SBIR-STTR Award

Electromagnetic pulse (EMP) phenomena can cause severe compromise in electronic equipment. In the medical areas, equipment failure is life-threatening. The purpose of this proposal is to request Phase I funding for the development of three new technologies that will achieve emp shielding, while replacing existing techniques that involve application of expensive conductive metals. N A T development has developed a three part approach to achieve emp shielding in new and used equipment that provides superior economics, as well as improved physical properties. The approach involves: 1) creation of a new conductive moiety combining the emp conductive efficiencies of silver and/or gold with glass spheres and/or hollow glass beads to obtain a coated materials with emp conductive properties equal to silver and gold at approximately one-seventh the loading with superior density and volume concentration. 2) Incorporation and stabilization of these materials to achieve emp resistant coatings that can be applied directly to new or used equipment, facility walls, or fabric, to create a portable emp shroud or emp "free" zone. 3) The last project effort is to optimize the highly conductive new filler. Physical properties shall include low density (> 1.0 gm/cc), which will cause the conductive spheres to float to the surface of the conductive interface. This will optimize the effectiveness of the system by allowing even lower concentrations of silver to be used, while concentrating conductive materials at the emp active surfaces.