Reactive-ion etching (RIE) under conditions described below has been found to be a suitable means for patterning piezoelectric thin films made from such materials as PbZr1-xTixO3 or BaxSr1-xTiO3. In the original application for which this particular RIE process was developed, PbZr1-xTixO3...

Lightweight, refractory ceramic/carbon thermal-insulation materials have been invented. These materials, consist of carbon, silicon, and oxygen in suitable pro- portions combined into molecular structures that are stable at high temperatures. Insulating tiles and other components made of...

A method of characterization of growing of protein crystals involves the utilization of an optical imaging technique known as spatial phase imaging. The methods used heretofore have been, variously, invasive (e.g., adding a dye that is absorbed by the protein of interest), destructive (e.g.,...

Facility Management Tracking System (FMTS) is a computer program for constructing an integrated database that defines any event in a managed facility. FMTS provides a simple user interface for entering all relevant data connected to the event. The entered data, as displayed and processed by...

This paper presents a study of area production in mixing layers undergoing transition to turbulence. These layers evolve from the mixing of two initially segregated counterflowing streams under supercritical conditions. The study may contribute to development of means to control area...

The Automated SAR Image Processor (ASIP) computer program increases the efficiency of production of scientifically useful imagery from raw synthetic-aperture-radar (SAR) image data. In the absence of ASIP, the processing of SAR data is a labor-intensive task, often involving supporting personnel, that...

A report presents additional information about the subject matter of “Model of Pyrolysis of Biomass in a Fluidized- Bed Reactor” (NPO-20708) NASA Tech Briefs, Vol. 25, No. 6 (June 2001), page 59. The model is built on equations for the dynamics of three components — gas, sand, and...

Root Cause Analysis (RoCA) is a computer program that assists analysts in understanding the root causes of process anomalies. As used here, “process anomalies” includes incidents that have caused, or that can potentially cause, injuries to personnel, damage to facilities, abnormal costs,...

“Ex” is the name of a library of software modules from which one can rapidly develop prototype or production versions of efficient numerical-computation application programs in the Native Oberon programming environment. Mathematical constructs that can be represented and processed by...

The Automated SAR Ortho-rectification Software System enables users of synthetic-aperture-radar (SAR) data to form processed images that are free of the distortion caused by the SAR imaging geometry and topography. The software consists of four modules:

An article discusses anticipated advances in the design of increasingly capable integrated circuits containing ever smaller electronic devices. The article emphasizes the emergence of technology computer-aided design (TCAD) — a discipline in which computer-aided design is combined with computational...

A method that exploits rapid prototyping has been conceived to reduce the time and cost associated with the production of small quantities of composite-material parts that have complex shapes. In this method, mandrels and dies used in forming composite layups are sized and shaped by...

A technique of automatic bias compensation has been devised to correct errors caused by variations among electronic components in Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers that use the coarse/acquisition (C/A) GPS code. Even though there are large government and commercial markets for such GPS receivers,...