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CO2 Laser Applications of the Month 

SYNRAD 

• Wire Stripping with Sealed CO2 Lasers 

-

Clean results were achieved with a 

25-watt Synrad CO2 laser. 

Because many materials used to 

fabricate wires, such as copper and 

aluminum, are reflective to the CO2 

wavelength, lasers are an excellent 

source for wire stripping. The laser 

ablates the coating, typically consisting 

of PVC, Teflon, Mylar, etc., and the 

laser beam reflects off the copper, 

leaving the underlying wire 

undamaged. Unlike traditional contact 

cutting methods, which can lead to 

product damage, the laser produces 

clean results. 

• Laser Marking Plastic Automotive Parts 

Sealed CO2 lasers are ideal for 

marking text, bar codes, and serial 

codes on a wide range of plastics. The 

type of plastic, absorption of the laser 

beam, and power used will determine 

the type of mark that can be created on 

the material. 

Marking is achieved by either 

engraving the material or by creating a 

contrasting mark on the surface. 

Engraved marks are produced when 

the laser actually removes material, 

creating a depression. Contrasting 

Engraved marks can be created on 

plastic parts using just 10-watts of laser 

power. 

• Laser "Engraving" Polyester Fleece 

The pile of this polyester fabric can 

be selectively removed to create a 

pattern or logo on the material with no 

discoloration. An alternative to 

interweaving the pattern into the 

fleece the laser offers manufacturers 

excellent flexibility on logo positioning 

and design. 

Polyester fleece, "engraved" with a 

Synrad 10-watt laser and FH-Series 

"Index" marking head. 

An Excel Technology Company 

The wire stripping application in the 

photo to the left was accomplished by 

scanning a 0.6" x 0.15" area with a 

Synrad FH "Index" marking head and 

25-watt laser. Two passes of the laser 

were used at a speed of 40" per second 

and a resolution of 350. The process 

was then repeated on the other side of 

the material, resulting in a cycle time 

of 2.3 seconds per side. 

marks are produced by either surface 

melting or by surface discoloration via 

a chemical reaction of the material to 

the laser beam, usually requiring less 

power than engraving. 

The engraved alphanumerics on the 

plastic automotive part in the photo to 

the left were created using a Synrad 

10-watt laser, marking head, and 

125mm lens. The marks were made at 

a speed of 5" per second and a cycle 

time of 0.75 seconds, using a spot size 

of 180 microns. 

Discover more CO2 laser applications! 

Sign up for our 

online Applications Newsletter at 

www.synrad.com/signup1 

All applications on this page were 

processed at SYllrad's Applications 

Laboratory. Synrad, the world s 

leading manufacturer of sealed CO2 

lasers, offers free process evaluations 

to companies with qualified 

applications. Call1-800-SYNRADl for 

more information. 

Synrad, Inc. 4600 Campus Place Mukilteo, WA 98275 USA 

tel 1.425.349.3500 • to/l-free 1.800.SYNRAD1 • fax 1.425.349.3667 • e-mail synrad@synrad.com . www.synrad.com 

For Free Info Circle No. 502 or Enter No. 502 at www.nasatech.comlrs 

02002 -Microson 

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Corporation. All nehts reserved, Microsoft Is I registered trademar$( at Microsoft Corporation In the United States and/or other c:ountJ1es. 
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systems. So even when there are lots of hands on the job, they're still of one mind. 

Find out how Microsoft Project Server 2002 can help you manage projects across 

your organization. Go to goproJectserver.com Sot re tor the A lie Business. 

For Free Info Circle No. 504 or Enter No. 504 at www.nasatech.com/rs 
TECH BRIEFS June 2002 • Vol. 26 No. 6 

ENGINEERING SOLUTIONS FOR DESIGN & fvV\NUFACTURING 

FEATURES 

27 Automation Software Enables 

Advanced Electronic Design 

30 NASA Awards Inventions of the Year 

32 Application Briefs 

68 Specifying Fiber Alignment System 

Performance: Coupling Loss Offers 

An Alternative to Motion Capability 

Solutions 

SOLUTIONS 

$ 34 Technology Focus: Data Acquisition 

34 Remote Monitoring and Alarm System 

34 Failure-Reporting Device Concept for Spacecraft 

and Remote Vehicles 

36 Program Uses Terrain-Image Data To Locate Safe 

Landing Site 

36 Measuring Sea Height and Roughness With GPS 

Reflections 

40 Hybrid Electric-Field Sensor 

= 41 Electronic Components and Systems 

41 Communication Antenna in a Helicopter Rotor 

42 GPS Attitude Determination Using Nonaligned 

Antennas 

44 A Semiautomated Coordinate-Measuring System 

48 Software 

48 Software Provides Thermal Optimization of 

a Computer CPU 

50 Software for Automated Planning of Spacecraft 

Missions 

50 Generalized-Time-Line Program for Planning and 

Scheduling 

01 52 Materials 

52 Improvements in the Use of Water Washes in 

Testing for NVR 

55 Using Polyimide Tape to Mask Against Reactive-Ion 

Etching 

o 56 Mechanics 

56 Hexfoil Rotary Flexures 

58 Flight Research on Supersonic Laminar Flow 

61 Improved Flange Design for Cryogenic Vacuum 

O-Ring Seals 

DEPARTMENTS 

14 Commercial Technology Team 

18 UpFront 

20 Reader Forum 

22 Who's Who at NASA 

24 Technologies of the Month 

78 Advertisers Index 

NEW FOR DESIGN ENGINEERS 

73 Products/Software 

74 Literature 

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT 

1a - 14a 

Photonics Tech Briefs 

Follows page 40 in selected 

editions only. 

6 www.nasaLech.com ASA Tech Briefs,june 2002 
Mechanical Event Simulation 

of Magnetic Back-up Tape 

Hewlett-Packard Chooses ALGOR FEA 

to Extend the Life of Back-up Tape 

Linear Tape-Open (LTG) technology, developed jointly by HewlettPackard Company (HP), IBM and Seagate, replaces proprietary 

formats for corporate back-up solutions with an open tape format that 

makes it easier for customers to choose products. Hewlett-Packard 

used ALGOR's Mechanical Event Simulation (MES) software to 

analyze the behavior of the magnetic recording tape as it is wound 

through a Hewlett-Packard LTO Ultrium back-up drive. 

The Challenge 

Hewletl-Packard's challenge was to optimize the LTO drive to 

increase tape durability while maintaining tape path stability. To study 

the tape's behavior, the software had to simulate motion, contact 

between parts in an assembly, large displacement, elastic material 

behavior and stresses. 

For this complete story and others, visit 

hptapedrive.ALGOR.com 

autodesk 

The Solution 

prediction of the 

stress levels enabled 

me to make adjustments and optimize 

the design." 

Paul Poorman 

Mechanical Engineer 

Hewlett-Packard Company 

A Hewlett-Packard engineer, Paul Poorman, modeled the magnetic 

tape with isotropic shell elements and the drive assembly using 

kinematic elements. In the MES, the tape wraps around two rollers 

and across a tape head and is then pulled into a take-up reel. The 

MES results showed the motion of the tape and resulting stresses. 

These results helped Hewlett-Packard find a proprietary solution that 

keeps the tape on track while reducing stresses on the edge of the 

tape, thus extending the life of the back-up tape. Paul Poorman 

reports, "The first generation of Hewlett-Packard Ultrium drives is 

currently in the market and performing well." 

ALGOR. ALGOR, Inc. 

150 Beta Drive 

Pittsburgh, PA 15238-2932 USA 

Phone 1.412.967.2700 

Fax 1.412.967.2781 

USA/Canada 

1.800.48.ALGOR 

France 

0.800.918.917 

Italy 

800.783.132 

Singapore 

800.120.3775 

authorirtd dwf:loper 

--~-... hptapedrlve@algor.com 

hptapedrive.ALGOR.com All trademarks may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respectIve owners. 

For Free Info Circle No. 513 or Visit www.nasatech.comJ513 

United Kingdom 

0.800.731 .0399 
Contents continued 

@ ,9· 62 Physical Sciences 

62 Making Hydrogen by Electrolysis of Methanol 

63 Aircraft-Mounted Cloud-Water-Content Probe 

64 Miniature NMR Spectrometers Without Magnets 

I 66 Books and Reports 

66 MEMS Design Optimization With FEA 

66 Further Developments Regarding Noise-Reducing 

Slots in QWIPs 

66 Time-Parallel Algorithms for Solving PDEs 

~otlonk ~ 70 Motion Control Tech Briefs 

70 Algorithm Computes Kinematics of a Rover on 

Rocky Terrain 

71 Software for Simultaneous Control of Three 

Magnetic Bearings 

72 Crowned Races for Crossed Roller Bearings 

Thjs document was prepared under the sponsorship of the National Aeronautics and Space 

Administration. e ither Associated Business Publications Co., Ltd. nor the nhed tale: Go,,-

ernment nor any person acting on behalf of the Uni lcd States Go ~mment assumes any habiJity resulting from Lh e use of the information contained in this document, or warrants thaI 

such usc will be free from priva tely owned rights. The U.S. Government does not endorse any commercial product, process, or activity identified in this publication. 

PRODUCT OF THE MONTH 

ATEasy 4.0 test development software from 

Geotest-Marvin Test Systems (Irvine, CA) lets 

users create re-usable components modeled 

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18 

ON THE COVER 

The DeBakey Ventricular Assist Device (VAD) 

rotary blood pump, developed at Johnson 

Space Center, was named NASA Commercial 

Invention of the Year for 2001 . The use of 

computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling, coupled with computing technology 

from NASA's Advanced Supercomputing 

(NAS) division at Ames Research Center, led 

to design modifications that improved the 

VAD's performance. This image shows a visual comparison of the original VAD (right), 

and the unit following the addition of an inducer. Read more about the pump, as well as 

NASA's Government Invention of the Year, 

beginning on page 30. 

(Image courtesy of NASAlCetin Kiris) 

Permissions: Autb ori7.ation to phOlOCOp items for imernal or personal use, or lhe internal or 

personal use of specific clients, is granted by Associated Business Publications, pro\;ded lhat 

the n't fee of 3.00 per copy be paid <tircctly to the Copyright C1earane< Center (222 Rose 

\Voocl Dr., Danvers, MA 01923). For those organizations that ha\-' been granted a photocopy 

Ii ense by CCC, a separate system of payment has been arranged. The fee code for users of the 

Transactional Reporting Service is: I ' OI 45-3 19XI 94 $3.00+ .00 

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For Free Info Circle No. 506 or Enter No. 506 at www.nasatech.com/rs ASA Tech Briefs,June 2002 
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.TECH BRIEFS 

www.nasatech.com 

Published by ................................... . . ... Associated Business Publications 

............................................ .Joseph T. Pramberger 

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Publisher 

Editor/Associate PublISher. 

Editor, Market Focus Editions .......................... . .... .......... Ashli K. Riggs 

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BRIEFS & SUPPORTING LITERATURE: Written and produced for NASA by 

Advanced Testing Technologies, Inc., Hauppauge, NY 11788 

TechnicaVManaglng Editor ....... . ........................... Ted Selinsky 

Sr. Technical Analyst ..................... . . .......... Or. Larry Grunberger 

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Graphics . . ....................................... Robert Simons 

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Publications Director ................... ................................................................. Carl Ray 

For a complete list of staff e-mail addresses, 

visit www.abpi.net 

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For Free Info Circle No. 530 or Enter No. 530 at www.nasatech.com/rs ASA Tech Briefs,June 2002 
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They believe you'll automatically install their 3D 

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02002 SolidWorks Corporation. Sol,dWorks is a registered trademark 01 SotidWorks Corporation. SoUdWorks Corporation is • Dassault Systi:mes company. 
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For Free Info Circle No. 515 or Enter No. 515 at www.nasatech.com/rs 
NASA 

Commercial 

Technology 

Team 

NASA's R&D efforts produce a robust supply of promising technologies with applications in many 

industries. A key mechanism in identifying commercial applications for this technology is NASA's 

national network of commercial technology organizations. The network includes ten NASA field centers, six Regional Technology Transfer Centers (RITCs), the National Technology Transfer Center 

(NITC), business support organizations, and a full tie-in with the Federal Laboratory Consortium 

(FLC) for Technology Transfer. Call (609) 667-7737 for the FLC coordinator in your area. 

NASA's Technology Sources 

If you need further information about new technologies presented in NASA Tech Briefs, 

request the Technical Support Package (fSP) indicated at the end of the brief. If a TSP is 

not available, the Commercial Technology Office at the NASA field center that sponsored 

the research can provide you with additional information and, if applicable, refer you to the 

innovator(s). These centers are the source of all NASA-developed technology. 

Ames Resean:h Goddard Space Johnson Space Langley Resean:h Marshall Space 

Center Flight Center Center Center Flight Center 

Selected techno- Selected techno- Selected techno- Selected techno- Selected technological strengths: logical strengths: logical strengths: logical strengths: logical strengths: 

Information Earth and Artificiallntelli- Aerodynamics; Materials; 

Technology; Planetary Science genceand Flight Systems; Manufacturing; 

Biotechnology; Missions; UDAR; Human Computer Materials; Nondestructive 

Nanotechnology; Cryogenic Interface; Structures; Evaluation; 

Aerospace Systems; Life Sciences; Sensors; Biotechnology; 

Operations Tracking; Human Space Measurements; Space Propulsion; 

Systems; Telemetry; Flight Operations; Information Controls and 

Rotorcraft; Remote Sensing; Avionics; Sciences. Dynamics; 

Thermal Command. Sensors; Sam Morello Structures; 

Protection George Alcorn Communications. (757) 864-6005 Microgravity 

Systems. (301) 286-5810 Charlene E. Gilbert s.a.morello@ Processing. 

Carolina Blake galcom@gsfc. (281) 483-3809 larc.nasa.gov Vemotto McMillan 

(650) 604-1754 nasa.gov commercia/izati (256) 544-2615 

cblake@mail. jsc.nasagov John H. Glenn vemotto.mcmillan 

arc.nasagov Jet Propulsion Research Center @msfc.nasa.gov 

Laboratory Kennedy Space at Lewis Field 

Dryden Flight Selected techno- Center Selected techno- Stennis Space 

Resean:h Center logical strengths: Selected techno- logical strengths: Center 

Selected techno- Near/Deep-Space logical strengths: Aeropropulsion; Selected technological strengths: Mission Fluids and Fluid Communications; logical strengths: 

Aerodynamics; Engineering; Systems; Mate- Energy Propulsion 

Aeronautics Flight Microspacecraft; rials Evaluation; Technology; Systems; 

Testing; Space Process Engi- High Temperature TesVMonitoring; 

Aeropropulsion; Communications; neering; Com- Materials Remote Sensing; 

Right Systems; Information mand, Control Research. Nonintrusive 

Thermal Testing; Systems; and Monitor LanyVitema Instrumentation. 

Integrated Remote Sensing; Systems; Range (216) 433-3484 Kirk Sharp 

Systems Test and Robotics. Systems; Environ- cto@grc. (228) 688-1929 

Validation. Merle McKenzie mental Engi- nasa.gov kirk.sharp@ 

JennyBaer- (a18) 354-2577 neering and ssc.nasa.gov 

Riedhart merle.mckenzie@ Management. 

(661) 276-3689 jpl.nasa.gov Jim Aliberti 

jenny.baer- (321) 867-6224 

riedhart@dfrc. Jim.Aliberti-1@ 

nasa.gov ksc.nasagov 

NASA-Sponsored Commercial Technology Organizations 

These organizations were established to provide rapid access to NASA and other federal 

R&D and foster collaboration between public and private sector organizations. They also 

can direct you to the appropriate point of contact within the Federal Laboratory Consortium. 

To reach the Regional Technology Transfer Center nearest you, call (800) 472-6785. 

Joseph Allen 

National Technology 

Transfer Center 

(800) 678-6882 

Ken Dozier 

Far-West Technology 

Transfer Cenler 

University of Southem 

California 

(213) 743-2353 

James P. Dunn 

Center lor Technology 

Commen:ialization 

Westborough, MA 

(508) 870-0042 

B. David Bridges 

Southeast Technology 

Transfer Center 

Georgia Institute of 

Technology 

(404) 894-6786 

Gary Sera 

Mid-Continent Technology 

Transfer Center 

Texas A&M University 

(409) 845-8762 

Charles Blankenship 

Technology 

Commen:lalization Center 

Newport News, VA 

(757) 269-0025 

Pierrette Woodford 

Great Lakes Industrial 

Technology Transfer 

Center 

Battelle Memorial 

Institute 

(216) 898-6400 

NASA ON-LINE: Go to NASA's Commercial Technology Network (CTN) on the World Wide Web at 

http://nctn.hq.nasa.goY to search NASA technology resources, find commercialization opportunities, 

and learn about NASA's national network of programs, organizations, and services dedicated to technology transfer and commercialization. 

NASA Program Offices 

At NASA Headquarters there are seven major 

program offices that develop and oversee 

technology projects of potential interest to 

industry. The street address for these strategic 

business units is: NASA Headquarters, 300 E 

St. SW, Washington, DC 20546. 

Can Ray 

Small Business Innovation 

Resean:h Program (SBtR) 

& Small Business 

Technology Transfer 

Program (STIR) 

(202) 358-4652 

cray@mail.hq.nasa.gov 

Dr. Robert Norwood 

Office 01 Commen:lal 

Technology (Code RW) 

(202) 358-2320 

morwood@mail.hq. 

nasa.gov 

John Mankins 

Office of Space Flight 

(Code MP) 

(202) 358-4659 

jmankins@mail. 

hq.nasa.gov 

Terry Hertz 

Office of Aero-Space 

Technology (Code RS) 

(202) 358-4636 

thertz@mail.hq.nasa.gov 

Glen Mucklow 

Office of Space Sciences 

(Code SM) 

(202) 358-2235 

gmuckloW@mail. 

hq.nasa.gov 

Roger Crouch 

Office of Microgravity 

Science Applications 

(Code U) 

(202) 358-0689 

rcrouch@hq.nasagov 

Granville Paules 

Office of Mission to Planet 

Earth (Code Y) 

(202) 358-0706 

gpaJles@m1pe.hq.nasagav 

NASAls Business Facilitators 

NASA has established several organizations 

whose objectives are to establish joint sponsored research agreements and incubate 

small start-up companies with Significant 

business promise. 

Wayne P. Zeman 

Lewis Incubator for 

Technology 

Cleveland, OH 

(216) 586-3888 

B. Greg Hinkebein 

Mississippi Enterprise for 

Technology 

Stennis Space 

Center, MS 

(800) 746-4699 

Julie Holland 

NASA Commen:lallzation 

Center 

Pomona, CA 

(909) 869-4477 

Bridgette Smalley 

UH-NASA Technology 

Commen:lalization 

Incubator 

Houston, TX 

(713) 743-9155 

John Fini 

Goddard Space Flight 

Center Incubator 

Baltimore, MD 

(410) 327-9150 x1034 

Thomas G. Rainey 

NASA KSC Business 

Incubation Center 

Titusville, FL 

(407) 383-5200 

Joanne W. Randolph 

BizTech 

Huntsville, AL 

(256) 704-6000 

Joe Becker 

Ames Technology 

Commen:iallzation Center 

San Jose, CA 

(408) 557-6700 

Marty Kaszubowski 

Hampton Roads 

Technology Incubator 

(Langley Research Center) 

Hampton, VA 

(757) 865-2140 

Paul Myrda 

NASA Illinois 

Commen:lallzatlon 

Center 

West Chicago, IL 

(630) 845-6510 

If you are interested in information, applications, and services relating to satellite and aerial data for Earth resources, contact: Dr. Stan Morain, Earth Analysis 

Center, (505) 277-3622. 

14 www.nasatech.com ABA Tech Briefs,June 2002 
"IEEE 

"The key to innovation is the fearless 

pursuit of experiment, application, 

and proof of the theory. IEEE allows 

engineers to see what is possible, 

and pursue it with science." 

Dr. Evanqelia Mlcheli-Tzanakou 

IEEE Fellow 

Director of Computational Intelligence 

Laboratories, Department of Biomedical 

Engineering, Rutgers University 

What will you discover next? Join IEEE. 

www.leee.org/apply 

For Free Info Circle No. 512 or Enter No. 512 at www.nasatech.com/rs 

Wortd's ladmg 

SImulation software 

SOFTWARE IIMILATIIS IEAlITI 

For Free Info Circle No. 511 or 

Enter No. 511 at www.nasatech.comlrs 
- - - -

What's New On-Line 

PRODUCT OF THE MONTH 

G eotest-Marvin Test 

Systems, Irvine, CA, 

has released ATEasy 

4.0 te t development 

software for most test and 

measurement application. 

It lets users create reusable 

components modeled after 

real-world test systems. 

Components include ystems, 

drivers, programs, tests, and 

commands. The graphical 

u er interface i compatible 

with Micro oft Visual BasicN 

and Visual C++N

• The 

oftware's modular structure 

allows users to partition and 

, 

.... It DIillhA ..... oILuoIIlr....., ~IM.. 

et.ecbI:corlDDc.-.utoill6DO'l(ll O, ) el.. -

n.olr.cToc ( ..... cAau ..... €II_ ..... , 1" e.it 

:11~ 

The NA A Tech Bmfs Software Cemer 

is now open on the NTB Web site 

at www.nasatech.com/ software . The 

Software C mer is a new FREE download 

service that lets you acce ASA oftware 

programs and ource code available for 

commercial applications and development., 

ranging from aerodynamic analysi to 

viscosity measur ment. ~SA Tech Bri1!Js 

readers also will be able to purchase 

commercial engineering software directly 

from the site. 

Currently, the oftware Cemer features 

oftware ode from ASA' lenn 

Re earch Center. But check back often 

as we continue to add more program 

from ASA's oLher field centers around 

the country, as well as demos of new 

commercial software package . 

organize test code. Aju t-in-time compiler gathers only the necessary code 

to be executed independently without running the entire application. 

ATEasy features an open y tern architecture that provides ActiveX controls, 

spreadsheets, database, word proces ors, and Web browsers. A Te t 

Executive module elects and run a te t program, and debug, views, 

The oftware Center also highlights 

software-related tech briefs, archived 

oftware review from NASA Tech Bmfs, and feature articles on software topics 

that have appeared recently in NTB. 

and prints test logs. 

For Free Info Circle No. 720 or Visit www.nasatech.comlgeotest 

Check it out at www.nasatech.com/ 

software . 

NASA's New Atomic Clock Will Aid Farmers and Physicists 

Modem navigator continue to rely on atomic clocks 

that u e the natural re onance of atom to provide 

Lhe teady tick of a clock. The best atomic clocks on Earth 

10 e no more than one econd in millions of year. 

cientists at ASA's Fundamental Physics Program would 

like to do better. 

ailors, truck drivers, oldier, pilots, and hikers all rely 

on atomic clocks 

by using Global 

Po itioning Sy tern 

(GP ) devices. 

Each of the 24 GPS 

satellites carries 

four atomic clocks. 

Tiny instabilities 

in tho e orbiting 

clock can 

contribute a few 

meters of error to 

ingle-receiver GP measurements. Making the clocks smaller and increasing their stability could reduce such errors. 

A la er-cooled clock called PARCS is expected to be 

installed on the International Space Station by 2005. It 

hould be the most table clock ever, keeping time within 

one second every 300 million year. PARCS will test 

technologies to be u ed in a next-generation clock named 

RACE slated for installation on the IS in 2006. RACE will 

keep time 0 well Lhat if it ran for three billion year, it 

would lose les than one econd. 

Clock like PARCS and RACE will improve telecommunications on Earth, including navigation. Pilots landing on 

narrow air trips at night would benefit, a would surveyor, 

farmer, and earch and re cue teams. 

For more information, visit http://link.abpi.net/ l.php? 

20020416A2 . 

Next Month in NTB 

The focu will be on Automotive Technology in the July i ue of I1SA Tech 

Briefs, with a feature article on auto de ign 

and manufacturing, including the newest 

players in automobile design, imulation, 

and analy i . Also look for new ASA 

innovation in sensors and actuators. 

18 www.nasatech.com ASA Tech Briefs,June 2002 
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in the USA Ind/or other counlriH. AU othef Innd namrs. product NmH. or ~ belong to thetr respective holden. 

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Introducing POPmatic 

Point & Set~M the first 

reliable auto-feed rivet 

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POPmatic Point & Set, our new 

auto-feed rivet system, delivers 

what no riveting tool has before. 

Consistent riveting at a rate 

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Reader Forum is dedicated to the thoughts, concerns, questions, and comments of our 

readers. If you have a comment, a question regarding a technical problem, or an answer to a previously published question, post your letter to Reader Forum on-line at 

www.nasatech.com. or send to: Editor, NASA Tech Briefs, 317 Madison Ave., New 

York, NY 10017; Fax: 212-986-7864. Please include your name, company (if applicable), address, and e-mail address or phone number. 

I am writing in re ponse to a letter 

in the March Reader Fon.lm from 

MichaelJone ,who was looking for sugge tion on deve lopi ng a wirele video 

system. I believe the poor results he's experienced so far are due to multi-path 

fade and echoe . I sugge t a reflector behind the receivi ng ante nna, with about 

.2 wave eparation, and diver ity in the 

form of two antennas some distance 

apart wi th the feed li ne exacuy the 

arne length to the "T". The power/ 

bandwidth allocation in that frequency 

range are rather u·ingent. 

dave@diamondtouch.com 

I'm looking for a device that when 

placed onto a cargo container, transmits 

an active ignal if the con tainer is tampered wi u1 or breached. It would need 

to be tracked throughout the world. 

Th ank you. 

Dave Fulbright 

j.fulbrig@jcp nney.com 

(Editor'S Note: Dave, i1SA s jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, CA, has developed such a device. The credit-card-sized 

transponder is placed on a cargo container 

and can be tracked anywhere on Earth. You 

can access the compl£le tech brief on this 

technology by visiting the ASA Tech Briefs 

libra-ry at: www.llasatech. com/ Briefs/ 

Sept98/NP019769.html .) 

Technologies Wanted 

Periodically in Reader Forum, we feature abstracts of Demand-Pull Technology Transfer p rojects. These projects 

identify technology needs within an indu try egrnent- uch as ugrnentative 

Communication - and find olution to 

meet those n eeds. The Rehabilitation 

Engi neering Re earch Center on Technology Transfer, in partnership with u1e 

www.nasatech.com 

Rehabilitation Engin ering Research 

Center on Communication Enhancement and the Federal Laboratory Consortium, has developed the Project on 

Commu nication Enhancement to identify technologies like those listed below 

to help person wim communication 

disabili ties who use Augmentative Communication devices. For more details on 

ule project, or to submit technology 

propo als, vi it http ://cosmos.buffalo. 

edu/ aac. 

Speech Production & Output 

Technology 

Output technologies (speech synthesi , ound projection , and adaptive 

volume control), are needed that are intelligible, per onalized, and naturalsounding to enhance commun ication 

privacy. Display technologic are needed 

that perform well in all lighting condition and support private communication at short range or remotely. 

Sp ech ynthe is technology hould 

produc a natural-sounding voice that 

can ex pres emotion. It should be customizable and modifiable in real time. 

Automatic volume control hould recognize ambient ound levels; th u er 

should be able to adjust loudnes and 

turn on/ off. 

Display hould reduce or eliminate 

daylight glare and improve conuast for 

night viewing. Di plays that automatically adapt to changes in lighting conditions al 0 are de ired. Third-party intervention should not be required to 

et-up, adjust, or take down the di play. 

Wearable, remote, and dual displays 

are ought to enhance opportunitie for 

education, rehabilitation, afety and 

per onal independence. Wireless wearable display should be unobtrusive and 

provide a high-quality image. It hould 

not ob u-uct face-to-face interaction. 

Directed sound output (peaker) 

should automatically track the communication partner to increase intelligibility and communication privacy. 

ASA Tech Briefs,June 2002 

H igh 

Accuracy, 

Reliability, 

Structural 

Integrity 

800-552-6267 

www.kamansensors.com 

For Free Info Circle No. 533 or 

Enter No. 533 at www.nasatech.com/rs 

Who's Who at NASA 

Dr. Paul Schenker, Director, 

Planetary Robotics Laboratory, 

Jet Propulsion Laboratory 

Dr. Paul Schenker 

i tlle director of 

ilie Planetary Robotics 

Laboratory (PRL) at 

ASA' Jet Propulsion 

Laboratory in Pa adena, CA. The organization is re ponsible 

for re earch and development in mobility and robotic, and is developing a erie of rover prototype for planetary 

surface exploration. 

NASA Tech Briefs: What is the purpose 

of the rovers? 

Dr. Paul Schenker: The pw-po e is to 

develop new rovers and supporting technology iliat could go into more difficult 

terrain tl1at i rough and sloped. Current 

rovers have a hard time traveling tl1rough 

rocky, den e areas, or up lopes iliat are 

more tl1an 15-20 degre s. It's now 

iliought iliat ome of tl1e most exciting 

planetary cience will be near water outflo\\ at craters' edges. We want to drive 

rovers up or down to such an area to get 

to ilie intere ting cience. 

NTB: How have these rovers performed in demonstrations? 

Schenker: The 've done well. We first 

developed ilie technology in ilie laboratory. That technology include not only 

re-configurable rovers - meaning one 

dlat could change dleir hape and ilie positioning of ilieir mechanical parts, m ir 

leg, tructure, and wheels - but new algorithms iliat can take what ilie rovers 

ee, literally, and adapt tl1eir control and 

traction as iliey go into steeper areas. It' 

imilar to how a human or a dog changes 

footing, quats down, and gets prepared 

to go up or down a teep hill. 

We give ilie rover behaviors or skills 

whereby it can adapt when it sees a region 

wiili its computer vi ion or 3D terrain 

mapping. So it s kind of an animal-like 

paradigm, but a ratl1er intellig nt one. 

NfB: What's the newest prototype? 

Schenker: The more exciting aspect of 

thi project is me development of me 

Cliff-bot It' not one robot, but iliree. 

This is a true robot team wiili distributed 

intelligence and sensing. Two of the rowww.nasalech.com 

bots are at ilie top of ilie cliff and iliey are 

referred to as ilie Anchor or Teilier-bot, 

which as i t ilie Cliff-bot. There are teiliers attached to tl1e Cliff-bot, forming a triangle - two at ilie top and then tlle two 

tetl1ers going down. The robot tl1at is 

going up and down me cliff is actively 

dJiving; it's not just being lowered. A good 

analogy would be a human climber with 

two expert assistants. 

What is very exciting about iliat in 

terms of application i ilie promise of a 

robot being able to go to tl1ese very teep 

cliIT dges where there might be mineral 

water outflows. Using iliese rovers, we 

can look where we've never been able to 

go before. 

NTB: Do you foresee any terrestrial 

applications? 

Schenker: Absolutely. The onboard intelligence, or ilie autonomy, is the research 

basi for making robots marter. I think 

we'll ee ilie robot team idea have importance in things like military application 

and for search and rescue. If omeone is in 

trouble, you can deploy a robot into a difficult region. We haven't done anything 

like iliat for terre llial applications. Our 

work has been NASA-based, but the e technologie are potentially important for terre llial and military application . 

NTB: What is the goal of the Planetary 

Robotics Laboratory? 

Schenker: The PRL i an organization 

of about 85 people whose intere ts include ilie broad range of technology for 

botl1 A and non- robotics. The 

expertise here span machine vi ion, 

robotic navigation, onboard robotic autonomy, operation interfaces, and mechanical de ign. Anotl1 r project is 

robot-assisted micro urgery (RAMS), 

which is a system for dexterity-enhanced 

micro urgery. The urgeon make a teleoperated input, 0 when the surgeon' 

hand move , it scale tl1e urgery down 

by a factor of ten and filters out ilie 

tremors, allowing doCtOl to do remarkable urgery. That technology is now on 

its way to market. 

A full transcript of this interview appears 

online at UTWW.rwsatech.com/whoswho. Dr. 

Schenker can be reached at schenker@heiios.JpL 

nasa.gov. 

A Tech Briefs,june 2002 
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Anywhere you need to go, our rugged portables are ready. FlexPAC" is available 

with six full-size expansion slots, an Intel Pentium- 4 processor running at 2 GHz, system memory up 

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FlexPAC is also remarkably affordable. No wonder companies like Agilent and National Instruments 

have made Dolch their choice. 

Check it out along with other Dolch products at www.DolchNTB.com 

or call 877.347.4924. 

02002 Dolch Computer Systems. Inc. FlexPAC Is a trademark of Dolch Computer System~ Inc. All other brand or products named are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies. 

For Free Info Circle No. 517 or Enter No. 517 at www.nasatech.com/rs 
Technologies of the Month 

Sponsored by ye ~com 

For more information on these and other new, licensable inventions, 

visit www.nasatech.com/ techsearch 

Water-Repellent Technology Can Be 

Controlled By Light 

Hitachi, Ltd. 

Waxes, oils, and other coatings have been used to create 

water-repellent products; however, these coatings evaporate 

over time, leaving a surface unprotected. A new compound 

provides an increase in water repeUency for a range of materials 

and products by creating a surface coating offering a contact 

angle with \vater of approximately 80-120°. This enable 

round water droplets to hit the 

slanted urface and roU off before being ab orbed. 

A novel featme of thi technology is the ability to control 

its degree of water repellency 

___ .. Repellent Appl108tlon 

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by applying a photochromatic compound to the coating material. By applying light to certain areas, the chemical structure 

of the compound can be altered, affecting its ability to interact 

with water by creating an acid or a base. Applications include 

anti-corro ion coatings, electronic packaging, anti-icing treatments, and fabric coatings. 

Get the complete report on this technology at: 

www.nasatech.com/techsearch/tow/hitachi. html 

Email: nasatech@yet2.com 

Phone: 617-557-3837 

High-Speed Replicator Synchronizes Data 

Updating Between Relational Databases 

The Dutch Royal PTT Post 

All the information produced since the dawn of recorded 

history equals approximately 1 terabytes - the number 1 

foUowed by 1 zero . Twelve percent of that data was created 

in 1999 alone. Database have become the core of mo t operations, and the upkeep and feeding of them accounts for increasingly large amounts of time, money, and man pm er. 

A commercial middle\vare called High Volume Replicator 

(HVR) replicates data between database at extremely high 

speeds, enabling changes made to one set of data to affect 

and update tho e change to relational database. HVR offer 

mission-critical fault tolerance, collision resolution, and database/ tran action consistency with 24-hour availability. It al 0 

guarantee zero downtime and complex synchronization 

across diver e platforms and operating sy tern. The middleware feature a Java-based graphical u er interface and upports HP-UX, Solari, AlX, Open VMS, and Windows 2000. 

Get the complete report on this technology at: 

www.nasatech.com/techsearch/tow/royalP1T.html 

Email: nasatech@yet2.com 

Phone: 617-557-3837 

New Electrode layering Technology 

Substantially Reduces Noise 

Toyota 

The static a driver hear on a car radio or occasional glitch 

in the automotive electrical y tern is often the result of ignition noise - unnecessary electrical signals generated by the 

distributor and spark plugs in a car's ignition y tern. As the 

rotor electrode in the distributor rotates, the discharge between it and the electrodes that send current to the park 

plugs create a high-frequency ignal, cau ing ignition noi e. 

To combat this problem, Toyota has developed a multiplelayer electrode that reduces ignition noise and resists deterioration that can lead to noise creeping back in. The electrode 

is comprised oftwo layer, each composed ofa metal oxide resistor and dielectric. The second layer feature gl"eater resi -

tivity than the first, enabling a lower di charge voltage, which 

in turn reduces ignition noi e. 0 additional material or 

circuitry are required to reduce ignition noi e level, and Ie s 

expensive material can be u ed to replace conventional 

ceramic electrodes, cutting material and labor costs. 

Get the complete report on this technology at: 

www.nasatech.com/techsearch/tow/toyota.html 

Email: nasatech@yet2.com 

Phone: 617-557-3837 

New Stabilizers Improve Appearance 

and lengthen Life of Plastics 

Honeywell 

Though plastic is relatively 

strong, Hghtweight, and versatile, its Hfespan is shortened 

when exposed to unlight, 

temperature fluctuation , and 

staining. A group of stabilizers 

from Honeywell utilize a class 

of water-soluble sulfonated aromatic compounds that 

promi e improved stain resi tance and reduced fading. 

When u ed to treat nylon fiber , the compound are applied to the dyed fiber in a diluted or concentrated aqueous 

solution. The water is then removed and the fibers are ovendried at 120°C. To improve the fiber' oil re istance, a fluorinated dry soil release agent can also be applied, either before 

or after the sulfonated aromatic compound application. To 

reduce fading, the fibers can be treated with cinnamamide 

compounds, which have the ability to ab orb both -A and 

UV-B radiation, enabling polymer fiber to better with tand 

haziness, brittleness, and general loss of ela ticity. 

Get the complete report on this technology at: 

www.nasatech.com/techsearch/tow/holleywell-stabilizers.html 

Email: nasatech@yet2. com 

Phone: 617-557-3837 

24 www.nasatech.com NASA Tech Briefs,June 2002 
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technology for the modeling and simulation of physics in all science and engineering fields. Its main attribute is the ease 

with which modeling can be performed 

and its unlimited multiphysics capabilities, 

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~ The most common reactor for environmental protection. which we encounter or 

use everyday. is the catalytic converter in 

automobiles. In these monolithic catalysts. 

carbon monoxide and nitrous oxides are 

converted into relatively harmless species 

like carbon dioxide and nitrogen. To optimize the utilization of the expensive 

catalyst. it is important to be able to model 

the reactor at different operational 

conditions. In this FEMLAB model. mass and 

heat balances are coupled to compute 

temperature distribution and flowlines in 

the reactor. 

~ This square-shaped spiral inductor is used 

for bandpass filters in micro electromechanical systems (MEMS). The FEMLAB 

simulation takes the nonuniform current 

density in the coils into account to compute 

an accurate magnetic flux arround the coils. 

The inductance of this inductor is 2.1 nH. 

which is obtained by integrating the magnetic energy. Using the programming 

language of FEMLAB for parametric analysis. 

you can find the correlation between the 

induction and the input parameters of the 

model. 

~ In the design of electrodes for water 

electrolysis. it is important to minimize the 

voltage losses at a given total current. 

FEMLAB modeling helps the engineer in the 

design of the electrode geometry and the 

current collector. The model gives the 

current denSity distribution and the potential distribution in the system. These results 

make it possible to avoid excessive degradation of the active electrode surface and 

overheating of the welds at the position of 

the current collector. 

~ When designing an electric motor it is 

important to design the rotor shaft so that 

no eigenfrequencies exist in the working 

range of the rotational speed. It is also 

important to study the shape of the eigenmode and not just the eigenfrequencies. 

In the eigenfrequency analysis. one end of 

the shaft is fixed and the other end is free to 

rotate and axially deform. The image shows 

deformation and rotation angle in the 

second eigenmode. using different visualization options like colormaps and scaling. 

FEMLAB KEY FEATURES 

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lectronic de ign challenges affect 

companies in almost every industry 

including consumer products, aULOmotive, communication, and biomedicine. 

Perhaps that i why electronic design automation (EDA) blossomed into a 4 bilLion dollar industry last year despite the 

troubled economy, according to the EDA 

Con ortium's Market Statistics Service 

(MS ). That's a 6% increase over 2000 

revenue. In fact, ince the EDA Consortium taned tracking revenue in 1994, 

the EDA market hasn't experienced a 

ingl year of negative growth. 

Ansoft HFSS screen sample. 3D electromagnetic field radiation through a highspeed package. 

Ray Bingham, ED onsortium hairman and pre ident, explained, "Even 

though th electroni industry experinced the worst economi downturn in 

its hi LOry la t yea r, our cu tomer 

around the world continu d to in rease 

their inve unenLS in the d sign of electroni produc . That' becau produ L 

de ign t chnologi and ervice playa 

Cnlcial role in helping ompanie reat 

value, dilTerentiate their product offerings, and bring innovation to reality 

while accelerating time to market. " 

Indu§try of Specialtie§ 

The ED Consortium - an int mational, n n-profit 0 iation for companie d I loping d ign software and ervice that enable engineel LO creat the 

world' ele tronic produ LS - divide 

the 16- 'ear-old indu 1I inLO five main 

application segm -nts: omputer-Aided 

Engine ring ( ), Int grat d ircuit 

(I ) Layout, Printed ircuit Bard 

(P B) & Multi- hip Modul (M M) 

Tech Blier: ,June 2002 

Layout, en ices, and emiconductor Intellectual Property ( JP) Products & 

Tool. Working together, EDA providers 

structure packages to target a combination of pecific market and design subsegments. These compani s often provide highly specialized software tools 

and/ or sy tems that enable complex deign LO be realized. 

Electronic product are becoming 

more featme-rich and the number of 

tran i tors on an IC is grO\ving exponentially. This nece itate the highly pecialized, team-based environm nts that 

haracterize the de ign proce . 

Pamela Parrish, executive director of the 

ED Con ortium, pointed out, "The 

bottom line is that con umer demand 

for more 'gee wiz' featlll'e has increased 

the complexity of de igns. We no longer 

have one engineer de igning an ntire 

I ,for xample. A team consi Ling of engineer with differing experti e is 

needed LO create the de ign u ing pccialized EDA tool ." 

Ju t as a ingle engineer cannot provide all the n ce ary experti for mo t 

de ign projects, one software company 

cannot provide all the olution n ceary for every egment of d ign. Thus, a 

majority of ED A ofl\vare compani s create orne level of interoperability bel\veen their olution and tho of other 

companie. orne alliance are even 

branded through formalized partnership program. 

Align to De§ign 

onn ction program like adence's 

onnection · Program and Mentor's 

OpcnDoor are inherent to lh EDA indu try. After all, ED tand for el -

u'onic d ign automation and to do that 

require data flow and tran fer to and 

from variou tool, whether it i hardlvare or ofl\vare," added herry He , 

vice pre ident of marketing ~ r An oft 

orporation, a provider of simulation 

oftware and member of adenc Dtem ' Connecti ns program. 

noted that a major advantag 

programs i that th I' move 

duplicit from the d ign cle. th reb 

cr ating ignificant tim 

www.nasatech.cm 

ducing errors as ociated with manually 

handling data. 

A upplier of electronic hardware and 

software de ign solutions, Mentor 

Graphics' previously mentioned OpenDoor program consists of more than 95 

companies that develop and maintain 

commercial integrations ,vith MenLOr 

for design proces es including PCB layout and IC de ign. Mentor maintains relationship with An oft and Cadence 

through this program. 

Cadence, a supplier of EDA products 

and methodology/ de ign ervices for 

emiconductors, computer systems, networking/ telecommunication equipment, con umer electronics, and other 

electronics-based products, provide 

over 120 member of the Connection 

Program with acces LO software and application notes that enabl tool in teroperability with third-party oftware. 

Through the program, adence developed interoperability lvith everal An oft 

products. Trace from Cadence oftware 

uch as APD, a con traint-dliven layout 

environm nt for the ph) ical de ign of 

complex, high-den ity I package , and 

A sample screen from AWR's M icrowave 

Office 2002 during a MMIC design project. 

AllegroN

, a ph i al and electrical ontrdint-driven tern for the physical deign of multi-I a 'er P B , an b exp rted 

into An oft computational anal is tools 

uch as HF .. and Maxwell* pi eLink. 

Original I introduced in 1990, An oft 

HF .. provide 3D ele tromagneti 

(EM) imulalion for radio frequenc 

(RF), lvirel , pa kaging, and optoele -

tronic de ign. MalI.'w ll* picclink per27 
COl-I-A&OKAn. To /;../;../01./ An.-

Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) solutions 

reduce the complexities and restrictions linked 

to product manufacturing. How? By providing the 

framework and tools that foster a collaborative, 

integrated, end-to-end, process-centric environment. 

In short, PLM brings together the entire network of 

companies that conceptualize, design, manufacture 

and support a product to work together as one 

single entity. 

Improved collaboration leads to better end products. 

Promoting real-time data exchange between al l 

parties in the product manufacturing process 

helps define best practices and methodologies. 

So, rather than reinventing the wheel each time, your 

whole team gets to concentrate on manufacturing 

higher-quality, more innovative products. End 

result: reduced development costs, faster speed 

to market, maximized profitability and increased 

customer loyalty. 

Together, IBM and Dassault 

Systemes offer you leading PLM 3s 

solutions. IBM is the largest CATIA 

e-business solutions provider, with industry 

proven technologies and implementation skills. 

It provides the foundation and support for an 

unrivalled 3D PLM applications portfolio from 

Dassault Systemes, including CATIA, ENOVIA 

and SmarTeam . Companies worldwide have 

already integrated and streamlined their product 

management processes with the help of a PLM 

solution from IBM and Dassault Systemes. 

Discover how PLM solutions have helped other 

businesses like yours. 

6-0 To 1&1"'1 ,CO 1"'1 !.sOl-VTlo,v.s! PI-r1! W'lfy 
forms electromagnetic field simulation 

of 2D and arbitrary 3D structures. 

In April, Applied Wave Research 

(AWR) , developer of EDA oftware for 

wireles , high-speed wireline, and electro-optical applications, also joined the 

Cadence Connections Program. AWR 

plans to integrate their Microwave Office 2002 design suite, which con ists of 

an IC layout editor as well as harmonic 

balance and EM imulators, with Cadence's Analog Design Environment'·, 

an analog de ign automation solution 

for analog and RF-IC design, and SpectreRF, a full-chip RF-IC imulator for 

wireless communication designs. According to AWR, thi will give system-ona-chip ( oC) designers integrated IC deign and verification capabilities by 

combining their RF and microwave technology with Cadence' layout, simulation, and verification products. 

Ted Miracco, executive vice president 

of AWR, noted "The trends in the electronic indu try continue to be higher 

level of integration and reducing power 

con umption. EDA ompanie are trying 

to addre the e trends by providing better tool for imulating complete tern 

ANSYSj Multiphysics screen. A MEMS Optical grating shows structural deformation 

from residual atreu in materials. 

that will be either integrated into mixed 

ignal I or multi hip modul .n 

imulation software pro id r AN 

aloe tabli he trat gi allianc 

through th ir Enhanced olution Partner (E P) program, which encourage 

ftwar developel to use AN as a development platfotm for th ir application . MEM CAP, provider of M M 

ba ed olutions f r the d ign and 

manufacture of t I communication 

products, partn red with to develop an interface betw en MEM 

pr ducts and AN / Multiphysic "', 

whi h imulate complex th rmal/ mechanical, fluid/ tru tural and electro tatic/ u-uctural, and a number of coupledphy ics int raction . 

Software Round-Up 

Even outside th fram work of formal partner program, innovativ prodTech Bri ,JUIl 2002 

ucts offer varying degree of interoperability and valuable design capabilities 

for end u ers. 

ALGOR's Multiphysics technology, for 

example, operates seamlessly with most 

CAD solid modeler so that engineers 

can continue to use tool they already 

under tand. Easy set-up enables engineer to focus on the physics of a part or 

as embly instead ofleaming the process 

and terminology of a sp cill software 

package. For instance, the graphical 

u er interface allow engineers to link 

the re ults of one analysis to another by 

clicking on just a few options. 

Bob Williams, product manager at 

ALGOR, commented, "Several of 

ALGOR' recent multiphy ics enhancements are e pecially well- uited for the 

design, analysi, and optimization of 

electronic devices, although our FEA 

and Mechanical Event imulation oftware are u ed by engineer in a wide variety of industri ." Enhancements to 

multiphysic include the new Joule 

heating capability and the forced convection option. William noted that the 

Joule heating capability enable engineer to link re ults from electro tatic 

anal i and heat tran fer analysi in 

order to alculate the heat generated 

b a CUIT nt. E p cially uitable for analyzing ystems requiring fan or water 

for cooling, th forced convection option include fluid convection effects in 

heat tran fer analysis. 

Joind developed b Fluent, a provider 

of comm rcial computational fluid dynami (CFD) oftware and .-vice, and 

I EM CFD Engineering, a developer of 

oftware for pre- and po t-proce ing of 

engineering application , Icepak i an object-ba ed, thermal managem nt and 

compul r-aided anal i tool for el tron-

. Ie pak can int grat d with other 

and ED tools thanks to enhan ed 

and DXF 

Compani oft n focus on integrating 

th ir own products rather than, or in addition to, developing interop rability 

with external oftware offerings. For instance, Electronic Workbench, a developer of Windows·-based EDA tools, recently announced the integration of 

three of their own products. Thi integration creates a seamles design environment for the schematic capture, 

simulation, layout/routing, and computer-aided manufacture of PCB . The 

Professional and PowerPro Suites combine Electronic Workbench's Multisim 

(schematic capture and SPICE/VHDL/ 

Veri log HDL/RF simulation), Ultiboard 

(PCB layout), and Ultiroute (autoplaceThe latest version of Flomeric:tl' FLOPACK, v3.1 , generates instant, rBady-to-run thermal models for a ranga of IC packages. 

ment, autorouting, and manufacturing 

optimization) products. The PowerPro 

uite differs from the Profe ional uite 

by offering increased functionality in 

term of support for programmable 

logic (VHDL) , c~ imulation, RF de ign, 

and P B with up to 64 layers. 

imilarily, modeling oftware developer, Flomeri ,enabl parts created 

within their FLOP CK oftware, a Webbas d product for thermal modeling of 

IC package, to b imported directly into 

Flotherm, a thermal analy is oftware 

that analyze the cooling requirements 

of electronic components and t m . 

Electronics de ign i an increa ingly 

complex disciplin requiring not onI 

engineering experti e but al 0 P cialized oftware. Hence, the continu d ucce of the ED market, which upplie 

the e highly pecialized de ign environments with critical tool. inc one compan an rarely provide all of the tools 

needed for com pi x e1ectroni projects, interoperability characterize the 

majority of offering in the EDA and related oft\var markets. 

Get Connected to the Companies Featured in this Article: 

ALGOR, Inc ......................................................................... www.algor.com 

Ansoft Corp ..................................................................... www.ansoft.com 

ANSYS Inc ....................................................................... www.ansys.com 

Applied Wave Research .................................................. www.mwoffice.com 

Cadence Design Systems ................................................ www.cadence.com 

EDA Consortium .................................................................. www.edac.org 

Electronics Workbench ................................ www.electronicsworkbench.com 

Flomerics Ltd .......................... ..................................... www.f1omerics.com 

Fluent, Inc ......................................................................... www.fluent.com 

ICEM CFD Engineering .................................................... www.icemcfd.com 

MEMSCAP, S.A ........................................................... www.memscap.com 

Mentor Graphics Corp .............................. ....................... www.mentor.com 

www.nasalech.com 29 
NASA has chosen a Hollow Cathode 

Assembly and a Rotary Blood 

Pump as the top inventions of 

2001. Researchers at Johnson Space 

Center in Houston, TX, received the 

NASA Commercial Invention of the 

Year for the Rotary Blood Pump Ventricular Assist Device (VAD) . NASA's 

Government Invention of the Year 

Award went to a team from Glenn 

Research Center in Cleveland, OH, for 

developing both a Hollow Cathode 

As embly for the International Space 

Station Plasma Contactor and Hollow 

Cathode Technology for commercial 

purpo es. Although these innovations 

originated from ASA research centers, each has the ability to benefit a 

much wider range of industries. 

Rotary Blood Pump -

ventricular Assist Device (VAD) 

NASA's entry into blood pump technology began on a personal level. A 

ASA engineer uffering from congestive heart failure met with famed pioneer heart surgeon Dr. Michael DeBakey 

while receiving a heart transplant. As a 

result of their discussion, a team of 

NASA engineers and contractors was 

formed to apply the expertise gained in 

solving space exploration problems to 

benefit people with congestive heart failure. The partnership led to the development of the DeBakey Ventricular Assist 

Device (VAD), a small, lightweight, highspeed turbine pump that moves blood 

without damaging the delicate individual blood cells or allowing clotting of the 

blood - the two principle obstacles in 

blood pump technology. 

The VAD includes a tubular housing 

that has an externally mounted motor 

30 

5 

stator, an internally fixed flow straightener within its upstream section, and a 

diffuser fixed within its downstream section. The only moving part - a onepiece rotor that include an inducer portion and an impeller portion - is 

mounted on bearings between the flow 

straightener and the diffuser. Magnets 

embedded in the vanes of the impeller 

form the motor rotor of the pump. 

The blades of the flow straigh tener, inoperation, the turbine pump is powered 

by batteries and has an external patientoperated controller. 

The VAD is utilized in three distinct 

ways. Initially, it function as a "bridge to 

transplant" temporary device to help the 

patient survive while waiting for a suitable transplant organ to become available. A second application is as a "bridge 

to recovery." Surgeons have discovered 

that with some hearts, the assistance supducer, impeller, and diffuser are all optimized 

to function together to 

minimize blood hemolysis. Precisely haped 

entrance and outlet angles, and the transitions 

between them, contribute to the overall 

pumping efficiency, and 

enhance the blood-protecting character of the 

design. To prevent clotting of the blood in the 

low-flow-rate areas 

around the bearings, 

the bearing areas are 

configured to allow 

cross-linked blood to fill 

and seal those areas. 

A back electromotive 

force (EMF) integrated 

circuit regulates rotor 

operation and a microcomputer may be used 

The use of NASA computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling capabilities led 

to malar design Improvements In the original Ventricular Assist Device (VAD), 

which is pictured at the top. The improved version Is shown at the bottom. 

Adding an Inducer to the DeBakey device eliminated the dangerous baCk-flow of 

blood by increasing pressure and making flow more continuous. The device is 

subJected to the highest pressure around the blade lips, shown in pink. (Image 

courtesy of NASA/Celin Klris) 

to control one or more back EMF integrated circuits. 

The implanted device is applied externally of the heart and connected to it 

by cannula. It assists in the pumping of 

blood from the lower left ventricle of the 

ascending aorta rather than replacing 

the heart's natural pumping ability. In 

www.nasatech.com 

plied by the VAD is sufficient to allow 

the natural heart to repair itself, in 

which case the VAD can later be removed. The third anticipated application of the VAD would be as a permanent implant. 

The battery-operated pump - approximately 3 inches long, 1 inch in diASA Tech Briefs,June 2002 
ameter, and weighing less than four 

ounces - seems to be an answer to the 

decades-long quest to develop an implantable VAD. ASA, in keeping with 

its mission of transferring space-based 

technology to the private sector, granted 

exclusive rights to MicroMed Technology of Houston, TX. After extensive testing and clinical trials, the VAD became 

ommercially available last year. This 

contribution will continue to be an asset 

to health care as more VADs are 

made available to more recipients, 

and as applications broaden to include additional u es. 

The blood pump was developed 

in a joint effort by Bernard J. 

Rosenbaum, Gregory S. Aber, 

Richard J. Bozeman Jr., and James 

W. Akkerman of John on Space 

Center; Dochan Kwak and Cetin 

Kiris of Arne Research Cen ter in 

Moffett Field, CA; Dr. Michael DeBakey and George VanDamm of 

were able to increase hollow cathode 

lifetimes from about 500 hours to 28,000 

hours, enabling the use of Hall and ion 

propulsion current for use on ASA 

missions, including Deep Space 1, the 

ISS, and STS-92. 

The HCA is the primary component 

of the ISS Plasma Contactor System. It 

also mitigates spacecraft charging by 

emitting elecrron current from low-density plasma to the electrically "ground" 

~RCIAI. VERSION £_-..... --

between the hollow cathode and anode 

of the HCA. The resulting plasma is coupled to the spacecraft potential. When 

this plasma "sees" the ambient space 

plasma at a different potential, electrons 

stream between the two plasmas to equilibrate their potentials, controlling 

spacecraft charging in a self-regulating 

manner. 

The innovators developed this technology from a laboratory device to 

spaceflight-qualified hardware, and 

also manufactured the spaceflight 

hardware for the ISS. The hollow 

cathode technology developed during this program is al 0 used for 

electric space propulsion - such as 

ion and Hall thrusters u ed on commercial satellites and cientific 

spacecraft - and plasma sources [or 

materials proce ing. The hollow 

cathodes utilized by these devices 

are u ed either to create ion [or acceleration and/or neutralize an ion 

beam. 

Besides the uccessful operation on 

the Baylor College of Medicine; 

James Bacak of Lockheed-Martin; 

Robert Benkowski of MicroMed 

Technology; and Paul A. Svejkov ky 

of Boeing. 

For 111OT1! infal7TUl.tion, see the tech brief 

available at: www.nasatech.cam/ 

Briefs/ /Oct99/MSC22822.html 

The original NASA version and the commercial version 01 the plasmacontact hollow cathode assembly (HCA) are shown here. The commercial version preserves the technological heritage 01 the original NASA 

version, but can be mass-produced at lower cost. 

the I ,the hollow cathode assembHe were launched aboard T 92 

and Deep Space 1. On Deep pace I, 

the hollow cathode on the ion 

thru ter operated flawl Iy for over 

Hollow (athode Assembly 

for the ISS Plasma (ontador 

Re earchers at Glenn Re earch Center were awarded A's Government 

Invention of the Year for developing a 

mission-critical, elf-regulating Hollow 

Cathod embl (H ) that conrrols 

charging on the International pace tation (IS ). The inventors al 0 were recognized [or advancing hollow cathode 

t hnology. Michael J. Patterson, Timothy R. erhe and org oulas 

ISS to near-space plasma potential. Early 

te ting and prior flight experience indicated that the high voltage and expo ed 

conducting urface across the I ' 

olar arrays could cause the tation tructure to charge to a ignificant negative 

potential relative to the ambi nt pace 

plasma. ince the I truClure is electrically tied to the olar arra ,thi charging could lead to arcing, damaging critical pac craft urface . 

The H alleviate spacecraft charge 

build-up b emitting electron collected 

by the olar arrays. A di charge i ignited 

Seven other inventions were nominated in the 2001 competition: 

16,000 hour . 

AS has entered into ajoint effort 

with dvanced Refractory Technologie of Buffalo, NY, to develop a hollow 

cath de for u e a an electron ource 

in the production of diamond-like 

coating to replace thermionic filament cathode. Multiple units have 

been manufactured and te ted at 

ASA' Glenn Re earch Center and are 

under integration at the indu trial 

partn r ' manufacturing facilitie . 

For 1TW1'I! inJannatian, see the tech brief 

available at www.nasateell.cam/Briefs// 

FebOO/LEW16658.html. 

• Ames Research Center developed a method and system for an automated 

tool for en route traffic controllers. The innovation is an optimization algorithm that predicts flight path, minimizing time between points without possible collision. 

at Langley was a method and apparatus for the portable identification of 

material thickness of layers using a scanning heat source and infrared 

detector 

• A parallel-integrated frame synchronizer chip was manufactured at Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, MD, reducing the cost of workstations and the backlog of unprocessed science data from the Terra 

spacecraff. A computer-implemented empirical mode decomposition 

method, apparatus, and article for manufacture also were developed at 

Goddard, providing more efficient filtering of a signal from noise for 

non-linear, non-stationary data. 

• Langley Research Center in Hampton, VA, developed a high-temperature 

polyimide resin system - an environmentally friendly alternative to a 

common temperature matrix resin, offering use in applications requiring 

a high-temperature, lightweight, high-strength material. Also developed 

• From Glenn Research Center came silicon/mullite/BSAS environmental 

barrier coatings, providing long-term protection from attack by water 

vapor and molten salts in combustion environments. 

• An infector for liquid-fueled rocket engines was developed at Marshall 

Space Flight Center in Huntsville, AL The invention produces low stalic 

pressure variations in the flow passages, providing uniform propellant 

injection 

NASA's Government and Commercial Inventions of the Year are selected 

by NASA's General Counsel and the Inventions and Contributions Board 

(ICB). For detailed information on all the winners and nominees for 2001 , 

visit the ICB Web site at: http://icb.nasa.gov/IOY2001. 

Te h Brief] ,jlme 2002 www.nasalh.com 31 
!"",,--.;;:o-business Platform Helps NASA 

Streamline Financial Management 

mySAP.com e-busine s management platform 

SAP Public Senices 

Washington, DC 

888-727-1993 

www.sap.com/usa/publicservices 

To streamline NASA's business processes, the agency's 

Integrated Financial Management (IFM) Program utililed 

mySAP.com , an e-business platform designed to increase 

operational effectiveness. IFM is the organization aimed at 

imprO\'ing ASA's financial, physical. and human resources 

management processes. The IFM Program team ha 

conducted demonstration testing on relevant mySAP.com 

solutions, such as those designed for human resources, 

.Iliensioners Hold Shuttle Arm 

in Place During ISS Launch 

SuperboltS Multi-J ackbolt lensioners 

Superbolt 

Carnegie, PA 

800-345-BOLT 

www.superbolt.com 

Pal't of Canada's investment in Lhe InLemational Space 

Station (IS ) program is the Canadann2, an advanced version 

of the shuttle's robotic arm. Unlike the Oliginal Canadarm, 

which is mounted just outside a shuttle's payload bay, each end 

of Canadann2 has a hand that can grap an anchor on the I S. 

B" nipping end-over-end between anchor points. Canadarm2 

can move around tlle IS like an inchworm. To install the 

robotic ann for use on the ISS, uperbolt 1uItiJackboit tensioner were used on eight bolts to hold Canadann2 in place 

during launch. 

The tensioners are designed to replace conventional hex 

nllts, covered nuts, and bolts. They were chosen because they 

areimple to remove with hand tool and were able to achieve 

lIle bolt prcloads required for lIle launch. This is an important 

consideration in keeping space-walking astronauts safe and 

reducing the launch weight since no heavy tooling is required. 

Canadann2 was can'ied to lIle IS via the pace Shuttle 

Endeavour. Once in orbit, astronaub left tlle shuttle and 

budget planning formulation, and product lifecvcle 

management. 

Recently, NASA purchased an additional 12,600 licenses for 

lhe mySAP.com suite, doubling lIle number of users. SAP solutions will help meet the agency's user requirements for the 

remaining NASA IFM Program modules - specifically, budget 

planning and fOnTIulation; integrated asset managemelll 

including logistics, facilities, environmental and aircraft; and 

human resources and pa}Toll. 

"With the tightly integrated solutions of SAP, ASA will have 

consisten t cross-agellC) processes, informed by best pnlCtices, 

thal will allow us to access and a semble 'vital information 

quickly and effectively," said Mike Mann, program manager of 

j ASA's IFM Program. A combined team of ASA and SAP 

employees are implementing lIle platfoml at Marshall Space 

Flight Center in Alabama and will extend the system to tlle 

remaining centers upon completion. 

For Free Info Circle No. 71 1 or Visit www.nasat ech.comlsap 

removed the eight tensioners, allowing Candarm2 to be 

unfolded and positioned for installation. 

For Free Info Circle No. 712 or Visit www.nasatech.comlsuperbolt 

32 www.nasalech.com ASA Tech Briefs,June 2002 
M 

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............... Technology Focus: Data Acquisition 

• Remote Monitoring and Alarm System 

John F. Kennedy Space Center, Florida 

The Remote Monitoring and Alarm 

System (RMAS) is a system of electronic 

hardware and software for monitoring 

of fiber-optic video transmission equipment at Kennedy Space Center (KSC). 

The RMAS could also monitor other 

equipment that generates discrete contact closures and/ or analog voltages. 

The hardware includes multiple remote 

terminal units (RTUs) that are collocated with, and gather both discrete and 

analog information from, the monitored 

equipment, and convert this information to RS-232 data streams. The RTUs 

are connected via point-to-point longhaul modem circuits to a 9frport codeactivated switch (CAS), that, in turn, 

connects specific RTUs to a monitoring 

computer workstation. Polling software 

running on the workstation periodically 

gathers data from each RTU and stores 

the data for processing by network-management software, which also runs on 

the workstation. The network-management software analyzes the data to generate a graphical representation of the 

fiber-optic video transmission equipment, with indications of any alarm conditions. Each RTU contains custom 

firmware that govern communication 

with the polling software and that, upon 

command by a user, implements diagnostic routines. A Simple etwork Management Protocol agent links the 

polling software to the network-manager 

software via a custom management information base. 

This work was done by Philip Gvozd, 

Matthew Smisor, and William Toler of 

Kennedy Space Center and Chris Kerios, Robert Chiodini, Pamela K. Schmidt, 

and Robert Swindle of Dynacs, Inc. For 

further information, access the Technical 

Support Package (TSP) free on-line at 

www.nasatech.com/tsp under the Electronic 

Components and Systems category. 

KSC-12314 

• Failure-Reporting Device Concept for Spacecraft and 

Remote Vehicles 

Unlike aircraft "black boxes," these devices would transmit information to remote receivers. 

NASA s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California 

Failure-reporting devices somewhat similar to the "black box" data recorders on 

aircraft have been proposed. The e devices were conceived for use on spacecraft, 

but might also be useful on terrestrial autonomous underwater vessels or terrestrial 

remote exploratory robots. The concept 

was motivated by the need to learn from 

mission failures in order to make future 

missions more failure resistant 

Even more than aircraft "black 

boxes," the propo ed devices would be 

extremely rugged to survive re-entry into 

the atmosphere of the Earth as well as 

impacts substantially harder than those 

of airplane crashes. Unlike aircraft 

"black boxes," the proposed devices 

would not be designed to be retrieved: 

instead, they would be designed to transmit as much pertinent information as 

possible to enable analysis to identify 

specific causes of mission failures. 

The design of the proposed devices 

would follow a "spacecraft within a 

spacecraft" approach. The device would 

contain data-handling, telecommunication, power-supply, and structural subsystems. The primary interfaces between 

34 

this system and the pacecraft would be 

power connections and points of access 

to the spacecraft data bus and/ or the 

spacecraft telemetry-management ystern. The links between the failure-reporting device and the spacecraft would 

be subject to severance at any time. However, even while the spacecraft remained 

intact and functional with the device 

connected, the device would tran mit 

subcarrier beacon tones that would convey information on the status of the 

spacecraft during high-ri k maneuvers 

like entry, descent, and landing. 

Upon separation from the spacecraft, 

the device would stop drawing power 

from the spacecraft power supply and 

start drawing power from an internal 

battery. Once separated from the spacecraft, the device would automatically 

begin transmitting relevant data back to 

Earth ground stations and/ or nearby orbiting spacecraft. A flight-qualified data 

processor would run the software necessary to record channelized data, set the 

beacon state, and execute other functions like those of an aircraft "black 

box." The level of data processing would 

www.nasatech.com 

depend on the degree to which the data 

received by the device were summarized 

and otherwise preproce ed by the 

spacecraft data-processing ystem. The 

mo t important data would be stored 

(most likely in a solid-state memory) 

aboard the device for tran mi ion. 

The telecommunications and software 

sub ystem of the device would generate 

low-rate telemetry signal to transmit 

stored engineering data. If po ible 

within the processing constraints, ummarization software would transmit the 

mo t relevant sen or data recorded 

around the time of the failure. The subcarrier signals could be programmed to 

correspond to spacecraft failure modes 

and would provide orne indication of 

status in the event that acquisition of 

telemetry was not po ible. 

This work was done by E. Jay Wyatt and 

John Szijjarto of Caltech for NASA's J et 

Propulsion Laboratory. For further information, access the Technical Support Package 

(TSP)free on-line at www.nasatech.com/tsp 

under the Electronic Components and Systems 

category. 

NP0-20942 

A5A Tech Briefs,June 2002 
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For Free Info Circle No. 505 or Enter No. 505 at www.nasatech.comlrs 
Data Acquisition 

Program Uses Terrain-Image Data To Locate Safe Landing Site 

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California 

A computer program under continuing development strives to locate a safe 

landing site for a spacecraft through realtime processing of image data acquired 

by a video camera aimed at the terrain 

below while the pacecraft descends. The 

program might also be useful for aiding 

the selection of a landing site for an unpiloted helicopter or other unpiloted aircraft capable of slow vertical or nearly vertical descent. The program implements 

Data Is Cheap. 

two main algorithms: a texture-based 

landing-site-selection algorithm and a 

landing-site slope-estimation algorithm. 

The texture-based algorithm analyzes 

spatial variations in image brightness to 

identify candidate sites that are acceptably mooth and free of large rocks. The 

slope-estimation algorithm computes the 

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faster with lOl's powerful 

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environment. 

36 For Free Info Circle No. 525 or Enter No. 525 at www.nasatech.com/rs 

sitions along the descent trajectory. Because the slope is a very important factor 

for safe landing and for mobility of a robotic exploratory ground vehicle to be 

deployed from the spacecraft after landing, the slope-estimation algorithm includes an error-analysis subalgorithm. 

This program was written by Yang Cheng, 

Andrew Johnson, Larry Matthies, and Aron 

Wolf of Caltech for NASA's Jet Propulsion 

Laboratory. For further information, access 

the Technical Support Package (TSP) free 

on-line at www.nasatech.com/tsp under the 

Software category. 

This software is available for commercial 

licensing. Please contact Don Hart of the California Institute of Technology at (818) 393-

3425. Refer to NPO-30268. 

OMeasuring Sea 

Height and 

Roughness With 

GPS Reflections 

Dense and rapid coverage 

would enable new 

oceanographic applications. 

NASA s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 

Pasadena, California 

A proposed technique of bistatic 

radar altimetry would utilize information available in Global Positioning 

System (GPS) signals reflected from 

the ocean surface. The signals would 

be monitored by an airborne or 

space borne receiver and would be 

processed to determine the height, 

roughness, and possibly other properties of the urface. An important 

advantage of the proposed technique 

would be density and rapidity of coverage: Whereas a traditional nadirlooking radar altimeter gives the surface height at only one location 

below the altimeter, a receiver implementing the proposed technique 

could track about 10 GPS reflections 

simultaneously. Such dense coverage 

could translate to spatial and temporal resolutions greater than those 

previously achievable, and hence the 

ability to tudy ocean-topography features or processes beyond the reach 

of prior techniques. Potential applications could include monitoring of 

NASA Tech Briefs,June 2002 
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Data Acquisition 

eddies and tides and tracking of fast 

barotropic wave . 

The proposed technique i an extended version of the cross-correlation 

proce s used to extract time and position information from direct CPS signal . The exten ion to the reflected-signal case involve con ideration of 

numerous factors, including the field of 

view and pointing direction of the receiving antenna, the angle of scattering 

of each affected CPS signal, the direc-

,----- ------------ - - - ---------- -----------, tion of the plane of inci1.2 

1.0 

c: 

0 

U 

c: 0.8 :l 

u... 

c: 

0 

~ 0.6 

~ 0 

() 0.4 "0 

Q) 

> 

~ 

> 0.2 .;: 

Q) 

a 

0 

-0.2 

-1 .5 - 1.0 -0.5 0 0.5 1.0 

Delay Relative to That of a Specular Reflection, P-Code Chips 

1.5 

dence of the CPS signal relative to the velocity of the 

pacecraft or aircraft carrying the receiver, and the 

in tegration time of the rece iver. 

One function of particular importance for the 

mathematical foundation 

of the technique is the derivative of the correlatio n 

function (DCF) with respect to the model time 

delay. Thi function exhibits a sharp peak (see figure), the hape of which i 

affected in known way by 

the wind peed and by urface-roughne s stati tic. 

Hence, in principle, o n e 

should be able to extract 

important sea-state parameters from the DCF. These 

parameter are, pecifically, 

The Derivative of the Correlation Function with respect to delay time yields information on three sea-state parameters, as described in the text. The unit of delay time is one repetition period ("chip") of the GPS pseudonoise code 

- a period - 0.1 second. 

(1) the mean ea height 

(derived from knowledge of 

the location of the DCF 

38 

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peak relative to the model 

delay), (2) the ocean- urface wind 

(derived from the height of the DCF 

peak), and (3) the significant wave 

height (derived from the width of the 

DCF). 

The effects of the iono phere, troposphere, and clock error on the accuracy of the technique have been e timated, and an overall root-mean- quare 

value of range accuracy has been predicted a a function of ea state and antenna gain. It ha been found that when 

one average many measurements collected from a po ible constellation of 

receiver, the range error would be progre sively reduced as a function of 

pace and time, yielding predicted accuracies in estimated sea height with associated patial and temporal re olutions. Preliminary calculation indicate 

that sea-height accuracie of a few cm 

on patial cale of 100 km from meaurements averaged over four days 

could be achievable. 

The effect of wind speed and significant wave height on the received ignal 

has been examined by computational 

imulation for reali tic ranges of wind 

peed and wave heights. The bistatic 

geomeu), ha been found to make the 

sea-height measurements less en itive 

to wave heights than are the sea-height 

measurements of conventional nadirASA Te h Briefs,June 2002 
fr l11 'our 

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Data Acquisition 

viewing geometry. The electromagnetic 

bias of the scattered waveform has also 

been found to be reduced. The range 

accuracy versus receiving-antenna gain 

and scattering direction were also examined; it was found that at low elevation 

angle , both the scattering cross section 

and the coherence time are greater than 

tho e at nadir, re ulting in a potential 

decrease of the range error for a fixed 

antenna gain. Finally, the po sibility of 

tracking the phase of the GPS ignal at 

small elevation angles and the resulting 

improvement in the range-measurement 

accuracy has also been examined theoretically. 

This work was done by Cinzia Zuffada, 

George Hajj, and J Brooks Thomas of Caltech for NASA's J et Propulsion Laboratory. For further information, access the 

Technical Support Package (TSP) free on-line 

at www.nasatech.com/tsp under the Information ciences categmy. 

NPO-20943 

• Hybrid Electric-Field Sensor 

John F Kennedy Space Center, Florida 

The hybrid electric-field sensor 

(HEF ) has been proposed for measuring quasi-static electric fields - especially those as ociated with thunderstorm. The HEF would combine the 

relative compactness, low co t, and low 

power consumption of prior inductionprobe-type electric-field sensor with 

the higher sen itivity of the prior fieldmill-type electric-field ensors. The 

HEF de ign would utilize a choppingelectro tatic- hield feature of a field 

mill over two insulated antenna to 

overcome the finite time con tant and 

the poor upper frequency re pon e of 

the induction probe and the electric 

field mill, respectively. The HEFS 

would be modular in order to accommodate "smart" data-acquisition and 

communication ports for operation a 

a battery-powered, tand-alone unit. 

Optionally, the HEF could incorporate a barometer, thermometer, and hygrometer, so that it could erve a a 

portable meteorological station. A network of uch tation could tran mit 

digitized measurement data to a central monitoring tation. The e timated 

co t of an HEFS, including communication circuitry, i 1,000 (ba ed on 

prices as of year 2001). In contrast, a 

field mill co ts about 10,000. Moreover, unlike a field mill, an HEF 

would con ume little enough power 

that it could be powered by a olar 

power system backed by rechargeable 

batteri s. 

This work was done by Carlos T. Mata of 

Dynacs, Inc., for Kennedy Space Center. 

For further infonnation, access the Technical 

Support Package (TSP) free on-line at 

www.nasatech.com/tsp under the Electronic 

Components and Systems category. 

KSC-12317 

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40 For Free Info Circle No. 532 or Enter No. 532 at www.nasatech.com/rs Tech Briefs.June 2002 
PCI & CompactPCI 

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T raditional biology has centered on 

the tudy of a ingle gene, that i , 

the attempt to identify all the factors 

that regulate the activity level of a particular gene. This approach has been 

painstakingly slow, but very rewarding in 

terms of obtaining specific information 

about the gene being studied. With the 

announcement that the entire sequence 

of the human genome has been identified, the rush is on to utilize the vast 

amount of information now available. 

There are an e timated 80,000 to 

100,000 unique genes encoded within 

the human genome and in order to determine the various function of all of 

the e gene , cienti ts are actively developing methods to analyze many of 

them in parallel. This tack makes numerou new and interesting experiments possible, like identifying all the 

genes that are changed in re pon e to a 

biologically active molecule such a a 

hormone or a drug. 

While much of the early work in this 

area has relied on data-collection methods that employ erial scanning, new 

protocols based on digital imaging are 

now proving highly successful. Recent 

advances in electronics technology and 

new methods of high-volume manufacturing are making it possible for 

lla 

builder of microarray scanners to affordably integrate advanced CCD imager as components in their y tern . 

On a smaller scale, it i even pas ible 

for individual re earchers to u e currently available camera sy tern for microarray imaging experiments in their 

own laboratories. 

Measu:I'eanent of Gene 

Activity 

In order to measure a gene 's activity, 

cientists collect the me enger RNA 

(mRNA) , which carries information 

from the gene in the nucleus to the cytoplasm, where it is usually translated 

into a protein product. When the RNA 

from a cell population or tissue is collected, this preparation i typically converted into copy DNA (cD A) and then 

amplified with the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). A sample of the amplified 

cDNA product can be labeled with fluorescent tags to allow that population to 

be identified. 

Typically, the researcher u es two 

populations of cells: one representing 

the control and one representing the 

experimental treatment. As an example, a cultured cell line's response to 

in ulin can be mea ured by preparing 

two cell populations: one trealed with 

www.ptbmagazine.com 

insulin and one mock treated. The 

RNA from the in ulin-treated cells can 

be labeled with Fluor 1 (green color) 

and the RNA from the control cell can 

be labeled with Fluor 2 (red color). 

These probe can then be used to interrogate a microarray of immobilized 

D A targets on a gla surface, where 

each (x,y) coordinate represents a 

known DNA equence. 

When the green and red probe are 

hybridized to tlle array, the compo ite 

color is a measure of the gene activity 

ratio. A green color would indicate a 

gene that i on Witll insulin treatment 

and off when insulin is absent. A red 

color would indicate a gene that i on 

when insulin is absent and off with insulin treatment. A yellow color would indicate a gene that does not change significantly with in ulin treatment. 

Basic Analytical 

App:I'oaches 

Once the array have been hybridized 

and washed under the appropriate tringency condition , the user needs to read 

the arrays at two different wavelengths of 

interest. The wavelength used are u ually in the red region of the spectrum to 

reduce auto-fluore cence from the system. The most commonly used label for 

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Photonics Tech Briefs 

microarray experiments are Cy3 and 

Cy5, depicted as green and red, respectively. Two basic approaches can be utilized to measure these signals: serial 

scanning or imaging. 

In the serial scanning approach, a 

confocal fluorescent scanning device 

collects data serially using a common optical pathway for delivering the excitation beam and for collecting the emission beam. The fluorescent signal is 

measured by a photomultiplier tube and 

digitized to generate the output intensity at each spot on the microarray. Mter 

the first fluorescent channel has been 

measured, the optics are switched and 

the second channel is then measured. 

In the imaging approach, a wide-field 

illumination scheme is utilized to 

achieve parallel excitation on most or all 

of the microarray. Similarly, the imaging 

of the whole array then occurs in parallel with an exposure time chosen to obtain the be t signal-to-noise in the data. 

A camera digitizes the data and all of the 

digital data is delivered to the computer 

in an image format. For the second 

wavelength, the optics will need to be 

changed and another exposure taken. 

Scanning Vs. lanaging 

So which is the better method for analyzing this kind of data? Right now, 

the majority of the microarray canners 

on the market employ the serial scanning approach. This is due to the simplicity of design of a system that uses a 

laser for illumination coupled with a 

PMT for a detector. In terms of performance, however, there are distinct 

advantages to moving to an imagingbased approach. 

For example, in selecting laser lines 

for illwnination in serial scanners, the 

fluore cent probes become confined to 

tho e whose excitation pectrum is sufficiently overlapped with the laser line to 

be useful. In the imaging approach, 

broadband emitters like xenon (Xe) or 

mercury (Hg) can be used to generate 

an almost continuous usable spectrum 

of illumination light. 

Furthermore, by using a CCD-type detector to measure the fluorescence signals, an imaging device can achieve quantum efficiencies on the order of 90% -

versus the 15-20% QE obtainable with a 

PMT-type device. This difference translates into a sensitivity advantage of up to 

sixfold I The CCDs can also be run with 

very low-noise analog electronics to 

achieve a readout noise lower than 4 erms, whereas the PMTs can have noise 

terms that are significantly higher. 

Another key advantage of the imaging-based approach is the highly paral2a 

Microarray image showing typical differences in gene expression levels. Image courtesy 

of Roper Scientific, Inc. 

leI nature of the data collection. If the 

user needs to collect 5,000 data points 

in one experiment and 20,000 in another, the scanning approach will require four times longer for the second 

experiment than the first. In an optimized imaging experiment, both measurements will be under identical exposure conditions and so the time will be 

equal. As the number of elements in an 

array increases, the advantage of imaging over serial scanning becomes more 

pronounced. 

Conversely, one of the arguments in 

favor of serial scanners over imaging 

devices is the former's ability to achieve 

a larger number of effective pixels. This 

ability is u eful for the currently accepted standard of mea uring each 100-

micron D A spot with a 10 x 10-pixel 

array, a practice tllat yields 70-80 (on average) individual valid measurements 

within the circular spot. The rationale 

for obtaining this highly oversampled 

data is that it enable the interpreting 

software to derive detailed statistics on 

the variation from spot to spot a well as 

to use tllis information to qualify the 

quality of the data in the spot. While 

this method does indeed give me software a good idea of the uniformity of 

www.ptbmagazine.com 

the distribution of the ignal across the 

spot, it really does not add res the core 

issue of whether or not the data is useful or quantitative. 

In all biology, the standard manner to 

ensure me usefulness or validity of the 

data is the replicate method. Every biochemical as ay is done in at least triplicate. Every plate-based as ay i done in at 

least duplicate. The variation across 

replicate or triplicates is defined by the 

coefficient of variation; thi number 

places a boundary on me usefulness of 

the data. The same principle should be 

applied in the microarray field, that is, 

all spots should be represented at least 

twice on each microarray and these 

spots should not be in the same region 

of the array. This approach eliminates 

tlle need for the high level of oversampiing employed with serial scanning. 

Under these conditions, the finite number of pixels on the CCD is no longer a 

limiting factor. 

This article was written I7y Mark Christenson, Ph.D., Senior Scientist, andJeffGrant, Senior Technical Writer, a.t lWper Scientifu, Inc. 

The autlwrs can be reached at mchristenson@ 

rojJerscientific. com and jgra.nt@roperscientific. 

com. Learn more about Roper Scientific at 

www.roperscientific.com. 

Photonics Tech Bl;efs,jwle 2002 
That's right •.. pick the color of laser light you need. We make it easy for you by 

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Photonics Tech Briefs 

Product Guide: 

Utilized in a variety of industries and applications, Raman 

pectroscopy is a technique that continue to gain in popuJaJ.ity. The evolution of enabling technologie such as laser 

diodes and detectors combined with minimal need for sample 

preparation has contributed to this acceptance. 

the two function into one device. It also offers advantages. 

Raman analysis allows measurements to be made through 

transparent structures such as glass vials or by u ing fiberoptic probes. Raman also simplifies the analysis of aqueous 

By shining a laser on a sample and detecting the scattered 

light, Raman spectrometers allow for qualitative aJ.ld qUaJ.ltitative 

analysis of materials. Applications exist in semiconductor, pharmaceutical, quality control, aJ.ld research industries, for example. 

ample by eliminating the need for special preparation and 

accessories. 

Arranged alphabetically by company, the featured products are representative of available offerings and may not include all of the Raman technologies manufactured by each 

company. Additional information should be obtained directly from the manufacturer. 

Raman spectro copy is complementary to infrared absorption spectroscopy - some instruments even combine 

ABB BOMEM INC. 

Quebec, Canada 

www.bomem.com 

MB157S: Combined FT-IRI 

FT-Raman 

Spectral Range: 12,000 - 450 cm' 

Raman Range: 150 cm' - 3,500 cm' 

Laser: 1,064 nm YAG laser 

Detector: MlR- IR DTGS/ FT-Raman 

Dimensions: 20" x 22.25" x 12" 

Features: Used for combined IT-IR/ 

FT-Raman applications, especially to 

minimize fluorescence problem , the 

MB157S includes Windows'"-based data 

proce sing and analysis oftware aJ.ld the 

Arid-Zone~ sample compartment for 

rapid purge and easy sample loading. 

ACTON RESEARCH 

Acton, MA 

www.acton-research.com 

SpectraPro· 300i: Imaging 

Monochromator/Spectrograph 

Focal Length: 300 mm 

Resolution: 0.1 nm @ 435.8 nm, 

IOl1m lits 

Detector: CCD 

Dimensions: 13.25" x 10" x 8", 35 Ibs. 

Features: Suitable for Raman, fluorescence, emi sion, and absorption/ trans4a 

mISSIOn applications, the SpectraPro 

300i is an f/ 4-aperture, triple-grating 

monochromator and spectrograph featuring dual exit ports, a 14 x 27 mm focal 

plaJ.le, and an imaging optical system designed for multi-channel CCD spectroscopy. Also available is the SpectraPro 

500i with a focal length of 500 mm, an 

f/ 6.5-aperture, and re olution of 0.05 

nm @ 435.8 nm. 

InSpectrum'": Integrated CCO 

Spectrometer 

Nominal Resolution: better than 3 

pixels over 6rnm height @ 435 nrn 

(1200 g/ mm grating) 

Detector: CCD 

Dimensions: 297 x 492 x 211 mm 

Features: Tills spectro copy system incorporate a research-grade, thennoelectrically cooled CCD detector inside a 300-

mm f/ 4 imaging spectrograph in a 

compact and rugged package. A single 

USB cable interfaces any desktop or 

portable computer running Windows· 

98/ 2000. Acton Research SpectraSense'" 

software provides full conu-ol of automated feature , real-time spectral proce sing, and on-the-f1y chemomeuics. 

OEM & 150 mm versions are available. 

BRUKER OPTICS 

Billerica, MA 

www.brukeroptics.com 

RFS 100/5: Stand-Alone 

FT-Raman 

Spectral Range: 3,600 - 70 cm' 

Laser: diode-pumped Nd:YAG 

Detector: InGaAs or Ge 

Features: The RFS 100/ s laser ource is 

controlled completely through software. 

Solid, liquid, and gaseous samples are 

measured in the large sample compartment using a variety of included sample 

holders. Equipped with a broad-range 

quartz beamsplitter, the patented frictionless interferometer with ROCKSOLID~ alignment provides high sensiwww.ptbmagazine.com 

tivity and stability. Options include a 

second excitation laser port and t\vo 

fiber-optic coupling ports for the 

RAMANSCOPE'" and Ramprobe. 

FRA 106/5: OuallR-Raman 

The components used in the FRA106/ S 

are identical to those in the RFS 100/ S 

(see previous listing) . This IT-Raman 

module is suitable for users requiring 

both IR and Raman capabilities. The 

FRA 106/ S can be attached to several of 

Bruker' IT-JR spectrometer providing 

a IT-IR/ IT-Raman solution. 

INPHOTONICS 

Norwood, MA 

www.inphotonics.com 

RS2000: High Resolution 

Raman 

Spectral Resolution/Range: 1 cm-' 

from 200 - 3,500 cm' 

Laser: 50mW, 532 nm 1 d:YAG or 

300m W, 785 nm diode laser 

Detector: 3-stage TE-cooled CCD array 

Dimensions: 26" x 16" x 8",55 lbs. 

Features: The RS2000's lens-based optics 

are matched to a fiber-optic input, providing 1: 1 imaging at the focal plane and 

eliminating the need for entrance slits. 

The RS2000 includes InPhotonic ' data 

acquisition package and GRAMS/ 32- manipuJation software operating on a standard PC data tation. 

InPhotote'" : Portable Raman 

Spectral Resolution/Range: 4-6 cm-' 

from 200 - 1,800 cm-' 

Photonics Tech Briefs,June 2002 
A little small talk about 

micro displays. 

Micro Display Coatings for every industry. 

Optical Coatings. From head mounted displays, to projectors and HDTVs, 

ZC&R coatings are nothing short of brilliant. We understand the need for 

precision quality and the importance it can play in the performance of 

your display products. From AR to ITO, our quality will have a big impact 

on your micro displays. Call us at 800-426-2864 or visit our web site to 

see all we can offer. Quality coatings for micro diplays. It's not a small 

matter to us. 

--------

zcrcoatings.com 

ISO 9002 • AS 9000 

Registered 

1401 Abalone Ave. /Torrance, CA 90501 /310-381-3060/800-426-2864/ FAX: 310-782-9951 

e-mail: info@zcrcoatings.com / www.zcrcoatings.com 

For Free Info Cirde No. 469 or Visit www.nasatech.com/469 
Custom. Uniform, 

Super Compact 

LED Lighting 

S

tockerYale excels at customizing 

compact, lightweight. LED illumination 

modules. Ideal for OEM applications with 

space or weight limitations. our chip-onboard technology allows for much denser 

packing of LEDs. This creates a more 

uniform image for your CCO setup 

when illuminating a highly reflective 

surface. We will design and manufacture 

a complete LED illumination solution for 

you. Applications include wafer, ball grid 

array, and metallized contact inspection. 

Many configurations available. 

AREA LIGHT 

StockerYale 

Sill/ply brillioNt id,os~ 

Visit us at MD a M, booth 12659 

StockerYale Canada Inc. 

275 Kesmark 

Montreal, Quebec 

H9B 3J 1 Canada 

T: (514) 685-1005 F: (514) 685-3307 

1-800-814-9552 

www.stockeryale.com/lED 

lasers@stockeryale.com 

Copyright c 2002 5tcrlerYale: 1nc. 

All righl>rtS<Md 

For Free Info Circle No. 401 or Enter No. 401 at www.nasatech.com/rs 

Photonics Tech Briefs 

laser: 300m W, 785 nm diode laser 

Detector: 2-stage TE-cooled CCD 

Dimensions: 16" x 10" x 9",20 lb . 

Features: Optical components can withtand elevated ambient temperatures and 

are shock-mounted in a mgged, water-reistant case. Most sample can be meaured through packaging materials (i.e. 

glass and plastic) with the RamanProbe. 

The system runs InPhotote acquisition 

software and GRAMS/32· manipulation 

oftware operating under Windows XP on 

an ultra-light notebook computer. 

MCPHERSON, INC. 

Chelmsford, MA 

www.mcphersoninc.com 

207127505: Raman System 

laser Source: selected to suit 

Spectral Range: 185 nm to MWIR 

Resolution: 0.007 nm to several nm 

Detector: CCD 

Features: Fast aperture ratio (f! 4.7) 

provides excellent olid angle of collection and throughput. Triple monochromator filtering provide rejection of 

Raleigh scatter. Triple-stage in truments 

include the fl 4.7 Model 207 pectrometer in combination with the f/ 4.5 Model 

275 Double-Subtractive filter stage. 

pecify the 2 m focal length Model 2062 

for spectral re olution to 0.01 nm in the 

Vi ible and IR. Instruments may be 

combined for double or triple tages as 

required by rejection requirements. 

OCEAN OPTICS, INC. 

Dunedin, FL 

www.oceanoptics.com 

R-2001 : Integrated Raman 

Spectral Range: -200-2,700 cml 

laser: 500 mW, solid tate 785 nm 

diode laser 

Detector: CCD 

Features: This all-in-one system delivers 

detailed pectral analysis of aqueous 

www.ptbmagazine.com 

olution , gel , powders, coatings, and 

surface media. The R-2001 eries of 

spectrometers include a CCD-array 

spectrometer, an analog-to-digital converter, and 32-bit Windows operating 

software. The R-2001-G25 has a spectral 

range of -200-4,000 cm' and a 25m W, 

solid state 532 nm diode laser source. 

The R-2001-G50 has a spectral range of 

-200-4,000 cm' and a 50mW, solid state 

532 nm diode laser ource. 

RSL-1: Portable Raman 

Weight: 15 Ibs. 

The RSlr1 includes the standard Raman 

System components, as well as a probe or 

sample chamber, embedded computer, 

power supply, and optional customized, 

factory-installed calibration library. The 

unit provides users with a complete at-site 

Raman analyzer for chemical and pharmaceutical analysis. 

THERMO NICOLET 

Waltham, MA 

www.thermonicolet.com 

FT- Raman 960 

Spectral Range: 3,600-100 cml Stokes, 

300-2,000 anti-Stoke 

Spectral Resolution: better than 0.8 cm' 

Laser Source: d: W04 l.064 \lm 

Detector: Ge or InGaAs 

Features: Thi dedicated system for 

optimized IT-Raman pectro copy feature gold-coated optic , an external 

laser option , and a dynamically 

aligned, frictionle s flex-bearing interferometer with aF2 beam splitter. 

OM IC· software and Raman pectral 

librarie included. 

Almega'· Dispersive Raman 

Spectral Range: 400 - 1,050 nm 

Spectral Resolution: 2 cm·' 

laser Source: 785, 633, or 532 nm 

Dimensions: 58 x 72 x 58 cm, 295 Ib . 

Features: Thi Raman spectrometer integrate micro copy and a full-size ample compartment into a single, enclosed automated system. OM IC· 

oftware and Raman pectral librarie 

provide an integrated, Window · compatible interface for y tern control and 

data analysis. Sampling applications include semiconductor, pharmaceutical 

and polymers. 

Photonics Tech Briefs,June 2002 
Hurricane i. 

The Ultrafast Industrial Machine. 

The Spectra-Physics Hurricane is still the only one-box source of amplified ultrafast laser pulses 

based entirely on field-proven solid state technology. But now you have a choice. That's because we've just 

introduced the new Hurricane i, an industrial laser designed to meet the rugged requirements of tough 

applications such as materials processing. Based on a completely modular design, the Hurricane i 

combines state-of-the-art performance with new levels of reliability, output stability and ease-of-service. 

And like other Hurricane lasers, this new industrial version offers both high repetition rates (up to 5 kHz) 

and short pulse duration «130 fsec). 

From scientific research to precision materials processing, most applications for amplified ultrafast 

pulses are extremely demanding. That's why Spectra-Physics developed hands-free Hurricane one-box 

amplifiers. We've focused in ide the box, so you can think outside the box-on your application. 

Call1-800-SPL-LASER (775-5273) today to find out how Hurricane lasers can work for you. 

§). Spectra-Physics 

The Solid State Laser CompanyN 

Call : 1-800-SPL-LASER (775-5273) Web: http://www. pectra-physics.com E-mail : sales@plaers.com 

C 2002 pectra.Physics Lasers 

For Free Info Clrde No. 404 or Enter No. 404 at www.nasatech.com/rs 
Miniature _ ... .,._, 

Portable SpectroRadiometers 

Measure power and color of light and a lor more ... 

Display absolute spectral power curves 

'A. watts, lumens, footcandles, mole, cd, 

xy chromaticity, dominant wavelength, 

and color purity. UV abc level monitor. 

NIST traceable calibration 200-110Onm 

Also performs as a fiber optic SpectroPhotometer 

Measure CIELAB color reflectance & 

transmittance curves, concentntion of 

chemicals using absorbance methods. 

SpectraWiz®Software 

FI·N' Will9x/NT/IIO Prognlm .. Ii: Drhers 

EPP2000 Portable 

Parallel printer interface 

Plug & play via IEEE-1284 

High Res. Models 

www.stellarnet-inc.com 

13801 McCormick Drive 

Tampa, FL 33626 USA 

813-855-8687 / 813-855-22 79 fax 

For Free Info Circle No. 498 or 

Visit www.nasatech.com/498 

Technologies 

of the Month 

Sponsored fry yet"i;com 

For more information on these and other new, 

licensable inventions, visit www.nasatech.com/ techsearch 

Reactive Pulse Shaper for 

Inductive Transmitters 

Robert Bosch GmbH 

Schmitt-triggers provide a means of 

processing an alternating voltage into 

rectangular current pulses, which can 

then be counted; however, the stable 

hysteresis of the Schmitt-trigger (i.e. it 

is either "on" or "off") reduces sensitivity to interferences that extend beyond 

its hy teresis thre hold. This causes the 

generation of erroneou pul es and 

consequently errors in mea urement. 

Robert Bosch GmbH's reactive pulse 

haper - a Schmitt-trigger and a peak 

value detector connected to the output 

of an inductive tran mitter - overcomes this limitation by defining the 

thre hold of the Schmitt-trigger with 

respect to the peak value thereby reducing sensitivity to spurious interference, which enhances the accuracy of 

the inductive transmitter. 

This device has been fully developed 

and has been incorporated in automotive engine management systems. 

Other applications may require further 

development. Applications and potential advantages exist for shaft angle 

mea urement in gas turbines, valve 

control in rotary and reciprocating 

pumps, and precise control of drives in 

rolling mills. 

For more information go to: 

www.nasatech.com/techsearch/tow/ 

pulse.html 

email: nasatech@yet2.com; 

phone:617-557-3837 

www.ptbmagazine.com 

Fiber-Optic Security 

System Technology 

Based on Optical Fiber Speckle Pattem 

recognition, this security system technology employs optical fibers, which are thin, 

light, flexible and immune to electromagnetic interference, as sen ors. The system 

is based on the transmission of a laser 

beam in a fiber-optic cable. Any movement of the cable can be adjusted to set-off 

the alarm. The signal-ta-noise ratio can be 

adjusted to remove undesired types of 

alarm biggers (i.e. external vibration 

caused by wind, rain, and small animals). 

This security monitoring system teclmology is especially suitable for controlling 

large and long components such as COlJ11try 

borders. When applied under road cable, 

it can be used to monitor traffic count. 

For more information go to: 

www.nasatedl.com/techsearch/t()w/ 

security. hbnl 

emaiL· nasatech@yet2.rom; 

phone:617-557-3837 

Iron-Base, Wear-Resistant 

Alloys 

OREM is an alloy that protects 

critical components from wear and corrosion damage in challenging environments. NOREM products and deposition 

procedures - using various conventional 

joining techniques - have been developed to facilitate coating operation . For 

example, OREM can be welded onto a 

number of carbon and stainless steel subtrates with little or no preheating. 

Specifications for various OREM 

products (powder, rod, wire, and strip) 

have been developed. Procedures for applying the alloy using conventional welding techniques (plasma transfelTed arc 

welding, gas tungsten arc welding, gas 

metal arc welding, and shielded metal arc 

welding) are also available. OREM has 

already been used as a hardfacing alloy in 

new or replacement valves for nuclear 

power plants in the field to perform in 

situ repair of valves. 

For nwre infomzation go to: 

www.nasatech.com/techsearch/tow/ 

alluys.html 

email: nasatech@Yet2.rom; 

phone:617-557-3837 

Photonics Tech Bliefs,June 2002 
You can also view yet2.com's Tech of the Week by logging onto nasatechbrlefs.com 
Photonics Tech Briefs 

Microcavity Device for Measuring Direction of a Laser Beacon 

Angular resolution could be as rme as tens of nanoradians. 

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California 

An optoelectronic device based on interferometry in a resonant microcavity 

has been proposed for use in measuring 

the direction of arrival of a circularly polarized beam of light from a beacon laser. 

In comparison with prior optoelectronic 

direction sensors, the proposed device 

would be simple, compact, and lightweight, in that it would contain no moving parts and no imaging optics and could 

be fabricated from semiconductor crystals. Moreover, it should be possible to integrate readout electronic circuits directly 

onto the device; these circuits would perform all needed intermediate signal processing to generate electrical output indicative of the angle of incidence of the 

laser beam on the device. In one potential 

application, the beacon would be located 

at one end of a free-space optical-<:ommunication link and would be used as a target for aiming a transmitting tele cope located at the other end of the link. In 

another potential application, the beacon 

could be used similarly as a target for meauring angle precisely in land surveying. 

The device, denoted an optical pointer 

on a chip (OPOC) , would be divided into 

four quadrants, each of which would contain a wave plate in series with a blazed 

tran mis ion-type diffraction grating, a 

Fabry-Perot etalon serving as a resonator, 

and a photodetector (see figure) . Each 

wave plate would transform the circular 

polarization of the laser beam into the linear polarization optimum for the blaze of 

the grating in its quadrant A complete explanation of the principle of operation 

would entail a great deal of mathematical 

derivation and, as such, would greatly exceed the space available for this article. In 

summary: 

• The device would exploit the sharp dependence of the transmissivity of a 

Fabry-Perot resonator on the internal 

angle (~) of refraction or diffraction. 

• The spatial period of the diffraction 

grating would be chosen so that normally incident light would be diffracted 

to a desired order inside the resonator 

at a desired angle ~. 

• The blazes in the opposite quadrants of 

the grating would oppose each other in 

such a manner as to select opposite diffraction orders (e.g., the +jth and the 

-jth) in opposite quadrants. 

• The net result of the aforementioned 

features is that the currents generated 

in the photodetectors in opposite 

quadrants would respond antisymmetrically to a deviation of the laser beam 

lOa 

Angle of Incidence in x-z Plane 

\ 

Circularly __ 

Polarized Beam 

nl 

OuadrantA 

: 1/4-Wave Plate 

OuadrantC 

3/4-Wave Plate 

Blazed DiffractiOp L-_!-______ -'-________ ___' 

Grating n2 

Indices of V "-

Refraction of ~ • n3 L Fabry-Perot "'" Mirror 

Indicated Layer '" Etalon /Layers 

n4 L--+ ____ ~ ____ ~L_ ____________ ___' 

A 

t 

Blaze 

C 

Blaze 

-- y 

t 

SIDE VIEW 

-Blaze 

B 

Blaze 

t 

----..x 

D 

'1 ~----------~~+~~ 

~ Discriminator if---...... 1-------I1 Output 

,

...-------, Enable (Angle of Incidence in 

Clock z-A-D Plane Proportional to Threshold Bias §] 

I", -10 1 

I", + 10 

TOP VIEW WITH READOUT CIRCUITRY 

This Optical Pointer on a Chip would contain several well-known optical components in a unique 

combination such that the currents generated in the photodetectors in opposite quadrants would respond antisymmetrically to a deviation of the laser beam from normal incidence. 

from normal incidence. To a first-order 

approximation for an angle that is a 

small fraction of a radian, the angle of 

incidence in a plane containing the 

outer corners of quadrants A and D 

would be proportional to 

where IA and 10 are the photodetector 

currents for quadrants A and D, respectively. Similarly, the angle of incidence in 

the plane containing the comers of quadwww.ptbmagazine.com 

rants B and C would be proportional to 

Several design parameters [e.g., the 

thickness of the Fabry-Perot etalon, , the 

reflectivity (preferably close to 1) of the 

mirror layers on the etalon, the laser wavelength, the indices of refraction of the device materials] affect the factor of proportionality and other aspects of the angular 

response of the device. It has been estimated that resolution of the order of tens 

Photonics Tech Briefs,June 2002 
of nanoradian could be obtained by uitable choice of design parameters and execution of design by mass-production 

techniques now in use in the semiconductor industry. 

This wark was dcne by John Sandusky of 

Caltech for NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. For further information, access the Technical Suppart Packaf5r! (TSP) free on-line at 

www.nasatech.rom/ tsjJ under the Electronic 

Components and IJstems categary. 

In accordance with Puhlic Law 96-517, the 

contractor has elected to retain title to this invention. Inquiries concerning rights for its COT/lmercial use should be addressed to Intellectual 

Property group, ]PL, Mail Stop 202-233, 4800 

Oak GroveDrive, Pasadena, CA 91109, (818) 

354-2240. Refer to NP0-21117, volume and 

number of this ASA Tech Briefs issue, and 

the paf5r! number. 

Fabricating Sapphire Optical Fibers for High-Temperature Use 

Polycrystalline cladding layers are formed on sapphire cores. 

John H. Glenn Research Center, Cleveland, Ohio 

A process for the fabrication of coated 

sapphire multimode optical fibers has 

been developed. apphire multimode optical fibers are uitable for use as embedded ensors for measuring mechanical 

and thermal stre es and trains in material pecimens at temperatures up to abollt 

1,500 °C. 

The core of each optical fiber of thi 

type i made of optical-grade ingle-crystal apphire (which is basically an allotrope of alumina). The sapphire core 

is clad with a layer that has an index of 

refraction mailer than that of apphire, 

in order to confine propagating optical 

ignal predominantly in the core and 

limit attenuation at the surface of the 

core. The cladding material preferred 

for themlal durability and for chemical 

compatibility with the core i polycrytalline alumina; however, one or more 

other optical material (e.g., i02, MgO, 

AI i,oJ could be used for cladding. 

Th cladding hould be at least a few 

ten of micron thick, the exact requir d 

thickne depending on the optical 

properties needed for a pecific application. The cladding i coated with an 

outer protective layer of iC, Zr02, 

Ta20 5 Hf02, or other trong, high-temperature-re i tant material. 

and the fiber is allowed to stand out of 

the uspension for another 24 hours, 

during which time the monomer polymerize . All of the foregoing teps take 

place at room temperature. 

4. The coated fib r is heated to a temperature of 600 °C to remove the polymeric binder, leaving the alumina particle in place. 

5. The coated fiber i heated further to a 

temperature between 1,300 and 1,500 

°C for a time between 10 and 60 minute , in order to inter the alumina particle around the sapphire core. The 

prec' e temperature- .-time sintering 

ch dule is cho en to uit the intended 

application. 

6. tep 2 through 5 are repeated, as 

needed, in order to accumulate 

cladding sublayer to the required 

cladding-layer thickness. 

7. A uspension of particles of tlle protective material is prepared as in tep 2, 

then applied to the fiber and con olidated as in steps 3 tllfough 5. 

This wark was done by Don J. Rnth of Glenn 

Research Center and MahTllOud A. ElSherif, Ihab L. KaTTU!~ and Frank K Ko of 

Drexel nivmity. For further information, access the Technical Suppart Package (TSP) free 

on-line at www.nasatech.com/tsp under the 

Materials category. 

Inquiries concerning rights for the commercial use of this invention should be addressed to 

NASA Glenn Research Center, Commercial 

Technology Office, Attn: Steve Fedor, Mail top 

4-8, 21000 Brookpark Rood, Cleveland, Ohio 

44135. Refer to LEW-17054. 

loop applications _ • Extremely accurate 

The technique u ed to apply the 

cladding and protective layers are critical 

to the ucce of the fabrication proce . 

The technique and the fabrication equence are cho en to en ure adhe ion between adjacent layers. Although the 

pro e admits of a number of variations, 

th following tep are typical: 4x4mm 

1. The urfac of a apphire optical fiber 

i prepared by cleaning in hydrochloric 

acid follow d by rin ing in di tilled 

wat r. 

2. Alumina parti I no larg r than about 

20 nm ar u p nded in a uitable 

monomer (e.g., acrylic acid) and a suitabl a celerator and initiator are added 

to the uspen ion. 

3. Th fiber is immersed in th u p nion for about half an hour to allow a 

thin ubla er of polym r and alumina 

parti Ie to b gin t form n its urfa , 

Pholoni Tech Bri E ,June 2002 For Free Info Circle No. 402 or Enter No. 402 at www.nasatech.com/rs lla 
Photonics Tech Briefs 

Etching Mirror Facets on SOl Optical Waveguides 

Surfaces of high optical quality could be mass-produced. 

NASA:S Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California 

A process that would include a combination of dry and wet 

chemical etching has been proposed for making facets for 

low-loss mirrors on silicon-on-insulator (SOl) optical waveguides. H eretofore , su ch facets have been made by a process 

that includes dicing and polishing. This process is time-consuming and thus not suitable for mass production ; moreover, 

the optical quality of the facets is limited by the size of the 

powder grains used in polishing. (Although it is possible to 

make nearly optically perfect facets by cleaving, the yield 

achieved in practice is too low for mass production.) 

The etching techniques in the propo ed process are already used fo r mass production in th e semiconductor and integrated-circuit industries, and are expected to yield facets 

with optical quality superior to that achievable by polishing. 

There are two versio ns of the propo ed process. The main 

step of the fi rst version (see figu re) are the fo llowing: 

l. Deposit an etching mask on top of th e silicon active layer. 

2. Do a reactive-ion etch th rough the thickn ess of th e silicon 

layer. 

3. Do either a d ry etch or a we t chemical etch th rough the 

thickne s of the Si02 layer. 

4. Optio nally, etch a shallow groove into th e silicon su bstrate. 

5. Cleave the silicon substrate. A high yield can be obtained 

if one cleaves via an etched groove. 

6. Remove the etching mask. 

The main step of the second version of the proposed 

SOLUTIONS FOR OPTICAL 

TEST AND INSPECTION 

PRIJR Prior Scientific manufactures a complete line 

of microscope automation equipment, 

fiber optic inspection instruments, 

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for all your optical and 

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information on any of 

our products please contact 

Prior Scientific or visit prior.com. 

( Visit us on the web at www.prior.com ) 

12a 

Prior Scientific. Inc. 80 Reservoir Park Drive Rockland. MA 02370 

Tel: 800-877-2234' 781-878-8+12 fax: 781 -878-8736 

For Free Info Cirde No. 428 or 

Visit www_nasatech.com/428 

17~r-?"'7-'i'-' >7-r7".;"77'7-':>"77"?1 } Starting SOl 

Wafer 

.. Deposition of Etching Mask 

~;:;;;;:;::;::;:::;;::;:L_-C::::;::;::;::;::;::;::;Ji"'- Etching Mask 

.. Reactive-Ion Etch Through Silicon Active Layer 

~=:::::;:.;::J 

.. Dry or Wet Etch Through Si02 Layer 

.. Optionally Etch Shallow Groove into Substrate 

,:::;:::::=:::;:c=.~ 

.. Cleave Substrate and Remove Etching Mask 

Facets of High Optical Quality would be formed on the etched surfaces of 

the sil icon active layer. 

process are nearly identical, except that one would turn the 

wafer upsid e-down and etch through the substrate first. The 

advan tage of the second approach is that one would generate the facets by cleaving the silicon active layer; the quality 

of the facets would therefore be better than that achievable 

(by etching) in th e first version. 

This work was done by Chi Wu of Caltech for NASA's Jet 

Propulsion Laboratory. For further information, access the Technical Support Package (TSP) free on-line at www.nasatech. com/tsp 

under the Manufacturing category. 

In accordance with Public Law 96-517, the contractor has elected 

to retain title to this invention. Inquiries concerning rights for its 

commercial use should be addressed to 

Intellectual Assets Office 

JPL 

Mail Stop 202-233 

4800 Oak Grove Drive 

Pasadena, CA 91109 

(818) 354-2240 

E-mail: ipgroup@jpl.nasa.gov 

Refer to NPO-20757, volume and number of this ASA Tech 

Briefs issue, and the page number. 

Photonics Tech Briefs.June 2002 
Improved Array of Switches for Fiber-Optic Communications 

Optical losses would be reduced, relative to prior switches. 

NASA s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California 

A rectangular array of Yjunction electro-optical switches has been proposed 

as a prototype of reliable, high-speed 

cross-point switches for fiber-optic-based 

photonic communication ystems. The 

proposed array would feature a hybrid 

digital/ interference design. The proposed array would be an integrated-optics device, fabricated in the ilicon-onin ulator material y tern; it would be 

compatible with siliconbased electronic integrated circuits and with 

up-to-date V-groove 

packaging. 

noted a digital optical switch. When the 

current is turned on, there is an optical 

loss because (1) the reflection wall is tilted 

because of spreading of the injected current and (2) imperfections of the tips of 

the Y give rise to radiation and scattering. 

The propo ed array would contain 

ridge-waveguide structures. The waveguide ridges would be made of silicon, 

and the upper and lower cladding (optiOhmic Contacts 

(No Voltage Applied) 

TOP VIEW IN THROUGH STATE 

hibit two state - denoted "through" 

and "switching." These states are defined in the figure. The through state 

would involve multimode interference 

(instead of single-mode propagation). 

The principle of operation and the design to implement it would significantiy 

reduce (in compari on with an InP 

switch as de cribed above) the optical 

loss in through state, while retaining the 

step-function s\vitching 

characteristic essential 

for effectively digital 

switching. 

The throughput-waveguide portion of ea h 

S\vitch would be curved; 

the precise hape would 

be cho en to minimize the 

throughput 10 . The el -

trodes for each switch 

orne previously developed electro-optical 

witche are said to be of 

the interference (more 

preci ely, two-mode interf rence / single-mode 

propagation) type, for 

which the witching characten uc is inusoidal. 

The performance of interference-type witche 

are en itive to (and can 

thus be degraded by) imperfection of fabrication 

and variation of polarization, wavelength, operating voltage, and temperature. Hence, it i 

difficult to make a highp rformance large interference-type witching 

array. 

~ (Voltage Applied) 

would be formed in a lateral acceptor-doped/ intrinsic/ donor-doped [po 

itive/ intrin ic/ negative 

(PIN)] configuration that 

would suppre preading 

of the injected current 

orne other previously 

developed electro-optical 

switche are said to be of 

the digital type. One u~ 

typ include InP- and 

aAs-based ymmetric-Yjunction waveguide 

TOP VIEW IN SWITCHING STATE 

SECTION A-A MAGNIFIED 

into the branch waveguide; as a result, the optical 10 that would otherwi e be associated \vith 

current preading in the 

switching tate could be 

minimized. 

This work was done 

by Chi Wu and imiak 

Forouhar of Caltech for 

NASA's J e t Propulsion 

Labor ato ry. For further 

information, access the 

Technical upport Package 

(To P) free 01l,.lille at www. 

lIasatech.com/tsp under the 

switche . In th cas of 

an InP vitch of thi u~ 

This Electro-Optical Sw itch (one of many in a rectangular array) would divert light to the 

branch waveguide when a sufficient current was injected via the electrodes. 

Electronic Components and 

'Ystems category. 

type there are two elec0' d on ach of the two arms of the Y 

Wh n no cun'en t is made to flow through 

tile electrode ,the witch behave as a 3-

dB power plitter. When ufficient electrical current is injected via the electrode 

on on waveguid arm, th ind x of refraction of that arm d r ase by nough 

that light no longer enters that ann and 

in tead goe entirely into the other arm. 

B ause each waveguide arm i de igned 

to upport propagation in only one mode, 

the light tran mi ion versus the applied 

current exhibits a tep-function characteri ti ; that i why a \vitch of tilis type i dePhOLOni Tech Briefs,Jun 2002 

cal-confinem nt) la ers would be made of 

air and ilicon dioxid , re pectively. Very 

low optical-propagation 10 has b en 

achieved in such a tru U1re; this is attri~ 

utable to low optical 10 in the air and 

i02 layel ,The iii 011 ave-guiding layer 

in the propo ed array could be de ign d 

with low doping concentration for low optical ab orption. 

The principle of operation of tile 

wit hes in the pro po d array would differ from the principle of operation of 

previou Iy devel ped I ctro-optical 

\vit he . \vitch in tili arra would e -

w\ ,ptbmagazin ,com 

In accordance with Public 

Law 96-517, the contractor has elected to 1ltain 

title to this invention. Inquiries concerning 

rights for its commucial use should be addressed to 

Intellectual Assets Office 

JPL 

Mail top 202-233 

4800 Oak Grove Drive 

Pasadena, CA 91 109 

(818) 354-2240 

E-maiL' ipgroup@jpl.nasa.gar; 

Refer to NPO-20755, volurTU' and number of 

this Tech Bri f: issue, and the pagt 

number. 

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For Free Info Circle No. 130 or Visit www.nasatech.comiOpticaIG 

Excimer Laser 

Series for FBGs 

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cimer lasers designed for writing 

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Visit www.nasatech.comlLambda 

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Telecentric 

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The HIPPO (High Intensity Peak Power Oscillator) 

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Nano-Sized 

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Photonics Tech Briefs,June 2002 
Electronic Components and Systems 

• Communication Antenna in a Helicopter Rotor 

The radiation pattern would not turn with the rotor. 

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California 

A propo ed communication antenna 

for a helicopter would feature radiating 

elements in or on the blades of the main 

rotor, with a novel rotary radio-frequency 

coupling between the antenna and the 

radio equipment in the fuselage. The antenna would be suitable for communication along both predominantly horizontal 

paths (e.g., with distant ground stations) 

and predominantly vertical paths (e.g., 

with atellites). 

The radiating elements would typically be con tructed in one of three 

forms: (1) The elements could be vertical electric dipole on the rotor blade; 

these would tran mit and receive in vertical electric polarization. (2) The elements could be horizontal electric 

dipoles along the blade, in which case 

they would tran mit and receive in horizontal electric polarization. (3) The elements could be horizontal lots on the 

blade; the e would tran mit and receive 

in vertical polarization along horizontal 

path, horizontal polarization along vertical paths, and intermediate polarizations along intermediate path. Horizontal dipole or lots would ordinarii 

be preferable to vertical dipole because 

they would cau e Ie s perturbation of 

the rotor-blade aerodynamics. 

The rotary coupHng could be any of 

everal noncontact rotary waveguide 

joints ( ee figure). The tator in the rotary coupling would contain a numb r 

(n) of input/ output probe equal to the 

number of rotor blade (typically, n = 5), 

po itioned at equal angular interval. The 

input/ output prob in the stator would 

be connected to a beam-forming network 

connected via a coaxial cable to the radio 

equipment in the fu elage. The beamfonning network would be configured 0 

that \vithin the waveguide joint, th radiation would be coupled from the probes 

(in tran mitting) or to the probes (in reeiving) in the de ired waveguide mod 

with n-fold azimuthal ymmeu)'. B cau e 

the probe would be stationary, thi mode 

would remain tationary. 

The rotor part of th rotary coupling 

would al 0 contain n probes at qual angular int IVcli . coaxial cable would 

oupl radiation between each or th e 

11 ch Briefs, June 2002 

probes and the radiating element in or 

on one of the rotor blades. As the rotor 

turned, the rotor probes would pass 

through the stationary n-fold symmetric 

waveguide mode. This would cause the 

radio-frequency power coupled between 

each rotor-blade radiating element and 

the stationary radio equipment to vary 

with the instantaneous angle of rotation, so 

that the radiation pattern traced out by 

each radiating element alone during one 

complete rotation would exhibit n-fold 

ymmetry. However, because there 

would be n blades, thi pattern would be 

Stator 

I 

F 

spatially modulated with another n-fold 

symmetry characteristic of the spatial relationships among the n radiating elements. A basic theoretical analysis shows 

that the net effect of the rotating and 

stationary n-fold ymmetries would be to 

produce a predominantly azimuthally 

symmetric (nonrotating) far-field radiation pattern. 

The vertical polarizatio.n along horizontal paths in the case of horizontal-slot 

radiating elements would be desirable for 

communication with ground-based terminals from low altitude. If either horiCoaxial Cable to Radiating 

Element on one of n Rotor Blades I Rotor InpuVOutput 

Probe (one of n) 

1-_~-=::::~~~:;.l-Stator InpuVOutput , i U' Probe (one of n) 

Coaxial Cable to Radio 

Equipment in Fuselage 

FLAT DESIGN FOR HIGHEST FREQUENCIES 

FOLDED DESIGN FOR LOWER FREQUENCIES 

FOLDED DESIGN FOR STILL LOWER FREQUENCIES 

The Rotary Radio-Frequency Coupling could be a simple radial waveguide joint with overlapping parallel disks. or perhaps a more-complex radial waveguide joint that could include choke rings. 

www.nasalech.cm 41 
Electronics 

zontal electric dipole or horizontal slots 

were used, the radiation skyward would 

be circularly polarized, as would be desirable for communication with satellites. 

Because the radiation pattern would 

not rotate with respect to the airframe, 

and the rotor blades would not block the 

radiation, it appears that the proposed 

antenna would result in much less rotorblade modulation than is observed when 

using helicopter antennas of other 

types. The rotor-blade modulation for 

this antenna would be limited to that associated with variation in the antennaelement/airframe coupling, with extremes when the center line of the fuselage is aligned with a blade and when it 

is aligned halfway between two blades. It 

has been conjectured that this modulation would be small in comparison with 

the modulation associated with the usual 

blockage effects. 

Yet another advantage would lie in the 

variation of the phase of the modal radiation pattern with azimuthal angle. Depending on which mode is excited, the 

relative phase of a received signal could 

provide a direct measure of the azimuthal 

angle of arrival of the signal. Thus, while 

providing omnidirectional coverage in 

azimuth, this antenna could also be used 

for azimuthal direction finding. 

This work was dcne by Rimald J Pogorzelski of Caltech for NASA's J et Propulsion 

Laboratory. For further infonnation, access 

the Technical Support Package (TSP) free online at www.nasatech.com/tsp under the 

Electronic Components and Systems category. 

NPO-19803 

• GPS Attitude Determination Using Nonaligned Antennas 

Phases of circularly polarized signals are corrected for effects of antenna geometry. 

Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland 

A method of determining the attitude of a vehicle equipped with a 

Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver with multiple nonaligned antennas has been invented. As u ed here, 

"nonaligned antennas" does not signify antenna that lack alignment; 

rather, it signifies antennas that generally point in different directions (in 

contradistinction to antennas oriented 

identically as in prior methods). The 

method is applicable to a land vehicle, 

aircraft, spacecraft, ship, or almost any 

other vehicle. 

For the purpo e of this or any other 

method of determining attitude from 

GPS measurements, the positions and 

orientations of the antennas with respect to the vehicle and to each other 

must be known. In general, the attitude 

of the vehicle, referenced to lines of 

sight between the vehicle and a set of 

GPS satellites, is determined from differences among the phases of the GPS carrier ignals received by the various antennas. 

Prior methods of determining attitude from GPS measurements are 

based partly on the a sumption that the 

antennas are oriented identically. This 

assumption simplifies attitude determination in the following way: CPS signals 

are right-hand circularly polarized 

(RHCP). In the case of identically oriented antennas, the effects of the circular polarization on the phases of the signals received by aU the antennas are 

equal; therefore, the phase-difference 

measurements and the attitude determination are unaffected by the circular 

polarization. 

When the antennas are nonaligned, 

the phase effects of tl1e circular polarization differ among antennas, so that the 

42 

prior methods cannot be used. In the 

pre ent method, these effects are taken 

into account, making it possible to use 

nonaligned antennas for attitude determination. The major advantage gained 

through this method is that by using a 

sufficient number of antennas pointed 

in different directions, one can maximize the probability that a sufficient 

number of GPS satellites will be in view 

Antennas Aimed in ~~~ -SiX Channels per Antenna 

Different Directions ~ 

1 prea1Plifiersr-_ ____ .-.:~ \-----\_----

GPS 

Carrier 

Signal 

Receiver 

Calibration 

Differential-Phase 

Corrections for 

Nonaligned 

Antennas 

RF 

Section 

Carrier-Signal Receiver 

Resolution of 

Integer Cycle 

Nonaligned-Antenna Ambiguity 

Differential-Carrier- ..... ~I-----#--l 

Phase Detection 

Unit 

Position-Fix/Orbit I-___ ~ 

Propagator 

GPS Almanac 

Processor 

Real-Time 

Attitude 

Solutions 

The Attitude Module of a GPS Receiver runs software that makes differential-phase corrections for 

RHCP GPS signals received by nonaligned antennas. 

www.nasatech.com NASA Tech Briefs,June 2002 
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44 

Electronics 

at any given time, making it po ible to 

determine the current attitude of the vehicle, regardless of its position, attitude, 

or tate of motion (the vehicle could 

even be tumbling). 

The figure chematically depicts selected aspects of a typical CP receiver 

sy tern that implements the pre ent 

method. Preferably, there are eight antenna and the radio-frequency (RF) 

ection of the receiver can accommodate as many a six CP channels per 

antenna. The signal in the variou 

channel are digitized, then sent to a 

proces or that includes a navigation 

module and an attitude module. The 

navigation computations and most of 

the attitude computation are performed according to conventional CP 

method . The distinct a pect of the 

present method lies in the software of 

the attitude modul . Thi oftware provides phase-difference correction 

ba ed on the calculable effects of (l) 

the known relative positions and orientations of the antennas and (2) the 

pha e of the RHCP CP signal that 

they receive. 

The primary obstacle to incorporating the RHCP phase-difference correction into the attitude computations is 

the fact that the attitude of the vehicle 

is embedded in expre sions of the reference frames of the various antennas. 

A circular-reasoning condition ari e in 

that to calculate the attitude, it is neces ary to know the RHCP corrections, 

but to calculate the RHCP corrections, 

the attitude must be known. If the altitude of the vehicle i already approximately known, perhaps from a prior estimate, the RHCP phase corrections 

can be e timated and then iterated, 

along with a new attitude olution, to 

convergence to\ ard a final attitude 0-

lution. If no prior estimate of attitude 

is available, then an initial e timate can 

be con tructed, for example, by use of 

the line of ight from each antenna to 

the source of the strongest CPS signal 

received on that antenna. 

This work was done by Edgar Glenn Lightsey oj Goddard Space Flight Center. For 

Jurther inJonnation, access the Technical 

Support Package (TSP) free on-line a t 

www.nasatech.com/tsp under the Electronic Components and Systems category. 

This invention has been patented by fl.SA 

(U.s. Patent o. 6,005,514). Inquiries concerning nonexclusive or exclusive license Jor 

its commercial development should be addressed to the Patent Counsel, Goddard Space 

Flight Center; (301) 286-7351. ReJer to GSC13907. 

OA Semiautomated Coordinate-Measuring 

System 

John F. Kennedy Space Center, Florida 

The dvanced Payload Tran fer Meaurement Sy tern (APTM ) compri e 

electromechanical en or and en oroutput-proce sing circuits. Designed 

pecifically for mea uring off ets between pacecraft payload trunnion and 

trunnion supports during ground-based 

payload-transfer operations, the APTM 

ould be adapted to general measurement of offsets for guiding movement of 

large objects during assembly of heavy 

machinery or tructures. An electromechanical sensor of the lype used in 

the APTMS was de cribed in "SphericalCoordinates Encoder Module" (KSC11973) , fl.SA Tech Briefs, Vol. 24, o. 2 

(February 2000), page 52. Initially, the 

ensor outputs were fed via cable to a 

portable computer for analysi and di -

play. More recently, the ensors and 

com pUler were equipped with wirele s 

tran ceivers capable of communicating 

in either a time-division- or a preadpectrum multiplex mode to eliminate 

www.nasalech.com 

the need for cables, thereby contributing to maneuverability and afety in the 

workspace. An important element of the 

de ign and operation of the system is 

taking calibration mea urements and 

processing of these measurements b 

curve-fitting oftware to piecewise-linear 

off ets to correct for sy tematic errors in 

raw ensor outputs in order to obtain accuracy \vitllin 0.05 in. (=1.3 mm) at distances ~ 40 in. (=1 m) . 

This work was done by Felix A. Soto Toro 

oj Kennedy Space Center and WasJY 

Mikhael of the University of Central Florida. 

For further inJonnation, access the Technical 

Support Package (T. P) free on-line at 

www.nasatech.com/tsp under the Electronic 

Components and rysterns category. 

Inquiries concerning rights Jor the commercial use oj this invention hould be addressed 

to the Technology Commercialization Office, 

Kennedy Space Center; (321) 867-8130. 

ReJer to KSC-12204/3/195. 

ASA Tech Briefs,June 2002 
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• Software 

Software Provides Thermal Optimization of a Computer CPU 

A FEA-based, multiphysics analysis tool analyzes the water cooling system of a computer CPU to 

improve product durability. 

ALGOR, Inc., Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 

Heat is the primary enemy of 

any electronic componenL In 

order for an electronic device 

to have a long, problem-free 

life, cooling mu t be an important design consideration. The 

problem of cooling crus, in 

particular, has grown as processors have become more powerful. Water cooling sy tems are 

one option for keeping blazing-fast crus cool. As an example, engineers u ed finite element analysis (FEA)-based, 

multiphysi analysis software 

to consider whether a proVelocity 

(in./sec.) 

of 70°F was applied at the inlet, 

and another convection load accounted for heat loss through 

natural convection to ambient 

air. The steady-state heat transfer analy i produced a temperature profile throughout both 

the water and cooling block 

with the maximum temperature 

40.763 reaching 82°F. 

32.61 

24.458 

16.305 

8.1526 

o 

Figure 1: This ALGOR Fluid Flow Analysis shows the fluid velocity profile through the water tube inside a computer CPU cooling system. 

posed water cooling system design would regulate CPU temperature in order to meet the 

manufacturer's recommendation. 

The multiphysics analy is was 

then repeated with a water inlet 

velocity of 0 in./sec. In thi 

case, the maximum temperature reached 220°F. The analysis verified that the ystem 

would ucce fully cool the 

CPU with a water flow rate of 20 

Simple heatdi ipation methods, such 

as adding heat fin and relying on natural convection, have often been ufficient for electronics. However, as devices 

become more powerful, it become increasingly important to produce the 

flow of a fluid to create forced convection for greater cooling capacity. The 

fluid may be air-moved by a fan or water 

within a water cooling system. The key is 

to produce a ufficient amount of forced 

convection to keep a device within its 

recommended operating temperature 

range during sustained use. 

FEA-based, multiphysics anal i oftware provides engineer de igning electronic components with a tool to determine the required flow velocities. As an 

electronics OEM and provider of wireless communications equipment, Wytec 

of San ta Clara, CA., needed to know what 

fluid flow velocity was necessary to cool 

the electronics. ALGOR's forced convection capability determined what level of 

fluid flow would produce the desired 

temperature and prevent the electronics from overheating and failing. 

The water cooling system was modeled in ALGOR. A fluid flow analy i was 

then performed based on an inlet velocity of 20 in./ ec. to obtain a velocity profile throughout the water tube. The inlet 

velocity of20 in./ ec. was used because it 

48 

i a common flow rate for an off-theshelf mall pump. Thi velocity profile 

was then used as input to the heat tran -

fer analysi to imulate forced convection. In addition to the forced convection input, an internal heat generation 

load con idered 29.5 watts of energy 

from the CP ,a specified temperature 

Temperature 

82 

79.6 

77.2 

74.8 

72.4 

70 

in./ ec. and thereby upport reLiable performance over the life of the 

computer. 

For more information on using ALGOR's 

multiphysics analysis products, including the 

forced convection capability, contact 

ALGOR, Inc., 150 Beta Drive, Pittsburgh, 

PA 15238; Tel: 1-800-48-ALGOR; or visit 

the Web site at: www.ALGORcom . 

Figure 2: The ALGOR Multiphysics Analysis of the Complete CPU Cooling System utilized a steadystate heat transfer analysis that considered the fluid flow velocity results from the water tube when 

determining the final temperature distribution in both the water and cooling block. 

www.nasatech.com ASA Tech Briefs,june 2002 
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Data Acquisition 

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Signal Processing 

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Software 

tj Software for Automated Planning of Spacecraft Missions 

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California 

An artificial-intelligence computer 

program generates and evaluates plan 

for spacecraft missions subject to constraints associated with spacecraft designs. The input to the program includes spacecraft design parameters 

(e.g., slew rates and battery capacities) 

and mission parameters (e.g., requested 

scientific observations, frequency of 

communication passes, and trajectory). 

The program generates a mission-activity plan for attaining mission goals without violating constraints (e.g., for making all desired ob ervations within the 

available time). The program makes it 

possible to perform rapid evaluations of 

multiple candidate designs against a 

given mission scenario by generating 

plans for each design and automatically 

evaluating them against objective criteria. Alternatively, the program can also 

be u ed to perform "what-if' evaluations. 

This program can be used early in the 

spacecraft-design and spacecraft-mission-planning process, thereby helping 

to ensure that a spacecraft design and 

mi ion plan are consistent with each 

other; more specifically, the program 

can show how a given design can be expected to perform in a given mission 

scenario, and on the basis of the program output, one can modifY the design 

and/or the mission to improve performance. 

This program was written by Steve Chien, 

Barbara Engelhardt, Darren Mutz, Russell 

Knight, Gregg Rabideau, lWbert Sherwood, 

Ben Smith, Colette Wilklow, and Jason Willis 

of Caltech for NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. For further information, access the 

Technical Support Package (TSP) free D*line 

at www.nasatech.com/tsp under the Software category. 

This software is available for commercial 

licensing. Please contact Don Hart of the California Institute of Technology at (818) 393-

3425. Refer to NP0-21 000. 

tj Generalized-Time-Line Program for Planning and Scheduling 

NASA s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California 

Generalized Timelines API i a computer program that provides (1) a 

means of representing arbitrary realworld state and resource information 

for use in planning, scheduling, and 

plan- and schedule-executing software 

and (2) an application-programming 

interface (API) that accelerates the development and validation of the software. In prior time-line programs, con50 For Free Info Circle No. 529 or Enter No. 529 at www.nasatech.com/rs 

straints had not been regarded as parts 

of time lines, and it was difficult to repre ent constraints. For the pre ent program, a time line i defined as a representation of the actual and/or 

predicted value ( ) of a variable and a 

set of constraints on the variable, both 

at successive intervals of time. The program (1) enable assignment of values 

to variables and modeling of the constraints on the variables, all as functions 

of time; (2) makes it possible to determine whether the values are consistent 

with the constraints; and (3) provides 

"hooks" to the search space represented by the variable for the purpose 

of optimizing plan . This program enables computer-programming specialists to engage in research on, and development of, scheduUng application 

programs separately from the efforts of 

other specialists to implement time 

lines specific to their domains of expertise. In comparison with prior software 

of the same type, this program is representationally sufficient for more domains. 

This program was written by teve Chien, 

Russell Knight, Kim Gostelow, Tom Starbird, 

Gregg Rabideau, and lWbert Sherwood of 

Caltech for NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. For further information, access the 

Technical Support Package (TSP) free on-line 

at WWUl.7UlSatech.com/tsp under the Software category. 

This software is available for commercial 

licensing. Please contact Don Hart of the California Institute of Technology at (818) 393-

3425. Refer to NPO-21022. 

NASA Tech Briefs,june 2002 
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Materials 

• Improvements in the Use of Water Washes in Testing for NVR 

Effectiveness of washing and sensitivity of detection are increased. 

John F. Kennedy Space Center; Florida 

Some improvements have been made 

to enhance the role of water as a te t solvent for determining the amount of hydrocarbon nonvolatile re idue (NVR) 

present on an item of hardware that is required to be totally or nearly devoid of 

such residue. Water is now used as an 

NVR-testing solven t because (1) even highmolecular-weight hydrocarbon greases are 

at least lightly soluble in water, (2) water is 

safer and less expensive than are chlorofluorocarbon solvents [in particular, 1,1,2-

trichloro-1,2,2-trifluoroethane (also known 

as CFG1l3) , which was used previously in 

testing for hydrocarbon NVR), and (3) 

CFC solvents are expensive and are now 

recognized as environmentally hannful. 

The present improvements address two 

major aspects of the NVR-testing prot>-

lem: (1) increasing the efficiency of removal of NVR from hardware by use of 

water and (2) increasing the sensitivity of 

measuring the concentration of NVR dissolved in the water. Prior to these improvements, it was known that when small 

parts are subjected to ultrasound in a 

water bath and NVR is present, the 

amount of NVR dispersed into the water 

is ufficient to enable measurement of the 

concentration of the dissolved NVR by the 

total-organic-carbon (TOC) method. 

The present improvements extend the 

applicability of water-wash NVR testing to 

parts too large to fit in an ultrasonic bath. 

The efficiency of removal of NVR from a 

large part can be increased somewhat by 

use of steam or high-pressure spray of 

water with or without a gas mixed in. 

However, the technique found to be mo t 

efficient (and least dependent on the ize 

of tlle part) is spraying water on the surface of the part from an ultrasonic nozzle. 

The increase in the sen itivity of measurement i achieved by concentrating 

the NVR from the wash water before attempting the measurement. For this purpo e, all of the wash water is made to flow 

through a bed of silica gel. During this 

flow, a significant portion of the di olved 

NVR becomes adsorbed onto the silica 

gel particles. Then part or all of the silica 

gel is analyzed by the TOC method. Te ts 

have hown that by use of both ultrasonic 

praying of water and measurement of 

the TOC of silica gel through which the 

wash water has passed, it is po ible to 

measure areal concentration of NVR as 

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Materials 

low as 0.05 mg/ ft2 (",,0.5 mg/ m2) on the 

sm-faces of parts under test. 

This work was done by Christian Clausen 

III of the University of Central Florida for 

Kennedy Space Center. For further information, access the Technical Support Package 

(TSP) free on-line at www.nasatech.com/tsp 

under the Materials category. 

KSC-12129 

Using Polyimide Tape To Mask Against 

Reactive-Ion Etching 

This technique is cheap, simple, and effective. 

ii ii's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California 

Polyimide tape (Kapton TM or equivalent) has been found to be effective as a 

material for masking elected areas of a 

emiconductor wafer that is about to be 

processed in a reactive-ion etching (RIE) 

apparatus. The conventional etch-resi tant 

masking materials for protecting elected 

areas against etching are photore ists and 

oxide. The e matelials are pattemed into 

masks by tandard photolithographic te hnique . The use of polyimide tape i an inexp n ive option that provide additional 

flexibility for increasing the protection of 

some areas and for implementing lastminute design changes without having to 

in w- the high cost of making opti aI 

masks for photolithography. 

The tape is ut to fit the areas that ar 

to be protected again t etching, then ecured to the wafer b u of its own adhe ive backing ( ee figure). The tap i 

mooth d down to remo pockets of 

air that would otherwise become 

trapped between the wafer and the adhesive. The tape i thin enough (",,50 

pm) that it can easily be made to conform to previously pattemed changes in 

surface height. When the RIE proce is 

fini hed, the tape is impl pulled off. 

In experiments, polyimide tape 

proved effective in preventing RIE of 

ma ked areas. pecimen of tape that 

were exposed to RlE and vacuum for 

as long a 3 hour exhibited no meaurable change in thickne ,no 10 of 

ad he ion, no changes in color, a nd no 

melting or oth er urface change. 

This work was done by tephen Vargo of 

Caltecl! for NASA's J et Propulsion Laboratory. For further information, acces the 

Technical upport Package (TSP) free 011-

lille at www.71asatech.com/tsp under the 

Materials category. 

NPO-20-98 

Photolithographlcally Pattemed Mask 

Layer (Photoresist or OXide) 

o 

8 7 

Poly imide Tape 

A o 

Exposed R~n 

Wafer, Diameter 100 mm 

Pieces of Polyimide Tape are applied to areas designated to be protected (or additionally protected) 

against RIE. During the RIE process, the ions are incident along the perpendicular to the plane of this 

drawing. 

Te h Briefs,June 2002 WW\ .nasatedl.com 

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Mechanics 

o Hexfoil Rotary Flexures 

These devices would afford high accuracy of centration. 

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California 

Hexfoil rotary flexures have been 

proposed as pivots suitable for use in 

precise optical instruments. In the application that inspired the hexfoil concept, there is a requirement for a limited-rotation mirror gimbal that would 

maintain, with unprecedented accuracy, 

coincidence among the axes of rotation 

and a fiducial mark on the mirror, over 

the entire range of rotation. Theoretically, a hexfoil rotary flexure could satisfy this requirement. 

A hexfoil rotary flexure would offer the 

following advantages over a nominally 

equivalent commercial rotary flexure: 

• A hexfoil rotary flexure would maintain a static center of rotation; in 

other words, it would be subject to no 

more than negligible drift of the center of rotation. 

• The ratio between lateral stiffness and 

rotational stiffness (this ratio is regarded as a figure of merit for a flexural pivot) would be much greater. 

Thus, a hexfoil would approximate an 

ideal pivot more do ely. 

• An optimized hexfoil rotary flexure 

could withstand a lateral load greater 

than that for any similarly ized commercial flexural pivot. 

• A hexfoil rotary pivot would be made 

from a single piece of material. The 

monolithic nature of thi device 

would ensure the highest reliability. 

The hexfoil rotary flexure i related to 

the device described in "Trefoil Rotary 

Flexure" (NPO-20228) NA 'A Tech Briefs, 

Vol. 22, No.8 (August 1998), page 68. In 

comparison with a trefoil pivot, a hexfoil 

pivot would have twice the angular range, 

A Hexfoil Rotary Flexure would feature a favorable load-bearing configuration and a high degree of symmetry, such that the application of 

torque about the cylindrical axis would result in 

exceptionally pure rotation, even in the presence 

of axial and lateral loads . 

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while sacrificing orne lateral stiffness and 

load capability. A hexfoil pivot could be 

designed as a drop-in replacement for a 

standard Lucas (or equivalent) pivot, inasmuch as it has the same type of interface. 

with bases equal to the length of the cylinder. radial heights approximately equal to 

the inner radius of the cylinder. and an 

axial slant distance of approximately half 

the length of the cylinder. Thus. in effect. 

the three flexural elements from each 

cylinder would terminate in a line segment of length equal to that of the cylinder. coincident with axis of rotation. displaced axially from the cylinder by half 

the length of the cylinder. 

A hexfoil pivot (see figure) would include two coaxial hollow circular cylinders that would constitute a rotor and stator. respectively. From each cylinder. three 

flexural elements in the form of thin 

plates spaced at equal circumferential intervals would extend radially inward. terminating at approximately the axis of rotation. More precisely. the plates attached 

to each cylinder would be parallelograms 

To complete the characterization. it 

should be mentioned that the on-axis 

fl exure termination for each cylinder 

would be displaced axially toward the 

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other cylinder. such that the flexure terminations for both cylinders would coincide. Furthermore. the flexural elements 

for the two cylinders would be "clocked" 

relative to each other such that each flexure from one cylinder would be coplanar 

(when not deflected) with one from the 

other cylinder. Hence. in essence. there 

would be three contiguous flexure connecting the two cylinders. 

The advantages of this configuration 

are the following: 

• The termination of the flexural elements would be brought as close as possible to the axis of rotation. thereby 

maximizing the rotational flexibility 

while maintaining lateral stiffness. 

• Load paths through the device would 

be aligned such that all translational 

loads would be carried as ten ion or 

compression in the flexural elements 

(the stiffest and highest-load-bearing 

arrangement possible). while a torque 

applied about the axis of rotation 

would be reacted by simple bending 

(configuration of greatest compliance 

and least stre s) . 

This work was done by Donald Moore and 

Robert Calvet of Caltech for NASA's J et 

Propulsion Laboratory. For further information, access the Technical Support Package 

(TSP) free on-line at www.nasatech.com/tsp 

under the Mechanics category. 

NPO-21154 

9 Flight Research on 

Supersonic Laminar 

Flow 

Flow over a suitably designed 

airfoil can remain largely 

laminar, even at supersonic 

speed. 

Dryden Flight Research Center, 

Edwards, California 

Some airfoil designs have been 

shown by theory and small-scale test to 

be capable of passively maintaining 

laminar flow at supersonic speed. 

More recently, flight tests have proven 

that these designs can maintain large 

runs oflaminar flow at higher Reynolds 

numbers in harsh flight environments. 

The flight tests were conducted for the 

purposes of observing laminar flow at 

speeds up to mach 2.0 and determining the conditions under which laminar flow breaks down. 

Flight tests were performed on an F15B airplane equipped with a laminarflow test article - essentially. a small 

NASA Tech Briefs.June 2002 
half wing mounted vertically 

(see figure). The 

airplane 

was al 0 equipped with an infrared camera for observing 

the test article flow. In effect, 

the camera measures the local urface temperature of 

the te t article, which temperature varies with the tate 

of the boundary-layer flow: 

The portion of the surface 

covered by a turbulenr 

boundary layer i warmer 

than that covered by a laminar boundary laye r - a consequence of its higher wall 

recovery temperature as well 

as greater convection of the 

turbulent layer with the freetream flow. Hence, in the infrared image, the surface in 

the turbulent-flow region appear brighter than that in 

the laminar-flow region. 

The te t article was fabricated from aluminum with 

an insulating la er covering all but the fir l 3 to 4 in. 

(about 7.5 to 10 cm) in from 

the leading and trailing 

edge. spUtter plate was intailed at the root of the te t 

article to minimize the effect 

of di turbance from the botPredicted Trans~ion Pattern on Test Art

icle 

(Cross·Hatched Area Denotes Transition) 

Infrared Image ofTest Article 

The Boundary of the Transition from 

laminar to turbulent flow is visible in 

an infrared image of the test article 

taken during supersonic flight. 

tom of the airplane on the flow about the tc t article and to 

better imulate a full-span wing. 

Laminar flow was ob erved up to full chord on the outer 

third of the span of the te t article and up to approximatel 0 

p rcent of chord over tJle inner two-thirds of the span. Th 

laminar flow was found LO be capabl of penetrating weak 

shock wave, but was typi cal I terminated b trong hock 

wa\'e . The trong t hock wave incident on the te t urface 

appeared to emanate from the camera pod, which was 10 ated 

on an armam nt rail of the airplane. 

For future flights, the te t articl wi ll be in u-umented with 

urface-pre ure gaug and thermo oup

les to obtain more detailed data. AI 0, the video data-recording s)' tem will be updated to enable it to record the full 12-bit digital image from 

the amen\. contemplated ub qu nt program would u e a 

larger test article that would permit as e sm nt of effects of 

greater Reynold number. 

This work was done by Daniel IV: Banks of Dryden Flight Re-

earch Center and Richard R.. Tracy and James D. Chase of Reno 

eronautical Corpomtion, a ub idiary of Directed Technologies, Inc. 

Furtlter information call be obtained from Daniel Banks [telephone no. 

(661) 276-2921 or e-mail dan.banks@dfrc.nasa.gov}. 

In accordance with Public Law 96-517, the contractor has elected to 

retain title to this invention. Inquiries conceming rights for its commercial use should be addressed to 

Richard R.. Tracy, Ph.D., Pre ident 

Rello Aeronautical Corporation 

3000 Old Ranch Rd. 

ar. on it}, 9704-9542 

Tel. 0.: 775- 3-8410 

E-mail: traC)·@renoaero.com 

Refer to DRC-00-22, volume alld num.ber of lhis Tech 

Bli f: is tie, and the page number. 

Te h BrieE ,June 2002 59 
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Mechanics 

~ Improved Flange Design for 

Cryogenic Vacuum O-Ring 

Seals 

Spring-loaded joints could be made less bulky. 

NASA s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California 

A compact spring-loading design has been proposed to increase the reliability of eals in the joints of vacuum cryogenic 

systems. Heretofore, such joints have been, variously, compact 

or reliable, but not both, for the following reasons: In all such 

joints, sealing is effected by compression of soft metal (typically, indium or alloy of indium) 0 rings between flanges. 

Over time, the soft O-ring metal flows, with consequent reduction of preload, sometime leading to loss of eal. To ensure reliable eals, it i nece ary to spring-load the flanges to maintain com pre sion of the 0 rings. However, spring-loaded join ts 

of traditional design are not compact. 

Leaf·Spring 

/ Slot 

TOP VIEW 

Flanges 

SECTION A-A 

The Outer Portion of One of t he Flanges would be cut to form leaf springs, 

which would be used for spring loading of the 0 ring. 

The propo d compact pring-loading de ign i related to a 

prior noncompa t de ign in which (1) one of th f1ang of a 

Jomt i ut 0 that it a LS omewhat like a leaf pring and (2) 

the bolt-circle diamet r of the flange i made con iderably 

greater than th major diameter of the 0 ring 0 that the 

flange can bend elasti all and its deflection i pread out over 

th annulus b tween the 0 ring and the bolt circle. In the propo ed de ign, leaf pring with a thickne Ie than that of the 

flange would be formed in the bolt-circle region b cutting a 

combination of m ridional (radial-axial) and annular 'Iots in 

th flange, a hown in the figure. Thi de ign would afford the 

elasticity ne ded [or pring loading, without need to make the 

b IL ircle much larger than the 0 ring. 

This work was done by Bob Bamford, Talso Chui, and "'~rren 

Holme of Calledl for NASA s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. For further information, acces the Technical upport Package (TSP) free 01V 

line at WWUJ.llasatech.com/tsp under the Mechanics category. 

P0-21 006 

Tech BrieE ,June 2002 61 
• Physical Sciences 

@ Making Hydrogen by Electrolysis of Methanol 

The cost is about half that of making hydrogen by electrolysis of water. 

NASA s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California 

The hydrogen ions pass through 

the membrane to the cathode, 

where they are reduced to hydrogen molecule in the reaction 

6H+ + 6e- ~ 3H2 

62 

-

-

-

-

-

-

I I 

600 700 800 

Current Density, mAlcm2 

Figure 2. Less Voltage is needed to electrolyze methanol than to 

electrolyze water at the same current density, as indicated by these 

plots of data from an experiment with a prototype methanol elec- trolyzer and a commercial water electrolyzer. 

www.nasatech.com NASA Tech Briefs,June 2002 
@) Aircraft-Mounted Cloud-WaterContent Probe 

This relatively simple instrument contains no 

heater or pump. 

NASA ~ Jet Propulsion LabrJratory, Pasadena, California 

An aircraft-mounted instrument for high-resolution, in situ 

measurement of the abundances ofliquid water and ice in clouds 

is undergoing development This instrument is intended to overcome the disadvantages of instruments developed previously for 

the same purpose. The disadvantages include various combinations of complexity, dependence on heaters and/ or pumps, insen itivity to ice crystals, or dependence on droplet/ crystal size. 

The present in trument is relatively simple, doe not include a 

heater or a pump, and is expected (when fully developed) to be 

en itive to both water droplets and ice crystals of any size. 

In principle, the fully developed version of the instrument 

would contain (1) a first air-,sampling probe based a total-temperature probe, (2) a econd air-,sampling probe that would reject water droplets and ice crystals, and (3) two fast-reading electronic hygrometer - one for each probe. A simplified 

prototype of the in trument has been built from a modified commercial total-temperature probe and a urface-acoustic-wave hygrometer ( ee figure). 

By virtue of its total-temperature feature, the fir t air- ampling 

probe would bring the incident airflow to re t (except for a low 

internal sampling flow) , thus rai ing the temperature of the amAIR·SAMPLING PROBE (FRONT VIEW) AIR·SAMPLING PROBE (REAR VIEW) 

SURFACE-ACOUSTIC-WAVE HYGROMETER 

The Air-Sampling Probe feeds an aerodynamically heated sample stream to 

the surface-acoustic-wave hygrometer. 

Tech Briefs,June 2002 63 
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Physical Sciences 

pled air. This aerodynamic heating would cause entrained water 

droplets and ice crystals to evaporate. The sample stream containing the water vapor generated by aerodynamic heating would 

be routed to the associated flI'St hygrometer, which would thus be 

made to measure the total water content (vapor, liquid, and ice) 

of the ambient air. 

The sample stream from the second probe would be routed to 

the associated econd hygrometer, but, unlike the sample stream 

from the first probe, this tream would not contain the vapor 

from the water droplets and ice crystals; that i , its vapor content 

would con ist olely of the ambient-air vapor. Then one could 

subtract the vapor reading of the econd hygrometer from the 

vapor+liquid+ice reading of the first hygrometer to determine 

the liquid+ice content. 

Of course, the cloud-water-content determinations made by 

use of the in trument depend largely on the assumption that all 

of the droplets evaporate and all of the ice crystal sublimate in 

the first probe as a re ult of aerodynamic heating (and, po ibly, 

of impact upon the probe wall). It is planned to assess the validity of this assumption in te ts in a wet wind tunnel. 

This work was done by Flavio oca and Michael Hoenk of Callech for NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. For further information, access the Technical upport Package (T. 'P) free on-line at 

www.nasatech.com/tsp under the Physical Sciences category . 

NP0-20767 

@ Miniature NMR Spectrometers 

Without Magnets 

These spectrometers would be used to 

characterize ferromagnetic minerals. 

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California 

Miniature, lightweight 

nuclear-magnetic-resonance 

(NMR) pectrometers suitable for characterizing ferromagnetic mineral in the 

field are undergoing development. In previously developed miniature NMR spectrometers, more than half 

the weight i contributed 

by permanent magnet. 

The present developmental miniature MR pectrometers can be made 

much lighter because they 

do not contain permanent 

magnets: nlike other MR 

pectrometers, they are deigned to operate without applied magnetic fields; intead, they exploit the 

natural magnetic fields of 

the mineral phases to be 

studied. 

Figure 1 how a prototype in trument of this type 

designed to exploit the natural magnetic fields in 

mineral that contain iron . 

These fields give rise to nuclear magnetic resonance 

Figure 1. This Miniature NMR Spectrometer has a mass of only 65 g (this 

includes the battery) and consumes a 

power of only 0.2 W. 

NASA Tech Briefs,June 2002 
MAGNETITE 

Octehedral Sne 

63.5 64.0 

Tetrahedral Site 

66.5 67.0 67.5 68.0 68.5 

HEMATITE 

'~ 0.17 MHz 

70.0 70.5 71.0 71.5 72.0 

Frequency. MHz 

Figure 2. These NMR Spectra of specimens of magnetite and hematite were 

obtained by use of the instrument shown in Figure 1. 

of the i otope 57Fe at frequencie in the approximate range 

of60 to 74 MHz. Re onance occur at pecific frequencies asociated with mineral phases of intere t. For example, mat 

netite (Fe,04) exhibits a re onance at 63. MHz for 57Fe 

ion in octahedral ite (coordination with oxygen atom) 

and another re onance at 67.6 for 57Fe'· at tetrahedral sites. 

Thi in trument include a marginal 0 dilator, the frequency of which is determined mainly by tuning capacitor, 

two varactors, and the MR ample coil, in which a mineral 

p cimen i placed. During operation, the frequency is swept 

lowly by use of one varactor, and i modulated at a rate of 110 

Hz by u e of the other varactor. The in trument aI 0 include 

a digital-ta-analog and an analog-to-digital converter and a 

microproce sor that communicates with an external laptop 

computer, generate frequency- weep and modulation ignal , ample the output from the 0 cillator, and perform 

ynchronou detection. 

The instrument i connected with the computer via a telephone (RS232) cable. uch parameter as the can range, 

can rate, number of average, and time con tant can be et 

through the computer keyboard. pectral data can be di -

played on the computer creen. The oftware in the computer include routine for proce ing data to e timate conentration of min ral phase f intere t. 

The performance of the in trumem wa demon trated in 

MR measurement experiments on two mineral pecimen : 

one that contained magnetite in chlorite chi t mixed with 

magnetically inert particle and one made of hematite 

(a-Fc20,). The pectra obtain d from th pe imen ( e 

Figure 2) how the expected magnetite re onan e and a 

h matite re Ollance at aboUl 70. MHz. 

This work was done by oon am Kim, arayan Mysoor, and Christopher Ubner oj Caltech Jar NASA' Jet Propulsion Laboratory. For 

Jurther information, access the Technical upport Package (TSP) free 

OIJ·line at www.nasatech.com/tsp under the Physical ciences category. 

NP0-20J06 

Tech Briefs,June 2002 65 
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Books & Reports 

MEMS Design Optimization 

WithFFA 

This report examines design considerations in one of the most promising new 

areas of engineering - Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS). Designing and 

optimizing MEMS devices involves unique 

challenges, including analyzing the interdependent physical phenomena to which 

MEMS devices are sensitive and working 

with small- cale geometry. A discussion of 

the necessary steps to model a MEMS 

micro-heater for an automotive gas sensor 

array that can with tand high temperature is presented in this article. 

This work was a collaborative effort between Walied Moussa, Ph.D., of the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Alberta, 

Canada; and ALGOR, Inc., Pittsburgh, 

PA. To obtain a copy of the report, "MEMS 

Design Optimization with FEA," visit 

http://optimizemems.algor. com. 

= Further Developments 

Regarding Noise-Reducing 

Slots in QWIPs 

A report presents additional infonnation on the devices described in "Noise-Reducing Slots in Quantum-Well Infrared 

Photodetectors" ( P0-20518), NASA Tech 

Briefs, Vol. 25, 0.6 Uune 2001), page 6a. 

To recapitulate: it was propo ed that incorporation of suitably dimensioned 

crossed slots into quantum-well infrared 

photodetectors (QWIPs) equipped with 

two-dimensional urface grating light couplers would reduce dark CUlTents and increase detectivities. Going slightly beyond 

that proposal, the report proposes optionally filling the slots with low-index-of-refraction dielectric matelial. Going beyond 

the previous ~scussion, the report notes 

that finite-difference solution of the 

Helmholtz equations for electromagnetic 

coupling into a slotted QWIP leads to the 

conclusions that (1) the slotted QWIP acts 

as an array of leaky waveguides or weakly 

coupled cavity resonators; (2) coupling 

can be maximized by choo ing the width, 

spacing, and index of refraction of the 

slots to obtain resonance at the desired 

wavelength of operation; and (3) the coupling in uch a case is stronger and more 

broad-band, relative to the coupling into a 

nonslotted surface-grating QWIP. 

This warn was done I7y Daniel Wil50n, 

Sarath Gunapala, Sumith Bandara, and John 

www.nasatech.com 

K. Liu of Caltech for NASA's Jet Propulsion 

Laboratory. To obtain a copy of the report, 

"Slotted Quantum WeU Infrared Photodeiector 

for Reduced Dark Current and Enhanced 0ptical Coupling, " access the Technical Support 

Package (TSP) free on-line at www. 

nasatech.com/isp under the Electronic Components and Systems category. 

In accordance with Public Law 96-517, the 

contractor has elected to retain title to this invention. Inquiries wnceming rights for its commercial use should be addressed to 

InteUectual Property group 

JPL 

Mail Swp 202-233 

4800 OaR Grove Drive 

Pasadena, CA 911 09 

(818) 354-2240 

Refer to NPO-20586, volume and number of this NASA Tech Brief issue, and the 

page number. 

tj Time-Parallel Algorithms for 

Solving PDEs 

A report presents additional detail 

about a class of massively parallel algorithms for finite-difference numerical solution of time-dependent partial differential equations (PDEs). Some aspects of 

these algorithm were described in two 

previous articles in NASA Tech Briefs; 

namely, "Massively Parallel Computation 

of Electromagnetic Fields" (NPO-19453), 

Vol. 26, o. 5 (May 2002), page 72 and 

"Time-Parallel Solutions of Linear PDEs 

on a Supercomputer" (NPO-'l9385), Vol. 

23, No. 12 (December 1999), page 24. 

These algorithm are fully paraJlelized in 

time as well as in space: this is achieved via 

a set of transfom1ations based on eigenvalue/ eigenvector decompositions of matrices obtained in discretizing the PDEs. 

Among other things, the report discusses 

efficient techniques for computing these 

decompositions for PDEs in which the 

spatial part involve Laplace's or Poisson's 

equation in two-dimensional Cartesian or 

polar coordinate . 

This work was done I7y A mir Fijany, Jawb 

Barhen, and Nikzad Toomarian of Caltech 

for NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. 

To obtain a copy of the report, "Time Parallel Algorithms for Solution of Time-Dependent Partial Differential Equations (PDEs), " 

access the Technical Support Package (TSP) 

free OTIrline at www.nasatech.com/isp under 

the Information Sciences category. 

NPO-19433 

NASA Tech Briefs,June 2002 
Specifying Fiber Alignment System Performance: 

Coupling Loss Offers An Alternative to Motion Capability 

O ne of the most difficult assembly 

tasks ever introduced into commercial manufacturing i the sub-micron 

alignment and attachment of a fiber-optic 

to a laser diode or other optical waveguide. Consequently, many questions 

ruise about how to pecify and ultimately 

verify the performance of the positioning 

system (s) that will guide the e microscopic elements successfully into alignment. Proper alignment is critical to asuring the long-term performance of 

fiber-optic components. 

Preci ion motion perfOlmance i usually discu ed in terms of "resolution," but 

in fact there are multiple performance attributes that must be addressed in order 

to be con istently successful in fiber-optic 

device alignment application. Thi article define key terms for motion yslem, 

di cus es the importance of each with respect to this very demanding proce , and 

offers a method for pecifying motion systems in tenTIS of coupling 10 rather than 

motion capability. 

Fundamental Motion 

Terminology 

There are [our important figure of 

merit for motion tage. The are resolution, minimal in remental motion 

(MIM), repeatability, and tability. 

Resolution i u ed for Encoder Feedback 

Re olution (EFR) and i the smalle t increment for determining the po ition o[ a 

stage. EFR describes only position reading 

and i not tlle san1e as the Minimum Incremental Motion. 

Minimum Incremental Motion (MlM) i 

the smalle t motion a po itioning device i 

capable of reliably moving. MIM de ribe 

actual motion and i influenced b everal 

factors like encoder resolution, tage, and 

ontroller closed loop quality. 

Repeatability is the ability of a motion ystem to reliabl achieve a commanded poition over many attempts. There are tw'o 

t pe of repeatability, uni-directional 

( DR) and bi-directi nal (BDR). BDR i 

more stringent, and for fiber-optic ali~lMotion onu-ol Tech Bri fs,June 2002 

ment applications requires closed-loop 

po itioning control with direct drive and 

on-axis encoder feedback. As it turns out, 

BDR and MIM are linked which allows us 

to u e the approximation: BDR= + / - MIM 

Stability is the ability to maintain a constant position over a specified period of 

time. 

Of the e four parameters, M1M (and so 

BDR) is the most significant when defining a motion system to achieve maximum 

fiber coupling. Because MIM relate to 

the ability of the motion y tern to take 

smaller step while earching for the optimal location, a stage with a mailer MIM 

will theoretically find the highe t coupling point. In practice however, most 

fiber-optic device have coupling maxima 

that are of much greater width than the 

MIM of the alignment tem. This means 

that decreasing MIM beyond a certain 

point will no longer have a measurable effect on the overall alignment efficiency. 

The importance ofBDR is necessitated by 

the device attachment application, which 

requires the alignment system to (repeatedly) return a fiber to the position of maximum coupling during the attachment 

process. 

Stability is also essential because after 

alignment the remaining teps, such as attachment, require the coupling efficiency 

to be held con tant over the period of 

time needed for completion. Although 

re olution contribute to MIM, it is not a 

critical parameter in fiber-optic device 

alignment applications. If a stage cannot 

move in very small tep (MIM), even very 

high-re olution readings of po ition become irrelevant. 

tage pecifications such as MIM, stability and re olution are typically given 

per stage axis as if the tage was used b 

itself. ince fiber alignment ystem are 

compo ed of many stages tacked together, tlle motion ystem mu t be pecMotion systems for fibe r-optic device alignment & a ttachment, such a s the Newport 

AutoAlignN-MDX. are being specified in terms of coupling loss (dB), 

www.nasalech.com 67 
Motion Control Tech Briefs 

ified rather than a single stage axis. Furthermore, the true 

MIM, stability, and resolution at the tool point (where the fiber 

meets the device) are much different than at the stage encoder. In order to establish the exact MIM at the tool point, sophisticated experimental setups are needed, normally using 

non-contact measurements. Although interferometric measurements would be the most precise, it's relatively difficult to 

implement for the typical user. A simpler alternative is to use 

the power coupling efficiency of two single-mode fibers. 

A Simpler Alternative 

Achieving the maximum coupling point during alignment 

is a function of the previously outlined parameters, the alignment algorithm and its ability to search out and seek the maximum point, and other factors including environmental 

characteristics. So rather than specifying a motion system in 

terms of MIM, resolution, and other motion related criteria, 

specifications should be defined in terms of power coupling 

efficiency. 

All specifications should be easily measurable by both the 

customer and the vendor. They should also relate to the performance characteristics of the system in a way that is understood to the user. Lastly, part of the specification should address overall system performance rather than the performance 

of its individual parts. This is particularly important since alignment systems are complex sy tems consisting of motion stages, 

vibration isolation, optical power measurements, and alignment algorithms. The following method for specifying alignment systems addresses these criteria. 

The experimental setup to verify these specifications is quite 

simple and con ists of two single-mode fibers. Light passes 

through one fiber into the other. The alignment system will 

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align these two fibers so that there is maximum light coupling. 

The test conditions are as follows: 

System Setup: Two single-mode fibers are separated by a specified distance z in tl1e optical axis. One fiber is on a stationary 

stage. The other is on the alignment system to be tested. 

Load on the System: The load on the system is W 

Temperature Range: The system will operate within a temperature range K and achieve the above specifications, except for stability (S) specification, which has its own specified range. 

Number of Measurements: The range and tandard deviation 

of each specification is measured using at least 50 observations. 

The Specifications 

Motion Repeatability is defined by l{, (dB). It is determined by 

achieving alignment, recording the motion coordinates and the 

coupling power, and then commanding the system to return to 

the same coordinates and record the power for at least 50 more 

repetitions. l{, is the standard deviation of these measurements. 

This measurement is a system level measurement that take into 

account all tl1e system parameters. 

Maximum Coupling Efficiency i defined by two parameters. The 

average coupling-loss C (dB). This specification is a measure of 

how good the coupling is, and is detern1ined by achieving alignment, recording coupling efficiency, then moving all axes (except Z) away from tl1e aligned position, and then aligning again 

and recording power. 

Alignment Repeatability is defined by the coupling loss standard deviation G, (dB) measured as described above. C and 

G, are also system level performance measurements that take 

into account all the system parameters including the alignment algorithm. 

Alignment Stability is defined by tl1e drift, (dB), in coupling 

loss recorded over a period of t minutes after alignment has been 

achieved, while the temperature fluctuation i limited to a range 

K(s). When determining tills specification, tl1e alignment system 

is kept idle. 

Alignment Time is defined by tl1e average time, Tin seconds, required by tl1e alignment system to reach maximum coupling efficiency from observation of first light. 

Fiber-to-fiber alignment does not cover all applications. 

Since single-mode fibers are tandard, it provides a univer al 

apparatus to test alignment systems. The user may have other 

applications where tl1ey are aligning lasers to fibers or waveguides to fibers, but those applications are dependent on tl1e 

device in que tion and do not provide a universal means for 

ystem specification. 

How will MIM effect tl1e coupling efficiency specifications? If 

two fibers are in perfect alignment, movement in the X or Y-axes 

will result in lower coupling between tl1em. Based on tl1eoretical 

models, a 50nm movement in X or Ywill only result in <0.001 dB 

additional loss. This difference cannot usually be measured but is 

calculated from a theoretical model. In general, 50nm MIM is 

sufficient for most alignment applications. 

As standards emerge in the fiber-optic industry for performance of components, similar set of standards are needed for 

the performance of automation systems, particularly alignment systems. Botl1 the user and the vendor can easily measure 

the suggested performance criteria. It can also be used as acceptance level te ts or used to compare the performance of different systems. 

The authors can be contacted by email at Guy Bouvree (Applications 

Manager; Motion Systems), gbouvre@newport.com; Frank Vodhanel 

(Product Manager, Fiber Alignment Systems), Fvodhanel®newpart.com; 

and Sohrab Zarrabian (Sr. Director oj Product Management), 

szarrabian®newpart.com, or call (949) 862-3400. 

For more inJormation on Newport Corporation, visit www.newport.com. 

Motion Control Tech Briefs,june 2002 
~I: --I , t 

. . ~- -- _ •.. _ D . _ 

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Exclusively from HD Systems, the Harmonic 

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gearhead that reduces backlash to less than 

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for the life of the gear. 

This design is made possible by developing 

a ring gear that can flex in the radial direction, 

while maintaining high torsional stiffness. 

The result is a planetary gearhead that provides 

consistently low backlash, high efficiency, and 

high output speeds. 

This planetary gearhead is available in 3 frame 

sizes from 60mm to 120mm. Rated torque 

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5: 1 to 45: 1. Flange or shaft output available. 

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NEW, Hollow Shaft Actuators 

The FHA Series of actuators features a 

through-bore up to 45mm in diameter and 

provides high torque and exceptional positioning accuracy. This performance is achieved in a 

compact design using a patented 'S' tooth 

harmonic drive gear coupled to a DC brushless 

pancake motor with integral electronic 

commutation and a high resolution encoder. 

Rated torque up to 1730 in-Ib and positional 

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Motion Control Tech Briefs 

Algorithm Computes Kinematics of a Rover on Rocky Terrain 

This algorithm is efficient enough for use in a real-time simulation. 

NASA s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California 

The Rove r Analysis Modeling and 

imulation (ROAMS) algorithm is to 

solve the kinematic of a wheeled mobile robot (rover) traversing on a rocky 

terrain. The rover is con tructed using 

a "rocker-bogey-differential" type supen ion and teering system a hown 

in the figure. By exploring the mechanical symmetry and the wheeledterrain contact characteri tics on a 

rough terrain profile, we developed a 

novel algorithm to carry out the rover's 

configuration , including the vehicle 's 

wheels, steering and su pension linkages, and the po ition and orientation 

of the chassis. Becau e of its efficient 

and reliable numerica l results, the 

ROAMS algorithm i well suited for the 

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real-time simulation test bed, e.g., a 

imulation oftware y tern, of the mobile robotic vehicle in the planetary 

surface exploration mis ion. Currently, it is used to support the development of imulation and operation 

tools for the Mar Exploration Rover 

(MER) in the Mars '03 mission. 

One of the most important propertie 

of the algorithm is the robu t computational result, which yields a fast prediction of the rover's position and orientation in an uncertain environment. The 

ROAMS algorithm u'eats the underlying 

mathematical model as an inverse-kin -

mati problem, and carries out the 0-

lution using the computational techniques for con trained optimization. In 

this framework, the objective function 

compri e three condition: (1) rover's 

internal differen tial mechanisms, (2) 

wheel-terrain contact, and (3) rover' 

driving motion . The re ultant nonlinear 

equations can be derived, and their solution can be computed by a traigh tforward application of numerical method . However, the tandard approache 

to this nonlinear y tern of equation 

uffer from the in tability and inefficiency in the numerical solution due to 

the rough terrain profile, which is often 

modeled as a piecewi e mooth digital 

elevation map (DEM) . Moreover, the 

modeling of the phy ical limits of the 

linkage (e.g., the bumper- top) can be 

problematic to the olution, a well as 

the case that all wheels may not be in 

contact with the ground at all time . All 

tile e modeling and numerical difficultie are re olved in tile novel algorithm 

that achieve the real-time imulation of 

the rover traver al on a rocky terrain. 

In thi algorithm, we implemented a 

ewton-type iterative method that handles the non-smooth wheel-terrain contact equations u ing global earching 

and relaxation techniques. The olution 

also takes account for the bump-stopper 

devices, which have b en modeled as 

the joint limits at tile corresponding 

linkages, and maintains a fast convergent rate. Regular ewton-type iteration requires the moothness of tile 

equations to ensure a fast convergence. 

Thi prerequisite of a robust convergence i violated since the roughne of 

the terrain has been embedded in the 

contact equations. When the rocker or 

bogey linkage reach their limits, an 

abruption of the iteration can induce 

Motion Control Tech Briefs,June 2002 
Rocky·7, a small robotic vehicle. is designed to traverse rocky 

terrain. The algorithm described in the text solves the inverse 

kinematic problem of the roverlterrain system during a compu· 

tational simulation of such a traversal. 

nonlinear equations. However, the rate of convergence 

can be tremendou ly decreased when a non-smooth 

terrain profile appears. Special care have to be taken to 

maintain robust and efficient 

solution in the case of nonsmooth terrain profile. Although the problem in hand 

is ill-po ed (i.e., it is wellknown that the ewton 

method cannot treat nonsmooth equations), we developed a heuristic solution to 

ease the computational diffiunpredictable solution of the configuration. To overcome the e numerical difficulties, we applied a weight factor to the 

residual of each contact equation. During the iteration, the weight factor for a 

given wheel can be made to approach 

zero to relax the contact condition. 

Whenever the wheel leaves the ground, 

its corr ponding weight factor i et to 

zero for a total relaxation of thi wheelterrain contact. The re- caling of the 

weight factors i coupled with the global 

ear h algorithm, which can detect the 

joint limits (as ociated with each of the 

wheel-terrain ontacts) for locking the 

joints, and can ample mall perturbation around the contacting location to 

det rmine the occurrence of a eparation of the wheel and the ground. 

Th tep-selection trat gy used in the 

global search is a backtracking line 

earch algorithm that monitor the 

progre of the iteration. For a mooth 

terrain profil ,lhe iterativ olution g nerat d b the eWLOn method converge 

vel rapidl to a I al minimum of th 

cUlty in the iteration . In 

practice, the wheel-terrain contact i 

treated as a non-penetrative type, which is 

not a reali tic portrait of the nature of the 

wheel-terrain interaction. Therefore, a 

earch direction to the wheel-terrain contact may not be in-line with the normal direction of the terrain (at the conta t location), instead, it could be anywhere 

along the perimeter of the wheel. The 

heuri ti olution lead to modeling th 

wheel-terrain contact quation as th distance con traint between the wheel center and the terrain profile. hown in all 

the preliminary te ting case, the modification of conta t equation yield a 

much-improved convergence in nonmooth terrain profile , and allows the 

modified ewton iteration to overcome 

man local irregularitie . 

Thi work was done by Jeng Yen oj Caltech Jor NASA s J et Propulsion Laboratory. For Jurther inJonnation, acces the 

Technical upport Package (TSP) free OIl' 

line at www.nasatech.com/tsp under the 

Mechanics category. 

NP0-20997 

Software for Simultaneous Control of 

Three Magnetic Bearings 

John H. Glenn Re ear-eh Center, leveland, Ohio 

Five- i , Three-Magneti -8 aring 

ontrol ode (F TMa ) is a ++-Ianguag comput r pro ram for I1lrolling a magneti thrust b aJ'ing in one 

de e f ff d m and twO magn ti radial bearing, ach in two degre s of 

freedom. These baring levitate a vertical·axis rotor for e p riments on the effects of vibration n turbom hin ry. 

When xecuted on a I-GHz pr e or, 

F TMa can ontrol the bearing/ rotor 

motion in ither a d centraliz d or a 

centralized (modal ontrol) manner at a 

I p tim of 56 Jl . Through keyb ard 

1000n onu'ol Tech Brier .June 2002 

ntrie ,th u er can modify uch bearing param ters as tiffn ,damping 

and bi . module in the progran1 generate ignal that can b uperimpo ed 

n the radial-bearing - and y-axi ontrol ignal to generat force that ex ite 

rot r vibration. Ther i an option to 

modulate the radial baring ontrol ignal with ine and in function, to 

mak the radial excitation for e v ctor 

r tat about th nominal central bearing 

axi . Ther i al 0 an option to e it 

rotor rigid-body m de ; d P nding on 

the polaritie of th e itation ignal apWW\ .nasale h.com 

Bener 

IllSeUaps NI 

lainlenanCe 

Production couplings 

Custom couplings 

Machined springs 

HELICAL 

PRODUCTS COMPANY. INC. 

901 W. McCoy Lane. P.O. Box 1069 

Santa Maria. CA 93456-1069 

tel 805·928·3851 fax 805-928·2369 

www.Heli·Cal.com 

For Free Info Circle No. 653 or 

Enter No. 653 at www.nasatech.comlrs 
ADVERTISEMENTS 

Precision inear 

Motion A embly 

PRECISION 

LINEAR MOTION .--

---

_ ..... "Rolling ring" linear actuator 

wiLit integrated linear scale. 

Resolution up to 0.0004 

inches (0.01 mm). Offset 

quadrature output signal to 

LIte controUer derives boLit 

linear position and rotational 

direction (travel djrection). 

Assembly built to customer specifications; arrives 

ready to instaU in production macrunery and connect 

to drive motor. Virtually zero backlash. Amacoil, 

Inc.; Tel: (800) 252-2645; Fax: (610) 485-2357; e-maH: 

amacoil@amacoil.com; http://www.amacoil.com. 

Amacoil, Inc. 

For Free Info Circle No. 615 or Enter No. 615 at www.nasatech.comlrs 

MICRO-DRIVES 

Is an international group of 

micromotor and gearbox 

manufacturers dedicated to 

providing quality products 

and senices wiLit timely delivery at a reasonable price. 

For over 40 years we have upplied OEMs with fractional horsepower motors and gearmotors for 

pumps, ventilation equipment, security and access 

control, printing machinery, motorized window 

treatments and gamjng equipment, medical equipment and in truments and almost any oLiter miniature actuator applications you can imagine. 

• Product sizes]2 to 80 mm 

• Power ratings .5 to 25 watts 

• Torque range up to 347.2 oz-in 

• Visit our web ite for pricing 

www.micro-drives.com 

Micro Mo 

-, ~ 

COMPANY PROFILE 

Micro Mo Electronics is an OEM 

supplier of fractional horsepower 

DC motors, precision gearheads, 

tachometers, encoders, brakes, 

and complete servo sySlems. 

earmotors from l.9 mm in diameter. Power outputs to 1,000 

watts. Over 1,000 matching gearhead types are 

available in ratio up to I,OOO,OOO:l. ustom motion systems and special modifications. ISO 9001 

certified. Micro Mo Electroni s, Inc., 14 1 Evergreen Ave., Clearwater, FL 33762-300 ; Phone 

(800) 07-9166 (U or Canada) or (727) 572-

0131; fax (727) 573-5918; web site: http://www. 

mi romo.com; e-mail: info@micromo.com. 

Micro Mo Electronics 

For Free Info Circle No. 651 or 

Visit www.nasatech.coml651 

MVpe2001 MOTION 

CONTROL SYSTEMS 

The M provides motion, velocity, position, and torque control wiLit an integrated PWM or 

linear amplifier in one 2" X 4" 

X 3.7" extruded metal case. It 

provides Device eC compliant, 

RS-232, or RS-485 multidrop control of brush 

and/or bru hless D motors. Up to 64 axe can be 

networked. Under S 600 in single piece quantities. Micro Mo Electronics, Inc., 148 I Evergreen 

Ave., Clearwater, FL 33762-3008; Phone: (SOO) S07-

9166 (U or Canada) or (727) 572'{)131; fax: (727) 

573-59IS; web site: http://www.micromo.com; 

e-mail: info@miromo.com. 

Micro Mo Electronics 

For Free Info Circle No. 652 or Visit www.nasatech.coml6S2 

Motion Control Tech Briefs 

plied to the radial bearing, either the 

bounce or the tilt mode i excited. 

This program was written by Carles R Mor1ison of Glenn Research Center. For further 

information, access the Technical upport 

Package (TSP) free on-line at www. 

nasatech.rom/ tsp under the Software categary. 

Inquiries concerning rights for the commercial use of this invention should be addressed to :ASA Glenn Research Center, 

Commercial Technology Office, Attn: Steve 

Fedor, Mail Stop 4-8, 21000 Brookpark 

Road, Cleveland, Ohio 44135. Refer to 

LEW-17293. 

Crowned Races for Crossed 

Roller Bearings 

Scuffing would be reduced. 

NASA:S Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California 

Crowned races have been proposed 

for crossed roller bearings. CroW1ling of 

the races is expected to reduce scuffing 

of the cylindrical rollers. Crowning of 

the race is expected to be especially beneficial in bearing made of polymers (intead of metals) to reduce weight. 

The crossed-roller bearing de ign is 

the roller equivalent of the x-type ball 

bearing design. In a cro ed-roller bearing, the race are conical surface at angles of 45° to the axis of rotation. The advantage and disadvantages of the ball 

and cro sed-roller designs are complementary: In compari on with ball bearing, roller bearing can with tand 

greater load. On the other hand, roller 

bearings are more usceptible to cuffing, 

which is caused by a kinematic mismatch 

between tangential roller speed at the 

inner and outer diameters of the race. 

In a cros ed-roller bearing with 

crowned races ( ee figure), the contact 

area, and thus the amount of scuffing, 

would be reduced (relative to that of conOLDER DESIGN: 

CONICAL RACES 

Inner Race Outer Race 

ical races) to a value near that of ball 

bearing. The crown radius is a free design parameter that can be chosen, along 

with other parameters, in con ideration 

of the bearing material(s) and the loads 

that must be borne in a given application. 

One might ask why it would be preferable to crown the races instead of crowning the roller. The reason i a practical 

one: Unlike in the case of steel bearing 

balls, it is difficult to fabricate polymeric 

bearing ball or polymeric crowned 

rollers with sufficient precision to ensure 

sharing ofloads as needed for long bearing life. On the other hand, cylindrical 

crowned rollers of ufficient preci ion 

can be fabricated easil by centerless 

grinding in conventional machines. 

This work was done by Donald Bickler of 

Caltecl~ for NASA's J et Propulsion Laboratory. For further information, access the 

Technical Support Package (TSP) free online at www.nasatech.com/ tsp under the 

Mechanics category. 

NP0-30203 

Crown Radius 

PROPOSED DESIGN: 

CROWNED RACES 

~I~ ---AxIS of RotatIon of Overall Beanng 

Crowned Races, in contradistinction to conical races, would function with less scuffing in roller/race 

co ntact areas. 

www.nasalech.com Motion Control Tech Briefs,June 2002 
NeWonthe 

MARKET. 

Digital Oscilloscopes 

The TDSIOOO and TDS2000 series digital 

storage oscillosco pes fro m Tektronix, 

Beaverton , OR, fea ture a Fast Fo urier 

Transform (FFT) function to analyze, characterize, and troubleshoot circuits, and a 

colo r LCD display. The TDS2000 family is 

available in 2- and 4-channel versions, deLivering up to 200 MHz bandwidth and 2 GS/ s 

maximum sample rate. The TDS1000 are 2-chann el instruments with 

a 1 GS/ s maximum sample rate and bandwidth up to 100 MHz. For 

Free Info Circle No. 700 or Visit www.nasatech.comltektronix 

Waveform Digitizer Cards 

Gage Applied, Montreal, Canada, 

has released Compu cope waveform 

digitizer card for the CompactPCI 

bus that offer sample rates for 8-bit, 

14-bit, and 16-bit sampling resolution. The Compu cope 85Gc features 

5 GS/ s sampling and 500-MHz bandwidth on two simultaneous channels. The Compu cope 1610C 

features 16-bit vertical resolution at a 10 MSI ampling rate for 

two imultaneou channel . For Free Info Circle No. 701 or Visit 

www.nasatech.com/gage 

Rugged Notebook Computer 

D leh mputer Systems, Fremont, CA, offers 

the otePAC~ indu trial notebook computer featuring an integrated full-color 

inkjet ptinter protected by an all-metal 

enclo ure. The printer a embly is 

attached to the otePA via a machined 

interface plate and high tensile screws to form a ingle, portable unit 

The printer is battery powered and is suitable for emergency ervices, 

the military, public utilitie , and other field service. For Free Info Circle 

No. 702 or Visit www.nasatech.comldolch 

SensorlTransducer System 

Tran ducer Technique , Temecula, CA, has combined its SW 

ocket wrench torque en or and its PHM-100 handheld tran ducer 

indicator into one ystem, providing measurements of bolt or nut 

wrenching torques in either direction. The PHM-100 has a peak hold 

feature that capture at less than one milli econd and operates on a 

9-volt battery for 60 hours. The W is a reaction-type torque ensor 

offered in ix range from 10 to 1000 fl. lb . full cale. For Free Info 

Circle No. 703 or Visit www.nasatech.comltt 

Motion and Stress Simulation 

M .vi ual astran 4D 2002 from 

M . oftware, anta Ana, CA, i a 

Windm -based oftware that ets 3D 

assemblies into motion, animating the 

resulting stre e . it supports mo t CAD 

ystems through integration with utodesk InventorN and 

Mechanical D ktop·, Prol E TGI EER· , oLidWorks·, and olid 

Edge·, and tandard fil formats. Feature include anal i of rigid 

bod dynamics, vibrati n, deflection, buckling, stead tate heat 

transfer, redundant on traint relief, and photo-realistic rendering. 

For Free Info Circle No. 704 or Visit www.nasatech.comlmsc 

Tech Brief: ,June 2002 

~l Globe Motors'" EXPERTS IN MonON CONTROL 

Optimum Precision '" 

Optimum Performance 

Globe Motors has the precision 

motion control solution for your 

automotive application. Our 

standard and custom motors 

meet high-performance needs, 

tight tolerances, and 

stringent specifications. 

QS9000 CERTifiED 

For Free Info Circle No. 450 or 

Visit www.nasatech.coml450 

For Free Info Circle No. 542 or 

Enter No. 542 at www.nasatech.comlrs 73 
Qyality 

COMBINED WITH 

PERFORMANCE 

RAE's GIL2DD Gearbox. 

A perfect fit for RAE's DC 

motors M4DDD and 

M6DDD. Rugged and 

heavy duty with speeds 

up to 400 RPM and 

ratings at 300 in-Ibs. 

Perfect for long lasting 

performance. 

74 

. RAE Cotporatk.tn 4615 W. Prime Parl<v{ay • McHenry, IL 60050-7937 USA 

Tel 815-385-3500 • Fax 815-363·1641 • www.raemotors.com 

Quality 

TOUGH, DEPENDABLE 

and VERSATILE 

RAE's M4DDD DC Motor. Extremely 

durable. High output torque. Rating 

to ~ HP and speeds to 3500 RPM. 

the M4000 motor series offers a 

broad range of performance potential 

and is perfect for various motor sizes 

and stack lengths. 

. RAE Co/'ptN"ation 

4615 W. Prune Paricway 

McHenry, IL 60050-7937 USA 

Tel 815-385·350(] • Fax 815·363-1641 

www.raemotors.com 

For Free Info Circle No. 543 or 

Enter No. 543 at www.nasatech.comlrs 

~ ASME International 

In Business Problems? 

In-Company Solutions 

Identify your training needs and save time, 

while cutting costs with ASME In-Company 

Programs! 

• ASME has the engineering courses and industry 

experts that enable your company to stay ahead 

in today's competitive marketplace. 

• We will work closely with you to ensure that 

objectives are met and examples are incorporated 

specific to your company's needs. 

Call or e-mail to find out more information about 

ASME In-Company Programs today! 

ASME International 

Tel: 212-591-7752 

Web: www.asme.orglpro_dev 

Email: rubine@asme.org 

For Free Info Circle No. 544 or 

Enter No. 544 at www.nasatech.comlrs 

New 

LITERATURE 

Pressure and Flow Instruments 

The CO TROLCAT" ew Horizon · in 

Pressure, Flow & Everything Else handbook 

from OMEGA Engineering, Stamford, CT, fearures information on conductivity and dissolved oxygen meters, controllers and transmitters, and handheld in truments for pH, 

temperarure, pressure, and airflow. The 

handbook also features load cells, flow 

meters, signal onditioners and switches, and 

industrial pres ure transducers and transmitters. For Free Info Circle No. 706 or Visit 

www.nasatech.comlomega 

__ O-Ring Seals 

==--

Parker Hannifm eal Group, Irvine, CA, has 

released a catalog de cribing product forms 

and applications for its o-ring seals. 

Applications include automotive systems, 

chemical processing equipment, medical 

device , aerospace vehicles, and ultra-highpurity semiconductor processing. AI 0 included are the compound mixing and tooling 

operations used to manufacture the seals. For 

Free Info Circle No. 707 or Visit www.nasatech.com/parker 

Data Acquisition Systems 

The DAQ esigner~ 2002 CD from 

National [n truments, Au tin, TX, helps 

users select oftware and hardware products 

for their custom data acqui ition ystems. 

Users answer questions about their application details, and the configuration advisor 

recommends the best oftware and hardware for application in 

acoustic/ vibration, inspection and placement, data logging and lowfrequency ourcing, ignal acquisition and generation, control and 

simulation, and data management. For Free Info Circle No. 708 or 

Visit www.nasatech.comlni 

Paperless Recorders 

Monarch In trument, Amherst, NH, offers a 

brochure highlighting its Data-Charr- paperJes 

recorders that accept up to 12 direct universal 

inputs including thermocouples, RTDs, DC voltage, current, and dry contact. Information i 

d.i played on LCD di plays and recorded to 

3.5" disk, 100 MB Zip disk, or PCMCIA card . 

For Free Info Circle No. 709 or Visit www. 

nasatech.comlmonarch 

Plastic Fasteners and Components 

A 368-page catalog of plastic fasteners and 

components is available from Craftech Indu tries, 

Hudson, NY. The catalog includes ANSI and DIN 

standard machine screws, cap crews, nuts, washers, pacers, hinges, handles, u-bolts, eye bolts, 

\vire handling hardware, rube and hose fittings, 

caps and plugs, and panel fasteners. More than 

80 material are available. For Free Info Circle 

No. 710 or Visit www.nasatech.comlcraftech 

ASA Tech Briefs,June 2002 
, 

, 

, 

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, 

, 

, 

I 

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Vol. 26, No. 6 June 2002 This form expires: September 2002 

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Servometere miniature metal bellows for flexible seals, volume 

compensation, pressure responsive devices, EMI hields, vibration 

L.. __ ""':"::':'---J dampeners, etc. A 12-page De ign 

Manual contains detailed formulas for designing 

miniature nickel bellows plus parts which lend 

themselves to electroforming. Servometer® 

Precision Manufacturing Group, LLC, 501 Little 

Falls Rd., Cedar Grove, ~ 07009-1291; Tel: 97~7 5-

4630; Fax: 97~785-0756; www.servometer.com 

Servometer® 

Precision Manufacturing Group, LLC 

For Free Info Circle No. 676 or 

Enter No. 676 at www.nasatech.com/rs 

AWARD WINNING 

FLUID FLOW 

SOFTWARE 

Design Flow Solutions (OF) Desig et 

provides complete hydraulic analysis of 

piping networks for both gases and liquids. etwork branche can consist of any combination of pipe, fittings, and valves, with virwally no limit 

on components. DesigNet solves networks using the 

Darcy-Weisbach and Bernoulli's for liquids and the 

differential fonn of Bernoulli's theorem together with 

numerical integration techniques for gases. Considers 

sonic flow and the heat transfer limitations for gases. 

New training manual is now available. ABZ, Inc.; Tel: 

800-747-7401; Fax: 70~31-5282; www.abzinc.com 

ABZ, Incorporated 

For Free Info Circle No. 680 or Visit www.nasatech.com/680 

SMALL LINEAR 

TRANSDUCERS -

50,000,000 

CYCLES MIN. 

Model 5903 • For animatronies, robotics, positioning, linear actuators, 

ind./aircraft conti. SPEC: Output moothness: 

.05% * td. Res: IIill, 5Rn, lORn, 20Rn. Dimens: 

Only .312 (8mm) 00, Length 1/ 2" to 4" • Stroke: 

Approx. 1" longer than body length * td. 

Linearity: I %, custom avail. * AI. housings, SS 

hafts. Ind. ~30 gao Lead wires. JDK Controls, 424 

Crown Pt. Cir., Grass Valley, CA 95945; Tel: 800-

880-7730; wwwJdkcontrol .com 

JDK Controls 

For Free Info Circle No. 682 or 

Enter No. 682 at www.nasatech.com/rs 

ELECTRONIC 

COMPONENTS 

DISTRIBUTOR 

Mouser Electronics catalog provides product & pricing data for 

over 130,000 components from 

200+ leading suppliers. Our cataL.. __ --===::::l log is updated every 90 days and 

our Internet is updated daily. Our web site offers 

secure online ordering, data sheets, search capabilities, and much more. Mouser Electronic , Inc., A 

TT[ Inc. Company; Tel: 800-346-6873 or 817-804-

3888; Fax: 817-804-3899; e-mail:catalog@mouser.com; 

www.mouser.com 

76 

Mouser Electronics, Inc. 

For Free Info Circle No. 686 or 

Enter No. 686 at www.nasatech.com/rs 

Argyle International, an American corporation, supplies optical components of all type 

including prisms, lenses, Iightpipes, windows, beamsplitters. 

Custom manufactured to your 

specifications at our factory in China, quantities 

range from prototype to OEM and qualiry is always 

excellent. Materials used range from all glas es to 

fu ed silica, ilicon, sapphire, and others. Call, fax, 

e-mail with your requirements. Argyle International 

Inc., 254 Wall St., Princeton, a 08540; Tel: 609-924-

9484; Fax: 609-924-2679; www.argyleoptics.com 

Argyle International Inc. 

For Free Info Circle No. 618 or 

Visit www.nasatech.com/618 

IEC CORPORATION 

INTRODUCES FIBER 

OPTIC SLIP RING LINE 

rEC has a catalog of their standard 

line, but pride them elve in tating 

that they only sell about 10% standard. Meaning that 90% of their 

busines lie in modified and custom designs. The fiber optic rotary joint. or FORJ. 

i offered from I to 7 channels, single or multimode. The tandard options available on the electrical component are: 2-60 rings, current to 90 

amps, voltage to 6000V. signal lO 250 MHz. IEC 

orporation, 3100 Longhorn Blvd., Austin, TX 

78758; Tel: 512-836-0547; Fax: 512-834-1082; e-mail: 

info@ieccorporation.com; www.ieccorporation.com 

IEC Corporation 

POROUS 

CERAMIC 

VACUUM 

CHUCK 

PhotoMachining of· 

fers a porous ceramic 

vacuum chuck for use 

with thin films and other flat samples. Pore izes 

under 25 microns assure uniform suction and holcling 

power for even the smallest partS. PhotoMachining 

aI 0 provides contract laser-manufacturing services, 

and de igns and builds CUSlOm laser-based manufacturing equipment. PhoLOMachining, Inc., 4 Industrial 

Dr., Unit 40, Pelham, NH 03076; Tel: 6O~2-9944; 

Fax: 6O~6-8844; rschaeffer@photomachining.com; 

www.photomachining.com 

PhotoMachining, Inc. 

For Free Info Circle No. 683 or 

Enter No. 683 at www.nasatech.com/rs 

TILT SENSOR 

Kavlico' tilt ensor has a 

molded housing and 

cable assembly providing 

excellent humidity resistance for oUldoor installations. Rugged design is 

ideal for high vibration situations such as road contruction equipment, agricultural vehicles, crane & 

boom, ci or lifts. truck rollover, and more. Quick 

response Lime 0.5 to 3 seconds, operates on 5 Vdc 

and provides a .5 to 4.5 Vdc outpUl. Features EMI, 

RFI, ESD, and reverse polariry protection. Kavlico 

Corp.; Tel: 805-52~2000; www.kavlico.com 

Kavlico Corporation 

For Free Info Circle No. 687 or Enter No. 687 at www.nasatech.com/rs 

www.nasarech.com 

FMEA SOFTWARE 

Failure Modes and Effects 

Analysis using FMEA-ProTM 5 

empowers automotive, consumer, electronic, aerospace, 

defense and general manufacturing industries to 

improve the qualiry, reliabiliry and safety of their products. This fully cu tomizable 

software helps companies comply with QS 9000, 

[SO 9000, SAE J1739. MIL-STD-1629, [SO/ TS 

16949 and other regulations. FMEA-ProTM 5 contains extensive libraries and data protection fea· 

ture . The repon generation tools suppon a variery 

of file formalS, including HTML and PDF. 

Download a free trial: www.&neasoftware.com. 

Dyadem International ltd. 

For Free Info Circle No. 678 or Visit www.nasatech.com/678 

PRESSURE 

INDICATING 

SENSOR FILMS 

Pressurex force indicating 

sensor films enable you to 

quickly. accurately and inexpensively measure pre ure distribution and magnitude between any two contacting surfaces. Jdeal QC 

and R&D applications include evaluation of bolted 

joints and gasketed surfaces, lamination presse , nip 

impressions, heat seals, composite material tests and 

machine calibration. FREE samples. Sensor Products 

Inc. USA; Tel: 97~884-1755; Fax: 973- 84-1699; 

e-mail: sales@Sensorprod.com; www.sensorprod.com 

Sensor Products Inc. USA 

For Free Info Circle No. 681 or Enter No. 681 at www.nasatech.com/rs 

SELF-COMPENSATED 

LIQUID LEVELS 

Patented Model 187 SelfCom pen ated Liquid Level 

lrtstrument use capacitance-based 

technology to address errors in 

level measurements due to changing liquid/gas compo iLions, pressures, temperatures and densities in ide a ve el. The instrument 

continuously monilOrs a gas and liquid reference 

en or, as well as a linear sensor that spans the vessel height. American Magnetics, Inc.; Tel: 65-4 2-

1056; e·mail: sales@americanmagnetics.com; 

www.americanmagneti.com. 

American Magnetics, Inc. 

For Free Info Circle No. 684 or 

Enter No. 684 at www.nasatech.com/rs 

ADAPTABLE WORKSTATION SYSTEMS 

Arlink's new 32-page Order and 

Infonnation Guide is packed with 

products and planning tools helping you create the perfect solution 

for any application. The guide contains many new item and an easy to use matrix simplifying configuring and acce orizing workstations. 

Choose a vanery of workstation products including 

modular/cantilever, mobile, height adjustable, and 

traditional workbenches. Special sections feature 

workflow management solutions, static control accessories, computing suppOrt, ergonomic issues, and 

more. Arlink; www.arlink.com 

Arlink 

For Free Info Circle No. 669 or Visit www.nasatech.com/669 

NASA Tech Briefs,June 2002 
Over 6,000,000 springs in stock 

including Mil Spec, Metric and 

English units. 

• A fuJI line of compression, 

extension and torsion springs. 

• Every shipment inspected, certified and traceable - no econds or recycled rejects. 

• Free tock spring catalog, free custom spring 

designs and quotations. 

Use response card, call 800-633-7734, or go to 

www.msdspring.com. 

MSDivisions (MSDSpring) 

For Free Info Circle No. 666 or 

Visit www.nasatech.com/666 

LINEAR 

ACTUATORS 

Ideal for robotics, 

pick-and-place, packaging, medical 

equipment, clean 

room, tesling, processing, and positioning, the "Digit-

• (High Speed) linear actuators are available in 

stroke lengths to 8 in. Offering speeds to 14 in/sec, 

force to 190 lb , repeatability to 1.5 microns. Totally 

enclosed, these actuators are available in a variety of 

drive screw combinations. Ultra Motion; Tel: 631-

29 9179; Fax: 31-298-6593. 

Ultra Motion 

For Free Info Circle No. 667 or Visit www.nasatech_com/667 

OGPWEB SITE 

Optical Gaging Products, 

Inc . (OGP ) is a leading 

manufacturer of dimenional measurement systems. It web ite, WWW. 

ogpnet.com, has more 

than 100 pages of information about all the company's products, including 

the latest multi-sensor technologie and oftware. 

Optical Gaging Products, Inc., 50 Hudson Avenue, 

Roche ter, NY 14621; Tel: 5 5-544-0400; Toll-free: 

00-647-4243; www.ogpnet.com 

Optical Gaging Products, Inc. 

For Free Info Circle No. 668 or Visit www_nasatech.com/668 

SURFACE 

PROFILING TOOL 

Triptar's surface profiling 

tool, urface copeTM, renders 3D image of surfaces. 

II i combined wilh a Slandard OEM microscope to 

extract height information 

throughout the field of view. 

Acqui ition i e tremely fast. 

'-:-_~== __ :-' Re olution is limited only by 

the micros ope and the electronic camera used to 

apture the image. Triptar Lens ompany, Inc.; 

www.triptar.com/ urfacecope.htm. 

Triptar Lens Company, Inc. 

For Free Info Circle No. 672 or 

Visit www.nasatech.com/672 

Free software is now available that allows engineers 

to search through thousands of standard piral 

retaining rings and space 

saving wave spring . 

Utilize interactive design 

wizards to create custom 

rings and springs, and input assembly parameters to 

calculate thrust capacity, maximum rpm and stress. 

Smalley Steel Ring Company, 555 Oak-wood Road, 

Lake Zurich, IL 60047; Tel: 847-719-5900; Fax: 847-

719-5999; e-mail: info@smalley.com;wwwmalley.com 

Smalley Steel Ring Company 

For Free Info Circle No. 688 or 

Enter No. 688 at www.nasatech.com/rs 

DIGITAL 

$- ~ -- DELAY/PULSE 

a- !!! ~!. , GENERATOR 

DET's PDG-2510 is a 

precision digital delay and pul e generator providing two output channel with independent 

delay and pul e width adju table from 0 to 99.9 

seconds with 25 nanoseconds resolution. With a 

standard RS-232 interface, it is well suited for 

laser timing, automated te ting and precision 

pulse applications. ee our web site for data 

sheets and additional product information. 

Directed Energy; Tel: 970-493-1901; Fax: 970-

493-1903; e-mail: deiinfo@directedenergy.com; 

www.directedenergy.com 

Directed Energy, Inc. (DEI) 

For Free Info Circle No_ 660 or 

Visit www.nasatech.com/660 

OEM MANUFACTURING 

Poly cience offers contract man ufacturing , including OEM and 

turnkey projects. Poly cience' vertical inlegrated facility is available 

for cost..,ffective design, engineering, and manufacture of a wide 

variety of products. Core are of experti e are in 

electronics, refrigeration, sheet metal, powder coaling and assembly. From initial concept to final production , Poly cience can produce complete electromechanical systems and sub-as emblies, including temperature control equipment_ PolyScience; 

Tel: 7-647-0611; Toll-free: 00-229-7569; Fa.x: 47-

647-] ]55; e-mail: catalog@polyscience.com; 

www.polyscience.com 

PolyScience 

For Free Info Circle No. 671 or Visit www_nasatech.com/671 

II AUTO-SLIDES" 

MOTOR READY 

LINEAR BALL OR 

CROSSED ROLLER 

L-___ ---' STAGES 

With a flexible zero backla h coupling, straight 

line accuracy of up to 0.0001" per inch of travel 

and repeatability of 0.0001", the new lides offer 

pr i ion linear motion at prices startmg at 44. 

Auto- Iide provide a 3/ .. diameter 0.10" lead 

screw with anti-backlash nut and contain a ema 

23 mount for motor in tallation. They are available with special configurations and a variety of 

leads and pitches. Tusk Direct; Tel: 00-447-2042 

or 203-790-461]; www.tuskdirect.com. 

Tusk Direct 

For Free Info Circle No. 690 or 

Enter No. 690 at www.nasatech.com/rs 

PEM TO SELF·CLlNCHING 

CABLE TIE·MOUNT 

HARDWARE 

Literature describes the new PEM 

Type TD'" cable-mount fastener 

that clinches permanently in metal 

sheets from .040" to .125" (lmm-3.2mm) in thickness. It provides a secure, cl ean, accurate attachment point for enclo ure-mounted cables and 

wires. The TY_DTM mounting hardware is compact, 

minimizes EMI/RFI, and reduces total installed 

costs. PEM Fastening Systems - a PennEngineering 

company; Tel: 800-237-4736; Fax: 215-766-0143; 

www.pemnet.com 

PEM Fastening Systems - A 

PennEngineering Company 

For Free Info Circle No. 689 or 

Enter No. 689 at www.nasatech.comirs 

SUBSCRIBE TO 

NATIONAL 

INSTRUMENTS 

NEWSLETIERS 

Packed full of product informa-

'-:-____ ...J tion, industry news, and customer 

application successes, N1 gives you valuable technical information for creating your measurement and 

automation solution based on industry-standard 

technology. For your FREE In trumentation 

Newsletter, I ew, or e upport ews subscription, go to nLcom/ info and enter nag74{). ational 

In truments; Tel: 512-683-0100; Toll-free: 800-452-

6914; Fax: 512-683-9300; e-mail: info@ni.com. 

National Instruments 

For Free Info Circle No. 670 or 

Visit www.nasatech.com/670 

CUSTOM CERAMIC 

COMPONENTS 

Pan shapes to olve functional 

problem for environments where 

plastics and metal will not work. 

• With tands Extremely High 

Temperatures 

• Threaded Components 

• E.xacting Tolerances 

• tock Hex-Head Alumina uts & Bolts 

• Re ists Corrosion and Abrasion 

• imple to Complex hapes 

• Affordable Tooling 

Geramco, Inc., Genter Conway, NH; Tel: 603-447-2090; 

Fax: 603-447-3906; e-mail: info@ceramcoceramics.com; 

www.ceramcoceramics.com 

Ceramco, Inc. 

For Free Info Circle No. 685 or 

Visit www.nasatech.com/685 

PRECISION-ENGINEERED 

RINGS 

A Tolerance Rings manufactures 

and distributes a precision-engineered 

ring that u e the natural ela [icity of 

metals to ecurely hold parts and tran mit torque. 

• Allows limitle pre-alignment of parts for precise 

timing 

• ot onl transmits torque but works as a afety 

clutch to prevent damage to expensive components 

• Holds secure over extreme temperatures and compensates for differing rates of material expansion 

• Help eliminate vibration, reducing noi e and 

wear on brushe in electric motors 

Toleranc Rings; Toll-free: 77- 65-7464; 

www.ualolerancerings.com 

USA Tolerance Rings 

For Free Info Circle No. 673 or Visit www.nasatech_com/673 

. ·.\SA Tech Brief, Ju c:::...=. 200 :....... _____________ ...::\\,,;.; ,,:.:;.na!:::sa:::.:: te;.;:;.:;:;;;.;: :.:.I _______________________ .....c.. ..... __ 
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Advertisers listed in bold-face type have banner ads on the NASA Tech Briefs Web site - www.nasatech.com 

Company 

Reader Service 

Number 

ABZ ......................................................................................... 680 ......... .. 

Page 

.. .......... 76 

Accuride .................................................................................. 524 ...................................... 51 

ACR ystems Inc ................................................................... .. 541 ...................................... 66 

Aero Tec .................................................................................. 454 ...................................... 66 

Algor. Inc. .......................................................................... 513 .................................... 7 

AmacoilInc . ............................................................................ 615 ...................................... 72 

American Magnetics, Inc ....................................................... 684 ...................................... 76 

Ansart Corporation ................................................................ 566 ...................................... 45 

Argyle International Inc .................... .................................... 618 ...................................... 76 

Arlink ....................................................................................... 669 ...................................... 76 

ASME International ............................................................... 544 ...................................... 74 

AulOdesk .................................................................................. 509 ................. .................... 19 

BSI/Broadax Systerns .............................................................. 506 ........................................ 8 

Campbell Scientific ................................................................ 535 ...................................... 52 

Gemmco Inc ... ""."""."""."."" ............................................ 685 ...................................... 77 

Compaq Computer Corporation .......................................... 518 ...................................... II 

Cornsollnc. .................................................................................................................... 2!>-26 

DewetrOn .................................................................................. 520 ...................................... 33 

Digi-Key COrporation .............................................................. 503 ........................................ 3 

Directed Energy, Inc ............................................................... 660 ...................................... 77 

Dolch Computer ) terns ...................................................... 517 ...................................... 23 

Duma Optronics Ltd ............................................................... 402 .................................... Ila 

Dyadem International ............................................................ 678 ...................................... 76 

ED Unigraphics .................................................................... 507 ........................................ 9 

Electrocube .............................................................................. 529 ...................................... 50 

Emhart, a Black & Decker Company ........................... .411,534 ................................ 20-21 

Epix .......................................................................................... 445 .................................... 14a 

Fluke E1ectrorucs .................................................................... 532 ...................................... 40 

Gage Applied, Inc ........................... ............................. .......... 516 ..................................... 55 

Globe Motors ......................................................................... 450 ...................................... 73 

HD }~tems, Inc .............................................................. 656-659 ...................................... 69 

HeUcal ProductS Company .................................................... 653 ...................................... 71 

mM ........................................................................................................................................ 28 

lEC COrporation ...................................................................... 677 ...................................... 76 

IEEE .......................................................................................... 512 ...................................... 15 

Innovative Integration ......... ........................................ 527 ...................................... 38 

Instron COrporation ................................................................ 530 ...................................... 10 

Integrated Engineering So[t>\are .......................................... 546 ............................ COV fV 

IOtech ............................................................................................................................ 40 A-B 

]DK COntrols ............................................................................ 682 ...................................... 76 

Kaman Sensors ........................................................................ 533 ...................................... 22 

KavUco ...................................................................................... 687 ...................................... 76 

Keithley Instruments .......................................................... 523 .................................. 43 

Master Bond 1nc. ................................................................ 542 .................................. 73 

The MathWorks, Inc .............................................................. 522 ...................................... 49 

NASA Tech Briefs, ISSN 0145-g19X. USPS 75()'{)70, copyright ©2oo2 in U.S. is published 

monthly by Associated Business Publications Co., Ltd., g17 Madison Ave., ewYork. NY 

10017-5391. The copyright infomlation does not include the (U.S. rights to) indhojdual 

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Company 

Reader Service 

Number Page 

Micro Mo EleCtronics .................................................... 651, 652 ...................................... 72 

Microsoft Business Tools Div . ................................................ 504 .................................... 4-5 

MicroStrain ............ .................................................................. 508 ...................................... 56 

Minco Products, Inc ............................................................... 538 ...................................... 64 

Mouser Electronics, Inc ........ ................................................ 686 ...................................... 76 

MSC Software .................................................................... 511 .............................. 16-17 

MSDivisions .............................................................................. 666 ...................................... 77 

National Instruments Corporation .................................... 670 .......... COV n, 44. 77. la 

Noran Engineering, Inc ......................................................... 537 ...................................... 57 

Omega Engineering, Inc ............................................... 500, 501 ........................................ 1 

Optical Gaging Products Inc ................................................. 668 ...................................... 77 

Panasonic VISion ystems Group .................................................................... 59, 61,63,65 

PEM Fastening Systems-A PennEngineering COmpany ...... 689 ...................................... 77 

PhotoMachining, Inc .......................................................... .. 683 ...................................... 76 

Polyscience ............................................................................. 671 ...................................... 77 

Presray COrporation ................................................................ 549 ...................................... 58 

Prior Scientific, Inc ................................................................. 42 ................. .................. 12a 

PTC .......................................................................................... 531 ................................ 46-47 

RAE Corporation ................................................................... .543 ...................................... 74 

Renishaw Inc ........................................................................... 654 ...................................... 68 

Research Systems .............................................................. 525 .................................. 36 

Sensor Products Inc ............................................................... 681 ...................................... 76 

Sensors Unlimited .................................................................. 547 ...................................... 53 

Servometer .............................................................................. 676 ...................................... 76 

malley Steel Ring Company ................................................ 688 ...................................... 77 

SoUdWorks ............................................................. .. .. ..... 515 ................................ 12-13 

Spectra-Physics Lasers ............................................................ 404 ...................................... 7a 

tanford Research ysterns .................................................... 528 ...................................... 39 

lellarNet Inc ........................................................................... 49 ...................................... 8a 

tockerYale Canada, Inc ......................................................... 401 ..................................... 6a 

Synrad, Inc .......................................................... .................... 502 ........................................ 2 

TEAC America ....................................................................... 505 ...................................... 35 

Thenno Laser Science ............................................................ 484 ...................................... 3a 

Thomson Industries, Inc ....................................................... 545 ............................ COV IU 

TranTek Drive ystems Inc ........................... ......................... 655 ...................................... 70 

Triptar Lens Co ....................................................................... 672 ...................................... 77 

Tusk Direct .............................................................................. 690 ...................................... 77 

Ultra Motion ............................................................................ 667 ...................................... 77 

USA Tolerance Rings .............................................................. 673 ...................................... 77 

Veimex ...................................................................................... 539 ...................................... 66 

VX Corporation ........................................ : ............................. 526 ...................................... 37 

yet2.com .................................................................... 585. 489 .................. 24. 60. Sa, 9a 

ZC & R ...................................................................................... 469 .. · ................................... 5a 

Zaber ........................................................................................ 403 .................................... 14a 

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08076-9023. 

78 www.nasatech.com ASA Tech Briefs.June 2002 

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For Free Info Circle No. 546 or Enter No. 546 at www.nasatech.comJrs