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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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At least 163 records · Page 9
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2000

Recent Developments and Applications of Quantum Well Infrared Photodetector Focal Plane Arrays

There are many applications that require long wavelength, large, uniform, reproducible, low cost, stable, and radiation-hard infrared (IR) focal plane arrays (FPAs). For example, the absorption lines of many gas molecules, such as ozone, water, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and nitrous oxide occur in the wavelength region from 3 to 18 micron. Thus, IR imaging systems that operate in the long wavelength IR (LWIR) region (6 - 18 micron) are required in many space borne applications such as monitoring the global atmospheric temperature profiles, relative humidity profiles, cloud characteristics, and the distribution of minor constituents in the atmosphere which are being planned for future NASA Earth and planetary remote sensing systems. Due to higher radiation hardness, lower 1/f noise, and larger array size the GaAs based Quantum Well Infrared Photodetector (QWIP) FPAs are very attractive for such space borne applications compared to intrinsic narrow band gap detector arrays. In this presentation we will discuss the optimization of the detector design, material growth and processing that has culminated in realization of large format long-wavelength QWIP FPAs, portable and miniature LWIR cameras, holding forth great promise for myriad applications in 6-18 micron wavelength range in science, medicine, defense and industry. In addition, we will present some system demonstrations using broadband, two-color, and high quantum efficiency long-wavelength QWIP FPAs.

Gunapala, S. D.↗
NASA NTRS1999

Corrugated Quantum Well Infrared Photodetectors and Arrays

Quantum well infrared photodetectors (QWIPs) have many advantages in infrared detection, mainly due to the mature Ill-V material technology. The employment of the corrugation structure further advances the technology by providing a simple, yet efficient light-coupling scheme. A C-QWIP enjoys the same flexibility as a detector with intrinsic normal incident absorption. In this paper, we will discuss the utilities of C-QWIPs in different applications, including two-color detection and polarization-sensitive detection. Besides practical applications, C-QWIPs are also useful in detector characterization. They can be used for measuring the absorption coefficient of light propagating parallel to the layers under bias and providing information on the energy resolved photoconductive gain. These two quantities have never been measured before. Based on the corrugation design, we have made several modifications that further improve the detector sensitivity without increasing its complexity. Other than the C-QWIP structure, we also continue searching for other sensitive detector architectures. In a quantum grid infrared photodetector, 3-dimensional electron confinement can be achieved, with which the detector is able to absorb light in all directions. At the same time, the photoconductive gain can also be improved. We further improve the design using a blazed structure. All the experimental results are supported by a rigorous electromagnetic modal transmission-line theory developed especially for these types of structures. Preliminary thermal imaging using C-QWIP FPAs validates the advantages of the present approach.

Choi, K. K.↗
NASA NTRS2001

Review of Concepts and Applications for Multispectral/Hyperspectral Focal Plane Array (FPA) Technology

Multispectral, and ultimately hyperspectral, focal plane arrays (FPAs) represent the logical extension of two-color FPA technology, which has already shown its utility in military applications. Incorporating the spectral discrimination function directly in the FPA would offer the potential for orders-of-magnitude increase in remote sensor system performance. It would allow reduction or even elimination of optical components currently required to provide spectral discrimination in atmospheric remote sensors. The result would be smaller, simpler instruments with higher performance than exist today.

McAdoo, James A.↗
NASA NTRS2002

Transients in Pacific/North American Plate Boundary Deformation: Synthesis and Modeling of GPS and Borehole Strain Observations

This is the Final Technical Report on research conducted between 1 June 1997 and 14 September 2001 entitled "Transients in Pacific/North American plate boundary deformation: Synthesis and modeling of GPS and borehole strain observations." As the project title implies, our effort involved a geodetic study of strain transients, i.e., temporal variations in deformation rates, that occur within plate boundary zones and their relationship to earthquakes and plate motions. Important transients occur during and following large earthquakes, and there are also strain transients not apparently associated with earthquakes. A particularly intriguing class of transients, for which there is a modest but growing list of examples, are preseismic anomalies. Such earthquake precursors, if further documented and understood, would have obvious importance for earthquake hazard mitigation. Because the timescales for these diverse transients range over at least 6 orders of magnitude (minutes to years), no single geodetic technique is optimum. We therefore undertook a systematic synthesis of Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) and borehole strainmeter data in three areas in California where there are adequate numbers of both types of instruments (or their equivalent): the San Francisco Bay region (within the Bay Area Regional Deformation network), southern California (within the Southern California Integrated GPS Network), and Parkfield (where a two-color laser system provides a proxy for continuous GPS measurements). An integral component of our study was the elucidation of the physical mechanisms by which such transients occur and propagate. We therefore initiated the development of multiple forward models, using two independent approaches. In the first, we explored the response to specified earthquake slip in viscoelastic models that incorporated failure criteria and the geometry of major faults in California. In the second approach, we examined the dynamical response of a complex rheological medium to the application of a far-field stress imposed by plate motions. The forward models were used both to gain insight into the range of strain transients to be expected under different assumed mechanical conditions and to develop representations for strain fields that allow GPS, borehole, and other strain data to be combined in a self-consistent, yet well-determined, manner. The models also provided a basis for hypothesis testing, by which data from a strain transient well characterized by GPS and borehole observations were utilized to distinguish among competing candidates for the causative physical mechanism and the governing physical characteristics. During the three years of this project, continued to a fourth year through a no-cost extension of the grant, we published 14 papers and presented or co-authored 37 papers at national scientific meetings.

Solomon, Sean C.↗
NASA NTRS2002

Bystander effects in radiation-induced genomic instability

Exposure of GM10115 hamster-human hybrid cells to X-rays can result in the induction of chromosomal instability in the progeny of surviving cells. This instability manifests as the dynamic production of novel sub-populations of cells with unique cytogenetic rearrangements involving the "marker" human chromosome. We have used the comet assay to investigate whether there was an elevated level of endogenous DNA breaks in chromosomally unstable clones that could provide a source for the chromosomal rearrangements and thus account for the persistent instability observed. Our results indicate no significant difference in comet tail measurement between non-irradiated and radiation-induced chromosomally unstable clones. Using two-color fluorescence in situ hybridization we also investigated whether recombinational events involving the interstitial telomere repeat-like sequences in GM10115 cells were involved at frequencies higher than random processes would otherwise predict. Nine of 11 clones demonstrated a significantly higher than expected involvement of these interstitial telomere repeat-like sequences at the recombination junction between the human and hamster chromosomes. Since elevated levels of endogenous breaks were not detected in unstable clones we propose that epigenetic or bystander effects (BSEs) lead to the activation of recombinational pathways that perpetuate the unstable phenotype. Specifically, we expand upon the hypothesis that radiation induces conditions and/or factors that stimulate the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). These reactive intermediates then contribute to a chronic pro-oxidant environment that cycles over multiple generations, promoting chromosomal recombination and other phenotypes associated with genomic instability.

NASA Discipline Radiation Health↗
NASA NTRS2006

Pressure Gradient Effects on Hypersonic Cavity Flow Heating

The effect of a pressure gradient on the local heating disturbance of rectangular cavities tested at hypersonic freestream conditions has been globally assessed using the two-color phosphor thermography method. These experiments were conducted in the Langley 31-Inch Mach 10 Tunnel and were initiated in support of the Space Shuttle Return-To-Flight Program. Two blunted-nose test surface geometries were developed, including an expansion plate test surface with nearly constant negative pressure gradient and a flat plate surface with nearly zero pressure gradient. The test surface designs and flow characterizations were performed using two-dimensional laminar computational methods, while the experimental boundary layer state conditions were inferred using the measured heating distributions. Three-dimensional computational predictions of the entire model geometry were used as a check on the design process. Both open-flow and closed-flow cavities were tested on each test surface. The cavity design parameters and the test condition matrix were established using the computational predictions. Preliminary conclusions based on an analysis of only the cavity centerline data indicate that the presence of the pressure gradient did not alter the open cavity heating for laminar-entry/laminar-exit flows, but did raise the average floor heating for closed cavities. The results of these risk-reduction studies will be used to formulate a heating assessment of potential damage scenarios occurring during future Space Shuttle flights.

Everhart, Joel L.↗
NASA NTRS2006

Rapid Fabrication of Flat Plate Cavity Phosphor Thermography Test Models for Shuttle Return-to-Flight Aero-Heating

Methods, materials and equipment are documented for fabricating flat plate test models at NASA Langley Research Center for Shuttle return-to-flight aeroheating experiments simulating open and closed cavity interactions in Langley s hypersonic 20-Inch Mach 6 air wind tunnel. Approximately 96 silica ceramic flat plate cavity phosphor thermography test models have been fabricated using these methods. On one model, an additional slot is machined through the back of the plate and into the cavity and vented into an evacuated plenum chamber to simulate a further opening in the cavity. After sintering ceramic to 2150 F, and mounting support hardware, a ceramic-based two-color thermographic phosphor coating is applied for global temperature and heat transfer measurements, with fiducial markings for image registration.

Buck, Gregory M.↗
NASA NTRS1989

High resolution color band pyrometer ratioing

The sensing head of a two-color band ratioing pyrometer of a known type using a fiber optic cable to couple radiation to dual detector photodiodes is improved to have high spatial resolution by focusing the radiation received through an objective lens (i.e., by focusing the image of a target area) onto an opaque sheet spaced in front of the input end of the fiber optic cable. A two-mil hole in that sheet then passes radiation to the input end of the cable. The detector has two channels, one for each color band, with an electronic-chopper stabilized current amplifier as the input stage followed by an electronic-chopper stabilized voltage amplifier.

Bickler, Donald B.↗
NASA NTRS2007

Pressure Gradient Effects on Hypersonic Cavity Flow Heating

The effect of a pressure gradient on the local heating disturbance of rectangular cavities tested at hypersonic freestream conditions has been globally assessed using the two-color phosphor thermography method. These experiments were conducted in the Langley 31-Inch Mach 10 Tunnel and were initiated in support of the Space Shuttle Return-To-Flight Program. Two blunted-nose test surface geometries were developed, including an expansion plate test surface with nearly constant negative pressure gradient and a flat plate surface with nearly zero pressure gradient. The test surface designs and flow characterizations were performed using two-dimensional laminar computational methods, while the experimental boundary layer state conditions were inferred using the measured heating distributions. Three-dimensional computational predictions of the entire model geometry were used as a check on the design process. Both open-flow and closed-flow cavities were tested on each test surface. The cavity design parameters and the test condition matrix were established using the computational predictions. Preliminary conclusions based on an analysis of only the cavity centerline data indicate that the presence of the pressure gradient did not alter the open cavity heating for laminar-entry/laminar-exit flows, but did raise the average floor heating for closed cavities. The results of these risk-reduction studies will be used to formulate a heating assessment of potential damage scenarios occurring during future Space Shuttle flights.

Everhart, Joel L.↗
NASA NTRS2007

NASA Tech Briefs, December 2007

Topics include: Ka-Band TWT High-Efficiency Power Combiner for High-Rate Data Transmission; Reusable, Extensible High-Level Data-Distribution Concept; Processing Satellite Imagery To Detect Waste Tire Piles; Monitoring by Use of Clusters of Sensor-Data Vectors; Circuit and Method for Communication Over DC Power Line; Switched Band-Pass Filters for Adaptive Transceivers; Noncoherent DTTLs for Symbol Synchronization; High-Voltage Power Supply With Fast Rise and Fall Times; Waveguide Calibrator for Multi-Element Probe Calibration; Four-Way Ka-Band Power Combiner; Loss-of-Control-Inhibitor Systems for Aircraft; Improved Underwater Excitation-Emission Matrix Fluorometer; Metrology Camera System Using Two-Color Interferometry; Design and Fabrication of High-Efficiency CMOS/CCD Imagers; Foam Core Shielding for Spacecraft CHEM-Based Self-Deploying Planetary Storage Tanks Sequestration of Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes in a Polymer PPC750 Performance Monitor Application-Program-Installer Builder Using Visual Odometry to Estimate Position and Attitude Design and Data Management System Simple, Script-Based Science Processing Archive Automated Rocket Propulsion Test Management Online Remote Sensing Interface Fusing Image Data for Calculating Position of an Object Implementation of a Point Algorithm for Real-Time Convex Optimization Handling Input and Output for COAMPS Modeling and Grid Generation of Iced Airfoils Automated Identification of Nucleotide Sequences Balloon Design Software Rocket Science 101 Interactive Educational Program Creep Forming of Carbon-Reinforced Ceramic-Matrix Composites Dog-Bone Horns for Piezoelectric Ultrasonic/Sonic Actuators Benchtop Detection of Proteins Recombinant Collagenlike Proteins Remote Sensing of Parasitic Nematodes in Plants Direct Coupling From WGM Resonator Disks to Photodetectors Using Digital Radiography To Image Liquid Nitrogen in Voids Multiple-Parameter, Low-False-Alarm Fire-Detection Systems Mosaic-Detector-Based Fluorescence Spectral Imager Plasmoid Thruster for High Specific-Impulse Propulsion Analysis Method for Quantifying Vehicle Design Goals Improved Tracking of Targets by Cameras on a Mars Rover Sample Caching Subsystem Multistage Passive Cooler for Spaceborne Instruments GVIPS Models and Software Stowable Energy-Absorbing Rocker-Bogie Suspensions

Source record↗
NASA NTRS2010

Aero-Heating of Shallow Cavities in Hypersonic Freestream Flow

The purpose of these experiments and analysis was to augment the heating database and tools used for assessment of impact-induced shallow-cavity damage to the thermal protection system of the Space Shuttle Orbiter. The effect of length and depth on the local heating disturbance of rectangular cavities tested at hypersonic freestream conditions has been globally assessed using the two-color phosphor thermography method. These rapid-response experiments were conducted in the Langley 31-Inch Mach 10 Tunnel and were initiated immediately prior to the launch of STS-114, the initial flight in the Space Shuttle Return-To-Flight Program, and continued during the first week of the mission. Previously-designed and numerically-characterized blunted-nose baseline flat plates were used as the test surfaces. Three-dimensional computational predictions of the entire model geometry were used as a check on the design process and the two-dimensional flow assumptions used for the data analysis. The experimental boundary layer state conditions were inferred using the measured heating distributions on a no-cavity test article. Two test plates were developed, each containing 4 equally-spaced spanwise-distributed cavities. The first test plate contained cavities with a constant length-to-depth ratio of 8 with design point depth-to-boundary-layer-thickness ratios of 0.1, 0.2, 0.35, and 0.5. The second test plate contained cavities with a constant design point depth-to-boundary-layer-thickness ratio of 0.35 with length-to-depth ratios of 8, 12, 16, and 20. Cavity design parameters and the test condition matrix were established using the computational predictions. Preliminary results indicate that the floor-averaged Bump Factor (local heating rate nondimensionalized by upstream reference) at the tested conditions is approximately 0.3 with a standard deviation of 0.04 for laminar-in/laminar-out conditions when the cavity length-to-boundary-layer thickness is between 2.5 and 10 and for cavities in the depth-to-boundary-layer-thickness range of 0.3 to 0.8. Over this same range of conditions and parameters, preliminary results also indicate that the maximum Bump Factor on the cavity centerline falls between 2.0 and 2.75, as long as the cavity-exit conditions remain laminar. Cavities with length-to-boundary-layer-thickness ratio less than 2.5 can not be easily classified with this approach and require further analysis.

Everhart, Joel L.↗
NASA NTRS2011

Cavity Heating Experiments Supporting Shuttle Columbia Accident Investigation

The two-color thermographic phosphor method has been used to map the local heating augmentation of scaled idealized cavities at conditions simulating the windward surface of the Shuttle Orbiter Columbia during flight STS-107. Two experiments initiated in support of the Columbia Accident Investigation were conducted in the Langley 20-Inch Mach 6 Tunnel. Generally, the first test series evaluated open (length-to-depth less than 10) rectangular cavity geometries proposed as possible damage scenarios resulting from foam and ice impact during launch at several discrete locations on the vehicle windward surface, though some closed (length-to-depth greater than 13) geometries were briefly examined. The second test series was designed to parametrically evaluate heating augmentation in closed rectangular cavities. The tests were conducted under laminar cavity entry conditions over a range of local boundary layer edge-flow parameters typical of re-entry. Cavity design parameters were developed using laminar computational predictions, while the experimental boundary layer state conditions were inferred from the heating measurements. An analysis of the aeroheating caused by cavities allowed exclusion of non-breeching damage from the possible loss scenarios being considered during the investigation.

Everhart, Joel L.↗
NASA NTRS2005

Laser System for Precise, Unambiguous Range Measurements

The Modulation Sideband Technology for Absolute Range (MSTAR) architecture is the basis of design of a proposed laser-based heterodyne interferometer that could measure a range (distance) as great as 100 km with a precision and resolution of the order of 1 nm. Simple optical interferometers can measure changes in range with nanometer resolution, but cannot measure range itself because interference is subject to the well-known integer-multiple-of-2 -radians phase ambiguity, which amounts to a range ambiguity of the order of 1 m at typical laser wavelengths. Existing rangefinders have a resolution of the order of 10 m and are therefore unable to resolve the ambiguity. The proposed MSTAR architecture bridges the gap, enabling nanometer resolution with an ambiguity range that can be extended to arbitrarily large distances. The MSTAR architecture combines the principle of the heterodyne interferometer with the principle of extending the ambiguity range of an interferometer by using light of two wavelengths. The use of two wavelengths for this purpose is well established in optical metrology, radar, and sonar. However, unlike in traditional two-color laser interferometry, light of two wavelengths would not be generated by two lasers. Instead, multiple wavelengths would be generated as sidebands of phase modulation of the light from a single frequency- stabilized laser. The phase modulation would be effected by applying sinusoidal signals of suitable frequencies (typically tens of gigahertz) to high-speed electro-optical phase modulators. Intensity modulation can also be used

Dubovitsky, Serge↗
NASA NTRS1973

Simultaneous Red - Blue Lidar and Airborne Impactor Measurements

Simultaneous two-color (0.6943 micrometers and 0.3472 micrometers) LIDAR measurements were made in the troposphere and lower stratosphere over Boulder, Colorado during March 1973. In addition, on the evening of March 26, airborne single-stage impactor measurements were made at four altitudes-- 10,500, 25,000, 33,000 and 43,000 feet MSL. These data were integrated at constant altitude for 15,45, 45, and 60 minutes respectively. The LIDAR data were taken with Langley's 48" LIDAR using a dichroic beamsplitter to separate the return at 0.6943 micrometers and 0.3472 micrometers. The analog waveforms for both colors were digitized simultaneously; one on an NCAR data acquisition system and the other on the 48" Langley data acquisition system. A discussion of the preliminary results from these measurements will be presented.

McCormick, M. P.↗
NASA NTRS2004

Design considerations and validation of the MSTAR absolute metrology system

Absolute metrology measures the actual distance between two optical fiducials. A number of methods have been employed, including pulsed time-of-flight, intensity-modulated optical beam, and two-color interferometry. The rms accuracy is currently limited to -5 microns. Resolving the integer number of wavelengths requires a 1-sigma range accuracy of -0.1 microns. Closing this gap has a large pay-off the range (length measurement) accuracy can be increased substantially using the unambiguous optical phase. The MSTAR sensor (Modulation Sideband Technology for Absolute Ranging) is a new system for measuring absolute distance, capable of resolving the integer cycle ambiguity of standard interferometers, and making it possible to measure distance with sub-nanometer accuracy. In this paper, we present recent experiments that use dispersed white light interferometry to independently validate the zero-point of the system. We also describe progress towards reducing the size of optics, and stabilizing the laser wavelength for operation over larger target ranges. MSTAR is a general-purpose tool for conveniently measuring length with much greater accuracy than was previously possible, and has a wide range of possible applications.

Jeganathan, Muthu↗
NASA NTRS1997

The Nature of the Optical Jets in the Spiral Galaxy NGC 1097

We present new observations of the jet features in the barred spiral galaxy NGC 1097, including optical spectroscopy of the brightest jet features, two-color optical imagery, new VLA mapping at 327 MHz, and archival 1.4 GHz VLA data reprocessed for improved sensitivity.

spiral↗
DOE OSTI2026

Collider-quality electron bunches from an all-optical plasma photoinjector

We present an approach for generating collider-quality electron bunches using a plasma photoinjector. The approach leverages recently developed techniques for the spatiotemporal control of laser pulses to produce a moving ionization front in a nonlinear plasma wave. The moving ionization front generates an electron bunch with a current profile that balances the longitudinal electric field of an electron beam-driven plasma wave, creating a uniform accelerating field across the bunch. Particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations of the ionization stage show the formation of an electron bunch with 220 pC charge and low emittance (ɛ 𝑥 = 171 nm rad, ɛ 𝑦 = 76 nm rad). Quasistatic PIC simulations of the acceleration stage show that the bunch is efficiently accelerated to 24 GeV over 2 m with a final energy spread of less than 1% and emittances of ɛ 𝑥 = 189 nm rad and ɛ 𝑦 = 80 nm rad. This high-quality electron bunch meets the requirements outlined by the Snowmass process for intermediate-energy colliders and compares favorably to the beam quality of proposed and existing accelerator facilities. The results establish the feasibility of plasma photoinjectors for future collider applications making a significant step toward the realization of high-luminosity, compact accelerators for particle physics research.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
NASA NTRS2005

1024x1024 Pixel MWIR and LWIR QWIP Focal Plane Arrays and 320x256 MWIR:LWIR Pixel Colocated Simultaneous Dualband QWIP Focal Plane Arrays

Mid-wavelength infrared (MWIR) and long-wavelength infrared (LWIR) 1024x1024 pixel quantum well infrared photodetector (QWIP) focal planes have been demonstrated with excellent imaging performance. The MWIR QWIP detector array has demonstrated a noise equivalent differential temperature (NE(Delta)T) of 17 mK at a 95K operating temperature with f/2.5 optics at 300K background and the LWIR detector array has demonstrated a NE(Delta)T of 13 mK at a 70K operating temperature with the same optical and background conditions as the MWIR detector array after the subtraction of system noise. Both MWIR and LWIR focal planes have shown background limited performance (BLIP) at 90K and 70K operating-temperatures respectively, with similar optical and background conditions. In addition, we are in the process of developing MWIR and LWIR pixel collocated simultaneously readable dualband QWIP focal plane arrays.

quantum wells↗