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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)...
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. Laser...
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,...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
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: Sensors/Data Acquisition
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 now...
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...
Briefs: Communications
Optical-Electrical-Optical (OEO) wavelength translation (WT) based on small-form-factor pluggable (SFP) transceivers is meeting with increased...
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
Bare fiber measurements are common in optical component manufacturing before the device under test (DUT) is connectorized and final tested. Insertion loss and polarization dependent...
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 enables...
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
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...
Briefs: Information Technology
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 robotic...
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...
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
A multilayer dielectric device has been fabricated as a prototype of a low-loss, low-distortion, transmissive optical phase modulator that would provide as much as a full cycle of...
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
The beamviewer is an optical device designed to be attached to a charge-coupled-device (CCD) image detector for measuring the spatial distribution of intensity of a beam of light (the...
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" array...
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
A design concept for a proposed airborne or spaceborne free-space optical-communication terminal provides for simultaneous reception of signals from multiple other...
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...
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
An improved method of fabrication of Bragg gratings in optical fibers combines the best features of two prior methods: one that involves the use of a phase mask and one that involves...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
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: Electronics & Computers
Infrared (IR) detectors characterized by a combination of (1) high-quantum-efficiency photoexcitation of inter-valence-subband transitions of charge carriers and (2) high-mobility...
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
Optoelectronic pattern-recognition systems (optical encoders)for measuring positions of objects of interest at temperatures well below or well above room temperature are undergoing...
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
Tunable optical true-time delay devices that would exploit electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) have been proposed. Relative to prior true-time delay devices (for example,...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
Optoelectronic sensors and magnetic actuators have been developed as parts of a system for controlling the relative position and attitude of two massive optical tables that float on...
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
A holographic technique has been devised for generating a visible display of the effect of exposure of a photorefractive crystal to γ-rays. The technique exploits the space charge that results from...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
A digital averaging phasemeter has been built for measuring the difference between the phases of the unknown and reference heterodyne signals in a heterodyne laser interferometer. This...
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
A prototype improved external cavity laser (ECL) was demonstrated in the second phase of a continuing effort to develop wavelength-agile lasers for fiber-optic communications and...
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
Optoelectronic Instrument Monitors pH in a Culture Medium
An optoelectronic instrument monitors the pH of an aqueous cell-culture medium in a perfused rotating-wall-vessel bioreactor. The instrument is designed to satisfy the following requirements:
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
Laser Ablation of Materials for Propulsion of Spacecraft
A report describes experiments performed as part of a continuing investigation of the feasibility of laser ablation of materials as a means of propulsion for small spacecraft. In each experiment, a specimen of ablative material was mounted on a torsion pendulum and irradiated with a laser...
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
A technique that involves the use of thermoformed plastics has been developed to enable the design and fabrication of ultra-lightweight structural components and mirrors for use in outer...
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