Thin-Film Magnetic-Field-Response Fluid-Level Sensor for Non-Viscous Fluids

An innovative method has been developed for acquiring fluid-level measurements. This method eliminates the need for the fluid-level sensor to have a physical...

Progress in Development of Improved Ion-Channel Biosensors

Further improvements have recently been made in the development of the devices described in “Improved Ion-Channel Biosensors” (NPO-30710), NASA Tech Briefs, Vol. 28, No. 10...

Z-RAM

In the electronics industry today there are two commonly used high-speed memory types: static RAM (SRAM) and dynamic RAM (DRAM). Traditionally, SRAM embedded memory has been the designer's choice for fast memory, but since a typical...

High-Voltage Power Supply With Fast Rise and Fall Times

A special-purpose high-voltage power supply can be electronically switched on and off with fast rise and fall times, respectively. The output potential is programmable from 20 to 1,250...

Wireless Measurement of Contact and Motion Between Contact Surfaces

This method uses a magnetic-fieldresponse contact sensor that is designed to identify surface contact and motion between contact locations. The sensor has three components:...

Wirelessly Interrogated Position or Displacement Sensors

Two simple position or displacement sensors based on inductance-capacitance resonant circuits have been conceived. These sensors are both powered and interrogated without use of wires...

Microrectenna: A Terahertz Antenna and Rectifier on a Chip

A microrectenna that would operate at a frequency of 2.5 THz has been designed and partially fabricated. The circuit is intended to be a prototype of an extremely compact device that...

Ultracapacitor-Powered Cordless Drill

The figure depicts a portable, handheld power drill with its attached powersupply unit, in which ultracapacitors, rather than batteries, are used to store energy. This ultracapacitor-powered drill is a...

Increasing Linear Dynamic Range of a CMOS Image Sensor

A generic design and a corresponding operating sequence have been developed for increasing the linear-response dynamic range of a complementary metal oxide/semiconductor (CMOS) image...

Printed Multi-Turn Loop Antennas for RF Biotelemetry

Printed multi-turn loop antennas have been designed for contactless powering of, and reception of radio signals transmitted by, surgically implantable biotelemetric sensor units operating...

MMIC Amplifier Produces Gain of 10 dB at 235 GHz

The first solid-state amplifier capable of producing gain at a frequency >215 GHz has been demonstrated. This amplifier is an intermediate product of a continuing effort to develop...

Synchronous Phase-Resolving Flash Range Imaging

The figure is a simplified diagram of an apparatus, now undergoing development, for range imaging based on measurement of the round-trip phase delay of a pulsed laser beam. Variants of this...

Ion-Conducting Organic/Inorganic Polymers

Ion-conducting polymers that are hybrids of organic and inorganic moieties and that are suitable for forming into solid electrolyte membranes have been invented in an effort to improve upon the...

Power-Amplifier Module for 145 to 165 GHz

A power-amplifier module that operates in the frequency range of 145 to 165 GHz has been designed and constructed as a combination of (1) a previously developed monolithic microwave integrated...

Sensor Interface Design Demystified

With the rapid expansion of available sensor elements driven by the growth of MEMS (microelectromechanical systems) sensors, the considerations of sensor interface design become ever more important. The...

Silicon-Based Optical Modulator With Ferroelectric Layer

According to a proposal, a silicon dioxide layer in a high speed, low power, silicon-based electro-optical modulator would be replaced by a layer of lead zirconate titanate or other...

Multiplexing Transducers Based on Tunnel-Diode Oscillators

Multiplexing and differential transducers based on tunnel-diode oscillators (TDOs) would be developed, according to a proposal, for operation at very low and/or widely varying...

Compact, Efficient Drive Circuit for a Piezoelectric Pump

Figure 1 depicts a switching circuit that drives a piezoelectric pump at a high voltage with a polarity that alternates at the desired mechanical pump frequency. This circuit offers...

Microscale Regenerative Heat Exchanger

The device illustrated in Figure 1 is designed primarily for use as a regenerative heat exchanger in a miniature Stirling engine or Stirling-cycle heat pump. A regenerative heat exchanger (sometimes...

Nearly Direct Measurement of Relative Permittivity

A recently conceived technique for determining the relative permittivity of a material sample at a given frequency is more nearly direct than are prior techniques that involve measurement of...