Who's Who: Aerospace
Dr. Robert Romanofsky has over 75 publications and holds five patents in the fields of microwave device technology, high-temperature superconductivity, and the use of...
Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Fabricating Radial Groove Gratings Using Projection Photolithography
Projection photolithography has been used as a fabrication method for radial grove gratings. Use of photolithographic method for diffraction grating fabrication represents the most significant breakthrough in grating technology in the last 60 years, since the introduction of...
Application Briefs: Photonics/Optics
Designers of medical equipment using lasers must be careful in their selection of optical components in order to ensure safe and reliable operation. The high power density and narrow wavelength range of...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Microfluidic Pumps Containing Teflon® AF Diaphragms
Microfluidic pumps and valves based on pneumatically actuated diaphragms made of Teflon® AF polymers are being developed for incorporation into laboratory-on-a-chip devices that must perform well over temperature ranges wider than those of prior diaphragm-based microfluidic pumps and valves....
Application Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control
Classic Metal Finishing, based in Jackson, Mich., supplies components for the aerospace, motorcycle, racing, and medical industries. The plant was purchased in February, 2008 by...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
An apparatus for mid-infrared reflectance imaging has been developed as means of inspecting for subsurface damage in thermal-barrier coatings (TBCs). The apparatus is designed,...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
Improving the Visible and Infrared Contrast Ratio of Microshutter Arrays
Three device improvements have been developed that dramatically enhance the contrast ratio of microshutters. The goal of a microshutter is to allow as much light through as possible when the shutters are in the open configuration, and preventing any light from passing...
Briefs: Materials
Cyclic Oxidation Behavior of CuCrAl Cold-Sprayed Coatings for Reusable Launch Vehicles
The next generation of reusable launch vehicles is likely to use GRCop-84 [Cu-8(at.%)Cr-4%Nb] copper alloy combustion liners. The application of protective coatings on GRCop-84 liners can minimize or eliminate many of the environmental problems experienced by...
Briefs: Materials
Treating Fibrous Insulation To Reduce Thermal Conductivity
A chemical treatment reduces the convective and radiative contributions to the effective thermal conductivity of porous fibrous thermal-insulation tile. The net effect of the treatment is to coat the surfaces of fibers with a mixture of transition-metal oxides (TMOs) without filling the...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
A Technique for Adjusting Eigenfrequencies of WGM Resonators
A simple technique has been devised for making small, permanent changes in the eigenfrequencies (resonance frequencies) of whispering-gallery-mode (WGM) dielectric optical resonators that have high values of the resonance quality factor (Q). The essence of the technique is to coat the...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
A small mass spectrometer utilizing a miniature field ionization source is now undergoing development. It is designed for use in a variety of applications in which there are requirements for a...
Application Briefs: Photonics/Optics
Manufacturers that design, formulate and apply coatings have struggled for years to find a rigorous and easy-to-use method that reliably measures the color and appearance of...
Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Novel Materials Containing Single-Wall Carbon Nanotubes Wrapped in Polymer Molecules
In this design, single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) have been coated in polymer molecules to create a new type of material that has low electrical conductivity, but still contains individual nanotubes, and small ropes of individual nanotubes, which are...
Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Fabricating PFPE Membranes for Microfluidic Valves and Pumps
A process has been developed for fabricating membranes of a perfluoropolyether (PFPE) and integrating them into valves and pumps in “laboratory-on-a-chip” microfluidic devices. Membranes of poly(tetrafluoroethylene) [PTFE] and poly(dimethylsilane) [PDMS] have been considered for...
Articles: Photonics/Optics
In spectrometry, the more light gathered the better the results. Yet in many applications, both military and commercial, the need to protect instruments or operators from harsh...
Briefs: Materials
A methodology for developing complex multifunctional materials that consist of or contain polymer/ carbon-nanotube composites has been conceived. As used here, “multifunctional”...
Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
An improved photoresist-coating technique has been developed for use in the fabrication of carbon-nanotube- (CNT)- based field emitters of the type described in “Fabrication of...
Articles: Motion Control
When it comes to choosing a flowmetering device, some users assume “one size fits all.” In reality, there are significant differences between flowmeter types, and each design has its unique “pros and...
Articles: Robotics, Automation & Control
For over a hundred years, machine parts composed of mechanical carbon have provided an alternative solution in applications where temperature and atmosphere conditions prevent the use of...
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...
Application Briefs: Photonics/Optics
Prisms are used in countless optical systems — from the pair of binoculars in your closet to cutting edge targeting systems to retroreflectors on the Moon. In modern, high-end optical...
Briefs: Materials
Coating Reduces Ice Adhesion
The Shuttle Ice Liberation Coating (SILC) has been developed to reduce the adhesion of ice to surfaces on the space shuttle. SILC, when coated on a surface (foam, metal, epoxy primer, polymer surfaces), will reduce the adhesion of ice by as much as 90 percent as compared to the corresponding uncoated surface. This...
Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
A method has been devised for high-volume, high-velocity surface deposition of protective metallic coatings on otherwise vulnerable surfaces. Thermal spraying is used...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
Scintillation-based fast-neutron detectors that are smaller and less power-hungry than mainstream scintillation-based fast-neutron detectors are undergoing development. There are...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
A proposed brushless shaft-angle sensor for use in extreme cold would offer significant advantages over prior such sensors:
It would be capable of operating in extreme cold; and Its...
Briefs: Materials
Using ALD To Bond CNTs to Substrates and Matrices
Atomic-layer deposition (ALD) has been shown to be effective as a means of coating carbon nanotubes (CNTs) with layers of Al2O3 that form strong bonds between the CNTs and the substrates on which the CNTs are grown. It should also be possible to form strong CNT/ substrate...
Briefs: Materials
Ceramic thermal and environmental barrier coatings (T/EBCs) that contain multiple layers of alternating chemical composition have been developed as improved means of protecting...
Articles: Photonics/Optics
In recent years the explosion in demand for multispectral imaging has coupled with the industry’s insatiable need for weight reduction, there-by greatly increasing the demand for more sophisticated...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
Non-Destructive Evaluation of Materials via Ultraviolet Spectroscopy
A document discusses the use of ultraviolet spectroscopy and imaging for the non-destructive evaluation of the degree of cure, aging, and other properties of resin-based composite materials. This method can be used in air, and is portable for field use. This method operates in...
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