically stacked in pyramidal fashion in multiple ground plane layers having different superconductor transition temperatures, increasing the x-y area available for device placement and wire-up.

Abstract: A method, implemented by a computing system on-board a vehicle, differentiates whether an anomaly originating from a hardware component of the vehicle is caused by a cybersecurity threat, by a degradation of the performance of the hardware component, or by both. States of the respective nodes in a first group of nodes of the first hardware component are compared with a stored table of sets of states of nodes in the first group. A determination is made of whether the anomaly associated with the first hardware component is caused by a cybersecurity threat or by health degradation of the first hardware component based on the comparison of the states of the nodes of the first group with the sets of possible states of the respective nodes where each set is associated with one of a cybersecurity threat and health degradation.

Abstract: A method for fabricating a beam shaper array assembly, where the beam shaper array assembly changes the shape of a plurality of beams. The method includes providing an optical endcap having a plurality of connector stems, welding a fiber to each of the stems to form an emitter array and positioning a beam shaper array adjacent to the endcap opposite to the stems. The method also includes measuring an angle error and a position error of each fiber, calculating a correction for each fiber for the angle error and the position error and correcting the angle and position of each fiber using the calculated corrections.

Abstract: A method for reducing nonlinear frequency shifts and suppressing stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) in a fiber laser amplifier system. The method includes providing a seed beam having a certain wavelength and frequency modulating the seed beam with an RF waveform to spectrally broadening the seed beam, where the RF waveform is a relatively slow-speed waveform having a large modulation depth. The method also includes amplifying the frequency modulated seed beam with an amplifier having a large nonlinear phase shift and exhibiting frequency modulation (FM) to amplitude modulation (AM) conversion, where the modulation depth is much larger than the nonlinear phase shift of the amplifier.

Abstract: A WDM seed beam source for a fiber laser amplifier system that includes a number of master oscillators that generate seed beams at different wavelengths and a spectral multiplexer that multiplexes all of the seed beams onto a single fiber. An EOM modulates the combined seed beams on the single fiber and a spectral demultiplexer then separates the modulated seed beams into their constituent wavelengths on separate fibers before the seed beams are amplified and spectrally combined. The fiber laser amplifier system includes a separate fiber amplifier that amplifies the separated seed beams, an emitter array that directs the amplified beams into free space, beam collimating optics that focuses the uncombined beams, and an SBC grating responsive to the collimated uncombined beams that spatially combines the collimated uncombined beams.