Microwave apparatus for gravitational waves observation

In this report the theoretical and experimental activities for the development of superconducting microwave cavities for the detection of gravitational waves are presented.Comment: 42 pages, 28 figure

A determination of the molar gas constant R by acoustic thermometry in helium

We have determined the acoustic and microwave frequencies of a misaligned spherical resonator maintained near the temperature of the triple point of water and filled with helium with carefully characterized molar mass M = (4.002 6032 ± 0.000 0015) g mol-1, with a relative standard uncertainty ur(M) = 0.37×10-6. From these data and traceable thermometry we estimate the speed of sound in our sample of helium at TTPW = 273.16 K and zero pressure to be u0 2 = (945 710.45 ± 0.85) m2 s-2 and correspondingly deduce the value R = (8.314 4743 ± 0.000 0088) J mol-1 K-1 for the molar gas constant. We estimate the value k = R/NA = (1.380 6508 ± 0.000 0015) × 10-23 J K-1 for the Boltzmann constant using the currently accepted value of the Avogadro constant NA. These estimates of R and k, with a relative standard uncertainty of 1.06 × 10-6, are 1.47 parts in 106 above the values recommended by CODATA in 2010

The next detectors for gravitational wave astronomy

This paper focuses on the next detectors for gravitational wave astronomy which will be required after the current ground based detectors have completed their initial observations, and probably achieved the first direct detection of gravitational waves. The next detectors will need to have greater sensitivity, while also enabling the world array of detectors to have improved angular resolution to allow localisation of signal sources. Sect. 1 of this paper begins by reviewing proposals for the next ground based detectors, and presents an analysis of the sensitivity of an 8 km armlength detector, which is proposed as a safe and cost-effective means to attain a 4-fold improvement in sensitivity. The scientific benefits of creating a pair of such detectors in China and Australia is emphasised. Sect. 2 of this paper discusses the high performance suspension systems for test masses that will be an essential component for future detectors, while sect. 3 discusses solutions to the problem of Newtonian noise which arise from fluctuations in gravity gradient forces acting on test masses. Such gravitational perturbations cannot be shielded, and set limits to low frequency sensitivity unless measured and suppressed. Sects. 4 and 5 address critical operational technologies that will be ongoing issues in future detectors. Sect. 4 addresses the design of thermal compensation systems needed in all high optical power interferometers operating at room temperature. Parametric instability control is addressed in sect. 5. Only recently proven to occur in Advanced LIGO, parametric instability phenomenon brings both risks and opportunities for future detectors. The path to future enhancements of detectors will come from quantum measurement technologies. Sect. 6 focuses on the use of optomechanical devices for obtaining enhanced sensitivity, while sect. 7 reviews a range of quantum measurement options

Frequency-shift vs phase-shift characterization of in-liquid quartz crystal microbalance applications

The improvement of sensitivity in quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) applications has been addressed in the last decades by increasing the sensor fundamental frequency, following the increment of the frequencymass sensitivity with the square of frequency predicted by Sauerbrey. However, this sensitivity improvement has not been completely transferred in terms of resolution. The decrease of frequency stability due to the increase of the phase noise, particularly in oscillators, made impossible to reach the expected resolution. A new concept of sensor characterization at constant frequency has been recently proposed. The validation of the new concept is presented in this work. An immunosensor application for the detection of a low molecular weight contaminant, the insecticide carbaryl, has been chosen for the validation. An, in principle, improved version of a balanced-bridge oscillator is validated for its use in liquids, and applied for the frequency shift characterization of the QCM immunosensor application. The classical frequency shift characterization is compared with the new phase-shift characterization concept and system proposed. © 2011 American Institute of Physics.The authors are grateful to the Spanish Ministry of Science and Technology for the financial support to this research under contract reference AGL2009-13511, and to the company Advanced Wave Sensors S. L. (www.awsensors.com) for the help provided in the development of some parts of this work.Montagut Ferizzola, YJ.; García Narbón, JV.; Jiménez Jiménez, Y.; March Iborra, MDC.; Montoya Baides, Á.; Arnau Vives, A. (2011). Frequency-shift vs phase-shift characterization of in-liquid quartz crystal microbalance applications. Review of Scientific Instruments. 82(6):1-14. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3598340S114826Sauerbrey, G. (1959). 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Biomacromolecules, 3(6), 1170-1178. doi:10.1021/bm0255490Höök, F., Ray, A., Nordén, B., & Kasemo, B. (2001). Characterization of PNA and DNA Immobilization and Subsequent Hybridization with DNA Using Acoustic-Shear-Wave Attenuation Measurements. Langmuir, 17(26), 8305-8312. doi:10.1021/la0107704Ben-Dov, I., Willner, I., & Zisman, E. (1997). Piezoelectric Immunosensors for Urine Specimens ofChlamydia trachomatisEmploying Quartz Crystal Microbalance Microgravimetric Analyses. Analytical Chemistry, 69(17), 3506-3512. doi:10.1021/ac970216sNirschl, M., Blüher, A., Erler, C., Katzschner, B., Vikholm-Lundin, I., Auer, S., … Mertig, M. (2009). Film bulk acoustic resonators for DNA and protein detection and investigation of in vitro bacterial S-layer formation. Sensors and Actuators A: Physical, 156(1), 180-184. doi:10.1016/j.sna.2009.02.021Fung, Y. S., & Wong, Y. Y. (2001). Self-Assembled Monolayers as the Coating in a Quartz Piezoelectric Crystal Immunosensor To Detect Salmonella in Aqueous Solution. Analytical Chemistry, 73(21), 5302-5309. doi:10.1021/ac010655yZhou, X., Liu, L., Hu, M., Wang, L., & Hu, J. (2002). Detection of hepatitis B virus by piezoelectric biosensor. Journal of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Analysis, 27(1-2), 341-345. doi:10.1016/s0731-7085(01)00538-6Gabl, R., Green, E., Schreiter, M., Feucht, H. D., Zeininger, H., Primig, R., … Wersing, W. (s. f.). Novel integrated FBAR sensors: a universal technology platform for bio- and gas-detection. Proceedings of IEEE Sensors 2003 (IEEE Cat. No.03CH37498). doi:10.1109/icsens.2003.1279132Gabl, R., Feucht, H.-D., Zeininger, H., Eckstein, G., Schreiter, M., Primig, R., … Wersing, W. (2004). First results on label-free detection of DNA and protein molecules using a novel integrated sensor technology based on gravimetric detection principles. 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IEEE Transactions on Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics and Frequency Control, 53(11), 2095-2100. doi:10.1109/tuffc.2006.149Wingqvist, G., Bjurström, J., Liljeholm, L., Yantchev, V., & Katardjiev, I. (2007). Shear mode AlN thin film electro-acoustic resonant sensor operation in viscous media. Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical, 123(1), 466-473. doi:10.1016/j.snb.2006.09.028Wingqvist, G., Anderson, H., Lennartsson, C., Weissbach, T., Yantchev, V., & Lloyd Spetz, A. (2009). On the applicability of high frequency acoustic shear mode biosensing in view of thickness limitations set by the film resonance. Biosensors and Bioelectronics, 24(11), 3387-3390. doi:10.1016/j.bios.2009.04.021Harding, G. L. (2001). Mass sensitivity of Love-mode acoustic sensors incorporating silicon dioxide and silicon-oxy-fluoride guiding layers. Sensors and Actuators A: Physical, 88(1), 20-28. doi:10.1016/s0924-4247(00)00491-xWang, Z., Cheeke, J. D. N., & Jen, C. K. (1994). Sensitivity analysis for Love mode acoustic gravimetric sensors. Applied Physics Letters, 64(22), 2940-2942. doi:10.1063/1.111976Kalantar-Zadeh, K., Wlodarski, W., Chen, Y. Y., Fry, B. N., & Galatsis, K. (2003). Novel Love mode surface acoustic wave based immunosensors. Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical, 91(1-3), 143-147. doi:10.1016/s0925-4005(03)00079-0Ogi, H., Naga, H., Fukunishi, Y., Hirao, M., & Nishiyama, M. (2009). 170-MHz Electrodeless Quartz Crystal Microbalance Biosensor: Capability and Limitation of Higher Frequency Measurement. Analytical Chemistry, 81(19), 8068-8073. doi:10.1021/ac901267bA. Arnau, V. Ferrari, D. Soares, and H. Perrot, inPiezoelectric Transducers and Applications, edited by A. Arnau, 2nd ed. (Springer Verlag, Berlin Heidelberg, 2008), ch. 5, pp. 117–186.Eichelbaum, F., Borngräber, R., Schröder, J., Lucklum, R., & Hauptmann, P. (1999). Interface circuits for quartz-crystal-microbalance sensors. Review of Scientific Instruments, 70(5), 2537-2545. doi:10.1063/1.1149788Schröder, J., Borngräber, R., Lucklum, R., & Hauptmann, P. (2001). Network analysis based interface electronics for quartz crystal microbalance. Review of Scientific Instruments, 72(6), 2750-2755. doi:10.1063/1.1370560Doerner, S., Schneider, T., Schroder, J., & Hauptmann, P. (s. f.). Universal impedance spectrum analyzer for sensor applications. Proceedings of IEEE Sensors 2003 (IEEE Cat. No.03CH37498). doi:10.1109/icsens.2003.1279007Rodahl, M., & Kasemo, B. (1996). A simple setup to simultaneously measure the resonant frequency and the absolute dissipation factor of a quartz crystal microbalance. Review of Scientific Instruments, 67(9), 3238-3241. doi:10.1063/1.1147494Rodahl, M., & Kasemo, B. (1996). Frequency and dissipation-factor responses to localized liquid deposits on a QCM electrode. Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical, 37(1-2), 111-116. doi:10.1016/s0925-4005(97)80077-9Barnes, C. (1992). 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In-Liquid Sensing of Chemical Compounds by QCM Sensors Coupled With High-Accuracy ACC Oscillator. IEEE Transactions on Instrumentation and Measurement, 55(3), 828-834. doi:10.1109/tim.2006.873792Ferrari, M., Ferrari, V., & Kanazawa, K. K. (2008). Dual-harmonic oscillator for quartz crystal resonator sensors. Sensors and Actuators A: Physical, 145-146, 131-138. doi:10.1016/j.sna.2007.10.087Riesch, C., & Jakoby, B. (2007). Novel Readout Electronics for Thickness Shear-Mode Liquid Sensors Compensating for Spurious Conductivity and Capacitances. IEEE Sensors Journal, 7(3), 464-469. doi:10.1109/jsen.2007.891931Arnau, A., García, J. V., Jimenez, Y., Ferrari, V., & Ferrari, M. (2008). Improved electronic interfaces forAT-cut quartz crystal microbalance sensors under variable damping and parallel capacitance conditions. Review of Scientific Instruments, 79(7), 075110. doi:10.1063/1.2960571Barnes, C. (1991). Development of quartz crystal oscillators for under-liquid sensing. 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Index to 1984 NASA Tech Briefs, volume 9, numbers 1-4

Short announcements of new technology derived from the R&D activities of NASA are presented. These briefs emphasize information considered likely to be transferrable across industrial, regional, or disciplinary lines and are issued to encourage commercial application. This index for 1984 Tech B Briefs contains abstracts and four indexes: subject, personal author, originating center, and Tech Brief Number. The following areas are covered: electronic components and circuits, electronic systems, physical sciences, materials, life sciences, mechanics, machinery, fabrication technology, and mathematics and information sciences

Fluid quantity gaging

A system for measuring the mass of liquid in a tank on orbit with 1 percent accuracy was developed and demonstrated. An extensive tradeoff identified adiabatic compression as the only gaging technique that is independent of gravity or its orientation, and of the size and distribution of bubbles in the tank. This technique is applicable to all Earth-storable and cryogenic liquids of interest for Space Station use, except superfluid helium, and can be applied to tanks of any size, shape, or internal structure. Accuracy of 0.2 percent was demonstrated in the laboratory, and a detailed analytical model was developed and verified by testing. A flight system architecture is presented that allows meeting the needs of a broad range of space fluid systems without custom development for each user

Aerometry instrumentation study Final report

Techniques and instruments for meteorological measurements in Mars and Venus atmosphere

Development of an Electrical Interface for A Lateral Field Excited Sensor System

Sensor systems are utilized to provide critical information to an end user which may range from a physician in a heath care facility to a soldier in a battle field environment. The heart of the sensor system is the sensing platform, examples of which include semiconductor, piezoelectric and optical devices. The responses of these sensors must be converted into a format that the user can read and interpret. This conversion is achieved through integrating the sensing platform with an electrical interface. The focus of this thesis is the development of the first electrical interface for Quartz Crystal Microbalance (QCM) sensors in the Lateral Field Excitation (LFE) configuration. Common techniques used for interfacing with thickness field excitation (TFE) QCM devices include impedance-based systems, oscillator systems, and phase-mass based systems. Although oscillators have been successfully designed for TFE QCMs, attempts to develop an oscillator-based interface system for the LFE QCMs operating in air and vacuum media have been unsuccessful. A comparative study of LFE and TFE sensors operating in air and vacuum media was conducted to determine the reason why these interfaces do not work with LFE QCMs. It was concluded that compared to TFE sensors LFE sensors have higher motional resistance, Rm, and narrower separation between the series and parallel resonant frequencies, which inhibited oscillation. To identify an optimum configuration for the 6MHz LFE sensor based on the sensor\u27s impedance response, 45 different configurations for the LFE sensor were fabricated and tested. Based on the conclusions of the comparative study and further investigation into QCM electrical interfaces, two electrical interface systems were investigated for the chosen LFE: the Balanced Bridge Oscillator (BBO) and the Phase Shift Monitoring system. The BBO, a type of frequency tracking system, was selected as the parallel capacitance seen by the sensor can be compensated for, improving the bandwidth of the sensors impedance response. This circuit can be tuned to match the LFE response, and incorporate automatic gain control. However, The fabricated BBO was unable to achieve a stable oscillation with current LFE devices. The Phase-Shift Monitoring system, which is based on the Phase-Mass characterization method, utilizes an external signal to excite the sensor, and the change in the phase shift of the sensor is tracked as a load is applied to it. The system outputs two DC signals corresponding to the detected change in phase-shift and signal amplitude. The Phase-Mass Monitoring system was tested using both liquid and solid loading with the LFE sensor, and was able to consistently detect masses in the 10s of micrograms range. When the LFE was loaded with 52μg in air, the system output 7.45mV with a tolerance of ±0.6mV. The Phase-Shift Monitoring system is the first electrical interface to be successfully integrated with the LFE sensor platform in air and vacuum media, where oscillator-based systems have been unsuccessful. Further work and testing on the system are required to fully characterize the phase-mass relationship of the LFE, as well as developing the system for commercialization