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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1976

Optical computing with laser light

Linear and nonlinear optical processing techniques (Fourier transformation, convolution and correlation, arithmetic operations - addition and subtraction with gratings, generalized orthogonal transformations; theta modulation, half-tone screen process, optical feedback) for mathematical computations are reviewed. The use of gratings and computer holograms in addition, subtraction, differentiation, and application of generalized transformations is discussed. Use of nonlinear optical elements with or without optical coherent feedback in such nonlinear operations as taking logarithms and thresholding is described. Applications in hybrid systems incorporating digital computer and optical processor with real-time interface devices, or optical threshold and logic devices for parallel processing to apply digital techniques to optical information are considered.

Lee, S. H.↗
NASA NTRS1991

A 3-D nonlinear recursive digital filter for video image processing

This paper introduces a recursive 3-D nonlinear digital filter, which is capable of performing noise suppression without degrading important image information such as edges in space or time. It also has the property of unnoticeable bandwidth reduction immediately after a scene change, which makes the filter an attractive preprocessor to many interframe compression algorithms. The filter consists of a nonlinear 2-D spatial subfilter and a 1-D temporal filter. In order to achieve the required computational speed and increase the flexibility of the filter, all of the linear shift-variant filter modules are of the IIR type.

Bauer, P. H.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Parallel processing techniques for finite element analysis of nonlinear large truss structures

Methods were developed for parallel processing of finite element solutions of large truss structures. The parallel processing techniques were implemented in two stages, i.e., the repeated forming of the nonlinear global stiffness matrix and the solving of the global system of equations. The Sequent Balance 21000 parallel computer was employed to demonstrate the procedures and the speed-up.

Chien, L. S.↗
NASA NTRS1996

Nonlinear Excitation of Inviscid Stationary Vortex in a Boundary-Layer Flow

We examine the excitation of inviscid stationary crossflow instabilities near an isolated surface hump (or indentation) underneath a three-dimensional boundary layer. As the hump height (or indentation depth) is increased from zero, the receptivity process becomes nonlinear even before the stability characteristics of the boundary layer are modified to a significant extent. This behavior contrasts sharply with earlier findings on the excitation of the lower branch Tollmien-Schlichting modes and is attributed to the inviscid nature of the crossflow modes, which leads to a decoupling between the regions of receptivity and stability. As a result of this decoupling, similarity transformations exist that allow the nonlinear receptivity of a general three-dimensional boundary layer to be studied with a set of canonical solutions to the viscous sublayer equations. The parametric study suggests that the receptivity is likely to become nonlinear even before the hump height becomes large enough for flow reversal to occur in the canonical solution. We also find that the receptivity to surface humps increases more rapidly as the hump height increases than is predicted by linear theory. On the other hand, receptivity near surface indentations is generally smaller in comparison with the linear approximation. Extension of the work to crossflow receptivity in compressible boundary layers and to Gortler vortex excitation is also discussed.

Choudhari, Meelan↗
NASA NTRS1991

Growth of thin films of organic nonlinear optical materials by vapor growth processes - An overview and examination of shortfalls

Research on the growth of second- and third-order nonlinear optical (NLO) organic thin film by vapor deposition is reviewed. Particular attention is given to the experimental methods for growing thin films of p-chlorophenylurea, diacetylenes, and phthalocyanines; characteristics of the resulting films; and approaches for advancing thin film technology. It is concluded that the growth of NLO thin films by vapor processes is a promising method for the fabrication of planar waveguides for nonlinear optical devices. Two innovative approaches are proposed including a method of controlling the input beam frequency to maximize nonlinear effects in thin films and single crystals, and the alternate approach to the molecular design of organic NLO materials by increasing the transition dipole moment between ground and excited states of the molecule.

Frazier, D. O.↗
NASA NTRS1973

Resistive diffusion of force-free magnetic fields in a passive medium.

We consider the resistive diffusion of a force-free magnetic field in a tenuous compressible medium, which is free to move to accommodate the changing magnetic-field configuration. This process is nonlinear, contrary to the usual magnetic field diffusion in a fixed medium. We show that the force-free magnetic field may evolve slowly for an extended period of time, whereupon it abruptly develops steep gradients and passes into an explosive phase. We suggest that it is this process that sets the stage for the onset of solar flares.

Low, B. C.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Excitation of nearly steady finite-amplitude barotropic waves

An exact nonlinear stationary solution is obtained for barotropic waves in a beta-plane channel and it is shown that it can be excited under a range of initial conditions. Results show that a finite-amplitude wave in a constant shear flow, given an initial phase tilt against the shear and a sufficient initial amplitude, interacts with the mean flow to produce a nearly steady state close to the exact stationary solution. This equilibration process involves nonlinear transients; in particular, as the flow equilibrates, the emergence of critical levels is accompanied by the neutralization of local mean vorticity gradients at these levels, thus allowing the solution to attain a nonsingular modal structure.

Hou, A. Y.↗
NASA NTRS1999

Experimental Study of Nonane and Nonane/Hexanol Fuel Droplet Combustion in Microgravity

In this presentation we review experiments carried out on nonane droplets, and a nonane/hexanol droplet, burning in microgravity to promote spherical symmetry. The nonane/hexanol combination was selected for the following reasons: 1) the spherically symmetric burning history of nonane and nonane/hexanol mixtures has not been previously studied; 2) measurements of the burning history of pure nonane droplets in air extend the existing data base of spherical droplet flames of soot-producing fuels which are useful for testing detailed chemical kinetic models of the spherically symmetric droplet burning process; 3) nonane and hexanol have almost identical boiling points so heterogeneous nucleation on a support fiber is unlikely; 4) hexanol does not have a strong propensity for water vapor absorption; 5) hexanol produces less soot than nonane so that mixtures of nonane and hexanol should show an effect of composition on soot formation. The far-field gas was atmospheric pressure air at room temperature. The evolution of droplet diameter was measured using high speed cine photography of spark-ignited droplets within a confined volume in a drop tower. The importance of soot formation during droplet combustion is derived from the fact that soot is the basic component of the particulate emission process that occurs in spray combustion. The complexity of soot formation motivates a one-dimensional transport condition which is advantageous for modeling. Recent numerical studies of droplet combustion have assumed spherical symmetry when incorporating such aspects as detailed chemistry and radiation, though soot formation itself has not yet been included in any droplet combustion modeling effort. If radiation is not important as would be the case for'small' droplets (i.e., droplets with initial diameters less than about ]mm), soot formation can lead to a nonlinear burning process and a time-varying burning rate, (non-linear burning of a non-sooting fuel like methanol is due to water vapor absorption on the droplet. The classical quasi-steady droplet burning theory predicts a linear evolution of droplet diameter in scaled coordinates for any fuel type.

Avedisian, C. T.↗
NASA NTRS2007

Calligraphic Poling for WGM Resonators

By engineering the geometry of a nonlinear optical crystal, the effective efficiency of all nonlinear optical oscillations can be increased dramatically. Specifically, sphere and disk shaped crystal resonators have been used to demonstrate nonlinear optical oscillations at sub-milliwatt input power when cs light propagates in a Whispering Gallery Mode (WGM) of such a resonant cavity. in terms of both device production and experimentation in quantum optics, some nonlinear optical effects with naturally high efficiency can occult the desired nonlinear scattering process. the structure to the crystal resonator. In this paper, I will discuss a new method for generating poling structures in ferroelectric crystal resonators called calligraphic poling. The details of the poling apparatus, experimental results and speculation on future applications will be discussed.

microsphere↗
NASA NTRS1999

Piezoelectric Field Enhanced Second-Order Nonlinear Optical Susceptibilities in Wurtzite GaN/AlGaN Quantum Wells

Second-order nonlinear optical processes including second-harmonic generation, optical rectification, and difference-frequency generation associated with intersubband transitions in wurtzite GaN/AlGaN quantum well (QW) are investigated theoretically. Taking into account the strain-induced piezoelectric (PZ) effects, we solve the electronic structure of the QW from coupled effective-mass Schrodinger equation and Poisson equation including the exchange-correlation effect under the local-density approximation. We show that the large PZ field in the QW breaks the symmetry of the confinement potential profile and leads to large second-order susceptibilities. We also show that the interband optical pump-induced electron-hole plasma results in an enhancement in the maximum value of the nonlinear coefficients and a redshift of the peak position in the nonlinear optical spectrum. By use of the difference-frequency generation, THz radiation can be generated from a GaN/Al(0.75)Ga(0.25)N with a pump laser of 1.55 micron.

Liu, Ansheng↗
NASA NTRS2019

Electron Scattering by Low-frequency Whistler Waves at Earth’s Bow Shock

Electrons are accelerated to nonthermal energies at shocks in space and astrophysical environments. While shock drift acceleration (SDA) has been considered a key process of electron acceleration at Earth’s bow shock, it has also been recognized that SDA needs to be combined with an additional stochastic process to explain the observed power-law energy spectra. Here, we show mildly energetic (∼0.5 keV) electrons are locally scattered (and accelerated while being confined) by magnetosonic-whistler waves within the shock transition layer, especially when the shock angle is large (θ(sub Bn) approximately equal or greater than 70°). When measured by the Magnetospheric Multiscale mission at a high cadence, ∼0.5 keV electron flux increased exponentially in the shock transition layer. However, the flux profile was not entirely smooth and the fluctuation showed temporal/spectral association with large-amplitude (δB/B ~ 0.3), low-frequency (approximately equal or less than 0.1 Ω(sub ce) where Ω(sub ce) is the cyclotron frequency), obliquely propagating (θ(sub kB) ~ 30°–60°, where θ(sub kB) is the angle between the wave vector and background magnetic field) whistler waves, indicating that the particles were interacting with the waves. Particle simulations demonstrate that, although linear cyclotron resonances with ∼0.5 keV electrons are unlikely due to the obliquity and low frequencies of the waves, the electrons are still scattered beyond 90° pitch angle by (1) resonant mirroring (transit-time damping), (2) non-resonant mirroring, and (3) subharmonic cyclotron resonances. Such coupled nonlinear scattering processes are likely to provide the stochasticity needed to explain the power-law formation.

Oka, M.↗
NASA NTRS1972

Apollo 9 multiband photography experiment S065

Fourier analysis was applied to microdensitometer scans of a selected region of one SO65 frame in each of the three black-and-white bands. The approach was unique because a somewhat arbitrary section of the image was used and not limited to available targets as in edge analysis. Comparison of duplicates and calculation of absolute SO65 MTF were done by applying linear systems theory to the spatial spectra of the image scans. It was found that the duplication process was nonlinear and resulted in general amplification of spatial frequency modulation. However, the increase in modulation was offset by a corresponding increase in the granularity of the copies. The amount of increase seemed to be related to the initial granularity, but a direct relationship was not verified. Band-to-band comparison of image quality was achieved in the form of signal-to-noise ratio curves as a function of spatial frequency for each band. From this standpoint the DD band was an order of magnitude better than the other two. These were several factors that restricted the analysis of the Apollo 9 imagery. Among these were the lack of precise sensitometric and optical system data on the high altitude photography. In addition it was determined that there was only one simultaneous pair of high altitude and SO65 frames. Finally, the original SO65 photography was not available for scanning (for obvious reasons), thus eliminating a reference base for granularity and SO65 MTF determination.

Schowengerdt, R. A.↗
NASA NTRS1971

Heterodyne method for high specificity gas detection.

This paper describes a new technique for measuring trace quantities of gases. The technique involves the use of a reference cell (containing a known amount of the gas being sought) and a sample cell (containing an unknown amount of the same gas) wherein the gas densities are modulated. Light passing through the two cells in sequence is modulated in intensity at the vibrational-rotational lines characteristic of the absorption spectrum for the gas of interest. Since the absorption process is nonlinear, modulating the two absorption cells at two different frequencies gives rise to a heterodyning effect, which in turn introduces sum and difference frequencies in the detected signal. Measuring the ratio of the difference frequency signal for example, to the signal introduced by the reference cell provides a normalized measure of the amount of the gas in the sample cell. The readings produced are thereby independent of source intensity, window transparency, and detector sensitivity. Experimental evaluation of the technique suggests that it should be applicable to a wide range of gases, that it should be able to reject spurious signals due to unwanted gases, and that it should be sensitive to concentrations of the order of 10 to the minus 8th power when used with a sample cell of only 20 cm length.

Dimeff, J.↗
NASA NTRS1974

U.S. National Congress of Applied Mechanics, 7th, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colo., June 3-7, 1974, Proceedings

A series of experimental, theoretical, and review papers dealing with various aspects of applied mechanics, including structural analysis, mathematical methods, and fluid dynamics. Some of the topics covered are: the direct formulation of two-dimensional mechanics problems, the mechanical aspects of athletics, Laplace's tidal equations, cochlear mechanics, dynamic constitutive equations, optical techniques for the determination of displacement and strain fields, chemical and biochemical problems involving nonlinear diffusion processes, thermal stresses, the rotating rod viscometer, finite-element methods in plasticity, ships of minimum resistance, and wide-band random vibration of structures. Individual items are announced in this issue.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1976

Digital signal processing and control and estimation theory -- Points of tangency, area of intersection, and parallel directions

A number of current research directions in the fields of digital signal processing and modern control and estimation theory were studied. Topics such as stability theory, linear prediction and parameter identification, system analysis and implementation, two-dimensional filtering, decentralized control and estimation, image processing, and nonlinear system theory were examined in order to uncover some of the basic similarities and differences in the goals, techniques, and philosophy of the two disciplines. An extensive bibliography is included.

Willsky, A. S.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Laser amplification of incoherent radiation

The amplification of noise in a laser amplifier is treated theoretically. The model for the active medium and its description using density-matrix techniques, are taken from the theory of laser operation. The spectral behavior of the radiation in the nonlinear regime is studied and the formalism is written from the onset in the frequency domain. The statistics of the light are gradually modified by the nonlinear amplification process, and expressions are derived for the rate of change of fluctuations in intensity as a measure of statistical changes. In addition, the range of validity of Litvak's Gaussian-statistics approximation is discussed. In the homogeneous-broadening case, the evolution of initially broadband Gaussian radiation toward quasimonochromatic oscillations with laserlike statistics is explored in several numerical examples. The connections of this study with the time-domain work on self-pulsing in a ring-laser configuration, are established. Finally, spectral-narrowing and -rebroadening effects in Doppler-broadened media are discussed both analytically and with numerical examples. These examples show the distinct contribution of pulsations in the population ('Raman-type terms'), and saturation phenomena.

Menegozzi, L. N.↗