Illumination Device for Inspecting Window Surfaces

A special-purpose fiber-optic illumination device can be attached temporarily to a window to help an inspector examine window surfaces for scratches, pits, small-scale roughness, and dirt....

Improved Electron-Tunneling Magnetometer

Efforts are underway to develop an electron-tunneling magnetometer with a "planarized" (as explained below) design. Older designs of electron-tunneling magnetometers are more three-dimensional in...

Acid/Base Sensors Based on Poly(aromatic amine) Films

Chemiresistors containing poly(aromatic amine) films have been invented to satisfy a need for simple, inexpensive sensors for real-time measurement of parts-per-million and possibly...

Robot Hands With Electroactive-Polymer Fingers

Multifinger electroactive-polymer grippers (MEPGs) are simple, compact, lightweight robotic end effectors with fingers that bend and function similarly to human fingers. The fingers are made...

Fabrication of Thinned QWIP Arrays for Improved Performance

Focal-plane-array (FPA) hybrids of quantum-well infrared photodetectors (QWIPs) thinned to the membrane level are undergoing development. The developmental QWIPs in question are of...

Sensor Combines Technologies to Achieve Application Versatility

By combining patented digital Silver-in-Glass® and analog conductive plastic technologies in a single environmentally sealed unibody package, Spectrol Electronics' DigiSense™...

A Polymeric Optical Correlator for Security Verification

Rapid technological progress, especially in computers, CCD technology, color printers and scanners makes forgery and counterfeit of identification documents such as credit cards, or...

Finite-Element Model of Piezoelectric and Thermal Effects

A mathematical model that includes layerwise finite elements has been developed for use in numerical simulation of the coupled electrical, mechanical, and thermal responses of...

Matrix and Coating Polymers for Composite LOX Containers

Two poly(arylene ether phosphine oxide)s (PAEPOs) have been found to be suitable as matrix and coating materials for composite-material (matrix/fiber) tanks and pipes that contain...

High-Tg Thermosetting Polyimide

A thermosetting polyimide called "DMBZ-15" has been developed for use as a matrix material in relatively inexpensive matrix/fiber composite materials. The glass-transition temperature (T_g) of...

Nearly Isotropic Resin-Transfer-Molded Composites

Nearly isotropic matrix/fiber composite materials can be made quickly and at relatively low cost by resin-transfer molding. The fiber components of these materials are fine, loosely woven,...

Fiber-Reinforced-Plastic/Concrete Structural Members

Improved concrete structural members such as columns, piers, and piles can be manufactured by incorporating fiber-reinforced-plastic (FRP) exterior shells and FRP interior submembers. The...

Glove Senses Angles of Finger Joints

A glove has been instrumented to sense the angles of finger joints via the electrical resistances of strips of an electrically conductive elastomer on the backs of the fingers, including the thumb (see...

Improved Nonlinear Mathematical Model of Viscoelasticity

An improved nonlinear mathematical model is being developed for use in predicting the complex, time-varying stress-and-strain behaviors of viscoelastic materials. The development of...

Rigid, Insulating Support for Cryogenic Component

A structure provides rigid support for a cryogenic component but transmits minimal heat. The structure includes two beams of Invar (or equivalent low-thermal expansion iron/nickel alloy) that...

Regenerable Foam Suppressor

A foam suppressor removes soap and other foaming agents from a stream of wastewater that is being treated electrolytically. This wastewater is a combination of laundry, hygiene, and urine wastewater. It is...

Coating SiC Fiber Tows With Polymer/Silicon Slurries

The figure schematically illustrates an apparatus and process in which a continuous tow of silicon carbide fibers is coated and infiltrated with a polymer/silicon slurry. A compact of such...

Sputter Deposition of Pure and Fluoropolymer-Filled Al₂O₃

Experiments have shown that nonreactive ion-beam sputtering can be used to deposit a transparent film of aluminum oxide on a polycarbonate, silicon, or fused-silica substrate....

Polyimide Passivation for Making High-Tc Josephson Junctions

Passivation by coating with OCG285 (or equivalent) polyimide at critical steps of fabrication has been found to enhance the quality of tapered edges in high-critical-temperature...