Photonics/​Optics

Access our comprehensive library of technical briefs on photonics and optics, from engineering experts at NASA and major government, university, and commercial laboratories.

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Briefs: Photonics/Optics

Nitrogen lasers have been used for more than 15 years in life science and forensic applications and will continue to play a role in many scientific and industrial applications. But...

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Briefs: Photonics/Optics

A method of adaptive signal processing has been proposed as the basis of a new generation of interferometric optical profilometers for measuring surfaces. Many current optical...

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Briefs: Photonics/Optics

Faced with increasing demand, manufacturers of power devices, microdisplays, and high-brightness light-emitting diodes (HB-LEDs) are focusing on tightening manufacturing...

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Briefs: Photonics/Optics

University of Texas at Austin and Omega Optics, Austin, Texas

For decades, silicon has not been considered a favorable material for manipulating light. Electrical Engineering...

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Briefs: Photonics/Optics
Quantum-Dot Laser for Wavelengths of 1.8 to 2.3 μm

The figure depicts a proposed semiconductor laser, based on In(As)Sb quantum dots on a (001) InP substrate, that would operate in the wavelength range between 1.8 and 2.3 μm. InSb and InAsSb are the smallest-bandgap conventional III-V semiconductor materials, and the present proposal is an...

Briefs: Photonics/Optics
Pattern-Recognition Algorithm for Locking Laser Frequency

A computer program serves as part of a feedback control system that locks the frequency of a laser to one of the spectral peaks of cesium atoms in an optical-absorption cell. The system analyzes a saturation absorption spectrum to find a target peak and commands a laser-frequency-control...

Briefs: Photonics/Optics

Flomerics, Inc., Marlborough, Massachusetts

Problems emerge when electromagnetically “hot” optical transceivers are placed into systems that are bound by emissions limits....

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Briefs: Photonics/Optics

A tunable third-order band-pass optical filter has been constructed as an assembly of three coupled, tunable, whispering-gallery-mode resonators similar to the one described in...

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Briefs: Photonics/Optics

A method that would notably include dynamic pupil masking has been proposed as an enhanced version of a prior method of phasing the segments of a primary telescope mirror. The...

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Briefs: Photonics/Optics
Using Quasiparticle Poisoning To Detect Photons

According to a proposal, a phenomenon associated with excitation of quasi- particles in certain superconducting quantum devices would be exploited as a means of detecting photons with exquisite sensitivity. The phenomenon could also be exploited to perform medium-resolution spectroscopy. The...

Briefs: Photonics/Optics
Wavelength-Agile External-Cavity Diode Laser for DWDM

A prototype external-cavity diode laser (ECDL) has been developed for communication systems utilizing dense wavelength-division multiplexing (DWDM). This ECDL is an updated version of the ECDL reported in “Wavelength-Agile External-Cavity Diode Laser” (LEW-17090), NASA Tech Briefs, Vol....

Briefs: Photonics/Optics

A proposed joint-transform optical correlator (JTOC) would be capable of operating as a real-time pattern-recognition processor. The key correlation-filter reading/writing medium...

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Briefs: Photonics/Optics
Headwall Photonics, Fitchburg, Massachusetts

Raman spectroscopy has risen to the top of a short list of technologies for identifying substances with high...

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Briefs: Photonics/Optics

Whispering-gallery-mode (WGM) optical resonators of a type now under development are designed to support few well-defined waveguide modes. In the simplest case, a resonator of this type would...

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Briefs: Photonics/Optics
Electrically Tunable Terahertz Quantum-Cascade Lasers

Improved quantum-cascade lasers (QCLs) are being developed as electrically tunable sources of radiation in the far infrared spectral region, especially in the frequency range of 2 to 5 THz. (Heretofore, the wavelengths of QCLs have been adjusted by changing temperatures, but not by changing...

Briefs: Software
Optics Program Modified for Multithreaded Parallel Computing

A powerful high-performance computer program for simulating and analyzing adaptive and controlled optical systems has been developed by modifying the serial version of the Modeling and Analysis for Controlled Optical Systems (MACOS) program to impart capabilities for multithreaded...

Briefs: Photonics/Optics

An apparatus denoted a laser image contrast enhancement system (LICES) increases the contrast with which one can view a target glowing with blackbody radiation (a white-hot object)...

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Briefs: Photonics/Optics
Dual-Laser-Pulse Ignition

A dual-pulse laser (DPL) technique has been demonstrated for generating laser-induced sparks (LIS) to ignite fuels. The technique was originally intended to be applied to the ignition of rocket propellants, but may also be applicable to ignition in terrestrial settings in which electric igniters may not be suitable....

Briefs: Photonics/Optics

Silicon waveguides have strong light confinement properties due to a very high index core (silicon, refractive index ~3.5) material surrounded by a much lower index glass (silica,...

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Briefs: Photonics/Optics
Portable Airborne Laser System Measures Forest-Canopy Height

The Portable Airborne Laser System (PALS) is a combination of laser ranging, video imaging, positioning, and data-processing subsystems designed for measuring the heights of forest canopies along linear transects from tens to thousands of kilometers long. Unlike prior laser ranging...

Briefs: Photonics/Optics

Integrated circuits that exploit optical flow to sense motions of computer mice on or near surfaces (“optical mouse chips”) are used as navigation sensors in a class of small flying robots...

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Briefs: Photonics/Optics

Internal heating is a key issue for vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSELs), a semiconductor micro laser diode that emits light in a cylindrical...

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Briefs: Photonics/Optics

A two-photon fluorescence microscope has been developed for the study of biophysical phenomena. Two-photon microscopy is a novel form of laser-based scanning microscopy that...

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Briefs: Information Technology

An advanced computer code is undergoing development for numerically simulating laser cooling and trapping of large numbers of atoms. The code is expected to be useful in...

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Briefs: Imaging

Flight-control and navigation systems inspired by the structure and function of the visual system and brain of insects have been proposed for a class of developmental miniature...

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Briefs: Photonics/Optics
Spaceborne Infrared Atmospheric Sounder

A report describes the development of the spaceborne infrared atmospheric sounder (SIRAS)—a spectral imaging instrument, suitable for observing the atmosphere of the Earth from a spacecraft, that utilizes four spectrometers to cover the wavelength range of 12 to 15.4 µm with a spectral resolution that...

Briefs: Photonics/Optics

A tool has been developed for the special purpose of inserting the terminus of an optical fiber in a cable connector that conforms to NASA Specification SSQ-21635. What prompted the...

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Briefs: Photonics/Optics
Second-Generation Multi-Angle Imaging Spectroradiometer

A report discusses an early phase in the development of the MISR-2 C, a second, improved version of the Multi-angle Imaging Spectro Radiometer (MISR), which has been in orbit around the Earth aboard NASA's Terra spacecraft since 1999. Like the MISR, the MISR-2 would contain a "pushbroom"...

Briefs: Photonics/Optics

Variable shadow screens have been proposed for reducing the apparent brightnesses of very bright light sources relative to other sources within the fields of view of diverse imaging optical...

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Webcasts

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On-Demand Webinars: Defense

From Data to Decision: How AI Enhances Warfighter Readiness

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Upcoming Webinars: Aerospace

April Battery & Electrification Summit

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Upcoming Webinars: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Tech Update: 3D Printing for Transportation in 2024

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Upcoming Webinars: Materials

Unleashing Epoxy's Potential: Ensuring Hermetic Sealing in Modern...

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Upcoming Webinars: Test & Measurement

Building an Automotive EMC Test Plan

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Upcoming Webinars: Aerospace

The Moon and Beyond from a Thermal Perspective

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