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The Laboratory Operations of The Aerospace Corporation is conducting experimental and theoretical investigations necessary for the evaluation and application of scientific advances to new military concepts and systems. Versatility and flexibility have been developed to a high degree by the laboratory personnel in dealing with the many problems encountered in the nation's rapidly developing space and missile systems. Expertise in the latest scientific developments is vital to the accomplishment of tasks related to these problems. The laboratories that contribute to this research are: Aerophysics Laboratory: Launch and reentry aerodynamics, heat transfer, reentry physics, chemical kinetics, structural mechanics, flight dynamics, atmospheric pollution, and high-power gas lasers. Chemistry and Physics Laboratory: Atmospheric reactions and atmospheric optics, chemical reactions in polluted atmospheres, chemical reactions of excited species in rocket plumes, chemical thermodynamics, plasma and laser-induced reactions, laser chemistry, propulsion chemistry, space vacuum and radiation effects on materials, lubrication and surface phenomena, photosensitive materials and sensors, high precision laser ranging, and the application of physics and chemistry to problems of law enforcement and biomedicine.

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A novel optical technique for improving the performance of focal plane staring arrays by increasing the fill factor ratio is described. The specific mosaics considered are 64 x 32 and 128 x 64 arrays of infrared detectors with charge coupled devices (IRCCD) made from monolithic silicon.The video enhancement is accomplished by means of a refracting silicon faceplate that redirects focused image irradiance from nonsensitive CCD areas to the infrared detector elements.Operational theory and design parameters for this unique faceplate construction are detailed. With the optimum faceplate configuration installed at the IRCCD front surface, a sensitivity increase of at least 150 percent is predicted from the analysis presented here.