November 2008

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Briefs: Electronics & Computers

The figure depicts two digital waveforms and a block diagram of a digital phase meter for measuring the difference between their phases. This digital phase meter is being developed...

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Briefs: Electronics & Computers

To support NASA's planned 20-year mission to provide sustained global precipitation measurement (EOS-9 Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM)), a deployable antenna has been...

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Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Vision System Measures Motions of Robot and External Objects

A prototype of an advanced robotic vision system both (1) measures its own motion with respect to a stationary background and (2) detects other moving objects and estimates their motions, all by use of visual cues. Like some prior robotic and other optoelectronic vision systems, this...

Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Wide-Band Radar for Measuring Thickness of Sea Ice

A wide-band penetrating radar system for measuring the thickness of sea ice is under development. The need for this or a similar system arises as follows: Spatial and temporal variations in the thickness of sea ice are important indicators of heat fluxes between the ocean and atmosphere and,...

Briefs: Electronics & Computers

Interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) has been shown to provide very sensitive measurements of surface deformation and displacement on the order of 1 cm. Future...

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Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Microwave Power Combiner/Switch Utilizing a Faraday Rotator

A proposed device for combining or switching electromagnetic beams would have three ports, would not contain any moving parts, and would be switchable among three operating states:

Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Compact Low-Loss Planar Magic-T

This design allows broadband power combining with high isolation between the H port and E port, and achieves a lower insertion loss than any other broadband planar magic-T. Passive micro wave/millimeter-wave signal power is combined both in-phase and out-of-phase at the ports, with the phase error being less than...

Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Next Generation Flight Controller Trainer System

The Next Generation Flight Controller Trainer (NGFCT) is a relatively inexpensive system of hardware and software that provides high- fidelity training for space-shuttle flight controllers. NGFCT provides simulations into which are integrated the behaviors of emulated space-shuttle vehicle onboard...

Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Quasi-Optical Transmission Line for 94-GHz Radar

A quasi-optical transmission line (QOTL) has been developed as a low-loss transmission line for a spaceborne cloud-observing radar instrument that operates at a nominal frequency of 94 GHz. This QOTL could also readily be redesigned for use in terrestrial millimeter- wave radar systems and...

Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Using Pipelined XNOR Logic to Reduce SEU Risks in State Machines

Single-event upsets (SEUs) pose great threats to avionic systems' state machine control logic, which are frequently used to control sequence of events and to qualify protocols. The risks of SEUs manifest in two ways: (a) the state machine's state information is changed, causing the...

Briefs: Semiconductors & ICs

In a proposed improvement in complementary metal oxide/semi con ductor (CMOS) image detectors, two additional implants in each pixel would effect vertical isolation between the metal oxide/...

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Briefs: Information Technology
Converting From DDOR SASF to APF

A computer program called “ddor_sasf2apf” converts delta-door (delta differential one-way range) request from an SASF (spacecraft activity sequence file) format to an APF (apgen plan file) format for use in the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) mission-planning-and- sequencing process. The APF is used as an...

Briefs: Information Technology
Converting From CVF to AAF

A computer program called “dsn config converter” automates what had been a manual process for updating the multi-mission adaptation file (multi.aaf) used by a multiple- mission- command- sequence- generating process comprised of a combination of the AUTOGEN and APGEN programs mentioned in the immediately preceding...

Briefs: Information Technology
Documenting AUTOGEN and APGEN Model Files

A computer program called “autogen hypertext map generator” satisfies a need for documenting and assisting in visualization of, and navigation through, model files used in the AUTOGEN and APGEN software mentioned in the two immediately preceding articles. This program parses autogen script files,...

Briefs: Information Technology
Sequence History Update Tool

The Sequence History Update Tool performs Web-based sequence statistics archiving for Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO). Using a single UNIX command, the software takes advantage of sequencing conventions to automatically extract the needed statistics from multiple files. This information is then used to populate a...

Briefs: Software
Extraction and Analysis of Display Data

The Display Audit Suite is an integrated package of software tools that partly automates the detection of Portable Computer System (PCS) Display errors. [PCS is a laptop computer used onboard the International Space Station (ISS).] The need for automation stems from the large quantity of PCS displays...

Briefs: Information Technology
MRO DKF Post-Processing Tool

This software tool saves time and reduces risk by automating two labor-intensive and error- prone post-processing steps required for every DKF [DSN (Deep Space Network) Keyword File] that MRO (Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter) produces, and is being extended to post-process the corresponding TSOE (Text Sequence Of Events)...

Briefs: Software
Rig Diagnostic Tools

Rig Diagnostic Tools is a suite of applications designed to allow an operator to monitor the status and health of complex networked systems using a unique interface between Java applications and UNIX scripts. The suite consists of Java applications, C scripts, VxWorks applications, UNIX utilities, C programs, and...

Briefs: Information Technology
MRO Sequence Checking Tool

The MRO Sequence Checking Tool program, mro_check, automates significant portions of the MRO (Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter) sequence checking procedure. Though MRO has similar checks to the ODY's (Mars Odyssey) Mega Check tool, the checks needed for MRO are unique to the MRO spacecraft.

Briefs: Information Technology
Science Activity Planner for the MER Mission

The Maestro Science Activity Planner is a computer program that assists human users in planning operations of the Mars Explorer Rover (MER) mission and visualizing scientific data returned from the MER rovers. Relative to its predecessors, this program is more powerful and easier to use. This program...

Briefs: Information Technology
UAVSAR Flight-Planning System

A system of software partly automates planning of a flight of the Uninhabited Aerial Vehicle Synthetic Aperture Radar (UAVSAR) — a polarimetric synthetic-aperture radar system aboard an unpiloted or minimally piloted airplane. The software constructs a flight plan that specifies not only the intended flight...

Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Templates for fabricating sharply pointed microscopic peaks arranged in nearly regular planar arrays can be fabricated by a relatively inexpensive technique that has recently been...

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Briefs: Materials

Improved crucibles consisting mainly of metal-reinforced ceramic ampules have been developed for use in experiments in which material specimens are heated in the crucibles to various high temperatures,...

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Briefs: Materials
Adjustable Membrane Mirrors Incorporating G-Elastomers

Lightweight, flexible, large-aperture mirrors of a type being developed for use in outer space have unimorph structures that enable precise adjustment of their surface figures. A mirror of this type includes a reflective membrane layer bonded with an electrostrictive grafted elastomer...

Briefs: Materials
High-Temperature Crystal-Growth Cartridge Tubes Made by VPS

Cartridge tubes for use in a crystal-growth furnace at temperatures as high as 1,600°C have been fabricated by vacuum plasma spraying (VPS). These cartridges consist mainly of an alloy of 60 weight percent molybdenum with 40 weight percent rhenium, made from molybdenum powder coated...

Briefs: Materials
Hall-Effect Thruster Utilizing Bismuth as Propellant

A laboratory-model Hall-effect spacecraft thruster was developed that utilizes bismuth as the propellant. Xenon was used in most prior Hall-effect thrusters. Bismuth is an attractive alternative because it has a larger atomic mass, a larger electron- impact- ionization cross-section, and is...

Briefs: Materials

Applying an electric current to specially coated glass results in radiant heat energy. This process creates a transparent heating element with near- uniform surface temperatures. Manufacturing...

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Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems

An apparatus is being developed for sampling water for signs of microbial life in an ocean hydrothermal vent at a depth of as much as 6.5 km. Heretofore, evidence of microbial life in deep-sea hydrothermal...

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Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Mars Rocket Propulsion System

A report discusses the methane and carbon monoxide/LOX (McLOx) rocket for ascent from Mars as well as other critical space propulsion tasks. The system offers a specific impulse over 370 s — roughly 50 s higher than existing space-storable bio- propellants. Current Mars in-situ propellant production (ISPP)...

Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Two-Stage Passive Vibration Isolator

The design and testing of a structural system were implemented to hold the optics of the planned Space Interferometry Mission (SIM) at positions and orientations characterized by vibrational translation and rotation errors of no more than a few nanometers or a few milliarcseconds, respectively. Much of the...

Briefs: Physical Sciences
Altimetry Using GPS-Reflection/Occultation Interferometry

A Global Positioning System (GPS)- reflection/occultation interferometry was examined as a means of altimetry of water and ice surfaces in polar regions. In GPS- reflection/occultation interferometry, a GPS receiver aboard a satellite in a low orbit around the Earth is used to determine...

Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Improved Thermal Design of a Compression Mold

A compression tool used to make 1-in. (2.5-cm) diameter disks of high-temperature polymers was designed to be shorter and of larger diameter than conventional tools to reduce heat loss to the surrounding air, thus making more efficient use of applied heat. This system is less sensitive to the amount...

Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Enhanced Pseudo-Waypoint Guidance for Spacecraft Maneuvers

An enhanced version of the scheme reported in “Pseudo-Waypoint Guidance for Proximity Spacecraft Maneuvers” (NPO-42753), NASA Tech Briefs, Vol. 31, No. 6 (June 2007), page 73 was developed. To recapitulate: the scheme provides algorithms for guidance and control (G&C) of a...

Briefs: Physical Sciences
Thermally Driven Josephson Effect

A concept is proposed of the thermally driven Josephson effect in superfluid helium. Heretofore, the Josephson effect in a superfluid has been recognized as an oscillatory flow that arises in response to a steady pressure difference between two superfluid reservoirs separated by an array of submicron-sized...

Briefs: Physical Sciences

A method of using ellipsometry or polarization analysis of light in total internal reflection of a surface to determine the number density of gold nanoparticles on a smooth...

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Briefs: Physical Sciences
Gold Nanoparticle Labels Amplify Ellipsometric Signals

The ellipsometric method reported in the immediately preceding article was developed in conjunction with a method of using gold nanoparticles as labels on biomolecules that one seeks to detect. The purpose of the labeling is to exploit the optical properties of the gold nanoparticles in...

Briefs: Physical Sciences
Perturbation Effects on a Supercritical C₇H₁₆/N₂ Mixing Layer

This report presents a computational-simulation study of effects of perturbation wavelengths and initial Reynolds numbers on the transition to turbulence of a heptane/nitrogen mixing layer at supercritical pressure. The governing equations for the simulations were the same as...

Briefs: Information Technology
Schema for Spacecraft-Command Dictionary

An Extensible Markup Language (XML) schema was developed as a means of defining and describing a structure for capturing spacecraft command-definition and tracking information in a single location in a form readable by both engineers and software used to generate software for flight and ground systems. A...

Briefs: Information Technology
Self-Adjusting Hash Tables for Embedded Flight Applications

A common practice in computer science to associate a value with a key is to use a class of algorithms called a hash-table. These algorithms enable rapid storage and retrieval of values based upon a key. This approach assumes that many keys will need to be stored immediately. A new set...

Articles: Photonics/Optics

The ability to record simultaneous framing images and streak images has long been a requirement in the research fields of detonation, electrical discharge, biomedical and many other...

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Briefs: Information Technology

An algorithm generates grid coordinates for a computationally efficient spiral search pattern covering an uncertain rectangular area spanned by a coordinate grid. The algorithm does not...

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Briefs: Information Technology
Algorithm-Based Fault Tolerance Integrated With Replication

In a proposed approach to programming and utilization of commercial off-the-shelf computing equipment, a combination of algorithm-based fault tolerance (ABFT) and replication would be utilized to obtain high degrees of fault tolerance without incurring excessive costs. The basic idea of...

Application Briefs: Photonics/Optics

As products become more featurerich, manufacturers are looking at ways to improve the human-computer interface (HCI). Touchscreens, with intuitive operation and software flexibility, and...

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Briefs: Information Technology
Targeting and Localization for Mars Rover Operations

A design and a partially developed application framework were presented for improving localization and targeting for surface spacecraft. The program has value for the Mars Science Laboratory mission, and has been delivered to support the Mars Exploration Rovers as part of the latest version of...

Briefs: Photonics/Optics

Phase matching of diverse electromagnetic modes (specifically, coexisting optical and microwave modes) in a whispering-gallery-mode (WGM) resonator has been predicted theoretically and...

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Briefs: Information Technology
Terrain-Adaptive Navigation Architecture

A navigation system designed for a Mars rover has been designed to deal with rough terrain and/or potential slip when evaluating and executing paths. The system also can be used for any off-road, autonomous vehicles. The system uses more sophisticated terrain analysis, but also converges to computational...

Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Combined GMSK Communications and PN Ranging

A document discusses a method by which GMSK (Gaussian minimum shift keying) modulation and a pseudonoise (PN) ranging signal may be combined. By isolating the in-phase and quadrature components after carrier lock, and extracting their low-pass and band-pass filtered components, there is enough...

Briefs: Photonics/Optics

Microwave-to-optical frequency converters based on whispering-gallery-mode (WGM) resonators have been proposed as mixers for the input ends of microwave receivers in which, downstream of the...

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Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Network-Attached Solid-State Recorder Architecture

A document discusses placing memory modules on the high-speed serial interconnect, which is used by a spacecraft’s computer elements for inter-processor communications, to allow all multiple computer system architectures to access the spacecraft data storage at the same time. Each memory board...

Briefs: Photonics/Optics

In wide-band microwave receivers of a type now undergoing development, the incoming microwave signals are electronically preamplified, then frequency-up-converted to optical signals...

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Briefs: Electronics & Computers
System-Level Integration of Mass Memory

A report discusses integrating multiple memory modules on the high-speed serial interconnect (IEEE 1393) that is used by a spacecraft’s inter-module communications in order to ease data congestion and provide for a scalable, strong, flexible system that can meet new system-level mass memory...

Briefs: Photonics/Optics

Progress has been made toward solving some practical problems in the implementation of terahertz-to-optical frequency converters utilizing whispering-gallery-mode (WGM) resonators....

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Briefs: Information Technology
An Efficient Reachability Analysis Algorithm

A document discusses a new algorithm for generating higher-order dependencies for diagnostic and sensor placement analysis when a system is described with a causal modeling framework. This innovation will be used in diagnostic and sensor optimization and analysis tools. Fault detection, diagnosis, and...

Briefs: Photonics/Optics

A proposed technique for measuring temperature would exploit differences between the temperature dependences of the frequencies of two different electromagnetic modes of a...

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Briefs: Materials
Method of Cross-Linking Aerogels Using a One-Pot Reaction Scheme

A document discusses a new, simplified method for cross-linking silica and other oxide aerogels, with a polymeric material to increase strength of such materials without adversely affecting porosity or low density. The usual process is long and arduous, requiring multiple washing...

Briefs: Photonics/Optics

A four-pass optical coupler affords increased (in comparison with related prior two-pass optical couplers) utilization of light generated by a laser diode in side pumping of a...

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Articles: Software

In our annual poll of executives at leading analysis and simulation software companies, we posed questions dealing with virtual prototyping, multiphysics, the roles of the designer and analyst,...

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Application Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Hall Effect position sensors
Micropac Industries
Garland, TX
972-272-3571
www.micropac.com

Micropac’s hermetic Hall Effect devices are being used by Alliance...

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Application Briefs: Aerospace
Hi-Shear separation devices
Hi-Shear Technology Corp.
Torrance, CA
310-326-8110
www.hi-shear.com

Hi-Shear separation nuts and pressure cartridges recently were...

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Articles: Electronics & Computers

Breeching the security of safety- or security-intensive products such as auto parts, set top boxes, military electronics, or smart batteries can be a lucrative business that is well worth the nominal...

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Articles: Electronics & Computers

Since the beginning of PC-based data acquisition and control in the 1980s, one question has remained a constant consideration for all who would specify a new DAQ system. Is this application better...

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NASA Tech Needs

NASA is focused on building a human outpost on the lunar surface. To reach this goal, there is a critical need to develop energy storage technologies to power the future...

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Articles: Electronics & Computers

An ever-increasing reliance on software control has meant that many companies from non-aerospace business sectors (automotive, nuclear power, MRI scanners, financial...

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Products

Geotest - Marvin Test Systems, Irvine, CA, has introduced ATEasy 7.0, the latest version of its application development framework for functional test, automated test equipment (ATE), data acquisition, process control, and...

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Application Briefs: Electronics & Computers

The design of enclosures to house networking servers and components should be guided by one overriding concern — heat. Servers, in particular, generate a great deal of heat, so an...

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Products: Electronics & Computers

ACT/Technico (Warminster, PA) now offers the VME RAIDStor, a single-slot 6U network attached storage (NAS) blade that provides the same automatic, transparent data replication and re-sync of traditional box-level RAID...

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Products: Electronics & Computers

Aimtec (Montreal, Canada) has introduced the 2 watt AM2GW-NZ series of ultra wide input (4:1) DC-DC switching power supplies with operating temperature range of -40°C to + 85°C. Versatile, single and...

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Who's Who: Aerospace

Robert W. Moorehead served as NASA’s chief investigator for the Space Shuttle Challenger accident in 1986 and managed the Space Station Freedom program...

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Products: Electronics & Computers

Renesas Technology (San Jose, CA) has introduced the SH7262 and SH7264 series of high-performance SuperH® 32-bit microcontrollers (MCUs) with 1Mbyte of on-chip SRAM. The 144MHz devices are highly integrated and...

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Products: Electronics & Computers

OMICRON Lab (Houston, TX) has released new operation software for its Bode 100 portable network analyzer, giving users access to an extended frequency range. With the release of Bode Analyzer Suite V2.2, OMICRON Lab...

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Products: Electronics & Computers

Pentek, Inc. (Upper Saddle River, NJ) has introduced its Model 7151 high-performance, high-resolution software radio module. Four 200 MHz 16-bit A/D converters feed a proprietary FPGA IP core that delivers 256...

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Briefs: Photonics/Optics

A method of optical thermometry, now undergoing development, involves low-resolution measurement of the spectrum of spontaneous Raman scattering (SRS) from N2 and...

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Products: Electronics & Computers

Mercury Computer Systems (Chelmsford, MA) has introduced the PowerBlock™ 50 system, a high-performance, ultra-compact embedded computer. The system's modular architecture allows for flexible configurations of...

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Techs for License
Catalytic Filters for Outdoor Power Equipment

NoxFox™ Catalytic Filters reduce harmful emissions from engine exhaust with performance comparable to existing catalytic converters. High-surface-area ceramic nanofibers hold nanoparticles of platinum, palladium, rhodium, and other catalysts, so that NoxFox catalytic filters are comparatively...

Products: Electronics & Computers

Absolute Analysis (Newbury Park, CA) has released a 10Gbps Ethernet protocol analyzer employing a SFP+ (Small Form-Factor Pluggable) interface and support for the 10GBase-LRM (Long Reach Multimode) standard. The...

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Techs for License
Password Protection System Requires No Special Hardware

The High-Security Password System takes the place of strong passwords on digital devices and online services, yet is easy to remember and quick to enter for most individuals. This system places images in a two- or three-dimensional matrix to generate the equivalent of a ten-digit number....

Tech Needs
Anti-Itch Non-Steroidal

A company is seeking technology (synthetic actives, natural actives, delivery systems) to eliminate itch for a variety of indications for over-the-counter applications; specifically, actives and/or delivery systems that will relieve itching. The technology should eliminate itching for a significant period of time (i.e....

Tech Needs
Converting High-Molecular-Weight Polymer Emulsions Into Dry Form

A company that supplies chemicals, including inverse emulsions that consist of a very high- molecular-weight, water-soluble polymer dispersed in a continuous oil phase, is seeking technologies that can convert these emulsions to powdered form without losing any of the polymer...

Briefs: Photonics/Optics

A provision for controlled variation of the divergence of a laser beam or of multiple parallel laser beams has been incorporated into the design of a conceptual free-space...

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Products: Photonics/Optics

The EQ-1000 LDLSTM Laser-Driven Light Source from Energetiq Technology, Inc. (Woburn, MA) achieves extreme high brightness and power over a broad spectral range, from 170nm to beyond visible. The...

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Products: Photonics/Optics

DDP (El Segundo, CA) has designed an LED backlighting solution that is compliant with night vision imaging system (NVIS) devices for aviation and military applications. The assembly uses two SMT LEDs to create a 28VDC PCB...

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Products: Photonics/Optics

High Q Laser (Bregenz, Austria) has released a femtosecond light source for multi-photon microscopy. The “femtoTRAIN IMAGING” is a compact, all-in-one, all-diode-pumped, Ti:Sapphire oscillator. The “femtoTRAIN...

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Products: Photonics/Optics

The Glass Press (GP) from Dyna Technologies Inc. (Sanford, FL) is a fully enclosed, compact press designed for precision compression molding of optical elements. Applications include manufacturing of aspheric lenses,...

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Products: Photonics/Optics

Manlight (Lannion, France) and RPMC (O’Fallon, MO) have released a new fiber based OTS (Optical Tweezing Source) that features a narrow linewidth. The new OTS is a compact CW fiber laser that delivers output...

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Products: Photonics/Optics

Agilent Technologies Inc., (Santa Clara, CA) offers a Multi-Wavelength Laser Combiner for microscopy applications. Developed to work with laser-based tools, the laser combiner is ideal for applications...

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Products: Photonics/Optics

Lambda Research (Littleton, MA) introduces TracePro 5.0 software for optical modeling, design and analysis. TracePro 5.0 allows users to combine multiple light sources with various wavelength spectrums in one TracePro...

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Products: Photonics/Optics

LightTools® 6.1 illumination design and analysis software from Optical Research Associates (ORA) (Pasadena, CA) is suitable for the design of sophisticated luminaires, LEDs, and displays. The Ray Path feature...

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Products: Photonics/Optics

Deposition Sciences, Inc. (DSI) (Santa Rosa, CA) offers transparent conductive coatings for use in the visible and near-infrared (NIR) spectral ranges. The transparent coatings are compatible with DSI’s...

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Products: Photonics/Optics
Optical Engineering Software

Photon Engineering (Tucson, AZ) has released version 7.50.0 of its optical engineering software FRED 7.x series. FRED is an advanced 3D CAD optical engineering software program capable of simulating the propagation of light through most optical/illumination systems. The new version features enhancements to FRED’s...

Products: Photonics/Optics

The Enfis QUATTRO Mini from AMS Technologies (Martinsreid, Germany) provides a very high-power spot source with up to 160W of power in a 2 × 2 cm array. The RGBA version with additional amber LED chip offers an...

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Products: Photonics/Optics

CyberOptics Semiconductor (Beaverton, OR) introduces its WaferSenseTM Auto Vibration System (AVS) that monitors three-axis accelerations and equipment vibration. The WaferSense AVS is a wireless, wafer-like...

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Products: Photonics/Optics

Labsphere (North Sutton, NH) offers the MtrX-SPEC light metrology software module with user friendly spectrometer calibration and control for spectral characterization such as flux, color, intensity, and irradiance....

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Products: Photonics/Optics

Sensors Unlimited, Inc. (Princeton, NJ) offers the KT series of NIR/SWIR cameras for UAV and UGV (unmanned aerial and ground vehicle) applications. The cameras feature the night vision and laser...

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Products: Photonics/Optics

Resolve Optics Ltd (Chesham, UK) has produced ruggedized lenses to meet specified environmental tests such as Def Stan 00-35, which includes vibration, shock, and bump testing over a temperature range of -40° to +70° C....

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Products: Photonics/Optics

OptoTherm (Sewickley, PA) has released the Infrasight RD320 thermal imaging camera. This camera utilizes a 320×240 uncooled detector array with <0.05°C sensitivity, and 16 bit digital Camera Link...

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Products: Photonics/Optics

The deltΔ NIR Joulemeter from Spectrum Detector (Lake Oswego, OR) provides near-IR spectral response from 0.9 to 1.7 um. The deltΔ probe plugs into an analog power module (APM) to mate with oscilloscopes...

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Products: Photonics/Optics

Specialised Imaging Ltd (Hertfordshire, UK) has introduced a 16 channel camera capable of capturing images at 200,000,000 frames per second with gating down to 5ns. Applications for ultra high speed multiple framing...

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Products: Photonics/Optics

ROHM Electronics (San Diego, CA) introduces AC/DC-isolated LED driver modules that utilize constant-current circuits optimized for driving LEDs. The BP58xx series integrates all required LED-driving control circuits,...

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Products: Photonics/Optics

Hamamatsu Corporation (Bridgewater, NJ) has introduced a chip-on-board-type illuminance sensor called the S10604. The RoHS-compliant sensor is ideal as an energy-saving sensor for large-screen TV brightness...

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Products: Photonics/Optics

A two part, condensation cured liquid silicone system called Master Sil 150 has been developed by Master Bond, Inc (Hackensack, NJ). It can be used for the potting and encapsulation of voltage regulators, high...

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Products: Photonics/Optics

QZEO (San Diego, CA) has introduced a compact CMOS high-speed camera called EoSens® CL, with 500 fps at 1280(H) × 1024(V) resolution. EoSens® CL has a photo-sensitivity of 2500 ISO/ASA, which is 16 times higher than...

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Blog
Fluid Transducer

Many technical systems work with air or water - air compression systems and water pipes are just two examples. Sensors constantly monitor the pressure of such systems to keep costly fault-related losses to a minimum. At present, these sensors are either battery-driven or connected up by complex technical wiring, making it...

Blog
Solar Energy Material

Researchers at Ohio State University have created a new material that overcomes two of the major obstacles to solar power: it absorbs all the energy contained in sunlight, and it generates electrons in a way that makes them easier to capture. The new hybrid material was created by combining electrically conductive plastic...

Blog
Computer Guardians

As computer processor chips grow faster and more complex, they are likely to make it to market with more design bugs. But that may be OK, according to University of Michigan researchers who have devised a new system that lets chips work around all functional bugs, even those that haven't been detected. Normally CPU...

Blog
Coming Attractions

As products become more feature-rich, manufacturers are looking at ways to improve the human-computer interface (HCI). Touchscreens, with intuitive operation and software flexibility, and screen-printed touch surfaces, with refined aesthetics and better sealing, have become extremely popular. But what these touch-input devices...

Blog
Nosy Detector

By marrying a sensitive detector able to distinguish hundreds of different chemical compounds with a pattern-recognition module that mimics the way animals recognize odors, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) researchers have created a new approach for "electronic noses." The detector could be a potent tool for...

Blog
Silicon Optical Fiber

Clemson University scientists have made a practical optical fiber with a silicon core, employing the same methods that are used to develop all-glass fibers. The development could make silicon fibers viable alternatives to glass fibers, and help increase efficiency and decrease power consumption in computers and other...

Blog
Computers and Electronics at NNEC

Register today for NASA Tech Briefs' National Nano Engineering Conference (NNEC), the premier event focused on current and future developments in engineering innovations at the nanoscale. The event returns to Boston this year on November 12-13 at the Boston Colonnade Hotel, featuring the fourth annual Nano 50...

Blog
Solar Breakthrough

An untreated silicon solar cell absorbs only 67.4 percent of sunlight shone upon it, and the remaining unharvested light is a major barrier hampering the widespread adoption of solar power. However, a silicon surface treated with a new reflective coating developed by researchers at Rensselaer absorbs 96.21 percent of sunlight....

Blog: Physical Sciences
What's the Matter?

Scientists are on the hunt for evidence of antimatter left over from the very early Universe. Unfortunately, new results using data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and Compton Gamma Ray Observatory suggest the search may have just become even more difficult. Antimatter is made up of elementary particles, each of which...

Blog: Materials
Cold Steel for a Hot Application

Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the U.S. ITER Project Office have developed a new cast stainless steel that is 70 percent stronger than comparable steel and is being evaluated for use in the huge shield modules required by the ITER fusion device. ITER is a multibillion-dollar international...

Blog
Sensor Makes Automobiles Safer

Drivers worldwide soon will be able to navigate dangerous road conditions more safely, thanks to sensor technology developed by researchers at the University of California at Irvine. The researchers have designed a 1.7 millimeter-wide device that helps stabilize automobiles, allowing them to pass safely through...

Blog
Remote Key Duplication

University of California at San Diego computer scientists have designed a software program that can perform key duplication without having the key, instead relying on a photograph of the key.

The keys used in the most common residential locks in the United States have aseries of 5 or 6 cuts, spaced out at regular...

Blog
Toxic Sensor

Clemson physics professor Apparao Rao and his team are developing nano-scale cantilevers that have the potential to read and alert us to toxic chemicals or gases in the air. Putting them into small handheld devices could lead to real-time chemical alerts in battle, industry, health care, and even at home. In addition to...

Blog: Photonics/Optics
Infrared Spectrometer

Scientists at Stanford University and Japan's National Institute of Informatics have created a new highly sensitive infrared spectrometer. The device converts light from the infrared part of the spectrum to the visible part, where the availability of superior optical detectors results in strongly improved sensing...

Blog
Down to the Wires

Researchers have developed a new type of small-scale electric power generator able to produce alternating current through the cyclical stretching and releasing of zinc oxide wires encapsulated in a flexible plastic substrate with two ends bonded. When the modules are mechanically stretched and then released, because of the...

Blog
Brain Games

A team of scientists studying the human brain at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the University of Chieti, Italy, report that a simple decision-making task does not involve the frontal lobes, where many of the higher aspects of human cognition, including self-awareness, are thought to originate. Instead,...

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Healing Nanofibers

Researchers at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology have developed a strong, flexible bio-material that may be used someday to close wounds with minimal scarring and rejection by the immune system. Spun from a common blood protein, the material could be used to make the thin threads needed for wound sutures, larger...

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Overcoming Spatial Disorientation

A National Space Biomedical Research Institute (NSBRI) study is tackling the issue of spatial disorientation, which is responsible for up to 10 percent of general aviation accidents in the United States and is a major concern for astronaut pilots. The project involves specially designed software that monitors...

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Fluorescent Imager

Researchers from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) in Boston are developing an imaging system that will essentially light up and color cancerous tumors, enabling surgeons to evaluate whether they've resected an entire diseased area. The system, called fluorescence- assisted resection and exploration - or FLARE - is...

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Deadly Contaminant Sensor

The blood-thinning drug heparin is highly effective when used to prevent and treat blood clots in veins, arteries, and lungs, but contaminated heparin products recently caused serious allergic reactions that led to many deaths. Now, University of Michigan researchers have demonstrated a simple, inexpensive method for...

Tech Needs: Aerospace
NASA Technology Innovation - Doing Business With NASA

NASA's magazine for business and technology published by the Innovative Partnerships Program.

Table of Contents Up Front with Douglas A. Comstock What An Exciting Time to be at NASA! Cover Story Doing Business With NASA Featured Articles Goddard and LogicNets...
Blog
Internet In Outer Space

Engineers from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., used software called Disruption-Tolerant Networking, or DTN, to transmit dozens of space images to and from a NASA science spacecraft located more than 32 million kilometers (20 million miles) from Earth. The successful experiment could pave the way for...

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Examining Simulation Software Trends

Analysis and simulation software continues evolving to keep up with a changing market. Virtual prototyping is enabling designers to simulate a design on the computer instead of building a physical prototype, and examine why a product will fail or succeed when physical testing is unable to explain the results....

Webcasts

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On-Demand Webinars: Defense

From Data to Decision: How AI Enhances Warfighter Readiness

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Upcoming Webinars: Aerospace

April Battery & Electrification Summit

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Upcoming Webinars: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Tech Update: 3D Printing for Transportation in 2024

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Upcoming Webinars: Materials

Unleashing Epoxy's Potential: Ensuring Hermetic Sealing in Modern...

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Upcoming Webinars: Test & Measurement

Building an Automotive EMC Test Plan

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Upcoming Webinars: Aerospace

The Moon and Beyond from a Thermal Perspective

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