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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.
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Device projects visual pattern limits of the field of view of an operator as his eyes are directed at a given point on a control panel. The device, which consists of two projectors, provides instant evaluation of visual ability at a point on a panel.
Reflector-antenna calculations using idealised truncated feed patterns can lead to incorrect values of total secondary radiated power. It is demonstrated that this discrepancy is due to the presence of higher-order spherical modes incident on the reflector. When a proper spherical-wave expansion of the incident field is used, in conjunction with the physical-optics technique, to determine the scattered field, the total power of the scattered field will equal the power radiated by the feed.
Ptychography is a computational imaging technique that operates across multiple wavelength regimes, from electron (picometres) to X-ray (~0.1 nm), extreme ultraviolet (~10 nm) and visible light (micrometres). By reconstructing both amplitude and phase from diffraction patterns, ptychography enables high-resolution, quantitative imaging without conventional limitations imposed by lens-based optics. Ptychography has enabled advances across a range of scales: achieving deep-sub-angstrom resolution with electron microscopy, becoming an indispensable tool at X-ray synchrotron facilities worldwide and overcoming the trade-offs between resolution and field-of-view in optical imaging. This Primer provides a unified treatment of ptychography across these wavelength regimes. First, we discuss theoretical foundations, reconstruction algorithms, experimental considerations and wavelength-specific challenges. We then give examples of raw and processed data from various configurations and wavelengths. Next, we highlight key applications of ptychography in life sciences, materials science and industry. We also discuss data standards, open-source software implementations and best practices for ensuring reproducibility across different wavelength regimes. Finally, we consider limitations and future opportunities for ptychography. Together with accompanying datasets and code implementations, this Primer aims to serve newcomers and experienced practitioners in the field, facilitating broader adoption of ptychography across different disciplines.
Laser vapor screen (LVS) flow visualization systems that are fiber-optic based were developed and installed for aerodynamic research in the Langley 8-Foot Transonic Pressure Tunnel and the Langley 7- by 10-Foot High Speed Tunnel. Fiber optics are used to deliver the laser beam through the plenum shell that surrounds the test section of each facility and to the light-sheet-generating optics positioned in the ceiling window of the test section. Water is injected into the wind tunnel diffuser section to increase the relative humidity and promote condensation of the water vapor in the flow field about the model. The condensed water vapor is then illuminated with an intense sheet of laser light to reveal features of the flow field. The plenum shells are optically sealed; therefore, video-based systems are used to observe and document the flow field. Operational experience shows that the fiber-optic-based systems provide safe, reliable, and high-quality off-surface flow visualization in smaller and larger scale subsonic and transonic wind tunnels. The design, the installation, and the application of the Langley Research Center (LaRC) LVS flow visualization systems in larger scale wind tunnels are highlighted. The efficiency of the fiber optic LVS systems and their insensitivity to wind tunnel vibration, the tunnel operating temperature and pressure variations, and the airborne contaminants are discussed.
Consideration is given to turbulence at the inner scale, modeling turbulent transport in laser beam propagation, variable wind direction effects on thermal blooming correction, realistic wind effects on turbulence and thermal blooming compensation, wide bandwidth spectral measurements of atmospheric tilt turbulence, remote alignment of adaptive optical systems with far-field optimization, focusing infrared laser beams on targets in space without using adaptive optics, and a simplex optimization method for adaptive optics system alignment. Consideration is also given to ground-to-space multiline propagation at 1.3 micron, a path integral approach to thermal blooming, functional reconstruction predictions of uplink whole beam Strehl ratios in the presence of thermal blooming, and stability analysis of semidiscrete schemes for thermal blooming computation.
The exact field solution of a step-index profile fiber is used to determine the excitation efficiency of a distribution of sources in the core of an optical fiber. Previous results of a thin-film cladding source distribution to its core source counterpart are used for comparison. The behavior of power efficiency with the fiber parameters is examined and found to be similar to the behavior exhibited by cladding sources. It is also found that a core-source fiber is two orders of magnitude more efficient than a fiber with a bulk distribution of cladding sources. This result agrees qualitatively with previous ones obtained experimentally.
A new experimental method was used to optically investigate the acoustic field radiated from supersonic jets. The method utilizes a pulse ruby laser to obtain double exposure holograms of the sound field of a supersonic jet. The jet remains on during both exposures thus eliminating the no-flow exposure. The time separation between the pulses can be varied depending on the spectral component of the radiation to be observed. Optical records were obtained for supersonic jets with exit Mach number 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0. It was found that high frequency acoustic radiation mainly originates from the regions near the nozzle exit, whereas the low frequency noise is generated from regions further downstream. These findings are consistent with the acoustic data obtained by other investigators.
Power system applications of optical systems, primarily using fiber optics, are reviewed. The first section reviews fibers as components of communication systems. The second section deals with fiber sensors for power systems, reviewing the many ways light sources and fibers can be combined to make measurements. Methods of measuring electric field gradient are discussed. Optical data processing is the subject of the third section, which begins by reviewing some widely different examples and concludes by outlining some potential applications in power systems: fault location in transformers, optical switching for light fired thyristors and fault detection based on the inherent symmetry of most power apparatus. The fourth and final section is concerned with using optical fibers to transmit power to electric equipment in a high voltage situation, potentially replacing expensive high voltage low power transformers. JPL has designed small photodiodes specifically for this purpose, and fabricated and tested several samples. This work is described.
Results are presented of an application of the diffusion domain method to multispectral solar radiation measurements obtained deep within a marine stratocumulus cloud layer modified by pollution from ships. In situ airborne measurements of the relative angular distribution of scattered radiation are compared to known asymptotic expressions for the intensity field deep within an optically thick cloud layer. Analytical expressions relating the ratio of the nadir-to-zenith intensities to surface reflectance, similarity parameter, and scaled optical depth beneath the aircraft flight level are used to analyze measurements obtained with the cloud absorption radiometer mounted on the University of Washington's C-131A research aircraft. It is shown that the total optical thickness of the cloud layer increased in the ship tracks, in contrast to the similarity parameter, which decreased. The decrease in absorption was a direct consequence of the reduction in cloud droplet size that occurred within the ship tracks.
Polaritons are light-matter quasiparticles that govern the optical response of quantum materials at the nanoscale, enabling on-chip communication and local sensing. Here, we report Landau-phonon polaritons (LPPs) in magnetized charge-neutral graphene encapsulated in hexagonal boron nitride (hBN). These quasiparticles emerge from the interaction of Dirac magnetoexciton modes in graphene with the hyperbolic phonon polariton modes in hBN. Using infrared magneto-nanoscopy, we reveal the ability to completely halt the LPP propagation in real space at quantized magnetic fields, defying the conventional optical selection rules. The LPP-based nanoscopy also tells apart two fundamental many-body phenomena: the Fermi velocity renormalization and field-dependent magnetoexciton binding energies. Our results highlight the potential of magnetically tuned Dirac heterostructures for precise nanoscale control and sensing of light-matter interaction.
An analysis of the vector magnetic field in the delta-configurations of two complex sunspot groups is presented, noting several characteristics identified in the delta-configurations. The observations of regions 2469 (S12E80) and 2470 (S21E83) took place in May, 1980 with a vector magnetograph, verified by optical viewing. Longitudinal magnetic field plots located the delta-configurations in relation to the transverse field neutral line. It is shown that data on the polarization yields qualitative information on the magnetic field strengths, while the azimuth of the transverse field can be obtained from the relative intensities of linear polarization measurements aligned with respect to the magnetograph analyses axis at 0 and 90 deg, and at the plus and minus 45 deg positions. Details of the longitudinal fields are discussed. A strong, sheared transverse field component is found to be a signature of strong delta. A weak delta is accompanied by a weak longitudinal gradient with an unsheared transverse component of variable strength.
The Diffuse Infrared Background Experiment (DIRBE) is a cryogenically-cooled 10-band photometer with a large field-of-view (0.886 x 0.886 sq deg) which scans by rotation of the Cosmic Background Explorer about a spin axis. In-orbit calibration requires that the DIRBE detect and measure with precision the signatures of compact sources as they transit the field-of-view. Analysis of the conceptual optical design revealed that response of the 10 bands would vary significantly as a function of source position in the field-of-view, caused by anamorphic pupil distortion and field separation. The optical design reported in this paper is the result of changes which greatly improve the response uniformity and radiometric accuracy of the DIRBE.
We explore the implications of the IR-radio correlation in star-forming galaxies, using a simple physical model constrained by the constant global ratio q of IR to radio emission and by the radial falloff of this ratio in disks of galaxies. The modeling takes into account the diffusion, radiative decay, and escape of cosmic-ray electrons responsible for the synchrotron emission, and the full range of optical depths to dust-heating photons. We introduce two assumptions: that dust-heating photons and radio-emitting cosmic-ray electrons are created in constant proportion to each other as part of the star formation activity, and that gas and magnetic field are well coupled locally, expressed as B proportional to n exp beta, with beta between 1/3 and 2/3. We conclude that disk galaxies would maintain the observed constant ratio q under these assumptions if the disk scale height h(0) and the escape scale length l(esc) for cosmic-ray electrons followed a relation of the form l(esc) proportional to h(0) exp 1/2; the IR-to-radio ratio will then depend very weakly on interstellar density, and, therefore, on magnetic field strength or mean optical depth.
The advent of optical super-resolution microscopy (OSRM) over two decades ago has transformed light-mediated interrogation of systems down to the nanoscale. This innovative set of approaches to optics breaks the so-called diffraction limit of light (~200 nm), allowing for the first time to use optics in the far field to visualize behavior on nanoscopic length scales. While these visualization tools have rapidly found widespread use in biology and related fields, their implementation in materials and, more specifically, in polymer science has been far slower. To overcome possible barriers and highlight possible future directions, we present in this paper an introduction to OSRM for polymer scientists, beginning with an overview of relevant techniques and existing optical probes. We then show and examine the first examples of OSRM adaptation across major areas of polymer science, including: polymerization and structural characterization, self-assembly and solution behavior, bulk structure and behavior, crystallization, gel structure and behavior, phase transitions, and biofunctionality. We hope and anticipate that the discussions provided in this review will draw the attention of the polymer community to the capacities of these hitherto underexplored optical visualization techniques to further transform polymer science.
The Bouligand structure, renowned for its helicoidal arrangement and enhanced mechanical properties, has attracted significant research interest for its ability to impart enhanced strength to intrinsically soft materials. Biomimetic approaches have centered on fibrous structures in bulk materials, but translating this architecture into thin-film regime for miniaturized-wearable devices with programmable functions remains challenging. Here, we direct the self-assembly of cholesteric liquid crystals (CLCs) into hierarchical helical structures using chemically patterned surfaces. Alternating surface anchoring regions align uniform lying-down helices at the nanoscale, guiding a secondary microscale helical structure exhibiting both left- and right-handed twists. This mimetic Bouligand structure in CLCs enables optical modulation under applied field and strain with enhanced mechanical response. Simulations reveal the structural evolution from initial Bouligand configuration in LC layers to alternating twist helices. This research provides a basis for designing and manufacturing miniaturized or wearable devices with nanometer-scale precision in regulating electro-optical and mechanical properties. Bouligand structures, which offer strength in natural materials, are of interest but difficult to obtain. Here, the authors report the development of such structures by directed self-assembly of cholesteric single crystals into hierarchical helical structures, with the secondary structure having right and left-handed twists.
The design and construction of a coaxial transmitter-receiver combination was investigated. Major emphasis was placed on simple permanent optical alignment, transmitter-receiver field of view matching, use of a pulsed gas laser as a transmitter maximum optical efficiency, complete digital control of data acquisition, and optical mount pointing and tracking. Also a means of expanding the coaxial transmitter-receiver concept to allow phased-array lidar, par-lidar was described.
Density variations in the aircraft boundary layer, turret wakes and shock waves create distortion of an optical wavefront through associated refractive index variations. Such effects can be observed directly through optical flow visualization. The application of holographic interferometry, wave shearing interferometry, and laser shadowgraph to observe and quantify such effects is described. Examples of the results from five different wind tunnel tests are presented. The examples show that diagnostics have provided valuable qualitiative and quantitiative data. These include (1) wake dimensions, (2) optical strength of the flow field, (3) turbulence characterization, (4) shock location, and (5) direct observation of areo-optical effects.
A document discusses a mechanism that uses flex-pivots in a parallelogram arrangement to provide frictionless motion with an unlimited lifetime. A voicecoil actuator drives the parallelogram over the required 5-cm travel. An optical position sensor provides feedback for a servo loop that keeps the velocity within 1 percent of expected value. Residual tip/tilt error is compensated for by a piezo actuator that drives the interferometer mirror. This mechanism builds on previous work that targeted ground-based measurements. The main novelty aspects include cryogenic and vacuum operation, high reliability for spaceflight, compactness of the design, optical layout compatible with the needs of an imaging FTS (i.e. wide overall field-of-view), and mirror optical coatings to cover very broad wavelength range (i.e., 0.26 to 15 m).