Looking into Generator Room, showing electromagnetic pulse (EMP) filter boxes ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

Looking into Generator Room, showing electromagnetic pulse (EMP) filter boxes mounted above door - Beale Air Force Base, Perimeter Acquisition Vehicle Entry Phased-Array Warning System, Power Plant, End of Spencer Paul Road, north of Warren Shingle Road (14th Street), Marysville, Yuba County, CA

Phased laser array with tailored spectral and coherence properties

DOEpatents

Messerly, Michael J [Danville, CA; Dawson, Jay W [Livermore, CA; Beach, Raymond J [Livermore, CA

2011-03-29

Architectures for coherently combining an array of fiber-based lasers are provided. By matching their lengths to within a few integer multiples of a wavelength, the spatial and temporal properties of a single large laser are replicated, while extending the average or peak pulsed power limit.

Phased laser array with tailored spectral and coherence properties

DOEpatents

Messerly, Michael J; Dawson, Jay W; Beach, Raymond J

2014-05-20

Architectures for coherently combining an array of fiber-based lasers are provided. By matching their lengths to within a few integer multiples of a wavelength, the spatial and temporal properties of a single large laser are replicated, while extending the average or peak pulsed power limit.

Effects of laser source parameters on the generation of narrow band and directed laser ultrasound

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Spicer, James B.; Deaton, John B., Jr.; Wagner, James W.

1992-01-01

Predictive and prescriptive modeling of laser arrays is performed to demonstrate the effects of the extension of array elements on laser array performance. For a repetitively pulsed laser source (the temporal laser array), efficient frequency compression is best achieved by detecting longitudinal waves off-epicenter in plates where the source size and shape directly influence the longitudinal wave shape and duration; the longitudinal array may be tailored for a given repetition frequency to yield efficient overtone energy compression into the fundamental frequency band. For phased arrays, apparent array directivity is heavily influenced by array element size.

High-frequency ultrasound Doppler system for biomedical applications with a 30-MHz linear array.

PubMed

Xu, Xiaochen; Sun, Lei; Cannata, Jonathan M; Yen, Jesse T; Shung, K Kirk

2008-04-01

In this paper, we report the development of the first high-frequency (HF) pulsed-wave Doppler system using a 30-MHz linear array transducer to assess the cardiovascular functions in small animals. This array-based pulsed-wave Doppler system included a 16-channel HF analog beamformer, a HF pulsed-wave Doppler module, timing circuits, HF bipolar pulsers and analog front ends. The beamformed echoes acquired by the 16-channel analog beamformer were fed directly to the HF pulsed-wave Doppler module. Then the in-phase and quadrature-phase (IQ) audio Doppler signals were digitized by either a sound card or a Gage digitizer and stored in a personal computer. The Doppler spectrogram was displayed on a personal computer in real time. The two-way beamwidths were determined to be 160 microm to 320 microm when the array was electronically focused at different focal points at depths from 5 to 10 mm. A micro-flow phantom, consisting of a polyimide tube with an inner diameter of 127 microm and the wire phantom were used to evaluate and calibrate the system. The results show that the system is capable of detecting motion velocity of the wire phantom as low as 0.1 mm/s, and detecting blood-mimicking flow velocity in the 127-microm tube lower than 7 mm/s. The system was subsequently used to measure the blood flow in vivo in two mouse abdominal superficial vessels, with diameters of approximately 200 microm, and a mouse aorta close to the heart. These results demonstrated that this system may become an indispensable part of the current HF array-based imaging systems for small animal studies.

Laser Sources for Generation of Ultrasound

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wagner, James W.

1996-01-01

Two laser systems have been built and used to demonstrate enhancements beyond current technology used for laser-based generation and detection of ultrasound. The first system consisted of ten Nd:YAG laser cavities coupled electronically and optically to permit sequential bursts of up to ten laser pulses directed either at a single point or configured into a phased array of sources. Significant enhancements in overall signal-to-noise ratio for laser ultrasound incorporating this new source system was demonstrated, using it first as a source of narrowband ultrasound and secondly as a phased array source producing large enhanced signal displacements. A second laser system was implemented using ultra fast optical pulses from a Ti:Sapphire laser to study a new method for making laser generated ultrasonic measurements of thin films with thicknesses on the order of hundreds of angstroms. Work by prior investigators showed that such measurements could be made based upon fluctuations in the reflectivity of thin films when they are stressed by an arriving elastic pulse. Research performed using equipment purchased under this program showed that a pulsed interferometric system could be used as well as a piezoreflective detection system to measure pulse arrivals even in thin films with very low piezoreflective coefficients.

Array design considerations for exploitation of stable weakly dispersive modal pulses in the deep ocean

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Udovydchenkov, Ilya A.

2017-07-01

Modal pulses are broadband contributions to an acoustic wave field with fixed mode number. Stable weakly dispersive modal pulses (SWDMPs) are special modal pulses that are characterized by weak dispersion and weak scattering-induced broadening and are thus suitable for communications applications. This paper investigates, using numerical simulations, receiver array requirements for recovering information carried by SWDMPs under various signal-to-noise ratio conditions without performing channel equalization. Two groups of weakly dispersive modal pulses are common in typical mid-latitude deep ocean environments: the lowest order modes (typically modes 1-3 at 75 Hz), and intermediate order modes whose waveguide invariant is near-zero (often around mode 20 at 75 Hz). Information loss is quantified by the bit error rate (BER) of a recovered binary phase-coded signal. With fixed receiver depths, low BERs (less than 1%) are achieved at ranges up to 400 km with three hydrophones for mode 1 with 90% probability and with 34 hydrophones for mode 20 with 80% probability. With optimal receiver depths, depending on propagation range, only a few, sometimes only two, hydrophones are often sufficient for low BERs, even with intermediate mode numbers. Full modal resolution is unnecessary to achieve low BERs. Thus, a flexible receiver array of autonomous vehicles can outperform a cabled array.

The NMR phased array.

PubMed

Roemer, P B; Edelstein, W A; Hayes, C E; Souza, S P; Mueller, O M

1990-11-01

We describe methods for simultaneously acquiring and subsequently combining data from a multitude of closely positioned NMR receiving coils. The approach is conceptually similar to phased array radar and ultrasound and hence we call our techniques the "NMR phased array." The NMR phased array offers the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and resolution of a small surface coil over fields-of-view (FOV) normally associated with body imaging with no increase in imaging time. The NMR phased array can be applied to both imaging and spectroscopy for all pulse sequences. The problematic interactions among nearby surface coils is eliminated (a) by overlapping adjacent coils to give zero mutual inductance, hence zero interaction, and (b) by attaching low input impedance preamplifiers to all coils, thus eliminating interference among next nearest and more distant neighbors. We derive an algorithm for combining the data from the phased array elements to yield an image with optimum SNR. Other techniques which are easier to implement at the cost of lower SNR are explored. Phased array imaging is demonstrated with high resolution (512 x 512, 48-cm FOV, and 32-cm FOV) spin-echo images of the thoracic and lumbar spine. Data were acquired from four-element linear spine arrays, the first made of 12-cm square coils and the second made of 8-cm square coils. When compared with images from a single 15 x 30-cm rectangular coil and identical imaging parameters, the phased array yields a 2X and 3X higher SNR at the depth of the spine (approximately 7 cm).

Mapping lightning in the sky with a mini array

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Füllekrug, Martin; Liu, Zhongjian; Koh, Kuang; Mezentsev, Andrew; Pedeboy, Stéphane; Soula, Serge; Enno, Sven-Erik; Sugier, Jacqueline; Rycroft, Michael J.

2016-10-01

Mini arrays are commonly used for infrasonic and seismic studies. Here we report for the first time the detection and mapping of distant lightning discharges in the sky with a mini array. The array has a baseline to wavelength ratio ˜4.2·10-2 to record very low frequency electromagnetic waves from 2 to 18 kHz. It is found that the mini array detects ˜69 lightning pulses per second from cloud-to-ground and in-cloud discharges, even though the parent thunderstorms are ˜900-1100 km away and a rigorous selection criterion based on the quality of the wavefront across the array is used. In particular, lightning pulses that exhibit a clockwise phase progression are found at larger elevation angles in the sky as the result of a birefringent subionospheric wave propagation attributed to ordinary and extraordinary waves. These results imply that long range lightning detection networks might benefit from an exploration of the wave propagation conditions with mini arrays.

Experimental Evaluation of the High-Speed Motion Vector Measurement by Combining Synthetic Aperture Array Processing with Constrained Least Square Method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yokoyama, Ryouta; Yagi, Shin-ichi; Tamura, Kiyoshi; Sato, Masakazu

2009-07-01

Ultrahigh speed dynamic elastography has promising potential capabilities in applying clinical diagnosis and therapy of living soft tissues. In order to realize the ultrahigh speed motion tracking at speeds of over thousand frames per second, synthetic aperture (SA) array signal processing technology must be introduced. Furthermore, the overall system performance should overcome the fine quantitative evaluation in accuracy and variance of echo phase changes distributed across a tissue medium. On spatial evaluation of local phase changes caused by pulsed excitation on a tissue phantom, investigation was made with the proposed SA signal system utilizing different virtual point sources that were generated by an array transducer to probe each component of local tissue displacement vectors. The final results derived from the cross-correlation method (CCM) brought about almost the same performance as obtained by the constrained least square method (LSM) extended to successive echo frames. These frames were reconstructed by SA processing after the real-time acquisition triggered by the pulsed irradiation from a point source. The continuous behavior of spatial motion vectors demonstrated the dynamic generation and traveling of the pulsed shear wave at a speed of one thousand frames per second.

Phased-array radar for airborne systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tahim, Raghbir S.; Foshee, James J.; Chang, Kai

2003-09-01

Phased array antenna systems, which support high pulse rates and high transmit power, are well suited for radar and large-scale surveillance. Sensors and communication systems can function as the eyes and ears for ballistic missile defense applications, providing early warning of attack, target detection and identification, target tracking, and countermeasure decision. In such applications, active array radar systems that contain solid-state transmitter sources and low-noise preamplifiers for transmission and reception are preferred over the conventional radar antennas, because the phased array radar offers the advantages of power management and efficiency, reliability, signal reception, beam steering target detection. The current phased array radar designs are very large, complex and expensive and less efficient because of high RF losses in the phase control circuits used for beam scan. Several thousands of phase shifters and drivers may be required for a single system thus making the system very complex and expensive. This paper describes the phased array radar system based on high power T/R modules, wide-band radiating planar antenna elements and very low loss wide-band phase control circuits (requiring reduced power levels) for beam scan. The phase shifter design is based on micro-strip feed lines perturbed by the proximity of voltage controlled piezoelectric transducer (PET). Measured results have shown an added insertion loss of less than 1 dB for a phase shift of 450 degrees from 2 to 20 GHz. The new wideband phased array radar design provides significant reduction in size cost and weight. Compared to the conventional phased array systems, the cost saving is more than 15 to 1.

Programming Nanoparticles in Multiscale: Optically Modulated Assembly and Phase Switching of Silicon Nanoparticle Array.

PubMed

Wang, Letian; Rho, Yoonsoo; Shou, Wan; Hong, Sukjoon; Kato, Kimihiko; Eliceiri, Matthew; Shi, Meng; Grigoropoulos, Costas P; Pan, Heng; Carraro, Carlo; Qi, Dongfeng

2018-03-27

Manipulating and tuning nanoparticles by means of optical field interactions is of key interest for nanoscience and applications in electronics and photonics. We report scalable, direct, and optically modulated writing of nanoparticle patterns (size, number, and location) of high precision using a pulsed nanosecond laser. The complex nanoparticle arrangement is modulated by the laser pulse energy and polarization with the particle size ranging from 60 to 330 nm. Furthermore, we report fast cooling-rate induced phase switching of crystalline Si nanoparticles to the amorphous state. Such phase switching has usually been observed in compound phase change materials like GeSbTe. The ensuing modification of atomic structure leads to dielectric constant switching. Based on these effects, a multiscale laser-assisted method of fabricating Mie resonator arrays is proposed. The number of Mie resonators, as well as the resonance peaks and dielectric constants of selected resonators, can be programmed. The programmable light-matter interaction serves as a mechanism to fabricate optical metasurfaces, structural color, and multidimensional optical storage devices.

A broadband phased-array system for direct phosphorus and sodium metabolic MRI on a clinical scanner.

PubMed

Lee, R F; Giaquinto, R; Constantinides, C; Souza, S; Weiss, R G; Bottomley, P A

2000-02-01

Despite their proven gains in signal-to-noise ratio and field-of-view for routine clinical MRI, phased-array detection systems are currently unavailable for nuclei other than protons (1H). A broadband phased-array system was designed and built to convert the 1H transmitter signal to the non-1H frequency for excitation and to convert non-1H phased-array MRI signals to the 1H frequency for presentation to the narrowband 1H receivers of a clinical whole-body 1.5 T MRI system. With this system, the scanner operates at the 1H frequency, whereas phased-array MRI occurs at the frequency of the other nucleus. Pulse sequences were developed for direct phased-array sodium (23Na) and phosphorus (31P) MRI of high-energy phosphates using chemical selective imaging, thereby avoiding the complex processing and reconstruction required for phased-array magnetic resonance spectroscopy data. Flexible 4-channel 31P and 23Na phased-arrays were built and the entire system tested in phantom and human studies. The array produced a signal-to-noise ratio improvement of 20% relative to the best-positioned single coil, but gains of 300-400% were realized in many voxels located outside the effective field-of-view of the single coil. Cardiac phosphorus and sodium MRI were obtained in 6-13 min with 16 and 0.5 mL resolution, respectively. Lower resolution human cardiac 23Na MRI were obtained in as little as 4 sec. The system provides a practical approach to realizing the advantages of phased-arrays for nuclei other than 1H, and imaging metabolites directly.

Multifrequency behaviour of the anomalous events of PSR J0922+0638

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shaifullah, G.; Tiburzi, C.; Osłowski, S.; Verbiest, J. P. W.; Szary, A.; Künsemöller, J.; Horneffer, A.; Anderson, J.; Kramer, M.; Schwarz, D. J.; Mann, G.; Steinmetz, M.; Vocks, C.

2018-06-01

PSR J0922+0638 (B0919+06) shows unexplained anomalous variations in the on-pulse phase, where the pulse appears to episodically move to an earlier longitude for a few tens of rotations before reverting to the usual phase for approximately several hundred to more than a thousand rotations. These events, where the pulse moves in phase by up to 5°, have been previously detected in observations from ˜300 to 2000 MHz. We present simultaneous observations from the Effelsberg 100-m radio telescope at 1350 MHz and the Bornim (Potsdam) station of the LOw Frequency ARray at 150 MHz. Our observations present the first evidence for an absence of the anomalous phase-shifting behaviour at 150 MHz. Instead, the observed intensity at the usual pulse-phase typically decreases, often showing a pseudo-nulling feature corresponding to the times when phase shifts are observed at 1350 MHz. The presence of weak emission at the usual pulse-phase supports the theory that these shifts may result from processes similar to the `profile-absorption' expected to operate for PSR J0814+7429 (B0809+74). A possible mechanism for this could be intrinsic variations of the emission within the pulsar's beam combined with absorption by expanding shells of electrons in the line of sight.

Synthesis of Conformal Phased Antenna Arrays With A Novel Multiobjective Invasive Weed Optimization Algorithm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Wen Tao; Hei, Yong Qiang; Shi, Xiao Wei

2018-04-01

By virtue of the excellent aerodynamic performances, conformal phased arrays have been attracting considerable attention. However, for the synthesis of patterns with low/ultra-low sidelobes of the conventional conformal arrays, the obtained dynamic range ratios of amplitude excitations could be quite high, which results in stringent requirements on various error tolerances for practical implementation. Time-modulated array (TMA) has the advantages of low sidelobe and reduced dynamic range ratio requirement of amplitude excitations. This paper takes full advantages of conformal antenna arrays and time-modulated arrays. The active-element-pattern, including element mutual coupling and platform effects, is employed in the whole design process. To optimize the pulse durations and the switch-on instants of the time-modulated elements, multiobjective invasive weed optimization (MOIWO) algorithm based on the nondominated sorting of the solutions is proposed. A S-band 8-element cylindrical conformal array is designed and a S-band 16-element cylindrical-parabolic conformal array is constructed and tested at two different steering angles.

Fabrication of amorphous micro-ring arrays in crystalline silicon using ultrashort laser pulses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fuentes-Edfuf, Yasser; Garcia-Lechuga, Mario; Puerto, Daniel; Florian, Camilo; Garcia-Leis, Adianez; Sanchez-Cortes, Santiago; Solis, Javier; Siegel, Jan

2017-05-01

We demonstrate a simple way to fabricate amorphous micro-rings in crystalline silicon using direct laser writing. This method is based on the fact that the phase of a thin surface layer can be changed into the amorphous phase by irradiation with a few ultrashort laser pulses (800 nm wavelength and 100 fs duration). Surface-depressed amorphous rings with a central crystalline disk can be fabricated without the need for beam shaping, featuring attractive optical, topographical, and electrical properties. The underlying formation mechanism and phase change pathway have been investigated by means of fs-resolved microscopy, identifying fluence-dependent melting and solidification dynamics of the material as the responsible mechanism. We demonstrate that the lateral dimensions of the rings can be scaled and that the rings can be stitched together, forming extended arrays of structures not limited to annular shapes. This technique and the resulting structures may find applications in a variety of fields such as optics, nanoelectronics, and mechatronics.

Field-programmable gate array-controlled sweep velocity-locked laser pulse generator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Zhen; Hefferman, Gerald; Wei, Tao

2017-05-01

A field-programmable gate array (FPGA)-controlled sweep velocity-locked laser pulse generator (SV-LLPG) design based on an all-digital phase-locked loop (ADPLL) is proposed. A distributed feedback laser with modulated injection current was used as a swept-frequency laser source. An open-loop predistortion modulation waveform was calibrated using a feedback iteration method to initially improve frequency sweep linearity. An ADPLL control system was then implemented using an FPGA to lock the output of a Mach-Zehnder interferometer that was directly proportional to laser sweep velocity to an on-board system clock. Using this system, linearly chirped laser pulses with a sweep bandwidth of 111.16 GHz were demonstrated. Further testing evaluating the sensing utility of the system was conducted. In this test, the SV-LLPG served as the swept laser source of an optical frequency-domain reflectometry system used to interrogate a subterahertz range fiber structure (sub-THz-FS) array. A static strain test was then conducted and linear sensor results were observed.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Miyasaka, Hiromasa; Harrison, Fiona A.; Fürst, Felix

The Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array hard X-ray telescope observed the transient Be/X-ray binary GS 0834–430 during its 2012 outburst—the first active state of this system observed in the past 19 yr. We performed timing and spectral analysis and measured the X-ray spectrum between 3-79 keV with high statistical significance. We find the phase-averaged spectrum to be consistent with that observed in many other magnetized, accreting pulsars. We fail to detect cyclotron resonance scattering features that would allow us to constrain the pulsar's magnetic field in either phase-averaged or phase-resolved spectra. Timing analysis shows a clearly detected pulse period of ∼12.29more » s in all energy bands. The pulse profiles show a strong, energy-dependent hard phase lag of up to 0.3 cycles in phase, or about 4 s. Such dramatic energy-dependent lags in the pulse profile have never before been reported in high-mass X-ray binary pulsars. Previously reported lags have been significantly smaller in phase and restricted to low energies (E < 10 keV). We investigate the possible mechanisms that might produce this energy-dependent pulse phase shift. We find the most likely explanation for this effect is a complex beam geometry.« less

SweepSAR: Beam-forming on Receive Using a Reflector-Phased Array Feed Combination for Spaceborne SAR

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Freeman, A.; Krieger, G.; Rosen, P.; Younis, M.; Johnson, W. T. K.; Huber, S.; Jordan, R.; Moreira, A.

2012-01-01

In this paper, an alternative approach is described that is suited for longer wavelength SARs in particular, employing a large, deployable reflector antenna and a much simpler phased array feed. To illuminate a wide swath, a substantial fraction of the phased array feed is excited on transmit to sub-illuminate the reflector. Shorter transmit pulses are required than for conventional SAR. On receive, a much smaller portion of the phased array feed is used to collect the return echo, so that a greater portion of the reflector antenna area is used. The locus of the portion of the phased array used on receive is adjusted using an analog beam steering network, to 'sweep' the receive beam(s) across the illuminated swath, tracking the return echo. This is similar in some respects to the whiskbroom approach to optical sensors, hence the name: SweepSAR.SweepSAR has advantages over conventional SAR in that it requires less transmit power, and if the receive beam is narrow enough, it is relatively immune to range ambiguities. Compared to direct radiating arrays with digital beam- forming, it is much simpler to implement, uses currently available technologies, is better suited for longer wavelength systems, and does not require extremely high data rates or onboard processing.

Competing Liquid Phase Instabilities during Pulsed Laser Induced Self-Assembly of Copper Rings into Ordered Nanoparticle Arrays on SiO 2

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wu, Y.; Fowlkes, J. D.; Roberts, N. A.

Nanoscale copper rings of different radii, thicknesses, and widths were synthesized on silicon dioxide thin films and were subsequently liquefied via a nanosecond pulse laser treatment. During the nanoscale liquid lifetimes, the rings experience competing retraction dynamics and thin film and/or Rayleigh-Plateau types of instabilities, which lead to arrays of ordered nanodroplets. Surprisingly, the results are significantly different from those of similar experiments carried out on a Si surface.(1) We use hydrodynamic simulations to elucidate how the different liquid/solid interactions control the different instability mechanisms in the present problem.

Simulated gamma-ray pulse profile of the Crab pulsar with the Cherenkov Telescope Array

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Burtovoi, A.; Zampieri, L.

2016-07-01

We present simulations of the very high energy (VHE) gamma-ray light curve of the Crab pulsar as observed by the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA). The CTA pulse profile of the Crab pulsar is simulated with the specific goal of determining the accuracy of the position of the interpulse. We fit the pulse shape obtained by the Major Atmospheric Gamma-Ray Imaging Cherenkov (MAGIC) telescope with a three-Gaussian template and rescale it to account for the different CTA instrumental and observational configurations. Simulations are performed for different configurations of CTA and for the ASTRI (Astrofisica con Specchi a Tecnologia Replicante Italiana) mini-array. The northern CTA configuration will provide an improvement of a factor of ˜3 in accuracy with an observing time comparable to that of MAGIC (73 h). Unless the VHE spectrum above 1 TeV behaves differently from what we presently know, unreasonably long observing times are required for a significant detection of the pulsations of the Crab pulsar with the high-energy-range sub-arrays. We also found that an independent VHE timing analysis is feasible with Large Size Telescopes. CTA will provide a significant improvement in determining the VHE pulse shape parameters necessary to constrain theoretical models of the gamma-ray emission of the Crab pulsar. One of such parameters is the shift in phase between peaks in the pulse profile at VHE and in other energy bands that, if detected, may point to different locations of the emission regions.

A Weather Radar Simulator for the Evaluation of Polarimetric Phased Array Performance

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Byrd, Andrew D.; Ivic, Igor R.; Palmer, Robert D.

A radar simulator capable of generating time series data for a polarimetric phased array weather radar has been designed and implemented. The received signals are composed from a high-resolution numerical prediction weather model. Thousands of scattering centers, each with an independent randomly generated Doppler spectrum, populate the field of view of the radar. The moments of the scattering center spectra are derived from the numerical weather model, and the scattering center positions are updated based on the three-dimensional wind field. In order to accurately emulate the effects of the system-induced cross-polar contamination, the array is modeled using a complete setmore » of dual-polarization radiation patterns. The simulator offers reconfigurable element patterns and positions as well as access to independent time series data for each element, resulting in easy implementation of any beamforming method. It also allows for arbitrary waveform designs and is able to model the effects of quantization on waveform performance. Simultaneous, alternating, quasi-simultaneous, and pulse-to-pulse phase coded modes of polarimetric signal transmission have been implemented. This framework allows for realistic emulation of the effects of cross-polar fields on weather observations, as well as the evaluation of possible techniques for the mitigation of those effects.« less

Construction of high frame rate images with Fourier transform

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peng, Hu; Lu, Jian-Yu

2002-05-01

Traditionally, images are constructed with a delay-and-sum method that adjusts the phases of received signals (echoes) scattered from the same point in space so that they are summed in phase. Recently, the relationship between the delay-and-sum method and the Fourier transform is investigated [Jian-yu Lu, Anjun Liu, and Hu Peng, ``High frame rate and delay-and-sum imaging methods,'' IEEE Trans. Ultrason. Ferroelectr. Freq. Control (submitted)]. In this study, a generic Fourier transform method is developed. Two-dimensional (2-D) or three-dimensional (3-D) high frame rate images can be constructed using the Fourier transform with a single transmission of an ultrasound pulse from an array as long as the transmission field of the array is known. To verify our theory, computer simulations have been performed with a linear array, a 2-D array, a convex curved array, and a spherical 2-D array. The simulation results are consistent with our theory. [Work supported in part by Grant 5RO1 HL60301 from NIH.

The Implications of Encoder/Modulator/ Phased Array Designs for Future Broadband LEO Communications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vanderaar, Mark; Jensen, Chris A.; Terry, John D.

1997-01-01

In this paper we summarize the effects of modulation and channel coding on the design of wide angle scan, broadband, phased army antennas. In the paper we perform several trade studies. First, we investigate the amplifier back-off requirement as a function of variability of modulation envelope. Specifically, we contrast constant and non-constant envelope modulations, as well as single and multiple carrier schemes. Additionally, we address the issues an(f concerns of using pulse shaping filters with the above modulation types. Second, we quantify the effects of beam steering on the quality of data, recovery using selected modulation techniques. In particular, we show that the frequency response of the array introduces intersymbol interference for broadband signals and that the mode of operation for the beam steering controller may introduce additional burst or random errors. Finally, we show that the encoder/modulator design must be performed in conjunction with the phased array antenna design.

Experimental demonstration of spatially coherent beam combining using optical parametric amplification.

PubMed

Kurita, Takashi; Sueda, Keiichi; Tsubakimoto, Koji; Miyanaga, Noriaki

2010-07-05

We experimentally demonstrated coherent beam combining using optical parametric amplification with a nonlinear crystal pumped by random-phased multiple-beam array of the second harmonic of a Nd:YAG laser at 10-Hz repetition rate. In the proof-of-principle experiment, the phase jump between two pump beams was precisely controlled by a motorized actuator. For the demonstration of multiple-beam combining a random phase plate was used to create random-phased beamlets as a pump pulse. Far-field patterns of the pump, the signal, and the idler indicated that the spatially coherent signal beams were obtained on both cases. This approach allows scaling of the intensity of optical parametric chirped pulse amplification up to the exa-watt level while maintaining diffraction-limited beam quality.

Multilayer Dielectric Transmissive Optical Phase Modulator

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Keys, Andrew Scott; Fork, Richard Lynn

2004-01-01

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 phase change for all frequency components of a transmitted optical pulse over a frequency band as wide as 6.3 THz. Arrays of devices like this one could be an alternative to the arrays of mechanically actuated phase-control optics (adaptive optics) that have heretofore been used to correct for wave-front distortions in highly precise optical systems. Potential applications for these high-speed wave-front-control arrays of devices include agile beam steering, optical communications, optical metrology, optical tracking and targeting, directional optical ranging, and interferometric astronomy. The device concept is based on the same principle as that of band-pass interference filters made of multiple dielectric layers with fractional-wavelength thicknesses, except that here there is an additional focus on obtaining the desired spectral phase profile in addition to the device s spectral transmission profile. The device includes a GaAs substrate, on which there is deposited a stack of GaAs layers alternating with AlAs layers, amounting to a total of 91 layers. The design thicknesses of the layers range from 10 nm to greater than 1 micrometer. The number of layers and the thickness of each layer were chosen in a computational optimization process in which the wavelength dependences of the indices of refraction of GaAs and AlAs were taken into account as the design was iterated to maximize the transmission and minimize the group-velocity dispersion for a wavelength band wide enough to include all significant spectral components of the pulsed optical signal to be phase modulated.

JPRS report: Science and technology. Central Eurasia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

1995-02-01

Translated articles cover the following topics: laser-controlled rotary microwave waveguide junction; optical pulse-phase modulation of semiconductor laser; amplitude-phase distortions of light beam obliquely propagating through ground layer of troposphere; antenna arrays with ultrafast beam scanning; materials for a walk on moon; textile-wood-coal briquette path to capitalism; and development of automated system for scientific research and design of heat and mass transfer processes.

The Radar Roadmap

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-01-01

local oscillator to measure the phase of both the transmitted and received pulses and then matching them to the correct range ambiguity. 2.5 High...track closely spaced objects. White Sands Missile Range (WSMR) and Patrick Air Force Base (AFB) operate the phased -array AN/MPS-39 MOTRs. The...ABERDEEN TEST CENTER DUGWAY PROVING GROUND REAGAN TEST SITE YUMA PROVING GROUND WHITE SANDS MISSILE RANGE NAVAL AIR WARFARE CENTER AIRCRAFT

Optical signal processing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Casasent, D.

1978-01-01

The article discusses several optical configurations used for signal processing. Electronic-to-optical transducers are outlined, noting fixed window transducers and moving window acousto-optic transducers. Folded spectrum techniques are considered, with reference to wideband RF signal analysis, fetal electroencephalogram analysis, engine vibration analysis, signal buried in noise, and spatial filtering. Various methods for radar signal processing are described, such as phased-array antennas, the optical processing of phased-array data, pulsed Doppler and FM radar systems, a multichannel one-dimensional optical correlator, correlations with long coded waveforms, and Doppler signal processing. Means for noncoherent optical signal processing are noted, including an optical correlator for speech recognition and a noncoherent optical correlator.

Design considerations for high-power VHF radar transceivers: Phase matching long coaxial cables using a cable radar

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Johnson, P. E.; Ecklund, W. L.

1983-01-01

The Poker Flat 49.92-MHz MST radar uses 64 phase-controlled transmitters in individual shelters distributed throughout the antenna array. Phase control is accomplished by sampling the transmitted pulse at the directional coupler of each transmitter and sending the sample pulse back to a phase-control unit. This method requires phase matching 64 long (256 meter) coaxial cables (RG-213) to within several electrical degrees. Tests with a time domain reflectometer showed that attenuation of high frequency components in the long RG-213 cable rounded the leading edge of the reflected pulse so that the cables could only be measured to within 50 cm (about 45 deg at 49.92 MHz). Another measurement technique using a vector voltmeter to compare forward and reflected phase required a directional coupler with unattainable directivity. Several other techniques were also found lacking, primarily because of loss in the long RG-213 cables. At this point it was realized that what was needed was a simple version of the phase-coherent clear-air radar, i.e., a cable radar. The design and operation of this cable are described.

Coherent beam combiner for a high power laser

DOEpatents

Dane, C. Brent; Hackel, Lloyd A.

2002-01-01

A phase conjugate laser mirror employing Brillouin-enhanced four wave mixing allows multiple independent laser apertures to be phase locked producing an array of diffraction-limited beams with no piston phase errors. The beam combiner has application in laser and optical systems requiring high average power, high pulse energy, and low beam divergence. A broad range of applications exist in laser systems for industrial processing, especially in the field of metal surface treatment and laser shot peening.

Multi-pulse shadowgraphic RGB illumination and detection for flow tracking

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Menser, Jan; Schneider, Florian; Dreier, Thomas; Kaiser, Sebastian A.

2018-06-01

This work demonstrates the application of a multi-color LED and a consumer color camera for visualizing phase boundaries in two-phase flows, in particular for particle tracking velocimetry. The LED emits a sequence of short light pulses, red, green, then blue (RGB), and through its color-filter array, the camera captures all three pulses on a single RGB frame. In a backlit configuration, liquid droplets appear as shadows in each color channel. Color reversal and color cross-talk correction yield a series of three frozen-flow images that can be used for further analysis, e.g., determining the droplet velocity by particle tracking. Three example flows are presented, solid particles suspended in water, the penetrating front of a gasoline direct-injection spray, and the liquid break-up region of an "air-assisted" nozzle. Because of the shadowgraphic arrangement, long path lengths through scattering media lower image contrast, while visualization of phase boundaries with high resolution is a strength of this method. Apart from a pulse-and-delay generator, the overall system cost is very low.

Full field gas phase velocity measurements in microgravity

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Griffin, Devon W.; Yanis, William

1995-01-01

Measurement of full-field velocities via Particle Imaging Velocimetry (PIV) is common in research efforts involving fluid motion. While such measurements have been successfully performed in the liquid phase in a microgravity environment, gas-phase measurements have been beset by difficulties with seeding and laser strength. A synthesis of techniques developed at NASA LeRC exhibits promise in overcoming these difficulties. Typical implementation of PIV involves forming the light from a pulsed laser into a sheet that is some fraction of a millimeter thick and 50 or more millimeters wide. When a particle enters this sheet during a pulse, light scattered from the particle is recorded by a detector, which may be a film plane or a CCD array. Assuming that the particle remains within the boundaries of the sheet for the second pulse and can be distinguished from neighboring particles, comparison of the two images produces an average velocity vector for the time between the pulses. If the concentration of particles in the sampling volume is sufficiently large but the particles remain discrete, a full field map may be generated.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Diaz, Aaron A.; Chamberlin, Clyde E.; Edwards, Matthew K.

This section of the Joint summary technical letter report (TLR) describes work conducted at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) during FY 2016 (FY16) on the under-sodium viewing (USV) PNNL project 58745, work package AT-16PN230102. This section of the TLR satisfies PNNL’s M3AT-16PN2301025 milestone and is focused on summarizing the design, development, and evaluation of two different phased-array ultrasonic testing (PA-UT) probe designs—a two-dimensional (2D) matrix phased-array probe, and two one-dimensional (1D) linear array probes, referred to as serial number 4 (SN4) engineering test units (ETUs). The 2D probe is a pulse-echo (PE), 32×2, 64-element matrix phased-array ETU. The 1Dmore » probes are 32×1 element linear array ETUs. This TLR also provides the results from a performance demonstration (PD) of in-sodium target detection trials at 260°C using both probe designs. This effort continues the iterative evolution supporting the longer term goal of producing and demonstrating a pre-manufacturing prototype ultrasonic probe that possesses the fundamental performance characteristics necessary to enable the development of a high-temperature sodium-cooled fast reactor (SFR) inspection system for in-sodium detection and imaging.« less

Optical diffraction in ordered VO2 nanoparticle arrays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lopez, Rene; Feldman, Leonard; Haglund, Richard

2006-03-01

The potential of oxide electronic materials as multifunctional building blocks is one of the driving concepts of the field. In this presentation, we show how nanostructured particle arrays with long-range order can be used to modulate an optical response through exploiting the metal-insulator transition of vanadium dioxide. Arrays of VO2 nanoparticles with long-range order were fabricated by pulsed laser deposition in an arbitrary pattern defined by focused ion-beam lithography. The interaction of light with the nanoparticles is controlled by the nanoparticle size, spacing and geometrical arrangement and by switching between the metallic and semiconducting phases of VO2. In addition to the near-infrared surface plasmon response observed in previous VO2 studies, the VO2 nanoparticle arrays exhibit size-dependent optical resonances in the visible region that likewise show an enhanced optical contrast between the semiconducting and metallic phases. The collective optical response as a function of temperature gives rise to an enhanced scattering state during the evolving phase transition, while the incoherent coupling between the nanoparticles produces an order-disorder-order transition.

Dual polarized receiving steering antenna array for measurement of ultrawideband pulse polarization structure

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Balzovsky, E. V.; Buyanov, Yu. I.; Koshelev, V. I., E-mail: koshelev@lhfe.hcei.tsc.ru

To measure simultaneously two orthogonal components of the electromagnetic field of nano- and subnano-second duration, an antenna array has been developed. The antenna elements of the array are the crossed dipoles of dimension 5 × 5 cm. The arms of the dipoles are connected to the active four-pole devices to compensate the frequency response variations of a short dipole in the frequency band ranging from 0.4 to 4 GHz. The dipoles have superimposed phase centers allowing measuring the polarization structure of the field in different directions. The developed antenna array is the linear one containing four elements. The pattern maximummore » position is controlled by means of the switched ultrawideband true time delay lines. Discrete steering in seven directions in the range from −40° to +40° has been realized. The error at setting the pattern maximum position is less than 4°. The isolation of the polarization exceeds 29 dB in the direction orthogonal to the array axis and in the whole steering range it exceeds 23 dB. Measurement results of the polarization structure of radiated and scattered pulses with different polarization are presented as well.« less

Doppler Compensation for Airborne Non-Side-Looking Phased-Array Radar

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-09-01

Box 1500 Edinburgh South Australia 5111 Australia Telephone: 1300 333 362 Fax: (08) 7389 6567 © Commonwealth of Australia 2013 AR-016...Security and ISR Division Dr Yunhan Dong received his Bachelor and Master degrees in 1980s in China and PhD in 1995 at UNSW, Australia , all in...waveform length, 0λ 0.25 m Bandwidth of LFM 5 MHz Sampling rate 10 MHz Number of array elements, N 25 Number of pulses in a CPI, M 31 Antenna

Scalable, large area compound array refractive lens for hard X-rays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reich, Stefan; dos Santos Rolo, Tomy; Letzel, Alexander; Baumbach, Tilo; Plech, Anton

2018-04-01

We demonstrate the fabrication of a 2D Compound Array Refractive Lens (CARL) for multi-contrast X-ray imaging. The CARL consists of six stacked polyimide foils with each displaying a 2D array of lenses with a 65 μm pitch aiming for a sensitivity on sub-micrometer structures with a (few-)micrometer resolution in sensing through phase and scattering contrast at multiple keV. The parabolic lenses are formed by indents in the foils by a paraboloid needle. The ability for fast single-exposure multi-contrast imaging is demonstrated by filming the kinetics of pulsed laser ablation in liquid. The three contrast channels, absorption, differential phase, and scattering, are imaged with a time resolution of 25 μs. By changing the sample-detector distance, it is possible to distinguish between nanoparticles and microbubbles.

Pulsing blue light through closed eyelids: effects on acute melatonin suppression and phase shifting of dim light melatonin onset.

PubMed

Figueiro, Mariana G; Plitnick, Barbara; Rea, Mark S

2014-01-01

Circadian rhythm disturbances parallel the increased prevalence of sleep disorders in older adults. Light therapies that specifically target regulation of the circadian system in principle could be used to treat sleep disorders in this population. Current recommendations for light treatment require the patients to sit in front of a bright light box for at least 1 hour daily, perhaps limiting their willingness to comply. Light applied through closed eyelids during sleep might not only be efficacious for changing circadian phase but also lead to better compliance because patients would receive light treatment while sleeping. Reported here are the results of two studies investigating the impact of a train of 480 nm (blue) light pulses presented to the retina through closed eyelids on melatonin suppression (laboratory study) and on delaying circadian phase (field study). Both studies employed a sleep mask that provided narrowband blue light pulses of 2-second duration every 30 seconds from arrays of light-emitting diodes. The results of the laboratory study demonstrated that the blue light pulses significantly suppressed melatonin by an amount similar to that previously shown in the same protocol at half the frequency (ie, one 2-second pulse every minute for 1 hour). The results of the field study demonstrated that blue light pulses given early in the sleep episode significantly delayed circadian phase in older adults; these results are the first to demonstrate the efficacy and practicality of light treatment by a sleep mask aimed at adjusting circadian phase in a home setting.

Implementing a Digital Phasemeter in an FPGA

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rao, Shanti R.

2008-01-01

Firmware for implementing a digital phasemeter within a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) has been devised. In the original application of this firmware, the phase that one seeks to measure is the difference between the phases of two nominally-equal-frequency heterodyne signals generated by two interferometers. In that application, zero-crossing detectors convert the heterodyne signals to trains of rectangular pulses, the two pulse trains are fed to a fringe counter (the major part of the phasemeter) controlled by a clock signal having a frequency greater than the heterodyne frequency, and the fringe counter computes a time-averaged estimate of the difference between the phases of the two pulse trains. The firmware also does the following: Causes the FPGA to compute the frequencies of the input signals; Causes the FPGA to implement an Ethernet (or equivalent) transmitter for readout of phase and frequency values; and Provides data for use in diagnosis of communication failures. The readout rate can be set, by programming, to a value between 250 Hz and 1 kHz. Network addresses can be programmed by the user.

Toward imaging the body at 10.5 tesla.

PubMed

Ertürk, M Arcan; Wu, Xiaoping; Eryaman, Yiğitcan; Van de Moortele, Pierre-François; Auerbach, Edward J; Lagore, Russell L; DelaBarre, Lance; Vaughan, J Thomas; Uğurbil, Kâmil; Adriany, Gregor; Metzger, Gregory J

2017-01-01

To explore the potential of performing body imaging at 10.5 Tesla (T) compared with 7.0T through evaluating the transmit/receive performance of similarly configured dipole antenna arrays. Fractionated dipole antenna elements for 10.5T body imaging were designed and evaluated using numerical simulations. Transmit performance of antenna arrays inside the prostate, kidneys and heart were investigated and compared with those at 7.0T using both phase-only radiofrequency (RF) shimming and multi-spoke pulses. Signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) comparisons were also performed. A 10-channel antenna array was constructed to image the abdomen of a swine at 10.5T. Numerical methods were validated with phantom studies at both field strengths. Similar power efficiencies were observed inside target organs with phase-only shimming, but RF nonuniformity was significantly higher at 10.5T. Spokes RF pulses allowed similar transmit performance with accompanying local specific absorption rate increases of 25-90% compared with 7.0T. Relative SNR gains inside the target anatomies were calculated to be >two-fold higher at 10.5T, and 2.2-fold SNR gain was measured in a phantom. Gradient echo and fast spin echo imaging demonstrated the feasibility of body imaging at 10.5T with the designed array. While comparable power efficiencies can be achieved using dipole antenna arrays with static shimming at 10.5T; increasing RF nonuniformities underscore the need for efficient, robust, and safe parallel transmission methods. Magn Reson Med 77:434-443, 2017. © 2016 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine. © 2016 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine.

Synthesis of ultrawideband radiation of combined antenna arrays excited by nanosecond bipolar voltage pulses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koshelev, V. I.; Plisko, V. V.; Sevostyanov, E. A.

2017-05-01

To broaden the spectrum of high-power ultrawideband radiation, it is suggested to synthesize an electromagnetic pulse summing the pulses of different length in free space. On the example of model pulses corresponding to radiation of combined antennas excited by bipolar voltage pulses of the length of 2 and 3 ns, the possibility of twofold broadening of the radiation spectrum was demonstrated. Radiation pulses with the spectrum width exceeding three octaves were obtained. Pattern formation by the arrays of different geometry excited by the pulses having different time shifts was considered. Optimum array structure with the pattern maximum in the main direction was demonstrated on the example of a 2×2 array.

Femtosecond laser modification of an array of vertically aligned carbon nanotubes intercalated with Fe phase nanoparticles

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Femtosecond lasers (FSL) are playing an increasingly important role in materials research, characterization, and modification. Due to an extremely short pulse width, interactions of FSL irradiation with solid surfaces attract special interest, and a number of unusual phenomena resulted in the formation of new materials are expected. Here, we report on a new nanostructure observed after the interaction of FSL irradiation with arrays of vertically aligned carbon nanotubes (CNTs) intercalated with iron phase catalyst nanoparticles. It was revealed that the FSL laser ablation transforms the topmost layer of CNT array into iron phase nanospheres (40 to 680 nm in diameter) located at the tip of the CNT bundles of conical shape. Besides, the smaller nanospheres (10 to 30 nm in diameter) are found to be beaded at the sides of these bundles. Some of the larger nanospheres are encapsulated into carbon shells, which sometime are found to contain CNTs. The mechanism of creation of such nanostructures is proposed. PMID:24004518

Femtosecond laser modification of an array of vertically aligned carbon nanotubes intercalated with Fe phase nanoparticles.

PubMed

Labunov, Vladimir; Prudnikava, Alena; Bushuk, Serguei; Filatov, Serguei; Shulitski, Boris; Tay, Beng Kang; Shaman, Yury; Basaev, Alexander

2013-09-03

Femtosecond lasers (FSL) are playing an increasingly important role in materials research, characterization, and modification. Due to an extremely short pulse width, interactions of FSL irradiation with solid surfaces attract special interest, and a number of unusual phenomena resulted in the formation of new materials are expected. Here, we report on a new nanostructure observed after the interaction of FSL irradiation with arrays of vertically aligned carbon nanotubes (CNTs) intercalated with iron phase catalyst nanoparticles. It was revealed that the FSL laser ablation transforms the topmost layer of CNT array into iron phase nanospheres (40 to 680 nm in diameter) located at the tip of the CNT bundles of conical shape. Besides, the smaller nanospheres (10 to 30 nm in diameter) are found to be beaded at the sides of these bundles. Some of the larger nanospheres are encapsulated into carbon shells, which sometime are found to contain CNTs. The mechanism of creation of such nanostructures is proposed.

High-Power X-Band Semiconductor RF Switch for Pulse Compression Systems of Future Colliders

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tantawi, Sami G.; Tamura, Fumihiko

2000-04-01

We describe the potential of semiconductor X-band RF switch arrays as a means of developing high power RF pulse compression systems for future linear colliders. The switch systems described here have two designs. Both designs consist of two 3dB hybrids and active modules. In the first design the module is composed of a cascaded active phase shifter. In the second design the module uses arrays of SPST (Single Pole Single Throw) switches. Each cascaded element of the phase shifter and the SPST switch has similar design. The active element consists of symmetrical three-port tee-junctions and an active waveguide window in the symmetrical arm of the tee-junction. The design methodology of the elements and the architecture of the whole switch system are presented. We describe the scaling law that governs the relation between power handling capability and number of elements. The design of the active waveguide window is presented. The waveguide window is a silicon wafer with an array of four hundred PIN/NIP diodes covering the surface of the window. This waveguide window is located in an over-moded TE01 circular waveguide. The results of high power RF measurements of the active waveguide window are presented. The experiment is performed at power levels of tens of megawatts at X-band.

FPGA-based photon-counting phase-modulation fluorometer and a brief comparison with that operated in a pulsed-excitation mode

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Iwata, Tetsuo; Taga, Takanori; Mizuno, Takahiko

2018-02-01

We have constructed a high-efficiency, photon-counting phase-modulation fluorometer (PC-PMF) using a field-programmable gate array, which is a modified version of the photon-counting fluorometer (PCF) that works in a pulsed-excitation mode (Iwata and Mizuno in Meas Sci Technol 28:075501, 2017). The common working principle for both is the simultaneous detection of the photoelectron pulse train, which covers 64 ns with a 1.0-ns resolution time (1.0 ns/channel). The signal-gathering efficiency was improved more than 100 times over that of conventional time-correlated single-photon-counting at the expense of resolution time depending on the number of channels. The system dead time for building a histogram was eliminated, markedly shortening the measurement time for fluorescent samples with moderately high quantum yields. We describe the PC-PMF and make a brief comparison with the pulsed-excitation PCF in precision, demonstrating the potential advantage of PC-PMF.

A fourth gradient to overcome slice dependent phase effects of voxel-sized coils in planar arrays.

PubMed

Bosshard, John C; Eigenbrodt, Edwin P; McDougall, Mary P; Wright, Steven M

2010-01-01

The signals from an array of densely spaced long and narrow receive coils for MRI are complicated when the voxel size is of comparable dimension to the coil size. The RF coil causes a phase gradient across each voxel, which is dependent on the distance from the coil, resulting in a slice dependent shift of k-space. A fourth gradient coil has been implemented and used with the system's gradient set to create a gradient field which varies with slice. The gradients are pulsed together to impart a slice dependent phase gradient to compensate for the slice dependent phase due to the RF coils. However the non-linearity in the fourth gradient which creates the desired slice dependency also results in a through-slice phase ramp, which disturbs normal slice refocusing and leads to additional signal cancelation and reduced field of view. This paper discusses the benefits and limitations of using a fourth gradient coil to compensate for the phase due to RF coils.

Monolithic millimeter-wave diode array beam controllers: Theory and experiment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sjogren, L. B.; Liu, H.-X. L.; Wang, F.; Liu, T.; Wu, W.; Qin, X.-H.; Chung, E.; Domier, C. W.; Luhmann, N. C., Jr.; Maserjian, J.

1992-01-01

In the current work, multi-function beam control arrays have been fabricated and have successfully demonstrated amplitude control of transmitted beams in the W and D bands (75-170 GHz). While these arrays are designed to provide beam control under DC bias operation, new designs for high-speed electronic and optical control are under development. These arrays will fill a need for high-speed watt-level beam switches in pulsed reflectometer systems under development for magnetic fusion plasma diagnostics. A second experimental accomplishment of the current work is the demonstration in the 100-170 GHz (D band) frequency range of a new technique for the measurement of the transmission phase as well as amplitude. Transmission data can serve as a means to extract ('de-embed') the grid parameters; phase information provides more complete data to assist in this process. Additional functions of the array beam controller yet to be tested include electronically controlled steering and focusing of a reflected beam. These have application in the areas of millimeter-wave electronic scanning radar and reflectometry, respectively.

An ultra-low cost NMR device with arbitrary pulse programming

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Hsueh-Ying; Kim, Yaewon; Nath, Pulak; Hilty, Christian

2015-06-01

Ultra-low cost, general purpose electronics boards featuring microprocessors or field programmable gate arrays (FPGA) are reaching capabilities sufficient for direct implementation of NMR spectrometers. We demonstrate a spectrometer based on such a board, implemented with a minimal need for the addition of custom electronics and external components. This feature allows such a spectrometer to be readily implemented using typical knowledge present in an NMR laboratory. With FPGA technology, digital tasks are performed with precise timing, without the limitation of predetermined hardware function. In this case, the FPGA is used for programming of arbitrarily timed pulse sequence events, and to digitally generate required frequencies. Data acquired from a 0.53 T permanent magnet serves as a demonstration of the flexibility of pulse programming for diverse experiments. Pulse sequences applied include a spin-lattice relaxation measurement using a pulse train with small-flip angle pulses, and a Carr-Purcell-Meiboom-Gill experiment with phase cycle. Mixing of NMR signals with a digitally generated, 4-step phase-cycled reference frequency is further implemented to achieve sequential quadrature detection. The flexibility in hardware implementation permits tailoring this type of spectrometer for applications such as relaxometry, polarimetry, diffusometry or NMR based magnetometry.

Stringlike Pulse Quantification Study by Pulse Wave in 3D Pulse Mapping

PubMed Central

Chung, Yu-Feng; Yeh, Cheng-Chang; Si, Xiao-Chen; Chang, Chien-Chen; Hu, Chung-Shing; Chu, Yu-Wen

2012-01-01

Abstract Background A stringlike pulse is highly related to hypertension, and many classification approaches have been proposed in which the differentiation pulse wave (dPW) can effectively classify the stringlike pulse indicating hypertension. Unfortunately, the dPW method cannot distinguish the spring stringlike pulse from the stringlike pulse so labeled by physicians in clinics. Design By using a Bi-Sensing Pulse Diagnosis Instrument (BSPDI), this study proposed a novel Plain Pulse Wave (PPW) to classify a stringlike pulse based on an array of pulse signals, mimicking a Traditional Chinese Medicine physician's finger-reading skill. Results In comparison to PPWs at different pulse taking positions, phase delay Δθand correlation coefficient r can be elucidated as the quantification parameters of stringlike pulse. As a result, the recognition rates of a hypertensive stringlike pulse, spring stringlike pulse, and non–stringlike pulse are 100%, 100%, 77% for PPW and 70%, 0%, 59% for dPW, respectively. Conclusions Integrating dPW and PPW can unify the classification of stringlike pulse including hypertensive stringlike pulse and spring stringlike pulse. Hence, the proposed novel method, PPW, enhances quantification of stringlike pulse. PMID:23057481

Design of patient-specific focused ultrasound arrays for non-invasive brain therapy with increased trans-skull transmission and steering range

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hughes, Alec; Hynynen, Kullervo

2017-09-01

The use of a phased array of ultrasound transducer elements to sonicate through the skull has opened the way for new treatments and the delivery of therapeutics beyond the blood-brain barrier. The limited steering range of current clinical devices, particularly at higher frequencies, limits the regions of the brain that are considered treatable by ultrasound. A new array design is introduced that allows for high levels of beam steering and increased transmission throughout the brain. These improvements are achieved using concave transducers normal to the outer-skull surface in a patient-specific configuration to target within the skull, so that the far-field of each beam is within the brain. It is shown that by using pulsed ultrasound waves timed to arrive in-phase at the desired target, sufficient levels of acoustic energy are delivered for blood-brain barrier opening throughout the brain.

Design of patient-specific focused ultrasound arrays for non-invasive brain therapy with increased trans-skull transmission and steering range.

PubMed

Hughes, Alec; Hynynen, Kullervo

2017-08-03

The use of a phased array of ultrasound transducer elements to sonicate through the skull has opened the way for new treatments and the delivery of therapeutics beyond the blood-brain barrier. The limited steering range of current clinical devices, particularly at higher frequencies, limits the regions of the brain that are considered treatable by ultrasound. A new array design is introduced that allows for high levels of beam steering and increased transmission throughout the brain. These improvements are achieved using concave transducers normal to the outer-skull surface in a patient-specific configuration to target within the skull, so that the far-field of each beam is within the brain. It is shown that by using pulsed ultrasound waves timed to arrive in-phase at the desired target, sufficient levels of acoustic energy are delivered for blood-brain barrier opening throughout the brain.

Static inverter with synchronous output waveform synthesized by time-optimal-response feedback

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kernick, A.; Stechschulte, D. L.; Shireman, D. W.

1976-01-01

Time-optimal-response 'bang-bang' or 'bang-hang' technique, using four feedback control loops, synthesizes static-inverter sinusoidal output waveform by self-oscillatory but yet synchronous pulse-frequency-modulation (SPFM). A single modular power stage per phase of ac output entails the minimum of circuit complexity while providing by feedback synthesis individual phase voltage regulation, phase position control and inherent compensation simultaneously for line and load disturbances. Clipped sinewave performance is described under off-limit load or input voltage conditions. Also, approaches to high power levels, 3-phase arraying and parallel modular connection are given.

Intensity non-uniformity correction using N3 on 3-T scanners with multichannel phased array coils

PubMed Central

Boyes, Richard G.; Gunter, Jeff L.; Frost, Chris; Janke, Andrew L.; Yeatman, Thomas; Hill, Derek L.G.; Bernstein, Matt A.; Thompson, Paul M.; Weiner, Michael W.; Schuff, Norbert; Alexander, Gene E.; Killiany, Ronald J.; DeCarli, Charles; Jack, Clifford R.; Fox, Nick C.

2008-01-01

Measures of structural brain change based on longitudinal MR imaging are increasingly important but can be degraded by intensity non-uniformity. This non-uniformity can be more pronounced at higher field strengths, or when using multichannel receiver coils. We assessed the ability of the non-parametric non-uniform intensity normalization (N3) technique to correct non-uniformity in 72 volumetric brain MR scans from the preparatory phase of the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI). Normal elderly subjects (n = 18) were scanned on different 3-T scanners with a multichannel phased array receiver coil at baseline, using magnetization prepared rapid gradient echo (MP-RAGE) and spoiled gradient echo (SPGR) pulse sequences, and again 2 weeks later. When applying N3, we used five brain masks of varying accuracy and four spline smoothing distances (d = 50, 100, 150 and 200 mm) to ascertain which combination of parameters optimally reduces the non-uniformity. We used the normalized white matter intensity variance (standard deviation/mean) to ascertain quantitatively the correction for a single scan; we used the variance of the normalized difference image to assess quantitatively the consistency of the correction over time from registered scan pairs. Our results showed statistically significant (p < 0.01) improvement in uniformity for individual scans and reduction in the normalized difference image variance when using masks that identified distinct brain tissue classes, and when using smaller spline smoothing distances (e.g., 50-100 mm) for both MP-RAGE and SPGR pulse sequences. These optimized settings may assist future large-scale studies where 3-T scanners and phased array receiver coils are used, such as ADNI, so that intensity non-uniformity does not influence the power of MR imaging to detect disease progression and the factors that influence it. PMID:18063391

Qualification Testing of Laser Diode Pump Arrays for a Space-Based 2-micron Coherent Doppler Lidar

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Amzajerdian, Farzin; Meadows, Byron L.; Baker, Nathaniel R.; Barnes, Bruce W.; Singh, Upendra N.; Kavaya, Michael J.

2007-01-01

The 2-micron thulium and holmium-based lasers being considered as the transmitter source for space-based coherent Doppler lidar require high power laser diode pump arrays operating in a long pulse regime of about 1 msec. Operating laser diode arrays over such long pulses drastically impact their useful lifetime due to the excessive localized heating and substantial pulse-to-pulse thermal cycling of their active regions. This paper describes the long pulse performance of laser diode arrays and their critical thermal characteristics. A viable approach is then offered that allows for determining the optimum operational parameters leading to the maximum attainable lifetime.

Demonstration of radiation pulse shaping with nested-tungsten-wire-array pinches for high-yield inertial confinement fusion.

PubMed

Cuneo, M E; Vesey, R A; Sinars, D B; Chittenden, J P; Waisman, E M; Lemke, R W; Lebedev, S V; Bliss, D E; Stygar, W A; Porter, J L; Schroen, D G; Mazarakis, M G; Chandler, G A; Mehlhorn, T A

2005-10-28

Nested wire-array pinches are shown to generate soft x-ray radiation pulse shapes required for three-shock isentropic compression and hot-spot ignition of high-yield inertial confinement fusion capsules. We demonstrate a reproducible and tunable foot pulse (first shock) produced by interaction of the outer and inner arrays. A first-step pulse (second shock) is produced by inner array collision with a central CH2 foam target. Stagnation of the inner array at the axis produces the third shock. Capsules optimized for several of these shapes produce 290-900 MJ fusion yields in 1D simulations.

Modelling and restoration of ultrasonic phased-array B-scan images.

PubMed

Ardouin, J P; Venetsanopoulos, A N

1985-10-01

A model is presented for the radio-frequency image produced by a B-scan (pulse-echo) ultrasound imaging system using a phased-array transducer. This type of scanner is widely used for real-time heart imaging. The model allows for dynamic focusing as well as an acoustic lens focusing the beam in the elevation plane. A result of the model is an expression to compute the space-variant point spread function (PSF) of the system. This is made possible by the use of a combination of Fresnel and Fraunhoffer approximations which are valid in the range of interest for practical applications. The PSF is used to design restoration filters in order to improve image resolution. The filters are then applied to experimental images of wires.

Integrating IR detector imaging systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bailey, G. C. (Inventor)

1984-01-01

An integrating IR detector array for imaging is provided in a hybrid circuit with InSb mesa diodes in a linear array, a single J-FET preamplifier for readout, and a silicon integrated circuit multiplexer. Thin film conductors in a fan out pattern deposited on an Al2O3 substrate connect the diodes to the multiplexer, and thick film conductors also connect the reset switch and preamplifier to the multiplexer. Two phase clock pulses are applied with a logic return signal to the multiplexer through triax comprised of three thin film conductors deposited between layers. A lens focuses a scanned image onto the diode array for horizontal read out while a scanning mirror provides vertical scan.

Expandable and reconfigurable instrument node arrays

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hilliard, Lawrence M. (Inventor); Deshpande, Manohar (Inventor)

2012-01-01

An expandable and reconfigurable instrument node includes a feature detection means and a data processing portion in communication with the feature detection means, the data processing portion configured and disposed to process feature information. The instrument node further includes a phase locked loop (PLL) oscillator in communication with the data processing portion, the PLL oscillator configured and disposed to provide PLL information to the processing portion. The instrument node further includes a single tone transceiver and a pulse transceiver in communication with the PLL oscillator, the single tone transceiver configured and disposed to transmit or receive a single tone for phase correction of the PLL oscillator and the pulse transceiver configured and disposed to transmit and receive signals for phase correction of the PLL oscillator. The instrument node further includes a global positioning (GPA) receiver in communication with the processing portion, the GPS receiver configured and disposed to establish a global position of the instrument node.

2D IR Spectroscopy using Four-Wave Mixing, Pulse Shaping, and IR Upconversion: A Quantitative Comparison

PubMed Central

Rock, William; Li, Yun-Liang; Pagano, Philip; Cheatum, Christopher M.

2013-01-01

Recent technological advances have led to major changes in the apparatuses used to collect 2D IR spectra. Pulse shaping offers several advantages including rapid data collection, inherent phase stability, and phase cycling capabilities. Visible array detection via upconversion allows the use of visible detectors that are cheaper, faster, more sensitive, and less noisy than IR detectors. However, despite these advantages, many researchers are reluctant to implement these technologies. Here we present a quantitative study of the S/N of 2D IR spectra collected with a traditional four-wave mixing (FWM) apparatus, with a pulse shaping apparatus, and with visible detection via upconversion to address the question of whether or not weak chromophores at low concentrations are still accessible with such an apparatus. We find that the enhanced averaging capability of the pulse shaping apparatus enables the detection of small signals that would be challenging to measure even with the traditional FWM apparatus, and we demonstrate this ability on a sample of cyanylated dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR). PMID:23687988

Proceedings of the Conference on Emerging Technologies in Optical Sciences (ETOS 2004) held at University College Cork, Ireland on July 26-29, 2004

DTIC Science & Technology

2004-07-29

coherent coupling in large element arrays . 16 Characterisation of Picosecond Pulses Propagating through a Semiconductor Optical Amplifier...Effect is used. QSCE is widely used in optical intensity and phase modula- Oiz et • to tors [i]. The speed of reverse-biased devices is po- tentially...such devices generally have poor beam quality . The out-of- phase mode is In fact typically favoured in these devices because of the better

Wide-field FTIR microscopy using mid-IR pulse shaping

PubMed Central

Serrano, Arnaldo L.; Ghosh, Ayanjeet; Ostrander, Joshua S.; Zanni, Martin T.

2015-01-01

We have developed a new table-top technique for collecting wide-field Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) microscopic images by combining a femtosecond pulse shaper with a mid-IR focal plane array. The pulse shaper scans the delay between a pulse pair extremely rapidly for high signal-to-noise, while also enabling phase control of the individual pulses to under-sample the interferograms and subtract background. Infrared absorption images were collected for a mixture of W(CO)6 or Mn2(CO)10 absorbed polystyrene beads, demonstrating that this technique can spatially resolve chemically distinct species. The images are sub-diffraction limited, as measured with a USAF test target patterned on CaF2 and verified with scalar wave simulations. We also find that refractive, rather than reflective, objectives are preferable for imaging with coherent radiation. We discuss this method with respect to conventional FTIR microscopes. PMID:26191843

Laser direct-write and crystallization of FeSi II micro-dot array for NIR light-emitting device application

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Narazaki, Aiko; Kurosaki, Ryozo; Sato, Tadatake; Kawaguchi, Yoshizo; Niino, Hiroyuki

2007-02-01

We printed FeSi II micro-dot array on various kinds of substrates utilizing laser-induced forward transfer (LIFT). An amorphous FeSi II was deposited by sputtering on a transparent plate as a source film. A single KrF excimer laser pulse through a mask-projection system was imaged with a small micrometer-sized grid pattern onto a film/plate interface, resulting in the deposition of FeSi II micro-dot array on a facing substrate with a high number density of 10 4 mm -2. FeSi II in the β crystalline phase is a promising eco-friendly semiconductor because of NIR electroluminescence used for optical networking as well as abundant components reserve on the earth and non-toxicity. However, the β-FeSi II film fabrication generally required high-temperature multi-processes which hamper its integration and performance reproducibility. Using the LIFT of micro-dot array, we succeeded in room-temperature preparation of β-FeSi II. Micro-Raman spectroscopy confirmed the β crystalline phase in the micro-dots deposited on an unheated silica glass substrate. Thus, the LIFT is useful for integrating functional micro-dot array accompanied by the crystallization at lower temperatures.

Development of a poly(dimethylacrylamide) based matrix material for solid phase high density peptide array synthesis employing a laser based material transfer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ridder, Barbara; Foertsch, Tobias C.; Welle, Alexander; Mattes, Daniela S.; von Bojnicic-Kninski, Clemens M.; Loeffler, Felix F.; Nesterov-Mueller, Alexander; Meier, Michael A. R.; Breitling, Frank

2016-12-01

Poly(dimethylacrylamide) (PDMA) based matrix materials were developed for laser-based in situ solid phase peptide synthesis to produce high density arrays. In this specific array synthesis approach, amino acid derivatives are embedded into a matrix material, serving as a ;solid; solvent material at room temperature. Then, a laser pulse transfers this mixture to the target position on a synthesis slide, where the peptide array is synthesized. Upon heating above the glass transition temperature of the matrix material, it softens, allowing diffusion of the amino acid derivatives to the synthesis surface and serving as a solvent for peptide bond formation. Here, we synthesized PDMA six-arm star polymers, offering the desired matrix material properties, using atom transfer radical polymerization. With the synthesized polymers as matrix material, we structured and synthesized arrays with combinatorial laser transfer. With densities of up to 20,000 peptide spots per cm2, the resolution could be increased compared to the commercially available standard matrix material. Time-of-Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry experiments revealed the penetration behavior of an amino acid derivative into the prepared acceptor synthesis surface and the effectiveness of the washing protocols.

Implementation of serial amplifying fluorescent polymer arrays for enhanced chemical vapor sensing of landmines

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fisher, Mark E.; la Grone, Marcus; Sikes, John

2003-09-01

A sensor (known as Fido) that utilizes amplification of fluorescence quenching as the transduction mechanism for ultra-trace detection of nitroaromatic compounds associated with landmines has been described previously. Previous sensor prototypes utilized a single band of amplifying polymer deployed inside a capillary waveguide to form the sensing element of the detector. A new prototype has been developed that incorporates multiple, discrete bands of different amplifying polymers deployed in a linear array inside the capillary. Vapor-phase samples are introduced into the sensor as a sharp pulse via a gated inlet. As the vapor pulse is swept through the capillary by flow of a carrier gas, the pulse of analyte encounters the bands of polymer sequentially. If the sample contains nitroaromatic explosives, the bands of polymer will respond with a reduction in emission intensity proportional to the mass of analyte in the sample. Because the polymer bands are deployed serially, the analyte pulse does not reach the bands of polymer simultaneously. Hence, a temporal response pattern will be observed as the analyte pulse traverses the length of the capillary. In addition, the intensity of response for each band will vary, producing a ratiometric response. The temporal and ratiometric responses are characteristic of a given analyte, enhancing discrimination of target analytes from potential interferents. This should translate into a reduction in sensor false alarm rates.

Phased array ghost elimination (PAGE) for segmented SSFP imaging with interrupted steady-state.

PubMed

Kellman, Peter; Guttman, Michael A; Herzka, Daniel A; McVeigh, Elliot R

2002-12-01

Steady-state free precession (SSFP) has recently proven to be valuable for cardiac imaging due to its high signal-to-noise ratio and blood-myocardium contrast. Data acquired using ECG-triggered, segmented sequences during the approach to steady-state, or return to steady-state after interruption, may have ghost artifacts due to periodic k-space distortion. Schemes involving several preparatory RF pulses have been proposed to restore steady-state, but these consume imaging time during early systole. Alternatively, the phased-array ghost elimination (PAGE) method may be used to remove ghost artifacts from the first several frames. PAGE was demonstrated for cardiac cine SSFP imaging with interrupted steady-state using a simple alpha/2 magnetization preparation and storage scheme and a spatial tagging preparation.

Background rejection of n+ surface events in GERDA Phase II

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lehnert, Björn

2016-05-01

The GERDA experiment searches for neutrinoless double beta (0vββ) decay in 76Ge using an array of high purity germanium (HPGe) detectors immersed in liquid argon (LAr). Phase II of the experiment uses 30 new broad energy germanium (BEGe) detectors with superior pulse shape discrimination capabilities compared to the previously used semi-coaxial detector design. By far the largest background component for BEGe detectors in GERDA are n+-surface events from 42K β decays which are intrinsic in LAr. The β particles with up to 3.5 MeV can traverse the 0.5 to 0.9 mm thick electrode and deposit energy within the region of interest for the 0vββ decay. However, those events have particular pulse shape features allowing for a strong discrimination. The understanding and simulation of this background, showing a reduction by up to a factor 145 with pulse shape discrimination alone, is presented in this work.

Improving Reliability of High Power Quasi-CW Laser Diode Arrays Operating in Long Pulse Mode

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Amzajerdian, Farzin; Meadows, Byron L.; Barnes, Bruce W.; Lockard, George E.; Singh, Upendra N.; Kavaya, Michael J.; Baker, Nathaniel R.

2006-01-01

Operating high power laser diode arrays in long pulse regime of about 1 msec, which is required for pumping 2-micron thulium and holmium-based lasers, greatly limits their useful lifetime. This paper describes performance of laser diode arrays operating in long pulse mode and presents experimental data of the active region temperature and pulse-to-pulse thermal cycling that are the primary cause of their premature failure and rapid degradation. This paper will then offer a viable approach for determining the optimum design and operational parameters leading to the maximum attainable lifetime.

Reliability of High Power Laser Diode Arrays Operating in Long Pulse Mode

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Amzajerdian, Farzin; Meadows, Byron L.; Barnes, Bruce W.; Lockard, George E.; Singh, Upendra N.; Kavaya, Michael J.; Baker, Nathaniel R.

2006-01-01

Reliability and lifetime of quasi-CW laser diode arrays are greatly influenced by their thermal characteristics. This paper examines the thermal properties of laser diode arrays operating in long pulse duration regime.

Measurement of Phased Array Point Spread Functions for Use with Beamforming

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bahr, Chris; Zawodny, Nikolas S.; Bertolucci, Brandon; Woolwine, Kyle; Liu, Fei; Li, Juan; Sheplak, Mark; Cattafesta, Louis

2011-01-01

Microphone arrays can be used to localize and estimate the strengths of acoustic sources present in a region of interest. However, the array measurement of a region, or beam map, is not an accurate representation of the acoustic field in that region. The true acoustic field is convolved with the array s sampling response, or point spread function (PSF). Many techniques exist to remove the PSF's effect on the beam map via deconvolution. Currently these methods use a theoretical estimate of the array point spread function and perhaps account for installation offsets via determination of the microphone locations. This methodology fails to account for any reflections or scattering in the measurement setup and still requires both microphone magnitude and phase calibration, as well as a separate shear layer correction in an open-jet facility. The research presented seeks to investigate direct measurement of the array's PSF using a non-intrusive acoustic point source generated by a pulsed laser system. Experimental PSFs of the array are computed for different conditions to evaluate features such as shift-invariance, shear layers and model presence. Results show that experimental measurements trend with theory with regard to source offset. The source shows expected behavior due to shear layer refraction when observed in a flow, and application of a measured PSF to NACA 0012 aeroacoustic trailing-edge noise data shows a promising alternative to a classic shear layer correction method.

The use of x-ray pulsar-based navigation method for interplanetary flight

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Bo; Guo, Xingcan; Yang, Yong

2009-07-01

As interplanetary missions are increasingly complex, the existing unique mature interplanetary navigation method mainly based on radiometric tracking techniques of Deep Space Network can not meet the rising demands of autonomous real-time navigation. This paper studied the applications for interplanetary flights of a new navigation technology under rapid development-the X-ray pulsar-based navigation for spacecraft (XPNAV), and valued its performance with a computer simulation. The XPNAV is an excellent autonomous real-time navigation method, and can provide comprehensive navigation information, including position, velocity, attitude, attitude rate and time. In the paper the fundamental principles and time transformation of the XPNAV were analyzed, and then the Delta-correction XPNAV blending the vehicles' trajectory dynamics with the pulse time-of-arrival differences at nominal and estimated spacecraft locations within an Unscented Kalman Filter (UKF) was discussed with a background mission of Mars Pathfinder during the heliocentric transferring orbit. The XPNAV has an intractable problem of integer pulse phase cycle ambiguities similar to the GPS carrier phase navigation. This article innovatively proposed the non-ambiguity assumption approach based on an analysis of the search space array method to resolve pulse phase cycle ambiguities between the nominal position and estimated position of the spacecraft. The simulation results show that the search space array method are computationally intensive and require long processing time when the position errors are large, and the non-ambiguity assumption method can solve ambiguity problem quickly and reliably. It is deemed that autonomous real-time integrated navigation system of the XPNAV blending with DSN, celestial navigation, inertial navigation and so on will be the development direction of interplanetary flight navigation system in the future.

Waveform synthesizer

DOEpatents

Franks, Larry A.; Nelson, Melvin A.

1981-01-01

A method of producing optical and electrical pulses of desired shape. An optical pulse of arbitrary but defined shape illuminates one end of an array of optical fiber waveguides of differing lengths to time differentiate the input pulse. The optical outputs at the other end of the array are combined to form a synthesized pulse of desired shape.

A photon-counting photodiode array detector for far ultraviolet (FUV) astronomy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hartig, G. F.; Moos, H. W.; Pembroke, R.; Bowers, C.

1982-01-01

A compact, stable, single-stage intensified photodiode array detector designed for photon-counting, far ultraviolet astronomy applications employs a saturable, 'C'-type MCP (Galileo S. MCP 25-25) to produce high gain pulses with a narrowly peaked pulse height distribution. The P-20 output phosphor exhibits a very short decay time, due to the high current density of the electron pulses. This intensifier is being coupled to a self-scanning linear photodiode array which has a fiber optic input window which allows direct, rigid mechanical coupling with minimal light loss. The array was scanned at a 250 KHz pixel rate. The detector exhibits more than adequate signal-to-noise ratio for pulse counting and event location.

Adaptive beam-width control of echolocation sounds by CF-FM bats, Rhinolophus ferrumequinum nippon, during prey-capture flight.

PubMed

Matsuta, Naohiro; Hiryu, Shizuko; Fujioka, Emyo; Yamada, Yasufumi; Riquimaroux, Hiroshi; Watanabe, Yoshiaki

2013-04-01

The echolocation sounds of Japanese CF-FM bats (Rhinolophus ferrumequinum nippon) were measured while the bats pursued a moth (Goniocraspidum pryeri) in a flight chamber. Using a 31-channel microphone array system, we investigated how CF-FM bats adjust pulse direction and beam width according to prey position. During the search and approach phases, the horizontal and vertical beam widths were ±22±5 and ±13±5 deg, respectively. When bats entered the terminal phase approximately 1 m from a moth, distinctive evasive flight by G. pryeri was sometimes observed. Simultaneously, the bats broadened the beam widths of some emissions in both the horizontal (44% of emitted echolocation pulses) and vertical planes (71%). The expanded beam widths were ±36±7 deg (horizontal) and ±30±9 deg (vertical). When moths began evasive flight, the tracking accuracy decreased compared with that during the approach phase. However, in 97% of emissions during the terminal phase, the beam width was wider than the misalignment (the angular difference between the pulse and target directions). These findings indicate that bats actively adjust their beam width to retain the moving target within a spatial echolocation window during the final capture stages.

Pattern recognition of electronic bit-sequences using a semiconductor mode-locked laser and spatial light modulators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bhooplapur, Sharad; Akbulut, Mehmetkan; Quinlan, Franklyn; Delfyett, Peter J.

2010-04-01

A novel scheme for recognition of electronic bit-sequences is demonstrated. Two electronic bit-sequences that are to be compared are each mapped to a unique code from a set of Walsh-Hadamard codes. The codes are then encoded in parallel on the spectral phase of the frequency comb lines from a frequency-stabilized mode-locked semiconductor laser. Phase encoding is achieved by using two independent spatial light modulators based on liquid crystal arrays. Encoded pulses are compared using interferometric pulse detection and differential balanced photodetection. Orthogonal codes eight bits long are compared, and matched codes are successfully distinguished from mismatched codes with very low error rates, of around 10-18. This technique has potential for high-speed, high accuracy recognition of bit-sequences, with applications in keyword searches and internet protocol packet routing.

Phased Array 3D MR Spectroscopic Imaging of the Brain at 7 Tesla

PubMed Central

Xu, Duan; Cunningham, Charles H; Chen, Albert P.; Li, Yan; Kelley, Douglas AC; Mukherjee, Pratik; Pauly, John M.; Nelson, Sarah J.; Vigneron, Daniel B.

2008-01-01

Ultrahigh field 7T MR scanners offer the potential for greatly improved MR spectroscopic imaging due to increased sensitivity and spectral resolution. Prior 7T human single-voxel MRS studies have shown significant increases in SNR and spectral resolution as compared to lower magnetic fields, but have not demonstrated the increase in spatial resolution and multivoxel coverage possible with 7T MR spectroscopic imaging. The goal of this study was to develop specialized rf pulses and sequences for 3D MRSI at 7T to address the challenges of increased chemical shift misregistration, B1 power limitations, and increased spectral bandwidth. The new 7T MRSI sequence was tested in volunteer studies and demonstrated the feasibility of obtaining high SNR phased-array 3D MRSI from the human brain. PMID:18486386

5.5 W near-diffraction-limited power from resonant leaky-wave coupled phase-locked arrays of quantum cascade lasers

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kirch, J. D.; Chang, C.-C.; Boyle, C.

2015-02-09

Five, 8.36 μm-emitting quantum-cascade lasers (QCLs) have been monolithically phase-locked in the in-phase array mode via resonant leaky-wave coupling. The structure is fabricated by etch and regrowth which provides large index steps (Δn = 0.10) between antiguided-array elements and interelement regions. Such high index contrast photonic-crystal (PC) lasers have more than an order of magnitude higher index contrast than PC-distributed feedback lasers previously used for coherent beam combining in QCLs. Absorption loss to metal layers inserted in the interelement regions provides a wide (∼1.0 μm) range in interelement width over which the resonant in-phase mode is strongly favored to lase. Room-temperature, in-phase-mode operation withmore » ∼2.2 kA/cm{sup 2} threshold-current density is obtained from 105 μm-wide aperture devices. The far-field beam pattern has lobewidths 1.65× diffraction limit (D.L.) and 82% of the light in the main lobe, up to 1.8× threshold. Peak pulsed near-D.L. power of 5.5 W is obtained, with 4.5 W emitted in the main lobe. Means of how to increase the device internal efficiency are discussed.« less

A z-gradient array for simultaneous multi-slice excitation with a single-band RF pulse.

PubMed

Ertan, Koray; Taraghinia, Soheil; Sadeghi, Alireza; Atalar, Ergin

2018-07-01

Multi-slice radiofrequency (RF) pulses have higher specific absorption rates, more peak RF power, and longer pulse durations than single-slice RF pulses. Gradient field design techniques using a z-gradient array are investigated for exciting multiple slices with a single-band RF pulse. Two different field design methods are formulated to solve for the required current values of the gradient array elements for the given slice locations. The method requirements are specified, optimization problems are formulated for the minimum current norm and an analytical solution is provided. A 9-channel z-gradient coil array driven by independent, custom-designed gradient amplifiers is used to validate the theory. Performance measures such as normalized slice thickness error, gradient strength per unit norm current, power dissipation, and maximum amplitude of the magnetic field are provided for various slice locations and numbers of slices. Two and 3 slices are excited by a single-band RF pulse in simulations and phantom experiments. The possibility of multi-slice excitation with a single-band RF pulse using a z-gradient array is validated in simulations and phantom experiments. Magn Reson Med 80:400-412, 2018. © 2017 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine. © 2017 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine.

Photon counting photodiode array detector for far ultraviolet (FUV) astronomy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hartig, G. F.; Moos, H. W.; Pembroke, R.; Bowers, C.

1982-01-01

A compact, stable, single-stage intensified photodiode array detector designed for photon-counting, far ultraviolet astronomy applications employs a saturable, 'C'-type MCP (Galileo S. MCP 25-25) to produce high gain pulses with a narrowly peaked pulse height distribution. The P-20 output phosphor exhibits a very short decay time, due to the high current density of the electron pulses. This intensifier is being coupled to a self-scanning linear photodiode array which has a fiber optic input window which allows direct, rigid mechanical coupling with minimal light loss. The array was scanned at a 250 KHz pixel rate. The detector exhibits more than adequate signal-to-noise ratio for pulse counting and event location. Previously announced in STAR as N82-19118

Parallel-Processing CMOS Circuitry for M-QAM and 8PSK TCM

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gray, Andrew; Lee, Dennis; Hoy, Scott; Fisher, Dave; Fong, Wai; Ghuman, Parminder

2009-01-01

There has been some additional development of parts reported in "Multi-Modulator for Bandwidth-Efficient Communication" (NPO-40807), NASA Tech Briefs, Vol. 32, No. 6 (June 2009), page 34. The focus was on 1) The generation of M-order quadrature amplitude modulation (M-QAM) and octonary-phase-shift-keying, trellis-coded modulation (8PSK TCM), 2) The use of square-root raised-cosine pulse-shaping filters, 3) A parallel-processing architecture that enables low-speed [complementary metal oxide/semiconductor (CMOS)] circuitry to perform the coding, modulation, and pulse-shaping computations at a high rate; and 4) Implementation of the architecture in a CMOS field-programmable gate array.

Target diagnostics for commissioning the AWE HELEN Laser Facility 100 TW chirped pulse amplification beam

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Eagleton, R. T.; Clark, E. L.; Davies, H. M.

2006-10-15

The capability of the HELEN laser at the Atomic Weapons Establishment Aldermaston has been enhanced by the addition of a short-pulse laser beam to augment the twin opposing nanosecond time scale beams. The short-pulse beam utilizes the chirped pulse amplification (CPA) technique and is capable of delivering up to 60 J on target in a 500 fs pulse, around 100 TW, at the fundamental laser wavelength of 1.054 {mu}m. During the commissioning phase a number of diagnostic systems have been fielded, these include: x-ray pinhole imaging of the laser heated spot, charged particle time of flight, thermoluminescent dosimeter array, calibratedmore » radiochromic film, and CR39 nuclear track detector. These diagnostic systems have been used to verify the performance of the CPA beam to achieve a focused intensity of around 10{sup 19} W cm{sup -2} and to underwrite the facility radiological safety system.« less

Nonlinear waves in subwavelength waveguide arrays: evanescent bands and the "phoenix soliton".

PubMed

Peleg, Or; Segev, Mordechai; Bartal, Guy; Christodoulides, Demetrios N; Moiseyev, Nimrod

2009-04-24

We formulate wave propagation in arrays of subwavelength waveguides with sharp index contrasts and demonstrate the collapse of bands into evanescent modes and lattice solitons with superluminal phase velocity. We find a self-reviving soliton ("phoenix soliton") comprised of coupled forward- and backward-propagating light, originating solely from evanescent bands. In the linear regime, all Bloch waves comprising this beam decay, whereas a proper nonlinearity assembles them into a propagating self-trapped beam. Finally, we simulate the dynamics of such a beam and observe breakup into temporal pulses, indicating a new kind of slow-light gap solitons, trapped in time and in one transverse dimension.

Improving Lifetime of Quasi-CW Laser Diode Arrays for Pumping 2-Micron Solid State Lasers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Amzajerdian, Farzin; Meadows, Byron L.; Baker, Nathaniel R.; Barnes, Bruce W.; Singh, Upendra N.; Kavaya, Michael J.

2007-01-01

Operating high power laser diode arrays in long pulse regime of about 1 msec, which is required for pumping 2-micron thulium and holmium-based lasers, greatly limits their useful lifetime. This paper describes performance of laser diode arrays operating in long pulse mode and presents experimental data on the active region temperature and pulse-to-pulse thermal cycling that are the primary cause of their premature failure and rapid degradation. This paper will then offer a viable approach for determining the optimum design and operational parameters leading to the maximum attainable lifetime.

Focused shock spark discharge drill using multiple electrodes

DOEpatents

Moeny, William M.; Small, James G.

1988-01-01

A spark discharge focused drill provided with one pulse forming line or a number of pulse forming lines. The pulse forming line is connected to an array of electrodes which would form a spark array. One of the electrodes of each of the array is connected to the high voltage side of the pulse forming line and the other electrodes are at ground potential. When discharged in a liquid, these electrodes produce intense focused shock waves that can pulverize or fracture rock. By delaying the firing of each group of electrodes, the drill can be steered within the earth. Power can be fed to the pulse forming line either downhole or from the surface area. A high voltage source, such as a Marx generator, is suitable for pulse charging the lines.

Developing high coercivity in large diameter cobalt nanowire arrays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Montazer, A. H.; Ramazani, A.; Almasi Kashi, M.; Zavašnik, J.

2016-11-01

Regardless of the synthetic method, developing high magnetic coercivity in ferromagnetic nanowires (NWs) with large diameters has been a challenge over the past two decades. Here, we report on the synthesis of highly coercive cobalt NW arrays with diameters of 65 and 80 nm, which are embedded in porous anodic alumina templates with high-aspect-ratio pores. Using a modified electrochemical deposition method enabled us to reach room temperature coercivity and remanent ratio up to 3000 Oe and 0.70, respectively, for highly crystalline as-synthesized hcp cobalt NW arrays with a length of 8 μm. The first-order reversal curve (FORC) analysis showed the presence of both soft and hard magnetic phases along the length of the resulting NWs. To develop higher coercive fields, the length of the NWs was then gradually reduced in order from bottom to top, thereby reaching NW sections governed by the hard phase. Consequently, this resulted in record high coercivities of 4200 and 3850 Oe at NW diameters of 65 and 80 nm, respectively. In this case, the FORC diagrams confirmed a significant reduction in interactions between the magnetic phases of the remaining sections of NWs. At this stage, x-ray diffraction (XRD) and dark-field transmission electron microscopy analyses indicated the formation of highly crystalline bamboo-like sections along the [0 0 2] direction during a progressive pulse-controlled electrochemical growth of NW arrays under optimized parameters. Our results both provide new insights into the growth process, crystalline characteristics and magnetic phases along the length of large diameter NW arrays and, furthermore, develop the performance of pure 3d transition magnetic NWs.

Imaging synthetic aperture radar

DOEpatents

Burns, Bryan L.; Cordaro, J. Thomas

1997-01-01

A linear-FM SAR imaging radar method and apparatus to produce a real-time image by first arranging the returned signals into a plurality of subaperture arrays, the columns of each subaperture array having samples of dechirped baseband pulses, and further including a processing of each subaperture array to obtain coarse-resolution in azimuth, then fine-resolution in range, and lastly, to combine the processed subapertures to obtain the final fine-resolution in azimuth. Greater efficiency is achieved because both the transmitted signal and a local oscillator signal mixed with the returned signal can be varied on a pulse-to-pulse basis as a function of radar motion. Moreover, a novel circuit can adjust the sampling location and the A/D sample rate of the combined dechirped baseband signal which greatly reduces processing time and hardware. The processing steps include implementing a window function, stabilizing either a central reference point and/or all other points of a subaperture with respect to doppler frequency and/or range as a function of radar motion, sorting and compressing the signals using a standard fourier transforms. The stabilization of each processing part is accomplished with vector multiplication using waveforms generated as a function of radar motion wherein these waveforms may be synthesized in integrated circuits. Stabilization of range migration as a function of doppler frequency by simple vector multiplication is a particularly useful feature of the invention; as is stabilization of azimuth migration by correcting for spatially varying phase errors prior to the application of an autofocus process.

A detailed view of the gas shell around R Sculptoris with ALMA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maercker, M.; Vlemmings, W. H. T.; Brunner, M.; De Beck, E.; Humphreys, E. M.; Kerschbaum, F.; Lindqvist, M.; Olofsson, H.; Ramstedt, S.

2016-02-01

Context. During the asymptotic giant branch (AGB) phase, stars undergo thermal pulses - short-lived phases of explosive helium burning in a shell around the stellar core. Thermal pulses lead to the formation and mixing-up of new elements to the stellar surface. They are hence fundamental to the chemical evolution of the star and its circumstellar envelope. A further consequence of thermal pulses is the formation of detached shells of gas and dust around the star, several of which have been observed around carbon-rich AGB stars. Aims: We aim to determine the physical properties of the detached gas shell around R Sculptoris, in particular the shell mass and temperature, and to constrain the evolution of the mass-loss rate during and after a thermal pulse. Methods: We analyse 12CO(1-0), 12CO(2-1), and 12CO(3-2) emission, observed with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) during Cycle 0 and complemented by single-dish observations. The spatial resolution of the ALMA data allows us to separate the detached shell emission from the extended emission inside the shell. We perform radiative transfer modelling of both components to determine the shell properties and the post-pulse mass-loss properties. Results: The ALMA data show a gas shell with a radius of 19.̋5 expanding at 14.3 km s-1. The different scales probed by the ALMA Cycle 0 array show that the shell must be entirely filled with gas, contrary to the idea of a detached shell. The comparison to single-dish spectra and radiative transfer modelling confirms this. We derive a shell mass of 4.5 × 10-3 M⊙ with a temperature of 50 K. Typical timescales for thermal pulses imply a pulse mass-loss rate of 2.3 × 10-5 M⊙ yr-1. For the post-pulse mass-loss rate, we find evidence for a gradual decline of the mass-loss rate, with an average value of 1.6 × 10-5 M⊙ yr-1. The total amount of mass lost since the last thermal pulse is 0.03 M⊙, a factor four higher compared to classical models, with a sharp decline in mass-loss rate immediately after the pulse. Conclusions: We find that the mass-loss rate after a thermal pulse has to decline more slowly than generally expected from models of thermal pulses. This may cause the star to lose significantly more mass during a thermal pulse cycle, which affects the lifetime on the AGB and the chemical evolution of the star, its circumstellar envelope, and the interstellar medium.

High-Power Microwave Metamaterials for Phased-Array, anti-HPM, and Pulse-Shaping Applications

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-07-23

examined single-layer metasurfaces composed of miniature LC resonators arranged in a 2-D periodic lattice. These metasurfaces are engineered to be...with a reasonable degree of accuracy. Additionally, when the unit cell of the metasurface was composed of two different resonators, breakdown was...Electrical and Computer Engineering of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, we demonstrated that such single-layer metasurfaces can be used to reduce

Multimode harmonic power measurement of 40 MW pulsed S-band klystrons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fowkes, W. R.; Wu, E. S.

1984-08-01

An array of 12 calibrated RF electric field probes on the waveguide walls are used to sample the complex field profile at the second and third harmonics where the fundamental power is in the 40 MW range at 2856 MHz. The measured amplitude and phase signals from these are Fourier analyzed to determine with good accuracy the power in each of the many possible propagating modes.

Digital micromirror device-based ultrafast pulse shaping for femtosecond laser.

PubMed

Gu, Chenglin; Zhang, Dapeng; Chang, Yina; Chen, Shih-Chi

2015-06-15

In this Letter, we present a new digital micromirror device (DMD)-based ultrafast pulse shaper, i.e., DUPS. To the best of our knowledge, the DUPS is the first binary pulse shaper that can modulate high repetition rate laser sources at up to a 32 kHz rate (limited by the DMD pattern rate). Since pulse modulation occurs in the frequency domain through reflective two-dimensional micromirror arrays, i.e., DMD, the DUPS is not only compact and low in cost, but also possesses a high damage threshold that is critical for high pulse energy laser applications. In this work, a grating pair was introduced in the DUPS to compensate the DMD induced dispersion. Double pulses were generated to validate the effectiveness of the DUPS and calibrate the system. Subsequently, we demonstrated arbitrary phase shaping capability by continuous tuning of group velocity dispersion (GVD) and modulation of half-spectrum shifted by π. The overall efficiency was measured to be 1.7%, while an efficiency of up to 5% can be expected when high efficiency gratings and properly coated DMDs are used.

Applications of telecommunication technology for optical instrumentation with an emphasis on space-time duality

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

van Howe, James William

Telecommunication technology has often been applied to areas of science and engineering seemingly unrelated to communication systems. Innovations such as electronic amplifiers, the transistor, digital coding, optical fiber, and the laser, which all had roots in communication technology, have been implemented in devices from bar-code scanners to fiber endoscopes for medical procedures. In the same way, the central theme of the work in the following chapters has been to borrow both the concepts and technology of telecommunications systems to develop novel optical instrumentation for non-telecom pursuits. This work particularly leverages fiber-integrated electro-optic phase modulators to apply custom phase profiles to ultrafast pulses for control and manipulation. Such devices are typically used in telecom transmitters to encode phase data onto optical pulses (differential phase-shift keying), or for chirped data transmission. We, however, use electro-optic phase modulators to construct four novel optical devices: (1) a programmable ultrafast optical delay line with record scanning speed for applications in optical metrology, interferometry, or broad-band phase arrays, (2) a multiwavelength pulse generator for real-time optical sampling of electronic waveforms, (3) a simple femtosecond pulse generator for uses in biomedical imaging or ultrafast spectroscopy, and (4) a nonlinear phase compensator to increase the energy of fiber-amplified ultrashort pulse systems. In addition, we describe a fifth instrument which makes use of a higher-order mode fiber, similar in design to dispersion compensating fibers used for telecom. Through soliton self-frequency shift in the higher-order mode fiber, we can broadly-tune the center frequency of ultrashort pulses in energy regimes useful for biomedical imaging or ultrafast spectroscopy. The advantages gained through using telecom components in each of these systems are the simplicity and robustness of all-fiber configurations, high-speed operation, and electronic control of signals. Finally, we devote much attention to the paradigm of space-time duality and temporal imaging which allows the electro-optic phase modulators used in our instrumentation to be framed as temporal analogs of diffractive optical elements such as lenses and prisms. We show how the concepts of "time-lenses" and "time-prisms" give an intuitive understanding of our work as well as insight for the general development of optical instrumentation.

Synthesis of Nanosecond Ultrawideband Radiation Pulses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koshelev, V. I.; Plisko, V. V.; Sevostyanov, E. A.

2017-12-01

The synthesis of electromagnetic pulses with an extended spectrum by summing pulses of different duration in free space has been studied. The radiation spectrum has been estimated analytically for a 4-element array of combined antennas excited by bipolar voltage pulses of duration 0.5, 1, 2, and 3 ns. It has been shown experimentally that radiation with a spectral width of more than three octaves can be produced using a 2×2 array of combined antennas excited by bipolar pulses of duration 2 and 3 ns.

Beam-Switch Transient Effects in the RF Path of the ICAPA Receive Phased Array Antenna

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sands, O. Scott

2003-01-01

When the beam of a Phased Array Antenna (PAA) is switched from one pointing direction to another, transient effects in the RF path of the antenna are observed. Testing described in the report has revealed implementation-specific transient effects in the RF channel that are associated with digital clocking pulses that occur with transfer of data from the Beam Steering Controller (BSC) to the digital electronics of the PAA under test. The testing described here provides an initial assessment of the beam-switch phenomena by digitally acquiring time series of the RF communications channel, under CW excitation, during the period of time that the beam switch transient occurs. Effects are analyzed using time-frequency distributions and instantaneous frequency estimation techniques. The results of tests conducted with CW excitation supports further Bit-Error-Rate (BER) testing of the PAA communication channel.

High-performance ferroelectric and magnetoresistive materials for next-generation thermal detector arrays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Todd, Michael A.; Donohue, Paul P.; Watton, Rex; Williams, Dennis J.; Anthony, Carl J.; Blamire, Mark G.

2002-12-01

This paper discusses the potential thermal imaging performance achievable from thermal detector arrays and concludes that the current generation of thin-film ferroelectric and resistance bolometer based detector arrays are limited by the detector materials used. It is proposed that the next generation of large uncooled focal plane arrays will need to look towards higher performance detector materials - particularly if they aim to approach the fundamental performance limits and compete with cooled photon detector arrays. Two examples of bolometer thin-film materials are described that achieve high performance from operating around phase transitions. The material Lead Scandium Tantalate (PST) has a paraelectric-to-ferroelectric phase transition around room temperature and is used with an applied field in the dielectric bolometer mode for thermal imaging. PST films grown by sputtering and liquid-source CVD have shown merit figures for thermal imaging a factor of 2 to 3 times higher than PZT-based pyroelectric thin films. The material Lanthanum Calcium Manganite (LCMO) has a paramagnetic to ferromagnetic phase transition around -20oC. This paper describes recent measurements of TCR and 1/f noise in pulsed laser-deposited LCMO films on Neodymium Gallate substrates. These results show that LCMO not only has high TCR's - up to 30%/K - but also low 1/f excess noise, with bolometer merit figures at least an order of magnitude higher than Vanadium Oxide, making it ideal for the next generation of microbolometer arrays. These high performance properties come at the expense of processing complexities and novel device designs will need to be introduced to realize the potential of these materials in the next generation of thermal detectors.

Phased-array ultrasonic surface contour mapping system and method for solids hoppers and the like

DOEpatents

Fasching, George E.; Smith, Jr., Nelson S.

1994-01-01

A real time ultrasonic surface contour mapping system is provided including a digitally controlled phased-array of transmitter/receiver (T/R) elements located in a fixed position above the surface to be mapped. The surface is divided into a predetermined number of pixels which are separately scanned by an arrangement of T/R elements by applying phase delayed signals thereto that produce ultrasonic tone bursts from each T/R that arrive at a point X in phase and at the same time relative to the leading edge of the tone burst pulse so that the acoustic energies from each T/R combine in a reinforcing manner at point X. The signals produced by the reception of the echo signals reflected from point X back to the T/Rs are also delayed appropriately so that they add in phase at the input of a signal combiner. This combined signal is then processed to determine the range to the point X using density-corrected sound velocity values. An autofocusing signal is developed from the computed average range for a complete scan of the surface pixels. A surface contour map is generated in real time form the range signals on a video monitor.

Single flux pulses affecting the ensemble of superconducting qubits

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Denisenko, M. V.; Klenov, N. V.; Satanin, A. M.

2018-02-01

The present study is devoted to development of a technique for numerical simulation of the wave function dynamics the single Josephson qubits and arrays of noninteracting qubits controlled by ultra-short pulses. We wish to demonstrate the feasibility of a new principle of basic logical operations on the picosecond timescale. The influence of the unipolar pulse ("fluxon") form on the evolution of the state during the execution of the quantum one-qubit operations - "NOT", "READ" and " √{N O T } " - is investigated in the presence of decoherence. In the array of non interacting qubits, the question of the influence of the spread of their energy parameters (tunnel constants) is studied. It is shown that a single unipolar pulse can control a huge array of artificial atoms with 10% spread of geometric parameters in the array.

Status On Multi-microsecond Prepulse Technique On Sphinx Machine Going From Nested To Single Wire Array For 800 ns Implosion Time Z-pinch

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maury, P.; Calamy, H.; Grunenwald, J.; Lassalle, F.; Zucchini, F.; Loyen, A.; Georges, A.; Morell, A.; Bedoch, J. P.

2009-01-01

The Sphinx machine[1] is a 6 MA, 1 μS driver based on the LTD technology, used for Z-pinch experiments. Important improvements of Sphinx radiation output were recently obtained using a multi-microsecond current prepulse[2]. Total power per unit of length is multiplied by a factor of 6 and FWHM divided by a factor of 2.5. Early breakdown of the wires during the prepulse phase dramatically changes the ablation phase leading to an improvement of axial homogeneity of both the implosion and the final radiating column. As a consequence, the cathode bubble observed on classical shots is definitively removed. The implosion is then centered and zippering effect is reduced, leading to simultaneous x-ray emission of the whole length. A great reproducibility is obtained. Nested arrays were used before to mitigate the Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities during the implosion phase. Further experiments with pre-pulse technique are described here were inner array was removed. The goal of these experiments was to see if long prepulse could give stable enough implosion with single array and at the same time increase the η parameter by reducing the mass of the load. Experimental results of single wire array loads of typical dimension 5 cm in height with implosion time between 700 and 900 ns and diameter varying between 80 and 140 mm are given. Parameters of the loads were varying in term of radius and number of wires. Comparisons with nested wire array loads are done and trends are proposed. Characteristics of both the implosion and the final radiating column are shown. 2D MHD numerical simulations of single wire array become easier as there is no interaction between outer and inner array anymore. A systematic study was done using injection mass model to benchmark simulation with experiments.

Airborne ultrasonic phased arrays using ferroelectrets: a new fabrication approach.

PubMed

Ealo, Joao L; Camacho, Jorge J; Fritsch, Carlos

2009-04-01

In this work, a novel procedure that considerably simplifies the fabrication process of ferroelectret-based multielement array transducers is proposed and evaluated. Also, the potential of ferroelectrets being used as active material for air-coupled ultrasonic transducer design is demonstrated. The new construction method of multi-element transducers introduces 2 distinctive improvements. First, active ferroelectret material is not discretized into elements, and second, the need of structuring upper and/or lower electrodes in advance of the permanent polarization of the film is removed. The aperture discretization and the mechanical connection are achieved in one step using a through-thickness conductive tape. To validate the procedure, 2 linear array prototypes of 32 elements, with a pitch of 3.43 mm and a wide usable frequency range from 30 to 300 kHz, were built and evaluated using a commercial phased-array system. A low crosstalk among elements, below -30 dB, was measured by interferometry. Likewise, a homogeneous response of the array elements, with a maximum deviation of +/-1.8 dB, was obtained. Acoustic beam steering measurements were accomplished at different deflection angles using a calibrated microphone. The ultrasonic beam parameters, namely, lateral resolution, side lobe level, grating lobes, and focus depth, were congruent with theory. Acoustic images of a single reflector were obtained using one of the array elements as the receiver. Resulting images are also in accordance with numerical simulation, demonstrating the feasibility of using these arrays in pulse-echo mode. The proposed procedure simplifies the manufacturing of multidimensional arrays with arbitrary shape elements and not uniformly distributed. Furthermore, this concept can be extended to nonflat arrays as long as the transducer substrate conforms to a developable surface.

Distributing coil elements in three dimensions enhances parallel transmission multiband RF performance: A simulation study in the human brain at 7 Tesla.

PubMed

Wu, Xiaoping; Tian, Jinfeng; Schmitter, Sebastian; Vaughan, J Tommy; Uğurbil, Kâmil; Van de Moortele, Pierre-François

2016-06-01

We explore the advantages of using a double-ring radiofrequency (RF) array and slice orientation to design parallel transmission (pTx) multiband (MB) pulses for simultaneous multislice (SMS) imaging with whole-brain coverage at 7 Tesla (T). A double-ring head array with 16 elements split evenly in two rings stacked in the z-direction was modeled and compared with two single-ring arrays consisting of 8 or 16 elements. The array performance was evaluated by designing band-specific pTx MB pulses with local specific absorption rate (SAR) control. The impact of slice orientations was also investigated. The double-ring array consistently and significantly outperformed the other two single-ring arrays, with peak local SAR reduced by up to 40% at a fixed excitation error of 0.024. For all three arrays, exciting sagittal or coronal slices yielded better RF performance than exciting axial or oblique slices. A double-ring RF array can be used to drastically improve SAR versus excitation fidelity tradeoff for pTx MB pulse design for brain imaging at 7 T; therefore, it is preferable against single-ring RF array designs when pursuing various biomedical applications of pTx SMS imaging. In comparing the stripline arrays, coronal and sagittal slices are more advantageous than axial and oblique slices for pTx MB pulses. Magn Reson Med 75:2464-2472, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Improving Plating by Use of Intense Acoustic Beams

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Oeftering, Richard C.; Denofrio, Charles

2003-01-01

An improved method of selective plating of metals and possibly other materials involves the use of directed high-intensity acoustic beams. The beams, typically in the ultrasonic frequency range, can be generated by fixed-focus transducers (see figure) or by phased arrays of transducers excited, variously, by continuous waves, tone bursts, or single pulses. The nonlinear effects produced by these beams are used to alter plating processes in ways that are advantageous.

Phased Array Ultrasound System for Planar Flow Mapping in Liquid Metals.

PubMed

Mader, Kevin; Nauber, Richard; Galindo, Vladimir; Beyer, Hannes; Buttner, Lars; Eckert, Sven; Czarske, Jurgen

2017-09-01

Controllable magnetic fields can be used to optimize flows in technical and industrial processes involving liquid metals in order to improve quality and yield. However, experimental studies in magnetohydrodynamics often involve complex, turbulent flows and require planar, two-component (2c) velocity measurements through only one acoustical access. We present the phased array ultrasound Doppler velocimeter as a modular research platform for flow mapping in liquid metals. It combines the pulse wave Doppler method with the phased array technique to adaptively focus the ultrasound beam. This makes it possible to resolve smaller flow structures in planar measurements compared with fixed-beam sensors and enables 2c flow mapping with only one acoustical access via the cross beam technique. From simultaneously measured 2-D velocity fields, quantities for turbulence characterization can be derived. The capabilities of this measurement system are demonstrated through measurements in the alloy gallium-indium-tin at room temperature. The 2-D, 2c velocity measurements of a flow in a cubic vessel driven by a rotating magnetic field (RMF) with a spatial resolution of up to 2.2 mm are presented. The measurement results are in good agreement with a semianalytical simulation. As a highlight, two-point correlation functions of the velocity field for different magnitudes of the RMF are presented.

Propagation of three-dimensional bipolar ultrashort electromagnetic pulses in an inhomogeneous array of carbon nanotubes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fedorov, Eduard G.; Zhukov, Alexander V.; Bouffanais, Roland; Timashkov, Alexander P.; Malomed, Boris A.; Leblond, Hervé; Mihalache, Dumitru; Rosanov, Nikolay N.; Belonenko, Mikhail B.

2018-04-01

We study the propagation of three-dimensional (3D) bipolar ultrashort electromagnetic pulses in an inhomogeneous array of semiconductor carbon nanotubes. The heterogeneity is represented by a planar region with an increased concentration of conduction electrons. The evolution of the electromagnetic field and electron concentration in the sample are governed by the Maxwell's equations and continuity equation. In particular, nonuniformity of the electromagnetic field along the axis of the nanotubes is taken into account. We demonstrate that depending on values of the parameters of the electromagnetic pulse approaching the region with the higher electron concentration, the pulse is either reflected from the region or passes it. Specifically, our simulations demonstrate that after interacting with the higher-concentration area, the pulse can propagate steadily, without significant spreading. The possibility of such ultrashort electromagnetic pulses propagating in arrays of carbon nanotubes over distances significantly exceeding characteristic dimensions of the pulses makes it possible to consider them as 3D solitons.

Development and Testing of a High Level Axial Array Duct Sound Source for the NASA Flow Impedance Test Facility

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Johnson, Marty E.; Fuller, Chris R.; Jones, Michael G. (Technical Monitor)

2000-01-01

In this report both a frequency domain method for creating high level harmonic excitation and a time domain inverse method for creating large pulses in a duct are developed. To create controllable, high level sound an axial array of six JBL-2485 compression drivers was used. The pressure downstream is considered as input voltages to the sources filtered by the natural dynamics of the sources and the duct. It is shown that this dynamic behavior can be compensated for by filtering the inputs such that both time delays and phase changes are taken into account. The methods developed maximize the sound output while (i) keeping within the power constraints of the sources and (ii) maintaining a suitable level of reproduction accuracy. Harmonic excitation pressure levels of over 155dB were created experimentally over a wide frequency range (1000-4000Hz). For pulse excitation there is a tradeoff between accuracy of reproduction and sound level achieved. However, the accurate reproduction of a pulse with a maximum pressure level over 6500Pa was achieved experimentally. It was also shown that the throat connecting the driver to the duct makes it difficult to inject sound just below the cut-on of each acoustic mode (pre cut-on loading effect).

Forward-Looking Intracardiac Ultrasound Imaging Using a 1-D CMUT Array Integrated With Custom Front-End Electronics

PubMed Central

Nikoozadeh, Amin; Wygant, Ira O.; Lin, Der-Song; Oralkan, Ömer; Ergun, A. Sanlı; Stephens, Douglas N.; Thomenius, Kai E.; Dentinger, Aaron M.; Wildes, Douglas; Akopyan, Gina; Shivkumar, Kalyanam; Mahajan, Aman; Sahn, David J.; Khuri-Yakub, Butrus T.

2009-01-01

Minimally invasive catheter-based electrophysiological (EP) interventions are becoming a standard procedure in diagnosis and treatment of cardiac arrhythmias. As a result of technological advances that enable small feature sizes and a high level of integration, nonfluoroscopic intracardiac echocardiography (ICE) imaging catheters are attracting increasing attention. ICE catheters improve EP procedural guidance while reducing the undesirable use of fluoroscopy, which is currently the common catheter guidance method. Phased-array ICE catheters have been in use for several years now, although only for side-looking imaging. We are developing a forward-looking ICE catheter for improved visualization. In this effort, we fabricate a 24-element, fine-pitch 1-D array of capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducers (CMUT), with a total footprint of 1.73 mm × 1.27 mm. We also design a custom integrated circuit (IC) composed of 24 identical blocks of transmit/receive circuitry, measuring 2.1 mm × 2.1 mm. The transmit circuitry is capable of delivering 25-V unipolar pulses, and the receive circuitry includes a transimpedance preamplifier followed by an output buffer. The CMUT array and the custom IC are designed to be mounted at the tip of a 10-Fr catheter for high-frame-rate forward-looking intracardiac imaging. Through-wafer vias incorporated in the CMUT array provide access to individual array elements from the back side of the array. We successfully flip-chip bond a CMUT array to the custom IC with 100% yield. We coat the device with a layer of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) to electrically isolate the device for imaging in water and tissue. The pulse-echo in water from a total plane reflector has a center frequency of 9.2 MHz with a 96% fractional bandwidth. Finally, we demonstrate the imaging capability of the integrated device on commercial phantoms and on a beating ex vivo rabbit heart (Langendorff model) using a commercial ultrasound imaging system. PMID:19126489

Super-resolution technique for CW lidar using Fourier transform reordering and Richardson-Lucy deconvolution.

PubMed

Campbell, Joel F; Lin, Bing; Nehrir, Amin R; Harrison, F Wallace; Obland, Michael D

2014-12-15

An interpolation method is described for range measurements of high precision altimetry with repeating intensity modulated continuous wave (IM-CW) lidar waveforms using binary phase shift keying (BPSK), where the range profile is determined by means of a cross-correlation between the digital form of the transmitted signal and the digitized return signal collected by the lidar receiver. This method uses reordering of the array elements in the frequency domain to convert a repeating synthetic pulse signal to single highly interpolated pulse. This is then enhanced further using Richardson-Lucy deconvolution to greatly enhance the resolution of the pulse. We show the sampling resolution and pulse width can be enhanced by about two orders of magnitude using the signal processing algorithms presented, thus breaking the fundamental resolution limit for BPSK modulation of a particular bandwidth and bit rate. We demonstrate the usefulness of this technique for determining cloud and tree canopy thicknesses far beyond this fundamental limit in a lidar not designed for this purpose.

LIMITS ON THE EVENT RATES OF FAST RADIO TRANSIENTS FROM THE V-FASTR EXPERIMENT

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wayth, Randall B.; Tingay, Steven J.; Deller, Adam T.

2012-07-10

We present the first results from the V-FASTR experiment, a commensal search for fast transient radio bursts using the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA). V-FASTR is unique in that the widely spaced VLBA antennas provide a discriminant against non-astronomical signals and a mechanism for the localization and identification of events that is not possible with single dishes or short baseline interferometers. Thus, far V-FASTR has accumulated over 1300 hr of observation time with the VLBA, between 90 cm and 3 mm wavelength (327 MHz-86 GHz), providing the first limits on fast transient event rates at high radio frequencies (>1.4 GHz).more » V-FASTR has blindly detected bright individual pulses from seven known pulsars but has not detected any single-pulse events that would indicate high-redshift impulsive bursts of radio emission. At 1.4 GHz, V-FASTR puts limits on fast transient event rates comparable with the PALFA survey at the Arecibo telescope, but generally at lower sensitivities, and comparable to the 'fly's eye' survey at the Allen Telescope Array, but with less sky coverage. We also illustrate the likely performance of the Phase 1 SKA dish array for an incoherent fast transient search fashioned on V-FASTR.« less

Building mechanical Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger and cluster states by harnessing optomechanical quantum steerable correlations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tan, Huatang; Wei, Yanghua; Li, Gaoxiang

2017-11-01

Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger (GHZ) and cluster states are two typical kinds of multipartite entangled states and can respectively be used for realizing quantum networks and one-way computation. We propose a feasible scheme for generating Gaussian GHZ and cluster states of multiple mechanical oscillators by pulsed cavity optomechanics. In our scheme, each optomechanical cavity is driven by a blue-detuned pulse to establish quantum steerable correlations between the cavity output field and the mechanical oscillator, and the cavity outputs are combined at a beam-splitter array with given transmissivity and reflectivity for each beam splitter. We show that by harnessing the light-mechanical steerable correlations, the mechanical GHZ and cluster states can be realized via homodyne detection on the amplitude and phase quadratures of the output fields from the beam-splitter array. These achieved mechanical entangled states can be viewed as the output states of an effective mechanical beam-splitter array with the mechanical inputs prepared in squeezed states with the light-mechanical steering. The effects of detection efficiency and thermal noise on the achieved mechanical states are investigated. The present scheme does not require externally injected squeezing and it can also be applicable to other systems such as light-atomic-ensemble interface, apart from optomechanical systems.

Enhanced field electron emission from aligned diamond-like carbon nanorod arrays prepared by reactive ion beam etching

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Yong; Qin, Shi-Qiao; Zhang, Xue-Ao; Chang, Sheng-Li; Li, Hui-Hui; Yuan, Ji-Ren

2016-05-01

Homogeneous diamond-like carbon (DLC) films were deposited on Si supports by a pulsed filtered cathodic vacuum arc deposition system. Using DLC films masked by Ni nanoparticles as precursors, highly aligned diamond-like carbon nanorod (DLCNR) arrays were fabricated by the etching of inductively coupled radio frequency oxygen plasma. The as-prepared DLCNR arrays exhibit excellent field emission properties with a low turn-on field of 2.005 V μm-1 and a threshold field of 4.312 V μm-1, respectively. Raman spectroscopy and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy were employed to determine the chemical bonding structural change of DLC films before and after etching. It is confirmed that DLC films have good connection with Si supports via the formation of the SiC phase, and larger conductive sp2 domains are formed in the as-etched DLC films, which play essential roles in the enhanced field emission properties for DLCNR arrays.

Acoustooptic pulse-echo transducer system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Claus, R. O.; Wade, J. C.

1983-01-01

A pulse-echo transducer system which uses an ultrasonic generating element and an optical detection technique is described. The transmitting transducer consists of a concentric ring electrode pattern deposited on a circular, X-cut quartz substrate with a circular hole in the center. The rings are independently pulsed with a sequence high voltage signals phased in such a way that the ultrasonic waves generated by the separate rings superimpose to produce a composite field which is focused at a controllable distance below the surface of the specimen. The amplitude of the field reflected from this focus position is determined by the local reflection coefficient of the medium at the effective focal point. By processing the signals received for a range of ultrasonic transducer array focal lengths, the system can be used to locate and size anomalies within solids and liquids. Applications in both nondestructive evaluation and biomedical scanning are suggested.

General purpose graphic processing unit implementation of adaptive pulse compression algorithms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cai, Jingxiao; Zhang, Yan

2017-07-01

This study introduces a practical approach to implement real-time signal processing algorithms for general surveillance radar based on NVIDIA graphical processing units (GPUs). The pulse compression algorithms are implemented using compute unified device architecture (CUDA) libraries such as CUDA basic linear algebra subroutines and CUDA fast Fourier transform library, which are adopted from open source libraries and optimized for the NVIDIA GPUs. For more advanced, adaptive processing algorithms such as adaptive pulse compression, customized kernel optimization is needed and investigated. A statistical optimization approach is developed for this purpose without needing much knowledge of the physical configurations of the kernels. It was found that the kernel optimization approach can significantly improve the performance. Benchmark performance is compared with the CPU performance in terms of processing accelerations. The proposed implementation framework can be used in various radar systems including ground-based phased array radar, airborne sense and avoid radar, and aerospace surveillance radar.

Space Debris Measurements using the Advanced Modular Incoherent Scatter Radar

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nicolls, M.

The Advanced Modular Incoherent Scatter Radar (AMISR) is a modular, mobile UHF phased-array radar facility developed and used for scientific studies of the ionosphere. The radars are completely remotely operated and allow for pulse-to-pulse beam steering over the field-of-view. A satellite and debris tracking capability fully interleaved with scientific operations has been developed, and the AMISR systems are now used to routinely observe LEO space debris, with the ability to simultaneously track and detect multiple objects. The system makes use of wide-bandwidth radar pulses and coherent processing to detect objects as small as 5-10 cm in size through LEO, achieving a range resolution better than 20 meters for LEO targets. The interleaved operations allow for ionospheric effects on UHF space debris measurements, such as dispersion, to be assessed. The radar architecture, interleaved operations, and impact of space weather on the measurements will be discussed.

Fabrication of single phase p-CuInSe2 nanowire arrays by electrodeposited into anodic alumina templates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cheng, Yu-Song; Lang, Hao-Jan; Houng, Mau-Phon

2015-10-01

Single-phase CuInSe2 nanowire (NW) arrays were prepared at various pH values in a heated electrolyte by using pulse electrodeposition techniques and an anodized aluminum oxide template. X-ray diffraction showed that the CuInSe2 NW nucleation mechanism received H+ constraints when the NWs were deposited at pH 1.7 with a (112) orientation and annealed at 550 °C. The CuInSe2 NW band gap was determined to be approximately 1 eV through optical measurements. Transmission electron microscopy showed that at the pH value of 1.7, small particles of the single-phase CuInSe2 NWs aligned along the crystallographic direction are nucleated to form large particles. Scanning electron microscopy revealed that the NW diameter and the length were 80 nm and 2.3 μm, respectively. From Mott-Schottky and Ohmic contact plots, the CuInSe2 NWs were found to be p-type semiconductors, and their work function was estimated to be approximately 4.69 eV.

Enhancing the performance of coherent OTDR systems with polarization diversity complementary codes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dorize, Christian; Awwad, Elie

2018-05-01

Monitoring the optical phase change in a fiber enables a wide range of applications where fast phase variations are induced by acoustic signals or vibrations in general. However, the quality of the estimated fiber response strongly depends on the method used to modulate the light sent to the fiber and capture the variations of the optical field. In this paper, we show that distributed optical fiber sensing systems can advantageously exploit techniques from the telecommunication domain, as those used in coherent optical transmission, to enhance their performance in detecting mechanical events, while jointly offering a simpler setup than widespread pulse-cloning or spectral-sweep based schemes with acousto-optic modulators. We periodically capture an overall fiber Jones matrix estimate thanks to a novel probing technique using two mutually orthogonal complementary (Golay) pairs of binary sequences applied simultaneously in phase and quadrature on two orthogonal polarization states. A perfect channel response estimation of the sensor array is achieved, subject to conditions detailed in the paper, thus enhancing the sensitivity and bandwidth of coherent phase-OTDR systems. High sensitivity, linear response, and bandwidth coverage up to 18 kHz are demonstrated with a sensor array composed of 10 fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs).

Gain assisted coherent control of microwave pulse in a one dimensional array of artificial atoms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Waqas, Mohsin; Ayaz, M. Q.; Waseem, M.; Qamar, Sajid; Qamar, Shahid

2018-06-01

We study the coherent propagation of a microwave pulse through a one-dimensional array of artificial atoms. The scheme is based upon gain assisted propagation of the pulse using two-photon Raman transition in a three-level superconducting artificial atoms (SAAs) coupled to a microwave transmission line. Our results show that the group velocity can be significantly reduced by increasing the Rabi frequency of the pump fields which in turn can lead to an efficient storage of the pulse inside a 1D array of SAAs. Further, the intensity of the transmitted pulse increases with the number of artificial atoms owing to the gain associated with the two-photon Raman transition. Our results also show that the window width decreases for both scattering and negligible scattering cases with the increase in the number of SAAs. The fidelity of the system also remains high even after the passage of the pulse through a large number of SAAs.

NuSTAR Discovery of a Cyclotron Line in KS 1947+300

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Furst, Felix; Pottschmidt, Katja; Wilms, Jorn; Kennea, Jamie; Bachetti, Matteo; Bellm, Eric; Boggs, Steven E.; Chakrabarty, Deepto; Christensen, Finn E.; Craig, William W.;

NuSTAR DISCOVERY OF A CYCLOTRON LINE IN KS 1947+300

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Fürst, Felix; Bellm, Eric; Harrison, Fiona

2014-04-01

We present a spectral analysis of three simultaneous Nuclear Spectroscopy Telescope Array and Swift/XRT observations of the transient Be-neutron star binary KS 1947+300 taken during its outburst in 2013/2014. These broadband observations were supported by Swift/XRT monitoring snapshots every three days, which we use to study the evolution of the spectrum over the outburst. We find strong changes of the power-law photon index, which shows a weak trend of softening with increasing X-ray flux. The neutron star shows very strong pulsations with a period of P ≈ 18.8 s. The 0.8-79 keV broadband spectrum can be described by a power law with anmore » exponential cutoff and a blackbody component at low energies. During the second observation we detect a cyclotron resonant scattering feature at 12.5 keV, which is absent in the phase-averaged spectra of observations 1 and 3. Pulse phase-resolved spectroscopy reveals that the strength of the feature changes strongly with pulse phase and is most prominent during the broad minimum of the pulse profile. At the same phases the line also becomes visible in the first and third observation at the same energy. This discovery implies that KS 1947+300 has a magnetic field strength of B ≈ 1.1 × 10{sup 12}(1 + z) G, which is at the lower end of known cyclotron line sources.« less

Phase I - Final report: Improved position sensitive detectors for thermal neutrons. Design, fabrication, and results of testing the Phase I - Proof-of-Principal Improved Position Sensitive Thermal Neutron Detector Prototype in the laboratory and at the Intense Pulsed Neutron Source (IPNS), Argonne National Laboratory

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hull, Carter D.

A position sensitive neutron detector was designed and fabricated with bundles of individual detector elements with diameters of 120 mm. These neutron scintillating fibers were coupled with optoelectronic arrays to produce a ''Fiber Detector.'' A fiber position sensitive detector was completed and tested with scattered and thermal neutrons. Deployment of improved 2D PSDs with high signal to noise ratios at lower costs per area was the overall objective of the project.

Characterisation of the current switch mechanism in two-stage wire array Z-pinches

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Burdiak, G. C.; Lebedev, S. V.; Harvey-Thompson, A. J.

2015-11-15

In this paper, we describe the operation of a two-stage wire array z-pinch driven by the 1.4 MA, 240 ns rise-time Magpie pulsed-power device at Imperial College London. In this setup, an inverse wire array acts as a fast current switch, delivering a current pre-pulse into a cylindrical load wire array, before rapidly switching the majority of the generator current into the load after a 100–150 ns dwell time. A detailed analysis of the evolution of the load array during the pre-pulse is presented. Measurements of the load resistivity and energy deposition suggest significant bulk heating of the array mass occurs. Themore » ∼5 kA pre-pulse delivers ∼0.8 J of energy to the load, leaving it in a mixed, predominantly liquid-vapour state. The main current switch occurs as the inverse array begins to explode and plasma expands into the load region. Electrical and imaging diagnostics indicate that the main current switch may evolve in part as a plasma flow switch, driven by the expansion of a magnetic cavity and plasma bubble along the length of the load array. Analysis of implosion trajectories suggests that approximately 1 MA switches into the load in 100 ns, corresponding to a doubling of the generator dI/dt. Potential scaling of the device to higher current machines is discussed.« less

Numerical simulation of fiber and wire array Z-pinches with Trac-II

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reisman, David Barton

Trac-II is a two dimensional axisymmetric resistive MHD code. It simulates all three spatial components (r, z, φ) of the magnetic field and fluid velocity vectors, and the plasma is treated as a single fluid with two temperatures (Te,Ti). In addition, it can optionally include a self-consistent external circuit. Recent modifications to the code include the addition of the 3-T radiation model, a 4-phase (solid- liquid-vapor-plasma) equation of state model (QEOS), a 4- phase electrical/thermal conductivity model, and an implicit solution of poloidal (Bz,Br) magnetic field diffusion. These changes permit a detailed study of fiber and wire array Z-pinches. Specifically, Trac-II is used to study the wire array Z-pinch at the PBFA-Z pulse power generator at Sandia National Laboratory. First, in 1-D we examine the behavior of a single wire in the Z-pinch. Then, using these results as initial radial conditions in 2-D, we investigate the dynamics of wire array configurations in the r-z and r-θ plane. In the r- z plane we examine the growth of the m = 0 or ``sausage'' instability in single wires within the array. In the r-θ plane we examine the merging behavior between neighboring wires. Special emphasis is placed on trying to explain how instability growth affects the performance of the Z-pinch. Lastly, we introduce Trac-III, a 3-D MHD code, and illustrate the m = 1 or ``kink'' instability. We also discuss how Trac-III can be modified to simulate the wire array Z-pinch.

Improved semi-conductor laser device, operating, at room temperature, with an array of three lasers in the spatially coherent, free running mode

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rutz, E. M.

1975-01-01

The peak pulse power was increased by operating an array of three homostructure Ga As lasers in the laser device. A spatial filter in the laser device selects the spatially coherent, free running, mode. The optical peak power is 5 watts, which is three times the peak power of a single laser in the array. The far-field distribution of the three laser array is a single Gaussian beam of spatial coherence without sidelobes or grating lobes. The length of the optical pulses of spatial coherence was increased to 200 ns by improved heat transfer from the p-n junctions of the lasers to the metal housing of the pulse transformer, and by doubling the core area and increasing the turns of the primary windings of the pulse transformer. The mechanical stability of the laser device was improved and the transition from mechanical alignment to electro-mechanical alignment control, was facilitated.

A modular robust control framework for control of movement elicited by multi-electrode intraspinal microstimulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roshani, Amir; Erfanian, Abbas

2016-08-01

Objective. An important issue in restoring motor function through intraspinal microstimulation (ISMS) is the motor control. To provide a physiologically plausible motor control using ISMS, it should be able to control the individual motor unit which is the lowest functional unit of motor control. By focal stimulation only a small group of motor neurons (MNs) within a motor pool can be activated. Different groups of MNs within a motor pool can potentially be activated without involving adjacent motor pools by local stimulation of different parts of a motor pool via microelectrode array implanted into a motor pool. However, since the system has multiple inputs with single output during multi-electrode ISMS, it poses a challenge to movement control. In this paper, we proposed a modular robust control strategy for movement control, whereas multi-electrode array is implanted into each motor activation pool of a muscle. Approach. The controller was based on the combination of proportional-integral-derivative and adaptive fuzzy sliding mode control. The global stability of the controller was guaranteed. Main results. The results of the experiments on rat models showed that the multi-electrode control can provide a more robust control and accurate tracking performance than a single-electrode control. The control output can be pulse amplitude (pulse amplitude modulation, PAM) or pulse width (pulse width modulation, PWM) of the stimulation signal. The results demonstrated that the controller with PAM provided faster convergence rate and better tracking performance than the controller with PWM. Significance. This work represents a promising control approach to the restoring motor functions using ISMS. The proposed controller requires no prior knowledge about the dynamics of the system to be controlled and no offline learning phase. The proposed control design is modular in the sense that each motor pool has an independent controller and each controller is able to control ISMS through an array of microelectrodes.

Sono-photoacoustic imaging of gold nanoemulsions: Part II. Real time imaging

PubMed Central

Arnal, Bastien; Wei, Chen-Wei; Perez, Camilo; Nguyen, Thu-Mai; Lombardo, Michael; Pelivanov, Ivan; Pozzo, Lilo D.; O’Donnell, Matthew

2015-01-01

Photoacoustic (PA) imaging using exogenous agents can be limited by degraded specificity due to strong background signals. This paper introduces a technique called sono-photoacoustics (SPA) applied to perfluorohexane nanodroplets coated with gold nanospheres. Pulsed laser and ultrasound (US) excitations are applied simultaneously to the contrast agent to induce a phase-transition ultimately creating a transient microbubble. The US field present during the phase transition combined with the large thermal expansion of the bubble leads to 20–30 dB signal enhancement. Aqueous solutions and phantoms with very low concentrations of this agent were probed using pulsed laser radiation at diagnostic exposures and a conventional US array used both for excitation and imaging. Contrast specificity of the agent was demonstrated with a coherent differential scheme to suppress US and linear PA background signals. SPA shows great potential for molecular imaging with ultrasensitive detection of targeted gold coated nanoemulsions and cavitation-assisted theranostic approaches. PMID:25893170

Novel oxygen atom source for material degradation studies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Krech, R. H.; Caledonia, G. E.

1988-01-01

Physical Sciences Inc. (PSI) has developed a high flux pulsed source of energetic (8 km/s) atomic oxygen to bombard specimens in experiments on the aging and degradation of materials in a low earth orbit environment. The proof-of-concept of the PSI approach was demonstrated in a Phase 1 effort. In Phase 2 a large O-atom testing device (FAST-2) has been developed and characterized. Quantitative erosion testing of materials, components, and even small assemblies (such as solar cell arrays) can be performed with this source to determine which materials and/or components are most vulnerable to atomic oxygen degradation. The source is conservatively rated to irradiate a 100 sq cm area sample at greater than 10(exp 17) atoms/s, at a 10 Hz pulse rate. Samples can be exposed to an atomic oxygen fluence equivalent to the on-orbit ram direction exposure levels incident on Shuttle surfaces at 250 km during a week-long mission in a few hours.

Single-pulse femtosecond laser fabrication of concave microlens- and micromirror arrays in chalcohalide glass

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kadan, Viktor; Blonskyi, Ivan; Shynkarenko, Yevhen; Rybak, Andriy; Calvez, Laurent; Mytsyk, Bohdan; Spotyuk, Oleh

2017-11-01

The diffraction-limited plano-concave microlens- and micromirror arrays were produced in chalcohalide glass of 65GeS2-25Ga2S3-10CsCl composition transparent from ∼0.5 to 11 μm. Only a single 200 fs laser pulse with 800 nm central wavelength is required to form microlens, which after metal coating becomes a concave micromirror. This process can serve as a basis for flexible technology to fabricate regular microlens and micromirror arrays for optotelecom applications, its performance being limited only by repetition rate of the laser pulses (typically 1000 microlenses per second).

Electrically-Tunable Group Delays Using Quantum Wells in a Distributed Bragg Reflector

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nelson, Thomas R., Jr.; Loehr, John P.; Fork, Richard L.; Cole, Spencer; Jones, Darryl K.; Keys, Andrew

1999-01-01

There is a growing interest in the fabrication of semiconductor optical group delay lines for the development of phased arrays of Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Lasers (VCSELs). We present a novel structure incorporating In(x)GA(1-x)As quantum wells in the GaAs quarter-wave layers of a GaAs/AlAs distributed Bragg reflector (DBR). Application of an electric field across the quantum wells leads to red shifting and peak broadening of the el-hhl exciton peak via the quantum-confined Stark effect. Resultant changes in the index of refraction thereby provide a means for altering the group delay of an incident laser pulse. We discuss the tradeoffs between the maximum amount of change in group delay versus absorption losses for such a device. We also compare a simple theoretical model to experimental results, and discuss both angle and position tuning of the BDR band edge resonance relative to the exciton absorption peak. The advantages of such monolithically grown devices for phased-array VCSEL applications will be detailed.

Experimental validation of an 8 element EMAT phased array probe for longitudinal wave generation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Le Bourdais, Florian, E-mail: florian.lebourdais@cea.fr; Marchand, Benoit, E-mail: florian.lebourdais@cea.fr

2015-03-31

Sodium cooled Fast Reactors (SFR) use liquid sodium as a coolant. Liquid sodium being opaque, optical techniques cannot be applied to reactor vessel inspection. This makes it necessary to develop alternative ways of assessing the state of the structures immersed in the medium. Ultrasonic pressure waves are well suited for inspection tasks in this environment, especially using pulsed electromagnetic acoustic transducers (EMAT) that generate the ultrasound directly in the liquid sodium. The work carried out at CEA LIST is aimed at developing phased array EMAT probes conditioned for reactor use. The present work focuses on the experimental validation of amore » newly manufactured 8 element probe which was designed for beam forming imaging in a liquid sodium environment. A parametric study is carried out to determine the optimal setup of the magnetic assembly used in this probe. First laboratory tests on an aluminium block show that the probe has the required beam steering capabilities.« less

Multi-Modulator for Bandwidth-Efficient Communication

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gray, Andrew; Lee, Dennis; Lay, Norman; Cheetham, Craig; Fong, Wai; Yeh, Pen-Shu; King, Robin; Ghuman, Parminder; Hoy, Scott; Fisher, Dave

2009-01-01

A modulator circuit board has recently been developed to be used in conjunction with a vector modulator to generate any of a large number of modulations for bandwidth-efficient radio transmission of digital data signals at rates than can exceed 100 Mb/s. The modulations include quadrature phaseshift keying (QPSK), offset quadrature phase-shift keying (OQPSK), Gaussian minimum-shift keying (GMSK), and octonary phase-shift keying (8PSK) with square-root raised-cosine pulse shaping. The figure is a greatly simplified block diagram showing the relationship between the modulator board and the rest of the transmitter. The role of the modulator board is to encode the incoming data stream and to shape the resulting pulses, which are fed as inputs to the vector modulator. The combination of encoding and pulse shaping in a given application is chosen to maximize the bandwidth efficiency. The modulator board includes gallium arsenide serial-to-parallel converters at its input end. A complementary metal oxide/semiconductor (CMOS) field-programmable gate array (FPGA) performs the coding and modulation computations and utilizes parallel processing in doing so. The results of the parallel computation are combined and converted to pulse waveforms by use of gallium arsenide parallel-to-serial converters integrated with digital-to-analog converters. Without changing the hardware, one can configure the modulator to produce any of the designed combinations of coding and modulation by loading the appropriate bit configuration file into the FPGA.

Optical Phase Recovery and Locking in a PPM Laser Communication Link

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Aveline, David C.; Yu, Nan; Farr, William H.

2012-01-01

Free-space optical communication holds great promise for future space missions requiring high data rates. For data communication in deep space, the current architecture employs pulse position modulation (PPM). In this scheme, the light is transmitted and detected as pulses within an array of time slots. While the PPM method is efficient for data transmission, the phase of the laser light is not utilized. The phase coherence of a PPM optical signal has been investigated with the goal of developing a new laser communication and ranging scheme that utilizes optical coherence within the established PPM architecture and photon-counting detection (PCD). Experimental measurements of a PPM modulated optical signal were conducted, and modeling code was developed to generate random PPM signals and simulate spectra via FFT (Fast Fourier Transform) analysis. The experimental results show very good agreement with the simulations and confirm that coherence is preserved despite modulation with high extinction ratios and very low duty cycles. A real-time technique has been developed to recover the phase information through the mixing of a PPM signal with a frequency-shifted local oscillator (LO). This mixed signal is amplified, filtered, and integrated to generate a voltage proportional to the phase of the modulated signal. By choosing an appropriate time constant for integration, one can maintain a phase lock despite long dark times between consecutive pulses with low duty cycle. A proof-of-principle demonstration was first achieved with an RF-based PPM signal and test setup. With the same principle method, an optical carrier within a PPM modulated laser beam could also be tracked and recovered. A reference laser was phase-locked to an independent pulsed laser signal with low-duty-cycle pseudo-random PPM codes. In this way, the drifting carrier frequency in the primary laser source is tracked via its phase change in the mixed beat note, while the corresponding voltage feedback maintains the phase lock between the two laser sources. The novelty and key significance of this work is that the carrier phase information can be harnessed within an optical communication link based on PPM-PCD architecture. This technology development could lead to quantum-limited efficient performance within the communication link itself, as well as enable high-resolution optical tracking capabilities for planetary science and spacecraft navigation.

High-harmonic and single attosecond pulse generation using plasmonic field enhancement in ordered arrays of gold nanoparticles with chirped laser pulses.

PubMed

Yang, Ying-Ying; Scrinzi, Armin; Husakou, Anton; Li, Qian-Guang; Stebbings, Sarah L; Süßmann, Frederik; Yu, Hai-Juan; Kim, Seungchul; Rühl, Eckart; Herrmann, Joachim; Lin, Xue-Chun; Kling, Matthias F

2013-01-28

Coherent XUV sources, which may operate at MHz repetition rate, could find applications in high-precision spectroscopy and for spatio-time-resolved measurements of collective electron dynamics on nanostructured surfaces. We theoretically investigate utilizing the enhanced plasmonic fields in an ordered array of gold nanoparticles for the generation of high-harmonic, extreme-ultraviolet (XUV) radiation. By optimization of the chirp of ultrashort laser pulses incident on the array, our simulations indicate a potential route towards the temporal shaping of the plasmonic near-field and, in turn, the generation of single attosecond pulses. The inherent effects of inhomogeneity of the local fields on the high-harmonic generation are analyzed and discussed. While taking the inhomogeneity into account does not affect the optimal chirp for the generation of a single attosecond pulse, the cut-off energy of the high-harmonic spectrum is enhanced by about a factor of two.

Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) project. VI - Spacecraft, scientific instruments, and launching rocket. Part 4 - TRMM rain radar

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Meneghini, Robert; Atlas, David; Awaka, Jun; Okamoto, Ken'ichi; Ihara, Toshio; Nakamura, Kenji; Kozu, Toshiaki; Manabe, Takeshi

1990-01-01

The basic system parameters for the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) radar system are frequency, beamwidth, scan angle, resolution, number of independent samples, pulse repetition frequency, data rate, and so on. These parameters were chosen to satisfy NASA's mission requirements. Six candidates for the TRMM rain radar were studied. The study considered three major competitive items: (1) a pulse-compression radar vs. a conventional radar; (2) an active-array radar with a solid state power amplifier vs. a passive-array radar with a traveling-wave-tube amplifier; and (3) antenna types (planar-array antenna vs. cylindrical parabolic antenna). Basic system parameters such as radar sensitivities, power consumption, weight, and size of these six types are described. Trade-off studies of these cases show that the non-pulse-compression active-array radar with a planar array is considered to be the most suitable candidate for the TRMM rain radar at 13.8 GHz.

Pulse-encoded ultrasound imaging of the vitreous with an annular array.

PubMed

Silverman, Ronald H; Ketterling, Jeffrey A; Mamou, Jonathan; Lloyd, Harriet O; Filoux, Erwan; Coleman, D Jackson

2012-01-01

The vitreous body is nearly transparent both optically and ultrasonically. Conventional 10- to 12-MHz diagnostic ultrasound can detect vitreous inhomogeneities at high gain settings, but has limited resolution and sensitivity, especially outside the fixed focal zone near the retina. To improve visualization of faint intravitreal fluid/gel interfaces, the authors fabricated a spherically curved 20-MHz five-element annular array ultrasound transducer, implemented a synthetic-focusing algorithm to extend the depth-of-field, and used a pulse-encoding strategy to increase sensitivity. The authors evaluated a human subject with a recent posterior vitreous detachment and compared the annular array with conventional 10-MHz ultrasound and spectral-domain optical coherence tomography. With synthetic focusing and chirp pulse-encoding, the array allowed visualization of the formed and fluid components of the vitreous with improved sensitivity and resolution compared with the conventional B-scan. Although optical coherence tomography allowed assessment of the posterior vitreoretinal interface, the ultrasound array allowed evaluation of the entire vitreous body. Copyright 2012, SLACK Incorporated.

High-yield, ultrafast, surface plasmon-enhanced, Au nanorod optical field electron emitter arrays.

PubMed

Hobbs, Richard G; Yang, Yujia; Fallahi, Arya; Keathley, Philip D; De Leo, Eva; Kärtner, Franz X; Graves, William S; Berggren, Karl K

2014-11-25

Here we demonstrate the design, fabrication, and characterization of ultrafast, surface-plasmon enhanced Au nanorod optical field emitter arrays. We present a quantitative study of electron emission from Au nanorod arrays fabricated by high-resolution electron-beam lithography and excited by 35 fs pulses of 800 nm light. We present accurate models for both the optical field enhancement of Au nanorods within high-density arrays, and electron emission from those nanorods. We have also studied the effects of surface plasmon damping induced by metallic interface layers at the substrate/nanorod interface on near-field enhancement and electron emission. We have identified the peak optical field at which the electron emission mechanism transitions from a 3-photon absorption mechanism to strong-field tunneling emission. Moreover, we have investigated the effects of nanorod array density on nanorod charge yield, including measurement of space-charge effects. The Au nanorod photocathodes presented in this work display 100-1000 times higher conversion efficiency relative to previously reported UV triggered emission from planar Au photocathodes. Consequently, the Au nanorod arrays triggered by ultrafast pulses of 800 nm light in this work may outperform equivalent UV-triggered Au photocathodes, while also offering nanostructuring of the electron pulse produced from such a cathode, which is of interest for X-ray free-electron laser (XFEL) development where nanostructured electron pulses may facilitate more efficient and brighter XFEL radiation.

Design of non-selective refocusing pulses with phase-free rotation axis by gradient ascent pulse engineering algorithm in parallel transmission at 7T.

PubMed

Massire, Aurélien; Cloos, Martijn A; Vignaud, Alexandre; Le Bihan, Denis; Amadon, Alexis; Boulant, Nicolas

2013-05-01

At ultra-high magnetic field (≥ 7T), B1 and ΔB0 non-uniformities cause undesired inhomogeneities in image signal and contrast. Tailored radiofrequency pulses exploiting parallel transmission have been shown to mitigate these phenomena. However, the design of large flip angle excitations, a prerequisite for many clinical applications, remains challenging due the non-linearity of the Bloch equation. In this work, we explore the potential of gradient ascent pulse engineering to design non-selective spin-echo refocusing pulses that simultaneously mitigate severe B1 and ΔB0 non-uniformities. The originality of the method lays in the optimization of the rotation matrices themselves as opposed to magnetization states. Consequently, the commonly used linear class of large tip angle approximation can be eliminated from the optimization procedure. This approach, combined with optimal control, provides additional degrees of freedom by relaxing the phase constraint on the rotation axis, and allows the derivative of the performance criterion to be found analytically. The method was experimentally validated on an 8-channel transmit array at 7T, using a water phantom with B1 and ΔB0 inhomogeneities similar to those encountered in the human brain. For the first time in MRI, the rotation matrix itself on every voxel was measured by using Quantum Process Tomography. The results are complemented with a series of spin-echo measurements comparing the proposed method against commonly used alternatives. Both experiments confirm very good performance, while simultaneously maintaining a low energy deposition and pulse duration compared to well-known adiabatic solutions. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

X-ray laser–induced electron dynamics observed by femtosecond diffraction from nanocrystals of Buckminsterfullerene

PubMed Central

Abbey, Brian; Dilanian, Ruben A.; Darmanin, Connie; Ryan, Rebecca A.; Putkunz, Corey T.; Martin, Andrew V.; Wood, David; Streltsov, Victor; Jones, Michael W. M.; Gaffney, Naylyn; Hofmann, Felix; Williams, Garth J.; Boutet, Sébastien; Messerschmidt, Marc; Seibert, M. Marvin; Williams, Sophie; Curwood, Evan; Balaur, Eugeniu; Peele, Andrew G.; Nugent, Keith A.; Quiney, Harry M.

2016-01-01

X-ray free-electron lasers (XFELs) deliver x-ray pulses with a coherent flux that is approximately eight orders of magnitude greater than that available from a modern third-generation synchrotron source. The power density of an XFEL pulse may be so high that it can modify the electronic properties of a sample on a femtosecond time scale. Exploration of the interaction of intense coherent x-ray pulses and matter is both of intrinsic scientific interest and of critical importance to the interpretation of experiments that probe the structures of materials using high-brightness femtosecond XFEL pulses. We report observations of the diffraction of extremely intense 32-fs nanofocused x-ray pulses by a powder sample of crystalline C60. We find that the diffraction pattern at the highest available incident power significantly differs from the one obtained using either third-generation synchrotron sources or XFEL sources operating at low output power and does not correspond to the diffraction pattern expected from any known phase of crystalline C60. We interpret these data as evidence of a long-range, coherent dynamic electronic distortion that is driven by the interaction of the periodic array of C60 molecular targets with intense x-ray pulses of femtosecond duration. PMID:27626076

Moving receive beam method and apparatus for synthetic aperture radar

DOEpatents

Kare, Jordin T.

2001-01-01

A method and apparatus for improving the performance of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) systems by reducing the effect of "edge losses" associated with nonuniform receiver antenna gain. By moving the receiver antenna pattern in synchrony with the apparent motion of the transmitted pulse along the ground, the maximum available receiver antenna gain can be used at all times. Also, the receiver antenna gain for range-ambiguous return signals may be reduced, in some cases, by a large factor. The beam motion can be implemented by real-time adjustment of phase shifters in an electronically-steered phased-array antenna or by electronic switching of feed horns in a reflector antenna system.

National Array of Neutron Detectors (NAND): A versatile tool for nuclear reaction studies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Golda, K. S.; Jhingan, A.; Sugathan, P.; Singh, Hardev; Singh, R. P.; Behera, B. R.; Mandal, S.; Kothari, A.; Gupta, Arti; Zacharias, J.; Archunan, M.; Barua, P.; Venkataramanan, S.; Bhowmik, R. K.; Govil, I. M.; Datta, S. K.; Chatterjee, M. B.

2014-11-01

The first phase of the National Array of Neutron Detectors (NAND) consisting of 26 neutron detectors has been commissioned at the Inter University Accelerator Centre (IUAC), New Delhi. The motivation behind setting up of such a detector system is the need for more accurate and efficient study of reaction mechanisms in the projectile energy range of 5-8 MeV/n using heavy ion beams from a 15 UD Pelletron and an upgraded LINAC booster facility at IUAC. The above detector array can be used for inclusive as well as exclusive measurements of reaction products of which at least one product is a neutron. While inclusive measurements can be made using only the neutron detectors along with the time of flight technique and a pulsed beam, exclusive measurements can be performed by detecting neutrons in coincidence with charged particles and/or fission fragments detected with ancillary detectors. The array can also be used for neutron tagged gamma-ray spectroscopy in (HI, xn) reactions by detecting gamma-rays in coincidence with the neutrons in a compact geometrical configuration. The various features and the performance of the different aspects of the array are described in the present paper.

Pneumatically-actuated artificial cilia array for biomimetic fluid propulsion.

PubMed

Gorissen, Benjamin; de Volder, Michaël; Reynaerts, Dominiek

2015-11-21

Arrays of beating cilia emerged in nature as one of the most efficient propulsion mechanisms at a small scale, and are omnipresent in microorganisms. Previous attempts at mimicking these systems have foundered against the complexity of fabricating small-scale cilia exhibiting complex beating motions. In this paper, we propose for the first time arrays of pneumatically-actuated artificial cilia that are able to address some of these issues. These artificial cilia arrays consist of six highly flexible silicone rubber actuators with a diameter of 1 mm and a length of 8 mm that can be actuated independently from each other. In an experimental setup, the effects of the driving frequency, phase difference and duty cycle on the net flow in a closed-loop channel have been studied. Net fluid speeds of up to 19 mm s(-1) have been measured. Further, it is possible to invert the flow direction by simply changing the driving frequency or by changing the duty cycle of the driving block pulse pressure wave without changing the bending direction of the cilia. Using PIV measurements, we corroborate for the first time existing mathematical models of cilia arrays to measurements on prototypes.

A CMOS ASIC Design for SiPM Arrays

PubMed Central

Dey, Samrat; Banks, Lushon; Chen, Shaw-Pin; Xu, Wenbin; Lewellen, Thomas K.; Miyaoka, Robert S.; Rudell, Jacques C.

2012-01-01

Our lab has previously reported on novel board-level readout electronics for an 8×8 silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) array featuring row/column summation technique to reduce the hardware requirements for signal processing. We are taking the next step by implementing a monolithic CMOS chip which is based on the row-column architecture. In addition, this paper explores the option of using diagonal summation as well as calibration to compensate for temperature and process variations. Further description of a timing pickoff signal which aligns all of the positioning (spatial channels) pulses in the array is described. The ASIC design is targeted to be scalable with the detector size and flexible to accommodate detectors from different vendors. This paper focuses on circuit implementation issues associated with the design of the ASIC to interface our Phase II MiCES FPGA board with a SiPM array. Moreover, a discussion is provided for strategies to eventually integrate all the analog and mixed-signal electronics with the SiPM, on either a single-silicon substrate or multi-chip module (MCM). PMID:24825923

Visualization of Subsurface Defects in Composites using a Focal Plane Array Infrared Camera

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Plotnikov, Yuri A.; Winfree, William P.

1999-01-01

A technique for enhanced defect visualization in composites via transient thermography is presented in this paper. The effort targets automated defect map construction for multiple defects located in the observed area. Experimental data were collected on composite panels of different thickness with square inclusions and flat bottom holes of different depth and orientation. The time evolution of the thermal response and spatial thermal profiles are analyzed. The pattern generated by carbon fibers and the vignetting effect of the focal plane array camera make defect visualization difficult. An improvement of the defect visibility is made by the pulse phase technique and the spatial background treatment. The relationship between a size of a defect and its reconstructed image is analyzed as well. The image processing technique for noise reduction is discussed.

Directed liquid phase assembly of highly ordered metallic nanoparticle arrays

DOE PAGES

Wu, Yueying; Dong, Nanyi; Fu, Shaofang; ...

2014-04-01

Directed assembly of nanomaterials is a promising route for the synthesis of advanced materials and devices. We demonstrate the directed-assembly of highly ordered two-dimensional arrays of hierarchical nanostructures with tunable size, spacing and composition. The directed assembly is achieved on lithographically patterned metal films that are subsequently pulse-laser melted; during the brief liquid lifetime, the pattened nanostructures assemble into highly ordered primary and secondary nanoparticles, with sizes below that which was originally patterned. Complementary fluid-dynamics simulations emulate the resultant patterns and show how the competition of capillary forces and liquid metal–solid substrate interaction potential drives the directed assembly. Lastly, asmore » an example of the enhanced functionality, a full-wave electromagnetic analysis has been performed to identify the nature of the supported plasmonic resonances.« less

Fabrication of single phase p-CuInSe{sub 2} nanowire arrays by electrodeposited into anodic alumina templates

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cheng, Yu-Song; Lang, Hao-Jan; Houng, Mau-Phon, E-mail: mphoung@eembox.ncku.edu.tw

2015-10-19

Single-phase CuInSe{sub 2} nanowire (NW) arrays were prepared at various pH values in a heated electrolyte by using pulse electrodeposition techniques and an anodized aluminum oxide template. X-ray diffraction showed that the CuInSe{sub 2} NW nucleation mechanism received H{sup +} constraints when the NWs were deposited at pH 1.7 with a (112) orientation and annealed at 550 °C. The CuInSe{sub 2} NW band gap was determined to be approximately 1 eV through optical measurements. Transmission electron microscopy showed that at the pH value of 1.7, small particles of the single-phase CuInSe{sub 2} NWs aligned along the crystallographic direction are nucleated to formmore » large particles. Scanning electron microscopy revealed that the NW diameter and the length were 80 nm and 2.3 μm, respectively. From Mott–Schottky and Ohmic contact plots, the CuInSe{sub 2} NWs were found to be p-type semiconductors, and their work function was estimated to be approximately 4.69 eV.« less

Enhancing the performance of coherent OTDR systems with polarization diversity complementary codes.

PubMed

Dorize, Christian; Awwad, Elie

2018-05-14

Monitoring the optical phase change in a fiber enables a wide range of applications where fast phase variations are induced by acoustic signals or by vibrations in general. However, the quality of the estimated fiber response strongly depends on the method used to modulate the light sent to the fiber and capture the variations of the optical field. In this paper, we show that distributed optical fiber sensing systems can advantageously exploit techniques from the telecommunication domain, as those used in coherent optical transmission, to enhance their performance in detecting mechanical events, while jointly offering a simpler setup than widespread pulse-cloning or spectral-sweep based schemes with acousto-optic modulators. We periodically capture an overall fiber Jones matrix estimate thanks to a novel probing technique using two mutually orthogonal complementary (Golay) pairs of binary sequences applied simultaneously in phase and quadrature on two orthogonal polarization states. A perfect channel response estimation of the sensor array is achieved, subject to conditions detailed in the paper, thus enhancing the sensitivity and bandwidth of coherent ϕ-OTDR systems. High sensitivity, linear response, and bandwidth coverage up to 18 kHz are demonstrated with a sensor array composed of 10 fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs).

Optimization of a Fast Neutron Scintillator for Real-Time Pulse Shape Discrimination in the Transient Reactor Test Facility (TREAT) Hodoscope

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Johnson, James T.; Thompson, Scott J.; Watson, Scott M.

We present a multi-channel, fast neutron/gamma ray detector array system that utilizes ZnS(Ag) scintillator detectors. The system employs field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) to do real-time all digital neutron/gamma ray discrimination with pulse height and time histograms to allow count rates in excess of 1,000,000 pulses per second per channel. The system detector number is scalable in blocks of 16 channels.

Low-jitter high-power thyristor array pulse driver and generator

DOEpatents

Hanks, Roy L.

2002-01-01

A method and apparatus for generating low-jitter, high-voltage and high-current pulses for driving low impedance loads such as detonator fuses uses a MOSFET driver which, when triggered, discharges a high-voltage pre-charged capacitor into the primary of a toroidal current-multiplying transformer with multiple isolated secondary windings. The secondary outputs are suitable for driving an array of thyristors that discharge a precharged high-voltage capacitor and thus generating the required high-voltage and high-current pulse.

Nanostructure array plasmas generated by femtosecond pulses at highly relativistic intensities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hollinger, R. C.; Wong, Y.; Wong, S.; Rockwood, A.; Glasby, J.; Shlyaptsev, V.; Rocca, J. J.; Capeluto, M. G.; Kaymak, V.; Pukhov, A.

2017-10-01

The irradiation of high aspect ratio ordered nanostructure arrays with ultra-high contrast femtosecond laser pulses of relativistic intensity provides a unique combination of nearly complete optical absorption and drastically enhanced light penetration into near-solid density targets. This allows the material to be volumetrically heated deep into the ultra-high energy density regime. In previous experiments we have shown that irradiation of Ni and Au nanostructures with femtosecond pulses focused to an intensity of 5x1018 Wcm-2 generate multi-KeV near solid density plasmas in which atoms are ionized to the Ni+26 and Au+52 charge states. Here we present the first results of the irradiation of nanostructure arrays with highly relativistic pulses of intensities up to 5x1021Wcm-2. Silver and Rhodium nanowire arrays were irradiated with frequency-doubled pulses of 30 fs duration from a petawatt-class Ti:Sa laser. Time integrated x-ray spectra show the presence of He-like and Li-like emission. Results of experiments conducted with a variety of different nanowires diameters with a range of interwire spacings will be presented and compared to the result of 3D particle-in-cell-simulations. This work was supported by the Fusion Energy Program, Office of Science of the U.S Department of Energy.

Transdermal delivery of therapeutic agent

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kwiatkowski, Krzysztof C. (Inventor); Hayes, Ryan T. (Inventor); Magnuson, James W. (Inventor); Giletto, Anthony (Inventor)

2008-01-01

A device for the transdermal delivery of a therapeutic agent to a biological subject that includes a first electrode comprising a first array of electrically conductive microprojections for providing electrical communication through a skin portion of the subject to a second electrode comprising a second array of electrically conductive microprojections. Additionally, a reservoir for holding the therapeutic agent surrounding the first electrode and a pulse generator for providing an exponential decay pulse between the first and second electrodes may be provided. A method includes the steps of piercing a stratum corneum layer of skin with two arrays of conductive microprojections, encapsulating the therapeutic agent into biocompatible charged carriers, surrounding the conductive microprojections with the therapeutic agent, generating an exponential decay pulse between the two arrays of conductive microprojections to create a non-uniform electrical field and electrokinetically driving the therapeutic agent through the stratum corneum layer of skin.

GERDA: Recent results and future plans

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lehnert, Björn

2014-04-01

The GERmanium Detector Array (GERDA) is an experiment designed to investigate the neutrinoless double beta decay (0 νββ) in 76Ge. An array of high purity germanium detectors isotopically enriched to 87% of 76Ge is operated within 64 m3 of liquid argon (LAr) at the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso (LNGS). The experiment aims to explore the 0 νββ half-life up to 1.4×1026 yr with a collected exposure of 100 kg yr separated into two physics phases. The data taking of Phase I started in November 2011 and finished in May 2013 with 21.6 kg yr of exposure and a background index (BI) of 2×10-2cts/(kg yr keV) around the Q-value of 2039 keV before pulse shape cuts. Phase II of the experiment is being prepared with additional 30 Broad Energy Germanium (BEGe) detectors and an instrumentation of the LAr, aiming at a BI reduction by a factor of 10 w.r. to Phase I. This paper will present the GERDA setup and the latest results of the experiment including a new measurement of the 2 νββ spectrum of 76Ge and the decomposition of the background spectrum. The 0 νββ analysis, finished in the meanwhile, will be briefly mentioned. Furthermore, the major improvements planned for Phase II will be discussed.

Acoustic Network Localization and Interpretation of Infrasonic Pulses from Lightning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arechiga, R. O.; Johnson, J. B.; Badillo, E.; Michnovicz, J. C.; Thomas, R. J.; Edens, H. E.; Rison, W.

2011-12-01

We improve on the localization accuracy of thunder sources and identify infrasonic pulses that are correlated across a network of acoustic arrays. We attribute these pulses to electrostatic charge relaxation (collapse of the electric field) and attempt to model their spatial extent and acoustic source strength. Toward this objective we have developed a single audio range (20-15,000 Hz) acoustic array and a 4-station network of broadband (0.01-500 Hz) microphone arrays with aperture of ~45 m. The network has an aperture of 1700 m and was installed during the summers of 2009-2011 in the Magdalena mountains of New Mexico, an area that is subject to frequent lightning activity. We are exploring a new technique based on inverse theory that integrates information from the audio range and the network of broadband acoustic arrays to locate thunder sources more accurately than can be achieved with a single array. We evaluate the performance of the technique by comparing the location of thunder sources with RF sources located by the lightning mapping array (LMA) of Langmuir Laboratory at New Mexico Tech. We will show results of this technique for lightning flashes that occurred in the vicinity of our network of acoustic arrays and over the LMA. We will use acoustic network detection of infrasonic pulses together with LMA data and electric field measurements to estimate the spatial distribution of the charge (within the cloud) that is used to produce a lightning flash, and will try to quantify volumetric charges (charge magnitude) within clouds.

The Interferometric View of Lightning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stock, M.; Lapierre, J. L.

2017-12-01

Recent advances in off the shelf high-speed digitizers has enabled vast improvements in broadband, digital VHF interferometers. These simple instruments consist of 3 or more VHF antennas distributed in an array which are then digitized at a speed above the Nyquist frequency of the antenna bandwidth (usually 200+ MHz). Broadband interferometers are capable of creating very detailed maps of lightning, with time resolution better than 1us, and angular resolution only limited by their baseline lengths. This is combined with high sensitivity, and the ability to locate both continuously emitting and impulsive radiation sources. They are not without their limitations though. Because the baselines are relatively short, the maps are only 2-dimensional (direction to the source), unless many antennas are used only a single VHF radiation source can be located at any instant, and because the antennas are almost always arranged in a planar array they are better suited for observing lightning at high elevation angles. Even though imperfect, VHF interferometers provide one of the most detailed views of the behavior of lightning flashes inside a cloud. This presentation will present the overall picture of in-cloud lightning as seen by VHF interferometers. Most flashes can be split into 3 general phases of activity. Phase 1 is the initiation phase, covering all activity until the negative leader completes its vertical extension, and includes both lightning initiation and initial breakdown pulses. Phase 2 is the active phase and includes all activity during the horizontal extension of the negative leader. During Phase 2, any K-processes which occur tend to be short in duration and extent. Phase 3 is the final phase, and includes all activity after the negative leader stops propagating. During Phase 3, the conductivity of the lightning channels starts to decline, and extensive K-processes are seen which traverse the entire channel structure, this is also the period in which regular pulse trains tend to be observed. Not all flashes fit this fairly simplistic structure, in particular some flashes seem to lack a vertically developing negative leader, and others seem to lack activity after the negative leader stops propagating. Still, this basic anatomy of an in-cloud flash proves useful in describing the overall structure of a lightning flash.

FPGA implementation of self organizing map with digital phase locked loops.

PubMed

Hikawa, Hiroomi

2005-01-01

The self-organizing map (SOM) has found applicability in a wide range of application areas. Recently new SOM hardware with phase modulated pulse signal and digital phase-locked loops (DPLLs) has been proposed (Hikawa, 2005). The system uses the DPLL as a computing element since the operation of the DPLL is very similar to that of SOM's computation. The system also uses square waveform phase to hold the value of the each input vector element. This paper discuss the hardware implementation of the DPLL SOM architecture. For effective hardware implementation, some components are redesigned to reduce the circuit size. The proposed SOM architecture is described in VHDL and implemented on field programmable gate array (FPGA). Its feasibility is verified by experiments. Results show that the proposed SOM implemented on the FPGA has a good quantization capability, and its circuit size very small.

Nine-channel mid-power bipolar pulse generator based on a field programmable gate array

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Haylock, Ben, E-mail: benjamin.haylock2@griffithuni.edu.au; Lenzini, Francesco; Kasture, Sachin

Many channel arbitrary pulse sequence generation is required for the electro-optic reconfiguration of optical waveguide networks in Lithium Niobate. Here we describe a scalable solution to the requirement for mid-power bipolar parallel outputs, based on pulse patterns generated by an externally clocked field programmable gate array. Positive and negative pulses can be generated at repetition rates up to 80 MHz with pulse width adjustable in increments of 1.6 ns across nine independent outputs. Each channel can provide 1.5 W of RF power and can be synchronised with the operation of other components in an optical network such as light sourcesmore » and detectors through an external clock with adjustable delay.« less

Physics of tissue harmonic imaging by ultrasound

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jing, Yuan

Tissue Harmonic Imaging (THI) is an imaging modality that is currently deployed on diagnostic ultrasound scanners. In THI the amplitude of the ultrasonic pulse that is used to probe the tissue is large enough that the pulse undergoes nonlinear distortion as it propagates into the tissue. One result of the distortion is that as the pulse propagates energy is shifted from the fundamental frequency of the source pulse into its higher harmonics. These harmonics will scatter off objects in the tissue and images formed from the scattered higher harmonics are considered to have superior quality to the images formed from the fundamental frequency. Processes that have been suggested as possibly responsible for the improved imaging in THI include: (1) reduced sensitivity to reverberation, (2) reduced sensitivity to aberration, and (3) reduction in side lobes. By using a combination of controlled experiments and numerical simulations, these three reasons have been investigated. A single element transducer and a clinical ultrasound scanner with a phased array transducer were used to image a commercial tissue-mimicking phantom with calibrated targets. The higher image quality achieved with THI was quantified in terms of spatial resolution and "clutter" signals. A three-dimensional model of the forward propagation of nonlinear sound beams in media with arbitrary spatial properties (a generalized KZK equation) was developed. A time-domain code for solving the KZK equation was validated with measurements of the acoustic field generated by the single element transducer and the phased array transducer. The code was used to investigate the impact of aberration using tissue-like media with three-dimensional variations in all acoustic properties. The three-dimensional maps of tissue properties were derived from the datasets available through the Visible Female project. The experiments and simulations demonstrated that second harmonic imaging (1) suffers less clutter associated with reverberation; (2) is not immune to aberration effects and (3) suffers less clutter due to reduced side-lobe levels. The results indicate that side lobe suppression is the most significant reason for the improvement of second harmonic imaging.

Compact field programmable gate array-based pulse-sequencer and radio-frequency generator for experiments with trapped atoms.

PubMed

Pruttivarasin, Thaned; Katori, Hidetoshi

2015-11-01

We present a compact field-programmable gate array (FPGA) based pulse sequencer and radio-frequency (RF) generator suitable for experiments with cold trapped ions and atoms. The unit is capable of outputting a pulse sequence with at least 32 transistor-transistor logic (TTL) channels with a timing resolution of 40 ns and contains a built-in 100 MHz frequency counter for counting electrical pulses from a photo-multiplier tube. There are 16 independent direct-digital-synthesizers RF sources with fast (rise-time of ∼60 ns) amplitude switching and sub-mHz frequency tuning from 0 to 800 MHz.

Compact field programmable gate array-based pulse-sequencer and radio-frequency generator for experiments with trapped atoms

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Pruttivarasin, Thaned, E-mail: thaned.pruttivarasin@riken.jp; Katori, Hidetoshi; Innovative Space-Time Project, ERATO, JST, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8656

We present a compact field-programmable gate array (FPGA) based pulse sequencer and radio-frequency (RF) generator suitable for experiments with cold trapped ions and atoms. The unit is capable of outputting a pulse sequence with at least 32 transistor-transistor logic (TTL) channels with a timing resolution of 40 ns and contains a built-in 100 MHz frequency counter for counting electrical pulses from a photo-multiplier tube. There are 16 independent direct-digital-synthesizers RF sources with fast (rise-time of ∼60 ns) amplitude switching and sub-mHz frequency tuning from 0 to 800 MHz.

Characterization of Kerfless Linear Arrays Based on PZT Thick Film.

PubMed

Zawada, Tomasz; Bierregaard, Louise Moller; Ringgaard, Erling; Xu, Ruichao; Guizzetti, Michele; Levassort, Franck; Certon, Dominique

2017-09-01

Multielement transducers enabling novel cost-effective fabrication of imaging arrays for medical applications have been presented earlier. Due to the favorable low lateral coupling of the screen-printed PZT, the elements can be defined by the top electrode pattern only, leading to a kerfless design with low crosstalk between the elements. The thick-film-based linear arrays have proved to be compatible with a commercial ultrasonic scanner and to support linear array beamforming as well as phased array beamforming. The main objective of the presented work is to investigate the performance of the devices at the transducer level by extensive measurements of the test structures. The arrays have been characterized by several different measurement techniques. First, electrical impedance measurements on several elements in air and liquid have been conducted in order to support material parameter identification using the Krimholtz-Leedom-Matthaei model. It has been found that electromechanical coupling is at the level of 35%. The arrays have also been characterized by a pulse-echo system. The measured sensitivity is around -60 dB, and the fractional bandwidth is close to 60%, while the center frequency is about 12 MHz over the whole array. Finally, laser interferometry measurements have been conducted indicating very good displacement level as well as pressure. The in-depth characterization of the array structure has given insight into the performance parameters for the array based on PZT thick film, and the obtained information will be used to optimize the key parameters for the next generation of cost-effective arrays based on piezoelectric thick film.

Disturbance characteristics of half-selected cells in a cross-point resistive switching memory array

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Zhe; Li, Haitong; Chen, Hong-Yu; Chen, Bing; Liu, Rui; Huang, Peng; Zhang, Feifei; Jiang, Zizhen; Ye, Hongfei; Gao, Bin; Liu, Lifeng; Liu, Xiaoyan; Kang, Jinfeng; Wong, H.-S. Philip; Yu, Shimeng

2016-05-01

Disturbance characteristics of cross-point resistive random access memory (RRAM) arrays are comprehensively studied in this paper. An analytical model is developed to quantify the number of pulses (#Pulse) the cell can bear before disturbance occurs under various sub-switching voltage stresses based on physical understanding. An evaluation methodology is proposed to assess the disturb behavior of half-selected (HS) cells in cross-point RRAM arrays by combining the analytical model and SPICE simulation. The characteristics of cross-point RRAM arrays such as energy consumption, reliable operating cycles and total error bits are evaluated by the methodology. A possible solution to mitigate disturbance is proposed.

Uniaxial Magnetization Performance of Textured Fe Nanowire Arrays Electrodeposited by a Pulsed Potential Deposition Technique

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Neetzel, C.; Ohgai, T.; Yanai, T.; Nakano, M.; Fukunaga, H.

2017-11-01

Textured ferromagnetic Fe nanowire arrays were electrodeposited using a rectangular-pulsed potential deposition technique into anodized aluminum oxide nanochannels. During the electrodeposition of Fe nanowire arrays at a cathodic potential of - 1.2 V, the growth rate of the nanowires was ca. 200 nm s-1. The aspect ratio of Fe nanowires with a diameter of 30 ± 5 nm reached ca. 2000. The long axis of Fe nanowires corresponded with the <200> direction when a large overpotential during the on-time pulse was applied, whereas it orientated to the <110> direction under the potentiostatic condition with a small overpotential. By shifting the on-time cathode potential up to - 1.8 V, the texture coefficient for the (200) plane, TC200, reached up to 1.94. Perpendicular magnetization performance was observed in Fe nanowire arrays. With increasing TC200, the squareness of Fe nanowire arrays increased up to 0.95 with the coercivity maintained at 1.4 kOe at room temperature. This research result has opened a novel possibility of Fe nanowire arrays that can be applied for a new permanent magnetic material without rare-earth metals.

Periodic metallo-dielectric structure in diamond.

PubMed

Shimizu, M; Shimotsuma, Y; Sakakura, M; Yuasa, T; Homma, H; Minowa, Y; Tanaka, K; Miura, K; Hirao, K

2009-01-05

Intense ultrashort light pulses induce three dimensional localized phase transformation of diamond. Photoinduced amorphous structures have electrical conducting properties of a maximum of 64 S/m based on a localized transition from sp(3) to sp(2) in diamond. The laser parameters of fluence and scanning speed affect the resultant electrical conductivities due to recrystallization and multi-filamentation phenomena. We demonstrate that the laser-processed diamond with the periodic cylinder arrays have the characteristic transmission properties in terahertz region, which are good agreement with theoretical calculations. The fabricated periodic structures act as metallo-dielectric photonic crystal.

X-ray Laser Animated Fly-Through

ScienceCinema

None

2018-01-16

Take a tour with an electron's-eye-view through SLAC's revolutionary new X-ray laser facility with this 5 1/2 minute animation. See how the X-ray pulses are generated using the world's longest linear accelerator along with unique arrays of machinery specially designed for this one-of-a-kind tool. For more than 40 years, SLAC's two-mile-long linear accelerator (or linac) linac has produced high-energy electrons for cutting-edge physics experiments. Now, SLAC's linac has entered a new phase of its career with the creation of the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS).

In-vitro biocompatibility and corrosion resistance of electrochemically assembled PPy/TNTA hybrid material for biomedical applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Simi, V. S.; Satish, Aishwarya; Korrapati, Purna Sai; Rajendran, N.

2018-07-01

Nanostructured hybrid materials composed of inorganic and organic constituents of different chemistry and functionality have attracted wide range of biomedical applications. The uniform electrodeposition of polypyrrole into titania nanotube arrays was achieved by normal pulse voltammetry technique in lithium perchlorate electrolyte by varying the pulse period. The electrochemically assembled polypyrrole/titania nanotube arrays (PPy/TNTA) surface was characterized by structural characterizations including attenuated total reflectance -fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Raman and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis. Morphological study carried out by high resolution scanning electron microscopy demonstrates the influence of varying pulse period in achieving the controlled deposition of polypyrrole into the nanotube frame work. Cyclic voltammetry study reveals the electroactive nature of the hybrid material. The contact angle measurements and In-vitro immersion studies in stimulated body fluid hanks' solution were carried out to evaluate the wettability and apatite forming ability of the developed hybrid material. The deposition of polypyrrole enhanced the corrosion resistance of TNTA as evidenced from the lower icorr value observed for PPy/TNTA. The corrosion protection behavior of the hybrid material revealed from the electrochemical impedance spectroscopic studies was clearly noticed from the increase in impedance and maximum phase angle values. Further In-vitro cell culture studies were carried out using MG63 osteoblast cells to evaluate the biocompatibility of the hybrid material. Noticeable improvement in corrosion protection and biocompatibility performance suggest the possible application of PPy/TNTA hybrid material for biomedical applications.

Laser technology for high precision satellite tracking

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Plotkin, H. H.

1974-01-01

Fixed and mobile laser ranging stations have been developed to track satellites equipped with retro-reflector arrays. These have operated consistently at data rates of once per second with range precision better than 50 cm, using Q-switched ruby lasers with pulse durations of 20 to 40 nanoseconds. Improvements are being incorporated to improve the precision to 10 cm, and to permit ranging to more distant satellites. These include improved reflector array designs, processing and analysis of the received reflection pulses, and use of sub-nanosecond pulse duration lasers.

Recent advances in theoretical and numerical studies of wire array Z-pinch in the IAPCM

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ding, Ning, E-mail: ding-ning@iapcm.ac.cn; Zhang, Yang, E-mail: ding-ning@iapcm.ac.cn; Xiao, Delong, E-mail: ding-ning@iapcm.ac.cn

2014-12-15

Fast Z-pinch has produced the most powerful X-ray radiation source in laboratory and also shows the possibility to drive inertial confinement fusion (ICF). Recent advances in wire-array Z-pinch researches at the Institute of Applied Physics and Computational Mathematics are presented in this paper. A typical wire array Z-pinch process has three phases: wire plasma formation and ablation, implosion and the MRT instability development, stagnation and radiation. A mass injection model with azimuthal modulation coefficient is used to describe the wire initiation, and the dynamics of ablated plasmas of wire-array Z-pinches in (r, θ) geometry is numerically studied. In the implosionmore » phase, a two-dimensional(r, z) three temperature radiation MHD code MARED has been developed to investigate the development of the Magneto-Rayleigh-Taylor(MRT) instability. We also analyze the implosion modes of nested wire-array and find that the inner wire-array is hardly affected before the impaction of the outer wire-array. While the plasma accelerated to high speed in the implosion stage stagnates on the axis, abundant x-ray radiation is produced. The energy spectrum of the radiation and the production mechanism are investigated. The computational x-ray pulse shows a reasonable agreement with the experimental result. We also suggest that using alloyed wire-arrays can increase multi-keV K-shell yield by decreasing the opacity of K-shell lines. In addition, we use a detailed circuit model to study the energy coupling between the generator and the Z-pinch implosion. Recently, we are concentrating on the problems of Z-pinch driven ICF, such as dynamic hohlraum and capsule implosions. Our numerical investigations on the interaction of wire-array Z-pinches on foam convertors show qualitative agreements with experimental results on the “Qiangguang I” facility. An integrated two-dimensional simulation of dynamic hohlraum driven capsule implosion provides us the physical insights of wire-array plasma acceleration, shock generation and production, hohlraum formation, radiation ablation and fuel compression.« less

Elastic and Inelastic Scattering of Neutrons using a CLYC array

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brown, Tristan; Doucet, E.; Chowdhury, P.; Lister, C. J.; Wilson, G. L.; Devlin, M.; Mosby, S.

2015-10-01

CLYC scintillators, which have dual neutron and gamma response, have recently ushered in the possibility of fast neutron spectroscopy without time-of-flight (TOF). A 16-element array of 1'' x 1'' 6Li-depleted CLYC crystals, where pulse-shape-discrimination is achieved via digital pulse processing, has been commissioned at UMass Lowell. In an experiment at LANSCE, high energy neutrons were used to bombard 56Fe and 238U targets, in order to measure elastic and inelastic neutron scattering cross sections as a function of energy and angle with the array. The array is placed very close to the targets for enhanced geometrical solid angles for scattered neutrons compared to standard neutron-TOF measurements. A pulse-height spectrum of scattered neutrons in the detectors is compared to the energy of the incident neutrons, which is measured via the TOF of the pulsed neutrons from the source to the detectors. Recoil corrections are necessary to combine the energy spectra from all the detectors to obtain angle-integrated elastic and inelastic cross-sections. The detection techniques, analysis procedures and results will be presented. Supported by NNSA-SSAA program through DOE Grant DE-NA00013008.

An integrated circuit with transmit beamforming flip-chip bonded to a 2-D CMUT array for 3-D ultrasound imaging.

PubMed

Wygant, Ira O; Jamal, Nafis S; Lee, Hyunjoo J; Nikoozadeh, Amin; Oralkan, Omer; Karaman, Mustafa; Khuri-Yakub, Butrus T

2009-10-01

State-of-the-art 3-D medical ultrasound imaging requires transmitting and receiving ultrasound using a 2-D array of ultrasound transducers with hundreds or thousands of elements. A tight combination of the transducer array with integrated circuitry eliminates bulky cables connecting the elements of the transducer array to a separate system of electronics. Furthermore, preamplifiers located close to the array can lead to improved receive sensitivity. A combined IC and transducer array can lead to a portable, high-performance, and inexpensive 3-D ultrasound imaging system. This paper presents an IC flip-chip bonded to a 16 x 16-element capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducer (CMUT) array for 3-D ultrasound imaging. The IC includes a transmit beamformer that generates 25-V unipolar pulses with programmable focusing delays to 224 of the 256 transducer elements. One-shot circuits allow adjustment of the pulse widths for different ultrasound transducer center frequencies. For receiving reflected ultrasound signals, the IC uses the 32-elements along the array diagonals. The IC provides each receiving element with a low-noise 25-MHz-bandwidth transimpedance amplifier. Using a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) clocked at 100 MHz to operate the IC, the IC generated properly timed transmit pulses with 5-ns accuracy. With the IC flip-chip bonded to a CMUT array, we show that the IC can produce steered and focused ultrasound beams. We present 2-D and 3-D images of a wire phantom and 2-D orthogonal cross-sectional images (Bscans) of a latex heart phantom.

From Vision to Reality: 50 Years of Phased Array Development

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-09-30

This paper cites the most prominent U.S.-deployed phased array radars as viewed by one phased-array radar advocate. Key words: radar, antenna array...phased array, phased array radar, radar antennas , array I. INTRODUCTION I welcome the opportunity to talk with today’s phased array engineers and...their test site in Fullerton, CA in the mid-1960s and was impressed by the size of the antennas . Eight apertures were deployed on each ship to

Production of atmospheric pressure diffuse nanosecond pulsed dielectric barrier discharge using the array needles-plate electrode in air

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, De-zheng; Wang, Wen-chun; Jia, Li; Nie, Dong-xia; Shi, Heng-chao

2011-04-01

In this paper, a bidirectional high pulse voltage with 20 ns rising time is employed to generate an atmospheric pressure diffuse dielectric barrier discharge using the array needles-plate electrode configuration. Both double needle and multiple needle electrode configurations nanosecond pulsed dielectric barrier discharges are investigated. It is found that a diffuse discharge plasma with low gas temperature can be obtained, and the plasma volume increases with the increase of the pulse peak voltage, but remains almost constant with the increase of the pulse repetition rate. In addition to showing the potential application on a topographically nonuniform surface treatment of the discharge, the multiple needle-plate electrode configuration with different needle-plate electrode gaps are also employed to generate diffuse discharge plasma.

Characterization of chemical contaminants and their spectral properties from an atmospheric pressure ns-pulsed microdischarge in neon

DOE PAGES

Sillerud, Colin H.; Schwindt, Peter D. D.; Moorman, Mathew; ...

2017-03-01

Portable applications of microdischarges will mandate operation in the presence of contaminant species. This paper examines the temporal evolution of microdischarge optical and ultraviolet emissions during pulsed operation by experimental methods. By varying the pulse length of a microdischarge initiated in a 4-­hole silicon microcavity array operating in a 655 Torr ambient primarily composed of Ne, we were able to measure the emission growth rates for different contaminant species native to the discharge environment as a function of pulse length. It was found that emission from hydrogen and oxygen impurities demonstrated similar rates of change, while emissions from molecular andmore » atomic nitrogen, measured at 337.1 and 120 nm’s respectively, exhibited the lowest rate of change. We conclude that it is likely that O 2 undergoes the same resonant energy transfer process between rare gas excimers that has been shown for H 2. Further, efficient resonant processes were found to be favored during ignition and extinction phases of the pulse, while emission at the 337.1 nm line from N 2 was favored during the intermediate stage of the plasma. In addition to experimental results, a zero-­dimensional analysis is also presented to further understand the nature of the microdischarge.« less

Timing Studies of X Persei and the Discovery of Its Transient Quasi-periodic Oscillation Feature

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Acuner, Z.; Inam,S. C.; Sahiner, S.; Serim, M. M.; Baykal, A.; Swank, J.

2014-01-01

We present a timing analysis of X Persei (X Per) using observations made between 1998 and 2010 with the Proportional Counter Array (PCA) onboard the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) and with the INTEGRAL Soft Gamma-Ray Imager (ISGRI). All pulse arrival times obtained from the RXTE-PCA observations are phase-connected and a timing solution is obtained using these arrival times. We update the long-term pulse frequency history of the source by measuring its pulse frequencies using RXTE-PCA and ISGRI data. From the RXTEPCA data, the relation between the frequency derivative and X-ray flux suggests accretion via the companion's stellar wind. However, the detection of a transient quasi-periodic oscillation feature, peaking at approximately 0.2 Hz, suggests the existence of an accretion disc. We find that doublebreak models fit the average power spectra well, which suggests that the source has at least two different accretion flow components dominating the overall flow. From the power spectrum of frequency derivatives, we measure a power-law index of approximately - 1, which implies that, on short time-scales, disc accretion dominates over noise, while on time-scales longer than the viscous time-scales, the noise dominates. From pulse profiles, we find a correlation between the pulse fraction and the count rate of the source.

High intensity, plasma-induced electron emission from large area carbon nanotube array cathodes

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Liao Qingliang; Yang Ya; Qi Junjie

2010-02-15

The plasma-induced electron emission properties of large area carbon nanotube (CNT) array cathodes under different pulse electric fields were investigated. The formation and expansion of cathode plasmas were proved; in addition, the cathodes have higher emission current in the double-pulse mode than that in the single-pulse mode due to the expansion of plasma. Under the double-pulse electric field of 8.16 V/mum, the plasma's expansion velocity is about 12.33 cm/mus and the highest emission current density reached 107.72 A/cm{sup 2}. The Cerenkov radiation was used to diagnose the distribution of electron beams, and the electron beams' generating process was plasma-induced emission.

Large area pulsed solar simulator

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kruer, Mark A. (Inventor)

1999-01-01

An advanced solar simulator illuminates the surface a very large solar array, such as one twenty feet by twenty feet in area, from a distance of about twenty-six feet with an essentially uniform intensity field of pulsed light of an intensity of one AMO, enabling the solar array to be efficiently tested with light that emulates the sun. Light modifiers sculpt a portion of the light generated by an electrically powered high power Xenon lamp and together with direct light from the lamp provide uniform intensity illumination throughout the solar array, compensating for the square law and cosine law reduction in direct light intensity, particularly at the corner locations of the array. At any location within the array the sum of the direct light and reflected light is essentially constant.

On measurement of acoustic pulse arrival angles using a vertical array

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Makarov, D. V.

2017-11-01

We consider a recently developed method to analyze the angular structure of pulsed acoustic fields in an underwater sound channel. The method is based on the Husimi transform that allows us to approximately link a wave field with the corresponding ray arrivals. The advantage of the method lies in the possibility of its practical realization by a vertical hydrophone array crossing only a small part of the oceanic depth. The main aim of the present work is to find the optimal parameter values of the array that ensure good angular accuracy and sufficient reliability of the algorithm to calculate the arrival angles. Broadband pulses with central frequencies of 80 and 240 Hz are considered. It is shown that an array with a length of several hundred meters allows measuring the angular spectrum with an accuracy of up to 1 degree. The angular resolution is lowered with an increase of the sound wavelength due to the fundamental limitations imposed by the uncertainty relation.

The development of a multichannel electrode array for retinal prostheses.

PubMed

Terasawa, Yasuo; Tashiro, Hiroyuki; Uehara, Akihiro; Saitoh, Tohru; Ozawa, Motoki; Tokuda, Takashi; Ohta, Jun

2006-01-01

The development of a multielectrode array is the key issue for retinal prostheses. We developed a 10 x 10 platinum electrode array that consists of an 8-microm polyimide layer sandwiched between 5-microm polymonochloro-para-xylylene (parylene-C) layers. Each electrode was formed as a 30-microm-high bump by Pt/Au double-layer electroplating. We estimated the charge delivery capability (CDC) of the electrode by measuring the CDCs of two-channel electrode arrays. The dimensions of each electrode of the two-channel array were the same as those of each electrode formed on the 10 x 10 array. The results suggest that for cathodic-first (CF) pulses, 80% of electrodes surpassed our development target of 318 microC/cm2, which corresponds to the charge density of pulses of 500 micros duration and 200 microA amplitude for a 200-microm-diameter planar electrode.

Geiger-mode avalanche photodiode focal plane arrays for three-dimensional imaging LADAR

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Itzler, Mark A.; Entwistle, Mark; Owens, Mark; Patel, Ketan; Jiang, Xudong; Slomkowski, Krystyna; Rangwala, Sabbir; Zalud, Peter F.; Senko, Tom; Tower, John; Ferraro, Joseph

2010-09-01

We report on the development of focal plane arrays (FPAs) employing two-dimensional arrays of InGaAsP-based Geiger-mode avalanche photodiodes (GmAPDs). These FPAs incorporate InP/InGaAs(P) Geiger-mode avalanche photodiodes (GmAPDs) to create pixels that detect single photons at shortwave infrared wavelengths with high efficiency and low dark count rates. GmAPD arrays are hybridized to CMOS read-out integrated circuits (ROICs) that enable independent laser radar (LADAR) time-of-flight measurements for each pixel, providing three-dimensional image data at frame rates approaching 200 kHz. Microlens arrays are used to maintain high fill factor of greater than 70%. We present full-array performance maps for two different types of sensors optimized for operation at 1.06 μm and 1.55 μm, respectively. For the 1.06 μm FPAs, overall photon detection efficiency of >40% is achieved at <20 kHz dark count rates with modest cooling to ~250 K using integrated thermoelectric coolers. We also describe the first evalution of these FPAs when multi-photon pulses are incident on single pixels. The effective detection efficiency for multi-photon pulses shows excellent agreement with predictions based on Poisson statistics. We also characterize the crosstalk as a function of pulse mean photon number. Relative to the intrinsic crosstalk contribution from hot carrier luminescence that occurs during avalanche current flows resulting from single incident photons, we find a modest rise in crosstalk for multi-photon incident pulses that can be accurately explained by direct optical scattering.

Poster — Thur Eve — 27: Flattening Filter Free VMAT Quality Assurance: Dose Rate Considerations for Detector Response

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Viel, Francis; Duzenli, Cheryl; British Columbia Cancer Agency, Department of Medical Physics, Vancouver Centre

2014-08-15

Introduction: Radiation detector responses can be affected by dose rate. Due to higher dose per pulse and wider range of mu rates in FFF beams, detector responses should be characterized prior to implementation of QA protocols for FFF beams. During VMAT delivery, the MU rate may also vary dramatically within a treatment fraction. This study looks at the dose per pulse variation throughout a 3D volume for typical VMAT plans and the response characteristics for a variety of detectors, and makes recommendations on the design of QA protocols for FFF VMAT QA. Materials and Methods: Linac log file data andmore » a simplified dose calculation algorithm are used to calculate dose per pulse for a variety of clinical VMAT plans, on a voxel by voxel basis, as a function of time in a cylindrical phantom. Diode and ion chamber array responses are characterized over the relevant range of dose per pulse and dose rate. Results: Dose per pulse ranges from <0.1 mGy/pulse to 1.5 mGy/pulse in a typical VMAT treatment delivery using the 10XFFF beam. Diode detector arrays demonstrate increased sensitivity to dose (+./− 3%) with increasing dose per pulse over this range. Ion chamber arrays demonstrate decreased sensitivity to dose (+/− 1%) with increasing dose rate over this range. Conclusions: QA protocols should be designed taking into consideration inherent changes in detector sensitivity with dose rate. Neglecting to account for changes in detector response with dose per pulse can lead to skewed QA results.« less

Power balance and loss mechanism analysis in RF transmit coil arrays.

PubMed

Kuehne, Andre; Goluch, Sigrun; Waxmann, Patrick; Seifert, Frank; Ittermann, Bernd; Moser, Ewald; Laistler, Elmar

2015-10-01

To establish a framework for transmit array power balance calculations based on power correlation matrices to accurately quantify the loss contributions from different mechanisms such as coupling, lumped components, and radiation. Starting from Poynting's theorem, power correlation matrices are derived for all terms in the power balance, which is formulated as a matrix equation. Finite-difference time-domain simulations of two 7 T eight-channel head array coils at 297.2 MHz are used to verify the theoretical considerations and demonstrate their application. Care is taken to accurately incorporate all loss mechanisms. The power balance for static B1 phase shims as well as two-dimensional spatially selective transmit SENSE pulses is shown. The simulated power balance shows an excellent agreement with theory, with a maximum power imbalance of less than 0.11%. Power loss contributions from the different loss mechanisms vary significantly between the investigated setups, and depending on the excitation mode imposed on the coil. The presented approach enables a straightforward loss evaluation for an arbitrary excitation of transmit coil arrays. Worst-case power imbalance and losses are calculated in a straightforward manner. This allows for deeper insight into transmit array loss mechanisms, incorporation of radiated power components in specific absorption rate calculations and verification of electromagnetic simulations. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Pulse sequences for uniform perfluorocarbon droplet vaporization and ultrasound imaging.

PubMed

Puett, C; Sheeran, P S; Rojas, J D; Dayton, P A

2014-09-01

Phase-change contrast agents (PCCAs) consist of liquid perfluorocarbon droplets that can be vaporized into gas-filled microbubbles by pulsed ultrasound waves at diagnostic pressures and frequencies. These activatable contrast agents provide benefits of longer circulating times and smaller sizes relative to conventional microbubble contrast agents. However, optimizing ultrasound-induced activation of these agents requires coordinated pulse sequences not found on current clinical systems, in order to both initiate droplet vaporization and image the resulting microbubble population. Specifically, the activation process must provide a spatially uniform distribution of microbubbles and needs to occur quickly enough to image the vaporized agents before they migrate out of the imaging field of view. The development and evaluation of protocols for PCCA-enhanced ultrasound imaging using a commercial array transducer are described. The developed pulse sequences consist of three states: (1) initial imaging at sub-activation pressures, (2) activating droplets within a selected region of interest, and (3) imaging the resulting microbubbles. Bubble clouds produced by the vaporization of decafluorobutane and octafluoropropane droplets were characterized as a function of focused pulse parameters and acoustic field location. Pulse sequences were designed to manipulate the geometries of discrete microbubble clouds using electronic steering, and cloud spacing was tailored to build a uniform vaporization field. The complete pulse sequence was demonstrated in the water bath and then in vivo in a rodent kidney. The resulting contrast provided a significant increase (>15 dB) in signal intensity. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Ferroelectric thin-film active sensors for structural health monitoring

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lin, Bin; Giurgiutiu, Victor; Yuan, Zheng; Liu, Jian; Chen, Chonglin; Jiang, Jiechao; Bhalla, Amar S.; Guo, Ruyan

2007-04-01

Piezoelectric wafer active sensors (PWAS) have been proven a valuable tool in structural health monitoring. Piezoelectric wafer active sensors are able to send and receive guided Lamb/Rayleigh waves that scan the structure and detect the presence of incipient cracks and structural damage. In-situ thin-film active sensor deposition can eliminate the bonding layer to improve the durability issue and reduce the acoustic impedance mismatch. Ferroelectric thin films have been shown to have piezoelectric properties that are close to those of single-crystal ferroelectrics but the fabrication of ferroelectric thin films on structural materials (steel, aluminum, titanium, etc.) has not been yet attempted. In this work, in-situ fabrication method of piezoelectric thin-film active sensors arrays was developed using the nano technology approach. Specification for the piezoelectric thin-film active sensors arrays was based on electro-mechanical-acoustical model. Ferroelectric BaTiO3 (BTO) thin films were successfully deposited on Ni tapes by pulsed laser deposition under the optimal synthesis conditions. Microstructural studies by X-ray diffractometer and transmission electron microscopy reveal that the as-grown BTO thin films have the nanopillar structures with an average size of approximately 80 nm in diameter and the good interface structures with no inter-diffusion or reaction. The dielectric and ferroelectric property measurements exhibit that the BTO films have a relatively large dielectric constant, a small dielectric loss, and an extremely large piezoelectric response with a symmetric hysteresis loop. The research objective is to develop the fabrication and optimum design of thin-film active sensor arrays for structural health monitoring applications. The short wavelengths of the micro phased arrays will permit the phased-array imaging of smaller parts and smaller damage than is currently not possible with existing technology.

An MF/HF radio array for radio and radar imaging of the ionosphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Isham, Brett; Gustavsson, Bjorn; Belyey, Vasyl; Bullett, Terrence

2016-07-01

The Aguadilla Radio Array will be installed at the Interamerican University Aguadilla Campus, located in northwestern Puerto Rico. The array is intended for broad-band medium and high-frequency (MF/HF, roughly 2 to 25 MHz) radio and bistatic radar observations of the ionosphere. The main array consists of 20 antenna elements, arranged in a semi-random pattern providing a good distribution of baseline vectors, with 6-meter minimum spacing to eliminate spacial aliasing. A relocatable 6-element array is also being developed, in which each element consists of a crossed pair of active electric dipoles and all associated electronics for phase-coherent radio measurements. A primary scientific goal of the array is to create images of the region of ionospheric radio emissions stimulated by the new Arecibo Observatory high-power high-frequency radio transmitter. A second primary goal is the study of ionospheric structure and dynamics via coherent radar imaging of the ionosphere in collaboration with the University of Colorado / NOAA Versatile Interferometric Pulsed Ionospheric Radar (VIPIR), located at the USGS San Juan Observatory in Cayey, Puerto Rico. In addition to ionospheric research in collaboration with the Cayey and Arecibo Observatories, the goals of the project include the development of radio sounding, polarization, interferometry, and imaging techniques, and training of students at the university and high school levels.

Phased laser diode array permits selective excitation of ultrasonic guided waves in coated bone-mimicking tubes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moilanen, Petro; Salmi, Ari; Kilappa, Vantte; Zhao, Zuomin; Timonen, Jussi; Hæggström, Edward

2017-10-01

This paper validates simulation predictions, which state that specific modes could be enhanced in quantitative ultrasonic bone testing. Tunable selection of ultrasonic guided wave excitation is useful in non-destructive testing since it permits the mediation of energy into diagnostically useful modes while reducing the energy mediated into disturbing contributions. For instance, it is often challenging to distinguish and extract the useful modes from ultrasound signals measured in bone covered by a soft tissue. We show that a laser diode array can selectively excite ultrasound in bone mimicking phantoms. A fiber-coupled diode array (4 elements) illuminated two solid tubes (2-3 mm wall thickness) embraced by an opaque soft-tissue mimicking elastomer coating (5 mm thick). A predetermined time delay matching the selected mode and frequency was employed between the outputs of the elements. The generated ultrasound was detected by a 215 kHz piezo receiver. Our results suggest that this array reduces the disturbances caused by the elastomer cover and so pave way to permit non-contacting in vivo guided wave ultrasound assessment of human bones. The implementation is small, inexpensive, and robust in comparison with the conventional pulsed lasers.

Experimental implementations of 2D IR spectroscopy through a horizontal pulse shaper design and a focal plane array detector

PubMed Central

Ghosh, Ayanjeet; Serrano, Arnaldo L.; Oudenhoven, Tracey A.; Ostrander, Joshua S.; Eklund, Elliot C.; Blair, Alexander F.; Zanni, Martin T.

2017-01-01

Aided by advances in optical engineering, two-dimensional infrared spectroscopy (2D IR) has developed into a promising method for probing structural dynamics in biophysics and material science. We report two new advances for 2D IR spectrometers. First, we report a fully reflective and totally horizontal pulse shaper, which significantly simplifies alignment. Second, we demonstrate the applicability of mid-IR focal plane arrays (FPAs) as suitable detectors in 2D IR experiments. FPAs have more pixels than conventional linear arrays and can be used to multiplex optical detection. We simultaneously measure the spectra of a reference beam, which improves the signal-to-noise by a factor of 4; and two additional beams that are orthogonally polarized probe pulses for 2D IR anisotropy experiments. PMID:26907414

Structure and properties of nanostructured ZnO arrays and ZnO/Ag nanocomposites fabricated by pulsed electrodeposition

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kopach, V. R.; Klepikova, K. S.; Klochko, N. P., E-mail: klochko-np@mail.ru

We investigate the structure, surface morphology, and optical properties of nanostructured ZnO arrays fabricated by pulsed electrodeposition, Ag nanoparticles precipitated from colloidal solutions, and a ZnO/Ag nanocomposite based on them. The electronic and electrical parameters of the ZnO arrays and ZnO/Ag nanocomposites are analyzed by studying the I–V and C–V characteristics. Optimal modes for fabricating the ZnO/Ag heterostructures with the high stability and sensitivity to ultraviolet radiation as promising materials for use in photodetectors, gas sensors, and photocatalysts are determined.

Robust Functionalization of Large Microelectrode Arrays by Using Pulsed Potentiostatic Deposition

PubMed Central

Rothe, Joerg; Frey, Olivier; Madangopal, Rajtarun; Rickus, Jenna; Hierlemann, Andreas

2016-01-01

Surface modification of microelectrodes is a central step in the development of microsensors and microsensor arrays. Here, we present an electrodeposition scheme based on voltage pulses. Key features of this method are uniformity in the deposited electrode coatings, flexibility in the overall deposition area, i.e., the sizes and number of the electrodes to be coated, and precise control of the surface texture. Deposition and characterization of four different materials are demonstrated, including layers of high-surface-area platinum, gold, conducting polymer poly(ethylenedioxythiophene), also known as PEDOT, and the non-conducting polymer poly(phenylenediamine), also known as PPD. The depositions were conducted using a fully integrated complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) chip with an array of 1024 microelectrodes. The pulsed potentiostatic deposition scheme is particularly suitable for functionalization of individual electrodes or electrode subsets of large integrated microelectrode arrays: the required deposition waveforms are readily available in an integrated system, the same deposition parameters can be used to functionalize the surface of either single electrodes or large arrays of thousands of electrodes, and the deposition method proved to be robust and reproducible for all materials tested. PMID:28025569

One joule output from a diode-array-pumped Nd:YAG laser with side-pumped rod geometry

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kasinski, Jeffrey J.; Hughes, Will; Dibiase, Don; Bournes, Patrick; Burnham, Ralph

1992-01-01

Output of 1.25 J per pulse (1.064 micron) with an absolute optical efficiency of 28 percent and corresponding electrical efficiency of 10 percent was demonstrated in a diode-array-pumped Nd:YAG laser using a side-pumped rod geometry in a master-oscillator/power-amplifier configuration. In Q-switched operation, an output of 0.75 J in a 17-ns pulse was obtained. The fundamental laser output was frequency doubled in KTP with 60 percent conversion efficiency to obtain 0.45 J in a 16-ns pulse at 532 nm. The output beam had high spatial quality with pointing stability better than 40 microrad and a shot-to-shot pulse energy fluctuation of less than +/-3 percent.

Infrasound pulses from lightning and electrostatic field changes: Observation and discussion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chum, J.; Diendorfer, G.; Å indelářová, T.; Baše, J.; Hruška, F.

2013-10-01

Narrow (~1-2 s) infrasound pulses that followed, with ~11 to ~50 s delays, rapid changes of electrostatic field were observed by a microbarometer array in the Czech Republic during thunderstorm activity. A positive pressure fluctuation (compression phase) always preceded decompression; the compression was usually higher than the decompression. The angles of arrival (azimuth and elevation) were analyzed for selected distinct events. Comparisons of distances and azimuths of infrasound sources from the center of microbarometer array with lightning locations determined by the European Cooperation for Lighting Detection lightning detection network show that most of the selected events can be very likely associated with intracloud (IC) discharges. The preceding rapid changes of electrostatic field, their potential association with IC discharges, and high-elevation angles of arrival for near infrasound sources indicate that an electrostatic mechanism is probably responsible for their generation. It is discussed that distinguishing the relative role of thermal and electrostatic mechanism is difficult and that none of the published models of electrostatic production of infrasound thunder can explain the presented observations precisely. A modification of the current models, based on consideration of at least two charged layers, is suggested. Further theoretical and experimental investigations are however needed to get a better description of the generation mechanism.

Equatorial radar system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rukao, S.; Tsuda, T.; Sato, T.; Kato, S.

1989-01-01

A large clear air radar with the sensitivity of an incoherent scatter radar for observing the whole equatorial atmosphere up to 1000 km altitude is now being designed in Japan. The radar, called the Equatorial Radar, will be built in Pontianak, Kalimantan Island, Indonesia (0.03 N, 109.3 E). The system is a 47 MHz monostatic Doppler radar with an active phased array configuration similar to that of the MU radar in Japan, which has been in successful operation since 1983. It will have a PA product of more than 5 x 10(9) sq. Wm (P = average transmitter power, A = effective antenna aperture) with sensitivity more than 10 times that of the MU radar. This system configuration enables pulse-to-pulse beam steering within 25 deg from the zenith. As is the case of the MU radar, a variety of sophisticated operations will be made feasible under the supervision of the radar controller. A brief description of the system configuration is presented.

SPE analysis of high efficiency PMTs for the DEAP-3600 dark matter detector

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Olsen, Kevin; Hallin, Aksel; DEAP/CLEAN Collaboration

2011-09-01

The Dark matter Experiment using Argon Pulse-shape discrimination is a collaborative effort to develop a next-generation, tonne-scale dark matter detector at SNOLAB. The detector will feature a single-phase liquid argon (LAr) target surrounded by an array of 266 photomultiplier tubes (PMTs). A new high-efficiency Hamamatsu R877-100 PMT has been delivered to the University of Alberta for evaluation by the DEAP collaboration. The increase in efficiency could lead to a much greater light yield, but other experiments have reported a slower rise time [1],[2]. We have placed the PMT in a small dark box and had a base and preamplifier designed to be used with either an oscilloscope or a multi-channel analyzer. With this setup we have demonstrated the PMT's ability to distinguish single photo-electrons (SPE) and characterized the PMT by measuring the SPE pulse height spectrum, the peak-to-valley ratio, the dark pulse rate, the baseline, time resolution and SPE efficiency for varying the high voltage supplied to the PMT.

Plasmonic enhancement of the vanadium dioxide phase transition induced by low-power laser irradiation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ferrara, Davon W.; MacQuarrie, Evan R.; Diez-Blanco, Victor; Nag, Joyeeta; Kaye, Anthony B.; Haglund, Richard F.

2012-08-01

Nanocomposites consisting of gold nanoparticle (NP) arrays and vanadium dioxide (VO2) thin films are noteworthy for the tunability of both their thermal and optical properties. The localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) of the Au can be tuned when its dielectric environment is modulated by the semiconducting-to-metal phase transition (SMT) of the VO2; the LSPR itself can be altered by changing the shape of the NPs and the pitch of the NP array. In principle, then it should be possible to choose a combination of VO2 film and Au LSPR properties that maximizes the overall optical response of the nanocomposite. To demonstrate this effect, transient transmission measurements were conducted on lithographically fabricated arrays of Au NPs of diameter 140 nm, array spacing 350 nm, and covered with a 60 nm thick films of VO2 via pulsed laser deposition. Both Au::VO2 nanocomposites and bare VO2 film were irradiated with a shuttered 785 nm pump laser, and their optical response was probed at 1550 nm by a fixed-frequency diode laser. The Au::VO2 nanocomposite exhibited an increased effective absorption coefficient 1.5 times that of the plain film and required 37 % less laser power to induce the SMT. The time-dependent temperature rise in the film as a function of laser intensity was calculated from these measurements and compared with both analytic and finite-element models. Our results suggest that Au::VO2 nanocomposites may be useful in applications such as thermal-management coatings for energy efficient "smart" windows.

PHASE DIFFERENTIAL INDICATING CIRCUIT

DOEpatents

Kirsten, F.A.

1962-01-01

An electronic circuit for totalizing the net phase difference between two alternating current signals is designed which responds to both increasing and decreasing phase changes. A phase comparator provldes an output pulse for each 360 deg of phase difference occurring, there being a negative pulse for phase shtft in one direction and a positive pulse for a phase shift in the opposite direction. A counting circuit utilizing glow discharge tubes receives the negative and positive pulses at a single input terminal and provides a running net total, pulses of one polarity dded and pulses of the opposite polarity being subtracted. The glow discharge tubes may be decaded to increase the total count capacity. (AEC)

In-phased second harmonic wave array generation with intra-Talbot-cavity frequency-doubling.

PubMed

Hirosawa, Kenichi; Shohda, Fumio; Yanagisawa, Takayuki; Kannari, Fumihiko

2015-03-23

The Talbot cavity is one promising method to synchronize the phase of a laser array. However, it does not achieve the lowest array mode with the same phase but the highest array mode with the anti-phase between every two adjacent lasers, which is called out-phase locking. Consequently, their far-field images exhibit 2-peak profiles. We propose intra-Talbot-cavity frequency-doubling. By placing a nonlinear crystal in a Talbot cavity, the Talbot cavity generates an out-phased fundamental wave array, which is converted into an in-phase-locked second harmonic wave array at the nonlinear crystal. We demonstrate numerical calculations and experiments on intra-Talbot-cavity frequency-doubling and obtain an in-phase-locked second harmonic wave array for a Nd:YVO₄ array laser.

Smart CMOS image sensor for lightning detection and imaging.

PubMed

Rolando, Sébastien; Goiffon, Vincent; Magnan, Pierre; Corbière, Franck; Molina, Romain; Tulet, Michel; Bréart-de-Boisanger, Michel; Saint-Pé, Olivier; Guiry, Saïprasad; Larnaudie, Franck; Leone, Bruno; Perez-Cuevas, Leticia; Zayer, Igor

2013-03-01

We present a CMOS image sensor dedicated to lightning detection and imaging. The detector has been designed to evaluate the potentiality of an on-chip lightning detection solution based on a smart sensor. This evaluation is performed in the frame of the predevelopment phase of the lightning detector that will be implemented in the Meteosat Third Generation Imager satellite for the European Space Agency. The lightning detection process is performed by a smart detector combining an in-pixel frame-to-frame difference comparison with an adjustable threshold and on-chip digital processing allowing an efficient localization of a faint lightning pulse on the entire large format array at a frequency of 1 kHz. A CMOS prototype sensor with a 256×256 pixel array and a 60 μm pixel pitch has been fabricated using a 0.35 μm 2P 5M technology and tested to validate the selected detection approach.

THz generation by laser coupling to carbon nanotube array

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Malik, Rakhee; Uma, R.

2018-01-01

A viable scheme of THz radiation generation by beating of two lasers ( ω1 , k→ 1 ; ω2 , k→ 2 ) in a nanotube array, mounted on a dielectric substrate, is proposed and studied. The free electrons of the nanotubes acquire a large oscillatory velocity and experience a beat frequency ponderomotive force that turns nanotubes into oscillating dipole antennae emitting THz radiation. The THz power peaks in directions where a phase difference between fields due to successive nanotubes is integral multiple of 2 π . The THz power is large when the beat frequency equals ωp/√{2 } (where ωp is the electron plasma frequency) and surface plasmon resonance occurs. For our set of laser and carbon nanotube parameters, the generated THz is about 0.1 kW for CO2 laser power of 10 GW and pulse length of a few picoseconds.

Imaging thunder

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Johnson, J. B.; Arechiga, R. O.; Thomas, R. J.; Edens, H. E.; Anderson, J.; Johnson, R. L.

2011-12-01

We use a network of broadband microphones, including a 4-element array, to locate the sources of thunder occurring during an electrical storm in central New Mexico on July 24th, 2009. Combined slowness search and distance ranging are used to identify thunder regions in three dimensions (out to 12 km) and for two overlapping frequency bands (1-10 and 4-40 Hz). Distinct thunder pulses are locatable and used to predict time-of-arrival to neighboring stations and to identify correlated phases across the network. Spatial correlation is also found between the thunder source regions and regions of VHF radiation as located by the New Mexico Lightning Mapping Array (LMA). Some of the misfit between the LMA and thunder locations is attributable to differences in excitation mechanisms of the respective radiation, which is related to current impulses in lightning channels (for thunder) and incremental ionization of the atmosphere (for VHF emissions).

Imaging thunder

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Johnson, J. B.; Arechiga, R. O.; Thomas, R. J.; Edens, H. E.; Anderson, J.; Johnson, R.

2011-10-01

We use a network of broadband microphones, including a 4-element array, to locate the sources of thunder occurring during an electrical storm in central New Mexico on July 24th, 2009. Combined slowness search and distance ranging are used to identify thunder regions in three dimensions (out to 12 km) and for two overlapping frequency bands (1-10 and 4-40 Hz). Distinct thunder pulses are locatable and used to predict time-of-arrival to neighboring stations and to identify correlated phases across the network. Spatial correlation is also found between the thunder source regions and regions of very high frequency (VHF) radiation as located by the New Mexico Lightning Mapping Array (LMA). Some of the misfit between the LMA and thunder locations is attributable to differences in excitation mechanisms of the respective radiation, which is related to current impulses in lightning channels (for thunder) and incremental ionization of the atmosphere (for VHF emissions).

SNMR pulse sequence phase cycling

DOEpatents

Walsh, David O; Grunewald, Elliot D

2013-11-12

Technologies applicable to SNMR pulse sequence phase cycling are disclosed, including SNMR acquisition apparatus and methods, SNMR processing apparatus and methods, and combinations thereof. SNMR acquisition may include transmitting two or more SNMR pulse sequences and applying a phase shift to a pulse in at least one of the pulse sequences, according to any of a variety cycling techniques. SNMR processing may include combining SNMR from a plurality of pulse sequences comprising pulses of different phases, so that desired signals are preserved and indesired signals are canceled.

Two-dimensional fluid droplet arrays generated using a single nozzle

DOEpatents

Lee, Eric R.; Perl, Martin L.

1999-11-02

Amplitudes of drive pulses received by a horizontally-placed dropper determine the horizontal displacements of droplets relative to an ejection aperture of the dropper. The drive pulses are varied such that the dropper generates a two-dimensional array of vertically-falling droplets. Vertical and horizontal interdroplet spacings may be varied in real time. Applications include droplet analysis experiments such as Millikan fractional charge searches and aerosol characterization, as well as material deposition applications.

Cross-Phase Modulation: A New Technique for Controlling the Spectral, Temporal, and Spatial Properties of Ultrashort Pulses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baldeck, P. L.; Ho, P. P.; Alfano, Robert R.

Self-phase modulation (SPM) is the principal mechanism responsible for the generation of picosecond and femtosecond white-light supercontinua. When an intense ultrashort pulse progagates through a medium, it distorts the atomic configuration of the material, which changes the refractive index. The pulse phase is time modulated, which causes the generation of new frequencies. This phase modulation originates from the pulse itself (self-phase modulation). It can also be generated by a copropagating pulse (cross-phase modulation).

A Study of Phased Array Antennas for NASA's Deep Space Network

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jamnejad, Vahraz; Huang, John; Cesarone, Robert J.

2001-01-01

In this paper we briefly discuss various options but focus on the feasibility of the phased arrays as a viable option for this application. Of particular concern and consideration will be the cost, reliability, and performance compared to the present 70-meter antenna system, particularly the gain/noise temperature levels in the receive mode. Many alternative phased arrays including planar horizontal arrays, hybrid mechanically/electronically steered arrays, phased array of mechanically steered reflectors, multi-faceted planar arrays, phased array-fed lens antennas, and planar reflect-arrays are compared and their viability is assessed. Although they have many advantages including higher reliability, near-instantaneous beam switching or steering capability, the cost of such arrays is presently prohibitive and it is concluded that the only viable array options at the present are the arrays of a few or many small reflectors. The active planar phased arrays, however, may become feasible options in the next decade and can be considered for deployment in smaller configurations as supplementary options.

Improving Reliability of High Power Quasi-CW Laser Diode Arrays for Pumping Solid State Lasers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Amzajerdian, Farzin; Meadows, Byron L.; Baker, Nathaniel R.; Barnes, Bruce W.; Baggott, Renee S.; Lockard, George E.; Singh, Upendra N.; Kavaya, Michael J.

2005-01-01

Most Lidar applications rely on moderate to high power solid state lasers to generate the required transmitted pulses. However, the reliability of solid state lasers, which can operate autonomously over long periods, is constrained by their laser diode pump arrays. Thermal cycling of the active regions is considered the primary reason for rapid degradation of the quasi-CW high power laser diode arrays, and the excessive temperature rise is the leading suspect in premature failure. The thermal issues of laser diode arrays are even more drastic for 2-micron solid state lasers which require considerably longer pump pulses compared to the more commonly used pump arrays for 1-micron lasers. This paper describes several advanced packaging techniques being employed for more efficient heat removal from the active regions of the laser diode bars. Experimental results for several high power laser diode array devices will be reported and their performance when operated at long pulsewidths of about 1msec will be described.

Frequency-Domain Multiplexing Readout with a Self-Trigger System for Pulse Signals from Kinetic Inductance Detectors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yamada, Y.; Ishino, H.; Kibayashi, A.; Kida, Y.; Hidehira, N.; Komatsu, K.; Hazumi, M.; Sato, N.; Sakai, K.; Yamamori, H.; Hirayama, F.; Kohjiro, S.

2018-04-01

We present the development of a frequency-domain multiplexing readout of kinetic inductance detectors (KIDs) for pulse signals with a self-trigger system. The KIDs consist of an array of superconducting resonators that have different resonant frequencies individually, allowing us to read out multiple channels in the frequency domain with a single wire using a microwave-frequency comb. The energy deposited to the resonators break Cooper pairs, changing the kinetic inductance and, hence, the amplitude and the phase of the probing microwaves. For some applications such as X-ray detections, the deposited energy is detected as a pulse signal shaped by the time constants of the quasiparticle lifetime, the resonator quality factor, and the ballistic phonon lifetime in the substrate, ranging from microseconds to milliseconds. A readout system commonly used converts the frequency-domain data to the time-domain data. For the short pulse signals, the data rate may exceed the data transfer bandwidth, as the short time constant pulses require us to have a high sampling rate. In order to overcome this circumstance, we have developed a KID readout system that contains a self-trigger system to extract relevant signal data and reduces the total data rate with a commercial off-the-shelf FPGA board. We have demonstrated that the system can read out pulse signals of 15 resonators simultaneously with about 10 Hz event rate by irradiating α particles from ^{241} Am to the silicon substrate on whose surface aluminum KID resonators are formed.

Characterization of chemical contaminants and their spectral properties from an atmospheric pressure ns-pulsed microdischarge in neon

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sillerud, Colin H.; Schwindt, Peter D. D.; Moorman, Mathew; Yee, B. T.; Anderson, John; Pfeifer, Nathaniel B.; Hedberg, E. L.; Manginell, Ronald P.

2017-03-01

Portable applications of microdischarges, such as the remediation of gaseous wastes or the destruction of volatile organic compounds, will mandate operation in the presence of contaminant species. This paper examines the temporal evolution of microdischarge optical and ultraviolet emissions during pulsed operation by experimental methods. By varying the pulse length of a microdischarge initiated in a 4-hole silicon microcavity array operating in a 655 Torr ambient primarily composed of Ne, we were able to measure the emission growth rates for different contaminant species native to the discharge environment as a function of pulse length. It was found that emission from hydrogen and oxygen impurities demonstrated similar rates of change, while emissions from molecular and atomic nitrogen, measured at 337.1 and 120 nm, respectively, exhibited the lowest rate of change. We conclude that it is likely that O2 undergoes the same resonant energy transfer process between rare gas excimers that has been shown for H2. Further, efficient resonant processes were found to be favored during ignition and extinction phases of the pulse, while emission at the 337.1 nm line from N2 was favored during the intermediate stage of the plasma. In addition to the experimental results, a zero-dimensional analysis is also presented to further understand the nature of the microdischarge.

Isolated Attosecond Pulse Generation without the Need to Stabilize the Carrier-Envelope Phase of Driving Lasers

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gilbertson, Steve; Khan, Sabih D.; Wu Yi

2010-08-27

Single isolated attosecond pulses can be extracted from a pulse train with an ultrafast gate in the generation target. By setting the gate width sufficiently narrow with the generalized double optical gating, we demonstrate that single isolated attosecond pulses can be generated with any arbitrary carrier-envelope phase value of the driving laser. The carrier-envelope phase only affects the photon flux, not the pulse duration or contrast. Our results show that isolated attosecond pulses can be generated using carrier-envelope phase unstabilized 23 fs pulses directly from chirped pulse amplifiers.

Coherent Detection of High-Rate Optical PPM Signals

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vilnrotter, Victor; Fernandez, Michela Munoz

2006-01-01

A method of coherent detection of high-rate pulse-position modulation (PPM) on a received laser beam has been conceived as a means of reducing the deleterious effects of noise and atmospheric turbulence in free-space optical communication using focal-plane detector array technologies. In comparison with a receiver based on direct detection of the intensity modulation of a PPM signal, a receiver based on the present method of coherent detection performs well at much higher background levels. In principle, the coherent-detection receiver can exhibit quantum-limited performance despite atmospheric turbulence. The key components of such a receiver include standard receiver optics, a laser that serves as a local oscillator, a focal-plane array of photodetectors, and a signal-processing and data-acquisition assembly needed to sample the focal-plane fields and reconstruct the pulsed signal prior to detection. The received PPM-modulated laser beam and the local-oscillator beam are focused onto the photodetector array, where they are mixed in the detection process. The two lasers are of the same or nearly the same frequency. If the two lasers are of different frequencies, then the coherent detection process is characterized as heterodyne and, using traditional heterodyne-detection terminology, the difference between the two laser frequencies is denoted the intermediate frequency (IF). If the two laser beams are of the same frequency and remain aligned in phase, then the coherent detection process is characterized as homodyne (essentially, heterodyne detection at zero IF). As a result of the inherent squaring operation of each photodetector, the output current includes an IF component that contains the signal modulation. The amplitude of the IF component is proportional to the product of the local-oscillator signal amplitude and the PPM signal amplitude. Hence, by using a sufficiently strong local-oscillator signal, one can make the PPM-modulated IF signal strong enough to overcome thermal noise in the receiver circuits: this is what makes it possible to achieve near-quantum-limited detection in the presence of strong background. Following quantum-limited coherent detection, the outputs of the individual photodetectors are automatically aligned in phase by use of one or more adaptive array compensation algorithms [e.g., the least-mean-square (LMS) algorithm]. Then the outputs are combined and the resulting signal is processed to extract the high-rate information, as though the PPM signal were received by a single photodetector. In a continuing series of experiments to test this method (see Fig. 1), the local oscillator has a wavelength of 1,064 nm, and another laser is used as a signal transmitter at a slightly different wavelength to establish an IF of about 6 MHz. There are 16 photodetectors in a 4 4 focal-plane array; the detector outputs are digitized at a sampling rate of 25 MHz, and the signals in digital form are combined by use of the LMS algorithm. Convergence of the adaptive combining algorithm in the presence of simulated atmospheric turbulence for optical PPM signals has already been demonstrated in the laboratory; the combined output is shown in Fig. 2(a), and Fig. 2(b) shows the behavior of the phase of the combining weights as a function of time (or samples). We observe that the phase of the weights has a sawtooth shape due to the continuously changing phase in the down-converted output, which is not exactly at zero frequency. Detailed performance analysis of this coherent free-space optical communication system in the presence of simulated atmospheric turbulence is currently under way.

Complete spatial and temporal locking in phase-mismatched second-harmonic generation.

PubMed

Fazio, Eugenio; Pettazzi, Federico; Centini, Marco; Chauvet, Mathieu; Belardini, Alessandro; Alonzo, Massimo; Sibilia, Concita; Bertolotti, Mario; Scalora, Micheal

2009-03-02

We experimentally demonstrate simultaneous phase and group velocity locking of fundamental and generated second harmonic pulses in Lithium Niobate, under conditions of material phase mismatch. In phase-mismatched, pulsed second harmonic generation in addition to a reflected signal two forward-propagating pulses are also generated at the interface between a linear and a second order nonlinear material: the first pulse results from the solution of the homogeneous wave equation, and propagates at the group velocity expected from material dispersion; the second pulse is the solution of the inhomogeneous wave equation, is phase-locked and trapped by the pump pulse, and follows the pump trajectory. At normal incidence, the normal and phase locked pulses simply trail each other. At oblique incidence, the consequences can be quite dramatic. The homogeneous pulse refracts as predicted by material dispersion and Snell's law, yielding at least two spatially separate second harmonic spots at the medium's exit. We thus report the first experimental results showing that, at oblique incidence, fundamental and phase-locked second harmonic pulses travel with the same group velocity and follow the same trajectory. This is direct evidence that, at least up to first order, the effective dispersion of the phase-locked pulse is similar to the dispersion of the pump pulse.

Contrast-enhanced ultrasound imaging and in vivo circulatory kinetics with low-boiling-point nanoscale phase-change perfluorocarbon agents.

PubMed

Sheeran, Paul S; Rojas, Juan D; Puett, Connor; Hjelmquist, Jordan; Arena, Christopher B; Dayton, Paul A

2015-03-01

Many studies have explored phase-change contrast agents (PCCAs) that can be vaporized by an ultrasonic pulse to form microbubbles for ultrasound imaging and therapy. However, few investigations have been published on the utility and characteristics of PCCAs as contrast agents in vivo. In this study, we examine the properties of low-boiling-point nanoscale PCCAs evaluated in vivo and compare data with those for conventional microbubbles with respect to contrast generation and circulation properties. To do this, we develop a custom pulse sequence to vaporize and image PCCAs using the Verasonics research platform and a clinical array transducer. Results indicate that droplets can produce contrast enhancement similar to that of microbubbles (7.29 to 18.24 dB over baseline, depending on formulation) and can be designed to circulate for as much as 3.3 times longer than microbubbles. This study also reports for the first time the ability to capture contrast washout kinetics of the target organ as a measure of vascular perfusion. Copyright © 2015 World Federation for Ultrasound in Medicine & Biology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Microprocessor control of multiple peak power tracking DC/DC converters for use with solar cell arrays

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Frederick, Martin E. (Inventor); Jermakian, Joel (Inventor)

1991-01-01

A method and an apparatus is provided for efficiently controlling the power output of a solar cell array string or a plurality of solar cell array strings to achieve a maximum amount of output power from the strings under varying conditions of use. Maximum power output from a solar array string is achieved through control of a pulse width modulated DC/DC buck converter which transfers power from a solar array to a load or battery bus. The input voltage from the solar array to the converter is controlled by a pulse width modulation duty cycle, which in turn is controlled by a differential signal controller. By periodically adjusting the control voltage up or down by a small amount and comparing the power on the load or bus with that generated at different voltage values a maximum power output voltage may be obtained. The system is totally modular and additional solar array strings may be added to the system simply by adding converter boards to the system and changing some constants in the controller's control routines.

Variable neutron star free precession in Hercules X-1 from evolution of RXTE X-ray pulse profiles with phase of the 35-d cycle

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Postnov, K.; Shakura, N.; Staubert, R.; Kochetkova, A.; Klochkov, D.; Wilms, J.

2013-10-01

Accretion of matter on to the surface of a freely precessing neutron star (NS) with a complex non-dipole magnetic field can explain the change of X-ray pulse profiles of Her X-1 observed by RXTE with the phase of the 35-d cycle. We demonstrate this using all available measurements of X-ray pulse profiles in the 9-13 keV energy range obtained with the RXTE/Proportional Counter Array (PCA). The measured profiles guided the elaboration of a geometrical model and the definition of locations of emitting poles, arcs and spots on the NS surface which satisfactorily reproduce the observed pulse profiles and their dependence on free precession phase. We have found that the observed trend of the times of the 35-d turn-ons on the O-C diagram, which can be approximated by a collection of consecutive linear segments around the mean value, can be described by our model by assuming a variable free precession period, with a fractional period change of about a few per cent. Under this assumption and using our model, we have found that the times of phase zero of the NS free precession (which we identify with the maximum separation of the brightest spot on the NS surface with the NS spin axis) occur about 1.6 d after the mean turn-on times inside each `stable' epoch, producing a linear trend on the O-C diagram with the same slope as the observed times of turn-ons. We propose that the 2.5 per cent changes in the free precession period that occur on time scales of several to tens of 35-d cycles can be related to wandering of the principal inertia axis of the NS body due to variations in the patterns of accretion on to the NS surface. The closeness of periods of the disc precession and the NS free precession can be explained by the presence of a synchronization mechanism in the system, which modulates the dynamical interaction of the gas streams and the accretion disc with the NS free precession period.

Piezoelectric Behaviour of Sputtered Aluminium Nitride Thin Film for High Frequency Ultrasonic Sensors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Herzog, T.; Walter, S.; Bartzsch, H.; Gittner, M.; Gloess, D.; Heuer, H.

2011-06-01

Many new materials and processes require non destructive evaluation in higher resolutions by phased array ultrasonic techniques in a frequency range up to 250 MHz. This paper presents aluminium nitride, a promising material for the use as a piezoelectric sensor material in the considered frequency range, which contains the potential for high frequency phased array application in the future. This work represents the fundamental development of piezoelectric aluminium nitride films with a thickness of up to 10 μm. We have investigated and optimized the deposition process of the aluminium nitride thin film layers regarding their piezoelectric behavior. Therefore a specific test setup and a measuring station were created to determine the piezoelectric charge constant (d33) and the electro acoustic behavior of the sensor. Single element transducers were deposited on silicon substrates with aluminium electrodes for top and bottom, using different parameters for the magnetron sputter process, like pressure and bias voltage. Afterwards acoustical measurements up to 500 MHz in pulse echo mode have been carried out and the electrical and electromechanical properties were qualified. In two different parameter sets for the sputtering process excellent piezoelectric charge constant of about 8.0 pC/N maximum were obtained.

Investigation of optimal method for inducing harmonic motion in tissue using a linear ultrasound phased array--a simulation study.

PubMed

Heikkilä, Janne; Hynynen, Kullervo

2006-04-01

Many noninvasive ultrasound techniques have been developed to explore mechanical properties of soft tissues. One of these methods, Localized Harmonic Motion Imaging (LHMI), has been proposed to be used for ultrasound surgery monitoring. In LHMI, dynamic ultrasound radiation-force stimulation induces displacements in a target that can be measured using pulse-echo imaging and used to estimate the elastic properties of the target. In this initial, simulation study, the use of a one-dimensional phased array is explored for the induction of the tissue motion. The study compares three different dual-frequency and amplitude-modulated single-frequency methods for the inducing tissue motion. Simulations were computed in a homogeneous soft-tissue volume. The Rayleigh integral was used in the simulations of the ultrasound fields and the tissue displacements were computed using a finite-element method (FEM). The simulations showed that amplitude-modulated sonication using a single frequency produced the largest vibration amplitude of the target tissue. These simulations demonstrate that the properties of the tissue motion are highly dependent on the sonication method and that it is important to consider the full three-dimensional distribution of the ultrasound field for controlling the induction of tissue motion.

Phased Array Approach To Retrieve Gases, Liquids, Or Solids From Subsurface And Subaqueous Geologic Or Man-Made Formations

DOEpatents

Rynne, Timothy M.; Spadaro, John F.; Iovenitti, Joe L.; Dering, John P.; Hill, Donald G.

1998-10-27

A method of enhancing the remediation of contaminated soils and ground water, production of oil and gas, and production of any solid, gas, and/or liquid from subsurface geologic and man-made formations including the steps of estimating the geometric boundaries of the region containing the material to be recovered, drilling a recovery well(s) into subsurface in a strategic location to recover the material of interest, establishing multiple sources of acoustical power in an array about and spaced-apart from the surface or at various depths below the surface in a borehole(s) and/or well(s), directing a volume of acoustical excitation from the sources into the region containing the material to be recovered, the excitation in the form of either controllable sinusoidal, square, pulsed, or various combinations of these three waveforms, and controlling the phasing, frequency, power, duration, and direction of these waveforms from the sources to increase and control the intensity of acoustical excitation in the region of the material to be recovered to enhance. the recovery of said material from the recovery well(s). The invention will augment any technology affecting the removal of materials from the subsurface.

Characteristics of a plasma flow field produced by a metal array bridge foil explosion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Junying, WU; Long, WANG; Yase, LI; Lijun, YANG; Manzoor, SULTAN; Lang, CHEN

2018-07-01

To improve the energy utilization efficiency of metal bridge foil explosion, and increase the function range of plasmas, array bridge foil explosion experiments with different structures were performed. A Schlieren photographic measurement system with a double-pulse laser source was used to observe the flow field of a bridge foil explosion. The evolution laws of plasmas and shock waves generated by array bridge foil explosions of different structures were analyzed and compared. A multi-phase flow calculation model was established to simulate the electrical exploding process of a metal bridge foil. The plasma equation of state was determined by considering the effect of the changing number of particles and Coulomb interaction on the pressure and internal energy. The ionization degree of the plasma was calculated via the Saha–Eggert equation assuming conditions of local thermal equilibrium. The exploding process of array bridge foils was simulated, and the superposition processes of plasma beams were analyzed. The variation and distribution laws of the density, temperature, pressure, and other important parameters were obtained. The results show that the array bridge foil has a larger plasma jet diameter than the single bridge foil for an equal total area of the bridge foil. We also found that the temperature, pressure, and density of the plasma jet’s center region sharply increase because of the superposition of plasma beams.

Infra-sound Signature of Lightning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arechiga, R. O.; Badillo, E.; Johnson, J.; Edens, H. E.; Rison, W.; Thomas, R. J.

2012-12-01

We have analyzed thunder from over 200 lightning flashes to determine which part of thunder comes from the gas dynamic expansion of portions of the rapidly heated lightning channel and which from electrostatic field changes. Thunder signals were recorded by a ~1500 m network of 3 to 4 4-element microphone deployed in the Magdalena mountains of New Mexico in the summers of 2011 and 2012. The higher frequency infra-sound and audio-range portion of thunder is thought to come from the gas dynamic expansion, and the electrostatic mechanism gives rise to a signature infra-sound pulse peaked at a few Hz. More than 50 signature infra-sound pulses were observed in different portions of the thunder signal, with no preference towards the beginning or the end of the signal. Detection of the signature pulse occurs sometimes only for one array and sometimes for several arrays, which agrees with the theory that the pulse is highly directional (i.e., the recordings have to be in a specific position with respect to the cloud generating the pulse to be able to detect it). The detection of these pulses under quiet wind conditions by different acoustic arrays corroborates the electrostatic mechanism originally proposed by Wilson [1920], further studied by Dessler [1973] and Few [1985], observed by Bohannon [1983] and Balachandran [1979, 1983], and recently analyzed by Pasko [2009]. Pasko employed a model to explain the electrostatic-to-acoustic energy conversion and the initial compression waves in observed infrasonic pulses, which agrees with the observations we have made. We present thunder samples that exhibit signature infra-sound pulses at different times and acoustic source reconstruction to demonstrate the beaming effect.

A Census of Southern Pulsars at 185 MHz

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xue, Mengyao; Bhat, N. D. R.; Tremblay, S. E.; Ord, S. M.; Sobey, C.; Swainston, N. A.; Kaplan, D. L.; Johnston, Simon; Meyers, B. W.; McSweeney, S. J.

2017-12-01

The Murchison Widefield Array, and its recently developed Voltage Capture System, facilitates extending the low-frequency range of pulsar observations at high-time and -frequency resolution in the Southern Hemisphere, providing further information about pulsars and the ISM. We present the results of an initial time-resolved census of known pulsars using the Murchison Widefield Array. To significantly reduce the processing load, we incoherently sum the detected powers from the 128 Murchison Widefield Array tiles, which yields 10% of the attainable sensitivity of the coherent sum. This preserves the large field-of-view ( 450 deg2 at 185 MHz), allowing multiple pulsars to be observed simultaneously. We developed a WIde-field Pulsar Pipeline that processes the data from each observation and automatically folds every known pulsar located within the beam. We have detected 50 pulsars to date, 6 of which are millisecond pulsars. This is consistent with our expectation, given the telescope sensitivity and the sky coverage of the processed data ( 17 000 deg2). For 10 pulsars, we present the lowest frequency detections published. For a subset of the pulsars, we present multi-frequency pulse profiles by combining our data with published profiles from other telescopes. Since the Murchison Widefield Array is a low-frequency precursor to the Square Kilometre Array, we use our census results to forecast that a survey using the low-frequency component of the Square Kilometre Array Phase 1 can potentially detect around 9 400 pulsars.

Role of phase matching in pulsed second-harmonic generation: Walk-off and phase-locked twin pulses in negative-index media

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roppo, Vito; Centini, Marco; Sibilia, Concita; Bertolotti, Mario; de Ceglia, Domenico; Scalora, Michael; Akozbek, Neset; Bloemer, Mark J.; Haus, Joseph W.; Kosareva, Olga G.; Kandidov, Valery P.

2007-09-01

The present investigation is concerned with the study of pulsed second-harmonic generation under conditions of phase and group velocity mismatch, and generally low conversion efficiencies and pump intensities. In positive-index, nonmetallic materials, we generally find qualitative agreement with previous reports regarding the presence of a double-peaked second harmonic signal, which comprises a pulse that walks off and propagates at the nominal group velocity one expects at the second-harmonic frequency, and a second pulse that is “captured” and propagates under the pump pulse. We find that the origin of the double-peaked structure resides in a phase-locking mechanism that characterizes not only second-harmonic generation, but also χ(3) processes and third-harmonic generation. The phase-locking mechanism that we describe occurs for arbitrarily small pump intensities, and so it is not a soliton effect, which usually relies on a threshold mechanism, although multicolor solitons display similar phase locking characteristics. Thus, in second harmonic generation a phase-matched component is always generated, even under conditions of material phase mismatch: This component is anomalous, because the material does not allow energy exchange between the pump and the second-harmonic beam. On the other hand, if the material is phase matched, phase locking and phase matching are indistinguishable, and the conversion process becomes efficient. We also report a similar phase-locking phenomenon in negative index materials. A spectral analysis of the pump and the generated signals reveals that the phase-locking phenomenon causes the forward moving, phase-locked second-harmonic pulse to experience the same negative index as the pump pulse, even though the index of refraction at the second-harmonic frequency is positive. Our analysis further shows that the reflected second-harmonic pulse generated at the interface and the forward-moving, phase-locked pulse appear to be part of the same pulse initially generated at the surface, part of which is immediately back-reflected, while the rest becomes trapped and dragged along by the pump pulse. These pulses thus constitute twin pulses generated at the interface, having the same negative wave vector, but propagating in opposite directions. Almost any break of the longitudinal symmetry, even an exceedingly small χ(2) discontinuity, releases the trapped pulse which then propagates in the backward direction. These dynamics are indicative of very rich and intricate interactions that characterize ultrashort pulse propagation phenomena.

Role of phase matching in pulsed second-harmonic generation: Walk-off and phase-locked twin pulses in negative-index media

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Roppo, Vito; Centini, Marco; Sibilia, Concita

The present investigation is concerned with the study of pulsed second-harmonic generation under conditions of phase and group velocity mismatch, and generally low conversion efficiencies and pump intensities. In positive-index, nonmetallic materials, we generally find qualitative agreement with previous reports regarding the presence of a double-peaked second harmonic signal, which comprises a pulse that walks off and propagates at the nominal group velocity one expects at the second-harmonic frequency, and a second pulse that is 'captured' and propagates under the pump pulse. We find that the origin of the double-peaked structure resides in a phase-locking mechanism that characterizes not onlymore » second-harmonic generation, but also {chi}{sup (3)} processes and third-harmonic generation. The phase-locking mechanism that we describe occurs for arbitrarily small pump intensities, and so it is not a soliton effect, which usually relies on a threshold mechanism, although multicolor solitons display similar phase locking characteristics. Thus, in second harmonic generation a phase-matched component is always generated, even under conditions of material phase mismatch: This component is anomalous, because the material does not allow energy exchange between the pump and the second-harmonic beam. On the other hand, if the material is phase matched, phase locking and phase matching are indistinguishable, and the conversion process becomes efficient. We also report a similar phase-locking phenomenon in negative index materials. A spectral analysis of the pump and the generated signals reveals that the phase-locking phenomenon causes the forward moving, phase-locked second-harmonic pulse to experience the same negative index as the pump pulse, even though the index of refraction at the second-harmonic frequency is positive. Our analysis further shows that the reflected second-harmonic pulse generated at the interface and the forward-moving, phase-locked pulse appear to be part of the same pulse initially generated at the surface, part of which is immediately back-reflected, while the rest becomes trapped and dragged along by the pump pulse. These pulses thus constitute twin pulses generated at the interface, having the same negative wave vector, but propagating in opposite directions. Almost any break of the longitudinal symmetry, even an exceedingly small {chi}{sup (2)} discontinuity, releases the trapped pulse which then propagates in the backward direction. These dynamics are indicative of very rich and intricate interactions that characterize ultrashort pulse propagation phenomena.« less

EXCESS OPTICAL ENHANCEMENT OBSERVED WITH ARCONS FOR EARLY CRAB GIANT PULSES

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Strader, M. J.; Mazin, B. A.; Spiro Jaeger, G. V.

2013-12-10

We observe an extraordinary link in the Crab pulsar between the enhancement of an optical pulse and the timing of the corresponding giant radio pulse. At optical through infrared wavelengths, our observations use the high time resolution of ARray Camera for Optical to Near-IR Spectrophotometry, a unique superconducting energy-resolving photon-counting array at the Palomar 200 inch telescope. At radio wavelengths, we observe with the Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope and the Green Bank Ultimate Pulsar Processing Instrument backend. We see an 11.3% ± 2.5% increase in peak optical flux for pulses that have an accompanying giant radio pulse arrivingmore » near the peak of the optical main pulse, in contrast to a 3.2% ± 0.5% increase when an accompanying giant radio pulse arrives soon after the optical peak. We also observe that the peak of the optical main pulse is 2.8% ± 0.8% enhanced when there is a giant radio pulse accompanying the optical interpulse. We observe no statistically significant spectral differences between optical pulses accompanied by and not accompanied by giant radio pulses. Our results extend previous observations of optical-radio correlation to the time and spectral domains. Our refined temporal correlation suggests that optical and radio emission are indeed causally linked, and the lack of spectral differences suggests that the same mechanism is responsible for all optical emission.« less

The GERDA experiment: results and perspectives

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Macolino, Carla; Gerda Collaboration

2014-11-01

The Germanium Detector Array, GERDA, at Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso (Italy), is designed to search for Majorana neutrinos via neutrinoless double beta (0νββ) decay of 76Ge. GERDA completed the Phase I in 2013, after an exposure of 21.6 kg·yr and with a background of about 0.01 cts/(keVkgyr): no signal was found and a limit on the half-life of T0ν1/2 > 2.1 · 1025 yr (90% C.L.) was established. The previous claim of 0νββ observation for 76Ge is strongly disfavoured in a model independent way. The commission for GERDA Phase II is currently ongoing and about 20 kg of additional enriched Ge diodes will be deployed. Pulse- shape analysis, together with the liquid argon instrumentation will allow to reach a background level one order of magnitude lower than in Phase I. In this paper the measurement of the half-life of 0νββ decay from GERDA Phase I and the expected sensitivity for Phase II are discussed.

Coherent combining of pulsed fiber amplifiers in the nonlinear chirp regime with intra-pulse phase control.

PubMed

Palese, Stephen; Cheung, Eric; Goodno, Gregory; Shih, Chun-Ching; Di Teodoro, Fabio; McComb, Timothy; Weber, Mark

2012-03-26

Two high pulse contrast (> 95 dB) polarization maintaining all-fiber amplifier chains were coherently combined to generate 0.42 mJ, 1 ns 25 kHz pulses with 79% efficiency despite 38 radians of intra-pulse phase distortion. A recursive intra-pulse phase compensation method was utilized to correct for the large nonlinear chirp providing a path for improved coherent waveform control of nanosecond pulse trains.

The Solar Array Photovoltaic Assembly for the INSAT 4CR Spacecraft Design, Development and In-Orbit Performance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thomas, Joseph; Sudhakar, M.; Agarwal, Anil; Sankaran, M.; Mudramachary, P.

2008-09-01

The INSAT 4CR spacecraft, the third in the INSAT 4 series of Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO)'s Communication satellite program, is a high power communication satellite in Geo- stationary Earth Orbit (GEO), configured using the ISRO I2K bus. The primary power is provided by two-wing sun tracking, deployable solar array and the eclipse load requirement is supported by two 70 Ah nickel hydrogen batteries. The power output of the solar array is regulated by Sequential Switching Shunt Regulators to 42V±0.5V. The salient feature of the solar array design is that it uses the new generation multi junction solar cells for all the four panels of size 2.54m x 1.525m to meet the higher power requirement with the available array area. The solar panel fabrication process with the Advanced Triple Junction (ATJ) solar cells from M/s. EMCORE, USA, has been demonstrated for the GEO life cycle through qualification coupon fabrication and testing.This paper describes the INSAT 4CR solar array photovoltaic assemblies design, layout optimization and realization of the Flight Model (FM) panels. It focuses on the power generation prediction, electrical performance measurement under Large Area Pulsed Sun Simulator (LAPSS) and verification of the ground level test results. The indigenously built Geostationary Launch Vehicle (GSLV F04) has successfully launched the INSAT 4CR spacecraft into the orbit on September 2nd, 2007. This paper also presents the analysis of telemetry data to validate the initial phase in-orbit performance of the solar array with prediction.

A compact pulse shape discriminator module for large neutron detector arrays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Venkataramanan, S.; Gupta, Arti; Golda, K. S.; Singh, Hardev; Kumar, Rakesh; Singh, R. P.; Bhowmik, R. K.

2008-11-01

A cost-effective high-performance pulse shape discriminator module has been developed to process signals from organic liquid scintillator-based neutron detectors. This module is especially designed for the large neutron detector array used for studies of nuclear reaction dynamics at the Inter University Accelerator Center (IUAC). It incorporates all the necessary pulse processing circuits required for neutron spectroscopy in a novel fashion by adopting the zero crossover technique for neutron-gamma (n- γ) pulse shape discrimination. The detailed layout of the circuit and different features of the module are described in the present paper. The quality of n- γ separation obtained with this electronics is much better than that of commercial modules especially in the low-energy region. The results obtained with our module are compared with similar setups available in other laboratories.

Generation and Amplification of Tunable Multicolored Femtosecond Laser Pulses by Using Cascaded Four-Wave Mixing in Transparent Bulk Media

PubMed Central

Liu, Jun; Kobayashi, Takayoshi

2010-01-01

We have reviewed the generation and amplification of wavelength-tunable multicolored femtosecond laser pulses using cascaded four-wave mixing (CFWM) in transparent bulk media, mainly concentrating on our recent work. Theoretical analysis and calculations based on the phase-matching condition could explain well the process semi-quantitatively. The experimental studies showed: (1) as many as fifteen spectral up-shifted and two spectral down-shifted sidebands were obtained simultaneously with spectral bandwidth broader than 1.8 octaves from near ultraviolet (360 nm) to near infrared (1.2 μm); (2) the obtained sidebands were spatially separated well and had extremely high beam quality with M2 factor better than 1.1; (3) the wavelengths of the generated multicolor sidebands could be conveniently tuned by changing the crossing angle or simply replacing with different media; (4) as short as 15-fs negatively chirped or nearly transform limited 20-fs multicolored femtosecond pulses were obtained when one of the two input beams was negatively chirped and the other was positively chirped; (5) the pulse energy of the sideband can reach a μJ level with power stability better than 1% RMS; (6) broadband two-dimensional (2-D) multicolored arrays with more than ten periodic columns and more than ten rows were generated in a sapphire plate; (7) the obtained sidebands could be simultaneously spectra broadened and power amplified in another bulk medium by using cross-phase modulation (XPM) in conjunction with four-wave optical parametric amplification (FOPA). The characterization showed that this is interesting and the CFWM sidebands generated by this novel method have good enough qualities in terms of power stability, beam quality, and temporal features suited to various experiments such as ultrafast multicolor time-resolved spectroscopy and multicolor-excitation nonlinear microscopy. PMID:22399882

Short range laser obstacle detector. [for surface vehicles using laser diode array

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kuriger, W. L. (Inventor)

1973-01-01

A short range obstacle detector for surface vehicles is described which utilizes an array of laser diodes. The diodes operate one at a time, with one diode for each adjacent azimuth sector. A vibrating mirror a short distance above the surface provides continuous scanning in elevation for all azimuth sectors. A diode laser is synchronized with the vibrating mirror to enable one diode laser to be fired, by pulses from a clock pulse source, a number of times during each elevation scan cycle. The time for a given pulse of light to be reflected from an obstacle and received is detected as a measure of range to the obstacle.

Development of High-Fill-Factor Large-Aperture Micromirrors for Agile Optical Phased Arrays

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-02-28

Final Project Report Contract/Grant Title: Development of High-Fill-Factor Large-Aperture Micromirrors for Agile Optical Phased Arrays...factor (HFF) micromirror array (MMA) has been proposed, fabricated and tested. Optical-phased-array (OPA) beam steering based on the HFF MMA has also...electrically tuned to multiple 2. 1. Background High-fill-factor (HFF) micromirror arrays (MMAs) can form optical phased arrays (OPAs) for laser beam

Electro-Optic Time-to-Space Converter for Optical Detector Jitter Mitigation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Birnbaum, Kevin; Farr, William

2013-01-01

A common problem in optical detection is determining the arrival time of a weak optical pulse that may comprise only one to a few photons. Currently, this problem is solved by using a photodetector to convert the optical signal to an electronic signal. The timing of the electrical signal is used to infer the timing of the optical pulse, but error is introduced by random delay between the absorption of the optical pulse and the creation of the electrical one. To eliminate this error, a time-to-space converter separates a sequence of optical pulses and sends them to different photodetectors, depending on their arrival time. The random delay, called jitter, is at least 20 picoseconds for the best detectors capable of detecting the weakest optical pulses, a single photon, and can be as great as 500 picoseconds. This limits the resolution with which the timing of the optical pulse can be measured. The time-to-space converter overcomes this limitation. Generally, the time-to-space converter imparts a time-dependent momentum shift to the incoming optical pulses, followed by an optical system that separates photons of different momenta. As an example, an electro-optic phase modulator can be used to apply longitudinal momentum changes (frequency changes) that vary in time, followed by an optical spectrometer (such as a diffraction grating), which separates photons with different momenta into different paths and directs them to impinge upon an array of photodetectors. The pulse arrival time is then inferred by measuring which photodetector receives the pulse. The use of a time-to-space converter mitigates detector jitter and improves the resolution with which the timing of an optical pulse is determined. Also, the application of the converter enables the demodulation of a pulse position modulated signal (PPM) at higher bandwidths than using previous photodetector technology. This allows the creation of a receiver for a communication system with high bandwidth and high bits/photon efficiency.

NuSTAR Hard X-Ray Observations of the Energetic Millisecond Pulsars PSR B1821-24, PSR B1937+21, and PSR J0218+4232

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gotthelf, E. V.; Bogdanov, S.

2017-08-01

We present Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) hard X-ray timing and spectroscopy of the three exceptionally energetic rotation-powered millisecond pulsars PSRs B1821-24, B1937+21, and J0218+4232. By correcting for the frequency and phase drifts of the NuSTAR onboard clock, we are able to recover the intrinsic hard X-ray pulse profiles of all three pulsars with a resolution down to ≤slant 15 μ {{s}}. The substantial reduction of background emission relative to previous broadband X-ray observations allows us to detect for the first time pulsed emission up to ˜50 keV, ˜20 keV, and ˜25 keV for the three pulsars, respectively. We conduct phase-resolved spectroscopy in the 0.5-79 keV range for all three objects, obtaining the best measurements yet of the broadband spectral shape and high-energy pulsed emission to date. We find extensions of the same power-law continua seen at lower energies, with no conclusive evidence for a spectral turnover or break. Extrapolation of the X-ray power-law spectrum to higher energies reveals that a turnover in the 100 keV to 100 MeV range is required to accommodate the high-energy γ-ray emission observed with Fermi-LAT, similar to the spectral energy distribution observed for the Crab pulsar.

NuSTAR Observations of Magnetar 1E 1841-045

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

An, Hongjun; Hascoët, Romain; Kaspi, Victoria M.; Beloborodov, Andrei M.; Dufour, François; Gotthelf, Eric V.; Archibald, Robert; Bachetti, Matteo; Boggs, Steven E.; Christensen, Finn E.; Craig, William W.; Greffenstette, Brian W.; Hailey, Charles J.; Harrison, Fiona A.; Kitaguchi, Takao; Kouveliotou, Chryssa; Madsen, Kristin K.; Markwardt, Craig B.; Stern, Daniel; Vogel, Julia K.; Zhang, William W.

2013-12-01

We report new spectral and temporal observations of the magnetar 1E 1841-045 in the Kes 73 supernova remnant obtained with the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array. Combined with new Swift and archival XMM-Newton and Chandra observations, the phase-averaged spectrum is well characterized by a blackbody plus double power law, in agreement with previous multimission X-ray results. However, we are unable to reproduce the spectral results reported based on Suzaku observations. The pulsed fraction of the source is found to increase with photon energy. The measured rms pulsed fractions are ~12% and ~17% at ~20 and ~50 keV, respectively. We detect a new feature in the 24-35 keV band pulse profile that is uniquely double peaked. This feature may be associated with a possible absorption or emission feature in the phase-resolved spectrum. We fit the X-ray data using the recently developed electron-positron outflow model by Beloborodov for the hard X-ray emission from magnetars. This produces a satisfactory fit, allowing a constraint on the angle between the rotation and magnetic axes of the neutron star of ~20° and on the angle between the rotation axis and line of sight of ~50°. In this model, the soft X-ray component is inconsistent with a single blackbody; adding a second blackbody or a power-law component fits the data. The two-blackbody interpretation suggests a hot spot of temperature kT ≈ 0.9 keV occupying ~1% of the stellar surface.

Range imaging pulsed laser sensor with two-dimensional scanning of transmitted beam and scanless receiver using high-aspect avalanche photodiode array for eye-safe wavelength

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tsuji, Hidenobu; Imaki, Masaharu; Kotake, Nobuki; Hirai, Akihito; Nakaji, Masaharu; Kameyama, Shumpei

2017-03-01

We demonstrate a range imaging pulsed laser sensor with two-dimensional scanning of a transmitted beam and a scanless receiver using a high-aspect avalanche photodiode (APD) array for the eye-safe wavelength. The system achieves a high frame rate and long-range imaging with a relatively simple sensor configuration. We developed a high-aspect APD array for the wavelength of 1.5 μm, a receiver integrated circuit, and a range and intensity detector. By combining these devices, we realized 160×120 pixels range imaging with a frame rate of 8 Hz at a distance of about 50 m.

Optimizing Satellite Communications With Adaptive and Phased Array Antennas

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ingram, Mary Ann; Romanofsky, Robert; Lee, Richard Q.; Miranda, Felix; Popovic, Zoya; Langley, John; Barott, William C.; Ahmed, M. Usman; Mandl, Dan

2004-01-01

A new adaptive antenna array architecture for low-earth-orbiting satellite ground stations is being investigated. These ground stations are intended to have no moving parts and could potentially be operated in populated areas, where terrestrial interference is likely. The architecture includes multiple, moderately directive phased arrays. The phased arrays, each steered in the approximate direction of the satellite, are adaptively combined to enhance the Signal-to-Noise and Interference-Ratio (SNIR) of the desired satellite. The size of each phased array is to be traded-off with the number of phased arrays, to optimize cost, while meeting a bit-error-rate threshold. Also, two phased array architectures are being prototyped: a spacefed lens array and a reflect-array. If two co-channel satellites are in the field of view of the phased arrays, then multi-user detection techniques may enable simultaneous demodulation of the satellite signals, also known as Space Division Multiple Access (SDMA). We report on Phase I of the project, in which fixed directional elements are adaptively combined in a prototype to demodulate the S-band downlink of the EO-1 satellite, which is part of the New Millennium Program at NASA.

Influence of the cubic spectral phase of high-power laser pulses on their self-phase modulation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ginzburg, V N; Kochetkov, A A; Yakovlev, I V

2016-02-28

Spectral broadening of high-power transform-limited laser pulses under self-phase modulation in a medium with cubic nonlinearity is widely used to reduce pulse duration and to increase its power. It is shown that the cubic spectral phase of the initial pulse leads to a qualitatively different broadening of its spectrum: the spectrum has narrow peaks and broadening decreases. However, the use of chirped mirrors allows such pulses to be as effectively compressed as transform-limited pulses. (nonlinear optical phenomena)

Digital Beamforming Scatterometer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rincon, Rafael F.; Vega, Manuel; Kman, Luko; Buenfil, Manuel; Geist, Alessandro; Hillard, Larry; Racette, Paul

2009-01-01

This paper discusses scatterometer measurements collected with multi-mode Digital Beamforming Synthetic Aperture Radar (DBSAR) during the SMAP-VEX 2008 campaign. The 2008 SMAP Validation Experiment was conducted to address a number of specific questions related to the soil moisture retrieval algorithms. SMAP-VEX 2008 consisted on a series of aircraft-based.flights conducted on the Eastern Shore of Maryland and Delaware in the fall of 2008. Several other instruments participated in the campaign including the Passive Active L-Band System (PALS), the Marshall Airborne Polarimetric Imaging Radiometer (MAPIR), and the Global Positioning System Reflectometer (GPSR). This campaign was the first SMAP Validation Experiment. DBSAR is a multimode radar system developed at NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center that combines state-of-the-art radar technologies, on-board processing, and advances in signal processing techniques in order to enable new remote sensing capabilities applicable to Earth science and planetary applications [l]. The instrument can be configured to operate in scatterometer, Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), or altimeter mode. The system builds upon the L-band Imaging Scatterometer (LIS) developed as part of the RadSTAR program. The radar is a phased array system designed to fly on the NASA P3 aircraft. The instrument consists of a programmable waveform generator, eight transmit/receive (T/R) channels, a microstrip antenna, and a reconfigurable data acquisition and processor system. Each transmit channel incorporates a digital attenuator, and digital phase shifter that enables amplitude and phase modulation on transmit. The attenuators, phase shifters, and calibration switches are digitally controlled by the radar control card (RCC) on a pulse by pulse basis. The antenna is a corporate fed microstrip patch-array centered at 1.26 GHz with a 20 MHz bandwidth. Although only one feed is used with the present configuration, a provision was made for separate corporate feeds for vertical and horizontal polarization. System upgrades to dual polarization are currently under way. The DBSAR processor is a reconfigurable data acquisition and processor system capable of real-time, high-speed data processing. DBSAR uses an FPGA-based architecture to implement digitally down-conversion, in-phase and quadrature (I/Q) demodulation, and subsequent radar specific algorithms. The core of the processor board consists of an analog-to-digital (AID) section, three Altera Stratix field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), an ARM microcontroller, several memory devices, and an Ethernet interface. The processor also interfaces with a navigation board consisting of a GPS and a MEMS gyro. The processor has been configured to operate in scatterometer, Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), and altimeter modes. All the modes are based on digital beamforming which is a digital process that generates the far-field beam patterns at various scan angles from voltages sampled in the antenna array. This technique allows steering the received beam and controlling its beam-width and side-lobe. Several beamforming techniques can be implemented each characterized by unique strengths and weaknesses, and each applicable to different measurement scenarios. In Scatterometer mode, the radar is capable to.generate a wide beam or scan a narrow beam on transmit, and to steer the received beam on processing while controlling its beamwidth and side-lobe level. Table I lists some important radar characteristics

Short wavelength laser

DOEpatents

Hagelstein, P.L.

1984-06-25

A short wavelength laser is provided that is driven by conventional-laser pulses. A multiplicity of panels, mounted on substrates, are supported in two separated and alternately staggered facing and parallel arrays disposed along an approximately linear path. When the panels are illuminated by the conventional-laser pulses, single pass EUV or soft x-ray laser pulses are produced.

Excess optical enhancement observed with arcons for early crab giant pulses

DOE PAGES

Strader, M. J.; Johnson, M. D.; Mazin, B. A.; ...

2013-11-26

Here, we observe an extraordinary link in the Crab pulsar between the enhancement of an optical pulse and the timing of the corresponding giant radio pulse. At optical through infrared wavelengths, our observations use the high time resolution of ARray Camera for Optical to Near-IR Spectrophotometry, a unique superconducting energy-resolving photon-counting array at the Palomar 200 inch telescope. At radio wavelengths, we observe with the Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope and the Green Bank Ultimate Pulsar Processing Instrument backend. We see an 11.3% ± 2.5% increase in peak optical flux for pulses that have an accompanying giant radio pulsemore » arriving near the peak of the optical main pulse, in contrast to a 3.2% ± 0.5% increase when an accompanying giant radio pulse arrives soon after the optical peak. We also observe that the peak of the optical main pulse is 2.8% ± 0.8% enhanced when there is a giant radio pulse accompanying the optical interpulse. We also observe no statistically significant spectral differences between optical pulses accompanied by and not accompanied by giant radio pulses. These results extend previous observations of optical-radio correlation to the time and spectral domains. Our refined temporal correlation suggests that optical and radio emission are indeed causally linked, and the lack of spectral differences suggests that the same mechanism is responsible for all optical emission.« less

On the measurement of airborne, angular-dependent sound transmission through supercritical bars.

PubMed

Shaw, Matthew D; Anderson, Brian E

2012-10-01

The coincidence effect is manifested by maximal sound transmission at angles at which trace wave number matching occurs. Coincidence effect theory is well-defined for unbounded thin plates using plane-wave excitation. However, experimental results for finite bars are known to diverge from theory near grazing angles. Prior experimental work has focused on pulse excitation. An experimental setup has been developed to observe coincidence using continuous- wave excitation and phased-array methods. Experimental results with an aluminum bar exhibit maxima at the predicted angles, showing that coincidence is observable using continuous waves. Transmission near grazing angles is seen to diverge from infinite plate theory.

Integration of Optical Manipulation and Electrophysiological Tools to Modulate and Record Activity in Neural Networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Difato, F.; Schibalsky, L.; Benfenati, F.; Blau, A.

2011-07-01

We present an optical system that combines IR (1064 nm) holographic optical tweezers with a sub-nanosecond-pulsed UV (355 nm) laser microdissector for the optical manipulation of single neurons and entire networks both on transparent and non-transparent substrates in vitro. The phase-modulated laser beam can illuminate the sample concurrently or independently from above or below assuring compatibility with different types of microelectrode array and patch-clamp electrophysiology. By combining electrophysiological and optical tools, neural activity in response to localized stimuli or injury can be studied and quantified at sub-cellular, cellular, and network level.

On the extraction of directional sea-wave spectra from synthetic- aperture radar-signal arrays without matched filtering.

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wildey, R.L.

1980-01-01

An economical method of digitally extracting sea-wave spectra from synthetic-aperture radar-signal records, which can be performed routinely in real or near-real time with the reception of telemetry from Seasat satellites, would be of value to a variety of scientific disciplines. This paper explores techniques for such data extraction and concludes that the mere fact that the desired result is devoid of phase information does not, of itself, lead to a simplification in data processing because of the nature of the modulation performed on the radar pulse by the backscattering surface. -from Author

Structural health monitoring apparatus and methodology

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Giurgiutiu, Victor (Inventor); Yu, Lingyu (Inventor); Bottai, Giola Santoni (Inventor)

2011-01-01

Disclosed is an apparatus and methodology for structural health monitoring (SHM) in which smart devices interrogate structural components to predict failure, expedite needed repairs, and thus increase the useful life of those components. Piezoelectric wafer active sensors (PWAS) are applied to or integrated with structural components and various data collected there from provide the ability to detect and locate cracking, corrosion, and disbanding through use of pitch-catch, pulse-echo, electro/mechanical impedance, and phased array technology. Stand alone hardware and an associated software program are provided that allow selection of multiple types of SHM investigations as well as multiple types of data analysis to perform a wholesome investigation of a structure.

High-power parametric amplification of 11.8-fs laser pulses with carrier-envelope phase control.

PubMed

Zinkstok, R Th; Witte, S; Hogervorst, W; Eikema, K S E

2005-01-01

Phase-stable parametric chirped-pulse amplification of ultrashort pulses from a carrier-envelope phase-stabilized mode-locked Ti:sapphire oscillator (11.0 fs) to 0.25 mJ/pulse at 1 kHz is demonstrated. Compression with a grating compressor and a LCD shaper yields near-Fourier-limited 11.8-fs pulses with an energy of 0.12 mJ. The amplifier is pumped by 532-nm pulses from a synchronized mode-locked laser, Nd:YAG amplifier system. This approach is shown to be promising for the next generation of ultrafast amplifiers aimed at producing terawatt-level phase-controlled few-cycle laser pulses.

Carrier-envelope phase-stabilized attosecond pulses from asymmetric molecules

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lan Pengfei; Lu Peixiang; Cao Wei

2007-08-15

High-order harmonic generation from asymmetric molecules is investigated, and the concept of phase-stabilized infrared ultrashort laser pulses is extended to the extreme ultraviolet regime. It is shown that the ionization symmetry in consecutive half optical cycles is broken for asymmetric molecules, and both even and odd harmonics with comparable intensity are produced. In the time domain, only one attosecond pulse is generated in each cycle of the driving field, and the carrier-envelope phases of the attosecond pulses are equal. Consequently, a clean attosecond pulse train with the same carrier-envelope phase from pulse to pulse is obtained in the extreme ultravioletmore » regime.« less

Needle-array to Plate DBD Plasma Using Sine AC and Nanosecond Pulse Excitations for Purpose of Improving Indoor Air Quality

PubMed Central

Zhang, Li; Yang, Dezheng; Wang, Wenchun; Wang, Sen; Yuan, Hao; Zhao, Zilu; Sang, Chaofeng; Jia, Li

2016-01-01

In this study, needle-array to plate electrode configuration was employed to generate an atmospheric air diffuse discharge using both nanosecond pulse and sine AC voltage as excitation voltage for the purpose of improving indoor air quality. Different types of voltage sources and electrode configurations are employed to optimize electrical field distribution and improve discharge stability. Discharge images, electrical characteristics, optical emission spectra, and plasma gas temperatures in both sine AC discharge and nanosecond pulse discharge were compared and the discharge stability during long operating time were discussed. Compared with the discharge excited by sine AC voltage, the nanosecond pulsed discharge is more homogenous and stable, besides, the plasma gas temperature of nanosecond pulse discharge is much lower. Using packed-bed structure, where γ- Al2O3 pellets are filled in the electrode gap, has obvious efficacy in the production of homogenous discharge. Furthermore, both sine AC discharge and nanosecond pulse discharge were used for removing formaldehyde from flowing air. It shows that nanosecond pulse discharge has a significant advantage in energy cost. And the main physiochemical processes for the generation of active species and the degradation of formaldehyde were discussed. PMID:27125663

Phased Antenna Array for Global Navigation Satellite System Signals

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Turbiner, Dmitry (Inventor)

2015-01-01

Systems and methods for phased array antennas are described. Supports for phased array antennas can be constructed by 3D printing. The array elements and combiner network can be constructed by conducting wire. Different parameters of the antenna, like the gain and directivity, can be controlled by selection of the appropriate design, and by electrical steering. Phased array antennas may be used for radio occultation measurements.

A method for the formation of Pt metal nanoparticle arrays using nanosecond pulsed laser dewetting

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Owusu-Ansah, Ebenezer; Horwood, Corie A.; Birss, Viola I.

2015-05-18

Nanosecond pulsed laser dewetting of Pt thin films, deposited on a dimpled Ta (DT) surface, has been studied here in order to form ordered Pt nanoparticle (NP) arrays. The DT substrate was fabricated via a simple electrochemical anodization process in a highly concentrated H{sub 2}SO{sub 4} and HF solution. Pt thin films (3–5 nm) were sputter coated on DT and then dewetted under vacuum to generate NPs using a 355 nm laser radiation (6–9 ns, 10 Hz). The threshold laser fluence to fully dewet a 3.5 nm thick Pt film was determined to be 300 mJ/cm{sup 2}. Our experiments have shown that shorter irradiation timesmore » (≤60 s) produce smaller nanoparticles with more uniform sizes, while longer times (>60 s) give large nanoparticles with wider size distributions. The optimum laser irradiation time of 1 s (10 pulses) has led to the formation of highly ordered Pt nanoparticle arrays with an average nanoparticle size of 26 ± 3 nm with no substrate deformation. At the optimum condition of 1 s and 500 mJ/cm{sup 2}, as many as 85% of the dewetted NPs were found neatly in the well-defined dimples. This work has demonstrated that pulsed laser dewetting of Pt thin films on a pre-patterned dimpled substrate is an efficient and powerful technique to produce highly ordered Pt nanoparticle arrays. This method can thus be used to produce arrays of other high-melting-point metal nanoparticles for a range of applications, including electrocatalysis, functionalized nanomaterials, and analytical purposes.« less

An experimental platform for pulsed-power driven magnetic reconnection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hare, J. D.; Suttle, L. G.; Lebedev, S. V.; Loureiro, N. F.; Ciardi, A.; Chittenden, J. P.; Clayson, T.; Eardley, S. J.; Garcia, C.; Halliday, J. W. D.; Robinson, T.; Smith, R. A.; Stuart, N.; Suzuki-Vidal, F.; Tubman, E. R.

2018-05-01

We describe a versatile pulsed-power driven platform for magnetic reconnection experiments, based on the exploding wire arrays driven in parallel [Suttle et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 116, 225001 (2016)]. This platform produces inherently magnetised plasma flows for the duration of the generator current pulse (250 ns), resulting in a long-lasting reconnection layer. The layer exists for long enough to allow the evolution of complex processes such as plasmoid formation and movement to be diagnosed by a suite of high spatial and temporal resolution laser-based diagnostics. We can access a wide range of magnetic reconnection regimes by changing the wire material or moving the electrodes inside the wire arrays. We present results with aluminium and carbon wires, in which the parameters of the inflows and the layer that forms are significantly different. By moving the electrodes inside the wire arrays, we change how strongly the inflows are driven. This enables us to study both symmetric reconnection in a range of different regimes and asymmetric reconnection.

Quantitative measures of air-gun pulses recorded on sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) using acoustic tags during controlled exposure experiments.

PubMed

Madsen, P T; Johnson, M; Miller, P J O; Aguilar Soto, N; Lynch, J; Tyack, P

2006-10-01

The widespread use of powerful, low-frequency air-gun pulses for seismic seabed exploration has raised concern about their potential negative effects on marine wildlife. Here, we quantify the sound exposure levels recorded on acoustic tags attached to eight sperm whales at ranges between 1.4 and 12.6 km from controlled air-gun array sources operated in the Gulf of Mexico. Due to multipath propagation, the animals were exposed to multiple sound pulses during each firing of the array with received levels of analyzed pulses falling between 131-167 dB re. 1 microPa (pp) [111-147 dB re. 1 microPa (rms) and 100-135 dB re. 1 microPa2 s] after compensation for hearing sensitivity using the M-weighting. Received levels varied widely with range and depth of the exposed animal precluding reliable estimation of exposure zones based on simple geometric spreading laws. When whales were close to the surface, the first arrivals of air-gun pulses contained most energy between 0.3 and 3 kHz, a frequency range well beyond the normal frequencies of interest in seismic exploration. Therefore air-gun arrays can generate significant sound energy at frequencies many octaves higher than the frequencies of interest for seismic exploration, which increases concern of the potential impact on odontocetes with poor low frequency hearing.

Phased Arrays of Ground and Airborne Mobile Terminals for Satellite Communications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Huang, John

1996-01-01

Phased array antenna is beginning to play an important in the arena of mobile/satellite communications. Two examples of mobile terminal phased arrays will be shown. Their technical background, challenges, and cost drivers will be discussed. A possible solution to combat some of the deficiencies of the conventional phased array by exploiting the phased reflectarray technology will be briefly presented.

Generation of ultra-wideband triplet pulses based on four-wave mixing and phase-to-intensity modulation conversion.

PubMed

Li, Wei; Wang, Li Xian; Hofmann, Werner; Zhu, Ning Hua; Bimberg, Dieter

2012-08-27

We propose and demonstrate a novel scheme to generate ultra-wideband (UWB) triplet pulses based on four-wave mixing and phase-to-intensity modulation conversion. First a phase-modulated Gaussian doublet pulse is generated by four-wave mixing in a highly nonlinear fiber. Then an UWB triplet pulse is generated by generating the first-order derivative of the phase-modulated Gaussian doublet pulse using an optical filter serving as a frequency discriminator. By locating the optical signal at the linear slope of the optical filter, the phase modulated Gaussian doublet pulse is converted to an intensity-modulated UWB triplet pulse which well satisfies the Federal Communications Commission spectral mask requirements, even in the extremely power-restricted global positioning system band.

Comparison of radiofrequency body coils for MRI at 3 Tesla: a simulation study using parallel transmission on various anatomical targets

PubMed Central

Wu, Xiaoping; Zhang, Xiaotong; Tian, Jinfeng; Schmitter, Sebastian; Hanna, Brian; Strupp, John; Pfeuffer, Josef; Hamm, Michael; Wang, Dingxin; Nistler, Juergen; He, Bin; Vaughan, J. Thomas; Ugurbil, Kamil; Van de Moortele, Pierre-Francois

2015-01-01

The performance of multichannel transmit coil layouts and parallel transmission (pTx) radiofrequency (RF) pulse design was evaluated with respect to transmit B1 (B1+) homogeneity and Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) at 3 Tesla for a whole body coil. Five specific coils were modeled and compared: a 32-rung birdcage body coil (driven either in a fixed quadrature mode or a two-channel transmit mode), two single-ring stripline arrays (with either 8 or 16 elements), and two multi-ring stripline arrays (with 2 or 3 identical rings, stacked in the z-axis and each comprising eight azimuthally distributed elements). Three anatomical targets were considered, each defined by a 3D volume representative of a meaningful region of interest (ROI) in routine clinical applications. For a given anatomical target, global or local SAR controlled pTx pulses were designed to homogenize RF excitation within the ROI. At the B1+ homogeneity achieved by the quadrature driven birdcage design, pTx pulses with multichannel transmit coils achieved up to ~8 fold reduction in local and global SAR. When used for imaging head and cervical spine or imaging thoracic spine, the double-ring array outperformed all coils including the single-ring arrays. While the advantage of the double-ring array became much less pronounced for pelvic imaging with a substantially larger ROI, the pTx approach still provided significant gains over the quadrature birdcage coil. For all design scenarios, using the 3-ring array did not necessarily improve the RF performance. Our results suggest that pTx pulses with multichannel transmit coils can reduce local and global SAR substantially for body coils while attaining improved B1+ homogeneity, particularly for a “z-stacked” double-ring design with coil elements arranged on two transaxial rings. PMID:26332290

Generation of dark hollow femtosecond pulsed beam by phase-only liquid crystal spatial light modulator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nie, Yongming; Ma, Haotong; Li, Xiujian; Hu, Wenhua; Yang, Jiankun

2011-07-01

Based on the refractive laser beam shaping system, the dark hollow femtosecond pulse beam shaping technique with a phase-only liquid crystal spatial light modulator (LC-SLM) is demonstrated. The phase distribution of the LC-SLM is derived by the energy conservation and constant optical path principle. The effects of the shaping system on the temporal properties, including spectral phase distribution and bandwidth of the femtosecond pulse, are analyzed in detail. Experimental results show that the hollow intensity distribution of the output pulsed beam can be maintained much at more than 1200mm. The spectral phase of the pulse is changed, and the pulse width is expanded from 199 to 230fs, which is caused by the spatial--temporal coupling effect. The coupling effect mainly depends on the phase-only LC-SLM itself, not on its loaded phase distribution. The experimental results indicate that the proposed shaping setup can generate a dark hollow femtosecond pulsed beam effectively, because the temporal Gaussian waveform is unchanged.

Active control of the spatial MRI phase distribution with optimal control theory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lefebvre, Pauline M.; Van Reeth, Eric; Ratiney, Hélène; Beuf, Olivier; Brusseau, Elisabeth; Lambert, Simon A.; Glaser, Steffen J.; Sugny, Dominique; Grenier, Denis; Tse Ve Koon, Kevin

2017-08-01

This paper investigates the use of Optimal Control (OC) theory to design Radio-Frequency (RF) pulses that actively control the spatial distribution of the MRI magnetization phase. The RF pulses are generated through the application of the Pontryagin Maximum Principle and optimized so that the resulting transverse magnetization reproduces various non-trivial and spatial phase patterns. Two different phase patterns are defined and the resulting optimal pulses are tested both numerically with the ODIN MRI simulator and experimentally with an agar gel phantom on a 4.7 T small-animal MR scanner. Phase images obtained in simulations and experiments are both consistent with the defined phase patterns. A practical application of phase control with OC-designed pulses is also presented, with the generation of RF pulses adapted for a Magnetic Resonance Elastography experiment. This study demonstrates the possibility to use OC-designed RF pulses to encode information in the magnetization phase and could have applications in MRI sequences using phase images.

Phased Array Beamforming and Imaging in Composite Laminates Using Guided Waves

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tian, Zhenhua; Leckey, Cara A. C.; Yu, Lingyu

2016-01-01

This paper presents the phased array beamforming and imaging using guided waves in anisotropic composite laminates. A generic phased array beamforming formula is presented, based on the classic delay-and-sum principle. The generic formula considers direction-dependent guided wave properties induced by the anisotropic material properties of composites. Moreover, the array beamforming and imaging are performed in frequency domain where the guided wave dispersion effect has been considered. The presented phased array method is implemented with a non-contact scanning laser Doppler vibrometer (SLDV) to detect multiple defects at different locations in an anisotropic composite plate. The array is constructed of scan points in a small area rapidly scanned by the SLDV. Using the phased array method, multiple defects at different locations are successfully detected. Our study shows that the guided wave phased array method is a potential effective method for rapid inspection of large composite structures.

Delamination Detection Using Guided Wave Phased Arrays

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tian, Zhenhua; Yu, Lingyu; Leckey, Cara

2016-01-01

This paper presents a method for detecting multiple delaminations in composite laminates using non-contact phased arrays. The phased arrays are implemented with a non-contact scanning laser Doppler vibrometer (SLDV). The array imaging algorithm is performed in the frequency domain where both the guided wave dispersion effect and direction dependent wave properties are considered. By using the non-contact SLDV array with a frequency domain imaging algorithm, an intensity image of the composite plate can be generated for delamination detection. For the proof of concept, a laboratory test is performed using a non-contact phased array to detect two delaminations (created through quasi-static impact test) at different locations in a composite plate. Using the non-contact phased array and frequency domain imaging, the two impact-induced delaminations are successfully detected. This study shows that the non-contact phased array method is a potentially effective method for rapid delamination inspection in large composite structures.

Development of Radar Control system for Multi-mode Active Phased Array Radar for atmospheric probing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yasodha, Polisetti; Jayaraman, Achuthan; Thriveni, A.

2016-07-01

Modern multi-mode active phased array radars require highly efficient radar control system for hassle free real time radar operation. The requirement comes due to the distributed architecture of the active phased array radar, where each antenna element in the array is connected to a dedicated Transmit-Receive (TR) module. Controlling the TR modules, which are generally few hundreds in number, and functioning them in synchronisation, is a huge task during real time radar operation and should be handled with utmost care. Indian MST Radar, located at NARL, Gadanki, which is established during early 90's, as an outcome of the middle atmospheric program, is a remote sensing instrument for probing the atmosphere. This radar has a semi-active array, consisting of 1024 antenna elements, with limited beam steering, possible only along the principle planes. To overcome the limitations and difficulties, the radar is being augmented into fully active phased array, to accomplish beam agility and multi-mode operations. Each antenna element is excited with a dedicated 1 kW TR module, located in the field and enables to position the radar beam within 20° conical volume. A multi-channel receiver makes the radar to operate in various modes like Doppler Beam Swinging (DBS), Spaced Antenna (SA), Frequency Domain Interferometry (FDI) etc. Present work describes the real-time radar control (RC) system for the above described active phased array radar. The radar control system consists of a Spartan 6 FPGA based Timing and Control Signal Generator (TCSG), and a computer containing the software for controlling all the subsystems of the radar during real-time radar operation and also for calibrating the radar. The main function of the TCSG is to generate the control and timing waveforms required for various subsystems of the radar. Important components of the RC system software are (i) TR module configuring software which does programming, controlling and health parameter monitoring of the TR modules, (ii) radar operation software which facilitates experimental parameter setting and operating the radar in different modes, (iii) beam steering software which computes the amplitude co-efficients and phases required for each TR module, for forming the beams selected for radar operation with the desired shape and (iv) Calibration software for calibrating the radar by measuring the differential insertion phase and amplitudes in all 1024 Transmit and Receive paths and correcting them. The TR module configuring software is a major task as it needs to control 1024 TR modules, which are located in the field about 150 m away from the RC system in the control room. Each TR module has a processor identified with a dedicated IP address, along with memory to store the instructions and parameters required for radar operation. A communication link is designed using Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) switches to realise 1 to 1024 way switching network. RC system computer communicates with the each processor using its IP address and establishes connection, via 1 to 1024 port GbE switching network. The experimental parameters data are pre-loaded parallely into all the TR modules along with the phase shifter data required for beam steering using this network. A reference timing pulse is sent to all the TR modules simultaneously, which indicates the start of radar operation. RC system also monitors the status parameters from the TR modules indicating their health during radar operation at regular intervals, via GbE switching network. Beam steering software generates the phase shift required for each TR module for the beams selected for operation. Radar operational software calls the phase shift data required for beam steering and adds it to the calibration phase obtained through calibration software and loads the resultant phase data into TR modules. Timed command/data transfer to/from subsystems and synchronisation of subsystems is essential for proper real-time operation of the active phased array radar and the RC system ensures that the commands/experimental parameter data are properly transferred to all subsystems especially to TR modules. In case of failure of any TR module, it is indicated to the user for further rectification. Realisation of the RC system is at an advanced stage. More details will be presented in the conference.

X-ray analog pixel array detector for single synchrotron bunch time-resolved imaging.

PubMed

Koerner, Lucas J; Gruner, Sol M

2011-03-01

Dynamic X-ray studies can reach temporal resolutions limited by only the X-ray pulse duration if the detector is fast enough to segregate synchrotron pulses. An analog integrating pixel array detector with in-pixel storage and temporal resolution of around 150 ns, sufficient to isolate pulses, is presented. Analog integration minimizes count-rate limitations and in-pixel storage captures successive pulses. Fundamental tests of noise and linearity as well as high-speed laser measurements are shown. The detector resolved individual bunch trains at the Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source at levels of up to 3.7 × 10(3) X-rays per pixel per train. When applied to turn-by-turn X-ray beam characterization, single-shot intensity measurements were made with a repeatability of 0.4% and horizontal oscillations of the positron cloud were detected.

X-ray analog pixel array detector for single synchrotron bunch time-resolved imaging

PubMed Central

Koerner, Lucas J.; Gruner, Sol M.

2011-01-01

Dynamic X-ray studies can reach temporal resolutions limited by only the X-ray pulse duration if the detector is fast enough to segregate synchrotron pulses. An analog integrating pixel array detector with in-pixel storage and temporal resolution of around 150 ns, sufficient to isolate pulses, is presented. Analog integration minimizes count-rate limitations and in-pixel storage captures successive pulses. Fundamental tests of noise and linearity as well as high-speed laser measurements are shown. The detector resolved individual bunch trains at the Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source at levels of up to 3.7 × 103 X-rays per pixel per train. When applied to turn-by-turn X-ray beam characterization, single-shot intensity measurements were made with a repeatability of 0.4% and horizontal oscillations of the positron cloud were detected. PMID:21335901

High-power VCSELs for smart munitions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Geske, Jon; MacDougal, Michael; Cole, Garrett; Snyder, Donald

2006-08-01

The next generation of low-cost smart munitions will be capable of autonomously detecting and identifying targets aided partly by the ability to image targets with compact and robust scanning rangefinder and LADAR capabilities. These imaging systems will utilize arrays of high performance, low-cost semiconductor diode lasers capable of achieving high peak powers in pulses ranging from 5 to 25 nanoseconds in duration. Aerius Photonics is developing high-power Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Lasers (VCSELs) to meet the needs of these smart munitions applications. The authors will report the results of Aerius' development program in which peak pulsed powers exceeding 60 Watts were demonstrated from single VCSEL emitters. These compact packaged emitters achieved pulse energies in excess of 1.5 micro-joules with multi kilo-hertz pulse repetition frequencies. The progress of the ongoing effort toward extending this performance to arrays of VCSEL emitters and toward further improving laser slope efficiency will be reported.

The pulse profile of the Crab pulsar in the energy range 45 keV-1.2 MeV

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wilson, R. B.; Fishman, G. J.

1983-01-01

The Crab Nebula pulsar (PSR 0531+21) is the best studied and most intense of the nontransient X-ray pulsars. However, since its spectrum drops rapidly with energy, a well-resolved pulse profile has not previously been obtained above 200 keV. In the hard X-ray and low-energy gamma-ray region, an accurate pulse profile can be obtained with a balloon-borne detector of sufficient area during a single transit of the source. A new measurement of the pulse profile of PSR 0531+21 in the energy range above 45 keV obtained with a large-area scintillation detector array is reported. The detector array was flown on a balloon launched from Palestine, Texas on 1980 October 6, reaching a float altitude 4.5 g/sq cm at 0230 UTC October 7. The primary objective of the experiment was to detect and study weak gamma-ray bursts.

Signal detectability in diffusive media using phased arrays in conjunction with detector arrays.

PubMed

Kang, Dongyel; Kupinski, Matthew A

2011-06-20

We investigate Hotelling observer performance (i.e., signal detectability) of a phased array system for tasks of detecting small inhomogeneities and distinguishing adjacent abnormalities in uniform diffusive media. Unlike conventional phased array systems where a single detector is located on the interface between two sources, we consider a detector array, such as a CCD, on a phantom exit surface for calculating the Hotelling observer detectability. The signal detectability for adjacent small abnormalities (2 mm displacement) for the CCD-based phased array is related to the resolution of reconstructed images. Simulations show that acquiring high-dimensional data from a detector array in a phased array system dramatically improves the detectability for both tasks when compared to conventional single detector measurements, especially at low modulation frequencies. It is also observed in all studied cases that there exists the modulation frequency optimizing CCD-based phased array systems, where detectability for both tasks is consistently high. These results imply that the CCD-based phased array has the potential to achieve high resolution and signal detectability in tomographic diffusive imaging while operating at a very low modulation frequency. The effect of other configuration parameters, such as a detector pixel size, on the observer performance is also discussed.

Monolithic optical phased-array transceiver in a standard SOI CMOS process.

PubMed

Abediasl, Hooman; Hashemi, Hossein

2015-03-09

Monolithic microwave phased arrays are turning mainstream in automotive radars and high-speed wireless communications fulfilling Gordon Moores 1965 prophecy to this effect. Optical phased arrays enable imaging, lidar, display, sensing, and holography. Advancements in fabrication technology has led to monolithic nanophotonic phased arrays, albeit without independent phase and amplitude control ability, integration with electronic circuitry, or including receive and transmit functions. We report the first monolithic optical phased array transceiver with independent control of amplitude and phase for each element using electronic circuitry that is tightly integrated with the nanophotonic components on one substrate using a commercial foundry CMOS SOI process. The 8 × 8 phased array chip includes thermo-optical tunable phase shifters and attenuators, nano-photonic antennas, and dedicated control electronics realized using CMOS transistors. The complex chip includes over 300 distinct optical components and over 74,000 distinct electrical components achieving the highest level of integration for any electronic-photonic system.

Method and apparatus for controlling carrier envelope phase

DOEpatents

Chang, Zenghu [Manhattan, KS; Li, Chengquan [Sunnyvale, CA; Moon, Eric [Manhattan, KS

2011-12-06

A chirped pulse amplification laser system. The system generally comprises a laser source, a pulse modification apparatus including first and second pulse modification elements separated by a separation distance, a positioning element, a measurement device, and a feedback controller. The laser source is operable to generate a laser pulse and the pulse modification apparatus operable to modify at least a portion of the laser pulse. The positioning element is operable to reposition at least a portion of the pulse modification apparatus to vary the separation distance. The measurement device is operable to measure the carrier envelope phase of the generated laser pulse and the feedback controller is operable to control the positioning element based on the measured carrier envelope phase to vary the separation distance of the pulse modification elements and control the carrier envelope phase of laser pulses generated by the laser source.

Nanomusical systems visualized and controlled in 4D electron microscopy.

PubMed

Baskin, J Spencer; Park, Hyun Soon; Zewail, Ahmed H

2011-05-11

Nanomusical systems, nanoharp and nanopiano, fabricated as arrays of cantilevers by focused ion beam milling of a layered Ni/Ti/Si(3)N(4) thin film, have been investigated in 4D electron microscopy. With the imaging and selective femtosecond and nanosecond control combinations, full characterization of the amplitude and phase of the resonant response of a particular cantilever relative to the optical pulse train was possible. Using a high repetition rate, low energy optical pulse train for selective, resonant excitation, coupled with pulsed and steady-state electron imaging for visualization in space and time, both the amplitude on the nanoscale and resonance of motion on the megahertz scale were resolved for these systems. Tilting of the specimen allowed in-plane and out-of-plane cantilever bending and cantilever torsional motions to be identified in stroboscopic measurements of impulsively induced free vibration. Finally, the transient, as opposed to steady state, thermostat effect was observed for the layered nanocantilevers, with a sufficiently sensitive response to demonstrate suitability for in situ use in thin-film temperature measurements requiring resolutions of <10 K and 10 μm on time scales here mechanically limited to microseconds and potentially at shorter times.

Pulse Shape Discrimination in the MAJORANA DEMONSTRATOR

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Haufe, Christopher; Majorana Collaboration

2017-09-01

The MAJORANA DEMONSTRATOR is an experiment constructed to search for neutrinoless double-beta decays in germanium-76 and to demonstrate the feasibility to deploy a large-scale experiment in a phased and modular fashion. It consists of two modular arrays of natural and 76Ge-enriched germanium p-type point contact detectors totaling 44.1 kg, located at the 4850' level of the Sanford Underground Research Facility in Lead, South Dakota, USA. A large effort is underway to analyze the data currently being taken by the DEMONSTRATOR. Key components of this effort are analysis tools that allow for pulse shape discrimination-techniques that significantly reduce background levels in the neutrinoless double-beta decay region of interest. These tools are able to identify and reject multi-site events from Compton scattering as well as events from alpha particle interactions. This work serves as an overview for these analysis tools and highlights the unique advantages that the HPGe p-type point contact detector provides to pulse shape discrimination. This material is supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Nuclear Physics, the Particle Astrophysics and Nuclear Physics Programs of the National Science Foundation, and the Sanford Underground Research Facility.

Phased-array-fed antenna configuration study. Volume 1: Technology assessment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sorbello, R. M.; Zaghloul, A. I.; Lee, B. S.; Siddiqi, S.; Geller, B. D.; Gerson, H. I.; Srinivas, D. N.

1983-01-01

The status of the technologies for phased-array-fed dual reflector systems is reviewed. The different aspects of these technologies, including optical performances, phased array systems, problems encountered in phased array design, beamforming networks, MMIC design and its incorporation into waveguide systems, reflector antenna structures, and reflector deployment mechanisms are addressed.

Results on Neutrinoless Double-Beta Decay from Gerda Phase I

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Macolino, Carla

2014-12-01

The GERmanium Detector Array, GERDA, is designed to search for neutrinoless double-beta (0νββ) decay of 76Ge and it is installed in the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso (LNGS) of INFN, Italy. In this review, the detection principle and detector setup of GERDA are described. Also, the main physics results by GERDA Phase I, are discussed. They include the measurement of the half-life of 2νββ decay, the background decomposition of the energy spectrum and the techniques for the discrimination of the background, based on the pulse shape of the signal. In the last part of this review, the estimation of a limit on the half-life of 0νββ (T0ν 1/2>2.1ḑot 1025 yr at 90% C.L.) and the comparison with previous results are discussed. GERDA data from Phase I strongly disfavor the recent claim of 0νββ discovery, based on data from the Heidelberg-Moscow experiment.

Acoustic emission linear pulse holography

DOEpatents

Collins, H.D.; Busse, L.J.; Lemon, D.K.

1983-10-25

This device relates to the concept of and means for performing Acoustic Emission Linear Pulse Holography, which combines the advantages of linear holographic imaging and Acoustic Emission into a single non-destructive inspection system. This unique system produces a chronological, linear holographic image of a flaw by utilizing the acoustic energy emitted during crack growth. The innovation is the concept of utilizing the crack-generated acoustic emission energy to generate a chronological series of images of a growing crack by applying linear, pulse holographic processing to the acoustic emission data. The process is implemented by placing on a structure an array of piezoelectric sensors (typically 16 or 32 of them) near the defect location. A reference sensor is placed between the defect and the array.

Theoretical and experimental analyses of the performance of two-color laser ranging systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Im, K. E.; Gardner, C. S.

1985-01-01

The statistical properties of the signals reflected from the retroreflector equipped satellites were studied. It is found that coherence interference between pulse reflections from retroreflectors of different ranges on the array platform is the primary cause of signal fluctuations. The performance of a cross-correlation technique to estimate the differential propagation time is analyzed by considering both shot noise and speckle. For the retroreflector arrays, timing performance is dominated by interference induced speckle, and the differential propagation time cannot be resolved to better than the pulse widths of the received signals. The differential timing measurements obtained over a horizontal path are analyzed. The ocean-reflected pulse measurements obtained from the airborne two-color laser altimeter experiment are presented.

Optical π phase shift created with a single-photon pulse.

PubMed

Tiarks, Daniel; Schmidt, Steffen; Rempe, Gerhard; Dürr, Stephan

2016-04-01

A deterministic photon-photon quantum logic gate is a long-standing goal. Building such a gate becomes possible if a light pulse containing only one photon imprints a phase shift of π onto another light field. We experimentally demonstrate the generation of such a π phase shift with a single-photon pulse. A first light pulse containing less than one photon on average is stored in an atomic gas. Rydberg blockade combined with electromagnetically induced transparency creates a phase shift for a second light pulse, which propagates through the medium. We measure the π phase shift of the second pulse when we postselect the data upon the detection of a retrieved photon from the first pulse. This demonstrates a crucial step toward a photon-photon gate and offers a variety of applications in the field of quantum information processing.

Gas Composition Sensing Using Carbon Nanotube Arrays

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Li, Jing; Meyyappan, Meyya

2012-01-01

This innovation is a lightweight, small sensor for inert gases that consumes a relatively small amount of power and provides measurements that are as accurate as conventional approaches. The sensing approach is based on generating an electrical discharge and measuring the specific gas breakdown voltage associated with each gas present in a sample. An array of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in a substrate is connected to a variable-pulse voltage source. The CNT tips are spaced appropriately from the second electrode maintained at a constant voltage. A sequence of voltage pulses is applied and a pulse discharge breakdown threshold voltage is estimated for one or more gas components, from an analysis of the current-voltage characteristics. Each estimated pulse discharge breakdown threshold voltage is compared with known threshold voltages for candidate gas components to estimate whether at least one candidate gas component is present in the gas. The procedure can be repeated at higher pulse voltages to estimate a pulse discharge breakdown threshold voltage for a second component present in the gas. The CNTs in the gas sensor have a sharp (low radius of curvature) tip; they are preferably multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) or carbon nanofibers (CNFs), to generate high-strength electrical fields adjacent to the tips for breakdown of the gas components with lower voltage application and generation of high current. The sensor system can provide a high-sensitivity, low-power-consumption tool that is very specific for identification of one or more gas components. The sensor can be multiplexed to measure current from multiple CNT arrays for simultaneous detection of several gas components.

Repeatable, accurate, and high speed multi-level programming of memristor 1T1R arrays for power efficient analog computing applications.

PubMed

Merced-Grafals, Emmanuelle J; Dávila, Noraica; Ge, Ning; Williams, R Stanley; Strachan, John Paul

2016-09-09

Beyond use as high density non-volatile memories, memristors have potential as synaptic components of neuromorphic systems. We investigated the suitability of tantalum oxide (TaOx) transistor-memristor (1T1R) arrays for such applications, particularly the ability to accurately, repeatedly, and rapidly reach arbitrary conductance states. Programming is performed by applying an adaptive pulsed algorithm that utilizes the transistor gate voltage to control the SET switching operation and increase programming speed of the 1T1R cells. We show the capability of programming 64 conductance levels with <0.5% average accuracy using 100 ns pulses and studied the trade-offs between programming speed and programming error. The algorithm is also utilized to program 16 conductance levels on a population of cells in the 1T1R array showing robustness to cell-to-cell variability. In general, the proposed algorithm results in approximately 10× improvement in programming speed over standard algorithms that do not use the transistor gate to control memristor switching. In addition, after only two programming pulses (an initialization pulse followed by a programming pulse), the resulting conductance values are within 12% of the target values in all cases. Finally, endurance of more than 10(6) cycles is shown through open-loop (single pulses) programming across multiple conductance levels using the optimized gate voltage of the transistor. These results are relevant for applications that require high speed, accurate, and repeatable programming of the cells such as in neural networks and analog data processing.

Methods for roof-top mini-arrays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hazen, W. E.; Hazen, E. S.

1985-08-01

To test the idea of the Linsley effect mini array for the study of giant air showers, it is desirable to have a trigger that exploits the effect itself. In addition to the trigger, it is necessary to have a method for measuring the relative arrival times of the particle swarm selected by the trigger. Since the idea of mini arrays is likely to appeal to small research groups, it is desirable to try to design relatively simple and inexpensive methods, and methods that utilize existing detectors. Clusters of small detectors have been designed for operation in the local particle density realm where the probability of or = 2 particles per detector is small. Consequently, this method can discriminate pulses from each detector and thenceforth deal mainly with logic pulses.

Phase matching of high order harmonic generation using dynamic phase modulation caused by a non-collinear modulation pulse

DOEpatents

Cohen, Oren; Kapteyn, Henry C.; Mumane, Margaret M.

2010-02-16

Phase matching high harmonic generation (HHG) uses a single, long duration non-collinear modulating pulse intersecting the driving pulse. A femtosecond driving pulse is focused into an HHG medium (such as a noble gas) to cause high-harmonic generation (HHG), for example in the X-ray region of the spectrum, via electrons separating from and recombining with gas atoms. A non-collinear pulse intersects the driving pulse within the gas, and modulates the field seen by the electrons while separated from their atoms. The modulating pulse is low power and long duration, and its frequency and amplitude is chosen to improve HHG phase matching by increasing the areas of constructive interference between the driving pulse and the HHG, relative to the areas of destructive interference.

Precision digital pulse phase generator

DOEpatents

McEwan, T.E.

1996-10-08

A timing generator comprises a crystal oscillator connected to provide an output reference pulse. A resistor-capacitor combination is connected to provide a variable-delay output pulse from an input connected to the crystal oscillator. A phase monitor is connected to provide duty-cycle representations of the reference and variable-delay output pulse phase. An operational amplifier drives a control voltage to the resistor-capacitor combination according to currents integrated from the phase monitor and injected into summing junctions. A digital-to-analog converter injects a control current into the summing junctions according to an input digital control code. A servo equilibrium results that provides a phase delay of the variable-delay output pulse to the output reference pulse that linearly depends on the input digital control code. 2 figs.

Precision digital pulse phase generator

DOEpatents

McEwan, Thomas E.

1996-01-01

A timing generator comprises a crystal oscillator connected to provide an output reference pulse. A resistor-capacitor combination is connected to provide a variable-delay output pulse from an input connected to the crystal oscillator. A phase monitor is connected to provide duty-cycle representations of the reference and variable-delay output pulse phase. An operational amplifier drives a control voltage to the resistor-capacitor combination according to currents integrated from the phase monitor and injected into summing junctions. A digital-to-analog converter injects a control current into the summing junctions according to an input digital control code. A servo equilibrium results that provides a phase delay of the variable-delay output pulse to the output reference pulse that linearly depends on the input digital control code.

Multi-delay, phase coherent pulse pair generation for precision Ramsey-frequency comb spectroscopy.

PubMed

Morgenweg, J; Eikema, K S E

2013-03-11

We demonstrate the generation of phase-stable mJ-pulse pairs at programmable inter-pulse delays up to hundreds of nanoseconds. A detailed investigation of potential sources for phase shifts during the parametric amplification of the selected pulses from a Ti:Sapphire frequency comb is presented, both numerically and experimentally. It is shown that within the statistical error of the phase measurement of 10 mrad, there is no dependence of the differential phase shift over the investigated inter-pulse delay range of more than 300 ns. In combination with nonlinear upconversion of the amplified pulses, the presented system will potentially enable short wavelength (<100 nm), multi-transition Ramsey-frequency comb spectroscopy at the kHz-level.

Prelaunch testing of the GEOS-3 laser reflector array

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Minott, P. O.; Fitzmaurice, M. W.; Abshire, J. B.; Rowe, H. E.

1978-01-01

The prelaunch testing performed on the Geos-3 laser reflector array before launch was used to determine the lidar cross section of the array and the distance of the center of gravity of the satellite from the center of gravity of reflected laser pulses as a function of incidence angle. Experimental data are compared to computed results.

A 2x2 W-Band Reference Time-Shifted Phase-Locked Transmitter Array in 65nm CMOS Technology

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tang, Adrian; Virbila, Gabriel; Hsiao, Frank; Wu, Hao; Murphy, David; Mehdi, Imran; Siegel, P. H.; Chang, M-C. Frank

2013-01-01

This paper presents a complete 2x2 phased array transmitter system operating at W-band (90-95 GHz) which employs a PLL reference time-shifting approach instead of using traditional mm-wave phase shifters. PLL reference shifting enables a phased array to be distributed over multiple chips without the need for coherent mm-wave signal distribution between chips. The proposed phased array transmitter system consumes 248 mW per array element when implemented in a 65 nm CMOS technology.

Effects of Hearing Preservation on Psychophysical Responses to Cochlear Implant Stimulation

PubMed Central

Kang, Stephen Y.; Colesa, Deborah J.; Swiderski, Donald L.; Su, Gina L.; Raphael, Yehoash

2009-01-01

Previous studies have shown that residual acoustic hearing supplements cochlear implant function to improve speech recognition in noise as well as perception of music. The current study had two primary objectives. First, we sought to determine how cochlear implantation and electrical stimulation over a time period of 14 to 21 months influence cochlear structures such as hair cells and spiral ganglion neurons. Second, we sought to investigate whether the structures that provide acoustic hearing also affect the perception of electrical stimulation. We compared psychophysical responses to cochlear implant stimulation in two groups of adult guinea pigs. Group I (11 animals) received a cochlear implant in a previously untreated ear, while group II (ten animals) received a cochlear implant in an ear that had been previously infused with neomycin to destroy hearing. Psychophysical thresholds were measured in response to pulse-train and sinusoidal stimuli. Histological analysis of all group I animals and a subset of group II animals was performed. Nine of the 11 group I animals showed survival of the organ of Corti and spiral ganglion neurons adjacent to the electrode array. All group I animals showed survival of these elements in regions apical to the electrode array. Group II animals that were examined histologically showed complete loss of the organ of Corti in regions adjacent and apical to the electrode array and severe spiral ganglion neuron loss, consistent with previous reports for neomycin-treated ears. Behaviorally, group II animals had significantly lower thresholds than group I animals in response to 100 Hz sinusoidal stimuli. However, group I animals had significantly lower thresholds than group II animals in response to pulse-train stimuli (0.02 ms/phase; 156 to 5,000 pps). Additionally, the two groups showed distinct threshold versus pulse rate functions. We hypothesize that the differences in detection thresholds between groups are caused by the electrical activation of the hair cells in group I animals and/or differences between groups in the condition of the spiral ganglion neurons. PMID:19902297

The effect of graphene oxide on surface features, biological performance and bio-stability of calcium phosphate coating applied by pulse electrochemical deposition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fathyunes, Leila; Khalil-Allafi, Jafar

2018-04-01

In the current study, the effect of second phase of graphene oxide (GO) on the surface features and biological behavior of calcium phosphate (CaP) coating was evaluated. To do so, the GO-CaP composite coating was applied on TiO2 nanotubular arrays using pulse electrochemical deposition. The SEM and AFM images showed that, the CaP-based coating with uniform and refined microstructure could be formed through its compositing with GO sheets. The biological assessment of the coatings was also conducted by cell culture test and MTT assay. Based on findings, the GO-CaP coating showed the better biocompatibility compared to the CaP coating. This could be owing to the fact that the composite coating provided the lower roughness, moderately wettable surface with a contact angle of 23.5° ± 2.6° and the higher stability in the biological environments because of being involved with only the stable phase of CHA. However, in the CaP coating, spreading of cells could be limited by the plate-like crystals with larger size. The higher solubility of the CaP coating in the cell culture medium possibly owing to the existence of some metastable CaP phases like OCP in addition to the dominant phase of CHA in this coating could be another reason for its less biocompatibility. At last, the CaP coating showed the higher apatite-forming ability in SBF solution after its compositing with GO.

Preliminary results with microchannel array plates employing curved microchannels to inhibit ion feedback. [for photon counters

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Timothy, J. G.; Bybee, R. L.

1977-01-01

Up to now, microchannel array plates (MCPs) have been constructed with microchannels having a straight geometry and hence have been prone to ion-feedback instabilities at high operating potentials and high ambient pressures. This paper describes the performances of MCPs with curved (J and C configuration) microchannels to inhibit ion feedback. Plates with curved microchannels have demonstrated performances comparable to those of conventional channel electron multipliers with saturated output pulse-height distributions and modal gain values in excess of 10 to the 6th electrons/pulse.

Diffraction mode terahertz tomography

DOEpatents

Ferguson, Bradley; Wang, Shaohong; Zhang, Xi-Cheng

2006-10-31

A method of obtaining a series of images of a three-dimensional object. The method includes the steps of transmitting pulsed terahertz (THz) radiation through the entire object from a plurality of angles, optically detecting changes in the transmitted THz radiation using pulsed laser radiation, and constructing a plurality of imaged slices of the three-dimensional object using the detected changes in the transmitted THz radiation. The THz radiation is transmitted through the object as a two-dimensional array of parallel rays. The optical detection is an array of detectors such as a CCD sensor.

Joint quantum measurement using unbalanced array detection.

PubMed

Beck, M; Dorrer, C; Walmsley, I A

2001-12-17

We have measured the joint Q-function of a highly multimode field using unbalanced heterodyne detection with a charge-coupled device array detector. We use spectral interferometry between a weak signal field and a strong, 100 fs duration local oscillator pulse to reconstruct the joint quadrature amplitude statistics of about 25 temporal modes. By adjusting the time delay between the signal and local oscillator pulses we are able to shift all the classical noise to modes distinct from the signal. This obviates the need to use a balanced detector.

Macroscopic quantum interference from atomic tunnel arrays

PubMed

Anderson; Kasevich

1998-11-27

Interference of atomic de Broglie waves tunneling from a vertical array of macroscopically populated traps has been observed. The traps were located in the antinodes of an optical standing wave and were loaded from a Bose-Einstein condensate. Tunneling was induced by acceleration due to gravity, and interference was observed as a train of falling pulses of atoms. In the limit of weak atomic interactions, the pulse frequency is determined by the gravitational potential energy difference between adjacent potential wells. The effect is closely related to the ac Josephson effect observed in superconducting electronic systems.

Search for neutrinoless double beta decay with GERDA phase II

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Agostini, M.; Bakalyarov, A. M.; Balata, M.; Barabanov, I.; Baudis, L.; Bauer, C.; Bellotti, E.; Belogurov, S.; Bettini, A.; Bezrukov, L.; Bode, T.; Borowicz, D.; Brudanin, V.; Brugnera, R.; Caldwell, A.; Cattadori, C.; Chernogorov, A.; D'Andrea, V.; Demidova, E. V.; Di Marco, N.; Domula, A.; Doroshkevich, E.; Egorov, V.; Falkenstein, R.; Gangapshev, A.; Garfagnini, A.; Gooch, C.; Grabmayr, P.; Gurentsov, V.; Gusev, K.; Hakenmüller, J.; Hegai, A.; Heisel, M.; Hemmer, S.; Hofmann, W.; Hult, M.; Inzhechik, L. V.; Csáthy, J. Janicskó; Jochum, J.; Junker, M.; Kazalov, V.; Kihm, T.; Kirpichnikov, I. V.; Kirsch, A.; Kish, A.; Klimenko, A.; Kneißl, R.; Knies, J.; Knöpfle, K. T.; Kochetov, O.; Kornoukhov, V. N.; Kuzminov, V. V.; Laubenstein, M.; Lazzaro, A.; Lebedev, V. I.; Liao, H. Y.; Lindner, M.; Lippi, I.; Lubashevskiy, A.; Lubsandorzhiev, B.; Lutter, G.; Majorovits, B.; Maneschg, W.; Marissens, G.; Miloradovic, M.; Mingazheva, R.; Misiaszek, M.; Moseev, P.; Nemchenok, I.; Panas, K.; Pandola, L.; Pelczar, K.; Pullia, A.; Ransom, C.; Reissfelder, M.; Riboldi, S.; Rumyantseva, N.; Sada, C.; Salamida, F.; Schmitt, C.; Schneider, B.; Schönert, S.; Schreiner, J.; Schulz, O.; Schütz, A.-K.; Schwingenheuer, B.; Seitz, H.; Selivanenko, O.; Shevchik, E.; Shirchenko, M.; Simgen, H.; Smolnikov, A.; Stanco, L.; Vanhoefer, L.; Vasenko, A. A.; Veresnikova, A.; von Sturm, K.; Wagner, V.; Wegmann, A.; Wester, T.; Wiesinger, C.; Wojcik, M.; Yanovich, E.; Zhitnikov, I.; Zhukov, S. V.; Zinatulina, D.; Zuber, K.; Zuzel, G.

2017-10-01

The GERmanium Detector Array (gerda) experiment, located at the Gran Sasso underground laboratory in Italy, is one of the leading experiments for the search of 0νββ decay. In Phase II of the experiment 35.6 kg of enriched germanium detectors are operated. The application of active background rejection methods, such as a liquid argon scintillation light read-out and pulse shape discrimination of germanium detector signals, allowed to reduce the background index to the intended level of 10-3 cts/(keV.kg.yr). In the first five month of data taking 10.8 kg yr of exposure were accumulated. No signal has been found and together with data from Phase I a new limit for the neutrinoless double beta decay half-life of 76Ge of 5.3 . 1025 yr at 90% C.L. was established in June 2016. Phase II data taking is ongoing and will allow the exploration of half-lifes in the 1026 yr regime. The current status of data taking and an update on the background index are presented.

Low-Cost Phased Array Antenna for Sounding Rockets, Missiles, and Expendable Launch Vehicles

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mullinix, Daniel; Hall, Kenneth; Smith, Bruce; Corbin, Brian

2012-01-01

A low-cost beamformer phased array antenna has been developed for expendable launch vehicles, rockets, and missiles. It utilizes a conformal array antenna of ring or individual radiators (design varies depending on application) that is designed to be fed by the recently developed hybrid electrical/mechanical (vendor-supplied) phased array beamformer. The combination of these new array antennas and the hybrid beamformer results in a conformal phased array antenna that has significantly higher gain than traditional omni antennas, and costs an order of magnitude or more less than traditional phased array designs. Existing omnidirectional antennas for sounding rockets, missiles, and expendable launch vehicles (ELVs) do not have sufficient gain to support the required communication data rates via the space network. Missiles and smaller ELVs are often stabilized in flight by a fast (i.e. 4 Hz) roll rate. This fast roll rate, combined with vehicle attitude changes, greatly increases the complexity of the high-gain antenna beam-tracking problem. Phased arrays for larger ELVs with roll control are prohibitively expensive. Prior techniques involved a traditional fully electronic phased array solution, combined with highly complex and very fast inertial measurement unit phased array beamformers. The functional operation of this phased array is substantially different from traditional phased arrays in that it uses a hybrid electrical/mechanical beamformer that creates the relative time delays for steering the antenna beam via a small physical movement of variable delay lines. This movement is controlled via an innovative antenna control unit that accesses an internal measurement unit for vehicle attitude information, computes a beam-pointing angle to the target, then points the beam via a stepper motor controller. The stepper motor on the beamformer controls the beamformer variable delay lines that apply the appropriate time delays to the individual array elements to properly steer the beam. The array of phased ring radiators is unique in that it provides improved gain for a small rocket or missile that uses spin stabilization for stability. The antenna pattern created is symmetric about the roll axis (like an omnidirectional wraparound), and is thus capable of providing continuous coverage that is compatible with very fast spinning rockets. For larger ELVs with roll control, a linear array of elements can be used for the 1D scanned beamformer and phased array, or a 2D scanned beamformer can be used with an NxN element array.

Fast contactless vibrating structure characterization using real time field programmable gate array-based digital signal processing: demonstrations with a passive wireless acoustic delay line probe and vision.

PubMed

Goavec-Mérou, G; Chrétien, N; Friedt, J-M; Sandoz, P; Martin, G; Lenczner, M; Ballandras, S

2014-01-01

Vibrating mechanical structure characterization is demonstrated using contactless techniques best suited for mobile and rotating equipments. Fast measurement rates are achieved using Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) devices as real-time digital signal processors. Two kinds of algorithms are implemented on FPGA and experimentally validated in the case of the vibrating tuning fork. A first application concerns in-plane displacement detection by vision with sampling rates above 10 kHz, thus reaching frequency ranges above the audio range. A second demonstration concerns pulsed-RADAR cooperative target phase detection and is applied to radiofrequency acoustic transducers used as passive wireless strain gauges. In this case, the 250 ksamples/s refresh rate achieved is only limited by the acoustic sensor design but not by the detection bandwidth. These realizations illustrate the efficiency, interest, and potentialities of FPGA-based real-time digital signal processing for the contactless interrogation of passive embedded probes with high refresh rates.

Generation of dark hollow femtosecond pulsed beam by phase-only liquid crystal spatial light modulator.

PubMed

Nie, Yongming; Ma, Haotong; Li, Xiujian; Hu, Wenhua; Yang, Jiankun

2011-07-20

Based on the refractive laser beam shaping system, the dark hollow femtosecond pulse beam shaping technique with a phase-only liquid crystal spatial light modulator (LC-SLM) is demonstrated. The phase distribution of the LC-SLM is derived by the energy conservation and constant optical path principle. The effects of the shaping system on the temporal properties, including spectral phase distribution and bandwidth of the femtosecond pulse, are analyzed in detail. Experimental results show that the hollow intensity distribution of the output pulsed beam can be maintained much at more than 1200 mm. The spectral phase of the pulse is changed, and the pulse width is expanded from 199 to 230 fs, which is caused by the spatial-temporal coupling effect. The coupling effect mainly depends on the phase-only LC-SLM itself, not on its loaded phase distribution. The experimental results indicate that the proposed shaping setup can generate a dark hollow femtosecond pulsed beam effectively, because the temporal Gaussian waveform is unchanged. © 2011 Optical Society of America

On the (Frequency) Modulation of Coupled Oscillator Arrays in Phased Array Beam Control

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pogorzelski, R.; Acorn, J.; Zawadzki, M.

2000-01-01

It has been shown that arrays of voltage controlled oscillators coupled to nearest neighbors can be used to produce useful aperture phase distributions for phased array antennas. However, placing information of the transmitted signal requires that the oscillations be modulated.

Phased array antenna matching: Simulation and optimization of a planar phased array of circular waveguide elements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dudgeon, J. E.

1972-01-01

A computerized simulation of a planar phased array of circular waveguide elements is reported using mutual coupling and wide angle impedance matching in phased arrays. Special emphasis is given to circular polarization. The aforementioned computer program has as variable inputs: frequency, polarization, grid geometry, element size, dielectric waveguide fill, dielectric plugs in the waveguide for impedance matching, and dielectric sheets covering the array surface for the purpose of wide angle impedance matching. Parameter combinations are found which produce reflection peaks interior to grating lobes, while dielectric cover sheets are successfully employed to extend the usable scan range of a phased array. The most exciting results came from the application of computer aided optimization techniques to the design of this type of array.

All-Fiber, Directly Chirped Laser Source for Chirped-Pulse-Amplification

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xin, Ran

Chirped-pulse-amplification (CPA) technology is widely used to produce ultra-short optical pulses (sub picosecond to femtoseconds) with high pulse energy. A chirped pulse laser source with flexible dispersion control is highly desirable as a CPA seed. This thesis presents an all-fiber, directly chirped laser source (DCLS) that produces nanosecond, linearly-chirped laser pulses at 1053 nm for seeding high energy CPA systems. DCLS produces a frequency chirp on an optical pulse through direct temporal phase modulation. DCLS provides programmable control for the temporal phase of the pulse, high pulse energy and diffraction-limited beam performance, which are beneficial for CPA systems. The DCLS concept is first described. Its key enabling technologies are identified and their experimental demonstration is presented. These include high-precision temporal phase control using an arbitrary waveform generator, multi-pass phase modulation to achieve high modulation depth, regenerative amplification in a fiber ring cavity and a negative feedback system that controls the amplifier cavity dynamics. A few technical challenges that arise from the multi-pass architecture are described and their solutions are presented, such as polarization management and gain-spectrum engineering in the DCLS fiber cavity. A DCLS has been built and its integration into a high energy OPCPA system is demonstrated. DCLS produces a 1-ns chirped pulse with a 3-nm bandwidth. The temporal phase and group delay dispersion on the DCLS output pulse is measured using temporal interferometry. The measured temporal phase has an ˜1000 rad amplitude and is close to a quadratic shape. The chirped pulse is amplified from 0.9 nJ to 76 mJ in an OPCPA system. The amplified pulse is compressed to close to its Fourier transform limit, producing an intensity autocorrelation trace with a 1.5-ps width. Direct compressed-pulse duration control by adjusting the phase modulation drive amplitude is demonstrated. Limitation to pulse compression is investigated using numerical simulation.

Progress and prospects of silicon-based design for optical phased array

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hu, Weiwei; Peng, Chao; Chang-Hasnain, Connie

2016-03-01

The high-speed, high-efficient, compact phase modulator array is indispensable in the Optical-phased array (OPA) which has been considered as a promising technology for realizing flexible and efficient beam steering. In our research, two methods are presented to utilize high-contrast grating (HCG) as high-efficient phase modulator. One is that HCG possesses high-Q resonances that origins from the cancellation of leaky waves. As a result, sharp resonance peaks appear on the reflection spectrum thus HCGs can be utilized as efficient phase shifters. Another is that low-Q mode HCG is utilized as ultra-lightweight mirror. With MEMS technology, small HCG displacement (~50 nm) leads to large phase change (~1.7π). Effective beam steering is achieved in Connie Chang-Hasnian's group. On the other hand, we theoretically and experimentally investigate the system design for silicon-based optical phased array, including the star coupler, phased array, emission elements and far-field patterns. Further, the non-uniform optical phased array is presented.

A large-area diffuse air discharge plasma excited by nanosecond pulse under a double hexagon needle-array electrode.

PubMed

Liu, Zhi-Jie; Wang, Wen-Chun; Yang, De-Zheng; Wang, Sen; Zhang, Shuai; Tang, Kai; Jiang, Peng-Chao

2014-01-01

A large-area diffuse air discharge plasma excited by bipolar nanosecond pulse is generated under a double hexagon needle-array electrode at atmospheric pressure. The images of the diffuse discharge, electric characteristics, and the optical emission spectra emitted from the diffuse air discharge plasma are obtained. Based on the waveforms of pulse voltage and current, the power consumption, and the power density of the diffuse air discharge plasma are investigated under different pulse peak voltages. The electron density and the electron temperature of the diffuse plasma are estimated to be approximately 1.42×10(11) cm(-3) and 4.4 eV, respectively. The optical emission spectra are arranged to determine the rotational and vibrational temperatures by comparing experimental with simulated spectra. Meanwhile, the rotational and vibrational temperatures of the diffuse discharge plasma are also discussed under different pulse peak voltages and pulse repetition rates, respectively. In addition, the diffuse air discharge plasma can form an area of about 70×50 mm(2) on the surface of dielectric layer and can be scaled up to the required size. Crown Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Neutron Spectroscopy for pulsed beams with frame overlap using a double time-of-flight technique

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Harrig, K. P.; Goldblum, B. L.; Brown, J. A.; Bleuel, D. L.; Bernstein, L. A.; Bevins, J.; Harasty, M.; Laplace, T. A.; Matthews, E. F.

2018-01-01

A new double time-of-flight (dTOF) neutron spectroscopy technique has been developed for pulsed broad spectrum sources with a duty cycle that results in frame overlap, where fast neutrons from a given pulse overtake slower neutrons from previous pulses. Using a tunable beam at the 88-Inch Cyclotron at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, neutrons were produced via thick-target breakup of 16 MeV deuterons on a beryllium target in the cyclotron vault. The breakup spectral shape was deduced from a dTOF measurement using an array of EJ-309 organic liquid scintillators. Simulation of the neutron detection efficiency of the scintillator array was performed using both GEANT4 and MCNP6. The efficiency-corrected spectral shape was normalized using a foil activation technique to obtain the energy-dependent flux of the neutron beam at zero degrees with respect to the incoming deuteron beam. The dTOF neutron spectrum was compared to spectra obtained using HEPROW and GRAVEL pulse height spectrum unfolding techniques. While the unfolding and dTOF results exhibit some discrepancies in shape, the integrated flux values agree within two standard deviations. This method obviates neutron time-of-flight spectroscopy challenges posed by pulsed beams with frame overlap and opens new opportunities for pulsed white neutron source facilities.

Spectral Flattening at Low Frequencies in Crab Giant Pulses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meyers, B. W.; Tremblay, S. E.; Bhat, N. D. R.; Shannon, R. M.; Kirsten, F.; Sokolowski, M.; Tingay, S. J.; Oronsaye, S. I.; Ord, S. M.

2017-12-01

We report on simultaneous wideband observations of Crab giant pulses with the Parkes radio telescope and the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA). The observations were conducted simultaneously at 732 and 3100 MHz with Parkes and at 120.96, 165.76, and 210.56 MHz with the MWA. Flux density calibration of the MWA data was accomplished using a novel technique based on tied-array beam simulations. We detected between 90 and 648 giant pulses in the 120.96-210.56 MHz MWA subbands above a 5.5σ threshold, while in the Parkes subbands we detected 6344 and 231 giant pulses above a threshold of 6σ at 732 and 3100 MHz, respectively. We show, for the first time over a wide frequency range, that the average spectrum of Crab giant pulses exhibits a significant flattening at low frequencies. The spectral index, α, for giant pulses evolves from a steep, narrow distribution with a mean α =-2.6 and width {σ }α =0.5 between 732 and 3100 MHz to a wide, flat distribution of spectral indices with a mean α =-0.7 and width {σ }α =1.4 between 120.96 and 165.76 MHz. We also comment on the plausibility of giant pulse models for fast radio bursts based on this spectral information.

Photoluminescence of Gallium Phosphide-Based Nanostructures with Germanium Quantum Dots, Grown by Liquid-Phase Epitaxy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maronchuk, I. I.; Sanikovich, D. D.; Velchenko, A. A.

2017-11-01

We have used liquid-phase epitaxy with pulsed substrate cooling using two structural designs to grow samples of nanoheteroepitaxial structures with Ge quantum dots in a GaP matrix on Si substrates. We have measured the photoluminescence spectra of the samples at temperatures of 77 K and 300 K with excitation by laser emission at λ = 4880 Å and 5145 Å. We draw conclusions concerning the factors influencing the spectrum and intensity of emission for nanostructures with quantum dots. It was found that in order to reduce nonradiative recombination in multilayer p-n structures, we need to create quantum dot arrays inside p and n regions rather than in the central portion of the depletion layer of the p-n junction. We show that the theoretical energies for Ge quantum dots of the calculated sizes are comparable with the energies of their photoluminescence maxima.

S-band antenna phased array communications system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Delzer, D. R.; Chapman, J. E.; Griffin, R. A.

1975-01-01

The development of an S-band antenna phased array for spacecraft to spacecraft communication is discussed. The system requirements, antenna array subsystem design, and hardware implementation are examined. It is stated that the phased array approach offers the greatest simplicity and lowest cost. The objectives of the development contract are defined as: (1) design of a medium gain active phased array S-band communications antenna, (2) development and test of a model of a seven element planar array of radiating elements mounted in the appropriate cavity matrix, and (3) development and test of a breadboard transmit/receive microelectronics module.

Ultrasonic phased array controller for hyperthermia applications.

PubMed

Benkeser, P J; Pao, T L; Yoon, Y J

1991-01-01

Multiple and mechanically scanned ultrasound transducer systems have demonstrated the efficacy of using ultrasound to produce deep localized hyperthermia. The use of ultrasonic phased arrays has been proposed as an alternative to these systems. A phased array offers a more flexible approach to heating tumours in that the size, shape, and position of its focal region can be altered during the course of treatment in order to achieve the desired temperature distribution. This added flexibility comes at the cost of increased complexity of the hardware necessary to drive the transducer because each element requires its own amplifer with both phase and amplitude control. In order for phased arrays with large numbers of elements to be feasible for hyperthermia applications, the complexity of this circuitry must be minimized. This paper describes a circuit design which simplifies the electronics required to control a phased array transducer system for hyperthermia applications. The design is capable of controlling virtually any type of phased array transducer operating at frequencies less than 2 MHz. The system performance was verified through beam profile measurements using a 48-element tapered phased array transducer.

Cladding-pumped passively mode-locked fiber laser generating femtosecond and picosecond pulses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fermann, M. E.; Harter, D.; Minelly, J. D.; Vienne, G. G.

1996-07-01

Passively mode-locked fiber lasers cladding pumped by broad-area diode-laser arrays are described. With a dispersion-compenstated erbium-ytterbium fiber oscillator, 200-fs pulses with pulse energies up to 100 pJ are generated at a wavelength of 1560 nm. In a highly dispersive cavity, pulse widths of 3 ps with pulse energies up to 1 nJ are obtained. A saturable absorber is used for pulse startup, whereas nonlinear polarization evolution is exploited for steady-state pulse shaping. An environmentally stable design is ensured by use of a compensation scheme for linear polarization drifts in the cavity.

Cladding-pumped passively mode-locked fiber laser generating femtosecond and picosecond pulses.

PubMed

Fermann, M E; Harter, D; Minelly, J D; Vienne, G G

1996-07-01

Passively mode-locked fiber lasers cladding pumped by broad-area diode-laser arrays are described. With a dispersion-compenstated erbium-ytterbium fiber oscillator, 200-fs pulses with pulse energies up to 100 pJ are generated at a wavelength of 1560 nm. In a highly dispersive cavity, pulse widths of 3 ps with pulse energies up to 1 nJ are obtained. A saturable absorber is used for pulse startup, whereas nonlinear polarization evolution is exploited for steady-state pulse shaping. An environmentally stable design is ensured by use of a compensation scheme for linear polarization drifts in the cavity.

Integrated optical phased arrays for quasi-Bessel-beam generation.

PubMed

Notaros, Jelena; Poulton, Christopher V; Byrd, Matthew J; Raval, Manan; Watts, Michael R

2017-09-01

Integrated optical phased arrays for generating quasi-Bessel beams are proposed and experimentally demonstrated in a CMOS-compatible platform. Owing to their elongated central beams, Bessel beams have applications in a range of fields, including multiparticle trapping and laser lithography. In this Letter, continuous Bessel theory is manipulated to formulate the phase and amplitude conditions necessary for generating free-space-propagating Bessel-Gauss beams using on-chip optical phased arrays. Discussion of the effects of select phased array parameters on the generated beam's figures of merit is included. A one-dimensional splitter-tree-based phased array architecture is modified to enable arbitrary passive control of the array's element phase and amplitude distributions. This architecture is used to experimentally demonstrate on-chip quasi-Bessel-beam generation with a ∼14  mm Bessel length and ∼30  μm power full width at half maximum.

Aligned copper nanorod arrays for highly efficient generation of intense ultra-broadband THz pulses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mondal, S.; Wei, Q.; Ding, W. J.; Hafez, H. A.; Fareed, M. A.; Laramée, A.; Ropagnol, X.; Zhang, G.; Sun, S.; Sheng, Z. M.; Zhang, J.; Ozaki, T.

2017-01-01

We demonstrate an intense broadband terahertz (THz) source based on the interaction of relativistic-intensity femtosecond lasers with aligned copper nanorod array targets. For copper nanorod targets with a length of 5 μm, a maximum 13.8 times enhancement in the THz pulse energy (in ≤20 THz spectral range) is measured as compared to that with a thick plane copper target under the same laser conditions. A further increase in the nanorod length leads to a decrease in the THz pulse energy at medium frequencies (≤20 THz) and increase of the electromagnetic pulse energy in the high-frequency range (from 20-200 THz). For the latter, we measure a maximum energy enhancement of 28 times for the nanorod targets with a length of 60 μm. Particle-in-cell simulations reveal that THz pulses are mostly generated by coherent transition radiation of laser produced hot electrons, which are efficiently enhanced with the use of nanorod targets. Good agreement is found between the simulation and experimental results.

Aligned copper nanorod arrays for highly efficient generation of intense ultra-broadband THz pulses.

PubMed

Mondal, S; Wei, Q; Ding, W J; Hafez, H A; Fareed, M A; Laramée, A; Ropagnol, X; Zhang, G; Sun, S; Sheng, Z M; Zhang, J; Ozaki, T

2017-01-10

We demonstrate an intense broadband terahertz (THz) source based on the interaction of relativistic-intensity femtosecond lasers with aligned copper nanorod array targets. For copper nanorod targets with a length of 5 μm, a maximum 13.8 times enhancement in the THz pulse energy (in ≤20 THz spectral range) is measured as compared to that with a thick plane copper target under the same laser conditions. A further increase in the nanorod length leads to a decrease in the THz pulse energy at medium frequencies (≤20 THz) and increase of the electromagnetic pulse energy in the high-frequency range (from 20-200 THz). For the latter, we measure a maximum energy enhancement of 28 times for the nanorod targets with a length of 60 μm. Particle-in-cell simulations reveal that THz pulses are mostly generated by coherent transition radiation of laser produced hot electrons, which are efficiently enhanced with the use of nanorod targets. Good agreement is found between the simulation and experimental results.

Aligned copper nanorod arrays for highly efficient generation of intense ultra-broadband THz pulses

PubMed Central

Mondal, S.; Wei, Q.; Ding, W. J.; Hafez, H. A.; Fareed, M. A.; Laramée, A.; Ropagnol, X.; Zhang, G.; Sun, S.; Sheng, Z. M.; Zhang, J.; Ozaki, T.

2017-01-01

We demonstrate an intense broadband terahertz (THz) source based on the interaction of relativistic-intensity femtosecond lasers with aligned copper nanorod array targets. For copper nanorod targets with a length of 5 μm, a maximum 13.8 times enhancement in the THz pulse energy (in ≤20 THz spectral range) is measured as compared to that with a thick plane copper target under the same laser conditions. A further increase in the nanorod length leads to a decrease in the THz pulse energy at medium frequencies (≤20 THz) and increase of the electromagnetic pulse energy in the high-frequency range (from 20–200 THz). For the latter, we measure a maximum energy enhancement of 28 times for the nanorod targets with a length of 60 μm. Particle-in-cell simulations reveal that THz pulses are mostly generated by coherent transition radiation of laser produced hot electrons, which are efficiently enhanced with the use of nanorod targets. Good agreement is found between the simulation and experimental results. PMID:28071764

Visible light-harvesting of TiO2 nanotubes array by pulsed laser deposited CdS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bjelajac, Andjelika; Djokic, Veljko; Petrovic, Rada; Socol, Gabiel; Mihailescu, Ion N.; Florea, Ileana; Ersen, Ovidiu; Janackovic, Djordje

2014-08-01

Titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanotubes arrays, obtained by anodization technique and annealing, were decorated with CdS using pulsed laser deposition method. Their structural, morphological and chemical characterization was carried out by electron microscopy in scanning (SEM) and transmission (TEM) modes, combined with energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS). It was demonstrated that the quantity of deposited CdS can be controlled by varying the number of laser pulses. The chemical mapping of the elements of interest was performed using the energy filtered mode of the electron microscope. The results showed that pulse laser deposition is an adequate technique for deposition of CdS inside and between 100 nm wide TiO2 nanotubes. The diffuse reflectance spectroscopy investigation of selected samples proved that the absorption edge of the prepared CdS/TiO2 nanocomposites is significantly extended to the visible range. The corresponding band gaps were determinated from the Tauc plot of transformed Kubelka-Munk function. The band gap reduction of TiO2 nanotubes by pulsed laser deposition of CdS was put in evidence.

Multi-messenger astronomy of gravitational-wave sources with flexible wide-area radio transient surveys

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kavic, Michael; Cregg C. Yancey, Brandon E. Bear, Bernadine Akukwe, Kevin Chen, Jayce Dowell, Jonathan D. Gough, Jonah Kanner, Kenneth Obenberger, Peter Shawhan, John H. Simonetti , Gregory B. Taylor , Jr-Wei Tsai

2016-01-01

We explore opportunities for multi-messenger astronomy using gravitational waves (GWs) and prompt, transient low-frequency radio emission to study highly energetic astrophysical events. We review the literature on possible sources of correlated emission of GWs and radio transients, highlighting proposed mechanisms that lead to a short-duration, high-flux radio pulse originating from the merger of two neutron stars or from a superconducting cosmic string cusp. We discuss the detection prospects for each of these mechanisms by low-frequency dipole array instruments such as LWA1, the Low Frequency Array and the Murchison Widefield Array. We find that a broad range of models may be tested by searching for radio pulses that, when de-dispersed, are temporally and spatially coincident with a LIGO/Virgo GW trigger within a ˜30 s time window and ˜200-500 deg(2) sky region. We consider various possible observing strategies and discuss their advantages and disadvantages. Uniquely, for low-frequency radio arrays, dispersion can delay the radio pulse until after low-latency GW data analysis has identified and reported an event candidate, enabling a prompt radio signal to be captured by a deliberately targeted beam. If neutron star mergers do have detectable prompt radio emissions, a coincident search with the GW detector network and low-frequency radio arrays could increase the LIGO/Virgo effective search volume by up to a factor of ˜2. For some models, we also map the parameter space that may be constrained by non-detections.

Multi-messenger Astronomy of Gravitational-wave Sources with Flexible Wide-area Radio Transient Surveys

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yancey, Cregg C.; Bear, Brandon E.; Akukwe, Bernadine; Chen, Kevin; Dowell, Jayce; Gough, Jonathan D.; Kanner, Jonah; Kavic, Michael; Obenberger, Kenneth; Shawhan, Peter; Simonetti, John H.; -Wei Tsai, Gregory B. Taylor, Jr.

2015-10-01

We explore opportunities for multi-messenger astronomy using gravitational waves (GWs) and prompt, transient low-frequency radio emission to study highly energetic astrophysical events. We review the literature on possible sources of correlated emission of GWs and radio transients, highlighting proposed mechanisms that lead to a short-duration, high-flux radio pulse originating from the merger of two neutron stars or from a superconducting cosmic string cusp. We discuss the detection prospects for each of these mechanisms by low-frequency dipole array instruments such as LWA1, the Low Frequency Array and the Murchison Widefield Array. We find that a broad range of models may be tested by searching for radio pulses that, when de-dispersed, are temporally and spatially coincident with a LIGO/Virgo GW trigger within a ˜30 s time window and ˜200-500 deg2 sky region. We consider various possible observing strategies and discuss their advantages and disadvantages. Uniquely, for low-frequency radio arrays, dispersion can delay the radio pulse until after low-latency GW data analysis has identified and reported an event candidate, enabling a prompt radio signal to be captured by a deliberately targeted beam. If neutron star mergers do have detectable prompt radio emissions, a coincident search with the GW detector network and low-frequency radio arrays could increase the LIGO/Virgo effective search volume by up to a factor of ˜2. For some models, we also map the parameter space that may be constrained by non-detections.

Carrier-phase control among subharmonic pulses in a femtosecond optical parametric oscillator.

PubMed

Kobayashi, Y; Torizuka, K

2001-08-15

We have generated femtosecond subharmonic pulses by using an optical parametric oscillator. The optical frequencies of the idler and the signal are one third and two thirds, respectively, of the optical frequency of the pump pulse. The carrier phase of the signal pulse relative to that of the pump pulse was locked by electronic feedback. The carrier-envelope phase slip frequency of the signal pulse relative to that of the pump was locked to F/6 , where F is defined as the repetition frequency.

Active 3D camera design for target capture on Mars orbit

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cottin, Pierre; Babin, François; Cantin, Daniel; Deslauriers, Adam; Sylvestre, Bruno

2010-04-01

During the ESA Mars Sample Return (MSR) mission, a sample canister launched from Mars will be autonomously captured by an orbiting satellite. We present the concept and the design of an active 3D camera supporting the orbiter navigation system during the rendezvous and capture phase. This camera aims at providing the range and bearing of a 20 cm diameter canister from 2 m to 5 km within a 20° field-of-view without moving parts (scannerless). The concept exploits the sensitivity and the gating capability of a gated intensified camera. It is supported by a pulsed source based on an array of laser diodes with adjustable amplitude and pulse duration (from nanoseconds to microseconds). The ranging capability is obtained by adequately controlling the timing between the acquisition of 2D images and the emission of the light pulses. Three modes of acquisition are identified to accommodate the different levels of ranging and bearing accuracy and the 3D data refresh rate. To come up with a single 3D image, each mode requires a different number of images to be processed. These modes can be applied to the different approach phases. The entire concept of operation of this camera is detailed with an emphasis on the extreme lighting conditions. Its uses for other space missions and terrestrial applications are also highlighted. This design is implemented in a prototype with shorter ranging capabilities for concept validation. Preliminary results obtained with this prototype are also presented. This work is financed by the Canadian Space Agency.

Light-Induced resetting of the circadian pacemaker: quantitative analysis of transient versus steady-state phase shifts.

PubMed

Watanabe, K; Deboer, T; Meijer, J H

2001-12-01

The suprachiasmatic nuclei of the hypothalamus contain the major circadian pacemaker in mammals, driving circadian rhythms in behavioral and physiological functions. This circadian pacemaker's responsiveness to light allows synchronization to the light-dark cycle. Phase shifting by light often involves several transient cycles in which the behavioral activity rhythm gradually shifts to its steady-state position. In this article, the authors investigate in Syrian hamsters whether a phase-advancing light pulse results in immediate shifts of the PRC at the next circadian cycle. In a first series of experiments, the authors aimed a light pulse at CT 19 to induce a phase advance. It appeared that the steady-state phase advances were highly correlated with activity onset in the first and second transient cycle. This enabled them to make a reliable estimate of the steady-state phase shift induced by a phase-advancing light pulse on the basis of activity onset in the first transient cycle. In the next series of experiments, they presented a light pulse at CT 19, which was followed by a second light pulse aimed at the delay zone of the PRC on the next circadian cycle. The immediate and steady-state phase delays induced by the second light pulse were compared with data from a third experiment in which animals received a phase-delaying light pulse only. The authors observed that the waveform of the phase-delay part of the PRC (CT 12-16) obtained in Experiment 2 was virtually identical to the phase-delay part of the PRC for a single light pulse (obtained in Experiment 3). This finding allowed for a quantitative assessment of the data. The analysis indicates that the delay part of the PRC-between CT 12 and CT 16-is rapidly reset following a light pulse at CT 19. These findings complement earlier findings in the hamster showing that after a light pulse at CT 19, the phase-advancing part of the PRC is immediately shifted. Together, the data indicate that the basis for phase advancing involves rapid resetting of both advance and delay components of the PRC.

Design, implementation, and performance of the Astro-H SXS calorimeter array and anticoincidence detector

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kilbourne, Caroline A.; Adams, Joseph S.; Brekosky, Regis P.; Chervenak, James A.; Chiao, Meng P.; Eckart, Megan E.; Figueroa-Feliciano, Enectali; Galeazzi, Masimilliano; Grein, Christoph; Jhabvala, Christine A.; Kelly, Daniel; Leutenegger, Maurice A.; McCammon, Dan; Scott Porter, F.; Szymkowiak, Andrew E.; Watanabe, Tomomi; Zhao, Jun

2018-01-01

The calorimeter array of the JAXA Astro-H (renamed Hitomi) soft x-ray spectrometer (SXS) was designed to provide unprecedented spectral resolution of spatially extended cosmic x-ray sources and of all cosmic x-ray sources in the Fe-K band around 6 keV, enabling essential plasma diagnostics. The SXS had a square array of 36 x-ray calorimeters at the focal plane. These calorimeters consisted of ion-implanted silicon thermistors and HgTe thermalizing x-ray absorbers. These devices demonstrated a resolution of better than 4.5 eV at 6 keV when operated at a heat-sink temperature of 50 mK. We will discuss the basic physical parameters of this array, including the array layout, thermal conductance of the link to the heat sink, resistance function, absorber details, and means of attaching the absorber to the thermistor-bearing element. We will also present the thermal characterization of the whole array, including thermal conductance and crosstalk measurements and the results of pulsing the frame temperature via alpha particles, heat pulses, and the environmental background. A silicon ionization detector was located behind the calorimeter array and served to reject events due to cosmic rays. We will briefly describe this anticoincidence detector and its performance.

The Design, Implementation, and Performance of the Astro-H SXS Calorimeter Array and Anti-Coincidence Detector

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kilbourne, Caroline A.; Adams, Joseph S.; Brekosky, Regis P.; Chiao, Meng P.; Chervenak, James A.; Eckart, Megan E.; Figueroa-Feliciano, Enectali; Galeazzi, Masimilliano; Grein, Christoph; Jhabvala, Christine A.;

Investigation on transmission and reflection characteristics of plasma array to 6 GHz high-power microwave

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Liu; Yang, Zhongcun; Wan, Jianing; Liu, Hao

2016-10-01

For the safety of electronic equipment, a double-layer barrier of cylindrical plasma array was designed, and its protective performance to high-power microwave (HPM) were analyzed and the protective performance experiment was conducted. Combining the density distribution characteristic of the discharge plasma, the shielding effectiveness of the double-layer plasma on 6GHz HPM pulse was studied. The experiment results indicate that the protective effectiveness of two layers plasma array is better than that of one layer. Two layers plasma array can make the peak electric field of transmission waveform less than interference threshold of electronic equipment to achieve better protection effectiveness. Transmission attenuation of one layer and two layers plasma array to HPM can reach -6.6066dB and -24.9357dB. The results also show that for the existence of multiple reflection, even the plasma electron density is not high enough, it can realize a strong attenuation. The experiment results in this paper are of great significance in protecting against HPM and electromagnetic pulse.

Aircraft components structural health monitoring using flexible ultrasonic transducer arrays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, W.-L.; Jen, C.-K.; Kobayashi, M.; Mrad, N.

2011-04-01

A damage detection capability based on a flexible ultrasonic transducer (FUT) array bonded onto a planar and a curved surface is presented. The FUT array was fabricated on a 75 μm titanium substrate using sol-gel spray technique. Room temperature curable adhesive is used as the bonding agent and ultrasonic couplant between the transducer and the test article. The bonding agent was successfully tested for aircraft environmental temperatures between -80 °C and 100 °C. For a planar test article, selected FUT arrays were able to detect fasteners damage within a planar distance of 176 mm, when used in the pulse-echo mode. Such results illustrate the effectiveness of the developed FUT transducer as compared to commercial 10MHz ultrasonic transducer (UT). These FUT arrays were further demonstrated on a curved test article. Pulse-echo measurements confirmed the reflected echoes from the specimen. Such measurement was not possible with commercial UTs due to the curved nature of the test article and its accessibility, thus demonstrating the suitability and superiority of the developed flexible ultrasonic transducer capability.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Solis, S. E.; Centro de Investigacion e Instrumentacion e Imagenologia Medica, Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana Iztapalapa, Mexico, DF 09340; Hernandez, J. A.

Arrays of antennas have been widely accepted for magnetic resonance imaging applications due to their high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) over large volumes of interest. A new surface coil based on the magnetron tube and called slotted surface coil, has been recently introduced by our group. This coil design experimentally demonstrated a significant improvement over the circular-shaped coil when used in the receive-only mode. The slotted coils formed a two-sheet structure with a 90 deg. separation and each coil had 6 circular slots. Numerical simulations were performed using the finite element method for this coil design to study the behaviour ofmore » the array magnetic field. Then, we developed a two-coil array for brain magnetic resonance imaging to be operated at the resonant frequency of 170 MHz in the transceiver mode. Phantom images were acquired with our coil array and standard pulse sequences on a research-dedicated 4 Tesla scanner. Numerical simulations demonstrated that electromagnetic interaction between the coil elements is negligible, and that the magnetic field showed a good uniformity. In vitro images showed the feasibility of this coil array for standard pulses for high field magnetic resonance imaging.« less

Nonlinear Photochromic Switching in the Plasmonic Field of a Nanoparticle Array

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Otolski, Christopher J.; Argyropoulos, Christos; Elles, Christopher G.

2017-06-01

Plasmonic nanostructures provide unique environments for non-resonant excitation and switching of photochromic compounds. In this study, photochromic diarylethene molecules were deposited on top of a periodically ordered array of gold nanorods (170 x 80 nm) and then irradiated with <100 fs laser pulses. Irradiation at 800 nm drives the plasmon resonance of the nanoparticle array and induces the photochromic conversion of molecules via non-resonant two-photon excitation. Transmission measurements using broadband continuum laser pulses probe the progress of the photochemical cycloreversion reaction as molecules switch from a visible-absorbing closed-ring structure to a transparent open-ring structure. The spatial dependence of the two-photon conversion of molecules in the plasmonic near field of the array is modeled using calculated field enhancements, and compared with similar measurements for a film of molecules on a glass substrate. Wavelength-dependent polarization effects in the near field of the array lead to interesting anisotropy results in the transmission signal. The results emphasize the importance of both the spatial dependence and anisotropy of the enhanced electric fields in driving non-resonant photochromic reactions.

Discrete tuning concept for fiber-integrated lasers based on tailored FBG arrays and a theta cavity layout.

PubMed

Tiess, Tobias; Becker, Martin; Rothhardt, Manfred; Bartelt, Hartmut; Jäger, Matthias

2017-03-15

We demonstrate a novel tuning concept for pulsed fiber-integrated lasers with a fiber Bragg grating (FBG) array as a discrete and tailored spectral filter, as well as a modified laser design. Based on a theta cavity layout, the structural delay lines originating from the FBG array are balanced, enabling a constant repetition rate and stable pulse properties over the full tuning range. The emission wavelength is electrically tuned with respect to the filter properties based on an adapted temporal gating scheme using an acousto-optic modulator. This concept has been investigated with an Yb-doped fiber laser, demonstrating excellent emission properties with high signal contrast (>35  dB) and narrow linewidth (<150  pm) over a tuning range of 25 nm.

DESCANT--The DEuterated SCintillator Array for Neutron Tagging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bildstein, Vinzenz; Garrett, P. E.; Bandyopadhay, D.; Bangay, J.; Bianco, L.; Demand, G.; Hadinia, B.; Leach, K. G.; Sumithrarachchi, C.; Wong, J.; Ashley, S. F.; Crider, B. P.; McEllistrem, M. T.; Peters, E. E.; Prados-Estévez, F. M.; Yates, S. W.; Vanhoy, J. R.; Ball, G. C.; Garnsworthy, A. B.; Hackman, G.; Pearson, C. J.; Sarazin, F.

2014-09-01

The DESCANT array at TRIUMF is designed to track neutrons from RIB experiments. DESCANT is composed of 70 close-packed deuterated organic liquid scintillators coupled to digital fast read-out ADC modules. This configuration will permit online pulse-shape discrimination between neutron and γ-ray events. The anisotropy of the n - d scattering will allow distinction of higher neutron multiplicities from scattering within the array and determination of the neutron energy spectrum directly from the pulse-height spectrum without using TOF. A prototype detector has been tested with monoenergetic neutrons at the accelerator laboratory of the University of Kentucky and a 24Mg(3He, n)26Si experiment has been performed with eight DESCANT detectors and two HPGe detectors. The results of the tests and the status of DESCANT will be presented.

The ABLE ACE wavefront sensor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Butts, Robert R.

1997-08-01

A low noise, high resolution Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor was included in the ABLE-ACE instrument suite to obtain direct high resolution phase measurements of the 0.53 micrometers pulsed laser beam propagated through high altitude atmospheric turbulence. The wavefront sensor employed a Fired geometry using a lenslet array which provided approximately 17 sub-apertures across the pupil. The lenslets focused the light in each sub-aperture onto a 21 by 21 array of pixels in the camera focal plane with 8 pixels in the camera focal plane with 8 pixels across the central lobe of the diffraction limited spot. The goal of the experiment was to measure the effects of the turbulence in the free atmosphere on propagation, but the wavefront sensor also detected the aberrations induced by the aircraft boundary layer and the receiver aircraft internal beam path. Data analysis methods used to extract the desired atmospheric contribution to the phase measurements from the data corrupted by non-atmospheric aberrations are described. Approaches which were used included a reconstruction of the phase as a linear combination of Zernike polynomials coupled with optical estimator sand computation of structure functions of the sub-aperture slopes. The theoretical basis for the data analysis techniques is presented. Results are described, and comparisons with theory and simulations are shown. Estimates of average turbulence strength along the propagation path from the wavefront sensor showed good agreement with other sensor. The Zernike spectra calculated from the wavefront sensor data were consistent with the standard Kolmogorov model of turbulence.

Optical Characteristics of Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Lasers and Two Dimensional Coherently Coupled Arrays.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Catchmark, Jeffrey Michael

1995-01-01

The following describes extensive experimental and theoretical research concerning the optical, electrical and thermal characteristics of GaAs/AlGaAs vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSELs) and coherently coupled two dimensional VCSEL arrays grown by molecular beam epitaxy. The temperature and wavelength performance of VCSELs containing various epitaxial designs is discussed in detail. By employing a high barrier confinement spacer region and by blue shifting the optical gain with respect to the Fabry Perot transmission wavelength, greater than 150^circ rm C continuous wave operation was obtained. This is accomplished while maintaining a variation in the threshold current of only +/-0.93mA over a temperature range of 150^circrm C. This exceptional performance is achieved while attaining a minimum threshold current of approximately 4.3mA at 75^circrm C. In addition, the optical characteristics of multi-transverse mode VCSEL arrays are examined experimentally. A total of nine transverse modes have been identified and are found to couple coherently into distinct array modes. While operating in higher order transverse modes, a record 1.4W (pulsed) of optical power is obtained from a 15 x 15 VCSEL array. Array mode formation in coherently coupled VCSEL arrays is also examined theoretically. A numerical model is developed to describe the formation of supermodes in reflectivity modulated VCSEL arrays. Using this model, the effects of depth of reflectivity modulation, cavity length, window size and grid size on mode formation are explored. The array modes predicted by this model are in agreement with those observed experimentally. Analytic models will also be presented describing the effects of thermally induced waveguiding on the optical characteristics of VCSELs operating in the fundamental transverse mode. A thermal waveguide is found to have a significant effect on the spot size and radius of curvature of the phase of the fundamental optical mode. In addition, an analytic model is developed to predict the higher order transverse modes of a VCSEL exhibiting a cruciform type geometry.

Phase and period responses of the circadian system of mice (Mus musculus) to light stimuli of different duration.

PubMed

Comas, M; Beersma, D G M; Spoelstra, K; Daan, S

2006-10-01

To understand entrainment of circadian systems to different photoperiods in nature, it is important to know the effects of single light pulses of different durations on the free-running system. The authors studied the phase and period responses of laboratory mice (C57BL6J//OlaHsd) to single light pulses of 7 different durations (1, 3, 4, 6, 9, 12, and 18 h) given once per 11 days in otherwise constant darkness. Light-pulse duration affected both amplitude and shape of the phase response curve. Nine-hour light pulses yielded the maximal amplitude PRC. As in other systems, the circadian period slightly lengthened following delays and shortened following advances. The authors aimed to understand how different parts of the light signal contribute to the eventual phase shift. When PRCs were plotted using the onset, midpoint, and end of the pulse as a phase reference, they corresponded best with each other when using the mid-pulse. Using a simple phase-only model, the authors explored the possibility that light affects oscillator velocity strongly in the 1st hour and at reduced strength in later hours of the pulse due to photoreceptor adaptation. They fitted models based on the 1-h PRC to the data for all light pulses. The best overall correspondence between PRCs was obtained when the effect of light during all hours after the first was reduced by a factor of 0.22 relative to the 1st hour. For the predicted PRCs, the light action centered on average at 38% of the light pulse. This is close to the reference phase yielding best correspondence at 36% of the pulses. The result is thus compatible with an initial major contribution of the onset of the light pulse followed by a reduced effect of light responsible for the differences between PRCs for different duration pulses. The authors suggest that the mid-pulse is a better phase reference than lights-on to plot and compare PRCs of different light-pulse durations.

Qualification of Laser Diode Arrays for Mercury Laser Altimeter

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stephen, Mark; Vasilyev, Aleksey; Schafer, John; Allan, Graham R.

2004-01-01

NASA's requirements for high reliability, high performance satellite laser instruments have driven the investigation of many critical components; specifically, 808 nm laser diode array (LDA) pump devices. Performance of Quasi-CW, High-power, laser diode arrays under extended use is presented. We report the optical power over several hundred million pulse operation and the effect of power cycling and temperature cycling of the laser diode arrays. Data on the initial characterization of the devices is also presented.

Reconfigurable Wave Velocity Transmission Lines for Phased Arrays

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Host, Nick; Chen, Chi-Chih; Volakis, John L.; Miranda, Felix

2013-01-01

Phased array antennas showcase many advantages over mechanically steered systems. However, they are also more complex, heavy and most importantly costly. This presentation paper presents a concept which overcomes these detrimental attributes by eliminating all of the phase array backend (including phase shifters). Instead, a wave velocity reconfigurable transmission line is used in a series fed array arrangement to allow phase shifting with one small (100mil) mechanical motion. Different configurations of the reconfigurable wave velocity transmission line are discussed and simulated and experimental results are presented.

X-Ray Detection and Processing Models for Spacecraft Navigation and Timing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sheikh, Suneel; Hanson, John

2013-01-01

The current primary method of deepspace navigation is the NASA Deep Space Network (DSN). High-performance navigation is achieved using Delta Differential One-Way Range techniques that utilize simultaneous observations from multiple DSN sites, and incorporate observations of quasars near the line-of-sight to a spacecraft in order to improve the range and angle measurement accuracies. Over the past four decades, x-ray astronomers have identified a number of xray pulsars with pulsed emissions having stabilities comparable to atomic clocks. The x-ray pulsar-based navigation and time determination (XNAV) system uses phase measurements from these sources to establish autonomously the position of the detector, and thus the spacecraft, relative to a known reference frame, much as the Global Positioning System (GPS) uses phase measurements from radio signals from several satellites to establish the position of the user relative to an Earth-centered fixed frame of reference. While a GPS receiver uses an antenna to detect the radio signals, XNAV uses a detector array to capture the individual xray photons from the x-ray pulsars. The navigation solution relies on detailed xray source models, signal processing, navigation and timing algorithms, and analytical tools that form the basis of an autonomous XNAV system. Through previous XNAV development efforts, some techniques have been established to utilize a pulsar pulse time-of-arrival (TOA) measurement to correct a position estimate. One well-studied approach, based upon Kalman filter methods, optimally adjusts a dynamic orbit propagation solution based upon the offset in measured and predicted pulse TOA. In this delta position estimator scheme, previously estimated values of spacecraft position and velocity are utilized from an onboard orbit propagator. Using these estimated values, the detected arrival times at the spacecraft of pulses from a pulsar are compared to the predicted arrival times defined by the pulsar s pulse timing model. A discrepancy provides an estimate of the spacecraft position offset, since an error in position will relate to the measured time offset of a pulse along the line of sight to the pulsar. XNAV researchers have been developing additional enhanced approaches to process the photon TOAs to arrive at an estimate of spacecraft position, including those using maximum-likelihood estimation, digital phase locked loops, and "single photon processing" schemes that utilize all available time data associated with each photon. Using pulsars from separate, non-coplanar locations provides range and range-rate measurements in each pulsar s direction. Combining these different pulsar measurements solves for offsets in position and velocity in three dimensions, and provides accurate overall navigation for deep space vehicles.

Flat-Top Sector Beams Using Only Array Element Phase Weighting: A Metaheuristic Optimization Approach

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-10-10

IrwIn D. OlIn Flat-Top Sector Beams Using Only Array Element Phase Weighting: A Metaheuristic Optimization Approach Sotera Defense Solutions, Inc...2012 Formal Report Flat-Top Sector Beams Using Only Array Element Phase Weighting: A Metaheuristic Optimization Approach Irwin D. Olin* Naval...Manuscript approved June 30, 2012. 1 FLAT-TOP SECTOR BEAMS USING ONLY ARRAY ELEMENT PHASE WEIGHTING: A METAHEURISTIC

Basic performance evaluation of a Si-PM array-based LGSO phoswich DOI block detector for a high-resolution small animal PET system.

PubMed

Yamamoto, Seiichi

2013-07-01

The silicon photomultiplier (Si-PM) is a promising photodetector for PET. However, it remains unclear whether Si-PM can be used for a depth-of-interaction (DOI) detector based on the decay time differences of the scintillator where pulse shape analysis is used. For clarification, we tested the Hamamatsu 4 × 4 Si-PM array (S11065-025P) combined with scintillators that used different decay times to develop DOI block detectors using the pulse shape analysis. First, Ce-doped Gd(2)SiO(5) (GSO) scintillators of 0.5 mol% Ce were arranged in a 4 × 4 matrix and were optically coupled to the center of each pixel of the Si-PM array for measurement of the energy resolution as well as its gain variations according to the temperature. Then two types of Ce-doped Lu(1.9)Gd(0.1)Si0(5) (LGSO) scintillators, 0.025 mol% Ce (decay time: ~31 ns) and 0.75 mol% Ce (decay time: ~46 ns), were optically coupled in the DOI direction, arranged in a 11 × 7 matrix, and optically coupled to a Si-PM array for testing of the possibility of a high-resolution DOI detector. The energy resolution of the Si-PM array-based GSO block detector was 18 ± 4.4 % FWHM for a Cs-137 gamma source (662 keV). Less than 1 mm crystals were clearly resolved in the position map of the LGSO DOI block detector. The peak-to-valley ratio (P/V) derived from the pulse shape spectra of the LGSO DOI block detector was 2.2. These results confirmed that Si-PM array-based DOI block detectors are promising for high-resolution small animal PET systems.

First experimental demonstration of self-synchronous phase locking of an optical array

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shay, T. M.; Benham, Vincent; Baker, J. T.; Ward, Benjamin; Sanchez, Anthony D.; Culpepper, Mark A.; Pilkington, D.; Spring, Justin; Nelson, Douglas J.; Lu, Chunte A.

2006-12-01

A novel, highly accurate, all electronic technique for phase locking arrays of optical fibers is demonstrated. We report the first demonstration of the only electronic phase locking technique that doesn’t require a reference beam. The measured phase error is λ/20. Excellent phase locking has been demonstrated for fiber amplifier arrays.

Forty-photon-per-pulse spectral phase retrieval by shaper-assisted modified interferometric field autocorrelation.

PubMed

Hsu, Chen-Shao; Chiang, Hsin-Chien; Chuang, Hsiu-Po; Huang, Chen-Bin; Yang, Shang-Da

2011-07-15

We retrieve the spectral phase of 400 fs pulses at 1560 nm with 5.2 aJ coupled pulse energy (40 photons) by the modified interferometric field autocorrelation method, using a pulse shaper and a 5 cm long periodically poled lithium niobate waveguide. The carrier-envelope phase control of the shaper can reduce the fringe density of the interferometric trace and permits longer lock-in time constants, achieving a sensitivity of 2.7×10(-9) mW(2) (40 times better than the previous record for self-referenced nonlinear pulse measurement). The high stability of the pulse shaper allows for accurate and reproducible measurements of complicated spectral phases. © 2011 Optical Society of America

The second phase of bipolar, nanosecond-range electric pulses determines the electroporation efficiency.

PubMed

Pakhomov, Andrei G; Grigoryev, Sergey; Semenov, Iurii; Casciola, Maura; Jiang, Chunqi; Xiao, Shu

2018-03-29

Bipolar cancellation refers to a phenomenon when applying a second electric pulse reduces ("cancels") cell membrane damage by a preceding electric pulse of the opposite polarity. Bipolar cancellation is a reason why bipolar nanosecond electric pulses (nsEP) cause weaker electroporation than just a single unipolar phase of the same pulse. This study was undertaken to explore the dependence of bipolar cancellation on nsEP parameters, with emphasis on the amplitude ratio of two opposite polarity phases of a bipolar pulse. Individual cells (CHO, U937, or adult mouse ventricular cardiomyocytes (VCM)) were exposed to either uni- or bipolar trapezoidal nsEP, or to nanosecond electric field oscillations (NEFO). The membrane injury was evaluated by time-lapse confocal imaging of the uptake of propidium (Pr) or YO-PRO-1 (YP) dyes and by phosphatidylserine (PS) externalization. Within studied limits, bipolar cancellation showed little or no dependence on the electric field intensity, pulse repetition rate, chosen endpoint, or cell type. However, cancellation could increase for larger pulse numbers and/or for longer pulses. The sole most critical parameter which determines bipolar cancellation was the phase ratio: maximum cancellation was observed with the 2nd phase of about 50% of the first one, whereas a larger 2nd phase could add a damaging effect of its own. "Swapping" the two phases, i.e., delivering the smaller phase before the larger one, reduced or eliminated cancellation. These findings are discussed in the context of hypothetical mechanisms of bipolar cancellation and electroporation by nsEP. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Axially adjustable magnetic properties in arrays of multilayered Ni/Cu nanowires with variable segment sizes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shirazi Tehrani, A.; Almasi Kashi, M.; Ramazani, A.; Montazer, A. H.

2016-07-01

Arrays of multilayered Ni/Cu nanowires (NWs) with variable segment sizes were fabricated into anodic aluminum oxide templates using a pulsed electrodeposition method in a single bath for designated potential pulse times. Increasing the pulse time between 0.125 and 2 s in the electrodeposition of Ni enabled the formation of segments with thicknesses ranging from 25 to 280 nm and 10-110 nm in 42 and 65 nm diameter NWs, respectively, leading to disk-shaped, rod-shaped and/or near wire-shaped geometries. Using hysteresis loop measurements at room temperature, the axial and perpendicular magnetic properties were investigated. Regardless of the segment geometry, the axial coercivity and squareness significantly increased with increasing Ni segment thickness, in agreement with a decrease in calculated demagnetizing factors along the NW length. On the contrary, the perpendicular magnetic properties were found to be independent of the pulse times, indicating a competition between the intrawire interactions and the shape demagnetizing field.

Localized wave pulses in the keyport experiment

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chambers, D.H.; Lewis, D.K.

1998-02-17

Localized wave (LW) pulses were produced using a standard Navy array in the anechoic tank at Navy Underwater Weapons Center (NUWC) Keyport. The LW pulses used were the MPS pulse first derived by Ziolkowski, and a new type of pulse based on a superposition of Gaussian beam modes. This new type is motivated by a desire to make a comparison of the MPS pulse with another broad band pulse built from solutions to the wave equation. The superposed Gaussian pulse can be described by parameters which are analogous to those describing the MPS pulse. We compare the directivity patternsand themore » axial energy decay between the pulses. We find the behavior of the pulses to be similar so that the superposed Gaussian could be another candidate in the class of low diffractive pulses known as localized waves.« less

Novel Photon-Counting Detectors for Free-Space Communication

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Krainak, M. A.; Yang, G.; Sun, X.; Lu, W.; Merritt, S.; Beck, J.

2016-01-01

We present performance data for novel photon-counting detectors for free space optical communication. NASA GSFC is testing the performance of two types of novel photon-counting detectors 1) a 2x8 mercury cadmium telluride (HgCdTe) avalanche array made by DRS Inc., and a 2) a commercial 2880-element silicon avalanche photodiode (APD) array. We present and compare dark count, photon-detection efficiency, wavelength response and communication performance data for these detectors. We successfully measured real-time communication performance using both the 2 detected-photon threshold and AND-gate coincidence methods. Use of these methods allows mitigation of dark count, after-pulsing and background noise effects. The HgCdTe APD array routinely demonstrated photon detection efficiencies of greater than 50% across 5 arrays, with one array reaching a maximum PDE of 70%. We performed high-resolution pixel-surface spot scans and measured the junction diameters of its diodes. We found that decreasing the junction diameter from 31 micrometers to 25 micrometers doubled the e- APD gain from 470 for an array produced in the year 2010 to a gain of 1100 on an array delivered to NASA GSFC recently. The mean single-photon SNR was over 12 and the excess noise factors measurements were 1.2-1.3. The commercial silicon APD array exhibited a fast output with rise times of 300 ps and pulse widths of 600 ps. On-chip individually filtered signals from the entire array were multiplexed onto a single fast output.

Problems in nonlinear acoustics: Scattering of sound by sound, parametric receiving arrays, nonlinear effects in asymmetric sound beams and pulsed finite amplitude sound beams

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hamilton, Mark F.

1989-08-01

Four projects are discussed in this annual summary report, all of which involve basic research in nonlinear acoustics: Scattering of Sound by Sound, a theoretical study of two nonconlinear Gaussian beams which interact to produce sum and difference frequency sound; Parametric Receiving Arrays, a theoretical study of parametric reception in a reverberant environment; Nonlinear Effects in Asymmetric Sound Beams, a numerical study of two dimensional finite amplitude sound fields; and Pulsed Finite Amplitude Sound Beams, a numerical time domain solution of the KZK equation.

Monolithic optical integrated control circuitry for GaAs MMIC-based phased arrays

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bhasin, K. B.; Ponchak, G. E.; Kascak, T. J.

1985-01-01

Gallium arsenide (GaAs) monolithic microwave integrated circuits (MMIC's) show promise in phased-array antenna applications for future space communications systems. Their efficient usage will depend on the control of amplitude and phase signals for each MMIC element in the phased array and in the low-loss radiofrequency feed. For a phased array contining several MMIC elements a complex system is required to control and feed each element. The characteristics of GaAs MMIC's for 20/30-GHz phased-array systems are discussed. The optical/MMIC interface and the desired characteristics of optical integrated circuits (OIC's) for such an interface are described. Anticipated fabrication considerations for eventual full monolithic integration of optical integrated circuits with MMIC's on a GaAs substrate are presented.

Phased array feed design technology for Large Aperture Microwave Radiometer (LAMR) Earth observations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schuman, H. K.

1992-01-01

An assessment of the potential and limitations of phased array antennas in space-based geophysical precision radiometry is described. Mathematical models exhibiting the dependence of system and scene temperatures and system sensitivity on phased array antenna parameters and components such as phase shifters and low noise amplifiers (LNA) are developed. Emphasis is given to minimum noise temperature designs wherein the LNA's are located at the array level, one per element or subarray. Two types of combiners are considered: array lenses (space feeds) and corporate networks. The result of a survey of suitable components and devices is described. The data obtained from that survey are used in conjunction with the mathematical models to yield an assessment of effective array antenna noise temperature for representative geostationary and low Earth orbit systems. Practical methods of calibrating a space-based, phased array radiometer are briefly addressed as well.

Laser micromachining of cadmium tungstate scintillator for high energy X-ray imaging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Richards, Sion Andreas

Pulsed laser ablation has been investigated as a method for the creation of thick segmented scintillator arrays for high-energy X-ray radiography. Thick scintillators are needed to improve the X-ray absorption at high energies, while segmentation is required for spatial resolution. Monte-Carlo simulations predicted that reflections at the inter-segment walls were the greatest source of loss of scintillation photons. As a result of this, fine pitched arrays would be inefficient as the number of reflections would be significantly higher than in large pitch arrays. Nanosecond and femtosecond pulsed laser ablation was investigated as a method to segment cadmium tungstate (CdWO_4). The effect of laser parameters on the ablation mechanisms, laser induced material changes and debris produced were investigated using optical and electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy for both types of lasers. It was determined that nanosecond ablation was unsuitable due to the large amount of cracking and a heat affected zone created during the ablation process. Femtosecond pulsed laser ablation was found to induce less damage. The optimised laser parameters for a 1028 nm laser was found to be a pulse energy of 54 μJ corresponding to a fluence of 5.3 J cm. -2 a pulse duration of 190 fs, a repetition rate of 78.3 kHz and a laser scan speed of 707 mm s. -1 achieving a normalised pulse overlap of 0.8. A serpentine scan pattern was found to minimise damage caused by anisotropic thermal expansion. Femtosecond pulsed ablation was also found to create a layer of tungsten and cadmium sub-oxides on the surface of the crystals. The CdWO_4 could be cleaned by immersing the CdWO_4 in ammonium hydroxide at 45°C for 15 minutes. However, XPS indicated that the ammonium hydroxide formed a thin layer of CdCO_3 and Cd(OH)_2 on the surface. Prototype arrays were shown to be able to resolve features as small as 0.5 mm using keV energy X-rays. The most efficient prototype showed low detective quantum efficiency of 0.08±0.01 at 0 lp/mm using a tube voltage of 160 kVp.

Gain-phase modulation in chirped-pulse amplification

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shen, Yijie; Gao, Gan; Meng, Yuan; Fu, Xing; Gong, Mali

2017-10-01

The cross-modulation between the gain and chirped phase in chirped-pulse amplification (CPA) is theoretically and experimentally demonstrated. We propose a gain-phase coupled nonlinear Schrödinger equation (GPC-NLSE) for solving chirped-pulse propagation in a nonlinear gain medium involved in the gain-phase modulation (GPM) process. With the GPC-NLSE, the space-time-frequency-dependent gain, chirped phase, pulse, and spectrum evolutions can be precisely calculated. Moreover, a short-length high-gain Yb-doped fiber CPA experiment is presented in which a self-steepening distortion of the seed pulse is automatically compensated after amplification. This phenomenon can be explained by the GPM theory whereas conventional models cannot. The experimental results for the temporal and spectral intensities show excellent agreement with our theory. Our GPM theory paves the way for further investigations of the finer structures of the pulse and spectrum in CPA systems.

UAVSAR Active Electronically-Scanned Array

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sadowy, Gregory; Brown, Kyle; Chamberlain, Neil; Figueroa, Harry; Fisher, Charlie; Grando, Maurio; Hamilton, Gary; Vorperian, Vatche; Zawadzki, Mark

2010-01-01

The Uninhabited Airborne Vehicle Synthetic Aperture Radar (UAVSAR) L-band (1.2-1.3 GHz) repeat pass, interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) used for Earth science applications. Using complex radar images collected during separate passes on time scales of hours to years, changes in surface topography can be measured. The repeat-pass InSAR technique requires that the radar look angle be approximately the same on successive passes. Due to variations in aircraft attitude between passes, antenna beam steering is required to replicate the radar look angle. This paper describes an active, electronically steered array (AESA) that provides beam steering capability in the antenna azimuth plane. The array contains 24 transmit/receive modules generating 2800 W of radiated power and is capable of pulse-to-pulse beam steering and polarization agility. Designed for high reliability as well as serviceability, all array electronics are contained in single 178cm x 62cm x 12 cm air-cooled panel suitable for operation up 60,000 ft altitude.

Piezoelectric ceramics with high dielectric constants for ultrasonic medical transducers.

PubMed

Hosono, Yasuharu; Yamashita, Yohachi

2005-10-01

Complex system ceramics Pb(Sc(1/2)Nb(1/2))O3-Pb(Mg(1/3)Nb(2/3))O3-Pb(Ni(1/2)Nb(1/2))O3-(Pb0.965,Sr0.035) (Zr,Ti)O3 (PSN-PMN-PNN-PSZT abbreviated PSMNZT) have been synthesized by the conventional technique, and dielectric and piezoelectric properties of the ceramics have been investigated for ultrasonic medical transducers. High capacitances of the transducers are desired in order to match the electrical impedance between the transducers and the coaxial cable in array probes. Although piezoelectric ceramics that have high dielectric constants (epsilon33t/epsilon0 > 5000, k'33 < 70%) are produced in many foundries, the dielectric constants are insufficient. However, we have reported that low molecular mass B-site ions in the lead-perovskite structures are important in realizing better dielectric and piezoelectric properties. We focused on the complex system ceramics PSMNZT that consists of light B-site elements. The maximum dielectric constant, epsilon33T/epsilon0 = 7, 200, was confirmed in the ceramics, where k'33 = 69%, d33 = 940 pC/N, and T(c) = 135 degrees C were obtained. Moreover, pulse-echo characteristics were simulated using the Mason model. The PSMNZT ceramic probe showed echo amplitude about 5.5 dB higher than that of the conventional PZT ceramic probe (PZT-5H type). In this paper, the electrical properties of the PSMNZT ceramics and the simulation results for pulse-echo characteristics of the phased-array probes are introduced.

3-D matrix template-assisted growth of oriented oxide nanowire arrays using glancing angle pulsed laser deposition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wright, N.; Mateo-Feliciano, D.; Ostoski, A.; Mukherjee, P.; Witanachchi, S.

Nanosphere lithography is a combination of different methods to nanofabrication. In this work nanosphere lithography is used to study the growth of Zinc Oxide Nano-columns (ZnO NCs) on different diameter Silica Nanosphere (SNS) self-assembled templates. ZnO NCs are promising building blocks for many existing and emerging optical, electrical, and piezoelectric devices, specifically, the seeded growth of other oxide materials. Recently, reports have shown a ferroelectric phase of zinc stannate (ZnSnO3) and while lead zirconium titanate oxide (PZT) has been the main material of interest in ferroelectric and piezoelectric applications, the toxicity of lead has been of great concern. The possibility of developing lead free piezoelectric materials is of great interest in the ferroelectric community. Langmuir-Blodgett method was used to construct a self-assembled monolayer of SNSs on silicon substrates. Oriented ZnO NCs were grown on top of the spheres using the glancing angle pulsed laser deposition technique. Columns were formed in a spatially ordered closed-packed hexagonal configuration. Growth of ZnO NCs was studied as function of ambient Oxygen pressure with SNS size ranging from 250-1000 nm. Cross-sectional Scanning Electron Microscopy and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were used to study the template structure. Relative aspect ratios were studied and showed tunability of column dimensions with sphere size. XRD revealed ZnO NC arrays were c-axis oriented with hexagonal wurtzite structure.

The Orbital Parameters and Nature of the X-ray Pulsar IGR J16393-4643 Using Pulse Timing Analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pearlman, Aaron B.; Corbet, R. H. D.; Pottschmidt, K.; Skinner, G. K.

2011-09-01

A 3.7 day orbital period was previously suggested for the 910 s X-ray pulsar IGR J16393-4643 from a pulse timing study of widely separated X-ray observations (Thompson et al., 2006), placing the system in the supergiant wind-fed region of the Ppulse-Porb diagram. However, orbital periods of 50.2 and 8.1 days could not be excluded. Nespoli et al. (2010) refute this wind-accreting high-mass X-ray binary classification and suggest a symbiotic X-ray binary (SyXB) designation based on infrared spectroscopy of the proposed counterpart and the potential 50.2 day orbital solution. SyXBs are low-mass X-ray binaries in which a neutron star accretes from the inhomogeneous medium around an M-type giant companion. We find that two statistically independent light curves of IGR J16393-4643, from the Swift Burst Alert Telescope (15-50 keV) and the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) Proportional Counter Array (PCA) Galactic bulge scans (2-10 keV), show highly significant orbital modulation near 4.24 days. Making use of this precise orbital period, we present the results from pulse arrival time analysis on IGR J16393-4643 using RXTE PCA observations. We provide significantly improved phase-connected pulse timing results using archival observations presented in Thompson et al. (2006) and additional pulse timing data not included in their study to determine the orbital parameters of the system. The derived 7.5 M⊙ mass function is inconsistent with a SyXB identification.

The impact of early visual cortex transcranial magnetic stimulation on visual working memory precision and guess rate.

PubMed

Rademaker, Rosanne L; van de Ven, Vincent G; Tong, Frank; Sack, Alexander T

2017-01-01

Neuroimaging studies have demonstrated that activity patterns in early visual areas predict stimulus properties actively maintained in visual working memory. Yet, the mechanisms by which such information is represented remain largely unknown. In this study, observers remembered the orientations of 4 briefly presented gratings, one in each quadrant of the visual field. A 10Hz Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) triplet was applied directly at stimulus offset, or midway through a 2-second delay, targeting early visual cortex corresponding retinotopically to a sample item in the lower hemifield. Memory for one of the four gratings was probed at random, and participants reported this orientation via method of adjustment. Recall errors were smaller when the visual field location targeted by TMS overlapped with that of the cued memory item, compared to errors for stimuli probed diagonally to TMS. This implied topographic storage of orientation information, and a memory-enhancing effect at the targeted location. Furthermore, early pulses impaired performance at all four locations, compared to late pulses. Next, response errors were fit empirically using a mixture model to characterize memory precision and guess rates. Memory was more precise for items proximal to the pulse location, irrespective of pulse timing. Guesses were more probable with early TMS pulses, regardless of stimulus location. Thus, while TMS administered at the offset of the stimulus array might disrupt early-phase consolidation in a non-topographic manner, TMS also boosts the precise representation of an item at its targeted retinotopic location, possibly by increasing attentional resources or by injecting a beneficial amount of noise.

The impact of early visual cortex transcranial magnetic stimulation on visual working memory precision and guess rate

PubMed Central

van de Ven, Vincent G.; Tong, Frank; Sack, Alexander T.

2017-01-01

Neuroimaging studies have demonstrated that activity patterns in early visual areas predict stimulus properties actively maintained in visual working memory. Yet, the mechanisms by which such information is represented remain largely unknown. In this study, observers remembered the orientations of 4 briefly presented gratings, one in each quadrant of the visual field. A 10Hz Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) triplet was applied directly at stimulus offset, or midway through a 2-second delay, targeting early visual cortex corresponding retinotopically to a sample item in the lower hemifield. Memory for one of the four gratings was probed at random, and participants reported this orientation via method of adjustment. Recall errors were smaller when the visual field location targeted by TMS overlapped with that of the cued memory item, compared to errors for stimuli probed diagonally to TMS. This implied topographic storage of orientation information, and a memory-enhancing effect at the targeted location. Furthermore, early pulses impaired performance at all four locations, compared to late pulses. Next, response errors were fit empirically using a mixture model to characterize memory precision and guess rates. Memory was more precise for items proximal to the pulse location, irrespective of pulse timing. Guesses were more probable with early TMS pulses, regardless of stimulus location. Thus, while TMS administered at the offset of the stimulus array might disrupt early-phase consolidation in a non-topographic manner, TMS also boosts the precise representation of an item at its targeted retinotopic location, possibly by increasing attentional resources or by injecting a beneficial amount of noise. PMID:28384347

Four-to-one power combiner for 20 GHz phased array antenna using RADC MMIC phase shifters

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1991-01-01

The design and microwave simulation of two-to-one microstrip power combiners is described. The power combiners were designed for use in a four element phase array receive antenna subarray at 20 GHz. Four test circuits are described which were designed to enable testing of the power combiner and the four element phased array antenna. Test Circuit 1 enables measurement of the two-to-one power combiner. Test Circuit 2 enables measurement of the four-to-one power combiner. Test Circuit 3 enables measurement of a four element antenna array without phase shifting MMIC's in order to characterize the power combiner with the antenna patch-to-microstrip coaxial feedthroughs. Test circuit 4 is the four element phased array antenna including the RADC MMIC phase shifters and appropriate interconnects to provide bias voltages and control phase bits.

Wirelessly Networked Digital Phased Array: Analysis and Development of a Phase Synchronization Concept

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-09-01

NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA THESIS Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited WIRELESSLY NETWORKED...DIGITAL PHASED ARRAY: ANALYSIS AND DEVELOPMENT OF A PHASE SYNCHRONIZATION CONCEPT by Micael Grahn September 2007 Thesis Advisor...September 2007 3. REPORT TYPE AND DATES COVERED Master’s Thesis 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE Wirelessly Networked Digital Phased Array: Analysis and

Analysis and experimental demonstration of conformal adaptive phase-locked fiber array for laser communications and beam projection applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Ling

The primary goal of this research is the analysis, development, and experimental demonstration of an adaptive phase-locked fiber array system for free-space optical communications and laser beam projection applications. To our knowledge, the developed adaptive phase-locked system composed of three fiber collimators (subapertures) with tip-tilt wavefront phase control at each subaperture represents the first reported fiber array system that implements both phase-locking control and adaptive wavefront tip-tilt control capabilities. This research has also resulted in the following innovations: (a) The first experimental demonstration of a phase-locked fiber array with tip-tilt wave-front aberration compensation at each fiber collimator; (b) Development and demonstration of the fastest currently reported stochastic parallel gradient descent (SPGD) system capable of operation at 180,000 iterations per second; (c) The first experimental demonstration of a laser communication link based on a phase-locked fiber array; (d) The first successful experimental demonstration of turbulence and jitter-induced phase distortion compensation in a phase-locked fiber array optical system; (e) The first demonstration of laser beam projection onto an extended target with a randomly rough surface using a conformal adaptive fiber array system. Fiber array optical systems, the subject of this study, can overcome some of the draw-backs of conventional monolithic large-aperture transmitter/receiver optical systems that are usually heavy, bulky, and expensive. The primary experimental challenges in the development of the adaptive phased-locked fiber-array included precise (<5 microrad) alignment of the fiber collimators and development of fast (100kHz-class) phase-locking and wavefront tip-tilt control systems. The precise alignment of the fiber collimator array is achieved through a specially developed initial coarse alignment tool based on high precision piezoelectric picomotors and a dynamic fine alignment mechanism implemented with specially designed and manufactured piezoelectric fiber positioners. Phase-locking of the fiber collimators is performed by controlling the phases of the output beams (beamlets) using integrated polarization-maintaining (PM) fiber-coupled LiNbO3 phase shifters. The developed phase-locking controllers are based on either the SPGD algorithm or the multi-dithering technique. Subaperture wavefront phase tip-tilt control is realized using piezoelectric fiber positioners that are controlled using a computer-based SPGD controller. Both coherent (phase-locked) and incoherent beam combining in the fiber array system are analyzed theoretically and experimentally. Two special fiber-based beam-combining testbeds have been built to demonstrate the technical feasibility of phase-locking compensation prior to free-space operation. In addition, the reciprocity of counter-propagating beams in a phase-locked fiber array system has been investigated. Coherent beam combining in a phase-locking system with wavefront phase tip-tilt compensation at each subaperture is successfully demonstrated when laboratory-simulated turbulence and wavefront jitters are present in the propagation path of the beamlets. In addition, coherent beam combining with a non-cooperative extended target in the control loop is successfully demonstrated.

Helicity-selective phase-matching and quasi-phase matching of circularly polarized high-order harmonics: towards chiral attosecond pulses

DOE PAGES

Kfir, Ofer; Grychtol, Patrik; Turgut, Emrah; ...

2016-05-23

Phase matching of circularly polarized high-order harmonics driven by counter-rotating bi-chromatic lasers was recently predicted theoretically and demonstrated experimentally. In that work, phase matching was analyzed by assuming that the total energy, spin angular momentum and linear momentum of the photons participating in the process are conserved. Here we propose a new perspective on phase matching of circularly polarized high harmonics. We derive an extended phase matching condition by requiring a new propagation matching condition between the classical vectorial bi-chromatic laser pump and harmonics fields. This allows us to include the influence of the laser pulse envelopes on phase matching.more » Here, we find that the helicity dependent phase matching facilitates generation of high harmonics beams with a high degree of chirality. Indeed, we present an experimentally measured chiral spectrum that can support a train of attosecond pulses with a high degree of circular polarization. Moreover, while the degree of circularity of the most intense pulse approaches unity, all other pulses exhibit reduced circularity. Lastly, this feature suggests the possibility of using a train of attosecond pulses as an isolated attosecond probe for chiral-sensitive experiments.« less

A design concept for an MMIC (Monolithic Microwave Integrated Circuit) microstrip phased array

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lee, Richard Q.; Smetana, Jerry; Acosta, Roberto

1987-01-01

A conceptual design for a microstrip phased array with monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) amplitude and phase controls is described. The MMIC devices used are 20 GHz variable power amplifiers and variable phase shifters recently developed by NASA contractors for applications in future Ka proposed design, which concept is for a general NxN element array of rectangular lattice geometry. Subarray excitation is incorporated in the MMIC phased array design to reduce the complexity of the beam forming network and the number of MMIC components required.

Attosecond twin-pulse control by generalized kinetic heterodyne mixing.

PubMed

Raith, Philipp; Ott, Christian; Pfeifer, Thomas

2011-01-15

Attosecond double-pulse (twin-pulse) production in high-order harmonic generation is manipulated by a combination of two-color and carrier-envelope phase-control methods. As we show in numerical simulations, both relative amplitude and phase of the double pulse can be independently set by making use of multidimensional parameter control. Two technical implementation routes are discussed: kinetic heterodyning using second-harmonic generation and split-spectrum phase-step control.

Vertically aligned ZnO nanorod core-polypyrrole conducting polymer sheath and nanotube arrays for electrochemical supercapacitor energy storage

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Nanocomposite electrodes having three-dimensional (3-D) nanoscale architecture comprising of vertically aligned ZnO nanorod array core-polypyrrole (PPy) conducting polymer sheath and the vertical PPy nanotube arrays have been investigated for supercapacitor energy storage. The electrodes in the ZnO nanorod core-PPy sheath structure are formed by preferential nucleation and deposition of PPy layer over hydrothermally synthesized vertical ZnO nanorod array by controlled pulsed current electropolymerization of pyrrole monomer under surfactant action. The vertical PPy nanotube arrays of different tube diameter are created by selective etching of the ZnO nanorod core in ammonia solution for different periods. Cyclic voltammetry studies show high areal-specific capacitance approximately 240 mF.cm-2 for open pore and approximately 180 mF.cm-2 for narrow 30-to-36-nm diameter PPy nanotube arrays attributed to intensive faradic processes arising from enhanced access of electrolyte ions through nanotube interior and exterior. Impedance spectroscopy studies show that capacitive response extends over larger frequency domain in electrodes with PPy nanotube structure. Simulation of Nyquist plots by electrical equivalent circuit modeling establishes that 3-D nanostructure is better represented by constant phase element which accounts for the inhomogeneous electrochemical redox processes. Charge-discharge studies at different current densities establish that kinetics of the redox process in PPy nanotube electrode is due to the limitation on electron transport rather than the diffusive process of electrolyte ions. The PPy nanotube electrodes show deep discharge capability with high coulomb efficiency and long-term charge-discharge cyclic studies show nondegrading performance of the specific areal capacitance tested for 5,000 cycles. PMID:25246867

Phased Array Antenna Testbed Development at the NASA Glenn Research Center

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lambert, Kevin M.; Kubat, Gregory; Johnson, Sandra K.; Anzic, Godfrey

2003-01-01

Ideal phased array antennas offer advantages for communication systems, such as wide-angle scanning and multibeam operation, which can be utilized in certain NASA applications. However, physically realizable, electronically steered, phased array antennas introduce additional system performance parameters, which must be included in the evaluation of the system. The NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) is currently conducting research to identify these parameters and to develop the tools necessary to measure them. One of these tools is a testbed where phased array antennas may be operated in an environment that simulates their use. This paper describes the development of the testbed and its use in characterizing a particular K-Band, phased array antenna.

Thermally controlled femtosecond pulse shaping using metasurface based optical filters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rahimi, Eesa; Şendur, Kürşat

2018-02-01

Shaping of the temporal distribution of the ultrashort pulses, compensation of pulse deformations due to phase shift in transmission and amplification are of interest in various optical applications. To address these problems, in this study, we have demonstrated an ultra-thin reconfigurable localized surface plasmon (LSP) band-stop optical filter driven by insulator-metal phase transition of vanadium dioxide. A Joule heating mechanism is proposed to control the thermal phase transition of the material. The resulting permittivity variation of vanadium dioxide tailors spectral response of the transmitted pulse from the stack. Depending on how the pulse's spectrum is located with respect to the resonance of the band-stop filter, the thin film stack can dynamically compress/expand the output pulse span up to 20% or shift its phase up to 360°. Multi-stacked filters have shown the ability to dynamically compensate input carrier frequency shifts and pulse span variations besides their higher span expansion rates.

A vector scanning processing technique for pulsed laser velocimetry

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wernet, Mark P.; Edwards, Robert V.

1989-01-01

Pulsed-laser-sheet velocimetry yields two-dimensional velocity vectors across an extended planar region of a flow. Current processing techniques offer high-precision (1-percent) velocity estimates, but can require hours of processing time on specialized array processors. Sometimes, however, a less accurate (about 5 percent) data-reduction technique which also gives unambiguous velocity vector information is acceptable. Here, a direct space-domain processing technique is described and shown to be far superior to previous methods in achieving these objectives. It uses a novel data coding and reduction technique and has no 180-deg directional ambiguity. A complex convection vortex flow was recorded and completely processed in under 2 min on an 80386-based PC, producing a two-dimensional velocity-vector map of the flowfield. Pulsed-laser velocimetry data can thus be reduced quickly and reasonably accurately, without specialized array processing hardware.

Impact: a low cost, reconfigurable, digital beamforming common module building block for next generation phased arrays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Paulsen, Lee; Hoffmann, Ted; Fulton, Caleb; Yeary, Mark; Saunders, Austin; Thompson, Dan; Chen, Bill; Guo, Alex; Murmann, Boris

2015-05-01

Phased array systems offer numerous advantages to the modern warfighter in multiple application spaces, including Radar, Electronic Warfare, Signals Intelligence, and Communications. However, a lack of commonality in the underlying technology base for DoD Phased Arrays has led to static systems with long development cycles, slow technology refreshes in response to emerging threats, and expensive, application-specific sub-components. The IMPACT module (Integrated Multi-use Phased Array Common Tile) is a multi-channel, reconfigurable, cost-effective beamformer that provides a common building block for multiple, disparate array applications.

Luteal phase deficiency: abnormal gonadotropin and progesterone secretion patterns.

PubMed

Soules, M R; Clifton, D K; Cohen, N L; Bremner, W J; Steiner, R A

1989-10-01

Luteal phase deficiency (LPD) is a reproductive disorder associated with infertility and spontaneous abortion. This study was undertaken to determine whether LPD might be related to an abnormal pattern of gonadotropin secretion. We tested this hypothesis by evaluating the pattern of pulsatile LH secretion in both the follicular and luteal phases of the menstrual cycle in normal women (n = 21) and women with LPD (n = 20), which was diagnosed on the basis of two out of phase endometrial biopsies. In addition, we sought to determine whether changes in progesterone (P) pulse patterns could account for the decrease in average serum P levels in women with LPD. To this end, we examined the pulse patterns of P and compared these patterns between normal women and those with LPD. Frequent blood sampling was performed in both groups to determine their respective hormone secretion patterns. In the follicular phase, blood samples were obtained every 10 min for 12 h; in the luteal phase the samples were obtained every 10 min for 12 h; in the luteal LH, FSH, and P were assayed in each sample. Pulse detection was performed by an adaptive threshold method of pulse analysis. The LH pulse frequency was significantly higher in the women with LPD than in the normal women in the early follicular phase [P less than 0.05; LPD, 12.8 +/- 1.4 (+/- SE); normal, 8.2 +/- 0.7 pulses/12 h]. LH pulse frequency was similar in the early and late follicular phases in the women with LPD, whereas it was higher in the late follicular phase in normal women. Mean serum FSH levels were not different between groups in both the early and late follicular phases. In the luteal phase the P pulse amplitude and mean serum P level were significantly lower in the LPD group than in the normal women (P less than 0.01). We conclude that 1) a too rapid LH pulse pattern in the early follicular phase may lead to inadequate LH support of the corpus luteum and become manifest as LPD; 2) the mechanism for inadequate P secretion in LPD is decreased P pulse amplitude; 3) the finding of similar serum FSH levels in the two groups in both the early and late follicular phases did not support compromised folliculogenesis as an etiological factor for LPD.

Effects of frame rate and image resolution on pulse rate measured using multiple camera imaging photoplethysmography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Blackford, Ethan B.; Estepp, Justin R.

2015-03-01

Non-contact, imaging photoplethysmography uses cameras to facilitate measurements including pulse rate, pulse rate variability, respiration rate, and blood perfusion by measuring characteristic changes in light absorption at the skin's surface resulting from changes in blood volume in the superficial microvasculature. Several factors may affect the accuracy of the physiological measurement including imager frame rate, resolution, compression, lighting conditions, image background, participant skin tone, and participant motion. Before this method can gain wider use outside basic research settings, its constraints and capabilities must be well understood. Recently, we presented a novel approach utilizing a synchronized, nine-camera, semicircular array backed by measurement of an electrocardiogram and fingertip reflectance photoplethysmogram. Twenty-five individuals participated in six, five-minute, controlled head motion artifact trials in front of a black and dynamic color backdrop. Increasing the input channel space for blind source separation using the camera array was effective in mitigating error from head motion artifact. Herein we present the effects of lower frame rates at 60 and 30 (reduced from 120) frames per second and reduced image resolution at 329x246 pixels (one-quarter of the original 658x492 pixel resolution) using bilinear and zero-order downsampling. This is the first time these factors have been examined for a multiple imager array and align well with previous findings utilizing a single imager. Examining windowed pulse rates, there is little observable difference in mean absolute error or error distributions resulting from reduced frame rates or image resolution, thus lowering requirements for systems measuring pulse rate over sufficient length time windows.

Method and apparatus for stabilizing pulsed microwave amplifiers

DOEpatents

Hopkins, Donald B.

1993-01-01

Phase and amplitude variations at the output of a high power pulsed microwave amplifier arising from instabilities of the driving electron beam are suppressed with a feed-forward system that can stabilize pulses which are too brief for regulation by conventional feedback techniques. Such variations tend to be similar during successive pulses. The variations are detected during each pulse by comparing the amplifier output with the low power input signal to obtain phase and amplitude error signals. This enables storage of phase and amplitude correction signals which are used to make compensating changes in the low power input signal during the following amplifier output pulse which suppress the variations. In the preferred form of the invention, successive increments of the correction signals for each pulse are stored in separate channels of a multi-channel storage. Sequential readout of the increments during the next pulse provides variable control voltages to a voltage controlled phase shifter and voltage controlled amplitude modulator in the amplifier input signal path.

Method and apparatus for stabilizing pulsed microwave amplifiers

DOEpatents

Hopkins, D.B.

1993-01-26

Phase and amplitude variations at the output of a high power pulsed microwave amplifier arising from instabilities of the driving electron beam are suppressed with a feed-forward system that can stabilize pulses which are too brief for regulation by conventional feedback techniques. Such variations tend to be similar during successive pulses. The variations are detected during each pulse by comparing the amplifier output with the low power input signal to obtain phase and amplitude error signals. This enables storage of phase and amplitude correction signals which are used to make compensating changes in the low power input signal during the following amplifier output pulse which suppress the variations. In the preferred form of the invention, successive increments of the correction signals for each pulse are stored in separate channels of a multi-channel storage. Sequential readout of the increments during the next pulse provides variable control voltages to a voltage controlled phase shifter and voltage controlled amplitude modulator in the amplifier input signal path.

Multiple-Coil, Pulse-Induction Metal Detector

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lesky, Edward S.; Reid, Alan M.; Bushong, Wilton E.; Dickey, Duane P.

1988-01-01

Multiple-head, pulse-induction metal detector scans area of 72 feet squared with combination of eight detector heads, each 3 ft. square. Head includes large primary coil inducing current in smaller secondary coils. Array of eight heads enables searcher to cover large area quickly. Pulses applied to primary coil, induced in secondary coils measured to determine whether metal present within range of detector head. Detector designed for recovery of Space Shuttle debris.

Pulsed spatial phase-shifting digital shearography based on a micropolarizer camera

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aranchuk, Vyacheslav; Lal, Amit K.; Hess, Cecil F.; Trolinger, James Davis; Scott, Eddie

2018-02-01

We developed a pulsed digital shearography system that utilizes the spatial phase-shifting technique. The system employs a commercial micropolarizer camera and a double pulse laser, which allows for instantaneous phase measurements. The system can measure dynamic deformation of objects as large as 1 m at a 2-m distance during the time between two laser pulses that range from 30 μs to 30 ms. The ability of the system to measure dynamic deformation was demonstrated by obtaining phase wrapped and unwrapped shearograms of a vibrating object.

Neutron spectroscopy for pulsed beams with frame overlap using a double time-of-flight technique

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Harrig, K. P.; Goldblum, B. L.; Brown, J. A.

A new double time-of- ight (dTOF) neutron spectroscopy technique has been developed for pulsed broad spectrum sources with a duty cycle that results in frame overlap, where fast neutrons from a given pulse overtake slower neutrons from previous pulses. Using a tunable beam at the 88-Inch Cyclotron at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, neutrons were produced via thick-target breakup of 16 MeV deuterons on a beryllium target in the cyclotron vault. The breakup spectral shape was deduced from a dTOF measurement using an array of EJ-309 organic liquid scintillators. Simulation of the neutron detection efficiency of the scintillator array was performedmore » using both GEANT4 and MCNP6. The efficiency- corrected spectral shape was normalized using a foil activation technique to obtain the energy-dependent flux of the neutron beam at zero degrees with respect to the incoming deuteron beam. The dTOF neutron spectrum was compared to spectra obtained using HEPROW and GRAVEL pulse height spectrum unfolding techniques. While the unfolding and dTOF results exhibit some discrepancies in shape, the integrated flux values agree within two standard deviations. As a result, this method obviates neutron time-of-flight spectroscopy challenges posed by pulsed beams« less

Gas composition sensing using carbon nanotube arrays

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Li, Jing (Inventor); Meyyappan, Meyya (Inventor)

2008-01-01

A method and system for estimating one, two or more unknown components in a gas. A first array of spaced apart carbon nanotubes (''CNTs'') is connected to a variable pulse voltage source at a first end of at least one of the CNTs. A second end of the at least one CNT is provided with a relatively sharp tip and is located at a distance within a selected range of a constant voltage plate. A sequence of voltage pulses {V(t.sub.n)}.sub.n at times t=t.sub.n (n=1, . . . , N1; N1.gtoreq.3) is applied to the at least one CNT, and a pulse discharge breakdown threshold voltage is estimated for one or more gas components, from an analysis of a curve I(t.sub.n) for current or a curve e(t.sub.n) for electric charge transported from the at least one CNT to the constant voltage plate. Each estimated pulse discharge breakdown threshold voltage is compared with known threshold voltages for candidate gas components to estimate whether at least one candidate gas component is present in the gas. The procedure can be repeated at higher pulse voltages to estimate a pulse discharge breakdown threshold voltage for a second component present in the gas.

Neutron spectroscopy for pulsed beams with frame overlap using a double time-of-flight technique

DOE PAGES

Harrig, K. P.; Goldblum, B. L.; Brown, J. A.; ...

2017-10-16

A new double time-of- ight (dTOF) neutron spectroscopy technique has been developed for pulsed broad spectrum sources with a duty cycle that results in frame overlap, where fast neutrons from a given pulse overtake slower neutrons from previous pulses. Using a tunable beam at the 88-Inch Cyclotron at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, neutrons were produced via thick-target breakup of 16 MeV deuterons on a beryllium target in the cyclotron vault. The breakup spectral shape was deduced from a dTOF measurement using an array of EJ-309 organic liquid scintillators. Simulation of the neutron detection efficiency of the scintillator array was performedmore » using both GEANT4 and MCNP6. The efficiency- corrected spectral shape was normalized using a foil activation technique to obtain the energy-dependent flux of the neutron beam at zero degrees with respect to the incoming deuteron beam. The dTOF neutron spectrum was compared to spectra obtained using HEPROW and GRAVEL pulse height spectrum unfolding techniques. While the unfolding and dTOF results exhibit some discrepancies in shape, the integrated flux values agree within two standard deviations. As a result, this method obviates neutron time-of-flight spectroscopy challenges posed by pulsed beams« less

Improving the phase response of an atom interferometer by means of temporal pulse shaping

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fang, Bess; Mielec, Nicolas; Savoie, Denis; Altorio, Matteo; Landragin, Arnaud; Geiger, Remi

2018-02-01

We study theoretically and experimentally the influence of temporally shaping the light pulses in an atom interferometer, with a focus on the phase response of the interferometer. We show that smooth light pulse shapes allow rejecting high frequency phase fluctuations (above the Rabi frequency) and thus relax the requirements on the phase noise or frequency noise of the interrogation lasers driving the interferometer. The light pulse shape is also shown to modify the scale factor of the interferometer, which has to be taken into account in the evaluation of its accuracy budget. We discuss the trade-offs to operate when choosing a particular pulse shape, by taking into account phase noise rejection, velocity selectivity, and applicability to large momentum transfer atom interferometry.

Hitomi X-ray studies of giant radio pulses from the Crab pulsar

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hitomi Collaboration; Aharonian, Felix; Akamatsu, Hiroki; Akimoto, Fumie; Allen, Steven W.; Angelini, Lorella; Audard, Marc; Awaki, Hisamitsu; Axelsson, Magnus; Bamba, Aya; Bautz, Marshall W.; Blandford, Roger; Brenneman, Laura W.; Brown, Gregory V.; Bulbul, Esra; Cackett, Edward M.; Chernyakova, Maria; Chiao, Meng P.; Coppi, Paolo S.; Costantini, Elisa; de Plaa, Jelle; de Vries, Cor P.; den Herder, Jan-Willem; Done, Chris; Dotani, Tadayasu; Ebisawa, Ken; Eckart, Megan E.; Enoto, Teruaki; Ezoe, Yuichiro; Fabian, Andrew C.; Ferrigno, Carlo; Foster, Adam R.; Fujimoto, Ryuichi; Fukazawa, Yasushi; Furuzawa, Akihiro; Galeazzi, Massimiliano; Gallo, Luigi C.; Gandhi, Poshak; Giustini, Margherita; Goldwurm, Andrea; Gu, Liyi; Guainazzi, Matteo; Haba, Yoshito; Hagino, Kouichi; Hamaguchi, Kenji; Harrus, Ilana M.; Hatsukade, Isamu; Hayashi, Katsuhiro; Hayashi, Takayuki; Hayashida, Kiyoshi; Hiraga, Junko S.; Hornschemeier, Ann; Hoshino, Akio; Hughes, John P.; Ichinohe, Yuto; Iizuka, Ryo; Inoue, Hajime; Inoue, Yoshiyuki; Ishida, Manabu; Ishikawa, Kumi; Ishisaki, Yoshitaka; Iwai, Masachika; Kaastra, Jelle; Kallman, Tim; Kamae, Tsuneyoshi; Kataoka, Jun; Katsuda, Satoru; Kawai, Nobuyuki; Kelley, Richard L.; Kilbourne, Caroline A.; Kitaguchi, Takao; Kitamoto, Shunji; Kitayama, Tetsu; Kohmura, Takayoshi; Kokubun, Motohide; Koyama, Katsuji; Koyama, Shu; Kretschmar, Peter; Krimm, Hans A.; Kubota, Aya; Kunieda, Hideyo; Laurent, Philippe; Lee, Shiu-Hang; Leutenegger, Maurice A.; Limousin, Olivier O.; Loewenstein, Michael; Long, Knox S.; Lumb, David; Madejski, Greg; Maeda, Yoshitomo; Maier, Daniel; Makishima, Kazuo; Markevitch, Maxim; Matsumoto, Hironori; Matsushita, Kyoko; McCammon, Dan; McNamara, Brian R.; Mehdipour, Missagh; Miller, Eric D.; Miller, Jon M.; Mineshige, Shin; Mitsuda, Kazuhisa; Mitsuishi, Ikuyuki; Miyazawa, Takuya; Mizuno, Tsunefumi; Mori, Hideyuki; Mori, Koji; Mukai, Koji; Murakami, Hiroshi; Mushotzky, Richard F.; Nakagawa, Takao; Nakajima, Hiroshi; Nakamori, Takeshi; Nakashima, Shinya; Nakazawa, Kazuhiro; Nobukawa, Kumiko K.; Nobukawa, Masayoshi; Noda, Hirofumi; Odaka, Hirokazu; Ohashi, Takaya; Ohno, Masanori; Okajima, Takashi; Oshimizu, Kenya; Ota, Naomi; Ozaki, Masanobu; Paerels, Frits; Paltani, Stéphane; Petre, Robert; Pinto, Ciro; Porter, Frederick S.; Pottschmidt, Katja; Reynolds, Christopher S.; Safi-Harb, Samar; Saito, Shinya; Sakai, Kazuhiro; Sasaki, Toru; Sato, Goro; Sato, Kosuke; Sato, Rie; Sawada, Makoto; Schartel, Norbert; Serlemtsos, Peter J.; Seta, Hiromi; Shidatsu, Megumi; Simionescu, Aurora; Smith, Randall K.; Soong, Yang; Stawarz, Łukasz; Sugawara, Yasuharu; Sugita, Satoshi; Szymkowiak, Andrew; Tajima, Hiroyasu; Takahashi, Hiromitsu; Takahashi, Tadayuki; Takeda, Shiníchiro; Takei, Yoh; Tamagawa, Toru; Tamura, Takayuki; Tanaka, Takaaki; Tanaka, Yasuo; Tanaka, Yasuyuki T.; Tashiro, Makoto S.; Tawara, Yuzuru; Terada, Yukikatsu; Terashima, Yuichi; Tombesi, Francesco; Tomida, Hiroshi; Tsuboi, Yohko; Tsujimoto, Masahiro; Tsunemi, Hiroshi; Tsuru, Takeshi Go; Uchida, Hiroyuki; Uchiyama, Hideki; Uchiyama, Yasunobu; Ueda, Shutaro; Ueda, Yoshihiro; Uno, Shiníchiro; Urry, C. Megan; Ursino, Eugenio; Watanabe, Shin; Werner, Norbert; Wilkins, Dan R.; Williams, Brian J.; Yamada, Shinya; Yamaguchi, Hiroya; Yamaoka, Kazutaka; Yamasaki, Noriko Y.; Yamauchi, Makoto; Yamauchi, Shigeo; Yaqoob, Tahir; Yatsu, Yoichi; Yonetoku, Daisuke; Zhuravleva, Irina; Zoghbi, Abderahmen; Terasawa, Toshio; Sekido, Mamoru; Takefuji, Kazuhiro; Kawai, Eiji; Misawa, Hiroaki; Tsuchiya, Fuminori; Yamazaki, Ryo; Kobayashi, Eiji; Kisaka, Shota; Aoki, Takahiro

2018-03-01

To search for giant X-ray pulses correlated with the giant radio pulses (GRPs) from the Crab pulsar, we performed a simultaneous observation of the Crab pulsar with the X-ray satellite Hitomi in the 2-300 keV band and the Kashima NICT radio telescope in the 1.4-1.7 GHz band with a net exposure of about 2 ks on 2016 March 25, just before the loss of the Hitomi mission. The timing performance of the Hitomi instruments was confirmed to meet the timing requirement and about 1000 and 100 GRPs were simultaneously observed at the main pulse and inter-pulse phases, respectively, and we found no apparent correlation between the giant radio pulses and the X-ray emission in either the main pulse or inter-pulse phase. All variations are within the 2 σ fluctuations of the X-ray fluxes at the pulse peaks, and the 3 σ upper limits of variations of main pulse or inter-pulse GRPs are 22% or 80% of the peak flux in a 0.20 phase width, respectively, in the 2-300 keV band. The values for main pulse or inter-pulse GRPs become 25% or 110%, respectively, when the phase width is restricted to the 0.03 phase. Among the upper limits from the Hitomi satellite, those in the 4.5-10 keV and 70-300 keV bands are obtained for the first time, and those in other bands are consistent with previous reports. Numerically, the upper limits of the main pulse and inter-pulse GRPs in the 0.20 phase width are about (2.4 and 9.3) × 10-11 erg cm-2, respectively. No significant variability in pulse profiles implies that the GRPs originated from a local place within the magnetosphere. Although the number of photon-emitting particles should temporarily increase to account for the brightening of the radio emission, the results do not statistically rule out variations correlated with the GRPs, because the possible X-ray enhancement may appear due to a >0.02% brightening of the pulse-peak flux under such conditions.

A Phase Correction Technique Based on Spatial Movements of Antennas in Real-Time (S.M.A.R.T.) for Designing Self-Adapting Conformal Array Antennas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roy, Sayan

This research presents a real-time adaptive phase correction technique for flexible phased array antennas on conformal surfaces of variable shapes. Previously reported pattern correctional methods for flexible phased array antennas require prior knowledge on the possible non-planar shapes in which the array may adapt for conformal applications. For the first time, this initial requirement of shape curvature knowledge is no longer needed and the instantaneous information on the relative location of array elements is used here for developing a geometrical model based on a set of Bezier curves. Specifically, by using an array of inclinometer sensors and an adaptive phase-correctional algorithm, it has been shown that the proposed geometrical model can successfully predict different conformal orientations of a 1-by-4 antenna array in real-time without the requirement of knowing the shape-changing characteristics of the surface the array is attached upon. Moreover, the phase correction technique is validated by determining the field patterns and broadside gain of the 1-by-4 antenna array on four different conformal surfaces with multiple points of curvatures. Throughout this work, measurements are shown to agree with the analytical solutions and full-wave simulations.

A single-board NMR spectrometer based on a software defined radio architecture

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tang, Weinan; Wang, Weimin

2011-01-01

A single-board software defined radio (SDR) spectrometer for nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) is presented. The SDR-based architecture, realized by combining a single field programmable gate array (FPGA) and a digital signal processor (DSP) with peripheral radio frequency (RF) front-end circuits, makes the spectrometer compact and reconfigurable. The DSP, working as a pulse programmer, communicates with a personal computer via a USB interface and controls the FPGA through a parallel port. The FPGA accomplishes digital processing tasks such as a numerically controlled oscillator (NCO), digital down converter (DDC) and gradient waveform generator. The NCO, with agile control of phase, frequency and amplitude, is part of a direct digital synthesizer that is used to generate an RF pulse. The DDC performs quadrature demodulation, multistage low-pass filtering and gain adjustment to produce a bandpass signal (receiver bandwidth from 3.9 kHz to 10 MHz). The gradient waveform generator is capable of outputting shaped gradient pulse waveforms and supports eddy-current compensation. The spectrometer directly acquires an NMR signal up to 30 MHz in the case of baseband sampling and is suitable for low-field (<0.7 T) application. Due to the featured SDR architecture, this prototype has flexible add-on ability and is expected to be suitable for portable NMR systems.

Clock distribution system for digital computers

DOEpatents

Wyman, Robert H.; Loomis, Jr., Herschel H.

1981-01-01

Apparatus for eliminating, in each clock distribution amplifier of a clock distribution system, sequential pulse catch-up error due to one pulse "overtaking" a prior clock pulse. The apparatus includes timing means to produce a periodic electromagnetic signal with a fundamental frequency having a fundamental frequency component V'.sub.01 (t); an array of N signal characteristic detector means, with detector means No. 1 receiving the timing means signal and producing a change-of-state signal V.sub.1 (t) in response to receipt of a signal above a predetermined threshold; N substantially identical filter means, one filter means being operatively associated with each detector means, for receiving the change-of-state signal V.sub.n (t) and producing a modified change-of-state signal V'.sub.n (t) (n=1, . . . , N) having a fundamental frequency component that is substantially proportional to V'.sub.01 (t-.theta..sub.n (t) with a cumulative phase shift .theta..sub.n (t) having a time derivative that may be made uniformly and arbitrarily small; and with the detector means n+1 (1.ltoreq.n

A Phased Array Coil for Human Cardiac Imaging

PubMed Central

Constantinides, Chris D.; Westgate, Charles R.; O'Dell, Walter G.; Zerhouni, Elias A.; McVeigh, Elliot R.

2007-01-01

A prototype cardiac phased array receiver coil was constructed that comprised a cylindrical array and a separate planar array. Both arrays had two coil loops with the same coil dimensions. Data acquisition with the cylindrical array placed on the human chest, and the planar array placed under the back, yielded an overall enhancement of the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) over the entire heart by a factor of 1.1–2.85 over a commercially available flexible coil and a commercially available four-loop planar phased array coil. This improvement in SNR can be exploited in cardiac imaging to increase the spatial resolution and reduce the image acquisition time. PMID:7674903

Microwave scanning beam approach and landing system phased array antenna volume I

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1973-02-01

The use of phased arrays for the proposed landing system (MLS) is discussed. Studies relating to ground reflections, near field focusing, and phased-array errors are presented. Two experimental antennas which were fabricated and tested are described....

Microwave scanning beam approach and landing system phased array antenna : volume II

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1973-02-01

The use of phased arrays for the proposed landing system (MLS) is discussed. Studies relating to ground reflections, near field focusing, and phased-array errors are presented. Two experimental antennas which were fabricated and tested are described....

Performance of photovoltaic arrays in-vivo and characteristics of prosthetic vision in animals with retinal degeneration

PubMed Central

Lorach, Henri; Goetz, Georges; Mandel, Yossi; Lei, Xin; Kamins, Theodore I.; Mathieson, Keith; Huie, Philip; Dalal, Roopa; Harris, James S.; Palanker, Daniel

2014-01-01

Summary Loss of photoreceptors during retinal degeneration leads to blindness, but information can be reintroduced into the visual system using electrical stimulation of the remaining retinal neurons. Subretinal photovoltaic arrays convert pulsed illumination into pulsed electric current to stimulate the inner retinal neurons. Since required irradiance exceeds the natural luminance levels, an invisible near-infrared (915nm) light is used to avoid photophobic effects. We characterized the thresholds and dynamic range of cortical responses to prosthetic stimulation with arrays of various pixel sizes and with different number of photodiodes. Stimulation thresholds for devices with 140µm pixels were approximately half those of 70µm pixels, and with both pixel sizes, thresholds were lower with 2 diodes than with 3 diodes per pixel. In all cases these thresholds were more than two orders of magnitude below the ocular safety limit. At high stimulation frequencies (>20Hz), the cortical response exhibited flicker fusion. Over one order of magnitude of dynamic range could be achieved by varying either pulse duration or irradiance. However, contrast sensitivity was very limited. Cortical responses could be detected even with only a few illuminated pixels. Finally, we demonstrate that recording of the corneal electric potential in response to patterned illumination of the subretinal arrays allows monitoring the current produced by each pixel, and thereby assessing the changes in the implant performance over time. PMID:25255990

MULTI-MESSENGER ASTRONOMY OF GRAVITATIONAL-WAVE SOURCES WITH FLEXIBLE WIDE-AREA RADIO TRANSIENT SURVEYS

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yancey, Cregg C.; Shawhan, Peter; Bear, Brandon E.

We explore opportunities for multi-messenger astronomy using gravitational waves (GWs) and prompt, transient low-frequency radio emission to study highly energetic astrophysical events. We review the literature on possible sources of correlated emission of GWs and radio transients, highlighting proposed mechanisms that lead to a short-duration, high-flux radio pulse originating from the merger of two neutron stars or from a superconducting cosmic string cusp. We discuss the detection prospects for each of these mechanisms by low-frequency dipole array instruments such as LWA1, the Low Frequency Array and the Murchison Widefield Array. We find that a broad range of models may bemore » tested by searching for radio pulses that, when de-dispersed, are temporally and spatially coincident with a LIGO/Virgo GW trigger within a ∼30 s time window and ∼200–500 deg{sup 2} sky region. We consider various possible observing strategies and discuss their advantages and disadvantages. Uniquely, for low-frequency radio arrays, dispersion can delay the radio pulse until after low-latency GW data analysis has identified and reported an event candidate, enabling a prompt radio signal to be captured by a deliberately targeted beam. If neutron star mergers do have detectable prompt radio emissions, a coincident search with the GW detector network and low-frequency radio arrays could increase the LIGO/Virgo effective search volume by up to a factor of ∼2. For some models, we also map the parameter space that may be constrained by non-detections.« less

Spectrally resolved modal characteristics of leaky-wave-coupled quantum cascade phase-locked laser arrays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sigler, Chris; Gibson, Ricky; Boyle, Colin; Kirch, Jeremy D.; Lindberg, Donald; Earles, Thomas; Botez, Dan; Mawst, Luke J.; Bedford, Robert

2018-01-01

The modal characteristics of nonresonant five-element phase-locked arrays of 4.7-μm emitting quantum cascade lasers (QCLs) have been studied using spectrally resolved near- and far-field measurements and correlated with results of device simulation. Devices are fabricated by a two-step metal-organic chemical vapor deposition process and operate predominantly in an in-phase array mode near threshold, although become multimode at higher drive levels. The wide spectral bandwidth of the QCL's core region is found to be a factor in promoting multispatial-mode operation at high drive levels above threshold. An optimized resonant-array design is identified to allow sole in-phase array-mode operation to high drive levels above threshold, and indicates that for phase-locked laser arrays full spatial coherence to high output powers does not require full temporal coherence.

Efficient generation and transportation of energetic electrons in a carbon nanotube array target

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ji, Yanling; Jiang, Gang; Wu, Weidong; Wang, Chaoyang; Gu, Yuqiu; Tang, Yongjian

2010-01-01

Laser-driven energetic electron propagation in a carbon nanotube-array target is investigated using two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations. Energetic electrons are efficiently generated when the array is irradiated by a short intense laser pulse. Confined and guided transportation of energetic electrons in the array is achieved by exploiting strong transient electromagnetic fields created at the wall surfaces of nanotubes. The underlying mechanisms are discussed in detail. Our investigation shows that the laser energy can be transferred more effectively to the target electrons in the array than that of in the flat foil due to the hole structures in the array.

Visualizing spatiotemporal pulse propagation: first-order spatiotemporal couplings in laser pulses.

PubMed

Rhodes, Michelle; Guang, Zhe; Pease, Jerrold; Trebino, Rick

2017-04-10

Even though a general theory of first-order spatiotemporal couplings exists in the literature, it is often difficult to visualize how these distortions affect laser pulses. In particular, it is difficult to show the spatiotemporal phase of pulses in a meaningful way. Here, we propose a general solution to plotting the electric fields of pulses in three-dimensional space that intuitively shows the effects of spatiotemporal phases. The temporal phase information is color-coded using spectrograms and color response functions, and the beam is propagated to show the spatial phase evolution. Using this plotting technique, we generate two- and three-dimensional images and movies that show the effects of spatiotemporal couplings.

Visualizing spatiotemporal pulse propagation: first-order spatiotemporal couplings in laser pulses

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Rhodes, Michelle; Guang, Zhe; Pease, Jerrold

2017-04-06

Even though a general theory of first-order spatiotemporal couplings exists in the literature, it is often difficult to visualize how these distortions affect laser pulses. In particular, it is difficult to show the spatiotemporal phase of pulses in a meaningful way. We propose a general solution to plotting the electric fields of pulses in three-dimensional space that intuitively shows the effects of spatiotemporal phases. The temporal phase information is color-coded using spectrograms and color response functions, and the beam is propagated to show the spatial phase evolution. In using this plotting technique, we generate two- and three-dimensional images and moviesmore » that show the effects of spatiotemporal couplings.« less

Comparison of pelvic phased-array versus endorectal coil magnetic resonance imaging at 3 Tesla for local staging of prostate cancer.

PubMed

Kim, Bum Soo; Kim, Tae-Hwan; Kwon, Tae Gyun; Yoo, Eun Sang

2012-05-01

Several studies have demonstrated the superiority of endorectal coil magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) over pelvic phased-array coil MRI at 1.5 Tesla for local staging of prostate cancer. However, few have studied which evaluation is more accurate at 3 Tesla MRI. In this study, we compared the accuracy of local staging of prostate cancer using pelvic phased-array coil or endorectal coil MRI at 3 Tesla. Between January 2005 and May 2010, 151 patients underwent radical prostatectomy. All patients were evaluated with either pelvic phased-array coil or endorectal coil prostate MRI prior to surgery (63 endorectal coils and 88 pelvic phased-array coils). Tumor stage based on MRI was compared with pathologic stage. We calculated the specificity, sensitivity and accuracy of each group in the evaluation of extracapsular extension and seminal vesicle invasion. Both endorectal coil and pelvic phased-array coil MRI achieved high specificity, low sensitivity and moderate accuracy for the detection of extracapsular extension and seminal vesicle invasion. There were statistically no differences in specificity, sensitivity and accuracy between the two groups. Overall staging accuracy, sensitivity and specificity were not significantly different between endorectal coil and pelvic phased-array coil MRI.

Analysis of Voltage and Current Signal Processing in a Li-ion Battery Management System

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-09-01

SUBJECT TERMS Pulsed Power, Charger, Buck Converter, Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), Lithium - ion Batteries 16. PRICE CODE 17. SECURITY...Congressional Research Service. July 31, 2000. [3] F. E. Filler, “A Pulsed Power System Design Using Lithium - ion Batteries and One Charger per Battery

MEMS phase former kit for high-resolution wavefront control

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gehner, Andreas; Wildenhain, Michael; Neumann, Hannes; Elgner, Andreas; Schenk, Harald

2005-08-01

The MEMS Phase Former Kit developed by the Fraunhofer IPMS is a complete Spatial Light Modulator system based on a piston-type Micro Mirror Array (MMA) for the use in high-resolution, high-speed optical phase control. It has been designed for an easy system integration into an user-specific environment to offer a platform for first practical investigations to open up new applications in Adaptive Optics. The key component is a fine segmented 240 x 200 array of 40 μm piston-type mirror elements capable of 400 nm analog deflection for a 2pi phase modulation in the visible. Each mirror can be addressed and deflected independently by means of an integrated CMOS backplane address circuitry at an 8bit height resolution. Full user programmability and control is provided by a newly developed comfortable driver software for Windows XP based PCs supporting both a Graphical User Interface (GUI) for stand-alone operation with pre-defined data patterns as well as an open ActiveX programming interface for a closed-loop operation with real-time data from an external source. An IEEE1394a FireWire interface is used for high-speed data communication with an electronic driving board performing the actual MMA programming and control allowing for an overall frame rate of up to 500 Hz. Successful proof-of-concept demonstrations already have been given for eye aberration correction in ophthalmology, for error compensation of leightweight primary mirrors of future space telescopes and for ultra-short laser pulse shaping. Besides a presentation of the basic device concept and system architecture the paper will give an overview of the obtained results from these applications.

Phase-locked laser array having a non-uniform spacing between lasing regions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ackley, Donald E. (Inventor)

1986-01-01

A phase-locked semiconductor array wherein the lasing regions of the array are spaced an effective distance apart such that the modes of oscillation of the different lasing regions are phase-locked to one another. The center-to-center spacing between the lasing regions is non-uniform. This variation in spacing perturbs the preferred 180.degree. phase difference between adjacent lasing regions thereby providing an increased yield of arrays exhibiting a single-lobed, far-field radiation pattern.

High-mechanical-strength single-pulse draw tower gratings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rothhardt, Manfred W.; Chojetzki, Christoph; Mueller, Hans Rainer

2004-11-01

The inscription of fiber Bragg gratings during the drawing process is a very useful method to realize sensor arrays with high numbers of gratings and excellent mechanical strength and also type II gratings with high temperature stability. Results of single pulse grating arrays with numbers up to 100 and definite wavelengths and positions for sensor applications were achieved at 1550 nm and 830 nm using new photosensitive fibers developed in IPHT. Single pulse type I gratings at 1550 nm with more than 30% reflectivity were shown first time to our knowledge. The mechanical strength of this fiber with an Ormocer coating with those single pulse gratings is the same like standard telecom fibers. Weibull plots of fiber tests will be shown. At 830 nm we reached more than 10% reflectivity with single pulse writing during the fiber drawing in photosensitive fibers with less than 16 dB/km transmission loss. These gratings are useful for stress and vibration sensing applications. Type II gratings with reflectivity near 100% and smooth spectral shape and spectral width of about 1 nm are temperature stable up to 1200 K for short time. They are also realized in the fiber drawing process. These gratings are useful for temperature sensor applications.

Evaluation of ultrasonic array imaging algorithms for inspection of a coarse grained material

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Van Pamel, A.; Lowe, M. J. S.; Brett, C. R.

2014-02-01

Improving the ultrasound inspection capability for coarse grain metals remains of longstanding interest to industry and the NDE research community and is expected to become increasingly important for next generation power plants. A test sample of coarse grained Inconel 625 which is representative of future power plant components has been manufactured to test the detectability of different inspection techniques. Conventional ultrasonic A, B, and C-scans showed the sample to be extraordinarily difficult to inspect due to its scattering behaviour. However, in recent years, array probes and Full Matrix Capture (FMC) imaging algorithms, which extract the maximum amount of information possible, have unlocked exciting possibilities for improvements. This article proposes a robust methodology to evaluate the detection performance of imaging algorithms, applying this to three FMC imaging algorithms; Total Focusing Method (TFM), Phase Coherent Imaging (PCI), and Decomposition of the Time Reversal Operator with Multiple Scattering (DORT MSF). The methodology considers the statistics of detection, presenting the detection performance as Probability of Detection (POD) and probability of False Alarm (PFA). The data is captured in pulse-echo mode using 64 element array probes at centre frequencies of 1MHz and 5MHz. All three algorithms are shown to perform very similarly when comparing their flaw detection capabilities on this particular case.

Symmetric aluminum-wire arrays generate high-quality Z pinches at large array radii

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sanford, T. W. L.; Mock, R. C.; Spielman, R. B.; Peterson, D. L.; Mosher, D.; Roderick, N. F.

1998-10-01

A Saturn-accelerator study of annular, aluminum-wire array, Z-pinch implosions, in the calculated high-wire-number plasma-shell regime [Phys. Rev. Lett. 77, 5063 (1996)], shows that the radiated x-ray pulse width increases from about 4 nsec to about 7 nsec, when the radius of the array is increased from 8.75 to 20 mm at a fixed array mass of 0.6 mg. Eulerian radiation- magnetohydrodynamic code (E-RMHC) simulations in the r-z plane suggest that this pulse-width increase with radius is due to the faster growth of the shell thickness (that arises from a two-stage development in the magnetic Rayleigh-Taylor instability) relative to the increase in the shell implosion velocity. Over the array radii explored, the measured peak total x-ray power of ˜40 TW and energy of ˜325 kJ show little change outside of a ±15% shot-to-shot fluctuation and are consistent with the E-RMHC simulations. Similarly, the measured peak K-shell (lines plus continuum) power of ˜8 TW and energy of ˜70 kJ show little change with radius. The minimal change in K-shell yield is in agreement with simple K-shell radiation scaling models that assume a fixed radial compression for all initial array radii. These results suggest that the improved uniformity provided by the large number of wires in the initial array reduces the disruptive effects of the Rayleigh-Taylor instability observed in small-wire-number imploding loads.

An Update on Phased Array Results Obtained on the GE Counter-Rotating Open Rotor Model

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Podboy, Gary; Horvath, Csaba; Envia, Edmane

2013-01-01

Beamform maps have been generated from 1) simulated data generated by the LINPROP code and 2) actual experimental phased array data obtained on the GE Counter-rotating open rotor model. The beamform maps show that many of the tones in the experimental data come from their corresponding Mach radius. If the phased array points to the Mach radius associated with a tone then it is likely that the tone is a result of the loading and thickness noise on the blades. In this case, the phased array correctly points to where the noise is coming from and indicates the axial location of the loudest source in the image but not necessarily the correct vertical location. If the phased array does not point to the Mach radius associated with a tone then some mechanism other than loading and thickness noise may control the amplitude of the tone. In this case, the phased array may or may not point to the actual source. If the source is not rotating it is likely that the phased array points to the source. If the source is rotating it is likely that the phased array indicates the axial location of the loudest source but not necessarily the correct vertical location. These results indicate that you have to be careful in how you interpret phased array data obtained on an open rotor since they may show the tones coming from a location other than the source location. With a subsonic tip speed open rotor the tones can come form locations outboard of the blade tips. This has implications regarding noise shielding.

Coupled-mode analysis of gain and wavelength oscillation characteristics of diode laser phased arrays

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Butler, J. K.; Ettenberg, M.; Ackley, D. E.

1985-01-01

The lasing wavelengths and gain characteristics of the modes of phase-locked arrays of channel-substrate-planar (CSP) lasers are presented. The gain values for the array modes are determined from complex coupling coefficients calculated using the fields of neighboring elements of the array. The computations show that, for index guided lasers which have nearly planar phase fronts, the highest order array mode will be preferred. The 'in-phase' or fundamental mode, which produces only one major lobe in the far-field radiation pattern, has the lowest modal gain of all array modes. The modal gain differential between the highest order and fundamental modes is less than 10/cm for weak coupling between the elements.

Multi-Wavelength Mode-Locked Laser Arrays for WDM Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Davis, L.; Young, M.; Dougherty, D.; Keo, S.; Muller, R.; Maker, P.

1998-01-01

Multi-wavelength arrays of colliding pulse mode-locked (CPM) lasers have been demonstrated for wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) applications. The need for increased bandwidth is driving the development of both increased speed in time division multiplexing (TDM) and more channels in WDM for fiber optic communication systems.

Comparison of neural damage induced by electrical stimulation with faradaic and capacitor electrodes.

PubMed

McCreery, D B; Agnew, W F; Yuen, T G; Bullara, L A

1988-01-01

Arrays of platinum (faradaic) and anodized, sintered tantalum pentoxide (capacitor) electrodes were implanted bilaterally in the subdural space of the parietal cortex of the cat. Two weeks after implantation both types of electrodes were pulsed for seven hours with identical waveforms consisting of controlled-current, charge-balanced, symmetric, anodic-first pulse pairs, 400 microseconds/phase and a charge density of 80-100 microC/cm2 (microcoulombs per square cm) at 50 pps (pulses per second). One group of animals was sacrificed immediately following stimulation and a second smaller group one week after stimulation. Tissues beneath both types of pulsed electrodes were damaged, but the difference in damage for the two electrode types was not statistically significant. Tissue beneath unpulsed electrodes was normal. At the ultrastructural level, in animals killed immediately after stimulation, shrunken and hyperchromic neurons were intermixed with neurons showing early intracellular edema. Glial cells appeared essentially normal. In animals killed one week after stimulation most of the damaged neurons had recovered, but the presence of shrunken, vacuolated and degenerating neurons showed that some of the cells were damaged irreversibly. It is concluded that most of the neural damage from stimulations of the brain surface at the level used in this study derives from processes associated with passage of the stimulus current through tissue, such as neuronal hyperactivity rather than electrochemical reactions associated with current injection across the electrode-tissue interface, since such reactions occur only with the faradaic electrodes.

A 24 hr global campaign to assess precision timing of the millisecond pulsar J1713+0747

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dolch, T.; Lam, M. T.; Cordes, J.

2014-10-10

The radio millisecond pulsar J1713+0747 is regarded as one of the highest-precision clocks in the sky and is regularly timed for the purpose of detecting gravitational waves. The International Pulsar Timing Array Collaboration undertook a 24 hr global observation of PSR J1713+0747 in an effort to better quantify sources of timing noise in this pulsar, particularly on intermediate (1-24 hr) timescales. We observed the pulsar continuously over 24 hr with the Arecibo, Effelsberg, GMRT, Green Bank, LOFAR, Lovell, Nançay, Parkes, and WSRT radio telescopes. The combined pulse times-of-arrival presented here provide an estimate of what sources of timing noise, excludingmore » DM variations, would be present as compared to an idealized √N improvement in timing precision, where N is the number of pulses analyzed. In the case of this particular pulsar, we find that intrinsic pulse phase jitter dominates arrival time precision when the signal-to-noise ratio of single pulses exceeds unity, as measured using the eight telescopes that observed at L band/1.4 GHz. We present first results of specific phenomena probed on the unusually long timescale (for a single continuous observing session) of tens of hours, in particular interstellar scintillation, and discuss the degree to which scintillation and profile evolution affect precision timing. This paper presents the data set as a basis for future, deeper studies.« less

Ultra-fast quantum randomness generation by accelerated phase diffusion in a pulsed laser diode.

PubMed

Abellán, C; Amaya, W; Jofre, M; Curty, M; Acín, A; Capmany, J; Pruneri, V; Mitchell, M W

2014-01-27

We demonstrate a high bit-rate quantum random number generator by interferometric detection of phase diffusion in a gain-switched DFB laser diode. Gain switching at few-GHz frequencies produces a train of bright pulses with nearly equal amplitudes and random phases. An unbalanced Mach-Zehnder interferometer is used to interfere subsequent pulses and thereby generate strong random-amplitude pulses, which are detected and digitized to produce a high-rate random bit string. Using established models of semiconductor laser field dynamics, we predict a regime of high visibility interference and nearly complete vacuum-fluctuation-induced phase diffusion between pulses. These are confirmed by measurement of pulse power statistics at the output of the interferometer. Using a 5.825 GHz excitation rate and 14-bit digitization, we observe 43 Gbps quantum randomness generation.

Advanced Microstrip Antenna Developments : Volume I. Technology Studies for Aircraft Phased Arrays

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1981-06-01

Work has continued on improvement of microstrip phased-array antenna technology since the first microstrip phased-array was flight-tested during the FAA 1974-1975 ATS-6 test program. The present development has extended this earlier work in three are...

Simulation and experiment for the inspection of stainless steel bolts in servicing using an ultrasonic phased array

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Jinzhong; He, Renyang; Kang, Xiaowei; Yang, Xuyun

2015-10-01

The non-destructive testing of small-sized (M12-M20) stainless steel bolts in servicing is always a technical problem. This article focuses on the simulation and experimental research of stainless steel bolts with an artificial defect reflector using ultrasonic phased array inspection. Based on the observation of the sound field distribution of stainless steel bolts in ultrasonic phased array as well as simulation modelling and analysis of the phased array probes' detection effects with various defect sizes, different artificial defect reflectors of M16 stainless steel bolts are machined in reference to the simulation results. Next, those bolts are tested using a 10-wafer phased array probe with 5 MHz. The test results finally prove that ultrasonic phased array can detect 1-mm cracks in diameter with different depths of M16 stainless steel bolts and a metal loss of Φ1 mm of through-hole bolts, which provides technical support for future non-destructive testing of stainless steel bolts in servicing.

Phase-locked, high power, mid-infrared quantum cascade laser arrays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, W.; Slivken, S.; Razeghi, M.

2018-04-01

We demonstrate phase-locked, high power quantum cascade laser arrays, which are combined using a monolithic, tree array multimode interferometer, with emission wavelengths around 4.8 μm. A maximum output power of 15 W was achieved from an eight-element laser array, which has only a slightly higher threshold current density and a similar slope efficiency compared to a Fabry-Perot laser of the same length. Calculated multimode interferometer splitting loss is on the order of 0.27 dB for the in-phase supermode. In-phase supermode operation with nearly ideal behavior is demonstrated over the working current range of the array.

Flat dielectric metasurface lens array for three dimensional integral imaging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Jianlei; Wang, Xiaorui; Yang, Yi; Yuan, Ying; Wu, Xiongxiong

2018-05-01

In conventional integral imaging, the singlet refractive lens array limits the imaging performance due to its prominent aberrations. Different from the refractive lens array relying on phase modulation via phase change accumulated along the optical paths, metasurfaces composed of nano-scatters can produce phase abrupt over the scale of wavelength. In this letter, we propose a novel lens array consisting of two neighboring flat dielectric metasurfaces for integral imaging system. The aspherical phase profiles of the metasurfaces are optimized to improve imaging performance. The simulation results show that our designed 5 × 5 metasurface-based lens array exhibits high image quality at designed wavelength 865 nm.

Low-Noise Free-Running High-Rate Photon-Counting for Space Communication and Ranging

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lu, Wei; Krainak, Michael A.; Yang, Guangning; Sun, Xiaoli; Merritt, Scott

2016-01-01

We present performance data for low-noise free-running high-rate photon counting method for space optical communication and ranging. NASA GSFC is testing the performance of two types of novel photon-counting detectors 1) a 2x8 mercury cadmium telluride (HgCdTe) avalanche array made by DRS Inc., and a 2) a commercial 2880-element silicon avalanche photodiode (APD) array. We successfully measured real-time communication performance using both the 2 detected-photon threshold and logic AND-gate coincidence methods. Use of these methods allows mitigation of dark count, after-pulsing and background noise effects without using other method of Time Gating The HgCdTe APD array routinely demonstrated very high photon detection efficiencies ((is) greater than 50%) at near infrared wavelength. The commercial silicon APD array exhibited a fast output with rise times of 300 ps and pulse widths of 600 ps. On-chip individually filtered signals from the entire array were multiplexed onto a single fast output. NASA GSFC has tested both detectors for their potential application for space communications and ranging. We developed and compare their performances using both the 2 detected photon threshold and coincidence methods.

Low-Noise Free-Running High-Rate Photon-Counting for Space Communication and Ranging

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lu, Wei; Krainak, Michael A.; Yang, Guan; Sun, Xiaoli; Merritt, Scott

2016-01-01

We present performance data for low-noise free-running high-rate photon counting method for space optical communication and ranging. NASA GSFC is testing the performance of two types of novel photon-counting detectors 1) a 2x8 mercury cadmium telluride (HgCdTe) avalanche array made by DRS Inc., and a 2) a commercial 2880-element silicon avalanche photodiode (APD) array. We successfully measured real-time communication performance using both the 2 detected-photon threshold and logic AND-gate coincidence methods. Use of these methods allows mitigation of dark count, after-pulsing and background noise effects without using other method of Time Gating The HgCdTe APD array routinely demonstrated very high photon detection efficiencies (50) at near infrared wavelength. The commercial silicon APD array exhibited a fast output with rise times of 300 ps and pulse widths of 600 ps. On-chip individually filtered signals from the entire array were multiplexed onto a single fast output. NASA GSFC has tested both detectors for their potential application for space communications and ranging. We developed and compare their performances using both the 2 detected photon threshold and coincidence methods.

Numerical simulation of evaluation of surface breaking cracks by array-lasers generated narrow-band SAW

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dong, Li-Ming; Ni, Chen-Yin; Shen, Zhong-Hua; Ni, Xiao-Wu

2011-09-01

Most of the factors limiting the extensive application of laser-based ultrasonic for nondestructive evaluation of surface breaking crack are its poor sensitivity, low efficiency relative to conventional contact ultrasonic methods and limit on the dimension of the cracks. For this reason, a new technique that multiplepulse narrow-band ultrasound generated by laser arrays has been proposed. It is found that crack detection dependent on spectrum of narrow-band ultrasound generated by laser arrays can be operated with low amplitude requirements. In this paper, the narrow-band ultrasound generated by pulse laser arrays interacting with surface breaking cracks has been simulated in detail by the finite element method (FEM) according to the thermoelastic theory. The pulsed array lasers were assumed to be transient heat source, and the surface acoustic wave (SAW) which propagating on the top of the plate was computed based on thermoelastic theory. Then the frequency spectrums of both reflected waves by crack and transmission ones through crack were compared with the direct waves. Results demonstrate that multiple-frequency components of the narrow-band ultrasound were varied with change of the depth of surface breaking cracks significantly, which provides the possibility for precise evaluation of surface breaking cracks.

Multi-static MIMO along track interferometry (ATI)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Knight, Chad; Deming, Ross; Gunther, Jake

2016-05-01

Along-track interferometry (ATI) has the ability to generate high-quality synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images and concurrently detect and estimate the positions of ground moving target indicators (GMTI) with moderate processing requirements. This paper focuses on several different ATI system configurations, with an emphasis on low-cost configurations employing no active electronic scanned array (AESA). The objective system has two transmit phase centers and four receive phase centers and supports agile adaptive radar behavior. The advantages of multistatic, multiple input multiple output (MIMO) ATI system configurations are explored. The two transmit phase centers can employ a ping-pong configuration to provide the multistatic behavior. For example, they can toggle between an up and down linear frequency modulated (LFM) waveform every other pulse. The four receive apertures are considered in simple linear spatial configurations. Simulated examples are examined to understand the trade space and verify the expected results. Finally, actual results are collected with the Space Dynamics Laboratorys (SDL) FlexSAR system in diverse configurations. The theory, as well as the simulated and actual SAR results, are presented and discussed.

Ultra-narrow pulse generator with precision-adjustable pulse width

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fu, Zaiming; Liu, Hanglin

2018-05-01

In this paper, a novel ultra-narrow pulse generation approach is proposed. It is based on the decomposition and synthesis of pulse edges. Through controlling their relative delay, an ultra-narrow pulse could be generated. By employing field programmable gate array digital synthesis technology, the implemented pulse generator is with programmable ability. The amplitude of pulse signals is controlled by the radio frequency amplifiers and bias tees, and high precision can be achieved. More importantly, the proposed approach can break through the limitation of device's propagation delay and optimize the resolution and the accuracy of the pulse width significantly. The implemented pulse generator has two channels, whose minimum pulse width, frequency range, and amplitude range are 100 ps, 15 MHz-1.5 GHz, and 0.1 Vpp-1.8 Vpp, respectively. Both resolution of pulse width and channel delay are 1 ps, and amplitude resolution is 10 mVpp.

Experiments with linear compressors for phase shifting in pulse tube crycoolers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lewis, Michael; Bradley, Peter; Radebaugh, Ray

2012-06-01

For the past year NIST has been investigating the use of mechanical phase shifters as warm expanders for pulse tube cryocoolers. Unlike inertance tubes, which have a limited phase shifting ability at low acoustic powers, mechanical phase shifters have the ability to provide nearly any phase angle between the mass flow and the pressure. We discuss our results with experiments and modeling on a commercially available miniature linear compressor operating as an expander on the warm-end of a 4 K pulse tube, whose temperature is nominally about 35 K. We also present results on experiments with a linear compressor operating at room temperature but coupled to the 4 K stage through secondary regenerators and secondary pulse tubes. Experiments on a small pulse tube test apparatus with both 4He and 3He showed improved efficiency when using the mechanical expander over that of inertance tubes. Phase locking techniques using function generators and power amplifiers for control of phase angle are detailed. The use of expanders demonstrates flexible control in optimizing phase angles for improved cryocooler performance.

Target tracking and pointing for arrays of phase-locked lasers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Macasaet, Van P.; Hughes, Gary B.; Lubin, Philip; Madajian, Jonathan; Zhang, Qicheng; Griswold, Janelle; Kulkarni, Neeraj; Cohen, Alexander; Brashears, Travis

2016-09-01

Arrays of phase-locked lasers are envisioned for planetary defense and exploration systems. High-energy beams focused on a threatening asteroid evaporate surface material, creating a reactionary thrust that alters the asteroid's orbit. The same system could be used to probe an asteroid's composition, to search for unknown asteroids, and to propel interplanetary and interstellar spacecraft. Phased-array designs are capable of producing high beam intensity, and allow beam steering and beam profile manipulation. Modular designs allow ongoing addition of emitter elements to a growing array. This paper discusses pointing control for extensible laser arrays. Rough pointing is determined by spacecraft attitude control. Lateral movement of the laser emitter tips behind the optical elements provides intermediate pointing adjustment for individual array elements and beam steering. Precision beam steering and beam formation is accomplished by coordinated phase modulation across the array. Added cells are incorporated into the phase control scheme by precise alignment to local mechanical datums using fast, optical relative position sensors. Infrared target sensors are also positioned within the datum scheme, and provide information about the target vector relative to datum coordinates at each emitter. Multiple target sensors allow refined determination of the target normal plane, providing information to the phase controller for each emitter. As emitters and sensors are added, local position data allows accurate prediction of the relative global position of emitters across the array, providing additional constraints to the phase controllers. Mechanical design and associated phase control that is scalable for target distance and number of emitters is presented.

Measurement of positron annihilation lifetimes for positron burst by multi-detector array

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, B. Y.; Kuang, P.; Liu, F. Y.; Han, Z. J.; Cao, X. Z.; Zhang, P.

2018-03-01

It is currently impossible to exploit the timing information in a gamma-ray pulse generated within nanoseconds when a high-intensity positron burst annihilation event occurs in a target using conventional single-detector methods. A state-of-the-art solution to the problem is proposed in this paper. In this approach, a multi-detector array composed of many independent detection cells mounted spherically around the target is designed to detect the time distribution of the annihilated gamma rays generated following, in particular, a positron burst emitting huge amounts of positrons in a short pulse duration, even less than a few nano- or picoseconds.

Spectral estimation for characterization of acoustic aberration.

PubMed

Varslot, Trond; Angelsen, Bjørn; Waag, Robert C

2004-07-01

Spectral estimation based on acoustic backscatter from a motionless stochastic medium is described for characterization of aberration in ultrasonic imaging. The underlying assumptions for the estimation are: The correlation length of the medium is short compared to the length of the transmitted acoustic pulse, an isoplanatic region of sufficient size exists around the focal point, and the backscatter can be modeled as an ergodic stochastic process. The motivation for this work is ultrasonic imaging with aberration correction. Measurements were performed using a two-dimensional array system with 80 x 80 transducer elements and an element pitch of 0.6 mm. The f number for the measurements was 1.2 and the center frequency was 3.0 MHz with a 53% bandwidth. Relative phase of aberration was extracted from estimated cross spectra using a robust least-mean-square-error method based on an orthogonal expansion of the phase differences of neighboring wave forms as a function of frequency. Estimates of cross-spectrum phase from measurements of random scattering through a tissue-mimicking aberrator have confidence bands approximately +/- 5 degrees wide. Both phase and magnitude are in good agreement with a reference characterization obtained from a point scatterer.

Searching Neutrinoless Double Beta Decay with GERDA Phase II

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Agostini, M.; Bakalyarov, A. M.; Balata, M.; Barabanov, I.; Baudis, L.; Bauer, C.; Bellotti, E.; Belogurov, S.; Bettini, A.; Bezrukov, L.; Bode, T.; Brudanin, V.; Brugnera, R.; Caldwell, A.; Cattadori, C.; Chernogorov, A.; Comellato, T.; D’Andrea, V.; Demidova, E. V.; di Marco, N.; Domula, A.; Doroshkevich, E.; Egorov, V.; Falkenstein, R.; Gangapshev, A.; Garfagnini, A.; Giordano, M.; Gooch, C.; Grabmayr, P.; Gurentsov, V.; Gusev, K.; Hahne, C.; Hakenmüller, J.; Hegai, A.; Heisel, M.; Hemmer, S.; Hiller, R.; Hofmann, W.; Holl, P.; Hult, M.; Inzhechik, L. V.; Ioannucci, L.; Csáthy, J. Janicskó; Jochum, J.; Junker, M.; Kazalov, V.; Kermaidic, Y.; Kihm, T.; Kirpichnikov, I. V.; Kirsch, A.; Kish, A.; Klimenko, A.; Kneißl, R.; Knöpfle, K. T.; Kochetov, O.; Kornoukhov, V. N.; Kuzminov, V. V.; Laubenstein, M.; Lazzaro, A.; Lindner, M.; Lippi, I.; Lubashevskiy, A.; Lubsandorzhiev, B.; Lutter, G.; Macolino, C.; Majorovits, B.; Maneschg, W.; Marissens, G.; Miloradovic, M.; Mingazheva, R.; Misiaszek, M.; Moseev, P.; Nemchenok, I.; Nisi, S.; Panas, K.; Pandola, L.; Pelczar, K.; Pullia, A.; Ransom, C.; Reissfelder, M.; Riboldi, S.; Rumyantseva, N.; Sada, C.; Sala, E.; Salamida, F.; Schmitt, C.; Schneider, B.; Schreiner, J.; Schulz, O.; Schweisshelm, B.; Schwingenheuer, B.; Schönert, S.; Schütz, A.-K.; Seitz, H.; Selivanenko, O.; Shevchik, E.; Shirchenko, M.; Simgen, H.; Smolnikov, A.; Stanco, L.; Vanhoefer, L.; Vasenko, A. A.; Veresnikova, A.; von Sturm, K.; Wagner, V.; Wegmann, A.; Wester, T.; Wiesinger, C.; Wojcik, M.; Yanovich, E.; Zhitnikov, I.; Zhukov, S. V.; Zinatulina, D.; Zschocke, A.; Zsigmond, A. J.; Zuber, K.; Zuzel, G.

An observation of neutrinoless double beta (0νββ) decay would allow to shed light onto the nature of neutrinos. GERDA (GERmanium Detector Array) aims to discover this process in a background-free search using 76Ge. The experiment is located at the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso (LNGS) of the Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN) in Italy. Bare, isotopically enriched, high purity germanium detectors are operated in liquid argon. GERDA follows a staged approach. In Phase II 35.6 kg of enriched germanium detectors are operated since December 2015. The application of active background rejection methods, such as a liquid argon scintillation light read-out and pulse shape discrimination of germanium detector signals, allows to reduce the background index to the intended level of 10‑3 cts/(keVṡkgṡyr). No evidence for the 0νββ decay has been found in 23.2 kgṡyr of Phase II data, and together with data from Phase I the up-to-date most stringent half-life limit for this process in 76Ge has been established, at a median sensitivity of 5.8ṡ1025yr the 90% C.L. lower limit is 8.0ṡ1025yr.

Synaptic characteristics with strong analog potentiation, depression, and short-term to long-term memory transition in a Pt/CeO2/Pt crossbar array structure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Hyung Jun; Park, Daehoon; Yang, Paul; Beom, Keonwon; Kim, Min Ju; Shin, Chansun; Kang, Chi Jung; Yoon, Tae-Sik

2018-06-01

A crossbar array of Pt/CeO2/Pt memristors exhibited the synaptic characteristics such as analog, reversible, and strong resistance change with a ratio of ∼103, corresponding to wide dynamic range of synaptic weight modulation as potentiation and depression with respect to the voltage polarity. In addition, it presented timing-dependent responses such as paired-pulse facilitation and the short-term to long-term memory transition by increasing amplitude, width, and repetition number of voltage pulse and reducing the interval time between pulses. The memory loss with a time was fitted with a stretched exponential relaxation model, revealing the relation of memory stability with the input stimuli strength. The resistance change was further enhanced but its stability got worse as increasing measurement temperature, indicating that the resistance was changed as a result of voltage- and temperature-dependent electrical charging and discharging to alter the energy barrier for charge transport. These detailed synaptic characteristics demonstrated the potential of crossbar array of Pt/CeO2/Pt memristors as artificial synapses in highly connected neuron-synapse network.

Synaptic characteristics with strong analog potentiation, depression, and short-term to long-term memory transition in a Pt/CeO2/Pt crossbar array structure.

PubMed

Kim, Hyung Jun; Park, Daehoon; Yang, Paul; Beom, Keonwon; Kim, Min Ju; Shin, Chansun; Kang, Chi Jung; Yoon, Tae-Sik

2018-06-29

A crossbar array of Pt/CeO 2 /Pt memristors exhibited the synaptic characteristics such as analog, reversible, and strong resistance change with a ratio of ∼10 3 , corresponding to wide dynamic range of synaptic weight modulation as potentiation and depression with respect to the voltage polarity. In addition, it presented timing-dependent responses such as paired-pulse facilitation and the short-term to long-term memory transition by increasing amplitude, width, and repetition number of voltage pulse and reducing the interval time between pulses. The memory loss with a time was fitted with a stretched exponential relaxation model, revealing the relation of memory stability with the input stimuli strength. The resistance change was further enhanced but its stability got worse as increasing measurement temperature, indicating that the resistance was changed as a result of voltage- and temperature-dependent electrical charging and discharging to alter the energy barrier for charge transport. These detailed synaptic characteristics demonstrated the potential of crossbar array of Pt/CeO 2 /Pt memristors as artificial synapses in highly connected neuron-synapse network.

Electromagnetic or other directed energy pulse launcher

DOEpatents

Ziolkowski, Richard W.

1990-01-01

The physical realization of new solutions of wave propagation equations, such as Maxwell's equations and the scaler wave equation, produces localized pulses of wave energy such as electromagnetic or acoustic energy which propagate over long distances without divergence. The pulses are produced by driving each element of an array of radiating sources with a particular drive function so that the resultant localized packet of energy closely approximates the exact solutions and behaves the same.

Mode-locking of a terahertz laser by direct phase synchronization.

PubMed

Maysonnave, J; Maussang, K; Freeman, J R; Jukam, N; Madéo, J; Cavalié, P; Rungsawang, R; Khanna, S P; Linfield, E H; Davies, A G; Beere, H E; Ritchie, D A; Dhillon, S S; Tignon, J

2012-09-10

A novel scheme to achieve mode-locking of a multimode laser is demonstrated. Traditional methods to produce ultrashort laser pulses are based on modulating the cavity gain or losses at the cavity roundtrip frequency, favoring the pulsed emission. Here, we rather directly act on the phases of the modes, resulting in constructive interference for the appropriated phase relationship. This was performed on a terahertz quantum cascade laser by multimode injection seeding with an external terahertz pulse, resulting in phase mode-locked terahertz laser pulses of 9 ps duration, characterized unambiguously in the time domain.

Pulsed laser illumination of photovoltaic cells

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Yater, Jane A.; Lowe, Roland A.; Jenkins, Phillip P.; Landis, Geoffrey A.

1994-01-01

In future space missions, free electron lasers (FEL) may be used to illuminate photovoltaic array receivers to provide remote power. Both the radio-frequency (RF) and induction FEL provide FEL produce pulsed rather than continuous output. In this work we investigate cell response to pulsed laser light which simulates the RF FEL format. The results indicate that if the pulse repetition is high, cell efficiencies are only slightly reduced compared to constant illumination at the same wavelength. The frequency response of the cells is weak, with both voltage and current outputs essentially dc in nature. Comparison with previous experiments indicates that the RF FEL pulse format yields more efficient photovoltaic conversion than does an induction FEL pulse format.

Cerebral TOF Angiography at 7T: Impact of B1+ Shimming with a 16-Channel Transceiver Array

PubMed Central

Schmitter, Sebastian; Wu, Xiaoping; Adriany, Gregor; Auerbach, Edward J.; Uğurbil, Kâmil; Van de Moortele, Pierre-François

2014-01-01

Purpose Time-of-flight (TOF) MR imaging is clinically among the most common cerebral non-contrast enhanced MR angiography techniques allowing for high spatial resolution. As shown by several groups TOF contrast significantly improves at ultra-high field (UHF) of B0=7T, however, spatially varying transmit B1 (B1+) fields at 7T reduce TOF contrast uniformity, typically resulting in sub-optimal contrast and reduced vessel conspicuity in the brain periphery. Methods Using a 16-channel B1+ shimming system we compare different dynamically applied B1+ phase shimming approaches on the RF excitation to improve contrast homogeneity for a (0.5 mm)3 resolution multi-slab TOF acquisition. In addition, B1+ shimming applied on the venous saturation pulse was investigated to improve venous suppression, subcutaneous fat signal reduction and enhanced background suppression originating from MT effect. Results B1+ excitation homogeneity was improved by a factor 2.2 to 2.6 on average depending on the shimming approach, compared to a standard CP-like phase setting, leading to improved vessel conspicuity particularly in the periphery. Stronger saturation, higher fat suppression and improved background suppression were observed when dynamically applying B1+ shimming on the venous saturation pulse. Conclusion B1+ shimming can significantly improve high resolution TOF vascular investigations at UHF, holding strong promise for non contrast-enhanced clinical applications. PMID:23640915

Neodymium glass laser with a phase conjugate mirror producing 220 J pulses at 0.02 Hz repetition rate.

PubMed

Kuzmin, A A; Khazanov, E A; Kulagin, O V; Shaykin, A A

2014-08-25

For pumping multipetawatt Ti:sapphire laser facilities we developed a compact repetitively pulsed laser based on neodymium phosphate glass with pulse energy of 220 J, pulse repetition rate of 0.02 Hz, beam diameter of 43 mm, aperture fill factor of 0.8, and FWHM pulse duration of 30 ns. The phase distortions of laser radiation were compensated by optical phase conjugation via stimulated Brillouin scattering. The depolarization was reduced to 0.4% using linear compensation methods. The beam quality was 2.5 x diffraction limit (150 µrad).

Experimental observation of carrier-envelope-phase effects by multicycle pulses

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jha, Pankaj K.; Scully, Marlan O.; Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and the Princeton Institute for the Science and Technology of Materials, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544

2011-03-15

We present an experimental and theoretical study of carrier-envelope-phase (CEP) effects on the population transfer between two bound atomic states interacting with pulses consisting of many cycles. Using intense radio-frequency pulse with Rabi frequency of the order of the atomic transition frequency, we investigate the influence of the CEP on the control of phase-dependent multiphoton transitions between the Zeeman sublevels of the ground state of {sup 87}Rb. Our scheme has no limitation on the duration of the pulses. Extending the CEP control to longer pulses creates interesting possibilities to generate pulses with accuracy that is better than the period ofmore » optical oscillations.« less

All-optical short pulse translation through cross-phase modulation in a VO₂ thin film.

PubMed

Fardad, Shima; Das, Susobhan; Salandrino, Alessandro; Breckenfeld, Eric; Kim, Heungsoo; Wu, Judy; Hui, Rongqing

2016-01-15

VO2 is a promising material for reconfigurable photonic devices due to the ultrafast changes in electronic and optical properties associated with its dielectric-to-metal phase transition. Based on a fiber-optic, pump-probe setup at 1550 nm wavelength window, and by varying the pump-pulse duration, we show that the material phase transition is primarily caused by the pump-pulse energy. For the first time, we demonstrate that the instantaneous optical phase modulation of probe during pump leading edge can be utilized to create short optical pulses at probe wavelength, through optical frequency discrimination. This circumvents the impact of long recovery time well known for the phase transition of VO2.

Tunable Optical True-Time Delay Devices Would Exploit EIT

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kulikov, Igor; DiDomenico, Leo; Lee, Hwang

2004-01-01

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, devices based on ferroelectric and ferromagnetic materials) and electronically controlled phase shifters, the proposed devices would offer much greater bandwidths. In a typical envisioned application, an optical pulse would be modulated with an ultra-wideband radio-frequency (RF) signal that would convey the information that one seeks to communicate, and it would be required to couple differently delayed replicas of the RF signal to the radiating elements of a phased-array antenna. One or more of the proposed devices would be used to impose the delays and/or generate the delayed replicas of the RF-modulated optical pulse. The beam radiated or received by the antenna would be steered by use of a microprocessor-based control system that would adjust operational parameters of the devices to tune the delays to the required values. EIT is a nonlinear quantum optical interference effect that enables the propagation of light through an initially opaque medium. A suitable medium must have, among other properties, three quantum states (see Figure 1): an excited state (state 3), an upper ground state (state 2), and a lower ground state (state 1). These three states must form a closed system that exhibits no decays to other states in the presence of either or both of two laser beams: (1) a probe beam having the wavelength corresponding to the photon energy equal to the energy difference between states 3 and 1; and (2) a coupling beam having the wavelength corresponding to the photon energy equal to the energy difference between states 3 and 2. The probe beam is the one that is pulsed and modulated with an RF signal.

Ka-Band Multibeam Aperture Phased Array Being Developed

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Reinhart, Richard C.; Kacpura, Thomas J.

2004-01-01

Phased-array antenna systems offer many advantages to low-Earth-orbiting satellite systems. Their large scan angles and multibeam capabilities allow for vibration-free, rapid beam scanning and graceful degradation operation for high rate downlink of data to users on the ground. Technology advancements continue to reduce the power, weight, and cost of these systems to make phased arrays a competitive alternative in comparison to the gimbled reflector system commonly used in science missions. One effort to reduce the cost of phased arrays is the development of a Ka-band multibeam aperture (MBA) phased array by Boeing Corporation under a contract jointly by the NASA Glenn Research Center and the Office of Naval Research. The objective is to develop and demonstrate a space-qualifiable dual-beam Ka-band (26.5-GHz) phased-array antenna. The goals are to advance the state of the art in Ka-band active phased-array antennas and to develop and demonstrate multibeam transmission technology compatible with spacecraft in low Earth orbit to reduce the cost of future missions by retiring certain development risks. The frequency chosen is suitable for space-to-space and space-to-ground communication links. The phased-array antenna has a radiation pattern designed by combining a set of individual radiating elements, optimized with the type of radiating elements used, their positions in space, and the amplitude and phase of the currents feeding the elements. This arrangement produces a directional radiation pattern that is proportional to the number of individual radiating elements. The arrays of interest here can scan the main beam electronically with a computerized algorithm. The antenna is constructed using electronic components with no mechanical parts, and the steering is performed electronically, without any resulting vibration. The speed of the scanning is limited primarily by the control electronics. The radiation performance degrades gracefully if a portion of the elements fail. The arrays can be constructed to conform to a mounting surface, and multibeam capability is integral to the design. However, there are challenges for mission designers using monolithic-microwave-integrated-circuit- (MMIC-) based arrays because of reduced power efficiency, higher costs, and certain system effects that result in link degradations. The multibeam aperture phased-array antenna development is attempting to address some of these issues, particularly manufacturing, costs, and system performance.

Employment of Adaptive Learning Techniques for the Discrimination of Acoustic Emissions.

DTIC Science & Technology

1983-11-01

Dereverberation Simulations ... ............ .. 96 Ŗ 4. ARRAY OPTIMIZATION ......... ...................... . 115 * 4.1 Phased Array Fundamentals... 115 4.2 Phased Array Diffraction Suboptimization ......... ... 121 , .i Page s 4.3 Diffraction Pattern Simulations of Phased Arrays...by differentiating (2.13.14) with respect to z and • -- equating equal powers of z , giving n-i c n bn + I/n kckbn-k (2.13.15)nk= This is very

Ultrabroadband Phased-Array Receivers Based on Optical Techniques

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-02-26

AFRL-AFOSR-VA-TR-2016-0121 Ultrabroadband Phased- array Receivers Based on Optical Techniques Christopher Schuetz UNIVERSITY OF DELAWARE Final Report...Jul 15 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE Ultrabroadband Phased- Array Receivers Based on Optical Techniques 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER 5b. GRANT NUMBER FA9550-12-1...receiver that enables us to capture and convert signals across an array using photonic modulators, routing these signals to a central location using

Process for direct integration of a thin-film silicon p-n junction diode with a magnetic tunnel junction

DOEpatents

Toet, Daniel; Sigmon, Thomas W.

2004-12-07

A process for direct integration of a thin-film silicon p-n junction diode with a magnetic tunnel junction for use in advanced magnetic random access memory (MRAM) cells for high performance, non-volatile memory arrays. The process is based on pulsed laser processing for the fabrication of vertical polycrystalline silicon electronic device structures, in particular p-n junction diodes, on films of metals deposited onto low temperature-substrates such as ceramics, dielectrics, glass, or polymers. The process preserves underlayers and structures onto which the devices are typically deposited, such as silicon integrated circuits. The process involves the low temperature deposition of at least one layer of silicon, either in an amorphous or a polycrystalline phase on a metal layer. Dopants may be introduced in the silicon film during or after deposition. The film is then irradiated with short pulse laser energy that is efficiently absorbed in the silicon, which results in the crystallization of the film and simultaneously in the activation of the dopants via ultrafast melting and solidification. The silicon film can be patterned either before or after crystallization.

Process For Direct Integration Of A Thin-Film Silicon P-N Junction Diode With A Magnetic Tunnel Junction

DOEpatents

Toet, Daniel; Sigmon, Thomas W.

2005-08-23

A process for direct integration of a thin-film silicon p-n junction diode with a magnetic tunnel junction for use in advanced magnetic random access memory (MRAM) cells for high performance, non-volatile memory arrays. The process is based on pulsed laser processing for the fabrication of vertical polycrystalline silicon electronic device structures, in particular p-n junction diodes, on films of metals deposited onto low temperature-substrates such as ceramics, dielectrics, glass, or polymers. The process preserves underlayers and structures onto which the devices are typically deposited, such as silicon integrated circuits. The process involves the low temperature deposition of at least one layer of silicon, either in an amorphous or a polycrystalline phase on a metal layer. Dopants may be introduced in the silicon film during or after deposition. The film is then irradiated with short pulse laser energy that is efficiently absorbed in the silicon, which results in the crystallization of the film and simultaneously in the activation of the dopants via ultrafast melting and solidification. The silicon film can be patterned either before or after crystallization.

Process for direct integration of a thin-film silicon p-n junction diode with a magnetic tunnel junction

DOEpatents

Toet, Daniel; Sigmon, Thomas W.

2003-01-01

A process for direct integration of a thin-film silicon p-n junction diode with a magnetic tunnel junction for use in advanced magnetic random access memory (MRAM) cells for high performance, non-volatile memory arrays. The process is based on pulsed laser processing for the fabrication of vertical polycrystalline silicon electronic device structures, in particular p-n junction diodes, on films of metals deposited onto low temperature-substrates such as ceramics, dielectrics, glass, or polymers. The process preserves underlayers and structures onto which the devices are typically deposited, such as silicon integrated circuits. The process involves the low temperature deposition of at least one layer of silicon, either in an amorphous or a polycrystalline phase on a metal layer. Dopants may be introduced in the silicon film during or after deposition. The film is then irradiated with short pulse laser energy that is efficiently absorbed in the silicon, which results in the crystallization of the film and simultaneously in the activation of the dopants via ultrafast melting and solidification. The silicon film can be patterned either before or after crystallization.

Improving photoelectron counting and particle identification in scintillation detectors with Bayesian techniques

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Akashi-Ronquest, M.; Amaudruz, P.-A.; Batygov, M.; Beltran, B.; Bodmer, M.; Boulay, M. G.; Broerman, B.; Buck, B.; Butcher, A.; Cai, B.; Caldwell, T.; Chen, M.; Chen, Y.; Cleveland, B.; Coakley, K.; Dering, K.; Duncan, F. A.; Formaggio, J. A.; Gagnon, R.; Gastler, D.; Giuliani, F.; Gold, M.; Golovko, V. V.; Gorel, P.; Graham, K.; Grace, E.; Guerrero, N.; Guiseppe, V.; Hallin, A. L.; Harvey, P.; Hearns, C.; Henning, R.; Hime, A.; Hofgartner, J.; Jaditz, S.; Jillings, C. J.; Kachulis, C.; Kearns, E.; Kelsey, J.; Klein, J. R.; Kuźniak, M.; LaTorre, A.; Lawson, I.; Li, O.; Lidgard, J. J.; Liimatainen, P.; Linden, S.; McFarlane, K.; McKinsey, D. N.; MacMullin, S.; Mastbaum, A.; Mathew, R.; McDonald, A. B.; Mei, D.-M.; Monroe, J.; Muir, A.; Nantais, C.; Nicolics, K.; Nikkel, J. A.; Noble, T.; O'Dwyer, E.; Olsen, K.; Orebi Gann, G. D.; Ouellet, C.; Palladino, K.; Pasuthip, P.; Perumpilly, G.; Pollmann, T.; Rau, P.; Retière, F.; Rielage, K.; Schnee, R.; Seibert, S.; Skensved, P.; Sonley, T.; Vázquez-Jáuregui, E.; Veloce, L.; Walding, J.; Wang, B.; Wang, J.; Ward, M.; Zhang, C.

2015-05-01

Many current and future dark matter and neutrino detectors are designed to measure scintillation light with a large array of photomultiplier tubes (PMTs). The energy resolution and particle identification capabilities of these detectors depend in part on the ability to accurately identify individual photoelectrons in PMT waveforms despite large variability in pulse amplitudes and pulse pileup. We describe a Bayesian technique that can identify the times of individual photoelectrons in a sampled PMT waveform without deconvolution, even when pileup is present. To demonstrate the technique, we apply it to the general problem of particle identification in single-phase liquid argon dark matter detectors. Using the output of the Bayesian photoelectron counting algorithm described in this paper, we construct several test statistics for rejection of backgrounds for dark matter searches in argon. Compared to simpler methods based on either observed charge or peak finding, the photoelectron counting technique improves both energy resolution and particle identification of low energy events in calibration data from the DEAP-1 detector and simulation of the larger MiniCLEAN dark matter detector.

Dual echelon femtosecond single-shot spectroscopy

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Shin, Taeho; Wolfson, Johanna W.; Teitelbaum, Samuel W.

We have developed a femtosecond single-shot spectroscopic technique to measure irreversible changes in condensed phase materials in real time. Crossed echelons generate a two-dimensional array of time-delayed pulses with one femtosecond probe pulse. This yields 9 ps of time-resolved data from a single laser shot, filling a gap in currently employed measurement methods. We can now monitor ultrafast irreversible dynamics in solid-state materials or other samples that cannot be flowed or replenished between laser shots, circumventing limitations of conventional pump-probe methods due to sample damage or product buildup. Despite the absence of signal-averaging in the single-shot measurement, an acceptable signal-to-noisemore » level has been achieved via background and reference calibration procedures. Pump-induced changes in relative reflectivity as small as 0.2%−0.5% are demonstrated in semimetals, with both electronic and coherent phonon dynamics revealed by the data. The optical arrangement and the space-to-time conversion and calibration procedures necessary to achieve this level of operation are described. Sources of noise and approaches for dealing with them are discussed.« less

Diode pumped, regenerative Nd:YAG ring amplifier for space application

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Coyle, D. B.; Kay, Richard B.; Degnan, John J.; Krebs, Danny J.; Seery, Bernard D.

1992-01-01

The study reviews the research and development of a prototype laser used to study one possible method of short-pulse production and amplification, in particular, a pulsed Nd:YAG ring laser pumped by laser diode arrays and injected seeded by a 100-ps source. The diode array pumped, regenerative amplifier consists of only five optical elements, two mirrors, one thin film polarizer, one Nd:YAG crystal, and one pockels cell. The pockels cell performed both as a Q-switch and a cavity dumper for amplified pulse ejection through the thin film polarizer. The total optical efficiency was low principally due to the low gain provided by the 2-bar pumped laser head. After comparison with a computer model, a real seed threshold of about 10 exp -15 J was achieved because only about 0.1 percent of the injected energy mode-matched with the ring.

Pulsed photothermal interferometry for spectroscopic gas detection with hollow-core optical fibre

PubMed Central

Lin, Yuechuan; Jin, Wei; Yang, Fan; Ma, Jun; Wang, Chao; Ho, Hoi Lut; Liu, Yang

2016-01-01

Gas detection with hollow-core photonic bandgap fibre (HC-PBF) and pulsed photothermal (PT) interferometry spectroscopy are studied theoretically and experimentally. A theoretical model is developed and used to compute the gas-absorption-induced temperature and phase modulation in a HC-PBF filled with low-concentration of C2H2 in nitrogen. The PT phase modulation dynamics for different pulse duration, peak power and energy of pump beam are numerically modelled, which are supported by the experimental results obtained around the P(9) absorption line of C2H2 at 1530.371 nm. Thermal conduction is identified as the main process responsible for the phase modulation dynamics. For a constant peak pump power level, the phase modulation is found to increase with pulse duration up to ~1.2 μs, while it increases with decreasing pulse duration for a constant pulse energy. It is theoretically possible to achieve ppb level detection of C2H2 with ~1 m length HC-PBF and a pump beam with ~10 ns pulse duration and ~100 nJ pulse energy. PMID:28009011

Pulsed photothermal interferometry for spectroscopic gas detection with hollow-core optical fibre.

PubMed

Lin, Yuechuan; Jin, Wei; Yang, Fan; Ma, Jun; Wang, Chao; Ho, Hoi Lut; Liu, Yang

2016-12-23

Gas detection with hollow-core photonic bandgap fibre (HC-PBF) and pulsed photothermal (PT) interferometry spectroscopy are studied theoretically and experimentally. A theoretical model is developed and used to compute the gas-absorption-induced temperature and phase modulation in a HC-PBF filled with low-concentration of C 2 H 2 in nitrogen. The PT phase modulation dynamics for different pulse duration, peak power and energy of pump beam are numerically modelled, which are supported by the experimental results obtained around the P(9) absorption line of C 2 H 2 at 1530.371 nm. Thermal conduction is identified as the main process responsible for the phase modulation dynamics. For a constant peak pump power level, the phase modulation is found to increase with pulse duration up to ~1.2 μs, while it increases with decreasing pulse duration for a constant pulse energy. It is theoretically possible to achieve ppb level detection of C 2 H 2 with ~1 m length HC-PBF and a pump beam with ~10 ns pulse duration and ~100 nJ pulse energy.

Effects of 1-MeV gamma radiation on a multi-anode microchannel array detector tube

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Timothy, J. G.; Bybee, R. L.

1979-01-01

A multianode microchannel array (MAMA) detector tube without a photocathode was exposed to a total dose of 1,000,000 rads of 1-MeV gamma radiation from a Co-60 source. The high-voltage characteristic of the microchannel array plate, average dark count, gain, and resolution of pulse height distribution characteristics showed no degradation after this total dose. In fact, the degassing of the microchannels induced by the high radiation flux had the effect of cleaning up the array plate and improving its characteristics.

The Effect of a Pulsed Interference Signal on an Adaptive Array.

DTIC Science & Technology

1981-04-01

eigenvectors exist.) Using a spectral decomp- osition formula [10,11], we may write e-kM in the form -kM -k(T- )-kpo 3 -kg i (e -k = e a : .iZ e eie i , (28...N 0 (No/T b) In addition, for this analysis we shall assume the interference power at the array output has the same effect on detector performance... Sensitive Adaptive Array," to appear in IEEE Trans. Antennas and Propagation. 7. R.T. Compton, Jr., "The Tripole Antenna - An Adaptive Array with Full

Development and test of photon-counting microchannel plate detector arrays for use on space telescopes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Timothy, J. G.

1976-01-01

The full sensitivity, dynamic range, and photometric stability of microchannel array plates(MCP) are incorporated into a photon-counting detection system for space operations. Components of the system include feedback-free MCP's for high gain and saturated output pulse-height distribution with a stable response; multi-anode readout arrays mounted in proximity focus with the output face of the MCP; and multi-layer ceramic headers to provide electrical interface between the anode array in a sealed detector tube and the associated electronics.

Ordered arrays of multiferroic epitaxial nanostructures.

PubMed

Vrejoiu, Ionela; Morelli, Alessio; Biggemann, Daniel; Pippel, Eckhard

2011-01-01

Epitaxial heterostructures combining ferroelectric (FE) and ferromagnetic (FiM) oxides are a possible route to explore coupling mechanisms between the two independent order parameters, polarization and magnetization of the component phases. We report on the fabrication and properties of arrays of hybrid epitaxial nanostructures of FiM NiFe(2)O(4) (NFO) and FE PbZr(0.52)Ti(0.48)O(3) or PbZr(0.2)Ti(0.8)O(3), with large range order and lateral dimensions from 200 nm to 1 micron. The structures were fabricated by pulsed-laser deposition. High resolution transmission electron microscopy and high angle annular dark-field scanning transmission electron microscopy were employed to investigate the microstructure and the epitaxial growth of the structures. Room temperature ferroelectric and ferrimagnetic domains of the heterostructures were imaged by piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM) and magnetic force microscopy (MFM), respectively. PFM and MFM investigations proved that the hybrid epitaxial nanostructures show ferroelectric and magnetic order at room temperature. Dielectric effects occurring after repeated switching of the polarization in large planar capacitors, comprising ferrimagnetic NiFe2O4 dots embedded in ferroelectric PbZr0.52Ti0.48O3 matrix, were studied. These hybrid multiferroic structures with clean and well defined epitaxial interfaces hold promise for reliable investigations of magnetoelectric coupling between the ferrimagnetic / magnetostrictive and ferroelectric / piezoelectric phases.

Determination of fat-soluble vitamins in vegetable oils through microwave-assisted high-performance liquid chromatography.

PubMed

Carballo, Silvia; Prats, Soledad; Maestre, Salvador; Todolí, José-Luis

2015-04-01

In this manuscript, a study of the effect of microwave radiation on the high-performance liquid chromatography separation of tocopherols and vitamin K1 was conducted. The novelty of the application was the use of a relatively low polarity mobile phase in which the dielectric heating effect was minimized to evaluate the nonthermal effect of the microwave radiation over the separation process. Results obtained show that microwave-assisted high-performance liquid chromatography had a shorter analysis time from 31.5 to 13.3 min when the lowest microwave power was used. Moreover, narrower peaks were obtained; hence the separation was more efficient maintaining or even increasing the resolution between the peaks. This result confirms that the increase in mobile phase temperature is not the only variable for improving the separation process but also other nonthermal processes must intervene. Fluorescence detection demonstrated better signal-to-noise compared to photodiode arrayed detection mainly due to the independent effect of microwave pulses on the baseline noise, but photodiode array detection was finally chosen as it allowed a simultaneous detection of nonfluorescent compounds. Finally, a determination of the content of the vitamin E homologs was carried out in different vegetable oils. Results were coherent with those found in the literature. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

3D Ta/TaO x /TiO2/Ti synaptic array and linearity tuning of weight update for hardware neural network applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, I.-Ting; Chang, Chih-Cheng; Chiu, Li-Wen; Chou, Teyuh; Hou, Tuo-Hung

2016-09-01

The implementation of highly anticipated hardware neural networks (HNNs) hinges largely on the successful development of a low-power, high-density, and reliable analog electronic synaptic array. In this study, we demonstrate a two-layer Ta/TaO x /TiO2/Ti cross-point synaptic array that emulates the high-density three-dimensional network architecture of human brains. Excellent uniformity and reproducibility among intralayer and interlayer cells were realized. Moreover, at least 50 analog synaptic weight states could be precisely controlled with minimal drifting during a cycling endurance test of 5000 training pulses at an operating voltage of 3 V. We also propose a new state-independent bipolar-pulse-training scheme to improve the linearity of weight updates. The improved linearity considerably enhances the fault tolerance of HNNs, thus improving the training accuracy.

Variation of high-power aluminum-wire array Z-pinch dynamics with wire number, load mass, and array radius

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sanford, T. W. L.; Mock, R. C.; Marder, B. M.; Nash, T. J.; Spielman, R. B.; Peterson, D. L.; Roderick, N. F.; Hammer, J. H.; De Groot, J. S.; Mosher, D.; Whitney, K. G.; Apruzese, J. P.

1997-05-01

A systematic study of annular aluminum-wire z-pinches on the Saturn accelerator shows that the quality of the implosion, (as measured by the radial convergence, the radiated energy, pulse width, and power), increases with wire number. Radiation magnetohydrodynamic (RMHC) xy simulations suggest that the implosion transitions from that of individual wire plasmas to that of a continuous plasma shell when the interwire spacing is reduced below ˜1.4 mm. In this "plasma-shell regime," many of the global radiation and plasma characteristics are in agreement with those simulated by 2D-RMHC rz simulations. In this regime, measured changes in the radiation pulse width with variations in load mass and array radius are consistent with the simulations and are explained by the development of 2D fluid motion in the rz plane. Associated variations in the K-shell yield are qualitatively explained by simple radiation-scaling models.

A Methodology for Phased Array Radar Threshold Modeling Using the Advanced Propagation Model (APM)

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-10-01

TECHNICAL REPORT 3079 October 2017 A Methodology for Phased Array Radar Threshold Modeling Using the Advanced Propagation Model (APM...Head 55190 Networks Division iii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This report summarizes the methodology developed to improve the radar threshold modeling...PHASED ARRAY RADAR CONFIGURATION ..................................................................... 1 3. METHODOLOGY

A phased array bread board for future remote sensing applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zahn, R. W.; Schmidt, E.

The next generation of SAR antennas will be of the active phased-array type. The ongoing development of a phased-array breadboard for remote sensing is described. Starting from a detailed system design, a functional representative breadboard was developed. The design and the performance of the breadboard are discussed.

Development of components for an S-band phased array antenna subsystem

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1975-01-01

The system requirements, module test data, and S-band phased array subsystem test data are discussed. Of the two approaches to achieving antenna gain (mechanically steered reflector or electronically steered phased array), the phased array approach offers the greatest simplicity and lowest cost (size, weight, power, and dollars) for this medium gain. A competitive system design is described as well as hardware evaluation which will lead to timely availability of this technology for implementing such a system. The objectives of the study were: to fabricate and test six engineering model transmit/receive microelectronics modules; to design, fabricate, and test one dc and logic multilayer manifold; and to integrate and test an S-band phased array antenna subsystem composed of antenna elements, seven T/R modules, RF manifolds and dc manifold.

Comparison of Pelvic Phased-Array versus Endorectal Coil Magnetic Resonance Imaging at 3 Tesla for Local Staging of Prostate Cancer

PubMed Central

Kim, Bum Soo; Kim, Tae-Hwan; Kwon, Tae Gyun

2012-01-01

Purpose Several studies have demonstrated the superiority of endorectal coil magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) over pelvic phased-array coil MRI at 1.5 Tesla for local staging of prostate cancer. However, few have studied which evaluation is more accurate at 3 Tesla MRI. In this study, we compared the accuracy of local staging of prostate cancer using pelvic phased-array coil or endorectal coil MRI at 3 Tesla. Materials and Methods Between January 2005 and May 2010, 151 patients underwent radical prostatectomy. All patients were evaluated with either pelvic phased-array coil or endorectal coil prostate MRI prior to surgery (63 endorectal coils and 88 pelvic phased-array coils). Tumor stage based on MRI was compared with pathologic stage. We calculated the specificity, sensitivity and accuracy of each group in the evaluation of extracapsular extension and seminal vesicle invasion. Results Both endorectal coil and pelvic phased-array coil MRI achieved high specificity, low sensitivity and moderate accuracy for the detection of extracapsular extension and seminal vesicle invasion. There were statistically no differences in specificity, sensitivity and accuracy between the two groups. Conclusion Overall staging accuracy, sensitivity and specificity were not significantly different between endorectal coil and pelvic phased-array coil MRI. PMID:22476999

Two-Dimensional Array Beam Scanning Via Externally and Mutually Injection Locked Coupled Oscillators

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pogorzelski, Ronald J.

2000-01-01

Some years ago, Stephan proposed an approach to one dimensional (linear) phased array beam steering which requires only a single phase shifter. This involves the use of a linear array of voltage-controlled electronic oscillators coupled to nearest neighbors. The oscillators are mutually injection locked by controlling their coupling and tuning appropriately. Stephan's approach consists of deriving two signals from a master oscillator, one signal phase shifted with respect to the other by means of a single phase shifter. These two signals are injected into the end oscillators of the array. The result is a linear phase progression across the oscillator array. Thus, if radiating elements are connected to each oscillator and spaced uniformly along a line, they will radiate a beam at an angle to that line determined by the phase gradient which is, in turn, determined by the phase difference between the injection signals.The beam direction is therefore controlled by adjusting this phase difference. Recently, Pogorzelski and York presented a formulation which facilitates theoretical analysis of the above beam steering technique. This was subsequently applied by Pogorzelski in analysis of two dimensional beam steering using perimeter detuning of a coupled oscillator array. The formulation is based on a continuum model in which the oscillator phases are represented by a continuous function satisfying a partial differential equation of diffusion type. This equation can be solved via the Laplace transform and the resulting solution exhibits the dynamic behavior of the array as the beam is steered. Stephan's beam steering technique can be similarly generalized to two-dimensional arrays in which the beam control signals are applied to the oscillators on the perimeter of the array. In this paper the continuum model for this two-dimensional case is developed and the dynamic solution for the corresponding aperture phase function is obtained. The corresponding behavior of the resulting far-zone radiation pattern is displayed as well.

Driving qubit phase gates with sech shaped pulses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Long, Junling; Ku, Hsiang-Sheng; Wu, Xian; Lake, Russell; Barnes, Edwin; Economou, Sophia; Pappas, David

As shown in 1932 by Rozen and Zener, the Rabi model has a unique solution whereby, for a given pulse length or amplitude, a sech(t/sigma) shaped pulse can be used to drive complete oscillations around the Bloch sphere that are independent of detuning with only a resultant detuning-dependent phase accumulation. Using this property, single qubit phase gates and two-qubit CZ gates have been proposed. In this work we explore the effect of different drive pulse shapes, i.e. square, Gaussian, and sech, as a function of detuning for Rabi oscillations of a superconducting transmon qubit. An arbitrary, single-qubit phase gate is demonstrated with the sech(t/sigma) pulse, and full tomography is performed to extract the fidelity. This is the first step towards high fidelity, low leakage two qubit CZ gates, and illustrates the efficacy of using analytic solutions of the qubit drive prior to optimal pulse shaping.

Phased-array sources based on nonlinear metamaterial nanocavities

PubMed Central

Wolf, Omri; Campione, Salvatore; Benz, Alexander; Ravikumar, Arvind P.; Liu, Sheng; Luk, Ting S.; Kadlec, Emil A.; Shaner, Eric A.; Klem, John F.; Sinclair, Michael B.; Brener, Igal

2015-01-01

Coherent superposition of light from subwavelength sources is an attractive prospect for the manipulation of the direction, shape and polarization of optical beams. This phenomenon constitutes the basis of phased arrays, commonly used at microwave and radio frequencies. Here we propose a new concept for phased-array sources at infrared frequencies based on metamaterial nanocavities coupled to a highly nonlinear semiconductor heterostructure. Optical pumping of the nanocavity induces a localized, phase-locked, nonlinear resonant polarization that acts as a source feed for a higher-order resonance of the nanocavity. Varying the nanocavity design enables the production of beams with arbitrary shape and polarization. As an example, we demonstrate two second harmonic phased-array sources that perform two optical functions at the second harmonic wavelength (∼5 μm): a beam splitter and a polarizing beam splitter. Proper design of the nanocavity and nonlinear heterostructure will enable such phased arrays to span most of the infrared spectrum. PMID:26126879

First light from a kilometer-baseline Scintillation Auroral GPS Array.

PubMed

Datta-Barua, S; Su, Y; Deshpande, K; Miladinovich, D; Bust, G S; Hampton, D; Crowley, G

2015-05-28

We introduce and analyze the first data from an array of closely spaced Global Positioning System (GPS) scintillation receivers established in the auroral zone in late 2013 to measure spatial and temporal variations in L band signals at 100-1000 m and subsecond scales. The seven receivers of the Scintillation Auroral GPS Array (SAGA) are sited at Poker Flat Research Range, Alaska. The receivers produce 100 s scintillation indices and 100 Hz carrier phase and raw in-phase and quadrature-phase samples. SAGA is the largest existing array with baseline lengths of the ionospheric diffractive Fresnel scale at L band. With an initial array of five receivers, we identify a period of simultaneous amplitude and phase scintillation. We compare SAGA power and phase data with collocated 630.0 nm all-sky images of an auroral arc and incoherent scatter radar electron precipitation measurements, to illustrate how SAGA can be used in multi-instrument observations for subkilometer-scale studies. A seven-receiver Scintillation Auroral GPS Array (SAGA) is now at Poker Flat, Alaska SAGA is the largest subkilometer array to enable phase/irregularities studies Simultaneous scintillation, auroral arc, and electron precipitation are observed.

First light from a kilometer-baseline Scintillation Auroral GPS Array

PubMed Central

Datta-Barua, S; Su, Y; Deshpande, K; Miladinovich, D; Bust, G S; Hampton, D; Crowley, G

2015-01-01

We introduce and analyze the first data from an array of closely spaced Global Positioning System (GPS) scintillation receivers established in the auroral zone in late 2013 to measure spatial and temporal variations in L band signals at 100–1000 m and subsecond scales. The seven receivers of the Scintillation Auroral GPS Array (SAGA) are sited at Poker Flat Research Range, Alaska. The receivers produce 100 s scintillation indices and 100 Hz carrier phase and raw in-phase and quadrature-phase samples. SAGA is the largest existing array with baseline lengths of the ionospheric diffractive Fresnel scale at L band. With an initial array of five receivers, we identify a period of simultaneous amplitude and phase scintillation. We compare SAGA power and phase data with collocated 630.0 nm all-sky images of an auroral arc and incoherent scatter radar electron precipitation measurements, to illustrate how SAGA can be used in multi-instrument observations for subkilometer-scale studies. Key Points A seven-receiver Scintillation Auroral GPS Array (SAGA) is now at Poker Flat, Alaska SAGA is the largest subkilometer array to enable phase/irregularities studies Simultaneous scintillation, auroral arc, and electron precipitation are observed PMID:26709318

Integrated HIFU Drive System on a Chip for CMUT-Based Catheter Ablation System.

PubMed

Farhanieh, Omid; Sahafi, Ali; Bardhan Roy, Rupak; Ergun, Arif Sanli; Bozkurt, Ayhan

2017-06-01

Conventional High Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) is a therapeutic modality which is extracorporeally administered. In applications where a relatively small HIFU lesion is required, an intravascular HIFU probe can be deployed to the ablation site. In this paper, we demonstrate the design and implementation a fully integrated HIFU drive system on a chip to be placed on a 6 Fr catheter probe. An 8-element capacitive micromachined ultrasound transducer (CMUT) ring array of 2 mm diameter has been used as the ultrasound source. The driver chip is fabricated in 0.35 μm AMS high-voltage CMOS technology and comprises eight continuous-wave (CW) high-voltage CMUT drivers (10.9 ns and 9.4 ns rise and fall times at 20 V pp output into a 15 pF), an eight-channel digital beamformer (8-12 MHz output frequency with 11.25 ° phase accuracy) and a phase locked loop with an integrated VCO as a tunable clock source (128-192 MHz). The chip occupies 1.85 × 1.8 mm 2 area including input and output (I/O) pads. When the transducer array is immersed in sunflower oil and driven by the IC with eight 20 V pp CW pulses at 10 MHz, real-time thermal images of the HIFU beam indicate that the focal temperature rises by 16.8  ° C in 11 seconds. Each HV driver consumes around 67 mW of power when driving the CMUT array at 10 MHz, which adds up to 560 mW for the whole chip. FEM based analysis reveals that the outer surface temperature of the catheter is expected to remain below the 42  ° C tissue damage limit during therapy.

Effect of initial phase on error in electron energy obtained using paraxial approximation for a focused laser pulse in vacuum

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Singh, Kunwar Pal, E-mail: k-psingh@yahoo.com; Department of Physics, Shri Venkateshwara University, Gajraula, Amroha, Uttar Pradesh 244236; Arya, Rashmi

2015-09-14

We have investigated the effect of initial phase on error in electron energy obtained using paraxial approximation to study electron acceleration by a focused laser pulse in vacuum using a three dimensional test-particle simulation code. The error is obtained by comparing the energy of the electron for paraxial approximation and seventh-order correction description of the fields of Gaussian laser. The paraxial approximation predicts wrong laser divergence and wrong electron escape time from the pulse which leads to prediction of higher energy. The error shows strong phase dependence for the electrons lying along the axis of the laser for linearly polarizedmore » laser pulse. The relative error may be significant for some specific values of initial phase even at moderate values of laser spot sizes. The error does not show initial phase dependence for a circularly laser pulse.« less

Laser nitriding of iron: Nitrogen profiles and phases

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Illgner, C.; Schaaf, P.; Lieb, K. P.; Schubert, E.; Queitsch, R.; Bergmann, H.-W.

1995-07-01

Armco iron samples were surface nitrided by irradiating them with pulses of an excimer laser in a nitrogen atmosphere. The resulting nitrogen depth profiles measured by Resonant Nuclear Reaction Analysis (RNRA) and the phase formation determined by Conversion Electron Mössbauer Spectroscopy (CEMS) were investigated as functions of energy density and the number of pulses. The nitrogen content of the samples was found to be independent of the number of pulses in a layer of 50 nm from the surface and to increase in depths exceeding 150 nm. The phase composition did not change with the number of pulses. The nitrogen content can be related to an enhanced nitrogen solubility based on high temperatures and high pressures due to the laser-induced plasma above the sample. With increasing pulse energy density, the phase composition changes towards phases with higher nitrogen contents. Nitrogen diffusion seems to be the limiting factor for the nitriding process.

Phase control in coherent population distribution in molecules

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Datta, Avijit

2018-06-01

A chirped laser pulse transfers population from one level to another level accessible by one photon dipole transition. We have used a pair of phase-locked chirped pulses of same frequency instead of a single chirped pulse to achieve phase control over the population transfer and thus creating coherent population distribution in hydrogen molecule. Simultaneous actions of the phase controlled interference and rapid adiabatic passages due to chirped pulses lead to the control in population transfer from the ground X(v = 0, j = 0) level to the C(v = 2, j = 1) level. We have extended this two-level system to a three-level 1 + 1 ladder system for population transfer from the X level to the J(v = 2, j = 2) level via the C intermediate level using two pairs of phase-locked laser chirped pulses and have achieved laudable control over the coherent population distribution.

Effect of laser pulse shaping parameters on the fidelity of quantum logic gates.

PubMed

Zaari, Ryan R; Brown, Alex

2012-09-14

The effect of varying parameters specific to laser pulse shaping instruments on resulting fidelities for the ACNOT(1), NOT(2), and Hadamard(2) quantum logic gates are studied for the diatomic molecule (12)C(16)O. These parameters include varying the frequency resolution, adjusting the number of frequency components and also varying the amplitude and phase at each frequency component. A time domain analytic form of the original discretized frequency domain laser pulse function is derived, providing a useful means to infer the resulting pulse shape through variations to the aforementioned parameters. We show that amplitude variation at each frequency component is a crucial requirement for optimal laser pulse shaping, whereas phase variation provides minimal contribution. We also show that high fidelity laser pulses are dependent upon the frequency resolution and increasing the number of frequency components provides only a small incremental improvement to quantum gate fidelity. Analysis through use of the pulse area theorem confirms the resulting population dynamics for one or two frequency high fidelity laser pulses and implies similar dynamics for more complex laser pulse shapes. The ability to produce high fidelity laser pulses that provide both population control and global phase alignment is attributed greatly to the natural evolution phase alignment of the qubits involved within the quantum logic gate operation.

Infrared focal plane performance in the South Atlantic anomaly

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Junga, Frank A.

1989-01-01

Proton-induced pulse height distributions (PHD's) in Si:XX detectors were studied analytically and experimentally. In addition, a preliminary design for a flight experiment to characterize the response of Si:XX detectors to the trapped proton environment and verify PHD models was developed. PHD's were computed for two orbit altitudes for a variety of shielding configurations. Most of the proton-induced pulses have amplitudes less that about 3.5 x 10(exp 5) e-h pairs. Shielding has a small effect on the shape of the PHD's. The primary effect of shielding is to reduce the total number of pulses produced. Proton-induced PHD's in a Si:Sb focal plane array bombarded by a unidirectional 67-MeV beam were measured. The maximum pulse height recorded was 6 x 10(exp 5) pairs. The distribution had two peaks: the larger peak corresponded to 3.8 x 10(exp 5) pairs and the smaller peak to 1.2 x 10(exp 5) pairs. The maximum pulse height and the larger peak are within a factor of two of predicted values. The low-energy peak was not expected, but is believed to be an artifact of inefficient charge collection in the detector. The planned flight experiment will be conducted on a Space Shuttle flight. Lockheed's helium extended life dewar (HELD) will be used to provide the required cryogenic environment for the detector. Two bulk Si:Sb arrays and two Si:As impurity band conduction arrays will be tested. The tests will be conducted while the Space Shuttle passes through the South Atlantic Anomaly. PHD's will be recorded and responsivity changes tracked. This experiment will provide a new database on proton-induced PHD's, compare two infrared detector technologies in a space environment, and provide the data necessary to validate PHD modeling.

Concept of an interlaced phased array for beam switching

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reddy, C. A.; Janardhanan, K. V.; Mukundan, K. K.; Shenoy, K. S. V.

1990-04-01

A novel concept is described for feeding and phasing a large linear array of N antenna elements using only three or five feed points and phase shifters and still achieving beam switching. The idea consists of drastically reducing the number of input points by interlacing a small number of serially fed subarrays which are suitably phased. This so-called interlaced phased array (IPA) concept was tested using an array of 15 four-element Yagi antennas with a spacing equal to 0.8 wavelengths and found feasible. Some of the distinct advantages of the IPA in comparison with a conventional system of beam switching are reduced power loss, reduced phasing errors, reduced cost, increased reliability resulting from greatly reduced number of phase shifters, and better symmetry of off-zenith beams.

On Dipole Moment of Impurity Carbon Nanotubes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Konobeeva, N. N.; Ten, A. V.; Belonenko, M. B.

2017-04-01

Propagation of a two-dimensional electromagnetic pulse in an array of semiconductor carbon nanotubes with impurities is investigated. The parameters of dipole moments of impurities are determined. The Maxwell equation and the equation of motion for dipole polarization are jointly solved. The dynamics of the electromagnetic pulse is examined as a function of the dipole moment. It is shown that taking polarization into account does not have a substantial effect on the propagation process, but alters the optical pulse shape.

Modular, Microprocessor-Controlled Flash Lighting System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kiefer, Dwayne; Gray, Elizabeth; Skupinski, Robert; Stachowicz, Arthur; Birchenough, William

2006-01-01

A microprocessor-controlled lighting system generates brief, precisely timed, high-intensity flashes of light for scientific imaging at frame rates up to about 1 kHz. The system includes an array of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) that are driven in synchronism with an externally generated timing signal (for example, a timing signal generated by a video camera). The light output can be varied in peak intensity, pulse duration, pulse delay, and pulse rate, all depending on the timing signal and associated externally generated control signals. The array of LEDs comprises as many as 16 LED panels that can be attached together. Each LED panel is a module consisting of a rectangular subarray of 10 by 20 LEDs of advanced design on a printed-circuit board in a mounting frame with a power/control connector. The LED panels are controlled by an LED control module that contains an AC-to-DC power supply, a control board, and 8 LED-panel driver boards. In prior LED panels, the LEDs are packaged at less than maximum areal densities in bulky metal housings that reduce effective active areas. In contrast, in the present LED panels, the LEDs are packed at maximum areal density so as to afford 100-percent active area and so that when panels are joined side by side to form the array, there are no visible seams between them and the proportion of active area is still 100 percent. Each panel produces an illuminance of .5 x 10( exp 4) lux at a distance of 5.8 in. (approx.1.6 cm). The LEDs are driven according to a pulse-width-modulation control scheme that makes it safe to drive the LEDs beyond their rated steady-state currents in order to generate additional light during short periods. The drive current and the pulse-width modulation for each LED panel can be controlled independently of those of the other 15 panels. The maximum allowable duration of each pulse of drive current is a function of the amount of overdrive, the total time to be spent in overdrive operation, and the limitations of the LEDs. The system is configured to limit the overdrive according to values specific to each type of LED in the array. These values are coded into firmware to prevent inadvertent damage to the LED panels.

ac Stark-mediated quantum control with femtosecond two-color laser pulses

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Serrat, Carles

2005-11-15

A critical dependence of the quantum interference on the optical Stark spectral shift produced when two-color laser pulses interact with a two-level medium is observed. The four-wave mixing of two ultrashort phase-locked {omega}-3{omega} laser pulses propagating coherently in a two-level system depends on the pulses' relative phase. The phase dominating the efficiency of the coupling to the anti-Stokes Raman component is found to be determined by the sign of the total ac Stark shift induced in the system, in such a way that the phase sensitivity disappears precisely where the ac Stark effect due to both pulses is compensated. Amore » coherent control scheme based on this phenomenon can be contemplated as the basis for nonlinear optical spectroscopy techniques.« less

Phase and frequency structure of superradiance pulses generated by relativistic Ka-band backward-wave oscillator

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Rostov, V. V.; Romanchenko, I. V.; Elchaninov, A. A.

2016-08-15

Phase and frequency stability of electromagnetic oscillations in sub-gigawatt superradiance (SR) pulses generated by an extensive slow-wave structure of a relativistic Ka-band backward-wave oscillator were experimentally investigated. Data on the frequency tuning and radiation phase stability of SR pulses with a variation of the energy and current of electron beam were obtained.

Broadband spectra of seismic survey air-gun emissions, with reference to dolphin auditory thresholds.

PubMed

Goold, J C; Fish, P J

1998-04-01

Acoustic emissions from a 2120 cubic in air-gun array were recorded through a towed hydrophone assembly during an oil industry 2-D seismic survey off the West Wales Coast of the British Isles. Recorded seismic pulses were sampled, calibrated, and analyzed post-survey to investigate power levels of the pulses in the band 200 Hz-22 kHz at 750-m, 1-km, 2.2-km, and 8-km range from source. At 750-m range from source, seismic pulse power at the 200-Hz end of the spectrum was 140 dB re: 1 microPa2/Hz, and at the 20-kHz end of the spectrum seismic pulse power was 90 dB re: 1 microPa2/Hz. Although the background noise levels of the seismic recordings were far in excess of ambient, due to the proximity of engine, propeller, and flow sources of the ship towing the hydrophone, seismic power dominated the entire recorded bandwidth of 200 Hz-22 kHz at ranges of up to 2 km from the air-gun source. Even at 8-km range seismic power was still clearly in excess of the high background noise levels up to 8 kHz. Acoustic observations of common dolphins during preceding seismic surveys suggest that these animals avoided the immediate vicinity of the air-gun array while firing was in progress, i.e., localized disturbance occurred during seismic surveying. Although a general pattern of localized disturbance is suggested, one specific observation revealed that common dolphins were able to tolerate the seismic pulses at 1-km range from the air-gun array. Given the high broadband seismic pulse power levels across the entire recorded bandwidth, and known auditory thresholds for several dolphin species, we consider such seismic emissions to be clearly audible to dolphins across a bandwidth of tens on kilohertz, and at least out to 8-km range.

Phase control of attosecond pulses in a train

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guo, Chen; Harth, Anne; Carlström, Stefanos; Cheng, Yu-Chen; Mikaelsson, Sara; Mårsell, Erik; Heyl, Christoph; Miranda, Miguel; Gisselbrecht, Mathieu; Gaarde, Mette B.; Schafer, Kenneth J.; Mikkelsen, Anders; Mauritsson, Johan; Arnold, Cord L.; L'Huillier, Anne

2018-02-01

Ultrafast processes in matter can be captured and even controlled by using sequences of few-cycle optical pulses, which need to be well characterized, both in amplitude and phase. The same degree of control has not yet been achieved for few-cycle extreme ultraviolet pulses generated by high-order harmonic generation (HHG) in gases, with duration in the attosecond range. Here, we show that by varying the spectral phase and carrier-envelope phase (CEP) of a high-repetition rate laser, using dispersion in glass, we achieve a high degree of control of the relative phase and CEP between consecutive attosecond pulses. The experimental results are supported by a detailed theoretical analysis based upon the semi-classical three-step model for HHG.

A 24-GHz portable FMCW radar with continuous beam steering phased array (Conference Presentation)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peng, Zhengyu; Li, Changzhi

2017-05-01

A portable 24-GHz frequency-modulated continuous-wave (FMCW) radar with continuous beam steering phased array is presented. This board-level integrated radar system consists of a phased array antenna, a radar transceiver and a baseband. The phased array used by the receiver is a 4-element linear array. The beam of the phased array can be continuously steered with a range of ±30° on the H-plane through an array of vector controllers. The vector controller is based on the concept of vector sum with binary-phase-shift attenuators. Each vector controller is capable of independently controlling the phase and the amplitude of each element of the linear array. The radar transceiver is based on the six-port technique. A free-running voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) is controlled by an analog "sawtooth" voltage generator to produce frequency-modulated chirp signal. This chirp signal is used as the transmitter signal, as well as the local oscillator (LO) signal to drive the six-port circuit. The transmitter antenna is a single patch antenna. In the baseband, the beat signal of the FMCW radar is detected by the six-port circuit and then processed by a laptop in real time. Experiments have been performed to reveal the capabilities of the proposed radar system for applications including indoor inverse synthetic aperture radar (ISAR) imaging, vital sign detection, and short-range navigation, etc. (This abstract is for the profiles session.)

Designing of a small wearable conformal phased array antenna for wireless communications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roy, Sayan

In this thesis, a unique design of a self-adapting conformal phased-array antenna system for wireless communications is presented. The antenna system is comprised of one microstrip antenna array and a sensor circuit. A 1x4 printed microstrip patch antenna array was designed on a flexible substrate with a resonant frequency of 2.47 GHz. However, the performance of the antenna starts to degrade as the curvature of the surface of the substrate changes. To recover the performance of the system, a flexible sensor circuitry was designed. This sensor circuitry uses analog phase shifters, a flexible resistor and operational-amplifier circuitry to compensate the phase of each array element of the antenna. The proposed analytical method for phase compensation has been first verified by designing an RF test platform consisting of a microstrip antenna array, commercially available analog phase shifters, analog voltage attenuators, 4-port power dividers and amplifiers. The platform can be operated through a LabVIEW GUI interface using a 12-bit digital-to-analog converter. This test board was used to design and calibrate the sensor circuitry by observing the behavior of the antenna array system on surfaces with different curvatures. In particular, this phased array antenna system was designed to be used on the surface of a spacesuit or any other flexible prototype. This work was supported in part by the Defense Miroelectronics Activity (DMEA), NASA ND EPSCoR and DARPA/MTO.

Brazilian Decimetric Array (BDA) project - Phase II

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Faria, C.; Stephany, S.; Sawant, H. S.; Cecatto, J. R.; Fernandes, F. C. R.

2010-02-01

The configuration of the second phase of the Brazilian Decimetric Array (BDA), installed at Cachoeira Paulista, Brazil (Longitude 45° 0‧ 20″ W and Latitude 22° 41‧ 19″ S), is a T-shaped array where 21 antennas are being added to existing 5 antennas of the first phase. In the third phase, in each arm of the T array, four more antennas will be added and baselines will be increased to 2.5 × 1.25 km in east-west and south directions, respectively. The antennas will be equally spaced at the distances of 250 meters from the central antenna of the T-array. Also, the frequency range will be increased to 1.2-1.7, 2.8 and 5.6 GHz. The Second phase of the BDA should be operational by the middle of 2010 and will operate in the frequency range of (1.2-1.7) GHz for solar and non solar observations. Here, we present the characteristics of the second phase of the BDA project, details of the array configuration, the u-v coverage, the synthesized beam obtained for the proposed configuration.

Development of a 20-MHz wide-bandwidth PMN-PT single crystal phased-array ultrasound transducer.

PubMed

Wong, Chi-Man; Chen, Yan; Luo, Haosu; Dai, Jiyan; Lam, Kwok-Ho; Chan, Helen Lai-Wa

2017-01-01

In this study, a 20-MHz 64-element phased-array ultrasound transducer with a one-wavelength pitch is developed using a PMN-30%PT single crystal and double-matching layer scheme. High piezoelectric (d 33 >1000pC/N) and electromechanical coupling (k 33 >0.8) properties of the single crystal with an optimized fabrication process involving the photolithography technique have been demonstrated to be suitable for wide-bandwidth (⩾70%) and high-sensitivity (insertion loss ⩽30dB) phased-array transducer application. A -6dBbandwidth of 91% and an insertion loss of 29dBfor the 20-MHz 64-element phased-array transducer were achieved. This result shows that the bandwidth is improved comparing with the investigated high-frequency (⩾20MHz) ultrasound transducers using piezoelectric ceramic and single crystal materials. It shows that this phased-array transducer has potential to improve the resolution of biomedical imaging, theoretically. Based on the hypothesis of resolution improvement, this phased-array transducer is capable for small animal (i.e. mouse and zebrafish) studies. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Analytical treatment of self-phase-modulation beyond the slowly varying envelope approximation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Syrchin, M.S.; Zheltikov, A.M.; International Laser Center, M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University, 119899 Moscow

Analytical treatment of the self-phase-modulation of an ultrashort light pulse is extended beyond the slowly varying envelope approximation. The resulting wave equation is modified to include corrections to self-phase-modulation due to higher-order spatial and temporal derivatives. Analytical solutions are found in the limiting regimes of high nonlinearities and very short pulses. Our results reveal features that can significantly impact both pulse shape and the evolution of the phase.

Carrier-envelope phase control of femtosecond mode-locked lasers and direct optical frequency synthesis

PubMed

Jones; Diddams; Ranka; Stentz; Windeler; Hall; Cundiff

2000-04-28

We stabilized the carrier-envelope phase of the pulses emitted by a femtosecond mode-locked laser by using the powerful tools of frequency-domain laser stabilization. We confirmed control of the pulse-to-pulse carrier-envelope phase using temporal cross correlation. This phase stabilization locks the absolute frequencies emitted by the laser, which we used to perform absolute optical frequency measurements that were directly referenced to a stable microwave clock.

Intracavitary ultrasound phased arrays for thermal therapies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hutchinson, Erin

Currently, the success of hyperthermia and thermal surgery treatments is limited by the technology used in the design and fabrication of clinical heating devices and the completeness of the thermometry systems used for guidance. For both hyperthermia and thermal surgery, electrically focused ultrasound generated by phased arrays provides a means of controlling localized energy deposition in body tissues. Intracavitary applicators can be used to bring the energy source close to a target volume, such as the prostate, thereby minimizing normal tissue damage. The work performed in this study was aimed at improving noninvasive prostate thermal therapies and utilized three research approaches: (1) Acoustic, thermal and optimization simulations, (2) Design and fabrication of multiple phased arrays, (3) Ex vivo and in vivo experimental testing of the heating capabilities of the phased arrays. As part of this study, a novel aperiodic phased array design was developed which resulted in a 30- 45% reduction in grating lobe levels when compared to conventional phased arrays. Measured acoustic fields generated by the constructed aperiodic arrays agreed closely with the fields predicted by the theoretical simulations and covered anatomically appropriate ranges. The power capabilities of these arrays were demonstrated to be sufficient for the purposes of hyperthermia and thermal surgery. The advantage of using phased arrays in place of fixed focus transducers was shown by demonstrating the ability of electronic scanning to increase the size of the necrosed tissue volume while providing a more uniform thermal dose, which can ultimately reduce patient treatment times. A theoretical study on the feasibility of MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) thermometry for noninvasive temperature feedback control was investigated as a means to improve transient and steady state temperature distributions achieved in hyperthermia treatments. MRI guided ex vivo and in vivo experiments demonstrated that the heating capabilities of the constructed phased arrays were adequate for hyperthermia and thermal surgery treatments. (Copies available exclusively from MIT Libraries, Rm. 14-0551, Cambridge, MA 02139-4307. Ph. 617-253-5668; Fax 617-253- 1690.)

Frequency-domain nonlinear optics in two-dimensionally patterned quasi-phase-matching media.

PubMed

Phillips, C R; Mayer, B W; Gallmann, L; Keller, U

2016-07-11

Advances in the amplification and manipulation of ultrashort laser pulses have led to revolutions in several areas. Examples include chirped pulse amplification for generating high peak-power lasers, power-scalable amplification techniques, pulse shaping via modulation of spatially-dispersed laser pulses, and efficient frequency-mixing in quasi-phase-matched nonlinear crystals to access new spectral regions. In this work, we introduce and demonstrate a new platform for nonlinear optics which has the potential to combine these separate functionalities (pulse amplification, frequency transfer, and pulse shaping) into a single monolithic device that is bandwidth- and power-scalable. The approach is based on two-dimensional (2D) patterning of quasi-phase-matching (QPM) gratings combined with optical parametric interactions involving spatially dispersed laser pulses. Our proof of principle experiment demonstrates this technique via mid-infrared optical parametric chirped pulse amplification of few-cycle pulses. Additionally, we present a detailed theoretical and numerical analysis of such 2D-QPM devices and how they can be designed.

Few-cycle carrier envelope phase-dependent stereo detection of electrons.

PubMed

Verhoef, Aart J; Fernández, Alma; Lezius, Matthias; O'Keeffe, Kevin; Uiberacker, Matthias; Krausz, Ferenc

2006-12-01

The spatial distribution of electrons emitted from atoms by few-cycle optical fields is known to be dependent on the carrier envelope phase, i.e., the phase of the field with respect to the pulse envelope. With respect to Paulus et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett.91, 253004 (2003)] we propose a greatly simplified device to measure and control the carrier envelope phase of few-cycle pulses with an accuracy of better than pi/10 based on this principle. We compared different schemes to control the carrier envelope phase of our pulses.

New Opportunities in Decay Spectroscopy with the GRIFFIN and DESCANT Arrays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bildstein, V.; Andreoiu, C.; Ball, G. C.; Ballast, T.; Bartlett, C.; Bender, P. C.; Bernier, N.; Bianco, L.; Bishop, D.; Brennan, D.; Bruhn, T.; Cheeseman, A.; Churchman, R.; Ciccone, S.; Davids, B.; Demand, G.; Dillmann, I.; Garnsworthy, A. B.; Garrett, P. E.; Georges, S.; Hackman, G.; Hadinia, B.; Kokke, R.; Krücken, R.; Linn, Y.; Lim, C.; Martin, J.-P.; Miller, D.; Mills, W. J.; Morrison, L. N.; Ohlmann, C. A.; Park, J.; Pearson, C. J.; Pore, J. L.; Rajabali, M. M.; Rand, E. T.; Rizwan, U.; Sarazin, F.; Shaw, B.; Starosta, K.; Svensson, C. E.; Sumithrarachchi, C.; Unsworth, C.; Voss, P.; Wang, Z. M.; Williams, J.; Wong, J.; Wong, S.

The GRIFFIN (Gamma-Ray Infrastructure For Fundamental Investigations of Nuclei) project is a major upgrade of the decay spectroscopy capabilities at TRIUMF-ISAC. GRIFFIN will replace the 8π spectrometer with an array of up to 16 large-volume HPGe clover detectors and use a state-of-the-art digital data acquisition system. The existing ancillary detector systems that had been developed for 8π, such as the SCEPTAR array for β-tagging, PACES for high-resolution internal conversion electron spectroscopy, and the DANTE array of LaBr3/BaF2 scintillators for fast γ-ray timing, will be used with GRIFFIN. GRIFFIN can also accommodate the new neutron detector array DESCANT (Deuterated Scintillator Array for Neutron Tagging), enabling the study of β-delayed neutron emitters. DESCANT consists of up to 70 detectors, each filled with approximately 2 liters of deuterated benzene, a liquid scintillator that provides pulse-shape discrimination (PSD) capabilities to distinguish between neutrons and γ-rays interacting with the detector. In addition, the anisotropic nature of n-d scattering as compared to the isotropic n-p scattering allows for the determination of the neutron energy spectrum directly from the pulse-height spectrum, complementing the time-of-flight (TOF) information. The installation of GRIFFIN is under way and first experiments are planned for the fall of 2014. The array will be completed in 2015 with the full complement of 16 clovers. DESCANT will be tested coupled with GRIFFIN in spring of 2015.

Impact of Improved Heat Sinking of an X-Ray Calorimeter Array on Crosstalk, Noise, and Background Events

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kilbourne, C. A.; Adams, J. S.; Brekosky, R. P.; Chervenak, J. A.; Chiao, M. P.; Kelley, R. L.; Kelly, D. P.; Porter, F. S.

2011-01-01

The x-ray calorimeter array of the Soft X-ray Spectrometer (SXS) of the Astro-H satellite will incorporate a silicon thermistor array produced during the development of the X-Ray Spectrometer (XRS) of the Suzaku satellite. On XRS, inadequate heat sinking of the array led to several non-ideal effects. The thermal crosstalk, while too small to be confused with x-ray signals, nonetheless contributed a noise term that could be seen as a degradation in energy resolution at high flux. When energy was deposited in the silicon frame around the active elements of the array, such as by a cosmic ray, the resulting pulse in the temperature of the frame resulted in coincident signal pulses on most of the pixels. In orbit, the resolution was found to depend on the particle background rate. In order to minimize these effects on SXS, heat-sinking gold was applied to areas on the front and back of the array die, which was thermally anchored to the gold of its fanout board via gold wire bonds. The thermal conductance from the silicon chip to the fanout board was improved over that of XRS by an order of magnitude. This change was sufficient for essentially eliminating frame events and allowing high-resolution to be attained at much higher counting rates. We will present the improved performance, the measured crosstalk, and the results of the thermal characterization of such arrays.

Performance and characterization of new micromachined high-frequency linear arrays.

PubMed

Lukacs, Marc; Yin, Jianhua; Pang, Guofeng; Garcia, Richard C; Cherin, Emmanuel; Williams, Ross; Mehi, Jim; Foster, F Stuart

2006-10-01

A new approach for fabricating high frequency (> 20 MHz) linear array transducers, based on laser micromachining, has been developed. A 30 MHz, 64-element, 74-microm pitch, linear array design is presented. The performance of the device is demonstrated by comparing electrical and acoustic measurements with analytical, equivalent circuit, and finite-element analysis (FEA) simulations. All FEA results for array performance have been generated using one global set of material parameters. Each fabricated array has been integrated onto a flex circuit for ease of handling, and the flex has been integrated onto a custom printed circuit board test card for ease of testing. For a fully assembled array, with an acoustic lens, the center frequency was 28.7 MHz with a one-way -3 dB and -6 dB bandwidth of 59% and 83%, respectively, and a -20 dB pulse width of -99 ns. The per-element peak acoustic power, for a +/- 30 V single cycle pulse, measured at the 10 mm focal length of the lens was 590 kPa with a -6 dB directivity span of about 30 degrees. The worst-case total cross talk of the combined array and flex assembly is for nearest neighboring elements and was measured to have an average level -40 dB across the -6 dB bandwidth of the device. Any significant deviation from simulation can be explained through limitations in apparatus calibration and in device packaging.

Tracing the phase of focused broadband laser pulses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hoff, Dominik; Krüger, Michael; Maisenbacher, Lothar; Sayler, A. M.; Paulus, Gerhard G.; Hommelhoff, Peter

2017-10-01

Precise knowledge of the behaviour of the phase of light in a focused beam is fundamental to understanding and controlling laser-driven processes. More than a hundred years ago, an axial phase anomaly for focused monochromatic light beams was discovered and is now commonly known as the Gouy phase. Recent theoretical work has brought into question the validity of applying this monochromatic phase formulation to the broadband pulses becoming ubiquitous today. Based on electron backscattering at sharp nanometre-scale metal tips, a method is available to measure light fields with sub-wavelength spatial resolution and sub-optical-cycle time resolution. Here we report such a direct, three-dimensional measurement of the spatial dependence of the optical phase of a focused, 4-fs, near-infrared pulsed laser beam. The observed optical phase deviates substantially from the monochromatic Gouy phase--exhibiting a much more complex spatial dependence, both along the propagation axis and in the radial direction. In our measurements, these significant deviations are the rule and not the exception for focused, broadband laser pulses. Therefore, we expect wide ramifications for all broadband laser-matter interactions, such as in high-harmonic and attosecond pulse generation, femtochemistry, ophthalmological optical coherence tomography and light-wave electronics.

Instrument to synchronize Thomson scattering diagnostic measurements with MHD acitivity in a tokamak

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wintenberg, A.L.

1985-04-01

An instrument to synchronize the firing of a ruby laser for a Thomson scattering diagnostic with plasma oscillations was designed, developed, and evaluated. The instrument will fire the laser at a user-selected phase of an input sine or sawtooth wave with an accuracy of +-15/sup 0/. Allowable frequencies range from 20 to 500 Hz for a sawtooth and from 1 to 30 kHz for a sine wave. The instrument also allows synchronization with a sine wave to be enabled by a preselected sawtooth phase. The instrument uses analog signal processing circuits to separate the signal components, remove unwanted components, andmore » produce zero-phase synchronization pulses. The instrument measures the period between zero-phase pulses in order to produce phase synchronization pulses delayed a fraction of the period from the zero-phase pulses. The laser is fired by the phase synchronization pulse. Unwanted signal components are attenuated by bandpass filters. A digitally controlled self-adjusting bandpass filter for sine processing. The instrument was used to investigate the variation of the electron temperature profile with the phase of the x-ray signal from an Impurity Studies Experiment (ISX-B) plasma exhibiting magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) activity.« less

Two-dimensional beam steering using a thermo-optic silicon photonic optical phased array

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rabinovich, William S.; Goetz, Peter G.; Pruessner, Marcel W.; Mahon, Rita; Ferraro, Mike S.; Park, Doe; Fleet, Erin; DePrenger, Michael J.

2016-11-01

Many components for free-space optical (FSO) communication systems have shrunken in size over the last decade. However, the steering systems have remained large and power hungry. Nonmechanical beam steering offers a path to reducing the size of these systems. Optical phased arrays can allow integrated beam steering elements. One of the most important aspects of an optical phased array technology is its scalability to a large number of elements. Silicon photonics can potentially offer this scalability using CMOS foundry techniques. A phased array that can steer in two dimensions using the thermo-optic effect is demonstrated. No wavelength tuning of the input laser is needed and the design allows a simple control system with only two inputs. A benchtop FSO link with the phased array in both transmit and receive mode is demonstrated.

Line sensing device for ultrafast laser acoustic inspection using adaptive optics

DOEpatents

Hale, Thomas C.; Moore, David S.

2003-11-04

Apparatus and method for inspecting thin film specimens along a line. A laser emits pulses of light that are split into first, second, third and fourth portions. A delay is introduced into the first portion of pulses and the first portion of pulses is directed onto a thin film specimen along a line. The third portion of pulses is directed onto the thin film specimen along the line. A delay is introduced into the fourth portion of pulses and the delayed fourth portion of pulses are directed to a photorefractive crystal. Pulses of light reflected from the thin film specimen are directed to the photorefractive crystal. Light from the photorefractive crystal is collected and transmitted to a linear photodiode array allowing inspection of the thin film specimens along a line.

An Agile Beam Transmit Array Using Coupled Oscillator Phase Control

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pogorzelski, Ronald S.; Scaramastra, Rocco P.; Huang, John; Beckon, Robert J.; Petree, Steve M.; Chavez, Cosme

1993-01-01

A few years ago York and colleagues suggested that injection locking of voltage controlled oscillators could be used to implement beam steering in a phased array [I]. The scheme makes use of the fact that when an oscillator is injection locked to an external signal, the phase difference between the output of the oscillator and the injection signal is governed by the difference between the injection frequency and the free running frequency of the oscillator (the frequency to which the oscillator is tuned). Thus, if voltage controlled oscillators (VCOs) are used, this phase difference is controlled by an applied voltage. Now, if a set of such oscillators are coupled to nearest neighbors, they can be made to mutually injection lock and oscillate as an ensemble. If they are all tuned to the same frequency, they will all oscillate in phase. Thus, if the outputs are connected to radiating elements forming a linear array, the antenna will radiate normal to the line of elements. Scanning is accomplished by antisymmetrically detuning the end oscillators in the array by application of a pair of appropriate voltages to their tuning ports. This results in a linear phase progression across the array which is just the phasing required to scan the beam. The scan angle is determined by the degree of detuning. We have constructed a seven element one dimensional agile beam array at S-band based on the above principle. Although, a few such arrays have been built in the past, this array possesses two unique features. First, the VCO MMICs have buffer amplifiers which isolate the output from the tuning circuit, and second, the oscillators are weakly coupled to each other at their resonant circuits rather than their outputs. This results in a convenient isolation between the oscillator array design and the radiating aperture design. An important parameter in the design is the so called coupling phase which determines the phase shift of the signals passing from one oscillator to its neighbors. Using this array, we have been able to verify the theoretical predictions concerning the effect of this phase on both the locking range and ensemble frequency of the array. However, the scan range achieved fell somewhat short of the theoretical value because of the amplitude variation of the oscillator outputs with tuning.

Results on Neutrinoless Double-β Decay of Ge76 from Phase I of the GERDA Experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Agostini, M.; Allardt, M.; Andreotti, E.; Bakalyarov, A. M.; Balata, M.; Barabanov, I.; Barnabé Heider, M.; Barros, N.; Baudis, L.; Bauer, C.; Becerici-Schmidt, N.; Bellotti, E.; Belogurov, S.; Belyaev, S. T.; Benato, G.; Bettini, A.; Bezrukov, L.; Bode, T.; Brudanin, V.; Brugnera, R.; Budjáš, D.; Caldwell, A.; Cattadori, C.; Chernogorov, A.; Cossavella, F.; Demidova, E. V.; Domula, A.; Egorov, V.; Falkenstein, R.; Ferella, A.; Freund, K.; Frodyma, N.; Gangapshev, A.; Garfagnini, A.; Gotti, C.; Grabmayr, P.; Gurentsov, V.; Gusev, K.; Guthikonda, K. K.; Hampel, W.; Hegai, A.; Heisel, M.; Hemmer, S.; Heusser, G.; Hofmann, W.; Hult, M.; Inzhechik, L. V.; Ioannucci, L.; Janicskó Csáthy, J.; Jochum, J.; Junker, M.; Kihm, T.; Kirpichnikov, I. V.; Kirsch, A.; Klimenko, A.; Knöpfle, K. T.; Kochetov, O.; Kornoukhov, V. N.; Kuzminov, V. V.; Laubenstein, M.; Lazzaro, A.; Lebedev, V. I.; Lehnert, B.; Liao, H. Y.; Lindner, M.; Lippi, I.; Liu, X.; Lubashevskiy, A.; Lubsandorzhiev, B.; Lutter, G.; Macolino, C.; Machado, A. A.; Majorovits, B.; Maneschg, W.; Misiaszek, M.; Nemchenok, I.; Nisi, S.; O'Shaughnessy, C.; Pandola, L.; Pelczar, K.; Pessina, G.; Pullia, A.; Riboldi, S.; Rumyantseva, N.; Sada, C.; Salathe, M.; Schmitt, C.; Schreiner, J.; Schulz, O.; Schwingenheuer, B.; Schönert, S.; Shevchik, E.; Shirchenko, M.; Simgen, H.; Smolnikov, A.; Stanco, L.; Strecker, H.; Tarka, M.; Ur, C. A.; Vasenko, A. A.; Volynets, O.; von Sturm, K.; Wagner, V.; Walter, M.; Wegmann, A.; Wester, T.; Wojcik, M.; Yanovich, E.; Zavarise, P.; Zhitnikov, I.; Zhukov, S. V.; Zinatulina, D.; Zuber, K.; Zuzel, G.

2013-09-01

Neutrinoless double beta decay is a process that violates lepton number conservation. It is predicted to occur in extensions of the standard model of particle physics. This Letter reports the results from phase I of the Germanium Detector Array (GERDA) experiment at the Gran Sasso Laboratory (Italy) searching for neutrinoless double beta decay of the isotope Ge76. Data considered in the present analysis have been collected between November 2011 and May 2013 with a total exposure of 21.6 kg yr. A blind analysis is performed. The background index is about 1×10-2counts/(keVkgyr) after pulse shape discrimination. No signal is observed and a lower limit is derived for the half-life of neutrinoless double beta decay of Ge76, T1/20ν>2.1×1025yr (90% C.L.). The combination with the results from the previous experiments with Ge76 yields T1/20ν>3.0×1025yr (90% C.L.).

Radar waveform requirements for reliable detection of an aircraft-launched missile

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Blair, W. Dale; Brandt-Pearce, Maite

1996-06-01

When tracking a manned aircraft with a phase array radar, detecting a missile launch (i.e., a target split) is particularly important because the missile can have a very small radar cross section (RCS) and drop below the horizon of the radar shortly after launch. Reliable detection of the launch is made difficult because the RCS of the missile is very small compared to that of the manned aircraft and the radar typically revisits a manned aircraft every few seconds. Furthermore, any measurements of the aircraft and missile taken shortly after the launch will be merged until the two targets are resolved in range, frequency, or space. In this paper, detection of the launched missile is addressed through the detection of the presence of target multiplicity with the in-phase and quadrature monopulse measurements. The probability of detecting the launch using monopulse processing will be studied with regard to the tracking signal-to-noise ratio and the number of pulses n the radar waveform.

J-Refocused Coherence Transfer Spectroscopic Imaging at 7 T in Human Brain

PubMed Central

Pan, J.W.; Avdievich, N.; Hetherington, H.P.

2013-01-01

Short echo spectroscopy is commonly used to minimize signal modulation due to J-evolution of the cerebral amino acids. However, short echo acquisitions suffer from high sensitivity to macromolecules which make accurate baseline determination difficult. In this report, we describe implementation at 7 T of a double echo J-refocused coherence transfer sequence at echo time (TE) of 34 msec to minimize J-modulation of amino acids while also decreasing interfering macromolecule signals. Simulation of the pulse sequence at 7 T shows excellent resolution of glutamate, glutamine, and N-acetyl aspartate. B1 sufficiency at 7 T for the double echo acquisition is achieved using a transceiver array with radiofrequency (RF) shimming. Using an alternate RF distribution to minimize receiver phase cancellation in the transceiver, accurate phase determination for the coherence transfer is achieved with rapid single scan calibration. This method is demonstrated in spectroscopic imaging mode with n = 5 healthy volunteers resulting in metabolite values consistent with literature and in a patient with epilepsy. PMID:20648684

A Search for Pulsations From Geminga Above 100 GeV With Veritas

DOE PAGES

Aliu, E.; Archambault, S.; Archer, A.; ...

2015-02-09

Here, we present the results of 71.6 hr of observations of the Geminga pulsar (PSR J0633+1746) with the VERITAS very-high-energy gamma-ray telescope array. Data taken with VERITAS between 2007 November and 2013 February were phase-folded using a Geminga pulsar timing solution derived from data recorded by the XMM- Newton and Fermi-LAT space telescopes. No significant pulsed emission above 100 GeV is observed, and we report upper limits at the 95% confidence level on the integral flux above 135 GeV (spectral analysis threshold) of 4.0 × 10 -13 s -1 cm -2 and 1.7 × 10 -13 s -1 cm -2more » for the two principal peaks in the emission profile. These upper limits, placed in context with phase-resolved spectral energy distributions determined from 5 yr of data from the Fermi-Large Area Telescope (LAT), constrain possible hardening of the Geminga pulsar emission spectra above ~50 GeV.« less

Spatial control of photoemitted electron beams using a microlens-array transverse-shaping technique

DOE PAGES

Halavanau, A.; Qiang, G.; Ha, G.; ...

2017-10-26

A transversely inhomogeneous laser distribution on the photocathode surface generally produces electron beams with degraded beam quality. In this paper, we explore the use of microlens arrays to dramatically improve the transverse uniformity of an ultraviolet drive-laser pulse used in a photoinjector. Here, we also demonstrate a capability of microlens arrays to generate transversely modulated electron beams and present an application of such a feature to diagnose the properties of a magnetized beam.

Integration of Organic Electrochemical and Field-Effect Transistors for Ultraflexible, High Temporal Resolution Electrophysiology Arrays.

PubMed

Lee, Wonryung; Kim, Dongmin; Rivnay, Jonathan; Matsuhisa, Naoji; Lonjaret, Thomas; Yokota, Tomoyuki; Yawo, Hiromu; Sekino, Masaki; Malliaras, George G; Someya, Takao

2016-11-01

Integration of organic electrochemical transistors and organic field-effect transistors is successfully realized on a 600 nm thick parylene film toward an electrophysiology array. A single cell of an integrated device and a 2 × 2 electrophysiology array succeed in detecting electromyogram with local stimulation of the motor nerve bundle of a transgenic rat by a laser pulse. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Space-Time Adaptive Processing for Airborne Radar

DTIC Science & Technology

1994-12-13

horizontal plane Uniform linear antenna array (possibly columns of a planar array) Identical element patterns 13 14 15 9 7 7,33 7 7 Target Model ...Parameters for Example Scenario 31 3 Assumptions Made for Radar System and Signal Model 52 4 Platform and Interference Scenario for Baseline Scenario. 61 5...pulses, is addressed first. Fully adaptive STAP requires the solution to a system of linear equations of size MN, where N is the number of array

Electrowetting lenses for compensating phase and curvature distortion in arrayed laser systems.

PubMed

Niederriter, Robert D; Watson, Alexander M; Zahreddine, Ramzi N; Cogswell, Carol J; Cormack, Robert H; Bright, Victor M; Gopinath, Juliet T

2013-05-10

We have demonstrated a one-dimensional array of individually addressable electrowetting tunable liquid lenses that compensate for more than one wave of phase distortion across a wavefront. We report a scheme for piston control using tunable liquid lens arrays in volume-bound cavities that alter the optical path length without affecting the wavefront curvature. Liquid lens arrays with separately tunable focus or phase control hold promise for laser communication systems and adaptive optics.

Nanosecond-level time synchronization of autonomous radio detector stations for extensive air showers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

The Pierre Auger Collaboration

2016-01-01

To exploit the full potential of radio measurements of cosmic-ray air showers at MHz frequencies, a detector timing synchronization within 1 ns is needed. Large distributed radio detector arrays such as the Auger Engineering Radio Array (AERA) rely on timing via the Global Positioning System (GPS) for the synchronization of individual detector station clocks. Unfortunately, GPS timing is expected to have an accuracy no better than about 5 ns. In practice, in particular in AERA, the GPS clocks exhibit drifts on the order of tens of ns. We developed a technique to correct for the GPS drifts, and an independent method is used to cross-check that indeed we reach a nanosecond-scale timing accuracy by this correction. First, we operate a ``beacon transmitter'' which emits defined sine waves detected by AERA antennas recorded within the physics data. The relative phasing of these sine waves can be used to correct for GPS clock drifts. In addition to this, we observe radio pulses emitted by commercial airplanes, the position of which we determine in real time from Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcasts intercepted with a software-defined radio. From the known source location and the measured arrival times of the pulses we determine relative timing offsets between radio detector stations. We demonstrate with a combined analysis that the two methods give a consistent timing calibration with an accuracy of 2 ns or better. Consequently, the beacon method alone can be used in the future to continuously determine and correct for GPS clock drifts in each individual event measured by AERA.

Nanosecond-level time synchronization of autonomous radio detector stations for extensive air showers

DOE PAGES

Aab, Alexander

2016-01-29

To exploit the full potential of radio measurements of cosmic-ray air showers at MHz frequencies, a detector timing synchronization within 1 ns is needed. Large distributed radio detector arrays such as the Auger Engineering Radio Array (AERA) rely on timing via the Global Positioning System (GPS) for the synchronization of individual detector station clocks. Unfortunately, GPS timing is expected to have an accuracy no better than about 5 ns. In practice, in particular in AERA, the GPS clocks exhibit drifts on the order of tens of ns. We developed a technique to correct for the GPS drifts, and an independentmore » method used for cross-checks that indeed we reach nanosecond-scale timing accuracy by this correction. First, we operate a “beacon transmitter” which emits defined sine waves detected by AERA antennas recorded within the physics data. The relative phasing of these sine waves can be used to correct for GPS clock drifts. In addition to this, we observe radio pulses emitted by commercial airplanes, the position of which we determine in real time from Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcasts intercepted with a software-defined radio. From the known source location and the measured arrival times of the pulses we determine relative timing offsets between radio detector stations. We demonstrate with a combined analysis that the two methods give a consistent timing calibration with an accuracy of 2 ns or better. Consequently, the beacon method alone can be used in the future to continuously determine and correct for GPS clock drifts in each individual event measured by AERA.« less

Femtosecond pulse shaping using the geometric phase.

PubMed

Gökce, Bilal; Li, Yanming; Escuti, Michael J; Gundogdu, Kenan

2014-03-15

We demonstrate a femtosecond pulse shaper that utilizes polarization gratings to manipulate the geometric phase of an optical pulse. This unique approach enables circular polarization-dependent shaping of femtosecond pulses. As a result, it is possible to create coherent pulse pairs with orthogonal polarizations in a 4f pulse shaper setup, something until now that, to our knowledge, was only achieved via much more complex configurations. This approach could be used to greatly simplify and enhance the functionality of multidimensional spectroscopy and coherent control experiments, in which multiple coherent pulses are used to manipulate quantum states in materials of interest.

A Tikhonov Regularization Scheme for Focus Rotations with Focused Ultrasound Phased Arrays

PubMed Central

Hughes, Alec; Hynynen, Kullervo

2016-01-01

Phased arrays have a wide range of applications in focused ultrasound therapy. By using an array of individually-driven transducer elements, it is possible to steer a focus through space electronically and compensate for acoustically heterogeneous media with phase delays. In this paper, the concept of focusing an ultrasound phased array is expanded to include a method to control the orientation of the focus using a Tikhonov regularization scheme. It is then shown that the Tikhonov regularization parameter used to solve the ill-posed focus rotation problem plays an important role in the balance between quality focusing and array efficiency. Finally, the technique is applied to the synthesis of multiple foci, showing that this method allows for multiple independent spatial rotations. PMID:27913323

A Tikhonov Regularization Scheme for Focus Rotations With Focused Ultrasound-Phased Arrays.

PubMed

Hughes, Alec; Hynynen, Kullervo

2016-12-01

Phased arrays have a wide range of applications in focused ultrasound therapy. By using an array of individually driven transducer elements, it is possible to steer a focus through space electronically and compensate for acoustically heterogeneous media with phase delays. In this paper, the concept of focusing an ultrasound-phased array is expanded to include a method to control the orientation of the focus using a Tikhonov regularization scheme. It is then shown that the Tikhonov regularization parameter used to solve the ill-posed focus rotation problem plays an important role in the balance between quality focusing and array efficiency. Finally, the technique is applied to the synthesis of multiple foci, showing that this method allows for multiple independent spatial rotations.

Large Phased Array Radar Using Networked Small Parabolic Reflectors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Amoozegar, Farid

2006-01-01

Multifunction phased array systems with radar, telecom, and imaging applications have already been established for flat plate phased arrays of dipoles, or waveguides. In this paper the design trades and candidate options for combining the radar and telecom functions of the Deep Space Network (DSN) into a single large transmit array of small parabolic reflectors will be discussed. In particular the effect of combing the radar and telecom functions on the sizes of individual antenna apertures and the corresponding spacing between the antenna elements of the array will be analyzed. A heterogeneous architecture for the DSN large transmit array is proposed to meet the radar and telecom requirements while considering the budget, scheduling, and strategic planning constrains.