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The project members
Participant Country Main Mission/Business Activity/
Area of Activity		 Role in project
Logo Member
ELOP Israel Electro-optics
Component and Systems		 Coordination
Laser architecture
Laser Integration
Thales Avionics France Aircraft System
Developer		 System level
definitions, signal
processing and
exploitation plan
ONERA France Aeronautics and
aerospace Research		 LIDAR specification
and modelling, laser
architecture, LIDAR
realization
IPHT Deutschland Fiber development and
manufacture		 Fiber design,
fabrication, and
characterization
Thales R&T France Optics and laser
research		 Laser architecture
and modelling
CeramOptec
GmbH		 Deutschland Preform and fiber
production, fiber
packaging,
manufacturing of medical
laser devices		 Fiber fabrication,
connector / packaging
design, and fiber
packaging
UCL Belgium Signal and image
processing		 On board signal
processing
INESC Porto Portugal Optoelectronics, sensors
and non-linear optics
research		 Controlling non-linear
effects in fiber and
modelling

ELOP ElectroOptics Industries Ltd.

ElOp ElectroOptics Industries Ltd. (a subsidiary of Elbit Systems) specializes in the R&D, manufacture, assembly, and testing of electro-optic systems and products for a wide range of military, scientific and commercial applications. Established in 1937, and cooperating closely with its corporate partners worldwide, ElOp has consistently expanded its areas of expertise. Today, the company is an industry leader, with a sound reputation for systems offering precise performance and uncompromising quality and reliability. Supported by vertically integrated facilities, ElOp's main areas of activity include laser systems, thermal imaging systems, displays, fire control systems, optronic stabilized payloads, space and airborne reconnaissance systems. With the vision to anticipate future needs, ElOp sees evolving scenarios and supplies the systems for success in challenging ground, naval, air and space environments.

Expertise found in ELOP include opto-mechanical design, optical design , material science, physics, electrical design, servo-control and navigation, signal processing, image processing, and assembly lines for the various products. In addition, there exists an advanced infrastructure for qualification testing of the products ranging from “shake and bake” aspects to EMI/RFI test laboratory. In house manufacturing includes optics manufacturing department, mechanical manufacturing department, electrical circuit boards assembly and testing department. To summarize, the capabilities available in ELOP are varied and complementary enabling the development and manufacture of advanced electro-optical products. ELOP based in Israel employs over 1200 people where over 40% are engineers and scientists.

ELOP is developing, and has been contracted to supply an operational obstacle warning system for helicopters. This system is based on a fiber laser LIDAR developed at ELOP. The program is in advanced stages of development with the fiber laser has met all of the specification goals. Utilization of the fiber laser technology has enabled the onboard application of a laser based system which was previously very problematic utilizing the conventional laser technologies in aspects of compactness, robustness, performance, and cost.

www.el-op.co.il






THALES Avionics

THALES Avionics is a world-wide leading avionics firm and equipment supplier of the main European and American aircraft manufacturers, addressing all the market sectors: air transport, regional and business aircraft, helicopters, military transport, and combat/training aircraft.

THALES Avionics provides AIRBUS programmes with 80% of avionics equipment. More than 100 airlines around the world are flying THALES Avionics computers and equipment for the commercial aircraft domain. This extensive customer base has led the company to implement a well-structured Product support organisation. Through these activities, THALES Avionics holds over thirty years of experience in successful international co-operation. THALES Avionics expertise covers the different components of avionics, from individual sensors or computers to complete packages: flight management, flight controls, advanced man-machine interfaces and cockpit instruments, navigation equipment and sensors, data management and maintenance computers, utility control computers.

The experience of THALES Avionics in LiDAR is wide-based both in terms of velocimetry (airborne equipment ALEV series) and atmospheric hazards detection (FLAME, MFLAME and I-WAKE).

www.thalesgroup.com/aerospace/home/






ONERA

The Office National d’Etudes et de Recherches Aerospatiales (French Aerospace Research Establishment) is a governmental laboratory (1800 persons) in charge of researches for the aerospace industry. The main fields of researches are:
  • fluid mechanics;
  • energetics;
  • ballistic systems;
  • materials;
  • physics.

    • The Physics Branch mostly works in the fields of electronics and radars, optronics and visualisation, environment and physical instruments. Two departments of the Physics Branch are at stake in this project.

    DOTA (Theoretical and Applied Optics department) carries out optics research from ultraviolet to infrared bands for all types of aerospace and defense applications. Working for major civil and military customers such as the French Ministry of Defense and the French space agency CNES, DOTA carries out both long-term and applied research. The department has built up solid expertise in the entire optical instrument chain, from the source to advanced post-processing methods.

    Primary areas of research include: characterization of optical signatures in the UV, visible and IR bands, based on experiments and numerical modeling; development and qualification of new observation instruments; high-resolution imaging by adaptive optics and synthetic aperture systems; image restoration; fiber sources, lidar (laser radar) and optical data transmission.

    The Theoretical and Applied Optics department offers a complete range of services, spanning specification, design, production and qualification of optical instruments on the ground and in flight.

    Main applications include:
  • Optical detection of aircraft and missiles.
  • Low-observability/stealth, penetration aids.
  • Satellite-based observation of the Earth (surveillance, environment).
  • High-resolution space observation (imaging of satellites, astronomy).
  • Tactical military observation and reconnaissance (ground and airborne systems).
  • Laser vulnerability, protection, stealth.
  • Optical communications.

    • DMPH (Physics and Instrument Department) is in charge of the basic researches in physics and instrumentations. The instrumental activity is focused on the study of dedicated ultra-sensitive tools : pico-accelerometers for fundamental physics in gravitation (test of equivalence principle, gravitational waves,…), ultra-stable miniature quartz oscillators based on micro-machining and gyrometers, ultra-stable lasers and optical parametric oscillators for research on spectroscopy of environment, plasmas and combustion. DMPH works under contract for different national and European agencies such as the CNES, ESA, French DGA, and the European Community.

    www.onera.fr






    IPHT

    IPHT is a non-profit organization for applied research sponsored in part by the German Federal State of Thuringia. One third of the about 230 co-workers have permanent positions, the remaining are paid by public projects or commissions from industry. From the four physical research directions of the IPHT, optics is the relevant one for the planned FIDELIO project. The optics division of the IPHT (about 60 coworkers) has long-standing experience in the development and fabrication of special fibers. Facilities both for preform and fiber preparation and for extensive optical and structural characterization are available, so the fibers can be optimised in every respect for the intended applications. Many different fiber types with rare-earth doping for fiber lasers and amplifiers were developed and tested. For instance, high-power cw-fiber lasers (up to 485 W), ultra-short pulse fiber lasers or single-frequency fiber lasers were built up in cooperation with other organizations.

    Other types of developed fibers are highly photosensitive fibers for Bragg-grating inscription, few-mode fibers for high optical power delivery and fibers with special dispersion properties. The high quality of the photosensitive fibers enables the inscription of Bragg grating during fiber drawing at the draw tower in a very efficient manner – a unique possibility in Europe. – Another competence of the IPHT Optics division consists in the application of fibers for optical microsystems. Examples are here the development of distributed fiber Bragg grating sensor systems for airplane and space applications or the preparation of chemical optical fiber sensors.

    www.ipht-jena.de






    Thales Research & Technology

    Thales is one of the world premier professional electronics group and a major player in numerous commercial markets. It has 65,000 employees and is present in over 40 countries.

    Thales Research & Technology, referred to as TRT (formerly Thomson-CSF LCR) and located near Paris, is the main multidisciplinary research unit of the Thales group. TRT mission is to provide short term and long term competitive advantage to the Thales Group by transferring leading edge knowledge, technologies & skills to the operating companies and by injecting innovation. Its activities cover Research & Technological Development, Engineering and Knowledge Management. The scope of technology covers both hardware (materials & components) and software, with a focus on dual-use technologies to increase the synergy within the Group. Engineering is aimed at optimizing development environments to cut cycle times and reduce technological risks while Knowledge Management is deploying the organisation and tools to facilitate the sharing of information and best practices throughout Thales. To achieve its mission, TRT relies on its internal resources, common laboratories with the operating companies and co-operative agreements with academia and industrial research organizations.

    With over 400 highly skilled staff, 13000 sq m of labs of which 1700 sq. m of clean rooms, TRT’s research teams perform pioneering work in the most advanced areas of optics & optoelectronics, electronic components for microwave applications, advanced interconnect and packaging, materials, software architecture and cognitive science.

    Inside TRT, the Laser Sources Laboratory has been in charges of advances in the field of lasers and nonlinear optics for more than 10 years, with a special emphasis on diode pumped solid-state lasers and fiber lasers. The laboratory has a long-standing experience in the field of laser beam control to enhance the beam quality of solid-state lasers with various techniques such as adaptive optics and/or nonlinear interactions including wave-mixing and phase conjugation.

    www.thalesgroup.com/ga/research_and_technology/policy.htm






    CeramOptec GmbH

    CeramOptec GmbH, a member of the biolitec group, is a SME which was founded in 1988. Its core business segments are the development, production and distribution of silica glass fibers for industrial and medical applications as well as the development and manufacturing of medical laser systems. There is strong expertise in the fields of

  		•  perform development and production:

    Fluorinated silica layers are deposited by PCVD method either on the surface of pure silica rods or on the inner surface of pure silica tubes;

  		• fiber drawing:

    Multi-mode fibers as well as single-mode fibers can be drawn at the drawing tower in Bonn. Different types of coating and jacketing materials can be applied in terms of single- or multi-layer structures;

  		• fiber packaging

    Fibers are processed to cables and bundles by finishing of the fiber end facets and applying appropriate connectors and protective tubings;

  		• development and manufacturing of application systems:

    Fiber optical application systems for industrial (e. g. signal transmission, transmission of laser radiation of all power levels (mW to kW), and spectroscopic purposes) and medical applications (e. g. surgery, dentistry, ophthalmology) are developed and assembled.

    Six out of today’s 45 employees are with CeramOptec GmbH’s “R&D” department and currently develop new medical laser devices and (customer design) silica glass fibers.

    For more than ten years, CeramOptec GmbH is committed to German and European research projects in the fields of optical waveguides and medical laser systems.

    www.ceramoptec.com






    UCL

    The UCL is the second largest university in Belgium, with more than 20.000 students. Our Communication laboratory has acquired expertise in LIDAR signal processing during the IWAKE project when an in-depth analysis of the signal has led to significant improvements over the previous results of the MFLAME project. The laboratory is also working on a Belgian funded project, LASEF, where it is responsible of the signal processing of wind profilers based on fibre lasers.

    Besides its works on LIDARS, the laboratory is active e.g. in image compression, digital watermarks, mixed reality, medical imaging, three-dimensional reconstruction, machine vision, digital communications, remote sensing, security and traffic monitoring.

    The laboratory has been working on these subjects through several European projects like MODEST, ART.LIVE, 2KAN, PRIAM, ASPIS, MIRADOR, SCHEMA, TALISMAN,… It is also leading the network of excellence for multimodal interface, SIMILAR.


    www.ucl.ac.be/en/intro.html






    INESC

    Key INESC Porto people and infrastructure will take part in this project

    The key people taking part in this project will be from Optoelectronics and Electronics Systems Unit of INESC Porto. The main activities developed at this unit concern fiber sensor, nonlinear aspects of fiber communications, and integrated optics. Key people participating in FIDELIO include three senior researchers with specialization in non-linear optics, UV induced change in the refractive index of fibers, and thin-film deposition.

    In addition the people mentioned above, use will be made of INESC’s infrastructure of lasers, including two UV power lasers for device fabrication, thin film deposition equipment by sputtering and laser ablation, production of Bragg and long-period gratings, fiber coupler fabrication, and computers for simulation.
    http://w3.inescn.pt/internet/