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At least 1,405 records · Page 78
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1999

Temperature Measurement of Ceramic Materials Using a Multiwavelength Pyrometer

The surface temperatures of several pure ceramic materials (alumina, beryllia, magnesia, yittria and spinel) in the shape of pellets were measured using a multiwavelength pyrometer. In one of the measurements, radiation signal collection is provided simply by an optical fiber. In the other experiments, a 4.75 inch (12 cm) parabolic mirror collects the signal for the spectrometer. Temperature measurement using the traditional one- and two-color pyrometer for these ceramic materials is difficult because of their complex optical properties, such as low emissivity which varies with both temperature and wavelength. In at least one of the materials, yittria, the detected optical emission increased as the temperature was decreased due to such emissivity variation. The reasons for such changes are not known. The multiwavelength pyrometer has demonstrated its ability to measure surface temperatures under such conditions. Platinum electrodes were embedded in the ceramic pellets for resistance measurements as the temperature changed.

Ng, Daniel↗
NASA NTRS2004

Scanning Tunneling Optical Resonance Microscopy Developed

The ability to determine the in situ optoelectronic properties of semiconductor materials has become especially important as the size of device architectures has decreased and the development of complex microsystems has increased. Scanning Tunneling Optical Resonance Microscopy, or STORM, can interrogate the optical bandgap as a function of its position within a semiconductor micro-structure. This technique uses a tunable solidstate titanium-sapphire laser whose output is "chopped" using a spatial light modulator and is coupled by a fiber-optic connector to a scanning tunneling microscope in order to illuminate the tip-sample junction. The photoenhanced portion of the tunneling current is spectroscopically measured using a lock-in technique. The capabilities of this technique were verified using semiconductor microstructure calibration standards that were grown by organometallic vapor-phase epitaxy. Bandgaps characterized by STORM measurements were found to be in good agreement with the bulk values determined by transmission spectroscopy and photoluminescence and with the theoretical values that were based on x-ray diffraction results.

Bailey, Sheila G.↗
NASA NTRS2008

Application of High-Temperature Extrinsic Fabry-Perot Interferometer Strain Sensor

In this presentation to the NASA Aeronautics Sensor Working Group the application of a strain sensor is outlined. The high-temperature extrinsic Fabry-Perot interferometer (EFPI) strain sensor was developed due to a need for robust strain sensors that operate accurately and reliably beyond 1800 F. Specifically, the new strain sensor would provide data for validating finite element models and thermal-structural analyses. Sensor attachment techniques were also developed to improve methods of handling and protecting the fragile sensors during the harsh installation process. It was determined that thermal sprayed attachments are preferable even though cements are simpler to apply as cements are more prone to bond failure and are often corrosive. Previous thermal/mechanical cantilever beam testing of EFPI yielded very little change to 1200 F, with excellent correlation with SG to 550 F. Current combined thermal/mechanical loading for sensitivity testing is accomplished by a furnace/cantilever beam loading system. Dilatometer testing has can also be used in sensor characterization to evaluate bond integrity, evaluate sensitivity and accuracy and to evaluate sensor-to-sensor scatter, repeatability, hysteresis and drift. Future fiber optic testing will examine single-mode silica EFPIs in a combined thermal/mechanical load fixture on C-C and C-SiC substrates, develop a multi-mode Sapphire strain-sensor, test and evaluate high-temperature fiber Bragg Gratings for use as strain and temperature sensors and attach and evaluate a high-temperature heat flux gauge.

Piazza, Anthony↗
NASA NTRS2010

NASA Tech Briefs, January 2010

Topics covered include: Cryogenic Flow Sensor; Multi-Sensor Mud Detection; Gas Flow Detection System; Mapping Capacitive Coupling Among Pixels in a Sensor Array; Fiber-Based Laser Transmitter for Oxygen A-Band Spectroscopy and Remote Sensing; Low-Profile, Dual-Wavelength, Dual-Polarized Antenna; Time-Separating Heating and Sensor Functions of Thermistors in Precision Thermal Control Applications; Cellular Reflectarray Antenna; A One-Dimensional Synthetic-Aperture Microwave Radiometer; Electrical Switching of Perovskite Thin-Film Resistors; Two-Dimensional Synthetic-Aperture Radiometer; Ethernet-Enabled Power and Communication Module for Embedded Processors; Electrically Variable Resistive Memory Devices; Improved Attachment in a Hybrid Inflatable Pressure Vessel; Electrostatic Separator for Beneficiation of Lunar Soil; Amorphous Rover; Space-Frame Antenna; Gear-Driven Turnbuckle Actuator; In-Situ Focusing Inside a Thermal Vacuum Chamber; Space-Frame Lunar Lander; Wider-Opening Dewar Flasks for Cryogenic Storage; Silicon Oxycarbide Aerogels for High-Temperature Thermal Insulation; Supercapacitor Electrolyte Solvents with Liquid Range Below -80 C; Designs and Materials for Better Coronagraph Occulting Masks; Fuel-Cell-Powered Vehicle with Hybrid Power Management; Fine-Water-Mist Multiple-Orientation-Discharge Fire Extinguisher; Fuel-Cell Water Separator; Turbulence and the Stabilization Principle; Improved Cloud Condensation Nucleus Spectrometer; Better Modeling of Electrostatic Discharge in an Insulator; Sub-Aperture Interferometers; Terahertz Mapping of Microstructure and Thickness Variations; Multiparallel Three-Dimensional Optical Microscopy; Stabilization of Phase of a Sinusoidal Signal Transmitted Over Optical Fiber; Vacuum-Compatible Wideband White Light and Laser Combiner Source System; Optical Tapers as White-Light WGM Resonators; EPR Imaging at a Few Megahertz Using SQUID Detectors; Reducing Field Distortion in Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Fluorogenic Cell-Based Biosensors for Monitoring Microbes; A Constant-Force Resistive Exercise Unit; GUI to Facilitate Research on Biological Damage from Radiation; On-Demand Urine Analyzer; More-Realistic Digital Modeling of a Human Body; and Advanced Liquid-Cooling Garment Using Highly Thermally Conductive Sheets.

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NASA NTRS1988

Optical Sensor Of High Gas Temperatures

Contact pyrometer resists effects of heat, vibration, and moisture. New sensor consists of shielded sapphire rod with sputtered layer of precious metal on end. Metal layer acts as blackbody. Emits radiation having known dependence of spectral distribution with temperature of metal and temperature of hot gas flowing over metal. Fiber-optic cable carries radiation from sapphire rod to remote photodetector.

Hill, Arthur J.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Intensified-CCD focal plane detector for space applications A second generation

An intensified-CCD detector system developed for space applications from commercially available components is described. This detector uses components which are readily available and are mechanically, thermally, and optically coupled to produce the final compact system. The CCD is cooled using a Peltier-effect thermoelectric cooler to reduce thermal noise. The image is formed on the photocathode of a proximity-focused image intensifier and is transferred fiber-optically from the intensifier to the CDD. Various photocathode and window materials are used to optimize the system for use within the wavelength range extending from the far UV to the near IR. The basic design, including the image intensifier, intensifier-CCD interface, CCD array, cooling, electronics, and mounting, and the detector performance are described in detail.

Torr, M. R.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Engine throat/nozzle optics for plume spectroscopy

The Task 2.0 Engine Throat/Nozzle Optics for Plume Spectroscopy, effort was performed under the NASA LeRC Development of Life Prediction Capabilities for Liquid Propellant Rocket Engines program. This Task produced the engineering design of an optical probe to enable spectroscopic measurements within the SSME main chamber. The probe mounts on the SSME nozzle aft manifold and collects light emitted from the throat plane and chamber. Light collected by the probe is transferred to a spectrometer through a fiber optic cable. The design analyses indicate that the probe will function throughout the engine operating cycle and is suitable for both test stand and flight operations. By detecting metallic emissions that are indicative of component degradation or incipient failure, engine shutdown can be initiated before catastrophic failure. This capability will protect valuable test stand hardware and provide enhanced mission safety.

Bickford, R. L.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Spectral-Content Readout Of Birefringent Sensor

Stresses and strains measured optically at temperatures up to 2,000 degrees F. Spectrum of light processed through polarizer, sensor, analyzer, and associated optical components measured and processed to extract amount of retardation and, equivalently, stress-induced birefringence in sensor. Method offers same advantages as electrical strain sensors, including acquisition of data from multiple locations and under dynamic conditions. Additional advantage: immunity of fiber-optic transmission to interference by electromagnetic interference at radio and lower frequencies.

Redner, Alex S.↗
NASA NTRS1995

Development of optical systems

Several key aspects of multi-color holography and laser speckle technique to study holographic reconstructions are considered in the report. Holographic fringe contrast in two-color holography in the presence of a fluid cell in the object beam is discussed in detail. A specific example of triglycine sulfate crystal growth is also considered. A breadboard design using fiber optics and diode lasers for three-color holography for fluid experiments is presented. A possible role of multi-color holography in various new applications is summarized. Finally, the use of a a laser speckle technique is demonstrated for the study of holographic reconstructions. The demonstration is performed using a Spacelab 3 hologram.

Vikram, Chandra S.↗
NASA NTRS1975

Development of a monolithic GaAs integrated optical transmitter

The paper discusses a program designed for the development of a GaAs IOC transmitter consisting of a monolithic surface laser whose output is coupled into patterned channel waveguides. Modulation and switching of the radiation occur in the waveguide circuit and are controlled separately. These structures are to be fabricated monolithically on a single semiconductor chip with each device amenable to integrated low-cost manufacture. The waveguide outputs of the IOC transmitter will be coupled to single mode optical fibers which form a transmission cable. The properties of the semiconductors (Ga,Al)As and (Ga,In)As permit performance of each of the basic functions included in the device considered. The concept of monolithic nondiscrete GaAs diode lasers is examined along with optical stripline channel waveguides and electro-optic channel waveguide modulators and switches.

Blum, F. A.↗
NASA NTRS2006

NASA Tech Briefs, October 2006

Topics covered include: Protein Sensors Based on Optical Ring Resonators; Phase Sensor for Aligning a Segmented Telescope Mirror; Control Software for Advanced Video Guidance Sensor; Generating Control Commands From Gestures Sensed by EMG; Multiple-Flat-Panel System Displays Multidimensional Data; 3D X-Ray Luggage-Screening System; Probe Station and Near-Field Scanner for Testing Antennas; Photodetector Arrays for Multicolor Visible/Infrared Imaging; Semiconductor Bolometers Give Background-Limited Performance; Multichannel X-Band Dielectric-Resonator Oscillator; Automatic Alignment of Displacement-Measuring Interferometer; Earth Observing System Data Gateway; Power User Interface; Mercury Shopping Cart Interface; Cassini Archive Tracking System; Architecture Adaptive Computing Environment; Computing Fault Displacements from Surface Deformations; Oxygen-Permeable, Hydrophobic Membranes of Silanized alpha-Al2O3; SiC Composite Turbine Vanes; Retaining Device for the Interior Structure of a Spacecraft Payload; Tool for Torquing Circular Electrical-Connector Collars; System for Continuous Deaeration of Hydraulic Oil; Solar-Powered Cooler and Heater for an Automobile Interior; Improved Oxygen-Beam Texturing of Glucose-Monitoring Optics; Tool for Two Types of Friction Stir Welding; Stationary Apparatus Would Apply Forces of Walking to Feet; Instrument Would Detect and Collect Biological Aerosols; Boundary Condition for Modeling Semiconductor Nanostructures; Miniature Distillation Column for Producing LOX From Air; Even Illumination from Fiber-Optic-Coupled Laser Diodes; Optically Driven Deformable Mirrors; Algorithm for Automated Detection of Edges of Clouds; Exploiting Quantum Resonance to Solve Combinatorial Problems; Hybrid Terrain Database; On Release of Microbe-Laden Particles from Mars Landers; A Concept for Run-Time Support of the Chapel Language; Thermoelectric Inhomogeneities in (Ag(sub 1-y)SbTe2)(sub x)(PbTe)(sub 1-x); and Spacecraft Escape Capsule.

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NASA NTRS2022

Silicon Photonic Transceiver for Spacecraft Navigational Lidar

NASA is developing an entry, descent, and landing (EDL) lidar system, the Navigation Doppler Lidar (NDL), for high-precision landing on the Moon, Mars, and beyond. The current flight NDL systems use 1550 nm fiber-optic components for frequency-modulated continuous wave (FMCW) ranging beyond 5 km, but have reduced performance under vibrational and thermal stresses during EDL. Here we describe recent efforts to develop a breadboard silicon photonic optical transceiver for integration into NDL to reduce instrument size and improve robustness to environment and demonstrate the optical balanced receiver performance during testing with the breadboard NDL unit. Initial testing shows improved suppression of common mode noise by 25 dB over the current receiver, but a 10 dB reduction in signal to noise ratio (SNR) resulting from coupling losses from fiber to the on-chip waveguides. Future work will target reduced coupling loss, hermetic packaging, and co-integration of a single sideband suppressed carrier modulator into the same chip.

Photonic Integrated Circuits↗
NASA NTRS2012

Towards an Imaging Mid-Infrared Heterodyne Spectrometer

We are developing a concept for a compact, low-mass, low-power, mid-infrared (MIR; 5- 12 microns) imaging heterodyne spectrometer that incorporates fiber optic coupling, Quantum Cascade Laser (QCL) local oscillator, photomixer array, and Radio Frequency Software Defined Readout (RFSDR) for spectral analysis. Planetary Decadal Surveys have highlighted the need for miniaturized, robust, low-mass, and minimal power remote sensing technologies for flight missions. The drive for miniaturization of remote sensing spectroscopy and radiometry techniques has been a continuing process. The advent of MIR fibers, and MEMS techniques for producing waveguides has proven to be an important recent advancement for miniaturization of infrared spectrometers. In conjunction with well-established photonics techniques, the miniaturization of spectrometers is transitioning from classic free space optical systems to waveguide/fiber-based structures for light transport and producing interference effects. By their very nature, these new devices are compact and lightweight. Mercury-Cadmium-Telluride (MCT) and Quantum Well Infrared Photodiodes (QWIP) arrays for heterodyne applications are also being developed. Bulky electronics is another barrier that precluded the extension of heterodyne systems into imaging applications, and our RFSDR will address this aspect.

Hewagama, T.↗
NASA NTRS2005

Highly Reliable, High-Speed, Unidirectional Serial Data Links

Highly reliable, high-speed, unidirectional serial data-communication subsystems have been proposed to be installed in an upgrade of the computing systems aboard the space shuttles. The basic design concept of these serial data links is also adaptable to terrestrial use in applications in which there are requirements for highly reliable serial data communications. The hardware and software aspects of the architecture of the data links are dictated largely by a requirement, in the original space-shuttle application, for one computer to monitor the memory transactions and memory contents of other computers in real time with high reliability and without reliance on requests for retransmission. To minimize weight while affording a capability to transfer data at a required rate of 2.56 x 10(exp 8) bits per second, it was decided that the links would be serial ones of the fiber-channel type. [Fiber channel denotes a type of serial computer bus that is used to connect a computer (usually a supercomputer) with a high-speed data storage device. Depending on the specific application, the physical connection between the transmitter and receiver could be made via an optical fiber or a twisted pair of wires.] Heretofore, fiber-channel links have ordinarily been bidirectional and have operated under protocols that provide for receiving stations to detect errors and request retransmission when necessary. In the present case, the time taken by processing to request retransmission would conflict with the requirement for real-time transfer of data. To ensure reliability without retransmission, a link according to the proposal would utilize a modified version of the normal fiberchannel character set in conjunction with forward error correction by means of a Reed-Solomon code (see figure). The Reed-Solomon encoding and decoding and the translations between the normal and modified character sets would be effected by logic circuitry external to the fiber-channel transmitter and receiver, which would be commercial off-the-shelf units. The receiving end of the link could detect and correct errors at a rate as high as 4 million times per second, if necessary. The receiver detects uncorrectable double-byte errors. It has been estimated that uncorrectable-error rate would amount to one failure in about 10(exp 19) characters.

Cole, Robert M.↗
NASA NTRS2003

Micro-optical Distributed Sensors for Aero Propulsion Applications

The objective of this research is to develop micro-opto-mechanical system (MOMS)-based sensors for time- and space-resolved measurements of flow properties in aerodynamics applications. The measurement technique we propose uses optical resonances in dielectric micro-spheres that can be excited by radiation tunneling from optical fibers. It exploits the tunneling-induced and morphology-dependent shifts in the resonant frequencies. The shift in the resonant frequency is dependent on the size, shape, and index of refraction of the micro-sphere. A physical change in the environment surrounding a micro-bead can change one or more of these properties of the sphere thereby causing a shift in frequency of resonance. The change of the resonance frequency can be detected with high resolution by scanning a frequency-tunable laser that is coupled into the fiber and observing the transmission spectrum at the output of the fiber. It is expected that, in the future, the measurement concept will lead to a system of distributed micro-sensors providing spatial data resolved in time and space. The present project focuses on the development and demonstration of temperature sensors using the morphology-dependent optical resonances although in the latter part of the work, we will also develop a pressure sensor. During the period covered in this report, the optical and electronic equipment necessary for the experimental work was assembled and the experimental setup was designed for the single sensor temperature measurements. Software was developed for real-time tracking of the optical resonance shifts. Some preliminary experiments were also carried out to detect temperature using a single bead in a water bath.

Arnold, S.↗
NASA NTRS2006

Compact Efficient Lidar Receiver for Measuring Atmospheric Aerosols

A small, light weight, and efficient aerosol lidar receiver was constructed and tested. Weight and space savings were realized by using rigid optic tubes and mounting cubes to package the steering optics and detectors in a compact assembly. The receiver had a 1064nm channel using an APD detector. The 532nm channel was split (90/10) into an analog channel (90%) and a photon counting channel (10%). The efficiency of the 1064nm channel with optical filter was 44.0%. The efficiency of the analog 532nm channel was 61.4% with the optical filter, and the efficiency of the 532nm photon counting channel was 7.6% with the optical filter. The results of the atmospheric tests show that the detectors were able to consistently return accurate results. The lidar receiver was able to detect distinct cloud layers, and the lidar returns also agreed across the different detectors. The use of a light weight fiber-coupled telescope reduced weight and allowed great latitude in detector assembly positioning due to the flexibility enabled by the use of fiber optics. The receiver is now ready to be deployed for aircraft or ground based aerosol lidar measurements.

Gili, Christopher↗
NASA NTRS2003

Distributed Sensing of Carbon-Epoxy Composites and Filament Wound Pressure Vessels Using Fiber-Bragg Gratings

Multiple Fiber Bragg-gratings are embedded in carbon-epoxy laminates as well as in composite wound pressure vessel. Structural properties of such composites are investigated. The measurements include stress-strain relation in laminates and Poisson's ratio in several specimens with varying orientation of the optical fiber Bragg-sensor with respect to the carbon fiber in an epoxy matrix. Additionally, fiber Bragg gratings are bonded on the surface of these laminates and cylinders fabricated out of carbon-epoxy composites and multiple points are monitored and compared for strain measurements at several locations.

Grant, J.↗
NASA NTRS2004

NASA Tech Briefs, March 2004

Topics covered include: 1) Advanced Signal Conditioners for Data-Acquisition Systems; 2) Downlink Data Multiplexer; 3) Viewing ISS Data in Real Time via the Internet; 4) Autonomous Environment-Monitoring Networks; 5) Readout of DSN Monitor Data; 6) Parallel-Processing Equalizers for Multi-Gbps Communications; 7) AIN-Based Packaging for SiC High-Temperature Electronics; 8) Software for Optimizing Quality Assurance of Other Software; 9) The TechSat 21 Autonomous Sciencecraft Experiment; 10) Software for Analyzing Laminar-to-Turbulent Flow Transitions; 11) Elastomer Filled With Single-Wall Carbon Nanotubes; 12) Modifying Ship Air-Wake Vortices for Aircraft Operations; 13) Strain-Gauge Measurement of Weight of Fluid in a Tank; 14) Advanced Docking System With Magnetic Initial Capture; 15) Blade-Pitch Control for Quieting Tilt-Rotor Aircraft; 16) Solar Array Panels With Dust-Removal Capability; 17) Aligning Arrays of Lenses and Single-Mode Optical Fibers; 18) Automatic Control of Arc Process for Making Carbon Nanotubes; 19) Curved-Focal-Plane Arrays Using Deformed-Membrane Photodetectors; 20) Role of Meteorology in Flights of a Solar-Powered Airplane; 21) Model of Mixing Layer With Multicomponent Evaporating Drops; 22) Solution-Assisted Optical Contacting; 23) Improved Discrete Approximation of Laplacian of Gaussian; 24) Utilizing Expert Knowledge in Estimating Future STS Costs; 25) Study of Rapid-Regression Liquefying Hybrid Rocket Fuels; and 26) More About the Phase-Synchronized Enhancement Method.

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