Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “WAVEGUIDES”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 793 records · Page 44

Fluctuations of high clouds and 500-mb geopotential heights in baroclinic waveguides

The spatial phase relationship between the atmospheric circulation and the bandpass fluctuations in cloudiness are investigated using satellite retrievals of high cloud areas reported by Stowe et al. (1988, 1989) NMC 500-mb geopotential heights in northern extratropics. Results of the analysis suggest that the high-cloud structures of baroclinic waves are less spatially coherent than the internal geopotential-height structures. It is shown that over the North Pacific, small-scale (latitudinal wavenumber 13-18) fluctuations in geopotential play a greater role in forcing high cloudiness than do medium-scale (latitudinal wavenumber 7-12) fluctuations in geopotential.

Charlock, Thomas P.↗

Effects of beam focusing on the efficiency of planar waveguide grating couplers

Results of a theoretical and experimental study into the variation of coupling efficiency with a grating angle are presented for various beam focusing conditions for an integrated optical grating coupler. The study shows that the acceptance angle of the grating coupler can be broadened within a relatively large range and with a relatively small loss of coupling efficiency, by focusing the incident laser beam.

Li, Lifeng↗

Performance improvement of DSS-13 34-meter beam-waveguide antenna using the JPL microwave holography methodology

Described here is the application of the microwave holography technique to Deep Space Station (DSS) 13. The project goal of obtaining a rigging angle surface rms error of 0.43 mm or better was met. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory-developed holography algorithms enabled a reduction of the surface error of the DSS-13 antenna from the optically set 0.83 mm axial rms error down to 0.40 mm rms, providing an additional 4.1 dB of performance at 32 GHz.

Rochblatt, D. J.↗

Synthetic-Aperture Antenna Array With Beam-Waveguide Coupling

Proposed synthetic-aperture antenna array for radio astronomy at wavelengths between 60 and 300 micrometers includes twelve 3.5-m-diameter paraboloidal-dish antennas at various positions along three 0.5-km-long arms of Y-shaped pattern. Receivers located centrally, with consequent reductions in complexity and cost. Innovative features of design also stimulates solutions to engineering problems arising in terrestrial radio systems.

Mahoney, Michael J.↗

Analysis and applications of a general boresight algorithm for the DSS-13 beam waveguide antenna

A general antenna beam boresight algorithm is presented. Equations for axial pointing error, peak received signal level, and antenna half-power beamwidth are given. A pointing error variance equation is derived that illustrates the dependence of the measurement estimation performance on the various algorithm inputs, including RF signal level uncertainty. Plots showing pointing error uncertainty as function of algorithm inputs are presented. Insight gained from the performance analysis is discussed in terms of its application to the areas of antenna controller and receiver interfacing, pointing error compensation, and antenna calibrations. Current and planned applications of the boresight algorithm, including its role in the upcoming Ka-band downlink experiment (KABLE), are highlighted.

Alvarez, L. S.↗

Effect of a Dielectric Overlay on a Linearly Tapered Slot Antenna Excited by a Coplanar Waveguide

The effect of a dielectric overlay on a linearly tapered slot antenna (LTSA) is studied. The LTSA under study has very wide bandwidth and excellent radiation patterns. A dielectric overlay improves the patterns and directivity of the antenna by increasing the electrical length and effective aperture of the antenna. A dielectric overlay can also be used to reduce the physical length of the antenna without compromising the pattern quality.

Simons, Rainee N.↗

Gratings and waveguides

Our immediate objective is to understand the limitations of guided-wave and grating coupler devices in their application to optical data storage. Our long-range goal is to develop and validate design codes for integrated optic devices. The principal research activity was in the development of numerical models for the design of a blue wavelength integrated optical source for data storage applications.

Bates, K. A.↗

A low noise 665 GHz SIS quasi-particle waveguide receiver

Recent results on a 565-690 GHz SIS heterodyne receiver employing a 0.36 micron(sup 2) Nb/AlOx/Nb SIS tunnel junction with high quality circular non-contacting back short and E-plane tuners in a full height wave guide mount are reported. No resonant tuning structures were incorporated in the junction design at this time, even though such structures are expected to help the performance of the receiver. The receiver operates to at least the gap frequency of Niobium, approximately 680 GHz. Typical receiver noise temperatures from 565-690 GHz range from 160K to 230K with a best value of 185K DSB at 648 GHz. With the mixer cooled from 4.3K to 2K the measured receiver noise temperatures decreased by approximately 15 percent, giving roughly 180K DSB from 660 to 680 GHz. The receiver has a full 1 GHz IF pass band and was successfully installed at the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory in Hawaii.

Kooi, J. W.↗

Analysis of a Slot Coupled Coplanar Waveguide Fed Patch Antenna

A slot-coupled CPW fed patch antenna is analyzed using two different techniques: the Spectral Domain Method and the Finite Difference Time Domain Method. The results from both techniques are in good agreement with experimentally obtained data.

Cheng, Jui-Ching↗

Direct time integration of Maxwell's equations in two-dimensional dielectric waveguides for propagation and scattering of femtosecond electromagnetic solitons

Solution of 2D vector nonlinear Maxwell's equations is described for material media with linear and nonlinear instantaneous and Lorentz dispersion effects in the electric polarization. Finite difference time domain method is used in the analysis. The method discussed here achieves robustness by enforcing vector-field boundary conditions at all interfaces of dissimilar media.

VECTOR FIELDS↗

Optical Sensors Based on Single Arm Thin Film Waveguide Interferometer

All the goals of the research effort for the first year were met by the accomplishments. Additional efforts were done to speed up the process of development and construction of the experimental gas chamber which will be completed by the end of 1997. This chamber incorporates vacuum sealed multimode optical fiber lines which connect the sensor to the remote light source and signal processing equipment. This optical fiber line is a prototype of actual optical communication links connecting real sensors to a control unit within an aircraft or spacecraft. An important problem which we are planning to focus on during the second year is coupling of optical fiber line to the sensor. Currently this problem is solved using focusing optics and prism couplers. More reliable solutions are planned to be investigated.

Sarkisov, Sergey S.↗

Evanescent Microwave Probes Using Coplanar Waveguide and Stripline for Super-Resolution Imaging of Materials

An evanescent field microwave imaging probe based on half-wavelength, microwave transmission line resonators is described. Optimization of the probe tip design, the coupling gap, and the data analysis has resulted in images of metal lines on semiconductor substrates with 2.6 microns spatial resolution and a minimum detectable line width of 0.4 microns at 1 GHz.

Ponchak, G. E.↗

Electro-Optic Modulator Based on Organic Planar Waveguide Integrated with Prism Coupler

The objectives of the project, as they were formulated in the proposal, are the following: (1) Design and development of novel electro-optic modulator using single crystalline film of highly efficient electro-optic organic material integrated with prism coupler; (2) Experimental characterization of the figures-of-merit of the modulator. It is expected to perform with an extinction ratio of 10 dB at a driving signal of 5 V; (3) Conclusions on feasibility of the modulator as an element of data communication systems of future generations. The accomplishments of the project are the following: (1) The design of the electro-optic modulator based on a single crystalline film of organic material NPP has been explored; (2) The evaluation of the figures-of-merit of the electro-optic modulator has been performed; (3) Based on the results of characterization of the figures-of-merit, the conclusion was made that the modulator based on a thin film of NPP is feasible and has a great potential of being used in optic communication with a modulation bandwidth of up to 100 GHz and a driving voltage of the order of 3 to 5 V.

Sarkisov, Sergey S.↗

Estimation of Complex Permittivity of Composite Multilayer Material at Microwave Frequency Using Waveguide Measurements

A simple method is presented to estimate the complex dielectric constants of individual layers of a multilayer composite material. Using the MatLab Optimization Tools simple MatLab scripts are written to search for electric properties of individual layers so as to match the measured and calculated S-parameters. A single layer composite material formed by using materials such as Bakelite, Nomex Felt, Fiber Glass, Woven Composite B and G, Nano Material #0, Cork, Garlock, of different thicknesses are tested using the present approach. Assuming the thicknesses of samples unknown, the present approach is shown to work well in estimating the dielectric constants and the thicknesses. A number of two layer composite materials formed by various combinations of above individual materials are tested using the present approach. However, the present approach could not provide estimate values close to their true values when the thicknesses of individual layers were assumed to be unknown. This is attributed to the difficulty in modelling the presence of airgaps between the layers while doing the measurement of S-parameters. A few examples of three layer composites are also presented.

Deshpande, Manohar D.↗

Measured Attenuation of Coplanar Waveguide on 6H, p-type SiC and High Purity Semi-Insulating 4H SiC through 800 K

Wireless sensors for high temperature applications such as oil drilling and mining, automobiles, and jet engine performance monitoring require circuits built on wide bandgap semiconductors. In this paper, the characteristics of microwave transmission lines on 4H-High Purity Semi-Insulating SiC and 6H, p-type SiC is presented as a function of temperature and frequency. It is shown that the attenuation of 6H, p-type substrates is too high for microwave circuits, large leakage current will flow through the substrate, and that unusual attenuation characteristics are due to trapping in the SiC. The 4H-HPSI SiC is shown to have low attenuation and leakage currents over the entire temperature range.

Ponchak, George E.↗

In-situ Optical Waveguides for Monitoring and Modifying Protein Crystal Growth

The use of electric fields in the growth of protein crystals was investigated, both theoretically and experimentally. We used dc, ac and optical fields to change the spatial distribution of proteins. Dc fields had only local effects, due to the conductivity of the growth solution. We found that for low frequency fields, movement of the buffer and salt ions dominated, and that for high frequency ac fields, &electrophoretic effects could be useful for relocating growing protein crystals. The most promising result was that for optical fields, a large gradient in the field could be used to capture a crystal, and observe growth in-situ. This concept could be developed into an experimental setup compatible with automated x-ray diffraction measurements in microgravity.

Gibson, Ursula↗