Index to NASA Tech Briefs, 1975

This index contains abstracts and four indexes--subject, personal author, originating Center, and Tech Brief number--for 1975 Tech Briefs

Index to 1986 NASA Tech Briefs, volume 11, 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 1986 Tech 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

LASER Tech Briefs, September 1993

This edition of LASER Tech briefs contains a feature on photonics. The other topics include: Electronic Components and Circuits. Electronic Systems, Physical Sciences, Materials, Computer Programs, Mechanics, Machinery, Fabrication Technology, Mathematics and Information Sciences, Life Sciences and books and reports

NASA SBIR abstracts of 1990 phase 1 projects

The research objectives of the 280 projects placed under contract in the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) 1990 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase 1 program are described. The basic document consists of edited, non-proprietary abstracts of the winning proposals submitted by small businesses in response to NASA's 1990 SBIR Phase 1 Program Solicitation. The abstracts are presented under the 15 technical topics within which Phase 1 proposals were solicited. Each project was assigned a sequential identifying number from 001 to 280, in order of its appearance in the body of the report. The document also includes Appendixes to provide additional information about the SBIR program and permit cross-reference in the 1990 Phase 1 projects by company name, location by state, principal investigator, NASA field center responsible for management of each project, and NASA contract number

Small business innovation research. Abstracts of completed 1987 phase 1 projects

Non-proprietary summaries of Phase 1 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) projects supported by NASA in the 1987 program year are given. Work in the areas of aeronautical propulsion, aerodynamics, acoustics, aircraft systems, materials and structures, teleoperators and robotics, computer sciences, information systems, spacecraft systems, spacecraft power supplies, spacecraft propulsion, bioastronautics, satellite communication, and space processing are covered

Growth and Characterization of Silicon-Germanium-Tin Semiconductors for Future Nanophotonics Devices

The bright future of silicon (Si) photonics has attracted research interest worldwide. The ultimate goal of this growing field is to develop a group IV based Si foundries that integrate Si-photonics with the current complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS) on a single chip for mid-infrared optoelectronics and high speed devices. Even though group IV was used in light detection, such as photoconductors, it is still cannot compete with III-V semiconductors for light generation. This is because most of the group IV elements, such as Si and germanium (Ge), are indirect bandgap materials. Nevertheless, Ge and Si attracted industry attention because they are cheap to be used with low cost and high volume manufacturing. Thus, enhancing their light efficiency is highly desired. A key solution to improve the light efficiency of Ge is by growing tensile strained Ge-on-Si and SixGe1-x-ySny (Sn: tin) alloys. In this dissertation, Si-Ge-Sn material system was grown using chemical vapor deposition technique and further characterized by advanced optical and material techniques. Ge-on-Si was grown at low growth temperatures by using plasma enhancement in order to achieve growth conditions compatible with CMOS technology with high quality Ge layers. First, a single step Ge layer was grown at low temperatures (T 450°C). The material and optical characterization of the single step reveal low material and optical qualities. Second, a two-step Ge-on-Si was grown (T 525°C) to improve the quality. The results show low threading dislocation density on the order of 107 cm-2 with roughness values on the order of several nm. Optical characterization reveal optical quality close to a Ge buffer grown by a traditional high temperature method. In addition, bulk and quantum well SixGe1-x-ySny alloys were grown. The results indicate that lattice matched bulk SiGeSn/Ge can be grown with high optical and material qualities using low cost commercial precursors. In addition, band structure and optical analysis results from a single Ge0.865Sn0.135 quantum well with Si0.04Ge0.895Sn0.065 double barriers on a relaxed Ge0.918Sn0.08 buffer indicate a type-I band alignment with direct bandgap emission. Moreover, SiGeSn barriers improved the optical confinement as compared to GeSn barriers

NASA Tech Briefs, February 1988

Topics covered include: New Product Ideas; NASA TU Services; Electronic Components and Circuits; Electronic Systems; Physical Sciences; Materials; Computer Programs; Mechanics; Machinery; Fabrication Technology; Mathematics and Information Systems; and Life Sciences

Metasurface Based Mid-infrared Devices

The development of compact, efficient, and powerful mid-infrared devices is mainly restrained by the limited choice of materials due to the high loss of conventional optical materials in the mid-infrared range. The aim of this work was to find alternative novel materials which would enable the realization of devices with smaller size while maintaining its functionality. Metasurface and graphene have emerged as promising materials which can help us to manipulate the infrared light within nano-meter scale thickness. In this thesis, three different mid-infrared devices, thermal emitter, wave trapping sensor and phase modulator were designed based on either metasurface or both metasurface and graphene. Devices were all fabricated with modern semiconductor fabrication processes and their performances were also fully investigated, both experimentally and through simulations. A metasurface was first designed as a frequency selective layer on a graphene thermal emitter to tailor the graybody emission spectrum from a graphene filament into two discrete narrow bands for applications such as gas sensing or molecule detection. The emission and reflectance spectra of the devices were characterised using (FTIR) Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and showed good agreement with simulations based on the Finite-difference time-domain (FDTD). method. The use of a metasurface to enhance the interaction between molecular vibrations and the evanescent waves, in a total attenuated reflectance system, was also explored. A complementary ring-resonator structure was patterned onto both silicon and SiO2/Si substrates, and the spectral properties of both devices were characterised using an FTIR-ATR system. Experiments were undertaken using 5µL mixtures containing trace amounts of butyl acetate diluted with oleic acid. Without the use of a metasurface, the minimum concentration of butyl acetate that could be clearly detected was 10%, whereas the use of the metasurface on the SiO2/Si substrate allowed the detection of 1% butyl acetate. Finally, graphene was integrated into a metasurface structure to achieve tunability of the design. The third device investigated was a phase modulator which shows the capability to change the amplitude and phase of the reflected wave by electrostatically gating the graphene from -90V to 90V. A dynamic beam steering lens model which is made up of a unit cell consisting of four phase modulator with different phase shift was also proposed to control the angle for the reflected wave from specular to 30°.Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC

NASA Tech Briefs, October 2006

Topics covered include: Protein Sensors Based on Optical Ring Resonators; Phase Sensor for Aligning a Segmented Telescope Mirror; Control Software for Advanced Video Guidance Sensor; Generating Control Commands From Gestures Sensed by EMG; Multiple-Flat-Panel System Displays Multidimensional Data; 3D X-Ray Luggage-Screening System; Probe Station and Near-Field Scanner for Testing Antennas; Photodetector Arrays for Multicolor Visible/Infrared Imaging; Semiconductor Bolometers Give Background-Limited Performance; Multichannel X-Band Dielectric-Resonator Oscillator; Automatic Alignment of Displacement-Measuring Interferometer; Earth Observing System Data Gateway; Power User Interface; Mercury Shopping Cart Interface; Cassini Archive Tracking System; Architecture Adaptive Computing Environment; Computing Fault Displacements from Surface Deformations; Oxygen-Permeable, Hydrophobic Membranes of Silanized alpha-Al2O3; SiC Composite Turbine Vanes; Retaining Device for the Interior Structure of a Spacecraft Payload; Tool for Torquing Circular Electrical-Connector Collars; System for Continuous Deaeration of Hydraulic Oil; Solar-Powered Cooler and Heater for an Automobile Interior; Improved Oxygen-Beam Texturing of Glucose-Monitoring Optics; Tool for Two Types of Friction Stir Welding; Stationary Apparatus Would Apply Forces of Walking to Feet; Instrument Would Detect and Collect Biological Aerosols; Boundary Condition for Modeling Semiconductor Nanostructures; Miniature Distillation Column for Producing LOX From Air; Even Illumination from Fiber-Optic-Coupled Laser Diodes; Optically Driven Deformable Mirrors; Algorithm for Automated Detection of Edges of Clouds; Exploiting Quantum Resonance to Solve Combinatorial Problems; Hybrid Terrain Database; On Release of Microbe-Laden Particles from Mars Landers; A Concept for Run-Time Support of the Chapel Language; Thermoelectric Inhomogeneities in (Ag(sub 1-y)SbTe2)(sub x)(PbTe)(sub 1-x); and Spacecraft Escape Capsule

NASA SBIR abstracts of 1991 phase 1 projects

The objectives of 301 projects placed under contract by the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) are described. These projects were selected competitively from among proposals submitted to NASA in response to the 1991 SBIR Program Solicitation. The basic document consists of edited, non-proprietary abstracts of the winning proposals submitted by small businesses. The abstracts are presented under the 15 technical topics within which Phase 1 proposals were solicited. Each project was assigned a sequential identifying number from 001 to 301, in order of its appearance in the body of the report. Appendixes to provide additional information about the SBIR program and permit cross-reference of the 1991 Phase 1 projects by company name, location by state, principal investigator, NASA Field Center responsible for management of each project, and NASA contract number are included