Flexible Lightweight Radiation Shielding

An innovator at NASA Langley Research Center has developed a novel method for making thin, lightweight radiation shielding that can be sprayed or melted onto common textiles used in clothing such as cotton, nylon, polyester, Nomex, and Kevlar. Read on to learn more about it.

Ultra-Narrowband Optical Filters Pushing Boundaries from the UV to the LWIR

Developments in ultra-narrow manufacturing capabilities enable transformative, world-changing, technology. Read on to learn how boundaries are being pushed.

A Method to Accurately Center Quantum Dots Within Photonic Chips

Researchers have developed standards and calibrations for optical microscopes that allow quantum dots to be aligned with the center of a photonic component to within an error of 10 to 20 nanometers (about one-thousandth the thickness of a sheet of paper). Such alignment is critical for chip-scale devices that employ the radiation emitted by quantum dots to store and transmit quantum information. Read on to learn more.

New Semiconductor Detector Shows Promise for Medical Diagnostics

Detector can identify radioactive isotopes with high resolution.

High-Brightness Source of Coherent Light Spanning from the UV to THz

An international team of researchers reports on a compact high-brightness mid-IR-driven source combining a gas-filled anti-resonant-ring photonic crystal fiber with a novel nonlinear-crystal. The tabletop source provides a seven-octave coherent spectrum from 340 nm–40,000 nm with spectral brightness 2–5 orders of magnitude higher than one of the brightest synchrotron facilities.

Exploring 3D Printing in a Weightless Environment

Recent experiments by a team from the West Virginia University focused on how a weightless microgravity environment affects 3D printing using titania foam, a material with potential applications ranging from UV blocking to water purification. ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces published their findings.

INRS Researchers Design the World’s Fastest UV Camera

Imagine being able to snap a picture of extremely fast events on the order of a picosecond.

Ultrathin Solar Cells Aim to Improve Satellite Life

Most space satellites are powered by photovoltaic cells that convert sunlight to electricity. Exposure to certain orbit radiation can damage the devices. Scientists have proposed a radiation-tolerant photovoltaic cell design that features an ultrathin layer of light-absorbing material.

Strengthening Electron-Triggered Light Emission

A wavelength of visible light is about 1,000 times larger than an electron, so the way the two affect each other is limited by that disparity. Now, researchers have come up with a way to make...

Space Radiation Research Fights Cancer on Earth

Inspired by NASA’s research of certain segments of DNA to estimate radiation damage, Promega Corp. used the technique to create its own diagnostic test which is used to customize cancer treatment.

Rice ‘Metalens’ Could Disrupt Vacuum UV Market

Tests showed the metalens they made could focus its 197-nanometer output onto a spot measuring 1.7 microns in diameter, increasing the power density of the light output by 21 times.

Understanding Cryocooled Infrared System Reliability

Where the ability to detect mid-wave infrared (MWIR) radiation is mission critical, readiness and the importance of long, maintenance-free infrared (IR) system operation is vital. In...

High-Sensitivity Microwave Radiation Sensor

Better detection of microwave radiation will enable improved thermal imaging, electronic warfare, radio communications, and radar.

Camera Captures Images of Interior of Solid Objects

The camera combines lasers, computers, and terahertz waves to see “unseen” details.

Technologies Increase Safety of Astronauts to the Moon

As the U.S. lands a craft on the Moon for the first time since 1972, technology built by Louisiana State University students will report back from the lunar surface.

Lighter Radiation Shielding for Electronics

This new technique shields electronics from ionizing radiation in applications such as military and space exploration.

Rad-Hard CMOS Crystal Oscillator

The oscillator is designed for localized clock signal generation and data transmission in telemetry systems and remote sensing.

Certain Materials Combined with UV Light Kill Coronavirus

A combination of polymers and oligomers, when combined with UV light, almost completely kills the coronavirus.

High-Power, Portable Terahertz Laser

The instrument could bring powerful sensing and imaging capabilities into hospitals, airports, or other settings.

High-Brightness Source of Coherent Light Spanning From the UV to THz

A novel technique for a high-brightness coherent and few-cycle duration source spans seven optical octaves.

Lightweight, Hypersonic, Thermal Protection Material

The material is designed for high-temperature applications in aircraft, building insulation, personal protective clothing, industrial, and automotive.

Semiconductor Detector Identifies Radioactive Isotopes with High Resolution

The device has applications in medical diagnostics and homeland security.

INRS Researchers Design the World’s Fastest UV Camera

Imagine being able to snap a picture of extremely fast events on the order of a picosecond.

Niobium Titanium Nitride Thin Film Coating

Applications include terahertz medical imaging and communications.

Energy-Harvesting Device Turns Wi-Fi Signals into Usable Power

This device for harnessing terahertz radiation might enable self-powering implants, cellphones, and other portable electronics.

Toroidal Radiation Pattern Patch Antenna

The antenna is designed for use in extreme conditions such as outer space.

Material Advances for LED Quantum Dot Efficiency

Creating next-generation LEDs for novel efforts like COVID-19 decontamination requires LED manufacturers to reevaluate the materials that they’re using.