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At least 685 records · Page 38

Reconfigurable work station for a video display unit and keyboard

A reconfigurable workstation is described having video, keyboard, and hand operated motion controller capabilities. The workstation includes main side panels between which a primary work panel is pivotally carried in a manner in which the primary work panel may be adjusted and set in a negatively declined or positively inclined position for proper forearm support when operating hand controllers. A keyboard table supports a keyboard in such a manner that the keyboard is set in a positively inclined position with respect to the negatively declined work panel. Various adjustable devices are provided for adjusting the relative declinations and inclinations of the work panels, tables, and visual display panels.

Shields, Nicholas L.↗

The GSFC Mark-2 three band hand-held radiometer

A self-contained, portable, hand-radiometer designed for field usage was constructed and tested. The device, consisting of a hand-held probe containing three sensors and a strap supported electronic module, weighs 4 1/2 kilograms. It is powered by flashlight and transistor radio batteries, utilizes two silicon and one lead sulfide detectors, has three liquid crystal displays, sample and hold radiometric sampling, and its spectral configuration corresponds to LANDSAT-D's thematic mapper bands. The device was designed to support thematic mapper ground-truth data collection efforts and to facilitate 'in situ' ground-based remote sensing studies of natural materials. Prototype instruments were extensively tested under laboratory and field conditions with excellent results.

Tucker, C. J.↗

A Radiation Weather Station: Development of a Continuous Monitoring System for the Collection, Analysis, and Display of Environmental Radiation Data

Due to heightened fear surrounding the possibility of future terrorism involving nuclear weapons and radiological dispersive devices, compounded by nonroutine nuclear power plant releases such as from emergencies or accidents, interest in contamination levels of environmental radiation has spiked. This project sought to develop a continuously operational radiation-monitoring system, with graphically visualized data easily accessible to the public. Because this continuing project is housed at a university facility, it bears no connection to perceived political or commercial interests, generally increasing the credibility of the endeavor. Outdoor weather and radiation parameters were gathered by sensors installed on the rooftop of a two-story building. A display and cloud service website was used to project the live data in an understandable format. A correlation was observed between weather and visibly heightened levels of gamma radiation. Furthermore, the goal of this paper is to share and highlight the overall hardware selection and the unique software challenges encountered when developing a robust collection and analysis system, along with the challenges of displaying meteorological and radiological data in a clear and concise fashion.

07 ISOTOPE AND RADIATION SOURCES↗

NASA Wearable Technology CLUSTER 2013-2014 Report

Wearable technology has the potential to revolutionize the way humans interact with one another, with information, and with the electronic systems that surround them. This change can already be seen in the dramatic increase in the availability and use of wearable health and activity monitors. These devices continuously monitor the wearer using on-­‐body sensors and wireless communication. They provide feedback that can be used to improve physical health and performance. Smart watches and head mounted displays are also receiving a great deal of commercial attention, providing immediate access to information via graphical displays, as well as additional sensing features. For the purposes of the Wearable Technology CLUSTER, wearable technology is broadly defined as any electronic sensing, human interfaces, computing, or communication that is mounted on the body. Current commercially available wearable devices primarily house electronics in rigid packaging to provide protection from flexing, moisture, and other contaminants. NASA mentors are interested in this approach, but are also interested in direct integration of electronics into clothing to enable more comfortable systems. For human spaceflight, wearable technology holds a great deal of promise for significantly improving safety, efficiency, autonomy, and research capacity for the crew in space and support personnel on the ground. Specific capabilities of interest include: Continuous biomedical monitoring for research and detection of health problems. Environmental monitoring for individual exposure assessments and alarms. Activity monitoring for responsive robotics and environments. Multi-modal caution and warning using tactile, auditory, and visual alarms. Wireless, hands-free, on-demand voice communication. Mobile, on-demand access to space vehicle and robotic displays and controls. Many technical challenges must be overcome to realize these wearable technology applications. For example, to make a wearable device that is both functional and comfortable for long duration wear, developers must strive to reduce electronic mass and volume while also addressing constraints imposed by the body attachment method. Depending on the application, the device must be placed in a location that the user can see and reach, and that provides the appropriate access to air and the wearer's skin. Limited power is available from body-­‐worn batteries and heat must be managed to prevent discomfort. If the clothing is to be washed, there are additional durability and washability hurdles that traditional electronics are not designed to address. Finally, each specific capability has unique technical challenges that will likely require unique solutions. In addition to the technical challenges, development of wearable devices is made more difficult by the diversity of skills required and the historic lack of collaboration across domains. Wearable technology development requires expertise in textiles engineering, apparel design, software and computer engineering, electronic design and manufacturing, human factors engineering, and application-­‐specific fields such as acoustics, medical devices, and sensing. Knowledge from each of these domains must be integrated to create functional and comfortable devices. For this reason, the diversity of knowledge and experience represented in the Wearable Technology is critical to overcoming the fundamental challenges in the field.

Simon, Cory↗

Salts as Additives: A Route to Improve Performance and Stability of n-Type Organic Electrochemical Transistors

Organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs) are becoming increasingly ubiquitous in various applications at the interface with biological systems. However, their widespread use is hampered by the scarcity of electron-conducting (n-type) backbones and the poor performance and stability of the existing n-OECTs. Here, we introduce organic salts as a solution additive to improve the transduction capability, shelf life, and operational stability of n-OECTs. We demonstrate that the salt-cast devices present a 10-fold increase in transconductance and achieve at least one year-long stability, while the pristine devices degrade within four months of storage. The salt-added films show improved backbone planarity and greater charge delocalization, leading to higher electronic charge carrier mobility. These films show a distinctly porous morphology where the interconnectivity is affected by the salt type, responsible for OECT speed. The salt-based films display limited changes in morphology and show lower water uptake upon electrochemical doping, a possible reason for the improved device cycling stability. Our work provides a new and easy route to improve n-type OECT performance and stability, which can be adapted for other electrochemical devices with n-type films operating at the aqueous electrolyte interface.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Diazirine-based photo-crosslinkers for defect free fabrication of solution processed organic light-emitting diodes

The fabrication of solution deposited OLEDs is fraught with difficulties, largely due to the interlayer mixing and surface erosion during sequential deposition of the layers. We demonstrate that these problems can be circumvented by using photopolymerizable diazirine-based cross-linker capable of converting soluble organic materials into highly cross-linked insoluble networks. 3-Trifluoromethyl(aryl)diazirines photolyze readily upon the 10–15 min exposure of 365 nm UV irradiation to generate carbenes, which react with polymers or small molecules via C–H bond insertion producing highly cross-linked materials. This photo-generated cross-linking does not require any catalyst, initiator or short-wavelength UV light and is performed at room temperature, releasing molecular nitrogen as the only byproduct. To show the cross-linked polymer layers do not display inter-layer mixing, we deposited red-emitting regioregular poly(3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl) (P3HT) over cross-linked (10% cross-linker) blue emitting dioctyl polyfluorene (PFO) layer. The overlaid layers showed clear and well-defined boundary with no interlayer mixing. The surface morphology of the solution deposited layers was investigated by AFM to show that the cross-linked layers exhibited significant decrease in surface roughness. This is also shown on the example of the hole transporting material 4,4'-bis[N-(1-naphthyl)-N-phenylamino]-biphenyl (NPB) which displayed roughness average to decrease from 6.4 nm to 1.0 nm. The effect of decreased surface roughness on the performance of phosphorescent OLEDs was investigated by fabricating devices with configuration of ITO/PEDOT:PSS/NPB:(0%/5%/10%) cross-linker/MCP:6% Ir(mppy) 3 /TPBI/CsF/Al. Furthermore, following the diazirine-mediated cross-linking, the OLEDs displayed a decrease in turn-on voltage from 3.8 V to 3.0 V along with a six-fold enhancement of external quantum efficiency (EQE max ) from 1.1% to 6.8% and maximum luminous efficiency increase from 3.8 cd A -1 to 22.9 cd A -1 . These results demonstrate that the simple diazirine mediated photo-cross-linking using mild conditions compatible with organic layers is a promising strategy for improving the performance of the solution-processed OLEDs.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

2-D moving mesh modeling of lithium dryout in open surface liquid metal flow applications

Liquid lithium displays increasing promise as a replacement for solid plasma facing components (PFCs) in fusion device applications. The Liquid Metal Infused Trench (LiMIT) system, developed at the University of Illinois (UIUC), has demonstrated how thermoelectric magnetohydrodynamics (TEMHD) can be harnessed to drive liquid lithium flow in an open surface PFC. However, in the highest heat flux applications, large local acceleration is created via TEMHD, and the sudden increase in velocity can cause the liquid level to expose the underlying solid, eliminating the protective benefits of the lithium. In order to study potential mitigation strategies, a 2-D COMSOL Multiphysics model was developed using the moving mesh module to capture free surface flow. The model depicts the development of the dryout phenomenon for 2 test cases – slow (1 cm/s) and medium (10 cm/s) flow in 5 mm deep trenches – including the liquid level reduction under the high heat flux and the pileup of slower flow both upstream and downstream of the heat stripe. The effectiveness of trench shaping dryout mitigation strategies is examined. For the slow flow case, it is shown that a 1.8 mm ledge placed under the heat stripe will stop dryout, and for the medium flow case, a 2.7 mm ledge is required to mitigate the effect. This model can be used to identify strategies for increasing the viable heat load for open surface liquid lithium PFCs.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

A kinetic model for the transport of electrons in a graphene layer

In this article, we propose a new numerical scheme for the computation of the transport of electrons in a graphene device. The underlying quantum model for graphene is a massless Dirac equation, whose eigenvalues display a conical singularity responsible for non-adiabatic transitions between the two modes. We first derive a kinetic model which takes the form of two Boltzmann equations coupled by a collision operator modeling the non-adiabatic transitions. This collision term includes a Landau–Zener transfer term and a jump operator whose presence is essential in order to ensure a good energy conservation during the transitions. We propose an algorithmic realization of the semi-group solving the kinetic model, by a particle method. We give analytic justification of the model and propose a series of numerical experiments studying the influences of the various sources of errors between the quantum and the kinetic models.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Rapid, Sensitive, Label-Free Electrical Detection of SARS-CoV-2 in Nasal Swab Samples

Rapid diagnosis of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is key for the long-term control of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) amid renewed threats of mutated SARS-CoV-2 around the world. Here, we report on an electrical label-free detection of SARS-CoV-2 in nasopharyngeal swab samples directly collected from outpatients or in saliva-relevant conditions by using a remote floating-gate field-effect transistor (RFGFET) with a 2-dimensional reduced graphene oxide (rGO) sensing membrane. RFGFET sensors demonstrate rapid detection (<5 min), a 90.6% accuracy from 8 nasal swab samples measured by 4 different devices for each sample, and a coefficient of variation (CV) < 6%. Also, RFGFET sensors display a limit of detection (LOD) of pseudo-SARS-CoV-2 that is 10 000-fold lower than enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays, with a comparable LOD to that of reverse transcriptionpolymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) for patient samples. To achieve this, comprehensive systematic studies were performed regarding interactions between SARS-CoV-2 and spike proteins, neutralizing antibodies, and angiotensin-converting enzyme 2, as either a biomarker (detection target) or a sensing probe (receptor) functionalized on the rGO sensing membrane. Finally, taken together, this work may have an immense effect on positioning FET bioelectronics for rapid SARS-CoV-2 diagnostics.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

An allosteric photoredox catalyst inspired by photosynthetic machinery

Biological photosynthetic machinery allosterically regulate light harvesting via conformational and electronic changes at the antenna protein complexes as a response to specific chemical inputs. Fundamental limitations in current approaches to regulating inorganic light-harvesting mimics prevent their use in catalysis. Here we show that a light-harvesting antenna/reaction centre mimic can be regulated by utilizing a coordination framework incorporating antenna hemilabile ligands and assembled via a high-yielding, modular approach. As in nature, allosteric regulation is afforded by coupling the conformational changes to the disruptions in the electrochemical landscape of the framework upon recognition of specific coordinating analytes. The hemilabile ligands enable switching using remarkably mild and redox-inactive inputs, allowing one to regulate the photoredox catalytic activity of the photosynthetic mimic reversibly and in situ . Furthermore, we demonstrate that bioinspired regulatory mechanisms can be applied to inorganic light-harvesting arrays displaying switchable catalytic properties and with potential uses in solar energy conversion and photonic devices.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Synthesis and exceptional operational durability of polyaniline-inspired conductive ladder polymers

Ladder-type structures can impart exceptional stability to polymeric electronic materials. This article introduces a new class of conductive polymers featuring a fully ladder-type backbone. A judicious molecular design strategy enables the synthesis of a low-defect ladder polymer, which can be efficiently oxidized and acid-doped to achieve its conductive state. The structural elucidation of this polymer and the characterization of its open-shell nature are facilitated with the assistance of studies on small molecular models. An autonomous robotic system is used to optimize the conductivity of the polymer thin film, achieving over 7 mS cm −1 . Impressively, this polymer demonstrates unparalleled stability in strong acid and under harsh UV-irradiation, significantly surpassing commercial benchmarks like PEDOT:PSS and polyaniline. Moreover, it displays superior durability across numerous redox cycles as the active material in an electrochromic device and as the pseudocapacitive material in a supercapacitor device. This work provides structural design guidance for durable conductive polymers for long-term device operation.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Near infrared emission of TbAG:Ce{sup 3+},Yb{sup 3+} phosphor for solar cell applications

Luminescent materials doped with rare earth ions are used for many devices such as optical amplifiers in telecommunication, phosphors for white light emitting diodes (LEDs), displays, and so on. Recently, they also have attracted a great interest for photovoltaic applications to improve solar cell efficiency by modifying solar spectrum. Crystal silicon (c-Si) solar cells most effectively convert photons of energy close to the semiconductor band gap. The mis-match between the incident solar spectrum and the spectral response of solar cells is one of the main reasons to limit the cell efficiency. The efficiency limit of the c-Si has been estimated to be 29% by Shockley and Queisser. However, this limit is estimated to be improved up to 38.4% by modifying the solar spectrum by a quantum cutting (down converting) phosphor which converts one photon of high energy into two photons of lower energy. The phenomenon such as the quantum cutting or the down conversion of rare earth ions have been investigated since Dexter reported the possibility of a luminescent quantum yield greater than unity in 1957. In the past, the quantum cutting from a vacuum ultraviolet photon to visible photons for Pr{sup 3+}, Gd{sup 3+},Gd{sup 3+}–Eu{sup 3+}, and Er{sup 3+}–Tb{sup 3+} had been studied. Recently, a new quantum cutting phenomenon from visible photon shorter than 500 nm to two infrared photons for Tb{sup 3+}–Yb{sup 3+}, Pr{sup 3+}–Yb{sup 3+}, and Tm{sup 3+}–Yb{sup 3+} has been reported. The Yb{sup 3+} ion is suitable as an acceptor and emitter because luminescent quantum efficiency of Yb{sup 3+} is close to 100% and the energy of the only excited level of Yb{sup 3+} (1.2 eV) is roughly in accordance with the band gap of Si (1.1 eV). In addition, the Ce{sup 3+}-doped Tb{sub 3}Al{sub 5}O{sub 12} (TbAG), used as a phosphor for white LED, has broad absorption bands in the range of 300–500 nm due to strong ligand field and high luminescent quantum efficiency. Therefore, the Ce{sup 3+} ions in the TbAG can be suitable as an excellent sensitizing donor for down conversion materials of Si solar cells. In this paper, Ce{sup 3+} –Yb{sup 3+}-codoped TbAG ceramics were prepared and the energy transfer (ET) including down conversion mechanism in Ce{sup 3+} – Yb{sup 3+} codoped TbAG ceramics have been evaluated by the photoluminescence (PL), the photoluminescence excitation (PLE), the lifetime and the quantum yield (QY), which was measured directly using an integrating sphere.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Roll-to-roll atomic layer deposition process for flexible electronics encapsulation applications

At present flexible electronic devices are under extensive development and, among them, flexible organic light-emitting diode displays are the closest to a large market deployment. One of the remaining unsolved challenges is high throughput production of impermeable flexible transparent barrier layers that protect sensitive light-emitting materials against ambient moisture. The present studies deal with the adaptation of the atomic layer deposition (ALD) process to high-throughput roll-to-roll production using the spatial ALD concept. We report the development of such a process for the deposition of 20 nm thickness Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} diffusion barrier layers on 500 mm wide polymer webs. The process uses trimethylaluminum and water as precursors at a substrate temperature of 105 °C. The observation of self-limiting film growth behavior and uniformity of thickness confirms the ALD growth mechanism. Water vapor transmission rates for 20 nm Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} films deposited on polyethylene naphthalate (PEN) substrates were measured as a function of substrate residence time, that is, time of exposure of the substrate to one precursor zone. Moisture permeation levels measured at 38 °C/90% relative humidity by coulometric isostatic–isobaric method were below the detection limit of the instrument (<5 × 10{sup −4} g/m{sup 2} day) for films coated at web moving speed of 0.25 m/min. Measurements using the Ca test indicated water vapor transmission rates ∼5 × 10{sup −6} g/m{sup 2} day. Optical measurements on the coated web showed minimum transmission of 80% in the visible range that is the same as the original PEN substrate.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Analytical comparison of transient and steady state visual evoked cortical potentials

To better describe the linear-dynamic properties of the human visual-cortical response system, transient and steady state Visual Evoked Response Potentials (VERP) were observed. The stimulus presentation device provided both the evoking stimulus (flickering or pulsing lights) and a video task display. The steady state stimulus was modulated by a complex, ten frequency, sum-of-sines, wave. The transient VERP was the time-locked average of the EEG to a series of narrow light pulses (pulse width of 10 msec). The Fourier transform of the averaged pulses had properties that approximate band limited white noise, i.e., a flat spectrum over the frequency region spanned by the 10 summed sines. The Fourier transform of both the steady state and the transient evoked potentials resulted in transfer that are equivalent and therefore comparable. To investigate the effects of task loading on evoked potentials, a grammatical reasoning task was provided. Results support the relevancy of continued application of a systems engineering approach for describing neurosensory functioning.

Junker, A. M.↗

Thermal feedback in virtual reality and telerobotic systems

A new concept has been developed that allows temperature to be part of the virtual world. The Displaced Temperature Sensing System (DTSS) can 'display' temperature in a virtual reality system.The DTSS can also serve as a feedback device for telerobotics. For virtual reality applications the virtual world software would be required to have a temperature map of its world. By whatever means (magnetic tracker, ultrasound tracker, etc.) the hand and fingers, which have been instrumented with thermodes, would be tracked. The temperature associated with the current position would be transmitted to the DRSS via a serial data link. The DTSS would provide that temperature to the fingers. For telerobotic operation the function of the DTSS is to transmit a temperature from a remote location to the fingers where the temperature can be felt.

Zerkus, Mike↗

Control Software

Real-Time Innovations, Inc. (RTI) collaborated with Ames Research Center, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Stanford University to leverage NASA research to produce ControlShell software. RTI is the first "graduate" of Ames Research Center's Technology Commercialization Center. The ControlShell system was used extensively on a cooperative project to enhance the capabilities of a Russian-built Marsokhod rover being evaluated for eventual flight to Mars. RTI's ControlShell is complex, real-time command and control software, capable of processing information and controlling mechanical devices. One ControlShell tool is StethoScope. As a real-time data collection and display tool, StethoScope allows a user to see how a program is running without changing its execution. RTI has successfully applied its software savvy in other arenas, such as telecommunications, networking, video editing, semiconductor manufacturing, automobile systems, and medical imaging.

Source record↗

Meteorological Instruction Software

At Florida State University and the Naval Postgraduate School, meteorology students have the opportunity to apply theoretical studies to current weather phenomena, even prepare forecasts and see how their predictions stand up utilizing GEMPAK. GEMPAK can display data quickly in both conventional and non-traditional ways, allowing students to view multiple perspectives of the complex three-dimensional atmospheric structure. With GEMPAK, mathematical equations come alive as students do homework and laboratory assignments on the weather events happening around them. Since GEMPAK provides data on a 'today' basis, each homework assignment is new. At the Naval Postgraduate School, students are now using electronically-managed environmental data in the classroom. The School's Departments of Meteorology and Oceanography have developed the Interactive Digital Environment Analysis (IDEA) Laboratory. GEMPAK is the IDEA Lab's general purpose display package; the IDEA image processing package is a modified version of NASA's Device Management System. Bringing the graphic and image processing packages together is NASA's product, the Transportable Application Executive (TAE).

Source record↗

Piloted Simulation to Evaluate the Utility of a Real Time Envelope Protection System for Mitigating In-Flight Icing Hazards

The utility of the Icing Contamination Envelope Protection (ICEPro) system for mitigating a potentially hazardous icing condition was evaluated by 29 pilots using the NASA Ice Contamination Effects Flight Training Device (ICEFTD). ICEPro provides real time envelope protection cues and alerting messages on pilot displays. The pilots participating in this test were divided into two groups; a control group using baseline displays without ICEPro, and an experimental group using ICEPro driven display cueing. Each group flew identical precision approach and missed approach procedures with a simulated failure case icing condition. Pilot performance, workload, and survey questionnaires were collected for both groups of pilots. Results showed that real time assessment cues were effective in reducing the number of potentially hazardous upset events and in lessening exposure to loss of control following an incipient upset condition. Pilot workload with the added ICEPro displays was not measurably affected, but pilot opinion surveys showed that real time cueing greatly improved their situation awareness of a hazardous aircraft state.

Ranaudo, Richard J.↗