Summary. Work Experience

Transcription

1 Dr. Mohammad M. Tehrani Laser Physicist with Specialties in Optical Instruments for Space, military, and Commercial Applications with extensive Management and Business Development Experience. Years of Experience: 39 U.S. Citizen with DOD Security Clearance Phone: (818) Summary Ph.D. in Physics (Quantum Optics) from the University of Rochester in Earned an M.S. in Physics from the University of Rochester in years of experience in developing high precision optical devices and instruments for navigation, fiber optic communication, and metrology markets. Joined The Aerospace Corporation in Served as a Senior Project Engineer in the Planetary & Robotic Missions Directorate within the NASA Programs Division, where he provided physics, laser, and optics expertise to numerous NASA programs. He led the effort for integration of MEMS gyros with GPS receivers for anti-jamming applications. Founded two start-up companies in electro-optic and fiber optic sensors. Invented and developed the building block of a family of tunable devices for the WDM fiber optic networks. Made significant contributions to the design, development, and productionization of ring laser and fiber optic gyros and other electro-optic devices at Honeywell and Northrop Grumman. He managed teams of engineers, interfaced with marketing departments and customers in various projects. Initiated and actively participated in business development and marketing of Northrop Grumman optical technologies for commercial and government applications. Contributed to the fundamental understanding of the physics of lasers, in particular ring lasers at the University of Rochester. Has 9 patents and patent applications and 19 technical publications in the open literature. Emeritus member of the Optical Society of America, Senior Member of IEEE, and a member of IEEE Standards Committee, Gyro and Accelerometer Panel. Work Experience Innova Photonics. Founder and CTO (April 2016-Present) Biomedical Sensors and Systems. High Precision Optoelectronic Instruments for Molecular Diagnostics of Cells. Page 1 of 7

2 Consulting Services for: Inertial Navigation Instruments. Optical Instruments for Space, Military, and Commercial Applications. Proposal Writing and Review Project Review and Analysis of Alternatives The Aerospace Corporation (Started in July Retired in April 2016) Senior Project Engineer, Planetary & Robotic Missions Directorate, NASA Programs Division. Accomplishments include: Member of Independent Review Team for various NASA projects such as GOES-R, NPOESS, MSL, etc. Principal Investigator of the Aerospace IRAD on GPS/IMU technology. Instrument Lead for NASA Discovery and New Frontiers Proposal Review Teams. Worked on SIM (Space Interferometry Mission) project for JPL. Worked on MAV (Mars Ascent Vehicle) navigation for JPL. Proposed and designed the Transfer Alignment technique for MAV to reduce size, weight, and power. Technical advisor and contributor to projects dealing with inertial sensors and navigation systems. Technical advisor and contributor to a number of projects with high power lasers, high damage threshold optics, very high shock tolerant instruments for projectiles, and space qualification of optical system and components. Application of high precision space instruments to medical and biomedical areas, in particular to cancer cell detection. Proposal evaluation and business development. Innova Photonics. Founder and President (2003 to 2004) Founded the company with emphasis on electro-optic sensors and instruments for Homeland Security, semiconductor, and aerospace markets. Projects included: A concept for thin film characterization with applications for semiconductor, flat panel display, and optics manufacturing industries. An electro-optical sensor with applications for aircraft autolanding with emphasis for UAV and carrier aircraft. Also used as the core sensor for metrology instruments. LighTap, Inc. (2000 to 2002) Founder and Chief Technology Officer. Founded the company to develop tunable devices for reconfigurable fiber optic networks with dynamic provisioning capability. Wrote the business plan and obtained investment capital. Invented a family of tunable filters, tunable interleavers, and tunable add/drop modules (U.S. Patent # 6,438,288). Designed the optics and specified the requirements for components of such devices. Page 2 of 7

3 Hired and led a team of electronic, and mechanical engineers. Proved the new tunable filter concept and demonstrated its viability and manufacturability. Built and tested a number of such filters. Conducted device demonstration and presentation to potential customers. Northrop Grumman Guidance & Control Systems (1986 to 2000) Senior Member Technical Staff Led the ring laser gyro (RLG) product development. Managed the projects that involved design, fabrication process development and improvement, and test techniques development. Initiated programs to apply RLG production technologies to the development of other optical devices and for other applications. Had an active role in business development, marketing and market analysis, proposal writing, and customer interface. Some of the projects that he initiated or led at Northrop Grumman include: MEMS (Micro Electro-Mechanical Systems). He has been involved in MEMS technology since 1994 and investigated its potential for developing small, low cost navigation instruments. Took courses at UC Berkeley in MEMS and attended MEMS conferences on a regular basis. In charge of the silicon gyro (SiGy) development. Participated in the proposal activities for the Robust Navigator and AM3 (Affordable Multi Missile Manufacturing) that utilize the SiGy. Worked on the strategic grade Accelerometer - - a joint program between Northrop Grumman and Draper Lab. Technical Director and Program Manager, RLG Cost Reduction Programs --Developed eleven projects in RLG design and production process improvement for higher yield and reduced cost. Responsible for technical leadership, program management, and cost accounting of the engineering teams working on the projects. Worked on the RLG design improvement, bias stability enhancement, and test equipment development. Designed and performed an extensive set of experiments that demonstrated that the passive and active lock-in rates in RLG are the same (publication #17). Thin Film Coating developed a method to eliminate coating stress in ion beam sputtering (IBS) deposited dielectric films. Invented a computer-controlled station to measure the RLG random walk and cavitydriven biases at the alignment stage (empty cavity). The station provides for RLG screening and characterization at an early stage of the production. This station is known as the Passive Lock-in Station at Northrop Grumman. Proposed a sputtering technique for the high power laser projects (AVLIS and ICF) at Lawrence Livermore Lab. Obtained two contracts. Developed coating characterization techniques for the projects. Developed techniques for coating stress reduction. Performed analysis for coating thickness uniformity improvements. Developed a rugged Tunable Optical Filter for fiber optic communication systems. Obtained a patent (U.S. Patent # 5,430,574) for the device. Page 3 of 7

4 3D Display System Technical Leader and Project Manager. Led a team of scientists and engineers from Cambridge University, Infinity Multimedia (an entertainment technology company) and two divisions of Northrop Grumman Industries to develop a large screen 3D display system for naked eyes. Demonstrated the system concept and built a prototype. Proposed a solid block design for the Optical Correlator (a Northrop Grumman DSD project). Wrote joint proposals and obtained three contracts for the development and delivery of six prototypes. Was Northrop Grumman GCS Program Manager and Technical Director for the project. Honeywell Systems & Research Center (1977 to 1987) Principal Investigator of a large number of projects dealing with the fundamental understanding of error mechanisms and performance improvement techniques in ring laser gyros and other optical inertial sensors. These projects include: Theory Ring Laser Gyro (RLG) with Dither and Noise (Publication #6). An in-depth analysis of the RLG performance as a function of dither and noise parameters using the nonlinear stochastic differential equations (the Fokker-Planck approach). This analysis showed why the added noise is necessary for the RLG performance and determined the optimum noise amplitude. Quantum Limit of the RLG Performance. A determination of the RLG s ultimate performance due to the spontaneous emission phase noise as a function of RLG size, cavity losses, power, and other parameters. RLG Data Analysis with Cluster Sampling Technique (Publications #9 and 12). Developed a new RLG data analysis technique based on the Allan Variance procedure to identify different kinds of error terms affecting the gyro performance. This technique is now adopted by the IEEE Gyro and Accelerometer Standards Committee as the method of choice for inertial instruments data analysis. Effects of Contaminant Particles on the RLG Performance. This analysis, which established the cleaning criteria in RLG production facility, deals with the lock-in associated with the contaminant particles size, number, distribution, and material composition. Hysteresis in RLG. Identification of a mechanism to describe the lock-in growth and the difference between the lock-in and lock-out rates. High-Performance RLG Test Station Design. Design of a test station for testing and performance characterization of high-performance RLG. Experiment DILAG (Differential Laser Gyro. This is known as ZLG at Northrop Grumman). Design, build, test, and analysis of a DILAG to determine its performance and market potentials. Page 4 of 7

5 Passive Cavity Rate Sensor (Publication #10). Experimental investigations in performance characteristics and error mechanisms in the passive cavity rate sensor. Worked on the low-cost, integrated optics implementation of the Concept. The Phase Conjugate Ring Laser Gyro (Publication #7. Also Patent Application #A US). Proposed the concept, performed analysis, and conducted experiments for concept demonstration. In addition to the RLG and other inertial sensors, worked on the development of a number of other optical sensors. Among them are: NADS: Non-intrusive Air Data Sensor (Publication #6. Also Patent Application # US). Proposed the concept, obtained a government contract, performed analysis, and conducted experiments for concept demonstration of an optical interferometric technique for non-intrusive measurement of air data quantities in air vehicles where reduced radar cross section and zero lag are some of the essential requirements Light Sources for Fiber Optic Sensors. Analysis and design of amplitude and phase modulation in laser diodes (to reduce the coherence length) for use in fiber optic sensors. Nonlinear Optics. Worked on the applications of nonlinear optics. In addition to the Phase Conjugate RLG. Proposed several concepts for FLIR protection using optically nonlinear phenomena and materials. Conducted experiments and analyses in optical bistability and switching effects in HgCdTe (Publication #11). Served as the principal investigator and the program manager of an AFOSR contract for nonlinear optical effects in HgCdTe superlattices. Developed a new technique for characterization of optically nonlinear materials. Smart Sensors. During , served as the principal investigator of a program to develop smart, microprocessor-based, sensors with built-in test and error compensation capabilities. These sensors, intended for use onboard the NASA s Space Station, represent the concept of distributed intelligence and control to the sensor level. Proposed a plan for application of these techniques to the RLG. The University of Rochester, Rochester. NY (1971 to 1977) Ph.D. Researcher. Developed the Coherence Theory of Ring Lasers. Designed and conducted experiments to measure the effects of spontaneous emission and mode competition in ring lasers (Publications #2-5). These investigations helped improve our understanding of the physics of the RLG as well as other optical gyros. Education Page 5 of 7

6 Ph.D. Physics (Quantum Optics), University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, 1977 M.S. Physics, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY 1974 Professional Societies and Awards Emeritus Member, OSA (Optical Society of America) Senior Member, IEEE. Also. Member, Standards Committee, IEEE, Gyro and Accelerometer Panel Numerous recognitions and awards from Honeywell and Northrop Grumman Patents A Tunable Optical Filter System, US Patent # 6,438,288. Dated Aug. 20, 2002 Rugged Optical Filter and Switch for Communication Networks, US Patent #5,430,574. Dated July 4,1995 Mirror Transducer Assembly for Ring Laser Gyroscopes, US Patent #5,116,131. Dated May 26, 1992 Phase Conjugate Ring Laser Gyro, US Patent File #A US. Dated Dec. 2, 1982 Optical Cavity-Locking Accelerometer US Patent File # US. Dated Nov. 26, 1980 Interferometric Accelerometer US Patent File # US. Dated Jan. 8, 1980 Laser Communication System, US Patent File # US. Dated Dec. 11, 1979 Laser Pressure Gauge and Velocimeter, US Patent File # US. Dated May 1, 1979 Laser Accelerometer, US Patent File # US. Dated May 1, 1979 Selected Publications Tehrani, M.M. and Mandel, L., Electromagnetic Field Near Focus as Seen by a Moving Particle. J. Opt, Soc. Am. 64, 934 (1974). Tehrani, M.M. and Mandel, L., Mode Coupling and Detuning in a Ring Laser. Opt. Comm. 16, 16 (1976). Tehrani, M.M. and Mandel, L., Mode Competition in a Ring Laser. Opt. Lett. 17 No. 69, 196 (1977). Tehrani, M.M. and Mandel, L., Coherence Theory of the Ring Laser, Phys. Rev. A, 179, 677 (1978). Tehrani, M.M. and Mandel, L., Intensity Fluctuations in a Two-Mode Ring Laser, Phys. Rev. A, 179, 694 (1978). Tehrani, M.M., Ring Laser Gyro with Dither and Noise, J. Opt. Soc. Am. 69, 1475 (1979). Tehrani, M.M., A Non-Intrusive Air Data Sensor, Proc. of The 198O Air Data Systems Conference (1980). Tehrani, M.M., The Phase Conjugate Ring Laser Gyro Proc. SPIE, Vol PP (1983). Tehrani, M.M., Ring Laser Gyro Data Analysis with Cluster Sampling Technique, Proc. SPIE, Vol. 412, PP (1983). Page 6 of 7

7 Tehrani, M.M. and Hoschette, J.A., The Passive Cavity Rate Sensor, Proc. SPIE, Vol. 412, PP (1983). Tehrani, M.M. and Olson, G.J., Optical Switching Effect in HgCdTe at Room Temperature, J. Opt. Soc. Am. Vol.2, No. 13, 101 (1985). Tehrani, M. M., Guenther, K.H., and Bennett, Jean, M. Coating and Substrate Surface Roughness, Lecture given at the 1991 Annual Meeting, Optical Society of America, Abstract published in the Proceedings. Tehrani, M. M. Equivalence of Passive and Active Lock-in Rates in a Ring Laser Gyro, Lecture given at the 1991 Annual Meeting, Optical Society of America, Abstract published in the Proceedings. Tehrani, M. M. RLG Bias or random Walk Proc., Sixteenth Biennial Guidance Test Symposium, Tehrani, M. M. Cluster Sampling Technique for Gyro Noise Analysis Proc., Seventeenth Biennial Guidance Test Symposium, Tehrani, M. M., et al, Ion Beam Sputtering of Optical Coating Proc., XXVIII Annual Symposium On Optical Materials For High Power Lasers, Tehrani, M. M., et al, Enhanced Backscattering of a Polarized Bean at Vacuum- Dielectric Interface, Optical Engineering, Nov Tehrani, M. M., et al, Topographic Measurements of Supersmooth Dielectric Films with a Mechanical Profiler and a Scanning Force Microscope Applied Optics, Vol. 34, No. 1, Jan Tehrani, M. M. Equivalence of Passive and Active Lock-In Rates in Ring Laser Gyros. Proc. Stuttgart Conference on Gyro Technology, Sept Page 7 of 7