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Briefs: Physical Sciences
Phase-Conjugate Receiver for Gaussian-State Quantum Illumination
An active optical sensor probes a region of free space that is engulfed in bright thermal noise to determine the presence (or absence) of a weakly reflecting target. The returned light (which is just thermal noise if no target is present, and thermal noise plus a weak reflection of...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
An improved method of making an electronic oscillator track the frequency of an atomic-clock resonance transition is based on fitting a theoretical nonlinear curve to measurements at...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
Leak detection and location remain a common problem in NASA and industry, where gas leaks can create hazardous conditions if not quickly detected and corrected. In order to help...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
Submonolayer Quantum Dot Infrared Photodetector
A method has been developed for inserting submonolayer (SML) quantum dots (QDs) or SML QD stacks, instead of conventional Stranski-Krastanov (S-K) QDs, into the active region of intersubband photodetectors. A typical configuration would be InAs SML QDs embedded in thin layers of GaAs, surrounded by...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
Ionization-Assisted Getter Pumping for Ultra-Stable Trapped Ion Frequency Standards
A method eliminates (or recovers from) residual methane buildup in getter-pumped atomic frequency standard systems by applying ionizing assistance. Ultra-high stability trapped ion frequency standards for applications requiring very high reliability, and/or low...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
Phase-Array Approach to Optical Whispering Gallery Modulators
This technology leverages the well-defined orbital number of a whispering gallery modulator (WGM) to expand the range of applications for such resonators. This property rigidly connects the phase variation of the field in this mode with the azimuthal angle between the coupling locations.
Briefs: Physical Sciences
Fiber-Optic Continuous Liquid Sensor for Cryogenic Propellant Gauging
An innovative fiber-optic sensor has been developed for low-thrust-level settled mass gauging with measurement uncertainty
Briefs: Physical Sciences
Measurement of the Length of an Optical Trap
NASA Glenn has been involved in developing optical trapping and optical micromanipulation techniques in order to develop a tool that can be used to probe, characterize, and assemble nano and microscale materials to create microscale sensors for harsh flight environments. In order to be able to assemble a...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
Mode Tracker for Mode-Hop-Free Operation of a Laser
A mode-tracking system that includes a mode-controlling subsystem has been incorporated into an external-cavity (EC) quantum cascade laser that operates in a mid-infrared wavelength range. The mode-tracking system makes it possible to perform mode-hop-free wavelength scans, as needed for...
Briefs: Information Technology
Physical Invariants of Intelligence
A program of research is dedicated to development of a mathematical formalism that could provide, among other things, means by which living systems could be distinguished from non-living ones. A major issue that arises in this research is the following question: What invariants of mathematical models of the...
Briefs: Information Technology
Rocket-Plume Spectroscopy Simulation for Hydrocarbon-Fueled Rocket Engines
The UV-Vis spectroscopic system for plume diagnostics monitors rocket engine health by using several analytical tools developed at Stennis Space Center (SSC), including the rocket plume spectroscopy simulation code (RPSSC), to identify and quantify the alloys from the...
Briefs: Information Technology
Research on Spoken Dialogue Systems
Research in the field of spoken dialogue systems has been performed with the goal of making such systems more robust and easier to use in demanding situations. The term “spoken dialogue systems” signifies unified software systems containing speech-recognition, speech-synthesis, dialogue management, and...
Briefs: Information Technology
Injecting Errors for Testing Built-in Test Software
Two algorithms have been conceived to enable automated, thorough testing of Built-in test (BIT) software. The first algorithm applies to BIT routines that define pass/fail criteria based on values of data read from such hardware devices as memories, input ports, or registers. This algorithm...
Briefs: Information Technology
Guidance and Control System for a Satellite Constellation
A distributed guidance and control algorithm was developed for a constellation of satellites. The system repositions satellites as required, regulates satellites to desired orbits, and prevents collisions.
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Dedicated Deployable Aerobraking Structure
A dedicated deployable aerobraking structure concept was developed that significantly increases the effective area of a spacecraft during aerobraking by up to a factor of 5 or more (depending on spacecraft size) without substantially increasing total spacecraft mass. Increasing the effective aerobraking...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Portable Health Algorithms Test System
A document discusses the Portable Health Algorithms Test (PHALT) System, which has been designed as a means for evolving the maturity and credibility of algorithms developed to assess the health of aerospace systems. Comprising an integrated hardware-software environment, the PHALT system allows systems health...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Technique for Performing Dielectric Property Measurements at Microwave Frequencies
A paper discusses the need to perform accurate dielectric property measurements on larger sized samples, particularly liquids at microwave frequencies. These types of measurements cannot be obtained using conventional cavity perturbation methods, particularly for...
Who's Who: Aerospace
Dr. William Ko joined NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center in 1977 after receiving a PhD in aeronautics from California...
Articles: Green Design & Manufacturing
In just the last few years, innovation in alternative-energy technologies have gained significant footholds in product development lifecycles and are rapidly changing our individual...
Articles: Energy
Optimized Power Devices Enable Energy Efficient Solar Inverters and Micro-Converters
As the demand for greener appliances and consumer products soars across the globe, and energy savings becomes a global phenomenon (and necessity) in residential and commercial environments, solar and wind power technologies have begun to proliferate in cities and...
Briefs: Energy
Most wind farms consist of horizontal axis wind turbines (HAWTs), but an alternative paradigm for wind energy extraction is found in vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT) designs. A single spatially-isolated VAWT has a significantly lower power coefficient.
Briefs: Energy
In recent years, better stabilizer formulations for ethylene vinyl-acetate have been developed, giving more confidence in the long-term stability of PV packaging materials. Because of this, some manufacturers have stopped using Ce-doped glass. National Renewable Energy Laboratory researchers studied Ce-free glass.
Products: Green Design & Manufacturing
Dialight (Farmingdale, NJ) has introduced ultra-bright DuroSite LED High Bay fixtures that incorporate Cree’s Xlamp® XP-G LEDs, delivering nearly 12,000 lumens while consuming only 150 watts. Free of...
NASA Tech Needs
Maintaining proper operation is crucial in safety-critical settings such as space-going vehicles, launch operations, and aeronautics applications. Should abnormal conditions be encountered, it is desirable to...
Articles: Electronics & Computers
The telecommunications industry’s continuous strive for higher performance has spurred innovations in processor architectures. The general trend has been to go parallel; adding more cores to a single...
Articles: Electronics & Computers
Due to the growth of video on demand (VoD), IPTV media content, and embedded database applications, AdvancedTCA (ATCA)-based storage capacity requirements continue to increase...
Articles: Electronics & Computers
Safety-critical development standards, such as DO-1781, have been very successful in guiding the production of reliable software. These standards assist developers in applying good software...
Application Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Satellite communications offer mobility and communications for military operations in remote locations where terrestrial-based connectivity is not available, or is too...
Products: Electronics & Computers
ITOX (East Brunswick, NJ) has partnered with Systium® Technologies to introduce the Model 132 “mini” series 12-volt system utilizing the ITOX NP101-D16C Mini-ITX motherboard. The Systium Model 132...
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The Real Impact of AR and AI in the Industrial Equipment Industry
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