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NASA NTRS2010

Compact, Robust Chips Integrate Optical Functions

Located in Bozeman, Montana, AdvR Inc. has been an active partner in NASA's Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs. Langley Research Center engineers partnered with AdvR through the SBIR program to develop new, compact, lightweight electro-optic components for remote sensing systems. While the primary customer for this technology will be NASA, AdvR foresees additional uses for its NASA-derived circuit chip in the fields of academic and industrial research anywhere that compact, low-cost, stabilized single-frequency lasers are needed.

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NASA NTRS2010

Current Status of the Development of a Transportable and Compact VLBI System by NICT and GSI

MARBLE (Multiple Antenna Radio-interferometer for Baseline Length Evaluation) is under development by NICT and GSI. The main part of MARBLE is a transportable VLBI system with a compact antenna. The aim of this system is to provide precise baseline length over about 10 km for calibrating baselines. The calibration baselines are used to check and validate surveying instruments such as GPS receiver and EDM (Electro-optical Distance Meter). It is necessary to examine the calibration baselines regularly to keep the quality of the validation. The VLBI technique can examine and evaluate the calibration baselines. On the other hand, the following roles are expected of a compact VLBI antenna in the VLBI2010 project. In order to achieve the challenging measurement precision of VLBI2010, it is well known that it is necessary to deal with the problem of thermal and gravitational deformation of the antenna. One promising approach may be connected-element interferometry between a compact antenna and a VLBI2010 antenna. By measuring repeatedly the baseline between the small stable antenna and the VLBI2010 antenna, the deformation of the primary antenna can be measured and the thermal and gravitational models of the primary antenna will be able to be constructed. We made two prototypes of a transportable and compact VLBI system from 2007 to 2009. We performed VLBI experiments using theses prototypes and got a baseline length between the two prototypes. The formal error of the measured baseline length was 2.7 mm. We expect that the baseline length error will be reduced by using a high-speed A/D sampler.

Ishii, Atsutoshi↗

NASA NTRS2006

NASA Tech Briefs, November 2006

Topics include: Simulator for Testing Spacecraft Separation Devices; Apparatus for Hot Impact Testing of Material Specimens; Instrument for Aircraft-Icing and Cloud-Physics Measurements; Advances in Measurement of Skin Friction in Airflow; Improved Apparatus for Testing Monoball Bearings; High-Speed Laser Scanner Maps a Surface in Three Dimensions; Electro-Optical Imaging Fourier-Transform Spectrometer; Infrared Instrument for Detecting Hydrogen Fires; Modified Coaxial Probe Feeds for Layered Antennas; Detecting Negative Obstacles by Use of Radar; Cryogenic Pound Circuits for Cryogenic Sapphire Oscillators; PixelLearn; New Software for Predicting Charging of Spacecraft; Conversion Between Osculating and Mean Orbital Elements; Generating a 2D Representation of a Complex Data Structure; Making Activated Carbon by Wet Pressurized Pyrolysis; Composite Solid Electrolyte Containing Li+- Conducting Fibers; Electrically Conductive Anodized Aluminum Surfaces; Rapid-Chill Cryogenic Coaxial Direct-Acting Solenoid Valve; Variable-Tension-Cord Suspension/Vibration- Isolation System; Techniques for Connecting Superconducting Thin Films; Versatile Friction Stir Welding/Friction Plug Welding System; Thermal Spore Exposure Vessels; Enumerating Spore-Forming Bacteria Airborne with Particles; Miniature Oxidizer Ionizer for a Fuel Cell; Miniature Ion-Array Spectrometer; Promoted-Combustion Chamber with Induction Heating Coil; Miniature Ion-Mobility Spectrometer; Mixed-Salt/Ester Electrolytes for Low-Temperature Li+ Cells; Miniature Free-Space Electrostatic Ion Thrusters; Miniature Bipolar Electrostatic Ion Thruster; Holographic Plossl Retroreflectors; Miniature Electrostatic Ion Thruster With Magnet; Using Apex To Construct CPM-GOMS Models; Sequence Detection for PPM Optical Communication With ISI; Algorithm for Rapid Searching Among Star-Catalog Entries; Expectation-Based Control of Noise and Chaos; Radio Heating of Lunar Soil to Release Gases; Using Electrostriction to Manipulate Ullage in Microgravity; Equations for Scoring Rules When Data Are Missing; Insulating Material for Next-Generation Spacecraft; and Pseudorandom Switching for Adding Radar to the AFF Sensor.

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NASA NTRS2005

Atomic Clock Based on Opto-Electronic Oscillator

A proposed highly accurate clock or oscillator would be based on the concept of an opto-electronic oscillator (OEO) stabilized to an atomic transition. Opto-electronic oscillators, which have been described in a number of prior NASA Tech Briefs articles, generate signals at frequencies in the gigahertz range characterized by high spectral purity but not by longterm stability or accuracy. On the other hand, the signals generated by previously developed atomic clocks are characterized by long-term stability and accuracy but not by spectral purity. The proposed atomic clock would provide high spectral purity plus long-term stability and accuracy a combination of characteristics needed to realize advanced developments in communications and navigation. In addition, it should be possible to miniaturize the proposed atomic clock. When a laser beam is modulated by a microwave signal and applied to a photodetector, the electrical output of the photodetector includes a component at the microwave frequency. In atomic clocks of a type known as Raman clocks or coherent-population-trapping (CPT) clocks, microwave outputs are obtained from laser beams modulated, in each case, to create two sidebands that differ in frequency by the amount of a hyperfine transition in the ground state of atoms of an element in vapor form in a cell. The combination of these sidebands produces a transparency in the population of a higher electronic level that can be reached from either of the two ground-state hyperfine levels by absorption of a photon. The beam is transmitted through the vapor to a photodetector. The components of light scattered or transmitted by the atoms in the two hyperfine levels mix in the photodetector and thereby give rise to a signal at the hyperfine- transition frequency. The proposed atomic clock would include an OEO and a rubidium- or cesium- vapor cell operating in the CPT/Raman regime (see figure). In the OEO portion of this atomic clock, as in a typical prior OEO, a laser beam would pass through an electro-optical modulator, the modulated beam would be fed into a fiber-optic delay line, and the delayed beam would be fed to a photodetector. The electrical output of the photodetector would be detected, amplified, filtered, and fed back to the microwave input port of the modulator. The laser would be chosen to have the same wavelength as that of the pertinent ground-state/higher-state transition of the atoms in the vapor. The modulator/ filter combination would be designed to operate at the microwave frequency of the hyperfine transition. Part of the laser beam would be tapped from the fiberoptic loop of the OEO and introduced into the vapor cell. After passing through the cell, this portion of the beam would be detected differentially with a tapped portion of the fiber-optically-delayed beam. The electrical output of the photodetector would be amplified and filtered in a loop that would control a DC bias applied to the modulator. In this manner, the long-term stability and accuracy of the atomic transition would be transferred to the OEO.

Maleki, Lute↗

NASA NTRS2005

Laser System for Precise, Unambiguous Range Measurements

The Modulation Sideband Technology for Absolute Range (MSTAR) architecture is the basis of design of a proposed laser-based heterodyne interferometer that could measure a range (distance) as great as 100 km with a precision and resolution of the order of 1 nm. Simple optical interferometers can measure changes in range with nanometer resolution, but cannot measure range itself because interference is subject to the well-known integer-multiple-of-2 -radians phase ambiguity, which amounts to a range ambiguity of the order of 1 m at typical laser wavelengths. Existing rangefinders have a resolution of the order of 10 m and are therefore unable to resolve the ambiguity. The proposed MSTAR architecture bridges the gap, enabling nanometer resolution with an ambiguity range that can be extended to arbitrarily large distances. The MSTAR architecture combines the principle of the heterodyne interferometer with the principle of extending the ambiguity range of an interferometer by using light of two wavelengths. The use of two wavelengths for this purpose is well established in optical metrology, radar, and sonar. However, unlike in traditional two-color laser interferometry, light of two wavelengths would not be generated by two lasers. Instead, multiple wavelengths would be generated as sidebands of phase modulation of the light from a single frequency- stabilized laser. The phase modulation would be effected by applying sinusoidal signals of suitable frequencies (typically tens of gigahertz) to high-speed electro-optical phase modulators. Intensity modulation can also be used

Dubovitsky, Serge↗

NASA NTRS2005

Magnetometer Based on Optoelectronic Microwave Oscillator

proposed instrument, intended mainly for use as a magnetometer, would include an optoelectronic oscillator (OEO) stabilized by an atomic cell that could play the role of a magnetically tunable microwave filter. The microwave frequency would vary with the magnetic field in the cell, thereby providing an indication of the magnetic field. The proposed magnetometer would offer a combination of high accuracy and high sensitivity, characterized by flux densities of less than a picotesla. In comparison with prior magnetometers, the proposed magnetometer could, in principle, be constructed as a compact, lightweight instrument: It could fit into a package of about 10 by 10 by 10 cm and would have a mass <0.5 kg. As described in several prior NASA Tech Briefs articles, an OEO is a hybrid of photonic and electronic components that generates highly spectrally pure microwave radiation, and optical radiation modulated by the microwave radiation, through direct conversion between laser light and microwave radiation in an optoelectronic feedback loop. As used here, "atomic cell" signifies a cell containing a vapor, the constituent atoms of which can be made to undergo transitions between quantum states, denoted hyperfine levels, when excited by light in a suitable wavelength range. The laser light must be in this range. The energy difference between the hyperfine levels defines the microwave frequency. In the proposed instrument (see figure), light from a laser would be introduced into an electro-optical modulator (EOM). Amplitude-modulated light from the exit port of the EOM would pass through a fiber-optic splitter having two output branches. The light in one branch would be sent through an atomic cell to a photodiode. The light in the other branch would constitute the microwave-modulated optical output. Part of the light leaving the atomic cell could also be used to stabilize the laser at a frequency in the vicinity of the desired hyperfine or other quantum transition. The microwave signal from the output of the photodiode would be amplified (if necessary, as explained below) and fed back into the EOM. This system would oscillate if the amplification in the closed loop exceeded the linear absorption of the loop. The microwave amplifier may be unnecessary to sustain stable oscillations, depending on the power of the laser radiation at the photodetector and on particular features of the modulator and optical delay line.

Maleki, Lute↗

NASA NTRS2010

Spontaneous Raman Scattering Diagnostics: Applications in Practical Combustion Systems

In this chapter, the recent advancements and practical aspects of laser SRS diagnostics have been reviewed wi til regards to applications in practical combustion systems. Clearly, SRS represents a theoretically and experimentally mature diagnostic technology that has become an essential tool for multiscalar measurements in turbulent combustion at elevated pressures. Today, time-, space-, spectrally, and even polarization-resolved S RS diagnostics is at hand, with aid from recent innovations in theoretical and technological developments on electro-optical or electromechanical devices. Whilst a linear increase in SRS signals can be expected in high-pressure systems (this is perhaps one of the most important advantages for using SRS in high-pressure systems), there are practical (often severe) restrictions associated with pressurized vessels, due mainly to the limited degree of optical access. This narrows ti,e available choice of diagnostics that can be employed at any given time. Point-wise SRS diagnostics provides the highest accuracy on the chemical species and temperature measurements, and will continue to remain a vital approach for the study in such harsh environments. The practical design considerations and hands-on set-up guide for SRS diagnostics provided in this chapter are rarely presented elsewhere. Although the second-harmonic Nd:YAG pulsed laser (532 nm), combined with pulse-stretching optics or the recently introduced White Cell-based laser, seems to be the most favored excitation source of choice by the research community, UV excitation will undoubtedly continue to be used on many occasions, and especially in sooting flames. Detection methods may be divided into ICCD-based nanosecond-gate detection or a rotary-chopper electromechanical shutter-based CCD array detection, and the levels of background flame emission in individual cases would determine this critical design choice. Here, a process of Raman signal calibration based on ti,e crosstalk matrix formalism was explained step-by-step. As tI,is process may be very time-consuming and expensive, a well-planned experimental approach (01' building a transferable calibration database or library (at least with in a user's own facility over a series of different testing and runs) is vitally important. Hands on advice on the design and construction of flow control systems for high pressure burner facilities were also presented.

Kojima, Jun↗

NASA NTRS1973

A Method of Monitoring Non-Resonant Raman Lidar Returns During Daylight Hours

A method for using non-resonant Raman lidar during daytime hours is presented. A dual (or quadruple) arrangement of electro-optical channels is set up in the lidar receiver. Each channel contains its own optical spectral response as determined by an appropriate set of interference filters. The incoming signal is split and fed into two channels, filtered (simultaneously) and then inserted into the input terminals of an operational amplifier. The difference signal is selected and amplified whereas the common portion of the signal is highly attenuated (Common Mode Re.jection Ratio = 75-80db). For the present hardware, daylight intensities 10(exp 2)-10(exp 3) times Raman signals are received simultaneously. Mean values of intensities of daylight signals which give rise to a constant differences merely shift the value of the measured variable at the ground. These mean value signals have their common part highly attenuated. The differences of the fluctuation portions of the daylight signal represents a noise signal. Identical (space-time) optical paths for each component of the daylight signal produce the same fluctuational spectra in each channel. Hence noise levels, much less than signal levels, are anticipated. First a N2-H2 ) signal pair is differenced. Then an N2-O2 pair is differenced and used for instrumental normalization purposes. Signal levels to be encountered are quite well known as a result of prior field work. Improved optical design of laser system can reduce mean value of daylight intensities by 10(exp 2). Thus the mean daylight intensity can be set equal to the expected signal levels by more advanced optical design. Performance characteristics of photomultiplier pairs are discussed in this connection.

Cooney, John↗

NASA NTRS1996

A New Class Of Opto-Electronic Oscillators (OEO) for Microwave Signal Generation and Processing

A new class of oscillators based on photonic devices is presented. These opto-electronic oscillators (OEO's) generate microwave oscillation by converting continuous energy from a light source using a feedback circuit which includes a delay element, and electro-optic switch, and a photodetector. Different configurations of OEO's are presented, each of which may be applied to a particular application requiring ultra-high performance, or low cost and small size.

oscillators↗

NASA NTRS1963