-TREFERENCE 

COpy 'I 1 7 200l 

KSCLIBRARY 

SDH JS>I 

LtE! ·W~ 

9tO-IOI 
Hundreds of Tests, 

One Test Driver 

The Automotive Test Platform 

National Instruments offers you a customizable test platform for your unique automotive test needs. 

With it, you can develop hundreds of automotive test systems including: 

• Telematics test • NVH measurements 

• Synchronized CAN and DAQ measurements • ECU test 

• Fuel cell test • ABS test 

• Dynamometer control • Component test 

• Test data management • Test report generation 

Based on National Instruments LabVIEW' and PXI, the platform includes standard technologies 

from NI such as data acquisition, signal conditioning, motion and vision, CAN, and DIAdemN analysis 

and report generation software. 

National Instruments delivers the technology of today's automotive tests. 

Download FREE start-up kits for examples of 

how to apply the Automotive Test Platform. 

Visit ni.com/info and enter na5n07. 

NATIONAL 

INSTRUMENTSN 

(800) 811-9573 

Fax: (512) 683-9300 • info@ni.com 
Over 5,000 pages of Process Control and 

( € Measurement Solutions 

v1EGA offers the most impressive 

stomer service in the industry. 

rtified with manufacturing knowwand thousands of products 

-hand for immediate delivery, 

AEGA is your one-stop choice. 

lame day shipping 

ree loaner program 

)nline quotes and sales 

:ertified calibration lab 

:ustom design department 

leg reed application engineers 

nowledgeable sales associates 

xtensive worldwide warehousing 

,mega. com· 

Request Your FREE Copy Today 

Shop online at omega.conrm 

infrareddepot.com 

OCOPYRIGHT toOl OMEGA ENCIJIEER'NC. IJIC AU RIGIm RESERVED 

t-- . . ""'--' .... r. .............. ~ .. - ------ 01 
CO2 Laser Applications of the Month 

SYNRAD 

An Excel Technology Company 

A Marking Cosmetic Containers with Sealed CO2 Lasers 

Marking anodized aluminum (left) and PVC (right) cosmetic containers with 

Synrad CO2 lasers is a clean, quick, and easy process! The contrasting 

alphanumeric code, on the anodized aluminum lid, was marked with 25 watts of 

laser power at a speed of 35" per second. The PVC tube was marked using 10 

watts, also at a speed of 35" per second. 

A Laser Marking Automotive Glass 

Synrad CO2 lasers create readable 

2D Data Matrixnl codes on tinted auto 

gla s, a sisted by the use of WinMark 

Pro' spot marking style property. This 

code was marked at a speed of 15" per 

second using a 10-watt laser with a 

re olution of 50 dpi. The spot marking 

style was et to "Yes" and spot mark 

duration was O.lmS. The marks were 

created using 2 pas es of the laser, in a 

total cycle time of 1.7 seconds. (The 

glass i illuminated from behind for 

photo purposes.) 

A Laser Cutting Mild Steel 

Due to a mailer kerf and focused 

spot size, la ers produce greater 

detailed cuts than routers. Being a noncontact process using lasers eliminates 

the added cost of bit replacements. The 

laser cutting process also provides 

much better edge quality then plasma 

cutters or oxygen-acetylene torches. 

The moose silhouette in the photo 

to the right, cut from 2mm-thick mild 

steel, wa created using an average of 

138 watt of laser power and 40psi 

oxygen assist. Cutting speed wa 30" 

per minute. 

This decorative lawn ornament was 

created using a Synrad Evolution 240 

CO2 laser. 

Date codes, bar codes, text and 

graphics may be marked on a wide 

range of packaging materials with 

sealed CO2 lasers. The cosmetic 

containers in the photos to the left were 

both marked with a 25-watt laser and 

galvo-based marking head. These 

containers were marked while 

tationary, but "on-the-fly" marking is 

also possible with Synrad's FH 

"Tracker" Marking Head. WinMark Pro 

laser marking software enables u ers to 

quickly and easily change marks, or set 

up automated coding processes. 

The laser produced lightly 

contrasting marks on the gray anodized 

aluminum lid, excellent for ubtle 

product names and logos. The marks on 

the PVC material are perfect for erial 

coding and date identification! 

Readable codes can be made on 

tinted glass using a 10-watt laser. 

Discover more CO2 /aser applications! 

Sign up for our 

online Applications Newsletter at 

www.synrad.comlsignup1 

All applications on this page were 

processed at SYllrad's Applicatiolls 

Laboratory. Synrad, the world's 

leading manuJacturer oj sealed CO2 

lasers, offers Jree process evaluations 

to companies with qualified 

applications. Call1-800-SYNRADl Jor 

more inJormation. 

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

tel 1.425.349.3500 • toll-free 1.800.SYNRAD1 • fax 1.425.349.3667 • e-mail synrad@synrad.com · www.synrad.com 

For Free Info Enter No. 502 at www.nasatech.com/rs 

02002 -

Microsoft 

~ 

Corporation. All rtghts reserved. Microsoft IS a reglstered trademark of MICrOSOft CorporatIOn in the United States and/or other countries. 
Introducing Microsoft Projec Se er 2002 newest ay to m'lnage 0 enter rise p o'ects t ev y 

organi ional lev I Today's complex projects have grown to encompass multiple departments, organizations, and 

geographies, which means visibility and collaboration are more essential than ever. Part of the Microsoft .NET 

family of servers, Microsoft Project Server 2002 works with Microsoft Project Professional 2002 to help you manage 

resources and model projects across your portfolio. Web-based access to project information keeps everyone in the 

loop, at any time and from anywhere. And the open architecture in Microsoft Project Server 2002 allows you to deploy 

a customized, secure, enterprise-scale project-management solution that integrates with your current business 

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 Soft a e for he A I/e Business. 

For Free Info Enter No. 504 at www.nasatech.com/rs 
TECH BRIEFS July 2002 • Vol. 26 No. 7 

ENGINEERING SOLUTIONS FOR DESIGN & MANUFACTURING 

FEATURES 

22 Application Briefs 

24 Automakers See Fuel Cells 

as the Next Best Power 

SOLUTIONS 

$ 27 Technology Focus: Sensors 

27 Flexible Piezoelectric Actuators 

27 System Locates Buried Objects Marked by 

Electromagnetic Tags 

28 Advanced Capacitive-Sensor Turbine-Blade-Monitoring 

System 

30 Artificial Neural Networks for Organizing Sensor Webs 

32 Electroactive-Polymer Actuators With Selectable 

Deformations 

34 Software 

34 Software for Turbo Decoding on Digital Signal Processors 

34 Software for Automation of Real-Time Agents 

34 GUI Program for Planning Paths of Rovers 

34 Software for Modeling Biochemical Reactions 

36 Software for Allocation and Scheduling of DSN Resources 

36 Software Disseminates Lessons Learned on a Large Project 

36 Software Recognizes Similar Patterns of Different Sizes 

36 Program Predicts Temperatures at Nodes of a Thermal 

Network 

= 37 Electronic Components and Systems 

37 Evolutionary Automated SyntheSIS of Electronic Circuits 

38 Designing Reconfigurable Antennas Through Hardware 

Evolution 

40 System Mimics an Avionic MultiplexerJDemultiplexer 

41 FPGA-Based Test Bench for Nonvolatile Electronic 

Memories 

42 Materials 

42 Removing Bioactive Contaminants by Use of Atomic 

Oxygen 

0 46 Mechanics 

46 Mechanisms for Reliable One-Time Deployment of Panels 

0- 48 Machinery! Automation 

48 Apparatus for Friction Stir Welding of Pipes 

50 Automated System for Fluid and Electrical Connections 

EI 52 Manufacturing 

52 lithographic Fabrication of Mesoscale Electromagnet Coils 

54 Using Dry Ice as a Coolant for Cutting Tools 

54 Automated Apparatus for Welding to Seal Pyrotechnic 

Devices 

DEPARTMENTS 

12 Commercial Technology Team 

14 UpFront 

16 Who's Who at NASA 

18 NASA Patents 

20 Technologies of the Month 

72 Advertisers Index 

NEW FOR DESIGN ENGINEERS 

70 literature 

71 Products/Software 

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT 

1a - 14a 

Photonics Tech Briefs 

Follows page 36 in selected 

editions only 

6 www.nasalech.com ASA Tech Briefs,July 2002 
Experimental Temperature Profile 

from a Micro-Area Pyrometer 

University faculty and students are using ALGOR FEA software in their 

studies of MEMS devices. In one recent experiment, university faculty 

collaborated with ALGOR on an experimental automotive gas sensor. 

Through research like this, the NINT helps develop MEMS for industry 

use. 

THE CHALLENGE: To design a MEMS micro-heater for an automotive 

gas sensor array that can withstand high temperatures. Automotive gas 

sensor arrays make engines burn more efficiently by sampling and 

adjusting combustion gasses. Each sensor functions at a unique temperature, which is controlled by a micro-heater. Simulating the thermal 

stresses for the MEMS device is critical to ensuring its performance. 

THE SOLUTION: A finite element heat transfer analysis was performed 

on the micro-heater and the resulting maximum temperature agreed with 

experimental results published in Sensors and Actuators by Yaowu Mo, 

et. al. A linear stress analysis was then performed using the heat transfer analysis results to calculate the thermal expansion and stresses, 

which were high on the top surface near the center where the microheater attaches to the sensor. These results, which could not be easily 

obtained experimentally, indicate the need to optimize the sensor geometry to reduce the thermal stresses. Thus, engineers could optimize the 

design without creating expensive prototypes. 

For this complete story and others, visit memsresearch.ALGOR.com 

PTe 

autodesk SOlID BlGE .uthorlRd developer =- MMr CADKIIY KJfV PARTNER __ .,. ... ~ 

All trademarks may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. 

Leading MEMS Researcher Collaborated 

with ALGOR to Advance Automotive 

MEMS Research 

The University of Alberta is a leader in the field of 

Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS) and 

future home of the Canadian National Institute for 

Nanotechnology (NINT), a $120 million, 180,000-

sq. ft. research facility. NINT will support MEMS 

research with internship programs and by making 

its laboratory and production facilities accessible 

to other organizations. 

ALGOR, Inc. 

150 Bela Drive 

Pittsburgh, PA 15238-2932 USA 

Phone 1.412.967.2700 

Fax 1.412.967.2781 

memsresearch@algor.com 

memsresearch.ALGOR.com 

MEMS Micro-Heater 

Compared to a Penny 

USA/Canada 

1.800.48.ALGOR 

France 

0.800.918.917 

Italy 

800.783.132 

Singapore 

800.120.3775 

United Kingdom 

0.800.731 .0399 

For Free Info Visit www.nasatech.com/513 or Enter No. 513 at www.nasatech.com/rs 
Contents continued 

8 56 Bio-Medical 

56 Improved Technique for Detecting Endospores 

via Luminescence 

@ ,~, 58 Physical Sciences 

58 Correlation Spectrometers for Detecting Fires in Aircraft 

59 Advanced Hardware and Software for Monitoring 

Contamination 

tj 62 Information Sciences 

62 A Bit-Wise Adaptable Entropy Coding Technique 

64 Web Site Provides Enhanced Facility-Management 

Database 

66 Books and Reports 

66 Software for Internet Collaboration on Mars Rover 

Operations 

66 Deep-Space Ranging Using Pseudonoise Codes 

66 Sonic-Boom Tests of Model of a Supersonic Business 

Jet Plane 

67 Use of Mechanical Event Simulation Software for 

Bio-Mechanical Eye Research 

67 Optimization of Synthetic Jet Actuators 

This document was prepared under t.he sponsorship of the National ACI"Onauucs and pace 

Administration. Neither Associated Business Publications Co., lld. nor the United StaleS Go\'-

ernment nor any person acting on behalf of the United talcs Go\'Cmmenl assumes any liability re ulting from the use of lhe infonnation contained in thi document, or warrants that 

such usc will be free from privately owned righLS. The U.S. Government does not endorse any 

commercial product. process, or activity idemified in this publication. 

PRODUCT OF THE MONTH 

The ReVolution from Kontron Mobile 

Computing (Eden Prairie, MN) is a rugged 

notebook and tablet PC in one, 

with integrated wireless 

communications capabilities. 

14 

ON THE COVER 

A new family of miniature ultrasonic sensors 

from Baumer Electric, Southington, CT, is 

designed for space-restricted applications. 

As illustrated in the cover image, they can 

sense objects through tight openings such 

as bottlenecks, ampOUles, and test tubes with 

a narrow sonic beam angle of six degrees. 

For more information on Baumer's sensors, 

and other new products and software, 

see New on the Market on page 71. 

(Image courtesy of Baumer Electric) 

Permissions: Authorization to photocopy ilems for internal or persona1 use, or the intema1 or 

personal use of specific clients, is granted by Associated Business Publications, provided thai 

the Oar fee of 3.00 per copy be paid ,Urectly to the Copyright Clearance Center (222 Rose 

Wood Dr., Dam·ers. MA 01923). For those organizations that have been granted a photocopy 

license byeee, a separale system of paym nt has been arranged. The fee code for users of the 

Transactional Reponing Se,vice is: ISSN 0145-319X194 3.00+.00 

The Measurement System of the Future has Arrived! 

8 

Digital Transducers on a 

Network Bus 

• Network Configuration 

Reduces Cabling 

• Distributed Data 

Acquisition Increases 

Reliability 

• Real-Time Data 

Correction Achieves 

Higher Accuracy 

Network Sensors - Endevco is an established world leader in the 

development of innovative sensor technology. Our new network bus 

packages miniature electronics with sensors to provide high-speed, 

networked digital output. This technology will replace large bundle of 

cables in existing flight test and srrucruraJ test applications. Installations 

will no longer be cumbersome and e>''Penstve. Call or email us today! 

iZ:MEGGITT 

Integrated Transducer, 

Signal Conditioning, and 

Data Acquisition 

• Simplifies System 

Calibration 

• Reduces Size and Weight 

• Shortens Setup and TearDownTime 

WHAT CAN WE DO 

FOR YOU TODAY? 

applications@endevco.com 

00/982-6732 · 949/661-7231fax 

ENDEVCO~ 

For Free Info Enter No. 505 at www.nasatech.com/rs A Tech Briefs,July 2002 
With Solid Edge, you design with insight. 

:.:. Just think what Edison could have done with Solid Edge-Insight. Intuitive, powerful 

design to.ols with built-in knowledge sharing, right out of the box. Solid Edge's 

visionary technology adds engineering data extensions to Microsoft- document 

management to ensure first-time fit, cut costs and reduce time-to-market. 

Solid Edge offers specialized toolsets for your industry. And it's backed by EDS 

for support and stability. So get the edge. You'll electrify your competition. 

Visit www.solidedge.com or call 877-342-5847. 

S 

solved. 

For Free Info Enter No. 506 at www.nasatech.com/rs 
_TECH BRIEFS 

www.nasatech.com 

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

Publisher ...... . . ..............••.... ......... .. . ..Joseph T. Pram berger 

Editor/AssoCiate Publisher ...... . •.. ...••....... . .Linda L. Bell 

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

Associate Editor/Internet Editor .............................. .. ................................. laura Raduta 

Production Manager ........ . .. ...................................... ........................ .Joanne Gaccione 

Assistant Production Manager .................................................................. John Iwanciw 

Art Director.. ........................................... .. ........................ Lois Erlacher 

Senior Designer 

CirculatIOn Manager 

...................................................... ............. Christopher Coleman 

..... ............ .. ...... Hugh J. Dowling 

BRIEFS & SUPPORTING LITERATURE: Written and produced for NASA by 

Advanced Testing Technologies, Inc., Hauppauge, NY 11788 

TechnlcaVManaglng Editor ..................... ....... .. ........... . Ted Selinsky 

Sr. T~chnlcal Analyst .... .... Dr. larry Grunberger 

Art Manager . ............ ........... Eric Starstrom 

Staff WnterslEd,tors .... .......................... ....... Dr. Theron Cole, George Watson 

Graphics ....................... ,', ... ,',., , .... " .. ,"', ..... " .. ,', .. .. ..... Robert Simons 

Edltonal & Production .............................. .Joan Schmiemann, Becky D. Bentley 

NASA: 

NASA Tech Briefs are provided by the National Aeronautics and Space 

Administration, Technology Transfer Division, Washington, DC. 

Administrator ., , ....................... ...... .. 

Director, CommerCial Technology ............ .. 

Publications Director ............................................................. .. 

.... Sean O'Keefe 

...Dr. Robert Norwood 

.................. Carl Ray 

For a complete list of staff e-mail addresses, 

visit www.abpi.net 

theWAVE 

you've been 

waiting for ... 

Introducing PV-WAVE®J,s with more features to help you 

solve complex problems. PV-WAVE is an easy-to-use analysis and 

visualization environment that enables engineers, scientists, 

researchers and business analysts to understand complex data sets 

and rapidly build visual data analysis applications. 

PV-WAVE 7.5 strengths include: 

• A Visualization Toolkit (VTK) approach that offers 

a high-level, easy-to-use interface to OpenGL. 

• High-quality, reliable analysis through the 

integration of the Visual Numerics' 

IMSL'" C Numerical Library. 

• Efficient memory utilization, critical to 

working with large data sets, 

Discover what customers worldwide have known for 30 years. 

Visual Numerics' PV-WAVE can increase productivity, accelerate 

development and illustrate key knowledge contained in your data. 

Register to win FREE 

PV-WAVE 7.5 product at: 

( www.vni.com/product ) 

PV-WAVE - HELPING CUSTOMERS SOLVE COMPLEX PROBLEMS 

ASSOCIATED BUSINESS PUBLICATIONS INTERNATIONAL 

317 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10017-5391 

(212) 490-3999 FAX (212) 986-7864 

Chairman/Chief Executive Officer ........ . .. .......... Bill Schnirring (bill@abpi.net) 

Vice Chairman/Chief Operating Officer .... Domenic A. Mucchetti 

MIS Manager. , ...... , ..................... , ..... Ted Morawski 

Webmaster ..... . ..,Albert Sunseri 

Director of ElectronIC Products ......... ......... ..... ............... ................. , luke Schnirring 

eBuslness Director ......... , ................................................................... Andrew Runk 

Credit/Collection ..... ....... .. ......... , . ... ... ......... ..... .... .... .. . Felecia Lahey 

Accountlng/Human Resources Manager. .......................... .. ......... Sylvia Ruiz 

Office Manager .................. ................... .. .Alfredo Vasquez 

NASA TECH BRIEFS ADVERTISING ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES 

Headquarters ................ ................................ .. .. ... (212) 490-3999 

CT. MA, NH, ME, VT, RI, Eastern Canada ...................................................... Ed Marecki 

NJ, PA, DE ............. .. 

Ny .......................... .. 

VA, MD, DC, NC, SC, GA, FL, AL, TN, MS, LA, AR, OK, TX , 

at (401) 351-0274 

.. .............. JimOot 

at (973) 983-2757 

, .. Stan Greenfield 

at (203) 938-2418 

... ..... Bill Manning 

at (770) 971-0677 

MN, ND, SD, WI, IL .. ...................................... .. , .......................... Bob Casey 

at (847) 223-5225 

IN, KYo MI, OH, MO, KS, lA, NE, Western PA & NY. Central Canada ................ Chris Casey 

at (847) 223-5225 

N, Calif., CO ...................... , ...... , ............................. ' .............................. Bill Hague 

WA, OR. ID, MT, WY, UT, NV, Western Canada ..................... .. 

S Calif., Al, NM ......................................................................... . 

Internet AdvertiSing 

PostcardlL,terature AdvertiSing 

at (800) 830-4351 

.. ......... Oavid Chew 

at (650) 726-2128 

.. ......... Tom Boris 

at (949) 642-2785 

Luke Schnirring 

at (212) 490-3999 

.. , ..... .John Waddell 

at (212) 490·3999 

Cathi Campbell 

at (603) 627-4981 

Reprints , ..... " ........ " ... ,., .... , .............. ............ , ... ".,.,., .. " ... , .. , .. " ..... , ........... .Jeannie Martin 

at (866) 879-9144 

"Visual Numericli 

has partnered 

with us by 

providing 

not only 

the best 

10 For Free Info Enter No. 507 at www.nasatech.com/rs ASA Tech Brieli ,July 2002 
EOS PLM SOLUTIONS Uniqraphics 

:.:. Total Product Engineering: "The Ultimate Megaworks Supercombo." EDS 

Unigraphics® delivers Total Product Engineering from concept to reality, For 

superior products at lower cost in less time. Now you can automate collaboration 

by capturing, re-using and sharing knowledge across complex products, easily 

and transparently. With Unigraphics, the total engineering process is digital, so 

you can design, simulate, optimize, document, build and test your products in 

record time. You'll eat it up. To learn more, call 877-342-5847 or visit eds.com/plm. 

For Free Info Enter No. 508 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 (TSP) 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 Research Goddard Space Johnson Space langley Research 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 Artificial Intelli- Aerodynamics; Materials; 

Technology; Planetary Science gence and Flight Systems; Manufacturing; 

Biotechnology; Missions; LlDAR; 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.nasagov Vemotto McMillan 

(650) 604-1754 nasa.gov cornrnet'dafrzation@ (256) 544-2615 

cblake@mail. jsc.nasa.gov John H. Glenn vemotto.mcmillan 

arc.nasa.gov Jet Propulsion Research Center @msfc.nasa.gov laboratory Kennedy Space at lewis Field 

Dryden Flight Selected techno- Center Selected techno- Stennis Space 

Research 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 T estiMonitoring; 

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

Flight Systems; Information mand, Control Research. Nonintrusive 

Thermal Testing; Systems; and Monitor LanyVrtema Instrumentation. 

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

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

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

Jenny Baer- (818) 354-2577 neering and ssc.nasa.gov 

Riedhart merte.mckenzie@ Management 

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

jenny. baer- (321) 867-6224 

riedhart@dfrc. Jim.Aliberti-l@ 

nasa.gov ksc.nasa.gov 

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 

(BOO) 678-6882 

Ken Dozier 

Far-West Technology 

Transfer Center 

University of Southem 

Califomia 

(213) 743-2353 

James P. Dunn 

Center for Technology 

Commercialization 

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 

Technofogy 

Commercialization 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.gov to search NASA technology resources, find commercialization opportunities, 

and leam 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. 

Carl Ray 

Small Business Innovation 

Research Program (SBIR) 

& Small Business 

Technology Transfer 

Program (STTR) 

(202) 358-4652 

cray@mail.hq.nasa.gov 

Dr. Robert Norwood 

Office of Commercial 

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 Microgravlly 

Science Applications 

(Code U) 

(202) 358-0689 

rcrouch@hq.nasa.gov 

Granville Paules 

Office of Mission to Planet 

Earth (Code Y) 

(202) 358-0706 

gpaJfes@mtpe.hq.nasa.gov 

NASA's 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 Commercialization 

Center 

Pomona, CA 

(909) 869-4477 

Bridgette Smalley 

UH-NASA Technology 

Commercialization 

Incubator 

Houston, TX 

(713) 743-9155 

John Fini 

Goddard Space Flight 

Center Incubator 

Baltimore, MD 

(410) 327-9150 x l034 

Thomas G. Rainey 

NASA KSC Business 

Incubation Center 

Titusville, FL 

(407) 383-5200 

Joanne W. Randolph 

BlzTech 

Huntsville, AL 

(256) 704-6000 

Joe Becker 

Ames Technology 

Commercialization 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 

Commercialization 

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. 

12 www.nasatech.com ASA Tech Briefs,July 2002 
"IEEE 

"Engineering and technology development 

are quickly moving towards a more global 

outlook and IEEE is clearly international. 

Being a member of a worldwide 

professional organization will greatly 

enhance your career." 

Dr. Ronald M. Segar IEEE Fellow 

Director, Defense Research and 

Engineering, U.S. Department of Defense 

IEEE: 377,000 members in 150 countries. Join us. 

www.ieee.org/apply 

For Free Info Enter No. 509 at www.nasatech.com/rs 
PRODUCT OF THE MONTH 

The ReVolution from Kontron Mobile Computing, Eden Prairie, MN, 

is a rugged notebook and tablet PC in one. With a flip of the di play 

using the SwitchIlTM 1800 display 

hinge, the unit can be u ed a a 

notebook in an office 

environment, or as a tablet or 

handheld PC for in-field data 

acquisition. Features include 

integrated wireless 

communication for the 

field-mobile platform using 

Bluetooth technology. 

Users can connect to cell 

phones, printers, PDAs, 

and other devices. It offers 

magnesium construction to 

meet EMA and military 

standard for re i tance to shock, 

vibration, water, temperature extremes, 

and dUSL The computer has a 1.06 GHz or higher lntel® Pentium® III 

proces or and comes with 128 MB SDRAM, upgradeable to 768 MB. It 

supports Window 98/ T 4.0/ ME/ 2000/ XP. Other features include 

peripheral modules, a sunlight-readable di play, and an I/ O Expansion 

Stick that accommodates user-defined input/ output devices. Two frontacces ible bay house one or two 3.5-hour batterie or one battery and a 

DVD, CD-ROM, CD-R, or floppy drive. 

For Free Info Visit www.nasatech.com/kontron 

What's New On-Line 

The NASA Tech Bri¢ INSIDER e-mail 

newsletters give subscribers exclusive industry, company, and government news, as well 

as hot new products and other information 

not available anywhere else. ow, you can 

access previously published INSIDER information in the brand-new ew letter 

Archive on dle NASA Tech Bri¢ Web site. 

At www.nasatech.com/ newsletters.html. 

you'll find hundreds of stories, company 

informatio n, and technologie that have 

appeared in our I SIDER newsletter over 

the past year. The archive lets you search 

by any keyword term, including technology, 

product, or company name. imply type 

in a keyword such as Intel or automobiles, 

and you'll immediately find articles and 

Web links to match your earch criteria. 

ew issues of the I SIDER will be added 

to the archive as they're published. 

Check out the archive at www.nasatech. 

com/ newsletters.html. And if you 're not 

already an INSIDER, you can ubscribe at 

www.nasatech.com/ insider. 

NASA-Funded Center Develops New Brain Imaging System 

The A A-funded ational pace Biomedical Re earch 

Institute ( BRl) in Houston, TX, has developed a Iightwight imaging cap designed to as e s brain function. The 

device u es diffuse optical tomography (DOT), a technique 

using near-infrared light and detectors to record brain activity. 

The light hine through the skull into the brain, and records 

regional differences in blood flow and oxygen levels. The e difStudy participants complete 

motor performance tasks while 

wearing the NSBRI brain-imaging cap and undergOing functional MRI. (Photo courtesy of L. 

Barry Hetherington for NSBRI) 

ferences are analyzed to reveal 

are~ of brain activity. 

"On extended space mis ions, 

there will be a need to assess 

brain function as it relates to performance of high-level tasks and 

in the event of po ible illne s or 

injury," explained Dr. Jeffrey 

utton, director of the NSBRI. 

"This portable technology will be 

beneficial on Earth for assessing, 

diagnosing, and monitoring 

treatment in brain disorder uch 

as strokes and seizures." 

The NSBRI is conducting 

patient studies to see how well 

the imaging cap performs relative to functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRl) , the current standard for mea uring brain aCtiVity non-inva ively. 

Sutton said his lab will be able to overlay images from both tests 

and compare the results to validate DOT's accuracy. The team 

al 0 i developing the computer system that would allow automated interpretation of data from the imaging cap, which 

would benefit physicians using the device in clinics. 

For mare injannation, contact Kathy Major at NSBRI at 713-798-

5893 or via ~mail at majar@bcm.bnc.edu. Visit the BRJ Web site 

at www.nsbri.arg. 

Next Month in NTB 

I

n Augu ·t, we 'U feature MEMS and 

Nanotechnology, highlighting nano-siled 

miniature device and the companie that 

make them, as well as the newest application [or micro-electromechanical ystem 

(1\l£M ). You may be surprised to see 

where the mall est of sensors and motor 

are being used. 

14 www.nasalech.com ASA Tech Briefs,July 2002 

Introducing POPmatic 

Point & Set~M the first 

reliable auto-feed rivet 

system. 

POPmatic Point & Set, our new 

auto-feed rivet system, delivers 

what no riveting tool has before. 

Consistent riveting at a rate 

faster than any current hand 

tool. Designed with a safe, self 

loading hopper that holds up 

to 2500 rivets, Point & Set 

accelerates the riveting process 

to previously impossible speeds, 

meeting the requirements of 

any production line. It's reliability 

in an otherwise unreliable world. 

For more information, call us at 

203-925-4424 or visit us on the 

web at www.emhart.com 

8UCI(&1IECKBI COMPANY 

CERTIFIED 

ISO 9001 • as 9000 

For Free Info Enter No. 512 

at www.nasatech.com/r s 

Who's Who at NASA 

Brian F. Beaton, Technology 

Commercialization Project Manager, 

Langley Research Center 

Brian F. Beaton is the 

Technology Commercialization Project 

Manager at ASA's 

Langley Research nter in Hampton, VA. 

Currently, he is working 

to commercialize the 

Child Presence Sensor, a afety device that 

prevents parents from inadvertently I aving their children in car seats when they 

exit their vehicle, which can re wt in 

death by heatstroke, even on a relatively 

mild day. 

NASA Tech Briefs: What is the Child 

Presence Sensor and how does it work? 

Brian F. Beaton: It i a retrofit sy tem 

that can attach to any baby seat or child 

eat. It i made of three parts: a en or, 

a transmitter, and a receiver wiLh an 

alarm that notifie a parent or a caregiver if they've inadvertently left the 

child in ide the car. It works on an RF 

range principle, 0 if a parent or caregiver gets a certain di tance away from 

the automobile, it ,viII b ep at them. 

The alarm can be h ld on the keychain 

ince the device i very mall. 

NTB: Who invented the device, and 

what inspired it? 

Beaton: It was a team con isting of 

William "Chris" Edward, a laser ytem pecialist; Terry Mack, a Lockheed Martin electronics engine r; and 

Edward Modlin, enior aero pace technologi l. There wa a tragic event that 

occurred near here at a daycare center 

where a child wa left in a car seal. The 

main inventor's child al 0 atlended 

that daycare center. A lot of people 

asked how this could pos ibly happ n, 

but Chris Edward thought about it 

and b lieved this could happen to anybody becau e our lives have become 0 

hectic. This sparked the idea to come 

up ,vith a solution to this problem. 

NTB: What existing NASA technologies were used to develop this device? 

"~I'W.nasalech.com 

Beaton: There was some flight reearch thaL was performed on our 757 

research aircraft. An expel"iment was 

succe sfully completed where scientists 

transmitted vibration, noise, and temperature data from the wheel well or 

the landing gear area - which is a very 

hostile environm nt on the aircraft -

up to the research area in the cabin. 

They u ed an aircraft sensor mounted 

in the landing gear area to detect en ironmental effects on the aircraft. The 

data was then sent to the cockpit via an 

RF transmitter and receiver. 0 this 

flight-te t technology gave our inventor the idea to come up with a similar 

device for aving children's lives. 

NTB: Is the device currently on the 

market, and if not, when will it be commercially available? 

Beaton: The technology has been developed, protot ped, and it has had 

orne te ting occur. We've done demontration for variou people and we're 

trying to get companie involved with 

taking the technology from the prototype stage to a con umer product. 

As for when it will be available, it depend on how much more work is 

needed - what testing and verification 

the technology has to go through to get 

to the product tage. We're tr ing to 

flush out all detail with companies to 

ee what it would take to do thi . We 

are al 0 trying to target the technology 

or the product for ale at the right 

price. That ha been the difficulty -

the price is what drives the consumer 

to buy a product. Being a safety product, or a safety-related product, people 

don't really want to spend money for 

afety; they just expect afety. So that 

eem to be the bigge t hurdle right 

now - trying to find the right company that would want to take this on. 

A Jull transcript oj this interview appears 

on-line at www.nasatech.com/whoswho. 

Brian Beaton can be reached at b.fbeaton@ 

larc. nasa.gov. 

Tech Briefs,JuJy 2002 

I 

Product of the Month 

CompuScope 14100C 

14 Bit, 100 MS/s 

CompactPCI Digitizer 

14 Bit, 100 MS/s AID Sampling 

50 MS/s Simultaneous Sampling 

on two Channels 

50 MHz Bandwidth 

63 dB Signal to Noise Ratio 

Multi-card Systems, 

up to 4 Channels at 100 MS/s 

or 8 Channels at 50 MS/s 

Software Development Kits for 

C/C++, MATLAB and LabVlEW 

GaGa 

A Tektronix Technology Company 

1-800-567-GAGE ext'3405 

www.gage-applled.com/ad/nasa602.lltm 

Outside the U.S. contact: Gage Applied. Inc. 

Tel: +1·514·633·7447 Fax: +1·514·633-0nO 

e-mail: prodinfo@gage·applied.com 

For Free Info Enter No. 516 

at www.nasatech.com/rs 

Over the past three decades . NASA has granted more than 1000 patent licenses in virtually roery area 

of technology. The agency has a portfolio of 3000 patents and pending applications availablR now 

Jor license by businesses and individu.als, including these recently patented inventions: 

Inrush Current Control Circuit 

(US. Patent No. 6,335,654) 

Steven W. Cole, Jet Propulsion 

Laboratory 

The inrush current control circuit has 

an input terminal connected to a DC 

power upply, and an output terminal 

connected to a load capacitor. The circuit limits the inrush current that 

charges up the load capacitor during 

power-up of a system. When the D 

power supply applies a DC voltage to the 

input terminal, the inrush cun-ent control circuit produces a voltage ramp at 

the load capacitor in tead of an abrupt 

DC voltage. The voltage ramp results in a 

con tant low-level current to charge up 

the load capacitor, greatly reducing the 

current drain on the DC power supply. 

The circuit can be used in a power distribution system having various sy tems 

connected to a common power source, 

such as on-board aircraft systems connected to a common generator. In this 

case, each system requiling inn.1 h current protection is connected to the common power source through its own 

inrush current control circuit. 

Synchronous Parallel System 

for Emulation and Discrete 

Event Simulation 

(us. Patent No. 6,324,495) 

Jeffrey S. Steinman, Jet Propulsion 

Laboratory 

Discrete event simulation of objects on 

a ingle digital proces or is not difficult 

U ually, all events associated with a imulated object are tagged \vith a time index, 

inserted in an event queue, and maintained in increasing lime order by the 

event queue as events in the simulation 

are cheduled at discrete points in time. 

Discrete event simulation on parallel 

processors is more difficult. It is not 

always obviou how to rigorou ly simulate real-world objects on parallel processors. A new method has been developed 

for a synchronous parallel environment 

for emulation and discrete event simulation having parallel nodes. entral to the 

method is a techn ique called breathing 

time buckets (BTB) , which uses some of 

the techniques found in prior-art timebucket synchronization. 

An event is created by an input message generated internally by thc sanlC 

processor or externally by another 

proces or. A system for routing messages 

from each processor to de ignated 

proce or, including itself, directs the 

message to the process that is intended 

to proces the event. 

Change required in the variables of 

the object affected by the event are calculatcd and tored. Immediately afterwards, the changes calculated are 

exchanged for the values of the affected 

vadables of the obj ect. A user can query 

or monitor the simulation objects while 

the simulation is in progress. 

Rocket Combustion Chamber 

Coating 

(u.s. Patent No. 6,314,720) 

Richard R. Holmes and Timothy N. 

McKechnie, Marshall Space Flight 

Center 

The combustion chamber of a rocket 

engine is exposed to a very intense environment of heat and pressure during 

operation. Previously, protecting the 

inside wall of the chamber from thermal 

corro ion and oxidation consisted of 

applying a thin protective coating on the 

lining of the chamber. 

The new invention protects the inside 

wall of the chamber from these adverse 

affects by embedding a protective coating into the chamber lining. The coating 

is designed to protect the chamber from 

the effects of thelmal corrosion and oxidation, and to lower the operating temperature of the chamber and increase 

the life of the rocket engine. It also can 

be used on other parts and apparatuses 

that u e or are expo ed to combltstive or 

high-temperature environments. The 

chamber lining can be fabricated from a 

variety of matedal including copper 

alloy, rhenium, stainless teel, or nickelbased alloys. The protective coating can 

be made of metals or ceramics. 

For more information on the inventions described here, contact the appropriate NASA Field 

Center's Commercial Technology Office. See page 12 Jor a list oj oJfice contacts. 

www.nasatech.com ASA Tech Bdefs,july 2002 

Technologies of the Month 

Sponsored by ye tficom 

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

visit www.nasatech.com/ techsearch 

Three Technologies Work Together 

to Reduce Combustion Engine Noise 

and Vibration 

Hitachi 

Combustion engine noise and vibration are often caused by 

torque fluctuation. Hitachi has developed three technologie 

that harness a vehicle's generator to create counter torque 

against torque fluctuation, reducing combustion noise and vibration. en ors in the vehicle's main power trail mi ion ystem monitor crankshaft rotational peed variations with each 

combustion cycle and then u e the previous cycle's information to provide the right amount of counter torque to the 

crankshaft. 

The econd technology i an acceleration rate-of-change 

ensor and control system designed to liminate the characteristic 'Jerk" that follows vehicle acceleration, particularly 

from a stand- till. Utilizing a 

ensor compri ed of a pendulum and elecu'omagnetic actuator, the proce measures the 

rate of acceleration by using relative movement to generate an electric currenL The third 

technology i a non-fouling gasoUne fuel injector that reduces 

depo it formation and buildup. 

Gel the complete 1-eport on this technology at: 

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

Email: nasatech@yet2.com 

Phone: 617-557-3837 

Precision Heat Transfer Measuring System 

Enersyst 

In critical heating proce , heat transfer change the 

chemical mak -up of products. To facilitate these changes, the 

heat transfer proce need to be monitored to understand at 

what points oven temperatures and heat generation need to 

be adjusted. Once thi is preci ely understood, conditions can 

be replicated over and over again to assure rigid product consistency for volume production. 

Ener yst has developed a heat tran fer rate target module 

measurement device consisting of one or more sensors emb dded in a heat sink, a data logger, and a power ource. The 

device can be either hard-wired or wirel s and contained in 

a package robust enough to survive xtremely hostile environments. The device can be u ed in oven and freezers, 

though it is not limited to use in the food indu try. 

Get the complete report on this technology at: 

wurw. nasatech. com/ techsearch/tow/heat-trallsfer.html 

Email: nasalech@yet2.com 

Phone: 617-557-3837 

Low-Cost, Single-Substrate Flat-Panel Display 

BTL Fellows 

In an effort to improve 

plasma flat-panel technology, BTL Fellows has 

de igned a single-substrate solution. TlUs technology utilizes one set of 

conductors mounted or 

silk-screened to a transparent ub trate with a 

second, beam-like conductor grid mounted orthogonally over 

the first, uniformly eparated by pacing posts incorporated 

into the grid. CaUed a microbridge or air bridge, thi pacing 

method eliminates the need for a two- ided enclosure and a 

partial vacuum, reducing manufacturing costs. 

To create the second conductive layer, a manufacturing 

proces has b en developed that integrate precision magnetic 

spacing posts into the second conductor, which is attracted to 

magnetic "landing pads" on the first layer. 

Get the complete report on this technology at: 

wurw.l1asatech.com/techsearch/tow/BTL.ht1ll1 

Email: nasalech@yeI2.com 

Phone: 617-557-3837 

Breakthrough Microporous Structure 

Improves Immobilized Liquid Membranes 

Honeywell 

Membrane y tems have been 

u ed in eparating gase and liquid ince they al-e easy to u e, 

cost-effective to in tall, and inexpen ive to operate. 

~~~s Honeywell has developed an im-

~~:~\E mobiUzed liquid membrane 

(ILM) that decreases evaporative 

10 se by reducing the vapor presI 11·2Dlpm ! ure of the liquid in the mem-

~~",~:!~::'::;:=~:~I~l~~:Dc:.- brane. This reduced vapor pressure, combined with the ability to 

create ultra-thin polymeJic membranes with micro copic pores 

to trap the liquid tran port medium longer through capillary action, control the evaporation and extend the useful life of the 

ILM. The ultra-thin membrane offers higher flux, better permeability, and greater e1ectivity than conventional membrane. 

Get the complete report on this technology at: 

wurw.nasatech.com/techsearch/tow/honeywell-lLM.html 

Email: nasalech@yel2.com 

Phone: 617-557-3837 

20 www.nasaLCch.com A Tech Brien ,July 2002 
For Free Info Enter No. 537 at www.nasatech.com/rs 
~"--. hoto Measuring Software Has Role 

in Next-Generation Spacecraft 

PhotoModeler Pro photo mea<;uring software 

Eos Systems 

Vancouver, BC, Canada 

604-732-6658 

w\\w.photomodeler.com 

NASA is developing a n w generation of large, uILra-lightweight space stnlClures called "gossamer" spacecraft. This 

technology may enable new types of mission within the next 5 

LO 30 years inciudjng large space obsenlltories, solar sails of 

100 meters in iLl', and inflatable habitats for the International 

Space tation. One of the challenges will be developing techniques to align and control these systems after they arc 

deplo\'ed in pace. New ground test methods are needed to 

measure gossamer strucrures under stational:, deploying, and 

\ibrating conditions for \lliidation of corresponding anahtical 

predictions - all prerequisite for the strtlClUreS to perform 

safeh and well. 

T~ address this challenge, Richard S. Pappa. a senior 

research enginel'f in the Structural D) llamics Branch at 

, TASXs Langley Research Center in I lampton. VA, has been 

using PhoLO~ odeler Pro photogrammctry sortware. which 

determines the patial coordinates of objects using photographs. Three-dimen ional coordinatcs are determined bv 

calculating the intersection of lightlll}s based on known cam-

_~hielding Material Helps Satellite 

Explore Gamma-Ray Bursts 

CO-NETIC AA alloy 

Magnetic Shield Corp. 

Ben enville, IL 

630-766-7800 

www.magnetic-shield.com 

The win Mis ion i de igned to study gamma-ra) burts in 

space. and is part of NASA l\1idex, an il1lernational collaboration of nine NA specialists, labs, universities, and instiLUtes. 

Managed by NA A' Goddard pace Flight Center in 

Maryland. the mission is working LO produce and launch a 

satellite ill _003 that will be dedicaLCd to determine the origins 

of gamma-ray bursts, clas ify gamma-ray bursLs, and search for 

ne\\ t)'p s. 

The medium-sized explorer needed shielding material. 

which W,LS proyided in the form of a 6x4..,,2" deep shield of .020 

CO-, ETIC AA alloy to be affixed to a circuit board \;a 

extremely precise older points that had to match up with 

elll location and ol;enLc,uons, and the phoLOgrammetry "oftwart' then calculates the camera locations and orientations 

from the images. 

Pappa used !'etrorenecti\e targeL~ to mark a g);d of points 

on the structure and took pictures of it from \'arious angles. He 

A two-quadrant and two 2-meter solar 

sail test articles in NASA Langley's 16· 

meter vacuum chamber. 

then marked and 

referenced the targets, and proce~sed 

the data. The software's algorithms 

were able to find the 

l:elller of ellipses in 

images to an accllrac~ of one-lemh or a 

pixel or less. Pappa 

also experimentall) 

delllonstrated the 

anility to make accurate photogrammetric measurements in 

some applications by 

projecting dots on 

the gossamer structure. Thi eliminates 

the time and manpower needed to install targets, as well as the 

risk of teadng delicate membranes if the targets must be 

reJl1mecl afterwards. He has successfull) used this approach on 

a 2-l11ett'r square solar sail model. 

For Free Info Visit www.nasatech.comleos 

counterparts on 

the board itself. 

The allOl had to 

be completel~ "lot 

traceable" and 

accurate to 

±.003". In addition,16 mall 

aperture \\ere 

positioned on 

one of the 6" 

faces of the 

hiekl. 

Finally, the 

The shield is affixed to the circuit board via 

precise solder points. 

shield's" hoe box"-type lid I\llS composed or numerou crews 

and dimples lhat also required exceptional accuracy. ~!agnetic 

hield and Penn Stale niver. itis Applied Re earch L,b 

designed a prototype, which was approved late last year. The 

four producL~ to be u cd with four circuit bOaJ'd as emblie 

were shipped, and the bel of them will be installed on the 

atellite. 

For Free Info Visit www.nasatech.comlmagshield 

22 """,.nasalech.com 1'\\5,1. Tech Briefs,jul, 2002 
Multi-ohannel Dynamio Signal 

Analysis Just Got a Lot Easier ... 

Our customers are testing everything from train 

cars to the Space Shuttle, from automobile 

airbags to power plant turbines ... and the list 

keeps growing. Why? Maybe it's our separate 24-

bit ADC for each channel and wide variety of 

configuration from 8 to 32 channels. Or perhaps our 

robust anti-aliasing filters and 100 kHzJchannel 

maximum sampling rate? Our built-in voltage and 

ICpTM signal conditioning for each channel, or plug-in 

modules for virtually every signal, every sensor, in any 

combination? 

Or it could be our software- so easy to use and yet so 

powerful- with brilliant on-line di plays (including 

cope, FRF, orbit, 3rd octave, and 12 simultaneous 

FFT s), full-color printing and one-click export to 

UFF-58, Excel®, MatLab®, ATI®, ASCII, and several 

other popular formats- which make the DEWE-DSA 

serie so ideal for a wide variety of shock and vibration 

applications? 

Toll-free: 1-877-431-5166 

www.dewetron-usa.com 

www.dewamerica.com 

ICP is a registered tredemark of PCB Piezotronics 

All trademarks acknowledged as the property of their owners 

For Free 

Left: 

DEWE-4000-DSA, 18" TFT, up to 40 

inputs 

Far-Left: 

DEWE-2010-DSA, 15" TFT, up to 32 

inputs 

Below: 

DEWE-3010-DSA, 12.1" TFT, up 

t016 inputs 

Not shown: 

DEWE-700-DSA rack-mounting 

system with up to 40 inputs 

The fact is, 

engineers doing 

multi-channel 

dynamic on-line 

measurements are 

turning to Dewetron 

in record numbers. Our 

COTS (commercial, off-the-shelf) platforms are 

easily upgraded, and can actually get better as the 

years go by, via inexpensive modular upgrades! 

Plea e vi it our website, or give us a call and 

arrange a no-obligation demonstration at your 

facility. 

Contact us today toll-free at 877-431-5166 (+ 

401-364-9464 outside the USA), or visit 

at www.dewamerica.com/dsa 
Automakers See Fuel Cells 

as the Next Best Power 

A J.D. Power and Associate study 

released in March found that 30 

percent of the more than 5,200 

recent new vehicle buyers surveyed aid they would "definitely" consider buying a hyblid elecuic vehicle, and 

another 30 percent said they would give it 

"strong con ide ration." Toyota currently 

has more than 1 00,000 hybrid vehicle on 

the road worldwide and every American 

and foreign car maker either has introduced, or is developing, an alternativefuel vehicle. 

The Electric Vehicle Association of the 

Americas (www.evaa.org).anindustry asociation working to advance elecuic vehicle technologie , reported that in 1999, 

only 17 hybrid elecuic vehicles were old 

in the . By the end of last year, 19,457 

had been sold or leased. 

The trend i clear, and the need i obviou . While the amount of environmentally dangerous emission from internal 

combu tion engine cars has decreased, 

the nwnber of Cal on the road has increased. Cost-effective, zero-emi ion vehicles powered by fuel cells repre ent the 

next generation of automobiles. 

Fuel cells produce elecuicity from hydrogen and oxygen, in read of using a battery. The fuel cell use a catalyst to perfOlm a chemical proce that combine 

oxygen from the air with hydrogen or 

methanol fuel to produce elecuicity. Besides elecuic energy, the only emissions 

produced are heat and water - team. 

Fuel cells require constaJlt feeding, unlike a battery, which can be charged. Hydrogen gas Call be stored in a car in a 

pressUlized tank, and i supplied to the 

fuel cell, where it combine with oxygen 

upplied by all air compres or. Hybrid 

electJic cars, on tile other hand, combine 

a combustion engine or a fuel cell with an 

elecu"ic<lrive system that draws power 

from an energy-storage device, commonly 

a flywheeL 

Engineers at General Motors have been 

researching fuel cell technology for more 

than 30 years; DaimlerChrysler has been 

developing fuel cell for over ten years; and 

in 1999, American Honda introduced the 

In ighl, the firstgasoline-electJic hybrid car 

to be sold in the United tate. Bm primari\ , fuel cell vehicles are prototype, 

and the technology is still in its infancy. 

Ford Motor Company' TH! K 

Group is the engineering arm of Ford 

that concentrate on the development of 

advanced electric drive vehicle , and i 

one of the leader in the development of 

fuel cell vehicles (e sidebar).John Wallace, executive director of the TH! K 

Group, sees the pOlential of alternativepower vehicle, but understands their 

current limitations. "This is an incredibly immature technology. Fuel cells are 

very early in their d velopment, and the 

fact that the world's automakers have 

been able to get them on the road at all 

is quite impre sive." 

Progress is being made, though, Wallace aid. "We've moved out of a ASAoriented application base for fuel cells to 

one where we're actually contemplating 

taking on the internal combustion engine." That's no small feat, and automakers recognize what they're up again L 

"The current combu tion engine technology has had a century of development 

time and about two billion accwnulated 

units," Wallace added. "When you come 

in with all alternative, you're facing the 

chanlpion." 

Ford's THINK Group is comprised of THINK Mobility, which produces the THINK neighbor, an open-air electric vehicle for those living in closed communities, or for large fleet customers like airports 

to use as shuttles; and the THINK city, a commuter car that will be 

New York, there is an emphasis on mass transportation such as 

commuting by rail. The issue has always been what's called 'the 

last mile.' That's getting to and from the train station." 

The THINK city, in particular, is designed for that type oftrip, and 

24 

available in North America later this 

year. TH!NK Technologies is the research and development arm of the 

group, which develops fuel cell technologies and engineering services for 

hybrids to the other Ford brands, such 

as the Focus and Escape. 

provides an option to driving your Navigator to the train station and leaving it 

parked there all day. Some train stations in cities like New York and San 

Francisco have fleets of THINK vehicles available for rentto commuters for 

that "last mile." 

The THINK Group reports that 25% 

of the average American's daily car 

trips are less than a mile. Add to that 

the fact that 21 % of American households have three vehicles, and 10% The THINK city is an electric drive vehicle that soon 

will be available in North America. 

The THINK neighbor is designed 

specifically for senior citizens and 

others living in closed communities 

that don't need to own large cars. 

Said Wallace, "To lose your mobility 

have four or more. And we're not in this country is a horror story. In 

driving appropriately, according to THINK's executive director, 

John Wallace. 

"Appropriately means not driving your SUV a mile down the 

road to your grocery store to get a quart of milk. The THINK cars 

don't displace your current car, they displace trips. In cities like 

communities where there are stores, movie theaters, and 

things to do, it's much better for seniors to be driving something 

that's easy to handle." 

THINK cars are available from select Ford dealerships. Visit 

www.thinkmobility.com. 

www.nasalech.com NASA Tech Briefs,July 2002 
Designing from Scratch 

Tho e facing the champion now are 

the auto designers and engineer who 

must tart from cratch in developing hybrid elecu;c and fue l cell powertrain . 

While automobile chas is can be 

adapted for similar-model car within an 

automaker's product line, the power 

trains for fuel cell and hybrid vehicles 

are completely different from gasolinepowered engines, and require a somewhat steep learning curve on the part of 

the engineer. 

Ford's Focus FCV (Fuel Cell Vehicle) is powered by the THINK hydrogen fuel cell electric 

powertrain. 

"When the internal combustion engine wa developed, it repla ed the 

horse," explained Wallace. "It was able 

to ell at relativel immature technology level. We don'L have that lu ury. 

There is air ady a well-entrenched technology in pia e. 0, whether it's hybrids 

or fuel cell, the challenge to our engineers i to aggres iv Iy move down the 

learning urve." 

De ign r mu t begin with the idea 

that the e are ele trical machines, and 

that the mu t be able to manage electric pow r as well as deal with the pecHic requirements f a different typ of 

motor. Building el cu;c vehicle i lIfrently a 0 t1y pro e . Over the last 

decade, automaker have ignificantly 

reduced the weight and iz f the 

power el u'onic from what u ed to be 

the ize of a r frigerator. 

Fornll1at I ,alit de igner have a 

wealth of imulation and produ ts 

available to h Ip them create n w internal tem for I tri and hybrid ar. 

Delphi Automotive y t ms, whi h provide tran portation and mobil elcctr nic omponents and tem , pecialize in electrical energy . tem that 

gen rate, tor , conv n, and di tribut 

electri aI power for ca . D Iphi use finite elem nt anal ' i (FEA) fLlvar 

from ALG R, In . (W\\1W.algo r. om) to 

Tech Bliefi ,Juh 2002 

Innovation Centers Give Automakers 

an Inside View 

Makers of next-generation fuel cell cars still need to put a chassis together. That's 

why Emhart Fastening Teknologies of Shelton, CT - a Black & Decker company 

that supplies fasteners and assembly technologies - has developed a unique series of 

Innovation Centers located around the world. 

What is an Innovation Center? Steve Bleakley, director of marketing for Assembly Systems at Emhart's Automotive Division, explained. NWe bring manufacturers in, show them 

what our technologies are capable of providing to them, and train their staff at their assembly facility on how the fastening system should be used and maintained." 

Basically, said Bleakley, an auto manufacturer gives the Innovation Center a currentmodel vehicle, and Emhart engineers literally take it apart. looking at the existing fastening systems or methodology, and providing recommendations where Emhart technology 

could be used. Digital pictures are taken of the automaker's current applications. Emhart 

not only compares the piece price of the existing part to the proposed part, but also examines the manufacturing process to determine what the costs are in both current and 

proposed methods. 

Dodge recently loaned Emhart a Durango 

SUV to be disassembled and analyzed for application areas where Emhart technologies 

would be suitable. Emhart engineers visited 

not only the final Durango assembly plant, 

but the stamping facilities and Tier 1 suppliers to understand how major components go 

together to become a Durango. 

Said Bleakley, "We assigned a team of engineers to determine the components used on 

the vehicle, how the vehicle goes down the 

assembly line, how the parts come in from the 

stamping plant, how much it costs to ship the 

parts in as they're stamped, and how they're 

married together in the final vehicle. N 

Emhart engineers and designers discuss 

possible fastening system design modifications as part of the tear-down process. 

Today, manufacturer's resources are being strained by the technologies they're putting in 

place in their own product, Bleakley explained. "In the future," he said, Nthey will become 

more dependent on suppliers like Emhart who not only offer pieces and parts, but who are 

able to evaluate and partner with the customer through their entire manufacturing process 

and offer solutions. n 

For more information on Emhart's Innovation Centers, contact Steve Bleakley. director 

of marketing for Assembly Systems at Emhart Fastening Teknologies' Automotive Division, 

at 585-949-0040; email: steve.bleakley@bd.com. Visit Emhart at www.emhart.com. 

thermally optimize a wide-range oxygen 

s nsor, which can ense how rich or I an 

an air/ fuel ratio i , h Iping to regulate 

clean, effici nt motor operation. 

Delphi' enior pr ~ t ngineer, 

ott el on, u e th oftware to optimize th d ign of the en 01 . ·'Iteratively anal 'Zing d ign and optimizing 

b th t11e ge metry and the mat rials 

u ed h Ip d m to develop a much b tt r d ign than I ould have a hi ved 

without tI10 e virtual 'hand -on' r ults," 

elson aid. Th n or design is currentl being int grated into th ne 't 

g neration f autom live engine , which 

are exp Cled to be u ed in 2004 ar . 

www.nasate h. om 

The ational R newable Energy Laboratory ( REL) recently ombined its 

ADVI R (dvanced chIcle imulatOR) ftware with an off-the- helf simulation product from n oft orp. 

(WW\v.an oft.com) to nable engineers 

to evaluate and optimize new nergy-cfficient v hicl te hnologi s such as electri , hybrid, and fuel ell de ign . Anoft's IMPLORER- i used to perform 

s t m-I v I drive-cycle imulation and 

pr dict ele trical tem b havior, , hile 

ADVI R perform th overall vehicle 

tem analy i . 

Other imulati n oftwar package 

ar bing u d in the virtual pr totyp25 
ing of alternative-power engine configurations. MSC.visual astran 4D from 

MSC.Software ( www.mscsoftware.com ) 

helps automotive design engineers simulate the motion of as emblies, understand the dynamic loading conditions, 

apply boundary conditions to a stres 

analysis as a function of time, and then 

visualize the results. Products like this 

allow engineers to consider "what if' 

scenarios to produce a more optimized 

design. 

FEA software from ANSYS (W\vw. 

ansys.com) has been used in the simulation of flywheel energy storage technology by SatCon Technology Corp. 

SatCon used up-front analysis and simulation to refine the design of the flywheel sy tems as they were being developed. According to SatCon's senior 

mechanical engineer, Luka Serdar, 

"Many of the components in our ystem 

are expensive to make and really 

pushed to their limits. We absolutely 

must perform extensive analysi and 

simulation before cutting metal. " 

How Near is the Future? 

Fuel cell vehicles are tl1e cars of the future, bu t how far off is that future? DaimlerChrysler has produced six te t cars 

Mass Flowmeters for 

with fuel cell systems since 

1994, and plans to introduce fuel cell cars to the 

market in 2004. The 

company's NECAR 5 

( ew Electric CAR), 

introduced in 2000, 

is a zero-emis ion 

vehicle with a ddving range of up to 

280 miles. 

General Motors 

shipped its first fuel 

cell demonstration 

vehicle, the HydroGenl, earlier this 

year, and ha a fiveyear collaboration with Toyota 

to speed the development of advanced 

technology vehicles. The companies are 

working on vehicle and ystem projects 

such as a common set of electric traction and control components for future 

battery electric, hybrid electric, and 

fuel cell vehicles. In 1999, GM introduced the EVI featuring nickel-metal 

hydride batteries and second-generation electric drive and controls. 

In 2003, American Honda will introduce the first mainstream vehicle sold 

in orth America equipped with a gasoHigh performance 

flowmeters that 

feature: 

Available in both standard and custom 

OEM versions for installed applications 

to measure air and other gases. 

TSI Incorporated 

500 Cardigan Road, Shoreview, MN 55126 USA 

Tel: 1651490 3849 E-mail: f/owmeters@tsi.com Web: http.//f/owmeters.tsi. com 

Honda's Civic 

Hybrid features a 

gasoline-electric 

powertrain with 

a battery pack 

that recharges 

automatically. 

line-electric hybrid powertrain, 

the Civic Hybrid. 

The automotive industry is currently a 1 

trillion industry that is 

based on one technology - the internal combustion engine. Wallace 

warned that if omething were to affect either fuel or the technology, that trillion-dollar industry could be lost. 

"It' in our best intere t for cars to 

have the least environmental impact," 

Wallace added. "Otherwise, we can't 

grow. We have to provide transportation to the rest of the world. But we 

can't do it in the same way we're doing 

it now. It requires changes if we're ever 

going to give the other five billion people in the world the arne mobility we 

enjoy." 

26 For Free Info Enter No. 520 at www.nasatech.com/rs ASA Tech Briefs,July 2002 
4--+-..... Technology Focus: Sensors 

,. Flexible Piezoelectric Actuators 

Actuators can be affIXed to curved surfaces or embedded in composite structures. 

Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia 

Flexible, compact, hermetically ealed 

piezoceramic actuators wilh robu t electricalleacls have been developed for use 

in actively controlling aero tructures to 

uppre noise, vibration and flutter on 

experimental aircraft. An actuator of this 

type, denoted a Flex Patch, is meant to 

be placed in a strategic location to oppo e a predominant mode of vibration in 

a given tructure. 

Flex Patch i a compo ite tructure 

lhal include a lead zirconate titanate 

(PZT) wafer and nickel ribb n leads 

sandwiched betwe n lhemlOplastic layers. During fabrication, lhe tructure i 

held together with Kapton (or equivalem) polyimide tape and placed in an 

autoclave for proce ing through a precribed temperature-and-pre ure cycle. 

The mo t remarkable attribute of a 

Fl x Patch is its flexibility (e figure) and 

its ability to perform a w II while b nt as 

it doe when undefonned. Taken by itelf, lhe piezocerami ,vafer lhat goe 

into a flex patch i extr mely brittl and 

i broken when d ~ rmed even lightl . 

Th flexibility of lh FI x Patch greatl 

e. ce cis lhat of lhe pi zo rami wafi r 

lhat it contain. The uniqu flexibility 

make it po ible to atta h a Fl x Pal h to 

a highly curved surface. This characteri -

tic also make it possible to embed a Flex 

Patch into a composite-material structure 

of any of a variety of shapes. 

Anolh r benefit of lhe Flex Patch is tlle 

strengtl1 of electrical-lead attachments, 

which have b en sources of failure in tlle 

past becau e of lhe difficulties as ociated 

witl1 tl1e oldering of leads to a PZT. 

The lead stay connected firml in 

pia e and fonn a monolitll along witl1 

Flex Patch compo ite, providing an el cA Flex Patch Is Very Flexible, even though it contains a piezoceramic wafer that, taken by itself, 

would be extremely brittle and could not be 

bent as much as shown here . 

trically insulated package. The leads and 

tl1e PZT stay hennetically ealed - an advantage for use in adverse environments. 

Flat, flexible, male clincher connectors 

( imilar to tl10se found witl1in computer ) are crimped onto tl1 end oftl1e ribbon lead to finish the package. 

Thu far, Flex Patches have been operated at low voltages. After a Flex Patch 

has b en ubjected to a high-voltage poling proce s, the common operating potential i 200 ,altl1ough tl1e Flex Patch 

could al 0 function when con nected to a 

tandard 110-V, 50-Hz household outlet. 

In addition to working well as an actuator, a Flex Patch can also generate an electrical re pon e to a me hanical input. This 

haract ri tic makes it p ible to use a 

Flex Patch as a en or. 

This wo)"k was done by Garnett Homer, 

John Teter, and Eugene Robbins oJ Langley 

Research Center. 

This invention is owned by , and a 

palent application has been filed. Inquirie 

concerning nonexclusive or e clusive license 

Jo)" its commercial development houid be addressed 10 Brian &aton, Technology Commercialization Program Office, 1\ Langley Research Center at (757) 64-7210 or e-mail at 

bjbeaton@wrc.nasa.gov. ReJer to LAR-15908. 

• System Locates Buried Objects Marked by Electromagnetic 

Tags 

Marked objects can be located quickly and easily. 

Lyndon B. Johnson pace Center, Houston, Te a 

relatively in pen i e, lightweight, 

durable, easy-l p rat radio-frequ n y 

(RF) in trument has b en dev loped, 

along witll p cial ele o' magneti tags, 

for lise in det cting buried objects to 

which lhe tags are atta hed. Ea h tag 

comprise a dipole antenna (basi all , two 

ollinear t.raight wir ) witl1 a p ive, 

Ie tricall non lin ar load between lhem. 

B virtue of tlle n nlinearity of tl1 load, 

tll antenna reradiat harm nic and/ or 

mi er produ l( ) of ne r more RF ignal( ) tran mill cl b tl1 in trL1I11 nt. Th 

Tech Brief ,Jul\ 2002 

ham1 ni 

w\\~\ .na! "It eh. om 

• [nac urate making and keeping of 

record are tl1e bane of lh natural-ga 

indu try. Becau e landmarks an di app ar and human err rs cur, re ords 

ar oft n impreci e. 

• Prior electromagnetic and magn ti 

melal d t ctor an d te t only bje that are metalli , Iarg nou h, 

and buried at deplh of <3 ft «0.9 

m); and ven wh n d t ction i 

a hi ved, it i difficult to kn w wh n 

lh d l LOr i po itioned dir tly 

over an object. 

27 
For Free Info Enter No. 522 at 

www.nasatech.com/rs 

Sensors 

• Tracer wire, which enhance the detectability of nonmetallic objects, must 

be carefully handled to protect them 

from corro ion and disintegration over 

the years. 

• Active and pa sive acoustic detection 

techniques are promi ing but can be 

complicated by soil moi ture and a variety of oil types. If a target i close, active acou tic imaging and acoustic 

holography are also inaccurate. 

• Crowld-probing radar (CPR), the most 

recent addition to the buried-object-Iocation arsenal, has afforded limited ucce , 

in situation in which moisture is low and 

homogeneity is high. Moreover, CPR 

w1its must be operated by only trained, 

experienced professionals. For the e reasons, CPRs frequently do not satisfy me 

need of the natural-gas industry. 

The de ign of the present instrument 

and of the associated antennas and loads 

for marking buried objects involves, 

among other mings, the choice of transmitting and receiving radio frequencies 

to obtain efficient matches for a variety 

of burial depths and type and conditions of soil. In the case of a pipeline, a 

typical antenna is about 1.5 ft (=0.5 m) 

long and dle nonlinear load at the middle of the antenna has a volwne of <1 

cm3

. In order to establi h a location field, 

tags are et at intervals dlat range between 50 and 100 ft (between 15 and 30 

m) or whatever odler distance is most 

uitable in a given application. 

The in trument, which is carried above 

me ground, includes one or more transmitters operating at a frequency or frequencie in the range from 10 to 100 

MHz. The frequency or frequencie are 

chosen low enough to enable peneu-ation of a wide range of soil types and high 

enough to enable the use of a conveniently short transmitting antenna or antennas. The harmonic and/ or mixerproduct frequency or frequencie to be 

monitored are chosen low enough that 

sufficient reradiated signal power reaches 

a receiver mat is part of the instrument. 

In one example, a 50-MHz transmitter 

with a power of 1 W would uffice for detecting pipelines buried as deep as 4 ft 

(1.2 m). In dll case, the receiver could 

monitor the 100-MHz (secopd harmonic) 

reradiated signal with the help of bandpass filters and a diplexer that would uppress any second-harmonic signal component radiated by the transmitter. Provided 

that the location of a buried object i initially known or guessed to within a few 

meter (so that the instrument can be 

brought clo e enough to obtain a detectable reradiated signal), the instrument configured as de cribed above 

could locate a buried marker to within a 

few centimeters. 

This work was done by G. D. Arndt of 

Johnson Space Center and J. R. Carl of 

Lockheed Maltin. 

This invention has been patented by fl.SA 

(U . . Patent No. 6,097,189). Inquiries concerning nonexclusive or exclusive license for its 

commercial rkuelopment hould be adci1msed to 

the Patent Counse~ Johnson Space Center; 

(281) 483-0837. Refer to MSG22743. 

. Advanced Capacitive-Sensor TurbineBlade-Monitoring System 

This system provides data on vibrations of blades and the shaft. 

John H. Glenn Research Center, Cleveland, Ohio 

An electronic ystem that includes a 

capacitive proximity sensor is under development as a prototype of instrumentation ystems for real-time monitoring 

of vibrations of turbine blades and 

shafts. Because vibrations are caused by 

tresses that can induce fatigue and/ or 

are sometime associated with damage, 

monitoring of vibrations can provide information needed to detect damage, detect incipient fatigue failures, and alter 

turbine opel-ating parameters to prevent 

or po tpone failure . The design of this 

system overcomes the frequency-repon e and spatial-resolution limitations 

of pl;or capacitive-sensor-based turbinemonitoring systems. Its re olution 

www.nasalech.com 

comparable to mat of optical-sensorbased turbine-monitoring sy tem u ed 

in testing turbines at temperatures 

below their operating temperatures; 

however, unlike optical sensors, capacitive ensors can with tand high turbine 

operating temperatures [in ome cases, 

>2,000 OF (>1,100 0C)]. 

The capacitive proximity sensor in thi 

system (see Figure 1) include N (N = 6 

in the figure) stripe electrodes insulated 

from, and placed within recesses in, a 

larger ground electrode. In a fully developed version, the elecu'ode urfaces 

would be flu h wiill each omer and the 

sen or would be mounted in a turbine so 

that the electrod urfaces would be 

ASA Tech Briefs,July 2002 
WHEN DUPONT'" KRVTOX® IS DOING ITS JOB, 

THEY'LL NEVER NOTICE. 

The funny thing i , while no one may notice DuPontTM Krytox~ 

doing its job you're certain to be recognized for doing yours. And 

doing it well. That' becau e Krytox· wa originally formulated 

for the pace program by DuPont, so it provide long-Ia ring 

lubrication. It' highly effective even at temperatures of -7Cf'F to 

65Cf'F, when rno t lubricant degrade. What's more, Krytox~ 

i nonflammable, chemically inert, non-migrating and compatible 

with metal, ela tomers and engineering pIa tic . The re ult 

i fewer repair lower co t , better end-u er satisfaction, and 

longer life for critical components. As well as some glowing 

notice for you. For more information on Kryto ~ and other 

DuPont performance lubricant, call 1-800-424-7502 or visit 

www.krytox.com. 

The DuPont Oval Logo, DuPontTM, The miracles of scienceTM, and Kryto" are 

trademarks or registered trademarl<s of E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company. 

KRYTO~XHT 

OUR HIGHEsJ:.TEMPERATURE 

GREASE FORMULATIONS YET 

> Most stable high-temperature greases available 

> All the same benefits of current Krytox· 

> Ideal for conveyor systems. oven bearings. 

valves. and other high-temperature applications 

up to 800°F (425°C) 

> Several grades available to meet specific application needs 

The miracles oJ scienceFor Free Info Enter No. 523 at www.nasatech.com/rs 
Sensors 

flush with the urface of the 

rub trip: hence, in a fully de-

! 

Non-Grounded Electrodes 

zz ,I.:. ~ ;;Z ;:zz: 

Ground 

I.._---EI ectrode 

~Insulat 

'11 

ion 

intervals between ubsequent 

bursts are taken as measures 

of the time of arrival of adjacen t blades. 

veloped ver ion, the electrode 

surfaces would be curved at 

the radius of the rub StI;p. The 

sensors are excited with a DC 

bias between 100 and 200 V. 

Each of the non-grounded 

electrodes could be connected 

to individual signal processing-circuits as in prior turbineCircu 

M 

mferential 

= Zz: Zz: b:::z U 

The design of the preamplifier is such as to suppress 

much of the noise at frequencies below the blade-passage 

frequency. This low-frequency 

noise is attributable to vibraoliono! ~ 

Turb ine Blade 

tions of sensor cables and 

monitoring systems; instead, 

in thi system, all of the nongrounded electrodes are elecFigure 1. Six Electrodes in a Row capacitively sense the passage of the tip 

of a turbine blade. 

other spurious phenomena. 

To reduce low-frequency 

noise further, in digital signal 

trically connected together processing, a signal generand the resulting composite 

ignal is applied to a single 

wide-band preamplifier. Hence, 

the sensing and preamplification portions of this system 

are impler than those of 

prior systems. 

Time 

ated by fitting a curve to the 

preamplifier output when no 

blade is pre ent is subtracted 

from the preamplifier output 

when blades are present. 

This work was done by Wayne 

The circumferential distance between adjacent nongrounded electrodes and the 

total circumferen tial extent 

of the electrode array are les 

than the circumferential distance between adjacent turbine blades. Consequently, a 

Figure 2. This Preamplifier Output contains three six-pulse bursts, indicating the passage of three turbine blades by a six-electrode sensor like that 

of Figure 1. The periodic variation in the pulse height within each burst is 

a spurious effect attributable, in this case, to the fact that the sensor was 

flat instead of curved to the radius of the rub strip. 

C. Haase of Aerogage Corp. and 

Michael J Drumm of ExSell Inc. 

for Glenn Research Center. 

For further information, please 

contact Dr: George Y. Baaklini at 

(216) 433-6016 or baaklini@ 

grc. nasa. gov or access the Technical Support Package (TSP) free 

single blade passes completely by all 

the electrodes before the next blade arrives, and the output of the preamplifier i a burst of pulses corresponding to the passage of the blade by each 

of the N non-grounded electrodes (see 

Figure 2). 

The output signal of the preamplifier 

is digitized and then processed to measure the heights of the pulses and the 

times of arrival of the pul es in the burst. 

The height of each pul e is a direct measure of the distance between the blade 

tip and the sensor surface. The differences among intervals between times of 

arrival are '--measures of high-frequency 

vibration that manifests itself as circumferential oscillation at the blade tip. The 

on-line at www.nasatech.rom/ tsp 

under the Electronic Components and Systems 

category. 

Inquiries concerning rights JOT the commercial use of this invention slwuld be addressed 

to NASA Glenn Research Center, Commercial 

Technology Office, Attn: Steve Fedor, Mail 

Stop 4-8, 21000 Brookpark Road, Cleveland, Ohio 44135. RefertoLEW-17180. 

• Artificial Neural Networks for Organizing Sensor Webs 

The proven organizational abilities of natural neural networks would be exploited. 

NASA s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California 

A cheme for organizing and controlling sen or webs is based on artificial 

neural networks. [Sensor webs were desCI;bed in "Sensor Webs" (NPO-20616), 

NASA Tech Briefs, Vol. 23, No. 10 (October 

1999), page 80. To recapitulate: Sensor 

web are collections of sensor pod that 

could be scattered over land or water 

areas or other regions of interest to gather 

data on spatial and temporal patterns of 

relatively slowly changing physical, chemical, or biological phenomena in those regions. Each sensor pod is a node in a datagathering/ data-communication network 

tllat span a region of interest.] The present cheme would exploit communication and infornlation-processing concepts 

that have enabled biological neural net30 

works to organize and contI-ol large numbers of biological sensors, as proven in nature during the last billion years or longer. 

From one perspective, tlle cheme 

could be characterized as one of designing artificial neural networks to have architectures approximating those of biological neural networks that perform 

pecific functions. The following are examples of tllfee such architectures: 

• In the center-surround architecture, 

neurons are arranged in one-layer 

sheets, and each neuron i connected to 

its immediate neighbors only (see figure). In nature, this architecture occurs 

most notably in the retina of the eye; it is 

also used to organize information coming from the ears and tactile sensors. In 

www.nasatech.com 

artificial neural networks, this architecture is mo t often found in those of the 

cellular-neural-network type. In bOtll 

natural and artificial implementations, 

the basic functional topology is the same: 

the neural sheet is exposed to some 

input, and each new-on is prevented 

from fumg by tlle inhibiting effects of 

approximately half of its neighbors. 

One of the many phenomena detectable by use of the center-surround architecture is the location and movement 

of edge across receptive fields - for example, the edge of a shadow on a retina. 

The concept of edge could be generalized to include isotherms and isobars on 

an area spanned by a web of weather sensors and to enable the use of sensor web 

ASA Tech Briefs,July 2002 
to detect such phenomena as the pread 

of radiation or toxic chemicals, the spread 

of seismic activity, the spread of a traffic 

jam (in the case of a sensor web that spans 

a city), or the movement of an intruder 

against a background of starlight 

• The second architecture is that of 

autoassociative neural networks, 

which, in nature, enable organisms to 

recall old memories from partial or 

noisy stimuli. J n an autoassociative 

network, each neuron is connected to 

every other neuron in the network. 

The excitability of any such neuron is 

determined by the state of all the 

other neurons and the strengths 

(weights) of the interconnection between neurons. For any tate, the pattern of activation at the next instant in 

time is completely determined by the 

preset weigh ts. The number of different filing patterns is 2", where n i the 

number of neurons in the net; because this number i finite , as the equence of firing patterns proceed , cycles are inevitabl . Cycles that consist 

of repealed inslances of the arne pattern are called fixed points, and the e 

fixed points can be chosen by etting 

the weights to make the points attracl 

nearby patterns. The fixed points represent memories. An autoassociative 

en or web could be u ed to earch for 

known gaseou , biological, or geological ignature, for example. 

• The third archilecture i thal of hypern twork , whi h are group of neural 

networks thal can ooperate on vaguely 

defined tasks. Hypemetworks occur 

naturally in bee and ant coloni , 

chool of fi h, and flocks of birds. For 

example. in a flock of bird, each bird 

function, basically, as a ingle n uron 

connected only to its neare t neighbOI . Each bird imply matches the 

p ed and direction of n are t neighbor and keeps itself an equal di tance 

between them. The entire flock seems 

to move as a ingle rganism. 

warm of neural n tworks could accomplish tasks that would be impo ible 

for a ingle large n LU-al network. For e -

ample. a swarm could pread out to cover 

a large area or move in single file to go 

through a small opening. S,varms of flying 

en or pods. organized ~vith imple hyp rneural rules similar to those of flocks of 

birds. could p r[orm a wide variety of exploratory and data-collection tasks. 

This wOTk was done by ChaTie Hand oj 

Caltech JOT NASA's J et Propulsion Laboratory. For JUTtM,. inJonnalioll, acce s the 

Technical upport Package (TSP) free Oil-l ine 

at www. nasatech. com/tsp under the Electronic Componmts and IJ telns categoT)'. 

'P0-30317 

Tech Brief .Jul 2002 

0 

CENTER NEURON 

INACTIVE 

0 

CENTER NEURON 

ACTIVE 

0000000 

0000000 

0000000 

0000000 

0000000 

0000000 

0000000 

~ 06 

CENTER NEURON 

INACTIVE 

FIELD OF CENTER-SURROUND NEURONS: 

ONLY THOSE ON EDGE OF SHADOW ARE ACTIVE 

One Example of Center-Surround Architecture is that of a retinal neuron and its nearest neighbors. 

The balance between the stimulatory effect of light and the inhibitory inputs from the nearest neighbors is such that the central neuron is active only when the edge of the shadow crosses the central 

neuron sufficiently close to the center. In a field of center-surround neurons, only those along the 

edge of the shadow are active. 

For Free Info Enter No. 524 at www.nasatech.comlrs 31 
Sensors 

o Electroactive-Polymer Actuators With Selectable Deformations 

There are numerous options for selecting materials, configurations, and modes of operation. 

NASA s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California 

Efforts are underway to develop compact, lightweight electromechanical actuators based on electroactive polymers 

(EAPs). An actuator of this type is denoted an electroactive-polymer actuator 

with selectable deformation (EAPAS). 

The basic building blocks of these actuators are sandwich like composite-matelial 

suips, containing EAP layers plus electrode layers, that bend when electric potential are applied to the electrode . 

Prior NASA Tech Briefs article that have 

de cribed uch building blocks as parts of 

actuators [or specific purpo e include 

"Robot Hands With Electroactive-Polymer Fingers" (NPO-20103), Vol. 22, 

o. 10, (October 1998), page 78; 

"Robot Arm Actuated by Electroactive 

Polymers" (NP0-20393), Vol. 23, No. 

6 Uune 1999), page 12b; "Wipers 

Based on Electroactive Polymeric Actuators" (NPO-20371), Vol. 23, o. 2 

(February 1999), page 7b; and "Miniature Electroactive-Polymer Rakes" 

(NPO-20613), Vol. 25, No. 10 (October 2001), page 6b. 

The EAPAS concept admits of almost endles vaJiations in the selection of materials, actuator configurations, and modes of operation; it must 

suffice here to present only a few illustrative example. EAPs that can be 

used in EAPASs include electronically 

conductive, ion-exchange, ferroelecuic and electrostrictive polymers; 

graft elastomer· ferrogel ; and po ibly others. An EAPAS can compri e 

one or more pair(s) of bender suips 

placed back-to-back and stacked in a 

parallel, erial, or parallel/serial 

arrangement ( ee figure), as needed 

to satisfy force and displacement requirements for a given task. The following are a few examples of options 

for design and operation: 

• The pairs of benders in a given 

EAPAS can be electrically addressed 

individually, all together, or in intermediate combinations to control 

the displacement and/ or shape of 

the EAPAS. 

• tacked benders can be enclosed in 

a protective case, effectively rendering an EAPAS a compact linear 

motor. 

• EAPAS can be embedded in 

deformable "smart" structures for 

controlling their shapes. 

word, a puller) could serve as an artificial muscle: for this purpose, it would 

be anchored at one end and would 

pull on a wire (which would erve as an 

artificial tendon) at the other end. 

• A more complex EAPAS could erve as 

a tactile display device. 

This warn was done by Yoseph Bar-Cohen of 

NASA's J et Propulsion Laboratory, Virginia Olazabal of Coltecll, and JosfrMaria 

Sansinena of San Sebastian, Spain. Forfurther 

information, access the Technical Support Package (TSP) free on-line at www.nasatech. 

com/tsp under the Mechanics category. 

o o • 

In accordance with Public Law 96-517, 

the contractor has elected to retain tiLle to this 

invention. Inquiries concerning rights for its 

commercial use should be addressed to 

Intellectual Property group 

JPL 

Mail SLop 202-233 

4800 Oak Grove Drive 

Pasadena, CA 91109 

(818) 354-2240 

Refer La P0-21174, volume and number 

of this NASA Tech Briefs issue, and the 

page number. 

• 

Bending EAP Strip Back-to-back strips are A unit contractile actuator is made 

combined with reverse polarity. from pairs of conjugate EAP benders. 

A hinge connects the strips. The contraction is along the vertical axis. 

A HIERARCHY OF BUILDING BLOCKS 

A TYPICAL CONTRACTILE ACTUATOR 

MULTIPLE CONTRACTILE ACTUATORS THAT CAN BE 

CONNECTED IN PARALLEL 

• An EAPAS designed mainly as a Pairs of EAP Benders can be stacked in series and/or parallel, and electrically addressed individually or col- con tractile actuator (in other lectively, to obtain required displacements and forces. 

32 www.nasalech.com A Tech Briefs,July 2002 
New MotionProTM High-Speed CMOS Digital Imaging System 

Sets New Standards from Laboratories to Production Lines 

MotionPro is more than the world's premiere 

PCI-based high-speed CMOS digital camera. 

It's a complete system for capturing high-speed 

events and delivering outstanding digital 

images directly into a PC for "slow-motion' 

analysis and documentation. And it sets new 

price performance standards for both laboratory 

and production line diagnostic applications. 

MotionPro includes: 

• High-speed, compact, mega-pixel CMOS 

camera head. 

• PCI camera control and memory board, with 

up to 9.B seconds of record time at 500 

ful/-resolution frames per second. 

• Intuitive, easy-to-use Windows-based 

control software. 

• Motion analysis software. 

• Optional video image synchronization with 

up to 64 channels of external sensor data. 

MotionPro delivers full frame color or 

monochrome resolution of 1280 x 1024 

pixels. Up to four MotionPro systems can 

operate from a single PC for multiple 

synchronous 'slow-motion" views of an 

event. Three models [with recording speeds 

up to 500,2,000 and 10,000 frames per 

second] let you choose the right system for 

today, and easily upgrade later if necessary. 

Comprehensive integrated solutionsincluding MotionPro, computer, software and 

instrumentation accessories - are available. 

See how to slow the motion and solve 

the problem with MotionPro by contacting 

Redlake MASD, Inc. at your choice of 

the following: 

Phone: 1-800-462-4307 or 1-858-481-8182 

Fax: 1-858-792-3179 

E-mail: sales@redlake.com 

Website: www.redlake.com 

For Free Info Enter No. 553 at www.nasatech.comlrs 
·software 

ti Software for Turbo Decoding 

on Digital Signal Processors 

Software for decoding turbo codes that 

have been adopted as standard by the 

Consultative Committee for pace Data 

} tems is being developed along with 

hardware built around integrated<ircuit 

digital ignal proce ors (DSPs) that execute the software. The software enables reliable communicaLion at data rates up to 

700 kb/ s at a signal-to-noise ratio (S R) of 

-0.2 dB if a rate-I/ 6 code is used, or at an 

S R of O. dB if a rate-l / 3 code is used. 

The software is written primarily in assembly language and runs on eight high-perfOnllanCe 0 Ps in parallel. Frames of data 

are distributed among six of the D P , 

which perform iteraLiye decoding. A "stopping mle" is used to detect early convergen e, thereby reducing the average number of iterations and, hence, increasing 

decoding speed. The remaining two DSPs 

perform ancillary functions including 

frame synchronitaLion, a-acking of frame 

arrival times, de-rdIldomizaLion (sometimes used to en ure a bit-tran ilion d nity sufficiem for receiver a-acking), and 

cyclic redundancy checking for verilicaLion of data. 

This work was done by Kenneth Andrews; 

Val£lie tanlon; amuel Dolinar; Jr; Fahrizio 

Pollara; Jeff Berner; and Victor Chen oj Caltech Jar NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. 

For Jurther infonnation, access the Technical 

Support Package (TSP) free on-line at www. 

l1asatedz.com/tsp under the Software category. 

This software is available Jar commercial 

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

3425. ReJer to NPO-30249. 

ti Software for Automation of 

Real-Time Agents 

Clo ed Loop Execution and Recovery 

(CLEaR) is an artificial-intelligence computer program under development 

de igned for automated command sequence generaLion, execution, monitoring, and recovery. As a component of the 

Deep Space etwork's (OSN's) prototype 

Common Automation Engine (CAE), 

CLEaR relieve human opet-ator of 

much of the burden of setting up, monitoring, and controlling a OS communication station. CLEaR is al 0 being 

adapted for automaLion of other realLime agents, sllch as robotic spacecraft, 

robotic land vehicles (rovers), and 1'0-

34 

botic airct-afl. CLEaR enables a control 

computer at a OS tation to respond to 

a et of tracking goal by i uing ommand to configure tation hardware and 

oftware to provide requested communication services. CLEaR utilize operational knowledge encoded into a textual 

declarative knowledge ba e to create 

command equences, then execute the 

command sequence while monitoring 

their progress and dynamically modifying 

them on the basis of its operational 

knowledge when necessary. To generate a 

tracking plan (expre sed as a control 

cript) that sati fies the tracking goals, 

LEaR utilizes an extended version of 

CASPER, which was described in " o[tware for Continuous Replanning OUl-ing 

Execution" (NPO-20972) flSA Tech 

Briefs, Vol. 26, o. 4 (April 2002), page 

67. Then CLEaR monitors the execlllion 

of the u-acking plan and modifies the 

plan in re ponse to changi ng requirements and/ or unforeseen events. 

This program was written by Forest Fisher, 

Barbara Engelhardt, Colelle Wilklow, leve 

Chien, Ru sell Knight, Cregg Rabideau, and 

Robert Sherwood oj Caltecl~ Jor NASA's Jet 

Propulsion Laboratory. For Jurther informalian, access the Technical Support Package 

(T. P)free all-line at Wluw.lIasatedl.com/tsp 

under the Software category. 

This software is available Jor commercial licensing. Please contact Don Hart oj the California I1lstitute oJ Technology at (818) 393-3425. 

Refer to NP0-21 040. 

ti GUI Program for Planning 

Paths of Rovers 

The Path Planning Graphical User Interface i a computer program that, as its 

name indicates, genet-ate a graphical 

lIser interface (G I) [or soft"\vare that 

plan path for robolic vehicles (rovers) to 

be u ed in explOl-ation of remote planets. 

This G I program is designed for use in 

conjunction with the A* Search Algod thm, which plans ule path of a rover between starting and ending positions pecified by the user. WiUl the help of the 

G 1, ule user can change rover positions 

intet-actively and can modify the parameters used by the path-planning search algorithm. Pt;or to the development of thi 

GUI program, it was typical practice [or 

engineers to hand<ode paUl-planning a1-

goriulms in order to encode parameters 

particular to their application, so that te ting \vith different parameters and terrain 

www.nasalech.com 

maps was tedious and co uy. The present 

GUI progranl makes it easy for users to 

te t their path-planning logic by downloading or modifying current terrain environments and earch parameter, \vithout 

need for a costly learning process. 

This pmgram was written by Ayanna 

Howard oj Caltech Jar NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. For Jurther in/onnation, 

access the Technical Support Package (TSP) 

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

lhe Software category. 

This software is available Jar commercial 

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

3425. ReJer 10 NPO-30320. 

• Software for Modeling 

Biochemical Reactions 

CeIJ erator is a computer program that 

automatically generate and olves diITerentia] equations for complex sets of 

chemical reactions like tho e in living 

cells. Cellerator provide a mathematical 

and computational infra tructure for 

characLerizing rea tion paLhways and ul e 

interaction between complex molecules 

(e.g., proteins and nucleic acids) and cellular environments. The user effectivel 

define ule pathway by pecifying an 

input et of chemical reaction. Example 

include enzymatic reaclion, creation 

and degradation of various chemical 

species, binding and unbinding reaction , pho phorylation reaction, and 

tran cription and u-anslation of nucleic 

acids. More complex ignals, such as a 

chemical cascade, can aI 0 be specified. 

Cellerator u-anslates ule pecification o[ 

chemical reactions imo the corresponding et o[ differential quation, then 

olve the e equation numerically. 

CeIJerator provide an explicit de cription of output at sev ral steps through 

the model-genet-ation proce ; this feature affords flexibility by facilitating intervention by the user to modify the computational model "on the go," as might be 

desil-able, for example, to correct errors. 

This program was WrillL"I! by Bruce Shapiro, 

Elic Mjolsness, and Andre Leuclumko oj Caltech Jor NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. 

For jurther inJonnation, access the Tedmical 

Support Package (TSP) free on-line at www. 

nasatech.com/tsp under the oftware category. 

This software is available Jor commercial 

licensing. Plea e contact Don Hart oj the California In ti/ute oj Technology at (818) 393-

3425. ReJer to NP0-21122. 

ASA Tech Briefs,July 2002 
Q. Why is full featured FEA so expensive? 

lineqr statics .30 dynamic rotation, pan and zoom mass properties ~ 

ipt~Gmf)~astrfGsponse tetrahe al ~!l~ ¥~es~rror :. e 

H! at flow into heat boundary elements CD 

:9 NASTRAf)t Output 2 or PATRAN 2.5 neutral file interf~e 

5€ subspace iterative eigenvalu Iver .~ nonlinear static ~ E d d . ~ Iveiocililes ., mass, an amper Ine. lltlJ re re1 a damping supported in all dynamic ~Iuti ' 

c ~ c o~rature dependent mat als I' <t> d I' b Inear n non Inear uc -",!~ I r 

/1d nonlinear direct transient respo analysis -g COC a summa Ion 

• • oR light source shadingt and transparency k 

gap contac 1th fr1ct~ cus om pac · anisotropic a initial sla~ or tension ( 

Ie models over 3 milli D.O.F .... i... robust shell and solid elements 

~~;~~ lZable e op. ace-t urface~ontact composite failure 

and daml)ing rnqtrixes S ress epen en 

1 dis 1 (/) forces, and contact stresses 

~rge . p acement(i) complete program control gap and slide line d 

Nlndows Interface Q) sparse direct and iterative (PCGLSS) solvers .~ 

line, plate, & solid "ment types CD quad-dominant automatic sL:rfa~ m 

(/) orthotropic 1>. ~ 

~ 0 ID ° 

llinear functional forms c.. thermal gradients ~ linear and nonl ar prestress ~ 

quadrilateral and triangular plates '< dynamic solutiorm perfeOctly 

art DXF and IGES files A:BS ~ posite lami'U te materials 

en • 0 

capacitance ,...-----..... 1 von mls~1 r-----...,1 

1 powerful i easy to us~ proven. ~ precise 
Software 

tj Software for Allocation 

and Scheduling of DSN 

Resources 

The TMOD (Ielecommunications 

and Mi sion Qperations Ilirectorate) Integrated Qround Resource Allocation 

and Scheduling (TIGRAS) computer 

program provides an integrated computing environment for analysis, allocation, and scheduling of antennas and 

other ground resources of ABA's Deep 

Space Network (DSN). TIGRAS includes 

sophisticated forecasting and schedulegeneration algorithms that enable users 

to perform their tasks with the help of 

decision-support information. TIGRAS 

connects to a centralized database, both 

for retrieval of data needed to perform 

analyses and for storage of results of 

analy es. TIGRAS has a graphical user 

interface that combines time-line navigation, display selection, graphics, text, 

and metrics, all on one screen for viewing. Users can open multiple windows to 

display user requirements, viewperiods, 

forecasts, and schedules, all simultaneou ly. Users can also edit data while viewing them. Included in TIGRAS is software that controls access to selected 

parts of TIGRAS on the basis of privileges assigned to users. TIGRAS supports mission-phase-based analysis in addition to weekly analysis, so that user 

can focus more on planned missionpha e activitie than on activities associated with fixed time interval. TIGRAS 

can be executed on personal computers 

that utilize the Windows 2000, Windows 

95, or Windows NT operating sy tem. 

This program was unitten by Yeou-Fang 

Wang, Chester Borden, and Silvino Zendejas 

of Caltecl! 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 Sciences category. 

This software is available for commercial 

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

3425. Refer to NP0-30247. 

tj Software Disseminates 

Lessons Learned on a Large 

Project 

A computer program automates the 

process of collecting, storing, and disseminating information on lessons 

learned in a large, multidisciplinary project in which multiple organizations participate. Developed for the International 

Space Station project, the program 

could also be used on other projects to 

institutionalize successes and reduce the 

incidence of failures, t~ereby reducing 

36 

costs, risks, and schedule times. The program provides a closed-loop reporting 

system that captures lessons learned, distributes them to affected organizations, 

and requires positive feedback to assure 

appropriate implementation by each organization across the project. The program includes a conventional database 

subprogram combined with a Web-based 

subprogram that helps to identify and 

document lessons learned, collects the 

relevant information about lessons 

learned, and automatically distributes 

the information to the affected parties 

via electronic mail. The program also requires, and simplifies the submission of, 

documents by the affected parties to ensure that the lessons are applied by the 

affected parties. Johnson Space Center 

has recently adopted the program as its 

centerwide lessons-learn ed program, 

and minor modifications and enhancements are underway. 

This program was unitten by Nathan Vassberg of Johnson Space Center; Don Erwin, 

Shama Kruse, Greg Nenninger, and Sue Nell 

Cochran of Barrios Technology; Glenn Jenkinson of Boeing International Space Station; 

and Leland Jackson and Paula Gentry of 

Science Applications International Corp. For 

further information, access the Technical 

Support Package (TSP) free on-line at www. 

nasatech.com/ tsp under the Information Sciences category. 

MSC-23116 

tJ Software Recognizes Similar 

Patterns of Different Sizes 

A computer program undergoing development detects patterns that may differ in size but are otherwise similar to a 

specified pattern. Conceived to enable 

the automated recognition of features in 

images of planets and asteroids acquired 

by exploratory spacecraft, the program 

can also be used for scale-invariant recognition of pattern in other applications. 

The program requires no advance knowledge or mathematical modeling of a pattern to be recognized; instead, the program trains itself on one or more 

examples of a pattern provided by the 

user. The program synthesizes virtual examples by resampling the user-provided 

example(s) at different pixel spacings. 

The result of the resampling is a set of 

continuously scalable detectors, which 

can be regarded as implementing an extension of matched filtering (also known 

as template matching in the computervision and pattern-recognition literature), 

which was developed in the early 1940's 

for radar and communication applications. The program has shown promise in 

tests on images of terrain of several astrowww.nasatech.com 

nomical bodies. For example, in the case 

of images of bowl-floored Lunar craters 

\vider than 4 pixels, the program exhibited an 80-percent probability of detection and a 12-percent fulse-alarm rate. 

This program was unitlen by Michael C. 

Burl and Timothy Stough 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 Sciences 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-30269. 

@ Program Predicts Temperatures at Nodes of a Thermal 

Network 

Node frediction for Thermal etworks (NOPTHER) is a computer program that predicts steady- tate temperatures at unobserved nodes of a thermal 

network, given noisy values of the temperatures measured at observed nodes. 

The program is based partly on modeling of the heat fluxes among nodes as 

sums of external heat loads, conduction 

terms (products of conduction coefficients and differences among nodal temperatures), and radiation terms (products of radiation coefficients and 

difference among the fourth powers of 

nodal temperatures). The temperatureprediction problem is formulated as an 

optimization problem - more specifically as a nonlinear least-squares minimization problem with a single quadratic constraint imposed by the 

measured temperatures. The problem is 

solved by the method of Lagrange multipliers. OPTHER incorporates algorithms that find local minima of a cost 

functional through Newton iteration. 

What distingui hes these algorithms 

from other such algorithms is that they 

exploit specific characteristics of the 

temperature-prediction problem that 

enable the use of a fast and memory-efficient computational method. The algorithms have been shown to be at least an 

order of magnitude faster than are prior 

algorithms used for the same purpose. 

This program was written by Mark Milman and Miltiadis Papalexandris of Caltech 

for NASA's J et Propulsion Laboratory. 

For further infonnation, access the Technical 

Support Package (TSP) free on-line at 

www.nasatech.com/tsp under the Physical 

Sciences 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-30173. 

ABA Tech Briefs,July 2002 

Dio e-Pumped Infrared Lasers 

Advances in all solid-state lasers are bringing the benefits 

of relia ility, high performance, and favorable economics 

to diverse industrial applications. 

State-of-the-art diode-pumped lasers 

in the low to medium power range 

now provide greater reliability than a 

light bulb in addition to providing 

turnkey simplicity, superior beam quality, and rugged, compact construction. 

In this article we examine how advances 

in laser design deliver these benefits, 

and briefly di cuss indu u"ial application that rely on these lasers. 

End-Pumping 

A diode-pumped laser con i ts of a 

crystal or neodymium-doped material 

(e.g. Nd:YAG, d:W0 4) that i optically 

pumped by a laser diode or laser diode 

array. One potential ob tacle to using 

diode arrays is that the light is emitted 

from a erie of facets arranged in a line 

or two-dimensional matrix (laser tack). 

One olution to thi problem i to use a 

configuration where the extended output of the cliode array i coupled to a 

fiber optic array that is then re haped as 

a cylindrical bundle. Thi allows the 

pump light to be coupled into the end 

facet of a rod of laser crystal using simple 

optic. A pump light that i well matched 

patially to the TEMoo volume of the laser 

crystal en ure good beam quality. Just as 

important, this configuration allows a 

module to be located in the power-supply rather than the laser head. Thi 

makes module replacement trivial, eliminating the need to realign the laser head 

or any of the down tream optics. 

Remote placement of the pump lasers 

has also enabled manufacturers to perfect 

the concept of the permanently sealed 

laser head. To completely implement thi 

approach, it is also necessary to use longlived optical components, permanently 

mount and assemble the components in a 

monolithic structure, design this structure 

to be thermally stable, and build the laser 

in a clean room atmosphere. 

In tlle late t lasers, the mechanical assembly also use a novel approach to deliver cavity stability. The mo t rugged 

lasers produce an output consisting of 

multiple-longitudinal modes. Thi minimize power fluctuation , is relatively insensitive to minor changes in cavity 

ITa 

One way to achieve higher output powers with diode-pumped lasers is to use a Periodic Resonator. as in the Inazuma ~ from Spectra-Physics. 

length and allow for stable frequency 

doubling. A very ucce ful design is to 

arrange the optics in a Z configuration 

on a monolithic base formed by an aluminum I-beam. Because of the excellent 

torsional stability, any thermal expansion merely change the cavity length. 

The mode quality and beam pointing direction are completely unaffected. Consequently, there i no need for special 

cooling measures such as heavy heat 

inks. In addition, the optics are rigidly 

mounted using precision mounts. The 

use of bonding agents, uch as epoxies, 

is completely avoided since these could 

outga and affect laser performance 

over time. The end result is a compact 

laser head that can be operated for 

many months, or even years, without 

ever removing the cover. 

Product Diversity 

For end-pumped lasers containing a 

ingle Nd:W04 (or Nd:YAG) rod, typical 

performance level reach several watts of 

average power. However, one of the adwww.ptbmagazine.com 

vantage of diode-pumped lasers i their 

design flexibility. These lasers can be deigned to provide continuous wave (CW) 

output for applications such as inspection, where high peak power is not required. But a more common configuration is to incorporate a Qswitch in the 

laser cavity so that the output con i ts of 

short « 15 nsec) pulse. With pulse repetition rates adjustable from 1 - 200 kHz, 

thi re ults in peak powers as high as 30 

kilowatts, enabling material proce ing. 

In the past year, passively mode-locked industrial models have al 0 reached the 

market. Here the output is characterized 

by very short pulse duration (<100 femtoseconds) and very high repetition rate 

(lO's of MHz). The e lasers are useful for 

precision materials proce sing, where the 

ultra hort pul es virtually eliminate peripheral thermal damage. 

This technology is also flexible in 

term of caling up the average output 

power. One way to do thi i to u e a 0-

called Periodic Resonator, where two 

laser rods operate in erie in a single 

Photonics Tech Briefs,July/ August 2002 
Indigo offers a 

complete line of 

infrared cameras with radiometric options, 

covering the entire IR spectrum. 

real time. 

real temperature. 

real accurate. 

Absolute temperature with absolute accuracy. 

For absolute temperature measurements, our radiometric 

cameras more than measure up. Fully integrated with 

Thermoteknix ThermaGRAM® and TherMonitor® software, 

we set the industry standards for real-time image capture, 

temperature measurement, radiometric image analYSiS, 

and report generation. 

Indigo's cameras cover the entire infrared spectrum, 

like no one else can. So you can choose the right tools for 

your application. For more information on our high-sensitivity 

radiometric cameras, call or visit our web site today. Indigo 

Systems radiometric solutions. It's a real measure of success. 

~ Real-time, high-speed, high-resolution digital acquisition 

captures dynamic thermal events 

~ Get highly accurate temperature measurement at every pixel 

~ Full OLE compatibility allows direct manipulation of thermal 

images and data in MicrosoftlM WORD or EXCEL 

~ Industry-compatible RS-170A video interface 

~ 12- and 14-bit digital output supported for demanding 

embedded applications 

See us at SPIE Seattle, Booth #615. 

l 

..!:! Thermoteknix ft 

7 Systems Ltd...!!.. 

ThermaG~ and TherMonito'® are registered trademari<s of Thermoteknix Systems Ltd. 

indigo~~ brighter. 

Indigo Systems 5385 Hollister Ave., Santa Barbara, CA 93111 / 805-964-97971 Fax 805-964-7708 1 sales@indigosystems.com 1 www.indigosystems.co

For Free Info Visit www.nasatec;h.c;om/485 or Enter No. 485 at www.nasatech.com/rs 
Photonics Tech Briefs 

laser head. Each rod is end-pumped at 

both ends using the output of a pump 

module. As with lower power lasers, the 

output can be in a CW or Q-switched 

format. 

It i not economically practical to further extrapolate this process by ganging 

multiple lasers. in an industrial laser. A 

practical way to reach higher output 

powers is to pump the laser rod with the 

output of a high power, two-dimensional diode array. Once again, the 

problem becomes coupling this pump 

light into the end of the laser rod in a 

way that allows a sealed cavity head and 

simple field replacement of the pump 

module. One approach to this problem 

is to couple a factory-aligned laser 

diode stack to an optical funnel which 

delivers the pump energy into the end 

of the d:YAG rod. The pump light 

then enter the cavity through a window that eliminates the need to unseal 

the cavity. Moreover, factory alignment 

provide imple physical regi tration 

for field replacement with no need to 

optimize alignment, and no shift in the 

laser output beam. An example of this 

type of laser is the Tornado from Spectra-Physic , which delivers over 50 watts 

of output in either CW or Q-switched 

formats. 

According to Ric Allot, R&D group 

leader for Displays at Exitech, "There is 

a fast growing need to pattern the tran -

parent electrodes for flat panel displays 

and solar panels, an application for 

which diode-pumped infrared lasers are 

particularly well-suited." According to 

Allot, Exitech uses a novel 

'bow tie' writing method 

for this application that 

combines galvanometer 

scanning with repetitive 

use of a photomask. 

ent plastics - one transparent at the 

laser wavelength and one that ab orbs at 

that wavelength. The laser beam travel 

through the tran parent plastic and is 

absorbed at the interface by the 'dark' 

plastic, causing local melting of the thermoplastic. Typical materials might be 

The transparent electrodes are formed of a thin 

layer of tin oxide, or indium tin oxide, with a typical layer thickness of 100 

nm. In flat panel displays, 

it is necessary to produce a 

large number of densely 

spaced electrode, which 

each have a characteristic 

T shape. These are produced by depositing a uniform oxide layer and then 

using laser light to remove 

Infrared lasers are used to join plastic parts as in these polycar· 

bonate components. The advantages are process flexibility, no 

curing time, and no toxic fumes. 

the material around the T shape. The 

Exitech system uses a single T shaped 

photomask in conjunction with a Qswitched laser. This mask pattern is projected onto the work surface via canning galvanometer. 

The part to be worked 

is moved using a 

continuous motion 

translation tage. Allot 

explains, "This combination of galvanometer scanning and part 

translation delivers 

the fast throughput 

demanded by the economics of this application." He also points 

out that, "It is e sential 

to use diode-pumped 

la ers in this applicaclear polycarbonate and carbon blackfilled polycarbonate." Hartke noted that 

new, alternative material uch as Clearweld'" could also be applied to the interface of two transparent plastics with the 

same re ult. 

Flat panel displays require the production of repetitive and accurately 

registered patterns of T shaped electrodes, which are produced by laser 

ablation of a thin layer of transparent oxide. Image courtesy of Exitech. 

tion. The typical cutomer uses many 

workstations around 

the clock. Traditional, 

The joint is held under physical pressure, to avoid expansion during the 

proces time, which varie from milliseconds to 1-2 econds. Overall weld 

speeds as high as hundred of meters/ second can even be achieved 

under optimum conditions. In addition, the u e of beam scanning enables 

very complex or extended weld to be 

created. Ju t as important laser welding 

produce little peripheral damage , in 

compari on to ultrasonic welding. Thi 

is a major reason for the use of la er 

welding to eal delicate electronics in 

small enclosures, the most famous example to date being the Keyless-Go 

card used for remote entry with many 

Mercedes automobiles. 

Industrial Applications 

Thanks to a range of output powers 

and flexible formats, diode-pumped infrared laser have found diverse applications in anum ber of industries. They are 

u ed for marking metal parts, drilling 

small holes in medical devices, inspecting products, fabricating circuit boards, 

and direct-to-plate printing, to name just 

a few applications. To see the utility of 

these laser, it is useful to look at a couple of very different applications - welding plastics and patterning electrodes in 

flat panel di plays. 

2a 

lamp-pumped lasers would not be economically viable because of the downtime, expense and hassle associated with 

replacing lamps in so many lasers." 

Diode-pumped laser are slowly starting to find applications in plastics welding as a fumele s, precision alternative to 

bonding, where the bonding agent 

(glue) often produces toxic fumes during curing. Kevin Hartke, sales and marketing manager at the Mound Laser & 

Photonics Center, explains that, "A common technique is transmis ion welding. 

Here, we typically look to join two differwww.ptbmagazine.com 

In conclusion, diode-pumped technology has taken industrial lasers to a 

level of reliability and operational simplicity tllat was unthinkable a few years 

ago. As a result, these laser now support 

a broader base of applications than any 

other single type of laser. 

This article was contributed by Dafydd 

Thomas and Mich{JJ!l Watt. Both authors are 

product managers in the OEM Business Unit 

of spectra-Physics (Mountain View, CA). 

Dafydd Thomas can be contacted at 

dthomas@splasers.com. For more information 

on Spectra-Physics, visit the company s web 

site at www.splasers.com. 

Photonics Tech Briefs, July/ August 2002 
; ...................... ~ 

Tra 

y 

Volume Scatter 

RepTileTM 

Advanced Ray Sorting 

Birefringence 

Anisotropic Surfaces 

Source Spreadsheet 

Diffraction Gratings 

3. Thin Film Stacks 

2. Volume Flux Viewers 

TracePro® 

TracePro is number one because it's the only optical analysis 

software that has .sill of the innovative features listed above. 

We've added these nine features to TracePro in just 18 

months. That tells you what you can expect from our awardwinning technical excellence now-and in the future. 

TracePro is easy to learn and easy to use. Most important, it 

reduces your product development time by 30 to 50 percent. 

Call lambda Research today to receive 

a Iree demo CD. 

LAMBDA RESEARCH CORPORATION • (978) 486-0766 • sales@lambdares .com • www.lambdares.com 

For Free Info Enter No. 401 at www.nasatech.com/rs 
Photonics Tech Briefs 

Product Guide: CCO Cameras 

A Jl of the charge-coupled device (CCD) cameras 

l"'Ilfeatured in this month's product guide are for 

industrial andlor scientific applications such as machine 

vision and microscopy. 

determining the camera's resolution. Resolution is a key factor 

for medical and machine vision applications, for example. 

Widely used in imaging technology because of its cost 

efficiency, a CCD is an electrical device typically made from 

silicon. The surface of a CCD consists of photo ites or pixels, 

which represent one element of an entire image. The number 

of pixels in the CCD array i primarily responsible for 

Along with resolution and pixel size, a number of 

additional characteristics are provided for each entry in 

the product guide. The e characteristics include frame 

rate, spectral range, and signal-ta-noise (SI ) ratio. 

Products are listed in alphabetical order by company. The 

manufacturer howd be contacted directly for additional 

information. 

Canadian Photonics Labs 

Manitoba, Canada 

www.cplab.com 

Mega Speed Series 

Type: Digital, Black & white or color 

Operating Speed: up to 60 Mbyte/ s 

Frame Rate: 192 to 10,200 fps 

Dynamic Range: 8 bit 

Spectral Range: 400 - 1000 nm 

Dimensions: 60 x 60 x 140 mm, 

530g max. 

CCD Type: Frame transfer 

Pixel Resolution: 640 x 480 

Pixel Size: 7 x 7-\lffi 

SIN: 48 dB 

Applications: Industrial, biology, 

and pharmacology. Models include 

CPL-M P5K & CPL-Mega Speed 1000. 

DALSA 

Ontario, Canada 

www.dalsa.com 

DALSTAR 1M30 

Type: Digital, Gray scale 

Operating Speed: 40 MHz 

Frame Rate: 30 fps 

4a 

Dynamic Range: 12 bit 

Spectral Range: 400 - 800 nm 

Dimensions: 92 x 92 x 144 mm, 0.85 kg 

CCD Type: Frame Transfer 

Pixel Resolution: 1024 x 1024 

Pixel Size: 12 x 12-pm 

SIN: 3200:1 

Applications: Product inspection, microscopy, crystallography, medical, radiology I 

fluoroscopy, and automated pathology. 

Hamamatsu 

Bridgewater, NJ 

usa.hamamatsu.com 

ORCA-HR 

Type: Digital, Black & white 

Operating Speed: 20 Hz 

Frame Rate: 1.7 - 8.9 fps 

Dynamic Range: 12 bit 

Spectral Range: 300 - 1100 nm 

Dimensions: 75 x 90 x 150 mm, 

1.2Kg (Head); 232 x 74 x 383 mm, 

5.9Kg (CCU) 

CCD Type: Large Format Interline 

Pixel Resolution: 4000 x 2624 

Pixel Size: 5.9 x 5.9-pm 

SIN: -

Applications: Scientific and industrial. 

Leutrek Vision 

Burlington, MA 

www.leutrek.com 

Teli CS8550D 

Type: Analog, Monochrome 

Operating Speed: 24.545 MHz 

Frame Rate: 60 full fps 

Dynamic Range: -

www.ptbmagazine.com 

Spectral Range: 400 - 800 nm 

Dimensions: 29 x 29 x 39.5 mm, 50g 

CCD Type: Interline transfer 

Pixel Resolution: 659 x 494 

Pixel Size: 7.4 x 7.4-llm 

SIN: >50 dB 

Applications: Inspection, measurement, and machine vision. 

Panasonic Vision Systems 

Group/OEM 

Secaucus, NJ 

www.panasonic.com 

GP-MF602 

Type: Analog, Black & white 

Operating Speed: 28 MHz 

Frame Rate: 30 fps 

Dynamic Range: -

Spectral Range: 400 - 1000 nm 

Dimensions: 44 x 29 x 72 mm, 155g 

CCD Type: 1/ 2" Interline transfer 

Pixel Resolution: 768 x 494 

Pixel Size: 8.4 x 9.8-\lffi 

SIN: 56 dB 

Applications: Machine vision 

Photonics Tech Briefs,] uly / August 2002 
PerkinElmer 

Optoelectronics 

Fremont, CA 

www.perkinelmer.com/opto 

AstroCam 

Type: Digital, Black & white 

Operating Speed: 150, 250, 500, 

625, & 800 kHz 

Frame Rate: 27.56 fps max. 

Dynamic Range: 16 bit 

Spectral Range: 300 - 1000 nm 

Dimensions: 4" x 4" x 6.5", 3 lbs. 

CCD Type: Kodak KAF3200E 

Pixel Resolution: 2184 x 1472 

Pixel Size: 6.8 x 6.S-pm 

SIN: 84 dB 

Applications: Spectroscopy, fluorescence microscopy, luminescence, & 

semiconductor imaging. 

Roper Scientific 

Trenton, NJ 

www.roperscientific.com 

Photometries Caseade:6S0 

Type: Digital, Monochrome 

Operating Speed: 5 & 10 MHz 

Frame Rate: 25 to 510 fps 

Dynamic Range: 16 bit 

Spectral Range: 400 - 1000 om 

Dimensions: 4.5" x 7" x 4", 6.5 Ib . 

CCD Type: Texas Instruments TC253, 

Frame tran fer 

Pixel Resolution: 653 x 492 

Pixel Size: 7.4 x 7.4-llffi 

S/N: -

Applications: High- peed & low-light, 

such as ingle-molecule fluorescence 

and intracellular ion imaging. 

PhOLOni Tech Briefs,july/ ugu t 2002 

Sony Electronics 

Pari, Ridge, NJ 

www.sel.sony.com 

XC-HRSO 

Type: Analog, Black & white 

Operating Speed: 60 Hz 

Frame Rate: 60 full fps 

Dynamic Range: -

Spectral Range: 400 - 1000 nm 

Dimensions: 29 x 29 x 30 mm, 50g 

CCD Type: 1/ 3" Interline transfer, Progressive Scan 

Pixel Resolution: 659 x 494 

Pixel Size: 7.4 x 7.4-pm 

SIN: 58 dB 

Applications: Electronic assembly, 

semiconductor post processin g, and 

high- peed assembly line inspection. 

Toshiba America 

Information Systems 

Irvine, CA 

www.cameras.toshiba.com 

IK-SK1 

Type: Digital, Monochrome 

Operating Speed: -

Frame Rate: up to 60 fps, partial scan 

Dynamic Range: -

Spectral Range: 400 - 1000 nm 

Dimensions: 44 x 44 x 52 mm, 4.770z. 

CCD Type: 2/ 3" Progressive Scan 

Pixel Resolution: 1392 x 1040 

Pixel Size: 6.45 x 6.45-Jlm 

S/N: -

Applications: Machine vi ion, in pection of microelectronics during manufacturing. 

www.ptbmagazine.com 

Accelerate 

Your Vision 

Development 

Quickly develop machine 

vision and scientific imaging 

solutions with the latest IMAQ~ 

Vision Builder. 

• Integration of your vision 

application with motion and 

data acquisition 

• Easy-ta-use, configurable 

development environment 

• Ability to create LabVIEW'" Vis 

and Measurement Studio ~ 

code recipes 

• Complete set of machine 

vision and imaging functions 

• Vision Solution Wizard 

( ni.com/info ) 

To learn more about IMAD Vision 

Builder, visit ni. com/info and 

enter na9n2B. 

a: NATIONAL , INSTRUMENTS~ 

(800) 811 -2046 

Fax: (512) 683·9300 • info~ni.com 

OCO/IYflOhlQl H .... I"ItJ\MIII'IlSeor,or.IlIIft.MrigIta twttMll.Producleftd 

C«IIPIft¥I\IIIItt~I.IH." ndtt!tl!bOftr .. INIM'f'OlMit,.....el!\oacOIIIN\'IItL 

5a 
echno ogies of he Month 

sponsored by ye ~com 

For more information on these and other new, licensable inventions, visit www.nasatech.com/ techsearch 

Cost-Effective Production of 

High-Precision Plastic Products 

For optical components, this method gives plastics the 

same or better precision than glass. The method is also applicable to non-optical precision components and products 

based on crystalline plastics. The two-process method overcomes many of the problems with conventional methods. 

In the blank mold process, resin is heated to fluidization 

temperature and injected into the cavity of the mold. The 

mold's temperature is maintained 

at or below the thermal deformation point of the target resin. 

In the surface transfer process, 

the blank is taken out of the injection mold, inserted into the surface transfer mold, and heated to 

bring the blank temperature to the glass transfer temperature 

of the resin. The mold is maintained at a temperature for a 

period of time and then slowly cooled to a temperature below 

the thermal deformation point of the resin. 

For 1/I.07l! information go to: 

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

email: nasatech@yet2.com; phone: 617-557-3837 

Carbon Fiber Electrode for 

lithium Ion Batteries 

With the prevalent use of portable devices such as video cameras and notebook personal computers, compact, high capacity 

econdary batterie are in demand. Most secondary batteries are 

nickel-<:admium batteries using alkaline electrolytic solutions. 

These conventional batteries have a low battery voltage of about 

1.2 V and make it difficult to promote energy density. Repetitive 

charging and discharging creates the possibility of short-circuits 

in secondary batteries employing lithium metal. 

Alternatively thi technology - amorphous carbon fibers 

doped with lithium ions - has a high discharging capacity as 

anode materials of lithium ion batteries. TIlls means that 

lithium ion secondary batteries using carbon materials can exhibit the same high-energy characteristics of lithium metal batteries without the safety hazards. 

The carbon fibers for this technology have a crystallite thickne between 1.3nm and 1.7nm (determined by X-ray diffraction 

method). The process for this technology requires baking of the 

carbon fibers at a temperature between 900°C and 1330·C. 

For 1/I.07l! information go to: 

www.nasatech.com/ tech earch/ tow / electrode.html 

email: nasatech@yet2.com; phone: 617-557-3837 

==== 
www.alfalight.com 

For more information 

visit our web site. For a 

detailed specification 

packet e-mail us at 

product@alfalight.com 

or call 608-240-4881 . 

--........ -

ALFA LIGH'~ 

The Power of Better 

A Starting Line-Up 

That'll Knock Your 

Socks Off! 

When you play to win, 

you'd better have a team 

that delivers leading-edge 

devices and world-class 

packaging. See why 

customers are cheering our 

high powered single and 

multimode diode lasers. 

And why our competitors are 

groaning, "What will these 

guys come up with next?" 

Multimode Diode Laser 

• 980 nm wavelength 

• > 1.8 W output power 

Singlemode Diode Laser 

• 980 nm wavelength 

• >300 mW output power 

For Free Info Enter No 40 t ~~~~~~ ____________ _ 
Photonics Tech Briefs 

Fiber-Optic Liquid-Level Sensors 

John F. Kennedy Space Center, Florida 

Liquid-level-measuring systems based 

on fiber-optics are under development 

as compact, lightweight alternatives to 

systems based on float gauges and other 

conventional sensors. For liquids that 

pose explosion hazards, fiber-optic sensors are inherently safer because they 

do not include electrical connections 

inside tanks. Fiber-optic sensors can be 

designed in many different forms to exploit reflection and transmission of 

light to measure liquid levels. Most of 

them are based on the effects of the indices of refraction of liquids on the 

waveguide properties of optical fibers: 

In a typical case, there is a loss of internal reflection of guided electromagnetic modes as a result of contact between the outer surface of optical fiber 

and a liquid. Hence, a substantial decrease in the light transmitted from one 

end of the fiber to the other is taken to 

indicate that liquid has come into contact with a suitably designed probe at 

the end of the fiber. A system capable of 

determining the level of liquid to 

within a known increment of depth 

could be constructed by placing the 

probes of a number of such sensors at 

known increments of depth in a tank. 

This work was done by Syed H. Murshid of 

Florida Institute of Technology for Kennedy 

Space Center. For further information, 

please contact: 

Dr. Syed H. Murshid 

Florida Institute of Technology 

Dept. of Electrical Engineering 

150 West University Blvd. 

Melbourne, FL 32901 

Tel. No. : (321) 674-7434 

E-mail: murshid@eejit.edu 

KSC-12249 

Synthesis of Optical Pulses Using Brillouin Amplification 

Low-jitter pulses can be generated with controllable shape, duration, and repetition frequency. 

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California 

A technique for Fourier synthesis of 

optical pulses involves radio-frequency 

(RF) phase modulation of laser beams, 

Brillouin selective amplification of modulation sidebands, and, finally, generation of pulses through coherent superposition of (and thus interference 

among) the sidebands. (Brillouin amplification is a consequence of a nonlinear 

interaction of the pump and signal 

beams with an optical fiber via the electrostrictive effect, and has been described in several prior articles in NASA 

Tech Briefs.) Coherent superposition is 

possible because the Brillouin selective 

sideband amplification (BSSA) automatically locks the various sidebands together in phase. The shape and duration of the pulses can be controlled by 

controlling the gain for each sideband, 

while the pulse-repetition frequency can 

be controlled by controlling the frequency of the modulation. Other attractive features of this technique include 

built-in optical amplification, simple 

electronic control, insensitivity to polarization, and conversion of a low-phase 

noise RF signal into lowjitter optical 

pulses. 

One apparatus that has been used to 

demonstrate the technique (see figure) 

includes two diode-pumped yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG) lasers, denoted 

the "signal" and "pump" lasers, that operate at wavelengths =1,319 nm. The 

output beams from both lasers are 

phase-modulated by the same continuous-wave signal at a suitable RF (e.g., 7.7 

Sa 

GHz) that equals the desired frequency 

of repetition of optical pulses. The modulated signal beam is coupled, via a polarizing beam splitter (PBS), into a 4-kmlong single-mode optical fiber on a 

spool. The polarization axis of the signal 

beam is made to coincide with the transmission polarization axis of the PBS. 

At the far end of the long optical fiber, 

the signal beam is reflected by a 90· 

Faraday mirror, so that the polarization 

axis of the reflected signal beam is orthogonal to that of the forward-going 

signal beam everywhere along the fiber. 

Consequently, the reflected signal beam 

is further reflected, by the PBS, toward 

an optical circulator, from whence it is 

coupled into a photodetector. 

The modulated pump beam is directed 

via the optical circulator to the PBS. The 

polarization axis of the pump beam is 

made parallel to the reflection polarization axis of the PBS, so that the pump 

beam is also made to travel along the long 

optical fiber. Like the signal beam, the 

pump beam is reflected at the far end by 

the 90· Faraday mirror so that the reflected pump beam is orthogonal to the 

forward-going pump beam everywhere 

along the fiber. Finally, the pump beam 

Faraday 

Mirror 

\ -0 

Spooled Optical Fiber 

4 km Long 

Optical 

Circulator 

Photodetector 

This Optoelectronic Apparatus synthesizes optical pulses through superposition of phase-locked, Brillouin-amplified modulation sidebands of a laser beam. 

www.ptbmagazine.com Photonics Tech Briefs,July/ August 2002 

Photonics Tech Briefs 

passes through the PBS toward the signal 

laser and is suppressed by an optical isolator before it reaches the signal laser. It is 

important that the forward-going pump 

beam always has the same polarization as 

that of the backward-going signal beam; 

this condition is optimum for Brillouin 

amplification everywhere along the fiber 

and it eliminates polarization sensitivity of 

the Brillouin-amplification process. 

The carrier frequency of the pump 

laser is adjusted so that the frequency of 

its peak Brillouin gain coincides with the 

+2 modulation sideband of the signal 

beam. Because both the signal and pump 

beams are modulated by the same RF signal, other Brillouin gain peaks generated 

by the corresponding modulation sidebands of the pump beam are automatically aligned with the corresponding 

modulation sidebands of the signal beam. 

The apparatus includes a simple circuit 

that prevents relative frequency drift between the signal and the pump lasers. The 

circuit is based on the fact that when the 

signal sidebands are optimally amplified, 

the DC output of the photodetector attains a maximum value. The DC output of 

the photodetector can be extracted via a 

bias T and used to control the frequency 

of the pump laser. 

This work was done by X. Steve Yao 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 Physical Sciences category. 

In accordance with Public Law 96-517, the 

contractor has elected to retain title to this invention. Inquiri£s concerning rights for its commercial use should be addressed to 

Intellectual Assets Office 

JPL 

Mail Stop 202-233 

4800 Oak Gruue Drive 

Pasadena, CA 91109 

(818) 354-2240 

&mail: ipgroup@jpl.nasa.gou 

Refer to NP0-20870, volume and number 

of this ASA Tech Briefs issue, and the page 

number. 

ProIIle Refractometry for Measuring the Soret Effect 

Spatially and temporally resolved data are acquired across the span of a fluid. 

Marshall Space Flight Center, Alabama 

Profile refractometry i a laser-based 

technique for measuring the index of 

refraction of a fluid as a function of 

time and position in a fluid. The technique was developed for use in quantifying the Soret effect in a binary fluid 

lnJrodncing FRED ... 

subject to an applied thermal gradient. 

(The Soret effect is the mass diffusion 

of chemical species due to an imposed 

thermal gradient.) More precisely, profile refractometry enables measurement of both dynamic and teady-state 

the New Virtual Prototyping Optical Engineering Software that lets you easily 

lOa 

FRED visually tells you, in minutes, which optical lenses work 

with your mechanical designs, whether imported or from scratch! 

Engineers and Lab Techs ... 

FRED is a virtual workbench where you can study how your system will really work! 

t/ Short learning curve -

no training necessary. 

t/ Instantly edit and 

visualize changes. 

t/ Coherent/incoherent 

irradiance and intensity, 

polarization calculations. 

Database of over 10,000 

vendor lenses and prisms. 

II' Extremely economical even for infrequent use. 

"FREE Demo CD" 

Contact us: (520) 733·9557 

www.phDtonengr.com 

l hoton Engineering 

E-mail: info@photonengr.com 

For Free Info Enter No. 405 at www.nasatech.com/rs 

local gradients in the index of refraction of the fluid. These gradients are related in a known way to gradients in the 

composition of the fluid and thus to the 

Soret coefficient. 

Profile refractometry overcomes 

some of the weaknesses of a steady-state 

beam-deflection (SSBD) technique 

used heretofore to obtain index-of-refraction data for calculating the Soret 

coefficient. In the SSBD technique, one 

transmits a laser beam parallel to a thermal gradient in a fluid contained in a 

narrow gap. The SSBD technique yields 

only a single measure that is averaged 

over the applied temperature range. 

The SSBD technique does not yield spatially resolved data, and is limited to a 

very small applied thermal gradient because a large thermal gradient would 

refract the laser beam by more than the 

few milliradians allowed by the narrow 

gap geometry. 

In profile refractometry, a wide laser 

beam with an initially planar wavefront 

is made to propagate along an axis perpendicular to a thermal gradient in a 

bulk fluid. Unlike in SSBD, the beam 

samples a cross section of the fluid, 

yielding spatially resolved index-of-refraction data for all positions of interest 

along the thermal gradient. There is no 

need to keep refraction angles small 

and thus no need to limit the applied 

thermal gradient because the laser 

beam is not obscured at any refraction 

angle. In addition, because profile refractometry samples bulk fluid, the spurious refraction caused by capillary action, urface tension, and edge effects is 

Photonics Tech Briefs,July/ August 2002 
You can also view yet2.com ~ Tech of the Week by logging onto nasatechbriefs.com 

For Free Info Visit _ .Msatech.com1489 or Enter No. 489 at _.Msatech.comlrs 
Photonics Tech Briefs 

les than that in a fluid sampled within 

a narrow gap as in the SSBD technique. 

The image formed by the refracted 

laser beam contains information on the 

continuous refraction profile over the 

entire span of the fluid. When corrected for thermal effects, this profile 

represents a continuous measure of the 

concentration gradient in the fluid at 

every point along the axis between the 

thermal boundaries. 

When a thermal gradient is applied 

to a fluid, the Soret effect (if it occur 

in that fluid) gives rise to a transient 

fluid phase in which molecular migration occurs. Under some conditions, 

there develops a steady-state fluid structure that contains a stable concentration gradient. Methods of analysis that 

take these effects into account, and software that implements these methods, 

have been developed to process refraction-profile data to obtain values for 

each of the terms that define the Soret 

coefficient. The end result of the Soret 

analy is performed by the software is a 

three-dimensional matrix that contains 

data on the Soret coefficient as a function of time, position in the fluid, and 

temperature. Depending on the experimental conditions, convection and dynamic effects may also be represented 

in the data. 

This work was done by Larry W Mason 

of Lockheed Martin for Marshall Space 

Flight Center. For further information, 

contact the company at (303) 971-9067. 

MFS-31567 

Laser-Induced Shock Waves Would Lyse Cells for Analysis 

The cost and complexity of analysis would be reduced. 

NASA s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California 

According to a proposal, laser-induced 

acoustic hock waves would be used to lyse 

cells as needed for biomolecular inve tigation , including, for example, diagnosis 

of diseases, pregnancy te ts, analyses of genetic molecular tructures, and general 

analyse of cell chemistry. Heretofore, it 

has been common practice to suspend 

cells in liquid buffers and to introduce 

lysing chemicals into the buffers. While 

new! Plug ,Play 

Camera 

Kit 

To Immunoassay Targets 

Pulsed Diode 

Laser 

~ 

Integrated 

Micro Optics 

' . ~ Alternate Channel 

Cell Fragments 

Shock Waves 

Suspended Cells 

Flow 

A Pulsed, Focused Laser Beam would induce acoustic shock waves In a liquid buffer. Cells suspended 

in the buffer would be lysed by the shock waves. 

SILICON VIDEOe2112 1.3 megapixel, 10 bit, 

progressive scan, monochrome or color, with a 

programmable resolution to 1288 x 1032 pixels. 

PIXCleD2X PCllnterface supplies power 

and programmable pixel clock for the camera. 

Trigger input for async reset. 

XCAP·Llte Software provides camera control 

including sub-windowing/sampling, mirror & flip 

modes, RGB balance, and user-selectable pixel clock. 

2 Meter Cable supplies power, pixel clock, 

and control. 

For Free Info Visit www.nasatech.coml445 or Enter No. 445 at www.nasatech.com/rs 

chemical lysis is effective, it contributes to 

the cost and complexity of analysis and 

create a problem of disposal of additional chemical waste, e pecially in ituations in which many sample must be analyzed. By eliminating the need for lysing 

chemicals, the proposed technique would 

reduce the cost, complexity, and need for 

post-analysis waste disposal. 

In the proposed technique, a sample of 

cells would be suspended in a liquid 

buffer as before, but instead of treating 

the suspension with lysing chemicals, the 

suspension would be pumped through an 

optically accessible channel. The beam 

from a pulsed diode laser would be focused into the channel (see figure). The 

energy deposited locally in the buffer by 

the focused pulses would be sufficient to 

induce acoustic shock waves, which would 

lyse cells in or near the focal spot. 

www.ptbmagazine.com 

This ~ was dfm.e l7y Robert Stirbl and 

Philip Moynihan of CalJ.ech for NASA's J et 

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

(TSP) free orvline at WWUI.nasatech.com/tsp 

under the BiG-Medical categary. 

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 

Intelkctual Assets Office 

JPL 

Mail Stop 202-233 

4800 Oak Graue Drive 

Pasadena, CA 911 09 

(818) 354-2240 

E-maiL' ipgroup@jpL nasa.gau 

Refer to NPO-30410, volume and number 

of this NASA Tech Briefs issue, and the pagrJ 

number. 

Photonics Tech Briefs,July / August 2002 
Multiple-Beam System for Fast Raman Spectrometry 

A complete vibrational spectrum can be obtained from one laser pulse. 

John H. Glenn Research Center, Cleveland, Ohio 

A developmental instrumentation 

system rapidly acquires full Raman 

spectra of gas molecules. The system is 

based on the principle of multiplex coherent antis tokes Raman spectro copy 

(CARS) and incorporates improvements over prior multiplex CARS systern. Among the potential applications 

for systems like this one are (1) imaging 

(including micro copy), (2) detection 

of molecular pecie of interest for diagnosi of flame and other possibly 

rapidly changing systems, and (3) detection of molecular specie of interest 

for ga chromatography. 

Heretofore, multiplex CAR sy terns 

have been capable of obtaining Raman 

pectra rapidly (as fast as one pectrum 

per laser pulse). The pectra in que -

tion are a sociated with vibrations of 

the molecule of interest. The bandwidth of the dye la er that provide 

the excitation in uch sy terns have typically been limited, uch that in a typical ca e, the measur d pectral range 

cover no more than about one-third 

of the vibrational wavelength range of 

the molecular pecie of interest. This 

developmental y tern is capable of 

covering the full vibrational wavelength range of typical molecule of 

interest. 

The developmental ystem include a 

neodymium: yttrium aluminum garnet 

(d:Y ) pump la er, a hydrogen 

Raman cell, a degenerate ~-barium borate optical parametric 0 cillator (BBO 

OPO) , a ociated optic for manipulating multiple beams of light 0 that the 

beam overlap, detection optic , a 

mon chromaLOr, and an inten ified 

charge-coupled device. 1n operation, a 

broadband beam and a narrowband 

beam are overlapped in pace and time 

at a ampling point. The multiplex 

CAR pro e ,ba ed upon th nonlinear optical ffect, generate a new 

broadband beam that is blue- hifted 

with re pect to the narrowband bam. 

Thi new beam i di per ed and detected by u e of the monochromator 

and th inten ified charge-coupled device. For each pul e of the pump laser, 

a omplete vibrational pectrum an b 

recorded. 

In a le t, the tern was u d to detect 

variou molecular pecie at different 

position in a ooty flam . By ob erving 

the heights of the peaks in th vibrational pectnl as th ampling point was 

Photoni Tech Briefs,jul / ugust 2002 

moved outward from the center of the 

flame, it was possible to determine that 

the concentration of C2 decreased while 

that of CO2 increased. 

This work was done by Peter C. Chen's research group at SPelman College for Glenn 

Research Center. For further information, 

access the Technical Support Package (TSP) 

free on-line atwww.nasatech.com/tsp under 

the Physical Sciences 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 

Stop 4-8, 21000 Brookpark !Wad, Cleveland, Ohio 44135. Refer to LEW-17194. 

For Free Info Enter No. 410 at www.nasatech.com/rs 13a 
NellV Products 

Nd:YAG Laser System 

New Wave Research (Fremont, CA) has introduced the 

Tempest 300, a compact, high-performance Nd:YAG laser 

system that is the latest and highest energy ven;ion of the 

company's family of Tempest lasen; systems. Tempest 300 

features a 10 Hz repetition rate and provides optical output power of 300 mJ at 1064 run and ISO mJ at 532 nm. 

The Tempest 300 broaden the capabilities of the Tempe t 

family of Nd:YAG laser systems, which are designed for 

laser-induced breakdown, Raman spectroscopy, laser ablation and many other scientific and OEM applications. 

Easy to set up and operate, the Tempest 300 features a laser head that measures just 15" x 7" x 3.5" and 

weighs only 15 Ibs. To save lab space, the system comes with a compact power supply that can be positioned up to eight feet away from the laser head. 

For Free Info Visit www.nasatech.comINewWave 

I ' '.: ) 

, , t " I , 

Polarization 

Maintained 

Fiber-Optic Cable 

Assemblies 

Johanson Fiber Optic 

Group's (Boonton, NJ) 

EXACTuneN Polarization Maintained 

fiber-optic cable assemblies use a patented FC style connector designed to 

peed the alignment process of the fiber axis to the 

connector key while improving accuracy. Precisionmachined connector components and ferrules provide an angular accuracy within 1' , extinction ratios 

of up to 30 dB or higher, and an insertion loss ofle 

than 0.3 dB (typical). The assemblies are shock, 

vibrations and temperature resistant. 

For Free Info Visit www.nasatKh.com/JohansonFO 

SFF Optical 

Transceivers 

Stratos 

Lightwave 's 

(Chicago, IL) 

Small Form 

Factor (SFF) 

2x5 and Small 

Form Fac tor 

Pluggable (SFP) optical tranSceiven; - for use with 

the new InfiniBand communications standard -

operate at 2.5 Gb/ s providing input/ output performance in heavy-rraffic environmenr.s uch as servers, 

remote storage devices, and within multi-processor 

systems. They feature a standard LC fiber-optic interface, MSA--compliant all-metal housing, and can fit in 

mezzanine card systems. 

For Free Info Visit www.nasatech.comlStratos 

PFO Transmitter! 

Receiver Set 

E20 Communications' (Calabasas, 

CA) · pluggable" 12-

Channel Parallel 

Fiber Optic (PFO) 

Transmitter / 

Receiver Set allows flexibility in system production 

assembly and easy field upgrade or replacement. 

The new EMI2T250 (Transmitter) and EMI2R250 

(Receiver) incorporate the FCI (Berg) IOxlO MEGArray" y-axis connector system. These 2.5 Gb/ s per 

Channel modules are designed for use in applications requiring up to 30 Gb/ s aggregate throughput and operate with 50llm and 62.511m multi mode 

optical fiber array type cables. 

For Free Info Visit www.nasatech.comlE20 

14a 

Vibration Isolation 

Workstations 

Kinetic Systems' (Boston, 

MA) Personal Vibration 

Isolation Workstations, 

the LabMate 9211 Series, 

are suitable for applications where space is limited. The 921 I Series is 

Class 100 clean room compatible , with Class 10 

available. VibraDamped steel tabletops with either 

stainless steel or plastic laminate are 24" deep, come 

in three widths ranging from 24" to 35", and hold up 

to 440 Ibs. Applications include semiconductor proce ing, telecommunications, aero pace engineering, and medical research. 

For Free Info Visit www.nasatech.comIKinetic 

Photosensitive 

Fibers 

Nufem (East Granby, 

CT) has released four 

lines of photosensitive fiben; -cladding 

mode offset, cladding 

mode suppressed, 

pump locker, and 

fiben; mode-matched 

to SMF2SN. Designed for use in WDM and DWDM 

applications, the fiben; exhibit uniform and controlled photosensitivity to conventional UV radiation 

techniques and are available in a wide range of photosensitivities. All of the Photosensitive Fiben; can be 

spliced to industry-standard telecommunication ingle-mode fibers with low splice loss. 

For Free Info Visit www.nasatech.comINufem 

Modular 

Vibration 

Isolation 

System 

Technical Manufacturing Corp. 

(Peabody, MA) 

introduces QDampN, a modular vibration isolation system to be used with TMC's 

Gimbal PistonN Air Vibration Isolation Tables. 

According to TMC, Q-DampN achieves a significant 

improvement in performance by canceling the resonant amplification of the air spring system. This 

technology is for electrophysiology research, 

metrology tools, AFMs, and optical microscope 

based tools. 

For Free Info Visit www.nasatech.comITMC 

www.ptbmagazine.com 

from Diven;ifled Technologies, Inc. 

(Bedford, MA) are available in 3 KY modules which 

can be connected in series up to 200 KY, feature variable pulse widths from <1 psec to DC, and can drive 

5,000 Amps peak. Providing a life expectancy in the 

billions of pulses, these modular switches are a drop" 

in replacement for thyratrons/ PFNs and crowban;. 

Applications include E-Bearns, high power X-Rays, 

and radar systems. 

For Free Info Visit www.nasatech.comIDiversified 

Swept Wavelength 

Measurement 

System 

The Tektronix (Beaverton, OR) OTS9600 Series 

of optical test modules, a 

new category for OTS 

Product Family, is a swept 

wavelength mea urement system that addresses physical layer testing 

for passive optical components. The OTS9600 eries 

uses patent-pending wavelength reference technology and offen; resolution and accuracy greater than 1 

picometer. The system automatically calibrates prior 

to each measurement, eliminating manual calibration and reducing time per teSL 

For Free Info Visit www.nasatech.comlTektronix702 

SurfaceMount 

LEOs 

The narrow 

beam of 

Lumex Inc.'s 

(Palatine, IL) 

SML-LXR44 

Series of surface mount technology (SMT) LEDs is only 90' 

wide - compared to standard SMT LEOs' typical 

160' - resulting in a brighter beam, which is easier to collimate. The LEOs require circuit board 

space of only 4mm x 4mm and are packaged on 

12mm taped reels. The LEDs are available in all 

colors and all chip technologies including AIlnGaP 

and InGaN. 

For Free Info Visit www.nasatech.com/lumex 

Custom Sapphire 

Waveplates 

Meller Optics, Inc. 

( Providen ce, RI) 

introduces cu tom 

manufactured sap" 

phire wave plates for 

use in rugged vi ible 

and IR polarization 

control components. 

These waveplates are 

offered in balf and 

quarter wave in both multiple and zero order configurations. Moh 9 hardness allows them to be made 

thinner than quartz waveplates. Featuring 0.25 pm to 

4.7 11m transmission these sapphire waveplates can 

withstand haflih chemical environments. 

For Free Info Visit www.nasatech.com/Meller 

Photonics Tech Briefs,July/ August 2002 
Electronic Components and Systems 

• Evolutionary Automated Synthesis of Electronic Circuits 

A genetic algorithm causes circuits to evolve toward a desired behavior. 

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California 

A method of automated synthesis of 

analog and/or digital electronic circuits involves evolution, either in software simulations or in hardware, directly on integrated-circuit chips. 

"Evolution" is used here in a quasi-genetic sense, signifying the construction 

and testing of a sequence of populations of circuits that function as incrementally better solutions of a given design problem. The evolution is guided 

by a earch-and-optimization algorithm 

(in particular, a genetic algorithm) that 

operate in the pace of po sible circuits to find a circuit that exhibits the 

de ired behavior. 

In comparison with evolution by u e 

of software circuit simulations, e olution 

in hardware can speed the earch for a 

olution circuit by a few order of magnitude. Moreover, because software imulations rely on mathematical circuit 

model of limited accuracy, a olution 

evolved in oftware can behave differentl when downloaded in programmable hardware; such mismalche are 

avoided when evolution takes place directl in hardware. 

A prior version of automated ynthesi of electronic cir uits in hardware was 

di cussed in "ReconfigurabJe Array of 

Tran i tor for Evolvable Hardware" 

(NPO-2007 ), i1SA Tech Briefs, Vol. 25, 

Evolutionary Algorithm 

No.2 (February 2001), page 36. To recapitulate: Very-large-scale integrated 

(VLSI) circuits would contain electronically reconfigurable arrays of transistors. Under the direction of genetic 

and/or other evolutionary algorithms, 

the configurations and thus the functionalities of the circuits would be made 

to evolve until at least one circuit exhibited a desired behavior or adapted 

to the environment in a prescribed way. 

Evolution would include selective, 

repetitive connection and/or disconnection of u·ansistors, amplifiers, inverters, and/or other circuit building 

blocks. 

The present version of automated 

syntllesis of electronic circuits in either 

software simulation or hardware is 

based on the same general concept as 

that of the prior version, the main difference lying in the detail of implementation. The figure schematicall depicts the main rep of an automated 

evolutionary ynthesi according to the 

pre ent method. In the first lep, a 

mathematical representation of a population of circuits (i n thi context, analogou to chromosome) is generated randomly. The chromosome are then 

converted intO either (1) mathematical 

model of circuits or (2) u·ings of control bits that are downloaded to proChromosomes 

Genetic Search on a Population of Chromosomes 10110011010100 

01110101101111 

11011011010110 

• Select the best designs from a populalion. 

• Reproduce designs with some variation. 

• Iterate until the performance goal is reached 

Evaluale Individual 

Behaviors and 

Assess Fitness 

Behaviors of 

Circuits 

grammable hardware (if the circuits are 

to be evaluated directly in hardware). In 

the mathematical-model case, the simulation program compares the behaviors 

of the models with the desired behavior 

and the evolution is said to be "extrinsic"; in the programmable-hardware 

case, the physical behaviors of the hardware are compared with the desired behavior and the evolution is said to be 

"intrinsjc. " 

In either the intrinsic or the extrinsic 

case, the circuits are ranked according 

to how close their behaviors come to the 

de ired behavior. A new population of 

circuits is generated from a selected 

pool of best circuits in the previous generation, ubject to a such genetic operators as chromosome crossover and mutatiOIl. The process is repeated for many 

generations, yielding progressively better circuits. The criterion for stopping 

the evolution can be the reduction of 

error below a certain tlue hold, or 

reaching a prederennined number of 

generation. On or everaJ solutions 

may be found among th individuals of 

th last generation. 

The viability of this method has been 

demonstrated on a equence of . oftware prolotyp . In a proposed hardware implementation, tlle basic circuit 

elements would be an array of metal 

Conversion to 

Descriptions of 

Circuits 

Sirings of 

Conlrol Bits 

Reconfigurable Hardware 

Aut omated Evolutionary Synt hesis of electronic circuits is an iterative process that imitates some of the features of biological evolution. 

N Tech Briefs,juI 2002 www.nasalech.com 37 
Electronics 

oxide/ emiconductor field-effect transistors interconnected via programmable switches. The circuit topology 

would be a function of the switch tates 

(off or on), which would be specified by 

the tring of control bits. This programmable array of transistor could be 

modular, and modules could be cascaded and/or expanded to obtain circuits of greater complexity. 

This work was done !Jy Adrian loica and 

CaritJs Salawr-Lazaro of Caliech for NASA's 

J et Propulsion Laboratory. For further information, access the Technical Support Packaf!! 

free Q1wine at www.nasatech.rom/ tsp under the 

Electronic Camponents and ~ tems category. 

This invention is owned by NASA, and a 

patent application has been filed. Inquiries 

concerning nonexclusive or exclusive license 

for its commercial droelop1nent should be addressed to the Patent Counsel, 'ASA Management Office-JPL; (818) 354-7770. Refer 

to NP0-20535. 

• Designing Reconfigurable Antennas Through Hardware Evolution 

This method offers potential advantages over computational simulation. 

NASA' Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California 

In a propo ed method of designing a reconfigurable antenna, the design would 

be optimized through evolution in hardware. The proposed method would be a 

pecific in tance of an emerging general 

method of automated synthesis of electronic circuits in hardware. Other specific 

instances of the g neral method were described in two NASA Ted~ Briefs articles: 

"Reconfigurable Arrays of Tran istors for 

Evolvable Hardware" (NP0-2007 ), Vol. 

25, o. 2 (February 2001), page 36; and 

"Evolutionary Automated Synthesis of 

Electronic Circuits" (NP0-20535), which 

precede this article. To recapitulate: 

Under the direction of genetic and/ or 

other evolutionary algorithms, the configuration and thus the functionalitie of ciruits would be made to evolve until at least 

one circuit exhibited a desired behavior. 

Evolution would include selective, repetitive connection and/ or disconnection of 

transistors, amplifiers, inverters, and/ or 

other circuit building blocks. 

According to the proposed method, a 

reconfigurable antenna in a basic initial 

configuration would be placed on an antenna te t range equipped for testing at 

the frequency or frequencies of interest A 

computer outside the te t range would be 

Tackle tough DSP & Data 

Acquisition jobs with Conejo! 

38 

Conejo DSP board with C6711 DSP and 4 

independent channels of 1 OMHZ analog I/O. 

Futures 

~ Ultra-Flexible Triggering Modes 

~ Blazingly Fast 64-bit PO Bus 

~ 150 MHz TMS320C6711 DSP 

~ 4 Independent 1/0 channels DC-10MHz 

~ Multiboard Synchronization 

Applications 

~ Wireless IP Development & Hardware Testing 

~ Ultra-Fast Flexible Data Acquisition 

~ Stimulus/Response Measurements 

~ Semiconductor Testing 

~ RADAR 

~ Electronic Warfare 

805.520.3300 phone· www.innovative-dsp.com 

A Inno".t1". ~ Int.g,.t/on . r eol II".~ lo/~"("u! 

For Free Info Enter No. 525 at www.nasatech.comlrs 

connected to interface circuits that would, 

in turn, be connected to (1) the test equipment (transmitters and receivers) on the 

range and (2) wires through which the 

computer could control the configuration 

of the antenna. 

The computer would execute software 

that would include one or more automated-optimization algorithms plus 

driver-inlerface oftware for controlling 

the antenna configuration and the test 

equipment. Following initial activation, 

the oftware would go through the optimization process, controlling the test 

equipment and the antenna configuration as needed to produce an optimized 

configuration for each et of desired 

electromagnetic propertie . 

The only other method of automated 

de ign by use of an optimization algorithm involve computational imulation 

of performan e instead of te ting of a real 

phy ical inlplementaLion. The propo ed 

method does not involve computational 

imulation and i expected to surpass the 

method that involves computational imulation; this i because the results of te ling a real physical implementation are inherently valid and mor accurate than are 

results obtained through computational 

simulation. In addition, optimization by 

use of the propo ed method i exp cted 

to take much Ie s time than does optimization by use of a computational simulation of reasonable fidelity. Moreover, 

unlike in the computational-simulation 

method, there would be no need to try to 

validate tile imulated results with a phy ical test - an undertaking that usually entail manual re-optimization of the design 

to obtain the same performance from the 

ph ical device as from the imuJated one. 

This work was done fly Ad,ian Sloica and 

Derek Linden of Caliech for NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. For further informatian, access the Technical upportPackage (TSP)free 01'-

line at www.nasatech.com/ isp under the 

Electronic Components and Systems category. 

NP0-20666 

A Tech Briefs,July 2002 
EXCLUSIVELY FOR GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES. 

Make just one call for all your electronic needs: quality components, 

test equipment, tools, wire and more. Your dedicated team is ready 

to serve your special needs weekdays from Gam to 7pm CST. 

Call 1-800-TEAM-GOV for your FREE 2002 Newark Catalog. 

Newark 1·800· TEAM·(iOV(832·6468) 

E LEe T RON I C S· www.newark.comlteamgov 

For Free Info Enter No. 549 at www.nasatech.comlrs 
Electronics 

• System Mimics an Avionic Multiplexer/Demultiplexer 

This virtual machine emulates an avionic computer and is used in a flight simulator. 

Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center; Houston, Texas 

The multiplexer/ demultiplexer (MDM) 

emulator i the first virtual machine that 

can emulate an avionic computer. New 

flight oftware can be easily "dropped 

in," increasing operational flexibllity. 

The MDM makes it possible to perform 

integration more quickly, reducing the 

need for additional hardware. The 

MDM emulator will be used extensively 

in the pace Station Training Facility 

(SSTF), where teams of astronauts and 

ground controllers will be trained in operation and utilization of the tationthe first use of virtual-machine techniques for training of this type. In addition to being a major advance in virtual 

Data Is Cheap. Answers Are Priceless. 

40 

Radar-mapped data of Venus shown 

using IOL's Show3 technique. 

From Data To en 

Get 'IIIere Faster With IDL 

• Create custom applications 

with far fewer lines of code 

than traditional languages. 

• Get more from your data 

faster with IDL's powerful 

interactive visualizations. 

• Develop cross platform 

applications in a single 

envi ronment. 

For Free Info Enter No. 527 at www.nasatech.com/rs 

machines, the MDM emulator is economical: Although the cost of its hardware i estimated at 4 M (an estimate, 

as of year 2001, that includes the cost of 

development and testing), it ha been 

estimated that the MDM emulator will 

ave $12 M in labor costs. 

The MDM emulator include a '486 

portable-computer-compalible virtual 

memory emulator board as its processor. 

This board can transfer data at rate large 

enough and with a latency small enough 

for running a simulator in real time. The 

simulator, in turn, makes it possible to 

load MDMs, personal computer systems, 

and robotic workstations in orbit. The 

MDM simulator is very flexible in that 

computers of all other type can also be 

functionally simulated. 

The MDM emulator software is 

equally flexible. It consists of a boot subystem, a kernel sub ystem, and a device-simulation subsystem. The boot 

ub y tem includes a self-test component and has ufficient "intelligence" to 

begin communicating with a host computer so that the rest of the sofnvare can 

be loaded. The kernel contains an executive component, a me sage component, and virtual-machine-setup and 

protection trap-handling routine. Device- imulating capabilitie include the 

capability to (1) model mi sing hardware, (2) handle interfaces to the ho t 

computer and to devices outside the 

'486 card, and (3) u e the me sage component to communicate with host-compUler model of firmware controller, 

sensors, and actuators. 

The applicability of the MDM emulator is limited to avionic computers based 

on proce ors ,vith hardware upport for 

virtual memory addre sing, memory 

protection and paging, trapping 

input/ output insu'uction, and rings. 

However, this limitation of applicability 

is not reaJly a ignificant weakness in the 

software. Rather, inasmuch as the art of 

avionics is moving toward the u e of 

high-performance commercial microproce or , there will probably b a 

greater need for the virtual-machine 

technique implemented by the MDM 

emulator in the future. Moreover, the 

MDM emulator lends itself well to a simulator like that of the STF becau e it 

enables the virtually seamless marriage 

of the simulator with flight computers. 

The MDM emulator gives a simulator access deeper \vithin a flight computer. 

NASA Tech Bliefs,july 2002 
One of the biggest problems with integrating flight computers into simulators 

has been making the flight computer 

stop and tart on demand. The MDM 

emulator ati fies this requirement. 

This work was done by Robert Horton, 

Wayne CrawJord, Larry Backus, Cary 

Cheatham, and Dwight Allbritten oj Hughes 

Electronics C01P. Jor Johnson Space Center. 

Title to this invention has been waived 

under the provisions oj the National Aeronautics and Space Act (42 U.S.G. 2457(f)}, 

to Hughes Electronics Corp. Inquiries concerning licenses Jor its commercial development should be addressed to 

Hughes Electronics Corp. 

CO/COI/AI26 

PO. Box 80028 

Los Angeles, CA 90080-0028 

ReJer to MSC-22752, volume and number 

oj this ASA Tech Briefs issue, and the 

page number: 

= FPGA-Based Test Bench for Nonvolatile 

Electronic Memories 

Multiple chips can be tested simultaneously at relatively low cost. 

NA :A.:S Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California 

A le t bench based on field-programmable gate arra (FPG ) ha been developed to reduce the cost of testing 

nonvolatile memory circuits. Sp cification for endurance testing of memorie 

can require le t time as long as weeksoflen impractically long in the case of 

commercial memory tester, wh ich are 

expen ive. The present FP A-ba ed te t 

bench not onl co ts les than omm rcial m mory le ter do but can aI 0 be 

c nfigured with multiple FPG to enable the imultaneous te ting of many 

more memory chip than an b te led 

imultaneously on a commercial mem0 1 le ler. 

In compari on wilh the design of a 

commercial memory teSler, the d ign 

of thi te t bench i more appli ationpecific: The te t bench i de igned to 

perform c rtain reliability and endurance (life--c cle) te ts on certain ferroelectric random-a c memor 

(FRAM) and eleclricall erasable, programmable read-on l memor (EEPROM) chips. The application- p cific 

natur oft.he d ign offers advantage of 

lower 0 l, Ie s omplexity, and great r 

suitability for endurance t ting. There 

i one disadvantage: Wherea a ommercial memory le ler can perfonn te ts on 

many diITerent type of mem ry chip 

without recoding, the FPGA-based le t 

bench mu t be recoded for dilTerent 

kind of chip. 

The t l ben 11 was develop d by u 

or a commercial prolot ping board and 

a c mmercial 1O,OOO-gate FP . t pre -

ent, th le l ben h an be onfigured to 

op rate as eith r of two le ler . TI1 fir I 

l ter p rfol-m a reliability l l thal delec add res -d coder faults and stuck-al 

faults and that cycles through II of the 

addre e in a memOl . Th cond 

Tech Brief: ,Jul 2002 

tester perfonns an endurance lest, in 

whic h it wrile to, and read back from, 

the arne addre s repeatedly. The econd 

t tel' can perform endurance t ts 

faster than can a commercial memory 

te t 1', e pedall in cases of memory circliits that are low by modern landards. 

When an error i detected in a te t, the 

data logged includes the error number, 

the addre where the error occurr d, the 

cycle number (where one cle i defined 

as on r ad-and-wrile operation to a single addre ), the incorrect data value 

read, and (in the case of the reliability 

te t) the portion of the te t in which the 

rror occurred. The error data an be 

logged b one of two l11eth d . In the first 

method, which is applicable if the te ter j 

conne led to the pa.rall I pOrt of a personal computer, a mall program written 

for thi purpo ends the data to the 

computer r en and save the data in a 

file . Th e ond l11eth d whi h i till undergoing dev lopment, would enable th 

te ter Lo be totally independent of a personal computer. In this e ond method, 

d1e FP bit stream would be wrillen 

into an EEPROM, which would b u ed 

to on.figl.lre lhe FP on p wer-up. Intead of u ing a p onal computer to Jog 

lh error data, a light-emitting-diode di -

play would be ltsed to read out the error 

data wh n a witch was flipp d. The display would al 0 indicate whether te ling 

was taking place, and whether an 'rror 

had a CUlT d. 

Thi work lUas done by Jagdi hbhai Patel, 

JejJrey amkung, and Vikram Rao of ailed! 

Jor NASA's Jet Propttlsion Laboratory. 

For Jurther inJonnation, access Llze Technical 

ttpport Package (To P) free on-line at 

www. /Iaso tech.com/ tsp under the Electronic 

Component and 'Y /em category. 

]llP0-30374 

\1111,.nasalech.com 

DIAdemTM 

Interact with 

your Data 

Interactively view and 

analyze measurement 

data; create 

professional reports. 

• Import your data. from 

LabVIEW, ASCII, Excel, 

databases, binary files and more 

• Process more than 2 GB of data 

• Interactively analyze your data 

with powerful, easy-ta-use 

math functIons 

• Generate your professional 

reports with the drag and drop 

graph library 

• Automate and customize all 

functions using Visual Basic Script 

Extract and share 

meaningful information 

from your data. 

ni.com/info 

For a FREE DIAdem evaluation 

package and white paper, visit 

ni.com!info and enter nafw25. 

(888) 279-9426 

Fax: 1512) 683-9300 • info@ni.com 
Materials 

• Removing Bioactive Contaminants by Use of Atomic Oxygen 

Bioactive contaminants are removed without using liquid chemical baths or high temperatures. 

John H. Glenn Research Center, Cleveland, Ohio 

A method of removing endotoxins 

and other biologically active organic 

compound from the urfaces of solid 

objects is based on expo UTe of the objects to monatomic oxygen generated in 

oxygen plasmas. The monatomic oxygen 

reacts trongly and preferentially with 

the organic contaminants to form 

volatile chemical species. The method 

Filter To Prevent Contamination 

During Repressurization __ 

Roughing 

Pump 

Blower 

Pump 

was developed especially for removing 

such contaminants as lipopoly accharides, proteins, lipids, and other biologically active contaminants from surfaces 

of orthopedic implants prior to terilization and implantation; if not removed, 

these contaminants can contribute to inflammation that sometimes necessitates 

the urgical removal of the implants. 

A major advantage of this method is 

that unlike in prior methods of decontaminating implants, there is no need to 

expose the implants to strong liquid 

chemical baths or high temperature, 

both of which can degrade implant materials. Moreover, whereas the prior 

methods do not en ure complete removal of the contaminants, the present 

Vacuum Chamber 

i,==:f)('t:===l Oxygen Containing Gas Supply 

Electrode 

1------~la:k 

I 

I 

Manipulator 

(Includes HeatSystem ~ 

I Sealing Subsystem) '7 

L ______ J rrPower and 

Control 

Circuits 

t 

Container 

Electrode 

Power Input 

RF 

Generator 

Atomic-Oxygen Witness Indicator 

(Thin Layer of Carbon on White Ceramic) f Impl,", 

G f:~-----" /~ Removable Rod at ----.;,..,..-// \ II 

Container Hinge 

Bottom of Container 

DETAIL OF CONTAINER AND IMPLANT 

An Orthopedic Implant Is Decontaminated by exposure to monatomic oxygen from a radio-frequency plasma. The manipulator system positions the implant and container so that both the implant and the container surfaces adjacent to it are decontaminated. and seals the implant in the container once 

decontamination is complete. 

42 www.nasalech.com N A Tech Briefs,July 2002 
DuPont'" Vesper 

forward engineering 

AS A KID, TIM DIDN'T WATCH MUCH TV. 

HE WAS TOO BUSY TAKING IT APART. 

Now that you're all grown up, you not only want 

to understand how thmgs work, but how to make 

them work better That's why DuPont" Vespel 

Parts and Shapes were developed with the flexibility to 

help you meet customer requirements and maybe even 

make some new discovenes while you're at It. 

After all, making things lighter, stronger, faster, 

and subsequently, more efficient is what Vespel 

Forward Engmeering is all about. So, If you 're 

looking to move the Industry forward, think Vespel 

Parts and Shapes first. Chances are, you'll find the 

design process as rewarding as dissectmg your dad's old 

hi-fi. To find out what our extensive new Ime of matenals 

can do for you, go to wwwdupont.com/vespel or call 

1-800-972-7252 If you can dream it. we can make it 

VISIT US AT SEM CO WEST, BOOTH 6344 

The miracles Of science 
Materials 

method ensures complete removal of the 

contaminants from all surfaces that receive sufficient exposure to monatomic 

oxygen. 

The apparatus used to implement 

this method includes a vacuum chamber, a radio-frequency (RF) generator 

connected to electrode in the chamber 

for generating a plasma, and a manipulator system (see figure). Included in 

the manipulator system are a special 

thermoplastic container for positioning 

one or more implant( ) or other object(s) for expo ure to monatomic oxygen from the plasma, an actuator arm 

for manipulating the container, and a 

subsystem for heat-sealing the implant(s) or other object(s) in the container after treatment. 

At the beginning of a typical operational sequence, an implant to be decontaminated is placed in the special 

container and the container is positioned in the vacuum chamber to expose both the top urface of the implant and the inner surface of the top 

of the container to the plasma. The 

chamber is evacuated, then backfilled 

How HOT is 

GEAR BOX 

your 

.,.,.,., 

• • • • 

44 

TOO HOT? 

It's time you found a 

solution like this company 

did over ten years ago ... and 

I quote ..• 

''¥ ou could literally fry an 

egg on the gear boxes. With 

Tufoil, you can put your 

cheek against them and 

they're just slighdy warm to 

the touch. Tufoil was the 

answer for me!" 

T ufoil has been used and 

proven effective for over 25 

years and is sold worldwide 

in over 20 countries. The 

benefits are endless ... 

~ Reduces friction & wear 

~ Speeds production 

~ Reduces downtime & 

maintenance costs 

~ Eliminates metal galling 

~Reduces heat & 

operating oil temperatures 

~ Lowers starting torque & 

startup wear 

~ Increases die/toollife 

Industrial Tufoil is so 

efficient, just 10% added to 

the reservoir or sump 

capacity at the time of an oil 

change will drastically 

reduce the temperature of 

the gear box. 

A little T ufoil can make a 

big difference in your 

operating costs. You owe it 

to yourself to get more 

information. Give us a call 

today at 

1-800-922-0075 

www.tufoil.com 

(Mfg'd by Fluoramics Inc.) 

For Free Info Enter No. 530 at www.nasatech.com/rs 

with air, oxygen, or a ga eou mixture 

that includes oxygen, at a pressure between 0.1 and 300 milliton- (between 

0.013 and 40 Pa) . The RF power is 

turned on to generate a pia ma in the 

backfill gas. Volatile species formed by 

oxidation of contaminants become dispersed in the vacuum chamber and are 

simply removed by the vacuum-chamber pump system. 

After the top surface of the implant 

and the inner urface of the top of the 

container have been expo ed to the 

plasma long enough to ensure decontamination, the manipulator system, 

which clo e the container and prevents uncontrolled rolling of the implant, withdraws the container into a 

chute, flips the container upside-down, 

pushes the container back out of the 

chute, and reopen the container; as a 

result, the former bottom surface of 

the implant and the former bottom inside surface of the container are now 

on top and are expo ed to the plasma, 

while the decontaminated former top 

surface of the implant is now on the 

bottom, resting on the decontaminated 

inside surface of the former top of the 

container. 

After sufficient exposure to the 

plasma to en ure decontamination , 

the manipulator ystem again closes 

the container and withdraws it into the 

chute. Then the RF power is turned 

off, and the implant, with its container, 

is either vacuum sealed or the pumping system i turned off and ambient 

air, nitrogen, or inert gas is readmitted 

to the chamber through filter that 

prevent recontamination of the implant and container. The container 

with the implant inside i heat ealed 

by moving into the heat-sealing subsystem, where the top and bottom parts 

of the container are clamped at the 

perimeter and partially melted to seal 

the implant inside, where it is surrounded by, and in contact with, container surfaces that have been decontaminated. As thus packaged, the 

decontaminated implant can be 

stored, transported, and/or sterilized 

by exposure to gamma ray. 

This work was done &y Bruce A. Banks of 

Glenn Research Center and Michael A. 

Banks and Eric B. Banks. For further information, access the Technical Support Package 

(TSP) free O1vline at www.nasatech. com/tsp 

under the Materials category. 

Inquiries concerning rights for the comm.ercial use of this invention should be addressed 

to NASA Glenn Research Center, Commercial 

Technology Office, Attn: Steve Fedor, Mail 

Stop 4-8, 21000 Brookpark !Wad, Cleveland, 

Ohio 44135. Refer to LEW-16871. 

ASA Tech Brief ,July 2002 
JJ"jJjJ' 

1-1 "jJJJj 

• Record waveform data, 

synchronized video snapshots and audio 

• 18 Universal input channels for 

voltage, thermocouple and bridge 

• 15.4 " touch-screen display for 

data viewing and analysis 

• Record data directly to 9 GB 

hard drive at 100 kHz per channel 

• Real-time filtering and math functions 

• 10/100 BaseT Ethernet interface 

and 250 MB Zip drive 

Optional Printer 

For real-time recording or playback 

from memory, an attachable 

10" wide high speed printer is available. 

~·Call, i-mail. Fax, or write to us today for all the details. .' 

m ]®AstlU-Afed,®lnc. ____ ... _---.J TEST & MEASUREMENT PRODUG GROUP 

Astro-Med is System Certified to ISO-9001 

Astro-Med industrial Park, West Warwick, Rhode island 02893 

Phone: (401) 828-4000 • Toll Free: 1-877-867-9783 • Fax: (401) 822-2430 

in Canada Telephone 1-800-565-2216 • E-mail: mtgroup@astromed.(om 
Mechanics 

;} Mechanisms for Reliable One-Time Deployment of Panels 

These mechanisms overcome the disadvantages of both pyrotechnic and thermal release 

mechanisms. 

Goddard Space Flight Center; Greenbelt, Maryland 

Mechanism denoted restraint/ release/ deploymen t-initiation (RRDI) device have 

been invented to enable the 

rapid, reliable, one-lime deployment of panels that have 

been hinged together and 

stowed compactly by folding 

them together at the hinges. Although the RRDI device were 

originally intended for u e in 

deploying the olar photovol taic panel lhal generate 

electric power for a spacecrafl, 

they are also suitable for deploying other, similarly hinged 

panel array (including solar 

photovoltaic panels) in terre -

FlHltures Include: 

Six Axes 01 FOfle/lOfque Sensing 

(Fx Fy Fz Tx Ty Tzl. 

High Over/ood Prote<tion. 

PO, d'(] en! POAOA i1terIuces. 

MMiord mmxes offered. 

Sizes from l1mm die. to 250nun dio. 

Applications Include: ProdudTes~ng 

• Biomedicol Reseorch 

Finger-Force Reseorch 

Rehobilitotioo Reseorrn 

Robolicl 

I'fmode M, 1031 Got.Iwot1III1rM, Apu,1I<dr c.oIirI 27502 

To/: +M9.m.1I115 • Fax: .. I19.m.1J259 

fmDi: iIIfrI@atI-Ia.t:DIII • _.6II-/a._ 

46 

For Free Info Visit www.nasatech.com/570 or Enter No. 570 at www.nasatech.com/rs 

Figure 1. Solar Panels Are Deployed from compact 

stowage by unfolding them at hinged edges. 

Q Separation-Bott 

~ Catcher 

i Separation Bolt 

<8 Spring Ferrule 

U-Shaped 

Bracket 

I"· . I 

Base l i n Contact Element 

Adjustment Bolt I I '\ I Spring '-, I . Spacer 

"'J I Spring 

1''''''G""'' 

Figure 2. An RRDI Device is a nonexplosive electromechanically actuated, 

quick-release clamp that includes springs for preloading and for reliable deployment of the panels of Figure 1. 

A Tech Briefs, July 2002 
trial applications. The RRDI devices 

overcome the disadvantages (shock 

and the con equent potential for damage) of explosive release devices a 

well as the disadvantage (slowne sand 

high power demand) of electrically actuated thermal release devices. 

Figure 1 depict an array of panel 

in the towed and deployed states in 

the original spacecraft application. 

During stowage, the RRDI device 

clamp the panel together, at their 

hinged edge, again t bracket attached to the main body of the pacecraft. At the time of deployment, the 

RRDI device cea e to clamp the panel . The hinges are typically of a strainenergy type: th y carry litde load during towage, but when the clamping 

force are removed, they spring open 

from the folded condition to assist in 

deploying the panel. 

Figure 2 pre ents an exploded view 

of an RRDI device. During stowage, 

the panel are stacked and clamped 

between the upper bracket and a base. 

The edge of each panel at the clamping 10 ation i filled with a - haped 

bracket. erration on the U- hap d 

brack t of each panel mate with the 

erralion on dle U- hap d bracket of 

the adjacent panel, ba e, or upp r 

bracket; th e erl'ation erve to keep 

the panel from hifting from their deir d towage po ition as long a th 

remain clamped. 

Th clamping [orc (com pre i e 

preload) applied beach RRDI device 

i applied b torquing the adjustment 

boll. Th outermo t pan I ( ee upp r 

brack t) i held in place b a eparation boll, which i ecured (preload d) in the eparation-nut a embl . Th eparation-nut a embly i a 

com mer iall availabl nonexplo ive 

electromechanical device. At the time 

of deplo m nt, th paration-nut a -

emblie of all the RRDI d vice ar 

Ie tri all nergized to make them 

rei a e their eparalion bolts. nc 

the paration bolt ha been r lea d, 

train en rgy accelerate the bolt into 

the bolt at h r, and th spring C rrule and coi l pring a i t in qui kly 

wilhdra\ ing the paration bolt from 

the eparati n-nut hou ing. The 

pring ferrule and coil pring further 

in ur that th paration bolt remain in the b It atcher. The bolt 

atcher i ba i all a 10 ed-end lindel' that ontain a mall pi ce of 

ru habl mat rial in id to ab orb 

the kin li energ of the bolt. 

pring-loaded conta t elem nt (within 

Tech Brief! . lu" 2002 

the base) protrudes through the base 

and pushe the panels outward for 

po itive deployment. A long leaf 

spring located on the side of the separation-nut housing acts a a bumper 

and guides dle panel stack-up during 

deployment. 

This work was done by Michael T Izumi 

of TRW, Inc., for Goddard Space Flight 

Center. For further information, access the 

Technical Support Package (TSP) free on,. 

less is more. 

Less parts, less assembly steps, less 

assembly time - all yield more productivity 

and more cost reductions. To achieve this, 

designing for assembly (DFA) is critical. 

PEM products are made for DFA. Just 

punch or drill a hole and press a PEM 

fastener into place. PEM self-clinching 

fasteners install permanently into thin 

sheets. There are fewer parts and fewer 

total pieces to handle during assembly 

which translates into cost saYings. We 

also offer threadless and multi-function 

fasteners to further meet your DFA needs. 

line at www.nasatech.com/tsp under the 

Mechanics category. 

This invention has been patented by 

NASA (u. . Patent o. 5,810,296). Inquiries concerning nonexclusive or exclusive license for its commercial development should 

be addressed to the Patent Counsel, Goddard 

Space Flight Center; (301) 286-7351. Refer 

to GSC-13931. 

HERE'S mE CIJNCHER 

These include SNAP-TOP 

(shown in photo above) 

standoffs which eliminate 

the need for screws, 

locating pins for quick 

alignment of mating 

parts, P.C. board fasteners 

and many others. 

For automated installation. our line of 

I PEMSERTER presses quickly install PEM 

fasteners, further reducing assembly time. 

Clinch it with PEl 

FASTENERS & PRESSES ~ 

PEM Fastening Systems 

B PennEngineerinf/" company 

C2001 210 

, 800-237-4736. www.pemnet.com ® 

For Free Info Enter No. 532 at www.nasatech.comlrs 
Machinery! Automation 

0. Apparatus for Friction Stir Welding of Pipes 

FSW heads would move circumferentially and pipes would be supported against FSW loads. 

Marshall Space Flight Center, Alabama 

A proposed apparatu would effect 

friction tir welding (FSW) along a circumferential path to join twO pipes. 

The apparatus is denoted an "orbital 

F W system" because the circumfer ntial motion of the F W head would be 

imilar to the motions of welding head 

in commercial orbital fusion welding 

y tems. 

nlike fusion welding, FSW involve 

large force between the welding head 

and the workpieces. It is neces ary to 

react the e forces to prevent the workpiece from moving. Moreover, when the 

workpiece are pipe , they must be supported from within to prevent them from 

collapsing or undergoing undesired 

change in hape when FSW forces are 

applied. The propo ed ystem would provide t11e required motions of the FSW 

head plus the neces ary support and reaction forces. 

In FSW, a shouldered pin tool is 

plunged into the workpieces up to its 

shoulder with a controlled tilt and i rotated while being pushed or moved 

along the weld joint. The workpiece material under the tool becomes frictionally heated to pia ticity, stirred, and 

pushed into place as the tool moves 

along, leaving behind the weldedjoinl. 

The proposed apparatu would include a F W head with a retractable pin 

tool that would be actuated electrically, 

hydraulically, or pneumatically. The 

F W head would be mounted diametrically oppo ite an external reactive roller 

on an external rotating assembly that 

would include circumferential driven 

actuated by a motor. A roller assembly 

fixed to the ections of pipe to be joined 

would keep the external rotating assembly concentric with the pipes while allowing thi as embly to rotate. 

The apparatus would in lude internal 

reactive rollers located on the same diametralline as mat of th F W head and 

the external reactive roller. The internal 

reactive rollers would be driven to rotate 

along with the external rotating as embly in order to maintain thi alignment. 

Thus, the internal reactive rollers would 

alway be positioned to react the diametral F W load and thereby prevent distortion of the pipes. 

The apparatus could al 0 be u ed to 

F W solid rods, in which case the int rnal reactive rollers would not be needed 

or u ed. As described thu far, the appaThe SMARTSWITCHTM - positively brilliant! 

4 ASA Tech Briefs,july 2002 
Survive the rigors 

of deep space. 

00 More. 

In order for Alliance Spacesystems Inc. to 

design the robotic arm for the front of the 

Mars Exploration Rover, they needed an 

optimal combination of strength and light 

weight. With COSMOS!, they were able 

to reduce the weight 15-20% while still 

meeting NASAlJPL's exacting standards. 
The Leader in 

&cQJWruOU@@cQJ 

Composite 

Training 

• Advanced Composite Structures: 

Fabrication and Damage Repair 

Phase 1, 2 and 3 

• Composite Laminate Design 

• Repair Analysis and 

Substantiation 

• Design of Composite Structures 

• Design and Analysis of Composite 

Structural Joints 

Training at our Nevada or 

Georgia facility or yours. 

MachineryJ Automation 

ratus would be used for FSW of pipes 

and rods with circular cros sections. 

However, because the apparatlls would 

be computer-controlled and fully adjustable, it might be applicable to orne 

noncircular cross sections. 

This work was done by R Jeffrey Ding and 

Rnbert W Carter of Marshall Space Flight 

Center. 

This invention has been jJalented by 

'ASA (U.S. Patent No. 6,259,052). 

Inquiries concerning nonexclusive or exclusive license for its commercial development 

should be add1'essed to Sammy Nabors, 

MSFC Commercialization Assistance Lead, 

at (256) 544-5226 or sammy.nabors@ 

msfc.nasa.gov. Refer to lvlFS-31269. 

OAutomated System for Fluid and 

Electrical Connections 

John F. Kennedy Space Center; Florida 

Contact us for a complete course catalog. The Smart Umbilical Mating System 

( UMS) is an automated, three-degreeof-freedom, scalable y tern for quickly 

mating, demating, and/ or remating 

ganged umbilicals. SUMS connects 

electrical and fluid paths between 

spacecraft and ground upport equipment whether liftoff or side mount for 

servlc1l1g of aircraft, orbiting pacecraft, or ground vehicle . Major elements of MS include mating cones 

equipped wid1 force sensors with integral latches; computer control; robotic 

vision with tracking aided by laser 

beams; actuation by a compliant pneumatic motor; and a secondary mate 

plate, which holds the ground-side flujd 

electrical connector in proper alignment, is pneumatically actuated to complete mating once the cones have been 

latched, and is the only part of the system that one must change to adapt 

SUMS to different application. A commercial ver ion plumbed with electrical 

power, communication, fuel, lubricants, and coolant fluid could be installed at a central location for servicing 

land vehicle. S MS could be utilized 

between moving vehicles. Automated 

functions could include electronic 

identification of vehicle to prevent errors; recording of data about the vehicle; its consumption of fluids; sampling 

for wear analy i ; maintenance scheduling; distance traveled; and topping off 

or changing of all fluids in the correct 

amounts. 

50 

www.abaris.com 

(800) 638-8441 

Abarls Training Resources, Inc. 

5401longJey Lane, Suite 49 

Reno, NV 895U USA 

(775) 827-6568 • Fax: (775) 827-6599 

e-mail: Info@abarls.com 

ABARIS 

11 •••• ltfIW--

o T-O umbilicals. S MS prevents 

electrical arcing and leakage of fluids 

by providing for automated alignment 

of mating connectors and verification 

of mating. UMS could readily be 

adapted to uch other application a 

Leader in Silicon Sensing Solutions 

www.xbow.com 

To order a catalog: call40S.965.3300 or email info@xbow.com 

41 Drive, San Jose CA 95134 Fax 408.324.4840 

For Free Info Enter No. 535 at www.nasatech.comlrs 

This work was done by Ronald L. Remus, 

Arthur Roberts, Perry Hartford, and Chau 

Pham of Merritt Systems, Inc., for Kennedy 

Space Center. For further information, access the Technical Support Package (TSP) 

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

the Machinery/Automation 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 

Ronald L. Remus 

582 . Econ Circle 

Oviedo, FL 32765 

Ttl No: (407) 977-7866 

E-mail: remus@merrittsystems.com 

Refer to KSC-12138, volume and number 

of this NASA Tech Brief: issue, and the 

page number. 

ASA Tech Brief ,July 2002 
process 

monitoring 

research leak 

detection 

• Response time of less than 1 second 

• Compact. transportable design 

• Large dynamic range allows 

detection to ppm levels 

• Real-time Windows® analysis software 

• Simple to setup and use 

I •••••••••••••••••••••• 

The OMS Series Gas Analyzers give you the power Of 

on-line gas analysis and monitoring for a wide range 

Of applications. These self-contained automated 

systems house a modern mass spectrometer for the 

analysis Of light gases. You can detect leaks. measure 

gas composition and troubleshoot process lines. 

The OMS system continuously samples gases. as 

opposed to batch sampling. which is utilized by gas 

chromatographs. This allows the OMS to detect gases 

at high speed - response time is less than 1 second. 

The inlet pressure can be configured to measure from 

vacuum to above atmospheric pressure. 

A Windows® based sOftware package displays data in 

real-time and is included with each instrument. Offered 

as 100. 200 or 300 amu systems. one Of our OMS Gas 

Analyzers will suit your application. Call SRS for a full 

brochure on the OMS or any Of our other gas analysis 

instruments. 

' ..................... . 

Pressure vs. time mode presents a strip 

chart display Of partial pressures for 

selected gases and provides a complete 

history of data. 

Annunciator mode monitors up to 10 gases. 

User set limits allow Go/No'Go testing In 

conjunction with audible alarms and/or on 

optional relay board. 

Stanford Research Systems 

1290-0 Reamwood Avenue • Sunnyvale. CA 94089 

Analog mode presents the entire spectrum 

and displays the results as partial pressure 

vs. moss number. Gas monitoring can be 

continuous or timed. 

Telephone: (408)744-9040 • FAX: (408)744-9049 • Email: info@srsys.com • WWW: http://www.srsys.com 

~_. ~ .. __ 1_$_ 1::::_"-.. IU_ -=--'c _ .. ...... _ ... _ ..... _ ___ _ ~ ___ 1_ 
Manufacturing 

E! Lithographic Fabrication of Mesoscale Electromagnet Coils 

Fabrication should be faster and cheaper than in conventional winding. 

NASA s Jet" Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California 

A partly lithographic method of fabrication is being developed to enable 

the economical mass production of 

me oscale electrically conductive coils 

for miniature electromagnets, solenoids, electric motors, and the like. 

This or a similar method is needed to 

overcome the limita tion of prior 

technique: 

• The practical limit of fabricating 

miniature coils by conventional winding has been reached at a minimum 

wire width of ",25 pm. At this limit, 

fabrication i a slow, expensive 

process that requires very skilled 

technicians. 

~ 

~ 

~ • Inlidual 

Coil Turns 

Turns Stacked To Make Coil 

• Current techniques of microfabrication (e.g., those used to make microelectromechanical devices and integrated circuits) are limited to coils of Coil Turns are formed lithographically, then stacked and bonded together to make coils. 

52 

Flexfoil Heaters ... Available in vil1ually any 

shape, size, lUld wattage. Operating temperature 

range {rom -320oP 10 450°£ Power densities 

to 40W/sq. in. 

Temperature 

Sensors . . . 

RTD's, Kaplon 

surface sen ors, 

thermocouples, 

& thermistors ... 

\vire wound & foil 

element consu·uction ... 

resistru1ce densities to sooon. 

Heater/Sensor Integration ... available to 

improve control, speed response, and extend 

h eater life. 

Call today for more iufonnation. 

(714) 890-0058 • FAX (714) 890-0788 

• 7FillI§bI.l'IE IHCOIfPOllArYD 

5641 Engineer Drive • Huntington Beach, CA 92649 

On the Web at: www.lranslogicinc.com 

For Free Info Enter No. 550 at www.nasatech.comlrs 

no more than about 25 turns. This 

number of turns is insufficient for 

many anticipated applications in 

which hundreds of turns would be 

needed to generate sufficient magnetic flux. 

In the present developmental 

method, thick-film optical lithography 

is u ed to generate a series of spiral 

patterns, and copper i plated into the 

patterns, thereby forming individual 

turns of a coil. Then the turns are 

freed, stacked, and bonded together 

with the turns electrically connected 

~n series (see figure). It should be possible to make coil of hundred of 

turns in very small packages. It should 

al 0 be po sible to scale coil down to 

sizes smaller than those achievable by 

conventional winding. This method i 

compatibl e with batch fabrication and 

is expected to cost much Ie than 

does fabrication of the smallest conventionally wound coils. 

This work was done by Victor While, Juergen Mueller, and Dean Wiberg of Called! 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 Manufacturing category. 

NPO-20966 

NASA Tech Briefs,July 2002 

Manufacturing 

iii Using Dry Ice as a Coolant for Cutting Tools 

Unlike conventional liquid coolants, dry ice would not introduce contamination. 

Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas 

Particle of dry ice (frozen carbon 

dioxide) entrained in gas flows would be 

used dUling machining to cool cutting 

tool and workpiece , according to a proposal. Solid carbon dioxide particles that 

impinge on a tool and workpi ce would 

ab orb heat generated in the cutting 

process. The ab orbed heat would cau e 

the particle to vaporize. The consequent outflow of cold carbon dioxide gas 

would remove cutting debri and would 

provide additional cooling. 

The cooling capacities of the liquid 

coolants used customarily in machining 

are marginal. Mo t such liquid are at 

least mildly hazardou and at least mildly 

corrosive or otherwi e harmful to cutting machines, and they contaminate 

workpieces, making it necessary to clean 

workpieces after machining. Moreover, 

it i expen ive to separate coolant liquids 

from machining debri for environmentally sound dispo al. 

I n contrast, carbon dioxide is already 

pre ent in the atmo phere and would 

Transport 

Gas 

Pressure Regulator 

not introduce any contamination. In addition, the vaporization of carbon dioxide i expected to remove heat more effectively, thereby extending the useful 

live of cutting tool, increasing the accuracy of cutting, reducing and/ or preventing damage to heat-sensitive materials to be cut, and/ or making it po sible 

to cut at higher speeds without degrading the cutting tool and/ or the material to be cut. Yet another advantage i 

that out-flowing carbon dioxide could 

help to prevent burning of workpiece 

materials (e.g., magnesium and titanium) that are u ceptible to combu -

tion when cut in air. 

An apparatus for cooling by the proposed method could be constructed by 

(1) modifying an atomizer to handle particle of dry ice instead of a liquid and (2) 

adding in ulation to limit the ublimation 

of the dry ice during storage and transit 

to the point of application. Referring to 

the figure, a upply of transport gas (e.g., 

air, carbon dioxide, or nitrogen) would 

be introduced at the inlet at sufficient 

pressure to provide adequate flow 

through the pre ure regulator. Downstream from the regulator, the gas would 

flow through the flow-control valve, then 

would be throttled by the re triction before entering the delivery tube. 

The hopper above the delivery tube 

would contain the supply of dry ice. 

The delivery-control valve would adju tably throttle the flow of particles of 

dry ice into the delivery tube. The particles would become entrained in the 

flow of tran port gas, and the resulting 

mixture of transport gas and dry-ice 

particles would flow to the discharge 

port, which would be positioned to deliver the flow to the cutting tool and the 

workpiece. 

This work was done by Thomas A. Hall 

and Thomas O. Hall of Johnson Space 

Center. For further information, contact the 

Johnson Commercial Technology OffICe at 281-

483-3809; comrnercialization@jsc.nasa.gov 

MSC-22829 

Flow-Control Valve 

\ 

Delivery 

Conduit 

Control Valve 

f--..-....~---=-----t.v--::-_----:::-_Dis_Ch_argt\::rt£ _: J Cutting Tool and 

f--'7'---...: .. '--------'7- ---==- ..---'-- _ -.:::: - Workpiece ; -- Restriction Cooling Spray of Transport 

Gas and Particles of Dry Ice 

A Slightly Modified Atomize r would generate a spray of particles of dry ice entrained in a flow of transport gas. The spray would be used to cool a cutting tool and workpiece. 

iii Automated Apparatus for Welding to Seal Pyrotechnic Devices 

Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas 

An automated, remotely controllable 

apparatu has been develop d for resistance welding for hermetic sealing of 

pyrotechnic device , a a sub titute for 

special-purpo e welding equipment 

that is no longer commercially available. Hermetic ealing of a pyrotechnic 

device involves a equence of clo ely 

paced, precise, pot welds made with 

low heat to minimize the potential ofignition. For safety, the welding mu t be 

performed under remote conu·ol. The 

apparatus includes a rotary table with a 

chuck, in which i mounted a fixture 

54 

that hold the pyrotechnic device to be 

welded. The rotary table i programmed to tep through appropriate 

angular increments (e.g. , 360· in 1· increments). After each increment, a 

witch i clo ed to actuate a olenoid 

valve to extend a pneumatic cylinder to 

drive a welding head toward the pyrotechnic device. A pring-loaded electrode in the welding head i forced into 

con tact with the pyrotechnic device 

with increa ing force until a witch 

clo e at a pre et contact force, triggering a pulse of welding current through 

www.nasalech.com 

the welding electrode and workpiece 

with a return path through the welding 

fixture. The welding head is then retracted, the rotary table teps through 

the next increment, and the foregoing 

proce i repeated. 

This work was done by Todd] Hinkel, 

Carl W. Hohmann, Richard] Dean, cott C. 

Hacker, and Douglas W. Harrington of 

Johnson Space Center. For further information, access the Technical upport Package 

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

under the Manufacturing category. 

MSC-23139 

'!\SA Tech Briefs,July 2002 
ADVERTISEMENT 

ilf~chnologies & Technology Nee~ 

Sponsored by ye~com Connecting Technology Needs with Technology Solutions 

Looking for technology solutions created by the 

world's leading technology providers? 

Atterbuming Ericsson Cycle Engine 

Low-Cost Fuel Cell Alternative 

The new Afterburning Ericsson Cycle (AEC) engine 

features a unique, patented, integrated combustion! 

engine process. Key to its success is its newly developed, patent-pending recuperator - a heat exchanger 

that recovers over 90% of the exhaust heat for higher 

F .... CeI1 .s Ahoobumlng Ert_ Engine F .... ~~~~~:..... 

- -... "" - -

thermodynamic efficiency and unmatched 

engine performance 

exceeding any conventional combustion engine 

or available fuel cell 

alternatives. This 

remarkable engine has 

virtually no burner 

efficiency loss because 

there's no external 

burner; it provides 

complete, continuous 

combustion, obtaining nearly the full heating value of the 

fuel. And. unlike fuel cells, it can run on any available 

fuel, including gasoline, methane, and propane. 

The AEC engine does not require costly pollution 

controls and is easy and inexpensive to build, requiring 

nothing more than a modestly equipped machine shop 

capable of rebuilding an automobile engine. Its simple 

construction enables even a small manufacturer to 

produce engines for tomorrow's power market. 

Get the complete report on this technology at: 

htt:1 . et2.comlnasatec 205 or call (617) 557-3837 

New Low-Cost, Single-Substrate 

Flat-Panel Display 

To improve plasma flat-panel technology and create a 

more efficient, lower-cost display for a wide range of 

applications, this innovative concept uses a single 

substrate instead of the conventional two, preciselyspaced substrates. This single-substrate solution utilizes 

one set of conductors 

mounted or silkscreened to a 

transparent substrate 

with a second, beamlike conductor grid 

mounted orthogonally 

over the first, uniformly separated by 

spacing posts 

incorporated into the 

.......................... '--

- 1 

......... 

- grid. This unique spacing method, called a microbridge 

or air bridge, eliminates the need for a two-sided 

enclosure and partial vacuum, substantially reducing 

manufacturing costs. No need for thick, expensive 

glass substrates, reinforced display deSigns, and 

costly alignment processes. As a result, conventional, 

large displays typically costing around ten thousand 

dollars might be produced in volume for around a 

thousand dollars. 

These are ;ust two of our complete showcase of technologies. For more information 

on these and other new licensable inventions, visit www.yet2.com 

Can you solve these technology needs? 

Looking for an Airflow Measurement Tool 

to Overcome the Observer Effect 

This company needs a way to measure airflow through 

the ducts and plenums of both commercial and 

residential ovens without disrupting that airflow. The 

actual measurement apparatus must be small, and 

should interface with a PC for data logging and 

recording. The solution also should provide a way 

to Visualize the airflows. 

Need Audible Strain or Stress Indicator 

Between fWo Contact Surfaces 

A sound- a click, squeak, pop, or something elseindicates when this sought-for material or coating is 

under a predetermined shear or compressive stress. 

The material itself may be configurable or it may be 

applied to another material to produce the effect. The 

sound should be audible by humans in a standard 

industrial environment. 

If you would like to anonymously Jist your own urgent technology need and 

let yet2.com help you identify an existing solution, visit www.yet2.com 

For Free Info Visit www,nasatech.com/585 or Enter No. 585 at www.nasatech.comlrs 
Bio-Medical 

8 Improved Technique for Detecting Endospores via 

Luminescence 

The sensitivity of detection is increased by a factor of about 103

• 

i'tSA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California 

A technique for detecting bacteJial 

endospores via luminescence affords a 

sen itivity much greater than that of a 

prior luminescence-ba ed technique 

from which it is derived. The advantage 

of luminesc nce-ba ed detection is that 

the en tire preparation-and-detection 

proces take only minute, whereas a 

conventional proce s of culturing cells, 

staining cell, and examining cell under 

a micro cope can take hour or days. 

The present technique could be e pecially u eful for environmental monitoring of pathogenic bacterial endospores. 

In the prior technique, one prepares a 

ample by adding a great exces ofTbCl3 

to an aqueou suspension that contain 

bacterial endo pores. The Tb3

+ ions 

formed by the di olution of TbCIs interact with H20 to form [Tb(H20) g]3+ complexe. A typical bacterial endo pore 

contain between 2 and 15 weight percent of di~colinic acid (DPA). The 

[Tb(H20)g] reacts with DPA released 

from the spore casing to generate a 

monochelate [Tb(DPA) (H20)6r complex. Particle are removed from the uspen ion by u e of a 0.22-Jlm filter. nder 

ultraviolet illumination at the waveI ngth of maximum ab orption in DPA, 

th [Tb(DPA) (H20)6f lumine ce with 

an intensity greater than that of 

[Tb(H20)g]Si-. The intensity of lumine -

cence can be measured and used to estimate the concenu-ation of pores by reference to a calibration curve of intensities measured previou Iy at known 

pore concentration. 

The main limitation on sensitivity of 

detection ari es from the need for the 

great exces of the concentration of terbium over that of DP . Exce terbium 

ensure that out of three Tb chelate 

that can exi t in equilibrium, the one 

that predominates is the desired monochelate [Tb(DPA) (H20)6r. The photophy ical properties (e.g., quantum yield 

and lumine cence lifetime) of the other 

chelate are uch that if allowed to remain in ignificant quantities, they 

would detract from the measurements. 

nfortlmately, the great excess of Tb 

56 

ne ded for forming monochelate al 0 

leads to a large, undesirable background 

lumine cence attributable to unchelated 

Tb3+, \vith con equent adverse effe t on 

detection. Moreover, coordinated water 

molecules contribute undesired efficient non radiative decay pathway that 

drastically reduce the quantum yield of 

lumine cence, with consequent further 

adverse effect on detection. 

The pre ent improved technique i 

ba ed on the idea that if it were pos ible, 

it would be preferable to have Tb in 

light exce to reduce the background 

luminescence attributable to unchelated 

Tb3+ while simultaneou Iy preventing 

the equilibrium formation of the undeired chelates and eliminating coordinated water. In this technique, the analysis reagent is a supramolecular complex 

that compri e a central lanthanide ion 

(which could be Tb3+) caged by a crown 

ether. The ix oxygen atoms in the 

crown ether occupy mo t of the coordination ites of a lanthanide ion. A lightharve ting DPA molecule can enter thi 

complex at the remaining coordination 

ite and be detected by lumine cence 

emitted in an ab orption/ energy-transfer/ emi ion (AETE) proce (ee figure). The configuration of occupied and 

unoccupied coordination ite of the 

Tb3+/crown-ether complex i such that 

only one OPA molecule can bind to it 

and the complex contains no coordinated water. Relative to the prior technique, the elimination of coordinated 

water multiplies the sen itivity of detection by a factor of about 10, and the reduction of background lumine cence 

multiplie the sensitivity by another factor of 100, yielding overall improvement 

of a factor of about 10'. 

This work was done by Adrian Ponce 

and Ka thuri Venkateswaran of Callecl! 

for NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. 

For further information, access the Technical Support Package (T P) free on-line 

at www.na.satech.com/tsp under the BioMedical 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 Property group 

JPL 

Mail Stop 202-233 

4800 Oak Grove Drive 

Pasadena, CA 911 09 

(818) 354-2240 

Refer to NP0-21240, volume and number 

of this ASA Tech Brief is ue, and the 

page number. 

Energy Transfer 

Absorption 

~o"t;) Emission ( }-o",,-~ 0 0 

~N

- 0 / 0 0 

o 

t 

DPA 

a.:» 

Tb3+/Crown-Ether 

Complex 

A Single DPA Molecule can enter the coordination sphere of a Tb'+/crown-ether complex. The DPA absorbs ultraviolet light, some of the energy of the absorbed light is transferred into the complex, and 

photons containing some of the transferred energy are emitted. These photons are detected to obtain a measure of the concentration of spores from which the DPA molecules were released. 

WW\ .nasalech.com N Tech Briefs,July 2002 
New in the NASA Tech Briefs Bookstore 

Technology 

Management: 

Detailed Mechanical 

Design: A Practical 

Guide 

A superb compendium of 

principles, guidelines, & tips 

for designing mechanical 

parts and assemblies. Filled 

with descriptions & examples 

of real-world, proven ideas. 

$45.00 

Developing and 

Implementing Effective 

Technology Licensing 

Programs 

Features in-depth case 

studies, sample agreements, 

& expert advice on marketing 

research, licensing 

strategies, & deal making. 

$65.00 

Industrial Power 

Engineering 

Handbook 

Rve-part, 992-page 

guide to all aspects of 

electrical power engineering: power drives, 

controls, power transfer/distribution, protection, maintenance, & 

testing. $149.95 

Patent Strategy: 

The Manager's 

Guide to 

Profiting from 

Patent Portfolios 

Step-by-step guide 

Venture Capital: 

The Definitive Guide 

for Entrepreneurs 

and Investors 

Learn from the pros 

how to make a business 

attractive to VCs, how to 

negotiate agreements, 

& how to manage investor 

relationships. $34.95 

to the patent process, 

laws, & basic 

strategies, written for 

business managers. 

$59.95 

Total Quality 

Development 

Step-by-step improvement 

program unites the 

world's best technology 

development & management practices with the 

power of concurrent 

engineering & Taguchi's 

system of quality 

engineering. $40.00 

Embedded 

Systems Design 

Directory of Venture 

Capital, 2nd Edition 

Profiles more than 600 

venture capital firms 

with addresses, phone 

numbers, types/sizes of 

investments, geographic 

preferences, etc. $39.95 

A practical introduction 

to the hottest topic in 

electronics design. 

Covers hardware, 

interfaCing, & programming in one 448-page 

book. $49.95 

Investor's Guide to 

Nanotechnology and 

Micromachines 

Separates fact from fiction 

to pinpoint the most 

promiSing opportunities in 

nanotechnology. Profiles 

major R&D programs 

worldwide. $49.95 

For more info & to order online: WWWLnasatech.com/store 

------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------~--~---------------~ 

RUSH ME: I 

I 

I 

o Detailed Mechanical Design ($45.00) o Venture Capital: The Definitive Guide ($34.95) o Directory of Venture Capital, 2nd Edition ($39.95) : 

I 

o Technology Management ($65.00) o Patent Strategy ($59.95) o Embedded Systems Design ($49.95) : 

o Industrial Power Engineering Handbook ($149.95) o Total Quality Development ($40.00) o Investor's Guide to Nanotechnology ($49.95) 

Add $6.00 to order for shipping. NY residents add sales tax. 

Total: $ ____ _ 

o check enclosed (payable to ASP International) o charge to: 0 VISA 0 Mastercard 0 AmEx 

Card No. _____________ _ Exp. Oate _____ _ 

Cardholder's Name ____________________ _ 

Signature _______________________ _ 

SHIP TO: 

Name ______________________________________________ _ 

Company _____________________________________________ _ 

Address _____________________________________________ _ 

City/SVZip ________________________________________ _ 

Phone# ___________________________________________ _ 

Mail to: ABPI, Dept. F., 317 Madison Ave., #1900, New York, NY 10017 Or fax to: (212) 986-7864 Questions? E-mail ntbstore@abpi.net 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

: 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

.: 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 
• Physical Sciences 

@ Correlation Spectrometers for Detecting Fires in Aircraft 

Products of early stages of combustion would be detected with sensitivity and selectivity. 

John H. Glenn Research Center, Cleveland, Ohio 

Compact, Lightweight, en itive correlation specrrometer for detecting gaseous 

byproducts of the onset of fire are under 

development These pectrometers 

would be in talled in aircraft, where early 

detection of fir could enable crew to respond with timely fire-suppre sion actions. Correlation specrroscopy involves 

measurements o[ ab orption spectra of 

chemi al species of interest but is not the 

ame as classic absorption spectroscopy, 

which has been used for decades for detecting airborne chemicals. Classic aborption spectro copy involves steadytate techniques that are not uited for 

rapid detection of compounds of immediate imere t that may be pre ent along 

with other compounds that are not ofimmediate intere t. 

In classical ab orption spectro cop , 

one mea ure the specullm of light 

U-an mitted through an aunospheric region or a gas cell that is suspected of containing a compound of interest (hereafter denoted the target compound). 

The ab orption pectrum i then computed [rom the transmi ion spectrum. 

In correlation pecrro copy, one u e a 

photodetector to measure the amount of 

Light transmitted while illuminating dle 

aU11Osphel;c region or sample cell by use 

of a phase- or wavelength-modulated, 

narrow-band optical source, the teadytate or nominal wave! ngths of which 

coincide with known ab orption pectral 

line of the target compound. 

The modulation cause the pectral 

lines of the illwnination to move periodically into and out of regi try with the aborbance bands of the target compound. 

The modulation appears in the output 

of the photodetector, with an amplitude 

related to the concentration o[ dle target compound. The modulation in the 

photodetector output i measur d with 

the help of a lock-in amplifier. Becau e 

the manifold of ab orption spectral lines 

for each compound is unique and the 

use of phase or wavelength modulation 

in conjunction with a lock-in amplifier 

offers high sensitivity, correlation specu-oscopy make it po ible to detect u-ace 

amounts of target compound while di -

criminating against other compounds 

that might also be pre em in complex 

gas mixtures. Hence, cOITelation pecu-o copy is well uited for detecting compounds typical of the early stages of fire 

while preventing the criggering of fal e 

alarms by other compound. 

/rradient-Index-of-Refraction Lenses 

rest Cell 1 m Long 

The figure depicts a laboratory apparatus used to demon trate the feasibility of a 

correlation pectrometer for detecting hydrogen chloride, which is one of the gases 

most commonly emitted at dle onset of 

burning of paneling materials in typical 

aircraft. (Carbon dioxide, which i a product of complete combu tion, is not u eful 

for the sensitive detection of the on et of 

fire.) The source of light was a Light-emitting diode (LED) with an emission pectrum spanning the wavelength band from 

1,200 to 1,400 nm and a peak at about 

1,300 IUn. TIle light from dle LED was 

coupled into an optical-fiber specu-al reflector compri ing four fiber Bragg gratings spliced in erie. A fiber Bragg grating 

is an optical fiber, the index of refraction 

of the core of which is perturbed with a 

longitudinal patial period chosen to obtain reflection at a de ired wavelengdl. In 

this case, the patial periods of dle fiber 

Bragg gratings were cho en to obtain reflection peaks at wavelengdlS near 1,220 

lU11 - wavelength lighdy less than tho e 

of a set of HCl ab orption Lines. 

Light reflected from the fiber Bragg 

gl-ating was coupled into a test cell containing either auno pheric-pre ure air 

or an aUno pheric-pre ure mixture of 

air with 500 parts per million 

(ppm) of H 1. After passing 

through the cell, the light 

was detected by u e of an 

avalanche photodiode. The 

output of the photodiode 

Fiber Bragg Gratings was sent dlrough a transimpedance amplifier and a 

lock-in amplifier to a data-acqui ition ),stem. The reference (synchronizing) signal 

for the lock-in amplifier was 

the ame one llsed to drive a 

power amplifier to effect 

wavelength modulation as 

de cribed below. 

Oscilloscope and 

Data-Acquis~ion System 

Optical Fibers 

Temperature Controller 

Source of 

Reference Signal 

Fiber Bragg Gratings Are Stretched Periodically to modulate the wavelengths of light reflected from them. The wavelength-modulated light is sent through a test cell, where the light is used for correlation spectroscopy to measure the 

concentration of a gas (in this case, Hel). 

5 www.nasalech.com 

The fiber Bragg gratings 

were mechanically clamped 

to an electromechanical 

srretcher, whi h was used to 

rretch the gratings in order 

to increase the wavelengths 

of their reflection peaks, 

thereby effecting wavelength 

ASA Tech Bdefs,July 2002 
modulation. The output of the power ampIifter was used to drive an elecu-omagnet 

that actuated the stretcher. The frequency 

of the reference signal, and thus of the 

modulation, was 60 Hz. In operation, this 

apparatus was found to provide indication 

of the concentration of the Hel gas in the 

cell, with a signal-to-noise ratio of 350 at 

500 ppm. Further development efforts are 

expected to yield increases in sensitivity. 

This work was done by Kisholoy Goswami 

of Intelligent Optical Systems, Inc., fOT GleIm 

Research Center. 

InquiTies concerning Tights for the commercial use of this invention should be addressed 

to NASA Glenn ReseaTCh CenteJ; Commercial 

Technology Office, Attn: Steve Fedor, Mail 

Stop 4-8, 21000 BTookpark Road, Cleveland, Ohio 44135. Refer to LEW-16897. 

~ Advanced Hardware and Software for 

Monitoring Contamination 

Sensor readings can be viewed both locally and remotely. 

John F. Kennedy Space Center, Florida 

An instrumentation system mea ures 

the concentrations of three principal 

contaminants (nonvolatile residue, hydrocarbon vapor, and particle fallout) 

in real time. The sy tern include a 

computer running pecial-purpose application software that makes it po ible to connect the system into a network (which can, in turn, be connected 

to the Internet) to enable both local 

and remote display and analy i of its 

readings. The s stem was developed for 

u e in a Kennedy Space Center facility 

that was required to be maintained at a 

pecified high degree of cleanliness for 

processing a spacecraft payload that 

wa highly en itive to contamination. 

The system is al 0 adaptable to monitoring contamination in other facilitie 

and i an example of an emerging generation of sophisticated instl'l.LmentaI • • 

Reports 

tion systems that communicate data 

with other equipment. 

The system includes a total of six ensors attached to a purged cart. There are 

two sensors of each type, for measuring 

the three principal contaminants at lWO 

different locations. The sensors for determining the concentrations of hydrocarbon vapors are Fourier-transform infrared 

(FTIR) pectromelers that measure the 

ab orbance spectra of gases in in temal gas 

cells in the wavelength range of 2.5 to 25 

Ilill. The sensors for delermining the concentration of nonvolatile re idu are 

surface-acou tic-wave device, the resonance frequencies of which depend upon 

the amounts of material deposited on 

them. The en ors for monitoring particle 

fallout are small catlerometers. 

The sen or readings ( ee figure) are 

digitized and time-stamped and the reDate/Tlme "lHC Pentane VlnylCI Tol Styrene 

195 09/23/98 17:57:50 -7.02 92.09 0.15 - 1.45 -1.15 

196 09/23/98 17:58:51 -7.17 87.6 0.16 -1.28 -1.1 

97 09/23/9817:59:51 -7.15 93.68 0.13 -1.35 -1.17 

198 09/23/98 18:00:52 -7.18 93.04 0.13 -1.16 -1.14 

09/23/98 18:01 :52 -7.26 89.59 0.16 -1.34 -1.09 

09/23/98 18:02:52 -7.3 92.33 0.13 -1.26 -1.12 

FTIR1 A 

FTIR1 D FTIR2 r.'1 • ample Flow Sample Flow W Cart Purge Aux. Power ON Alarm»>DIOPA:See Ind 

I 

§ 

E 

J 

10.00 

\ 5.00 

0.00 

·5.00 

10.00 

-3.00 -2.S7 -2.33 

Time History Plot 

A 

''l -2.00 -1.67 -3.00 -1.00 

T,me (Hours. 0 - 09123/1998 18;04;30) 

MJ~J -0.67 -0.33 

DFTIR1 :THC 

DFTIR2:THC 

DSAW1 :*mg/ 

DSAW2:*mg! 

DOFM1 :'PAC 

DOFM2:*PAC 

QUIT I I Open Chat I I Open Command Dialog I 09/ 23/ 1998 18:04:51 

A Typical Display of sensor readings includes textual and graphical information on the recent history 

of concentrations of selected contaminants. 

"- Tech BrlefS,Jul 2 02 \\~vw.nasalech com 

Evaluate 

Sound and 

Vibration 

With LabVIEW'" and PXI"" 

Perform FFT, octave, THD, 

SINAD. level analysis, and more 

with LabVIEW and the new 

NI 4472 dynamic signal acquisition 

module. The NI4472 features: 

• 120 dB dynamic range (24 bit) 

• 8 analog inputs 

• 45 kHz bandwidth 

• Multiple module expansion 

and synchronization 

ni.com/info 

For more information visit ni.com/info 

and enter na4226. 

" NATIONAL ~ INSTRUMENTS~ 

(888) 279-9426 

Fax- (512) 683-9300 • info@OIcom 

CI~IZOO1NIttlunIll~Ccwpor.\IOIIAJlriQIICI~~"" 

, ........ /I_It&IId.,.trI~ortr.Ol_Ilt ..... ml*u .. tO/1lfl.n'" 

59 
til Globe Motors* EXPERTS IN MOTION 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 

CEaTIFIED 

Drift-free over extended range: -200 to 850°C (-328 to 

1582°F) • Excellent long-term stability • Tolerance per 

IEC 751, Class A or B • Five diameters, inch or mm 

• Shock and vibration resistant 

Laboratory precision in a rugged industrial probe 

• Specify for tighter control, less frequent calibration than 

thermocouples ' High temperature fumaces and ovens 

• Turbine efficiency testing • Scientific apparatus 

co 

Minco Products, Inc. 

7300 Commerce Lane / Minneapolis, MN 55432-3177 U.S.A. 

Tel: 1-763-571-3121 / Fax: 1-763-571-0927/ www.minco.com 

60 For Free Info Enter No. 538 at www.nasatech.comlrs 

Physical Sciences 

suiting data made available over a erial link from the cart LO a 

computer workstation located elsewhere in the facility. The 

sen or readings are also displayed on a screen on the cart. The 

data can also be made available over the network to any computer equipped WiUl pecial-purpose client software and with a 

Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP l IP) 

connection; the computer can be located anywhere in the 

world. The data are packetized according to a special application-level protocol. Access to the data can be limited LO auulorized IP addresses, and, in any event, is limited by the need for 

the special-purpose client software to impl ment the application-level protocol. 

The control of the system and the designation of IP addr sses 

auulOrized to receive data are effected at the aforementioned 

computer workstation. From this location, control personnel can 

turn the nonvolatile-re idue and particle-fallout sensors on and 

off, and re-zero and diagnose the FTIR spectrometers. They can 

monitor individual infrared sp ctra and can download them for 

off-line analysis. Other individual monitoring the data via the 

network can provide typed comments to each othel- and to the 

control personnel via an the Internet-like chat utility. 

To facilitate the development of the special-purpose oftware 

to effect the functions de cribed above, there was first developed a set of oftware elements that enable the easy and rapid 

development and deployment of data-pre entation application 

programs, not only for thi sy tern, but for a wid variety of ysterns that utilize a variety of data-communication mechanisms. 

The set includes a serie of form (objects), written in Microsoft Visual Basic, that follow ' a defined protocol. The et 

also includes imiJar objects written in Vi ual ++. The objects are suitable for use in code developed on embedded oftware sy tems, while the Visual Ba ic objects are b tter uited for 

use in software based on graphical u er interfa es. 

All of these objects utilize the same application-layer protocol, making it pos ible for me ages to go back and forth \viUlin 

an application program, bet,veen different application progranls on the ame computer, and between application programs on separate computers, which can be connected via either a serial link or a network. The pecial-purpo e oftware of 

the present instrumentation system include a et of uch objects that perform the communication functions. 

The set of objects comprises the following u1ree ub ets: 

• For assembl and transport of packets, including mediation 

of acce by user , there are a serial-communication object, a 

network ser Datagram Protocol ( DP) communication object, and a network T P communication object. 

• For routing of packets of data within an application program, 

there is a dispatcher object. 

• For taking action pecified by messages, there is a do-action 

interface, which can be built into an object to make it aware 

of message . 

The communication objects, as well as an me age-gen rating objects, notify the di patcher objects of their me sage. The 

dispatcher objects roUle me ages to de ignated recipient objects, for action by the recipient objects. B caus the protocol is 

consistent, intercommunication i implified and UnllOml, making the application programs more calable and flexible than 

they otherwise would be. The di position of me ages can even 

be dynamically modified to adapt to changing requirements. 

This work was done by Paul A. Mogan of Kennedy Space Center and Ghlistian] Schwindt, teven] Klinko, Timothy R. Hodge, 

Gad B. Malison, Paul Yocom, and K. Robert McLaughlin of Dynacs 

Engineering Co. For further information, acces the Technical Support Package (TSP) free on-line at www.nasatech.comltsp under the 

Physical Sciences category. 

KSC-12117116 

ASA Tech BI;efs,July 2002 
COMS2 
Information Sciences 

tj A Bit-Wise Adaptable Entropy Coding Technique 

New data compression method offers efficient compression and fast decoding. 

NASA's Jet P.ropulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California 

A recently invented coding technique 

for data compression is based on recursive 

interleaving of variable-to-variable-Iength 

binary source codes. The technique can 

be used as a key component in data compressors for a wide variety of data types, including image, video, audio, and text data. 

The technique is adaptable in that the 

probability e timate used to encode a data 

bit can be updated with each new bit. This 

can result in better compression performance compared to encoders that require a fixed or slowly changing probability estimate. 

The technique seems to have advantages over the prior entropy coding 

method called arithmetic coding. The 

technique is particularly amenable to the 

de ign of relatively imple, fast decoders. 

Moreover, because the technique offers 

flexibility in the choice of parameters for 

a particular design, it is possible to trade 

compression performance versus speed. 

A straightforward code de ign procedure 

can be used to produce an encoder with 

compression efficiency arbitrarily c10 e to 

the theoretical limit, with increasing complexity as the limit is approached. 

The coding problem solved by this 

technique is that of compressing a sequence of ource bits. The technique allows the estimated probability (Pi) that 

the ith ource bit (bi) is zero to depend 

on the values of the preceding source 

bits, correlations or memory in the 

source, and any other information available to both the encoder and the decoder. The technique efficiently encodes 

the source sequence by recursively encoding groups of bits with similar probaDIFFUSION 

BONDING 

Since 1978, Vacuum Process Engineerin!lt Inc. has been 'providing high quality, techniccilly 

supported. advanced thermal processins. services 

to a diverse high technology customer base. 

PRECISION 

FURNACE 

BRAZING 

THIN FILM 

COATING 

HEAT TREATING 

HELIUM LEAK 

DETECTION 

URETROLITE" 

BRAND 

RETROREFLECTORS 

We specialize in diffusion bonding, a process 

where materials are joined by heat and pressure: 

• TItanium, stainless steel, ma~nesium, 

aluminum. copper, nickel & c5sslmdar materials. 

Often more economical than conventional brazing 

and other methods of /' oining, diffusion bonding 

is used by a variety 0 industries: 

• Automotive, aerospace, medical. petrochemka~ 

telecommunications, electronics and more. 

Visit our website: 

WWW. .com or call: 916-925-6100. 

lfJ :J =I VACUUM 

62 

PROCESS 

ENGINEERING 

11 0 Commerce Circle 

Sacramento, CA 95815 USA 

Email: carl_schalansky@vpei.com 

For Free Info Enter No. 554 at www.nasatech.comlrs 

bilities, ordering the output in a way that 

i suited to the decoder. 

Before encoding, input bits are inverted 

as needed to force A~1 2. For the purpose 

of encoding, the probability range from 

1/2 to 1 is partitioned into everal narrow 

intervals. Associated with each interval i a 

bin that is used to store bits. When bi arrives, 

it is placed in the bin that corresponds to 

the probability interval that contains pr Because each interval spans a small probability range, each bin can be regarded as corre ponding to some nominal probability 

value. For each bin except the leftmo tone 

(which contains probability 1/2), an exhaustive prefix-free et of binary code 

words is pecified. When the bits collected 

in a bin f011TI one of the code words, these 

bits are deleted from the bin and the value 

of the code word is encoded by placing one 

ASA Tech Briefs,july 2002 
or more new bites) in other bins. (The 

biLS in each bin are arranged in a specific order that make decoding possible.) Thus, biLS arrive in various bins 

either directly from the ource or as a 

result of proce ing code words III 

other bins. The n t effect of tills 

process is to cause biLS to migrate to 

the leftmost (uncoded) bin, from 

whence they are transmitted. 

The formation of code words is represented by a binary tree ( ee figure) 

for each bin except the leftmost one. 

Each code word is assigned a tenninal 

This Example of a Binary Tree 

is for a bin with a nominal 

probability of 0.9 and for 

which the set of code words 

is (00, 01, 1). Output bits arising from this bin are placed 

in bins with nominal probabilities of 0.B1 and 0.53. 

node in the tree. Branch node of the tree are labeled to represent 

destination bins, and the branch labels (zeroes and one) correspond to output bits that are placed in th bins. 

Once the end of the ource bit equence has b en reached 

and no code words remain in any bin, mere are still likely to be 

partially formed code words in one or more bins. Becau e mese 

bits are needed for decoding, one or more extra bits are appended to each partial code word to fonn complete code words, 

which are then pro essed in the nonnal manner. The extra bits 

can be regarded as being u ed to "flu h" the encoder. 

In practice, me encoder and decoder do not track probability 

value. Instead, each bin is assigned an index, tarring with 1 for 

the leftrno t (uncoded) bin. The label for each node in me binary 

tree is me index (ramer than me nominal probability value) of 

me bin to which the next output bit is mapped. There is imposed 

a requirement that each output bit from me tree for bin j must be 

mapped to a bin witll index trictiy Ie man j. 0 computations 

involving probability value are needed, apart form mo e that may 

be required to map each input bit to me bin of the appropriate 

index. (Although probability value are larget unneeded for m 

operation of an encoder and decoder, it is useful to track probability values to d ign a good encoder.) 

lfthe tree and bin are well de igned, then on me average, me 

number of biLS used LO de crib a code word is Ie than me code 

word lengtll and data com pre ion occurs. me redundancy is 

pre ent because the bin have po itive width; in om r words, me 

probability associated with a bit that arrive in a bin usuall doe 

not exactJy equal th nominal probability for mat bin, and bits in 

the leftmo t bin are transmitted uncompre ed, even though 

many do nOl have probability exactJy qual to 1/2. However, by increasing the number of bin and/ or the ize of the tree, one can 

trade complexity for performance and decrease the ma.ximum 

redundan to arbitraril mall value. 

Although the underlying compre ion proce s relie on binary ncoding, any nonbinary ource can be fir t converted to 

a binary one before encoding. Thl! the technique can b applied to non binary ource a well. 

This work was done by Aaron Kiely and Matthew Klimesh of Callech for NASA' J et Propul ion Laboratory. For further infonnalion, access the Technical upport Package (TSP) free on-line at 

www.nasafech.com/tsp under the Infonnalion cimces category. 

In accordance willi Public Law 96-517, Ihe conlraelor has elected to 

retain litle to thi invenlion. Inquiries concerning rights for its CO/llrnercialuse should be addres ed 10 

Inlelleclual Proptrrly group 

JPL 

Mail lap 202-233 

4 00 Oak Grove Drive 

Pasadena, CA 91109 

(8J ) 354-2240 

Refer to NPO-21l0J, volume and number of Ihis A Tech 

Brief: issue, and the page numvl'1: 

Te h BrieE .July 2002 

For Free Info Visit www.nasatech.com/409 or Enter No. 409 at www.nasatech.com/rs 

Your best solutions come 

from flexible thinking. 

NAS 

For closed-cell foam olution , our de ign team i 

ready to help you fonnulate a olution that fit your 

need . Whether an Automotive , Medical or 

Indu trial De ign application, our product line of 

Volara Volextra ~ and Minicel® all provide dependable, high-quality, co t-effective 

way to enhance your idea . 

To fmd out more, or to receive 

a free "Thought Starter'; call: 

(800) 225-0668 today. 

Ideas Formed in Foam 

100 SIIt'pard Stred. L,I\\fenn·. \1 \ OI!l·B· \\eh Site: \\\\\\.\(.It.·k .... lIl1 

For Free Info Enter No. 539 at www.nasatech.comlrs 63 
Solutions 

from 20 mK 

to 800 K 

See the NEW 

Model 332 

Temperature 

Controller at 

www.lakeshore.com 

-" .. 

For Free Info Enter No. 541 at 

www.nasatech.com/rs 

Information Sciences 

@Web Site Provides Enhanced FacilityManagement Database 

Data needed for capital-investment decisions are made easily 

accessible for managers. 

Marshall Space Flight Center, Alabama 

The Marshall Space Flight Center 

(MSFC) Facilitie Functional Review 

web site provides dynamic electronic 

publication of elect portions of MSFC' 

facility-management database. Thi is a 

user-friendly site that provides a comprehensive view of all relevant facility and 

program information in a format that integrate plan, co ts of operations, conditions of facilitie , utilization of facilities, capabilitie for research and 

development in each facility, research 

and development investments, capital 

investments, and organizational responsibilities. The ite was developed to assist 

manager at all organizational levels in 

making decisions regarding capital investments and program plans. 

The figure is a simplified chematic diagram of the major functional blocks of 

the web site and the relationship between 

the web site and a client. The software 

used to admini ter the ite is a combination of World Wide Web (WWW)-based 

server oftware and computer-aided design (CAD)-based database-management 

oftware. The software and hardware 

components of the web site and the parts 

of the database to which they pertain are 

summarized as follows: 

• The SPAN-FM software is u ed to manage data on property and pace. These 

are tored in an Oracle database that 

reside on an Intergraph Pentium 

server computer running the Microsoft 

Window NT Server operating sy tern. 

• The WWW server i another Intergraph Pentium computer running the 

Microsoft Windows T Server operating sy tern and ver ion 4.0 of the Microsoft Internet Information Server 

(lIS) oftvvare, which is part of the 

NT4.0 Option Pack. This portion of 

the oftware has been configured for 

intranet only; that is, to restrict acce s 

to clients located at MSFG. 

Scripting Engine (ASP) oftware for a 

Common Gateway Interface (CGI). 

(ASP is also a component of the NT 

4.0 Option Pack.) All program involved in delivering the dynamic content via the WWW are written in Viual Basic cript and are implemented 

through this scripting engine. The 

scripts are processed on the server 

ide and are delivered to clients in 

standard Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) so that any common 

browser software and operating system can be used to gain acce the information on the site. 

• Database connectivity between ASP and 

Oracle is achieved through Microsoft 

ODBC (Open Database Connectivity) 

software. The ODBC and Oracle drivers 

provide seanlless access to the PAN-FM 

data in Oracle from the web site. 

• Facility floor plan are designed by 

u ing the Intergraph Corporation' 

Project Architect software to generate 

MicroStation (Bentley System) de ign 

files. The e de ign file are packaged 

and viewed by use of Intergraph Corporation' Digital Print Room o[tware. 

By means of thi web ite, capital investment and program plans are traceable to each facility and vice versa. The 

site ave time that would otherwise 

have to be spent investigating or 

earching for information n eded to 

make deci ion . The basic design of 

this web site could be adapted to aid 

manager of other large in titutions 

who need rapid acce s to comprehensive information for making deci ions 

of a capital-inve tment nature. 

This work was done by James Wyckoff 

and Debra Hendon of Marshall Space 

Flight Center and Donna Robinson and 

Brian Dial of Intergraph Corp. For further 

information, please contact Caroline Wang, 

MSFC Software Release A uthority at 

caroline. wang@msfc.nasa.gov. 

MFS-31342 

The MSFC Facilities Functional Review Web Site, implemented by several computer hardware and 

software subsystems, dynamically publishes a facility-management database. 

www.nasatech.com NASA Tech Brief: ,July 2002 
R475-5 

_TECH BRIEFS FREE SUBSCRIPTION REQUEST FORM ENGINEERING SOLUTIONS FOR DESIGN & MANUFACTURING 

STAY ON THE CUTTING EDGE 

Renew or get your own copy of NASA Tech Briefs. You can qualify at our website: 

www.nasatech.com/subscribe or Fax this form to 856-786-0861 

Please print 

Reader 10 Number 000 L-I --''----'----'-_-'----'-_-'-----'-----' 

Name ______________________________________________________________ _ 

Title ______________________________ _ 

Company 

Add~ss ____________________________________________________________ __ 

City/StlZip _________________________ _ 

1 00 you wish to receive (continue to receive) NASA Tech Briefs? DYes ONo 

Ptease check preferred format: 

8 . 0 Print Version of NASA Tech Briefs only 

b. 0 Digital (PDF) Version of NASA Tech Briefs only 

c. 0 BOTH the Print AND Digital (PDF) Versions of NASA Tech Briefs· 

Signature ______________________ Date __________ _ 

Bus.Tel. No. _______________ Bus.Fax No. _____________ __ 

e-mail __________________________________ _ 

If you checked "CO above that you wish to receive BOTH the Print and Digital Versions of 

NASA Tech Briefs, there is a small service fee of $2.00 per month ($24 annually). 

My check (for $24) is enclosed o Bill me 

Charge to my: American Express Discover Card 0 Master Card Visa 

Card # ____________________ Exp. Date _________ _ 

Signature ____________________________________ 1 

2 Which of the following best describes 

your industry or service? (check one) 

E Electronics 

S 0 Computers 

X 0 Communications 

o 0 Automotive 

T 0 Transportation 

M 0 MaterialsiChemicals 

P PowerlEnergy 

B BiolMedical 

J Consumer Product Manufacturing 

Q 0 Industrial Machinery & Equip. 

A Aerospace 

G Govemment 

DO Defense 

R Research Lab 

U 0 University 

Z Other (specify): 

3 Your engineering responsibility Is: 

(check one) 

A 0 Manage Engineering Department 

B 0 Manage a Project Team 

C 0 Manage a Project 

o Member of a Project Team 

E 0 Other 

(specify) 

4 Your job functions are: 

(please check all that apply) 

10 Design & Development Engineering 

(Inc. applied R&D) 

12 0 Testing & Quality Control 

13 Manufacturing & Production 

14 0 Engineering Management 

16 0 General & Corporate Management 

17 Basic R&D 

15 0 Other (specify) 

Write in the number of your principal job function _________ _ 

5 a. In which of the following categories do you 

recommend, specify, or authorize the 

purchase of products? (check a/l that apply) 

01 Electronics 

02 Photonics 

03 0 Computers/Peripherals 

04 Software 

05 Mechanical Components 

06 Materials 

07 0 None of the above 

5 b_ Products you recommend, specify, or authorize for purchase: (check all that apply) 

32 0 ICs & semiconductors 

33 Connectorslinterconnectionsl 

packaging! enclosures 

02 0 Board-level products 

18 0 Sensorsitransducersldetectors 

16 Data acquisition 

19 0 Test & measurement Instruments 

34 0 Power supplies & baneries 

35 PCs & laptops 

06 0 Workstations 

36 EDNCAE software 

37 0 CAD/CAM software 

17 ImagingMdeolcameras 

38 0 Lasers & laser systems 

39 Optics/optical components 

40 Fiber optics 

41 Optical design software 

20 0 Motion controVpositioning equipment 

30 Fluid power and fluid handling devices 

31 Power transmission/motors & drives 

42 Rapid prototyping and tooling 

130 Metals 

28 Plastics & ceramics 

27 Composites 

43 Coatings 

60 None of the above 

Check one of the following: 

o New Subscript jon 

o Renewal 

o Change of address 

For Change of Address and/or 

Renewal you must provide the 

11-digit Reader 10 Number from 

your mailing label. 

You can also 

mail this form to: 

NASA Tech Briefs 

P_O. Box 10523 

Riverton, NJ 08076-9023 

6 How many engineers and scientists work at this address? (check one) 

A 1 F 100-249 

B 2-5 G 0 250-499 

C 6-19 

o 20-49 

E 0 50-99 

H 0 500-999 

J over 1000 

7 To which of the following publications do you 

subscribe? (chack all that apply) 

01 0 Cadalyst 

02 Cadence 

03 0 Computer-Alded Engineering 

05 Deslgnfax 

06 0 Design News 

07 0 Desk10p Engineering 

080 EON 

09 Electronic Des'gn 

10 Machine DeSign 

11 Mechanical Engineering 

12 Product Design & Development 

13 Sensors 

14 Test & Measurement Worid 

15 Laser Focus World 

16 Photonics Spectra 

17 None of the above 

8 Woutd you like to receive a free 8-mail newsletter from NASA Tech Briefs? 

Yes No 

Your e-mail address 

You may receive renewal reminders via e-mail. 

00 you want to receive other business-to-business 

third party e-maH oilers from NASA Tech Briefs? 

Yes D Na 
Marketplace 

W. M. BERG, INC. 

Has the 

g~! 

precision 

mechanical 

component needs, 

from Design 

Concept to 

Production and 

beyond! 

Order your free catalog today! 

W.M. BERG, INC. 499 Ocean Ave. 

E. Rockaway. NY 11518 

Phone: 800-232-BERG 

Fax: 800-455-BERG 

www.wmberg.com 

tech briefs, patents. 

and commercial 

from the 19605-19905. A 

classic reference source featuring hardto-find data on , 'ASA R&D projects and 

im'entions available for license. i9.00 

Order online: 

www.nasatech.com/store 

or end $79.00 + $8.00 for shipping to: 

ABP International, Dept. F., 317 Madison 

Avenue, #1900, ew York, NY 10017. 

Hamilton Education 

Guide. demystify the 

instruction and learning 

ofadvallced mathemati . 

introductoll'-advanced algebra, and calculus, the guides provide 

tep-b -step olutions to thousands of 

problems, building students' confidence. 

The $69.95 guides make 

great gifts for your children 

or local schools for the next 

semester and years to come. 

For more information and to 

order online: 

Books & Reports 

tJ Software for Internet 

Collaboration on Mars 

Rover Operations 

A report provide additional information about two major ub ystem of the 

software ystem described in " oftware 

for Ground Operations for a Prototype 

Mars Rover" (PO-21235), ASA Tech 

Briefs, Vol. 25, 0.11 ( ovember 2001), 

page 46. The oftware ystem was designed for, and field-tested on, the Field 

Integrated Design and Operations rover 

- a prototype similar to rover of the 

planned 2003 Mars Explorer Rover mision. The oftware ubsystems addre sed 

in the report are the Web Interface for 

Telescience (WITS) and the Multi-mision Encrypted Communication ystem 

(MEC ). The WITS (aspects of which 

have been described in event! prior 

ASA Tech Briefs article ) displays information downlinked from the rover 

(principally, image from severn rover 

cameras) along with alphanumeric data 

and annotations regi tered with terrain 

features. The MEC enables ecure communication between a primary terrestrial operation center and geographically di tributed, Internet-based user. 

The emphasis in the report i on the capability, afforded by the WITS and the 

MEC acting together, to enable geographically disper ed user to communicate with each other and to collaborate 

in the genenttion of a sequence of command to be uplinked to the rover. 

This wlJrk was done by Jef.frey orris and 

Paul Backes of Caltech for NASA's J et 

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

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

under the InjlJnnation ciences category. 

NPO-21231 

• Deep-Space Ranging Using 

Pseudonoise Codes 

A report discusses aspects of a ranging 

sy tern in which the di tance between 

the Earth and a spacecraft i determined 

from the difference between the phase 

of (l) modulation on a ntdio signal 

transmitted to the pacecraft and (2) a 

replica of the modulation transmitted 

back to Earth by a tntn ponder on the 

spacecraft, received at Earth a roundtrip-light-time after the original tranmission. The system correlate the tntnswww.nasatech. om 

mitted and return modulation for different phase shifts. The phase shift for 

which the correlation i maximum i 

deemed to be related to the round-trip 

ignal-propagation time and, hence, to 

the di tance. The modulations used in 

prior such ystems were sequential 

square-wave tone or repeating 

pseudonoise tone, but not both in the 

same ystem. A propo ed improvement 

would equip a rnnging sy tern to use either square-wave or p eudonoise tones. 

The report pre ents mathematical analyses and comparisons of the performances of quare-wave and p eudonoi e 

rnnging. It is hown that in comparison 

with the exi ting y tern u ing equential 

square-wave tones, a system using a et of 

pseudonoi e code would perform better (in terms of integration time and 

variance in di tance) and could be configured and operated more easily. 

Thi work was done by Jeff Berner and 

cott Bryant of Caltech for NASA's J e t 

Propulsion Laboratory. To obtain a. copy 

of the report, "Operations Comparison of 

Deep Space Ranging Types: Sequential 

Tone vs. Pseudo-Noise, " access the Technical Support Package (T. P) free on-line at 

www.nasatech .com/tsp under the Electronic 

Components and Systems category. 

NP0-30387 

o Sonic-Boom Tests of Model 

of a Supersonic Business 

Jet Plane 

A report discu se wind-tunnel te ts of 

a scale model of a conceptual two-engine jet airplane designed to carry 10 

pas engers, have a range of 4,000 miles 

(=6,400 krn), crui e at a mach number 

of 2.0, and generate a low onic boom 

[chantcterized by a shock overpre ure 

of ~ 0.5 Ib/ ft2 (~24 Pa)]. The model 

could optionally include either of two 

differently sized nacelle submodel representing alternative engine design . In 

each te t, the pres ure was measured at 

intervals along a horizontal line at a 

specified height below the model. One 

conclusion drawn from predicted and 

measured pres ure values i that it is 

more difficult to tailor the geometry of 

thi airplane for low onic boom than it 

is to do 0 for a larger supersonic airplane capable of carrying 300 passengers and for which the allowable hock 

overpressure i 1.0 lb/ fe (48 Pal. It was 

Tech Briefs,July 2002 
found that decreasing the allowable 

overpressure intensifies the conflicts between the design choices for reducing 

sonic boom and those for increasing 

aerodynamic efficiency. It was also found 

that due to the nacelJes' aft location, 

their contribution to the shock overpressures could be expected to be smalJ 

enough to be unnoticeable by an observer on the ground. 

This work was done by !Wbert J Mack of 

Langley Research Center. To obtain a 

copy of the report, ''An Analysis of Measured 

Sonic-Boom Pressure Signatures From A Langley Wind-Tunnel Model of A SupersonicCruise Business Jet Concept, » access the Technical Support Package (TSP) free on.-line at 

www.lIasatech.cmn/tsp under the Mechanics 

category. 

LAR-16277 

8 Use of Mechanical Event 

Simulation Software for 

Bio-Mechanical Eye Research 

This report examines the simulation of 

eye movement and resulting stresse with 

mechanical event simulation oftware to 

re earch retinal detachments, a condition 

that affects 25,000 people annually. The 

set-up of the bio-mechanical finite element model of the eye, as well as avenues 

for further research, are discussed in detail. This research may help to explain 

why near-sighted eyes are more at risk for 

retinal detachment, provide better postoperative recovery instructions for patients undergoing retinal surgery, and 

even lead to the discovery of techniques 

for the prevention of retinal detachments. 

This work was done by Dr. !Wbert Park of 

the Ophthalmic Consultants of Boston 

and Tufts University School of Medicine utilizing ALGOR's Mechanical Event Simulation software. To obtain a copy of this report, 

visit eyeresearch1-eport.ALGOR. com. 

o Optimization of Synthetic 

Jet Actuators 

A report presents a study oriented toward optimization of syn thetic jet actuators. [A synthetic jet actuator is a fluidic control device that partly 

resembles a loudspeaker. It typically 

comprises a piezoelectric actuator / diaphragm situated in a cavity, facing an 

orifice or nozzle at the opposite end of 

the cavity.] The instant report describes an experimental synthetic jet 

actuator equipped for tuning tllrough 

variation of orne of its cavity dimenA Fast & Easy Way to Outsource 

sions and its excitation frequency and 

for selection of either (1) clamping of 

the edge of the diaphragm between flat 

surfaces or (2) pinning of the edge of 

tile diaphragm between steel 0 rings. 

The report goes on to discuss the effects of the cavity and nozzle geometry, 

diaphragm design, excitation frequency, and other design features on 

tile vibrational resonance of the diaphragm, the acoustic resonance of the 

cavity, the coupling (or lack thereof) of 

these resonances, and the overall performance as characterized by the displacement at the center of the diaphragm or the speed of the jet at a 

specified distance from the orifice. 

Conclusions reached in tllis study are 

that (1) tile pinning configuration results in better performance than does 

the clamping configuration and (2) 

the maximum performance is achieved 

by matching the re onant frequencies 

of the diaphragm and the cavity. 

This work was done by Fang-Jertq Chen of 

Langley Research Center. To obtain a copy 

of the 1"ejJort, "The Optimized Synthetic Jet Actuators, » access the Technical Support Package 

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

under the Mechanics category. 

LAR-16234 

www.nasatech.comlquickquotes from the! publishers 

Connecting Buyers & Suppliers 01 ~sro, 

Manufacturing & Engineering SeM~$ 

Take a tour today: 

www.nasatech.comlquickquotes 

Tech Briefi ,July 2002 www.nasatech.com 67 
TECH BRIEFS 

Free catalogs and literature for NASA Tech Briefs' readers. To order, enter the 

corresponding number on the Online Reader Service Page at www.nasatech.com/rs. 

TUBING, HOSE, 

FITTINGS, & CLAMPS 

Plastic and rubber tubing and 

ho e for the design engineer are 

described in NewAge lndsutries' 

colorful brochure. Thbing and 

hose materials include PVC. 

pOlyurethane. nylon, TPE, silicone. Duoropolymers. Viton®, more. Fittings and 

clamps in plastic and metal. Custom capabilities 

include thermal tube bonding, heat forming . 

coiling. and hose assemblies. NewAge Industries 

Inc .. Southampton, PA; Tel: 800-50-NEWAGE; Fax: 

800-837-1856; e-mail: psales@newageind.com; 

www.newageindutries.com 

NewAge Industries Inc. 

For Free Info Enter No_ 61S 

at www.nasatech.comlrs 

CONTINUOUS 

SLIP CLUTCH 

Unlike devices meant 

for occasional lip. the 

Polyclutch lip-Ease is 

designed for contiolUous slip. It can maintain precise tension in 

winding applications. 

The "stiction-free" performance assures consistent torque for holding loads, 

slip at stroke end, overload protection, and many 

other engineering jobs. Life of 30 million revolutions 

is standard. I (}.9()(} I Cenified. Polyclutch Division of 

Custom Products Corporation; Tel: 800-562-9522; Fax: 

203-288-5325; e-mail: saJes@polycJutch.com. 

Custom Products Corporation 

For Free Info Visit www.nasatech.com/663 

or Enter No. 663 at www.nasatech.comlrs 

"AUTO-SLIDES" 

MOTOR READY 

LINEAR BALL OR 

CROSSED ROLLER 

L-___ ----' STAGES 

With a flexible zero backlash coupling. straight 

line accuracy of up to 0.0001" per inch of travel 

and repeatability of 0.0001 ", the new slides offer 

precision linear motion at prices starting at $ 44. 

Auto-Slides provide a 3/ 8" diameter 0.10" lead 

screw with anti·backlash nut and contain a ema 

23 mount for mOLOr installation. They are available with special configurations and a variety of 

leads and pitches. Tusk Direct; Tel: 800-447-2042 

or 203-7904611 ; www.tuskdirecLcom. 

68 

Tusk Direct 

For Free Info Enter No. 6S9 

at www.nasatech.com/rs 

'o'EI ' , • . ~ 

.... f' 

....... fii&I 

,~--f <:)~ ;'/11/// 

2002 PRODUCT 

DESIGN GUIDE ON 

THE WEB 

Pulizzi Engineering, manufacturer of AC power distribution 

and control systems, ha 

announced its 2002 Product 

De ign Guide that includes 

standard units, new products. engineering specifications, and a sampling of custom systems. The Web 

site has a new product search engine that searches 

the extensive engineering database and submits a 

list of products to the customer that will meet specific needs. Pulizzi Engineering. Inc.; Tel: 714-540-

4229 or 800-870-2248; email: sales@pulizzi.com; 

www.pulizzi.com 

Pulizzi Engineering, Inc. 

For Free Info Enter No. 6S6 

at www.nasatech.com/rs 

PRECISION 

ENCODERS 

ew 9S-page catalog gives indepth specifications and 

descriptions of Accu-CoderTM 

brand encoders by Encoder 

Products Company. Catalog 

features a full line of 

CubeTM, industry-standard 

size 15, size 20, size 25, size 

5 mm, C-face, EMA mount and hollow shaft 

encoders, with a wide selection of configuration 

options, suitable for a wide variety of industrial 

counting, motion, and motor control applications. 

Encoder Products Company; Tel: 00-366-5412; 

Fax: 20S-263-0541; www.encoderproducts.com 

Encoder Products Company 

For Free Info Visit www.nasatech.com/680 

or Enter No. 680 at www.nasatech.com/rs 

POROUS 

CERAMIC 

VACUUM 

CHUCK 

PhotoMachining offers a porous ceramic 

vacuum chuck for use 

with tl1in £iJms and other flat samples. Pore sizes 

under 25 microns assure uniform suction and holding 

power for even the smallest parts. PhotoMacl1ining 

also provides contract laser-manufacturing services, 

and designs and builds custom laser-based manufacturing equipment. PhotoMacl1ining, Inc., 4 Industrial 

Dr., Unit 40, Pelham, NH 03076; Tel: 603-882-9944; 

Fax: 603-8 6-8844; rschaeffer@photomachining.com; 

www.photomacl1ining.com 

PhotoMachining, Inc. 

For Free Info Enter No. 655 

at www.nasatech.com/rs 

w\\w.nasatech.com 

IEC CORPORATION 

INTRODUCES FIBER 

OPTIC SLIP RING LINE 

fEC has a catalog of their standard 

line, but pride tl1emselves in stating 

that they only sell about 10% standard. Meaning that 90 % of their 

business lies in modified and custom deSigns. The fiber optic rotary joint. or FOR]. 

is offered from I to 7 channels, single or multimode. The standard options available on the electrical component are: 2-60 rings, current to 90 

amps, voltage to 6000V, signal to 250 MHz. IEC 

Corporation. 3100 Longhorn Blvd., Austin, TX 

78758; Tel: 512-83~547 ; Fax: 512-834-1082; e-mail: 

info@ieccorporation.com; www.ieccorporation.com 

IEC Corporation 

For Free Info Enter No. 612 

at www.nasatech.com/rs 

THIN FILM 

COATING DESIGN 

AND ANALYSIS 

TFCalc v3.5. with many new 

features, makes designing the 

best optical thin film coatings 

faster and ea~ier than ever. Major 

features include needle optimization, color optimization, ultra-fast optimization . 

global search, yield analysis, interactive anal sis, 

material mixtures, automatic bandpass design, and 

computing refractive index (n and k). Call or send 

e-mail for your free demo. SoftwaJ'e Spectra, Inc.; 

Tel: 00-832-2524; e-mail: info@sspectra.com; 

www.sspecrra.com 

Software Spectra, Inc. 

For Free Info Enter No. 658 

at www.nasatech.com/rs 

SURFACE 

PROFILING TOOL 

Triptar's surface profiling 

tool, SurfaceScopeTM. renders 3D images of surfaces. 

It is combined with a standard OEM microscope LO 

extract he ight information 

throughout the fie ld of view. 

Acquisition is extremely fast. 

L... _ _ == __ -;-' Resolution is limited only by 

the microscope and the electronic camera used to 

capture tlJe images. Triptar Lens Company, Inc.; 

www.triptar.com/ surfacescope.htm. 

Triptar Lens Company, Inc. 

For Free Info Visit www.nasatech.coml672 

or Enter No. 672 at www.nasatech.com/rs 

'ASA Tech Briefs,Julv 2002 
FMEA SOFTWARE 

Failure Modes and Effects 

Analysis using FMEA-Pro'" 5 

empowers automotive, consUJner, elecLTonic, aerospace, 

defense and general manufacturing indu tries to 

improve the quality, reliability 

and safety of their products. 

This fully cusLOmizable software helps companies comply with QS 9000, ISO 

9000, AE J I739, MIL-STO-J629, ISO/ TS 16949 

and other regulations. FMEA-ProTM 5 contains 

exten ive libraries and data protection features. 

The repon generation tools support a variety of liIe 

formats, including HTML and POF. Oownload a 

free trial: www.fmeasoftware.com. 

Dyadem International Ltd. 

For Free Info Visit www.nasatech.coml678 or Enter No. 678 at www.nasatech.com/rs 

WHEN ALL YOU NEED 

A!M.l,tOOOJ\lJ} IS A DRAWING 

In this increasing complex 30 modeling world, there are times that all 

!DC you need is a quality engineering _O' .... CAD drawing. Anvil-l000MO®, the 

world's easiest to use de ign drafting 

software, is still the quickest route to getting the job 

done. Rapidly producing drawings fully compliam 

with a.ll imernational drafting standards is all in a 

day's work for Anvil-lOOOMO. Anvil-lOOOMO's intuitive user interface makes the job as simple as a sketch 

on a napkin I C1l1 1-3Q9.9448108 for details - download a full demo version at Ivww.anvil·l000md.com 

today. Anvil·IOOOMO is a registered trademark of 

Manufacturing & Consulting Services, Inc. 

IDC Digital Solutions 

For Free Info Enter No. 611 

at www.nasatech.com/rs 

FREE CONNECTOR, 

CABLE ASSEMBLY 

CATALOGS 

Ollr free 1 ~age RF Connec· 

tors Catalog offers 1200 tan· 

dard and Cll tom coaxial 

products. Extensi,e coverage 

is given to BN , TN HF, Mini· HF, MB, MB, 

MA, MC,'\{, MM u'\{, 7-16 01 , FME, LMR ries and 

FC Reg. 15 connectors. Product specs and photos 

included. n,e RF C'lble A'>Semblies catalog IisL~ over 

60,000 <tandard cable assemblies. Call for your free 

Os or catalogs. RF onneCLOrs, Oivision of RF 

Industries; Tel: 5 -5 ~9·6340 ; Fax: 5 -549·6345; 

e-mail: rli@rfindustrie .com; .. ww.rfindustries.com 

RF Connectors, Division of 

RF Industries 

For Free Info Enter No. 6S7 at www.nasatech.com/rs 

HIGH-SPEED, 

HIGH-PERFORMANCE 

CAMERA 

MODULES 

The PV OEM-read sman cam ras (MLI ·IK, 

MEU -IK, M LI .2K, MAC I K) feature highl 

sensitive, low noise linear and area imagers. These 

cameras come with eilher a alllera-Link or 

Fire,,;re (1394) interface and can provide a high 

qualit) ,ideo .mage at pixel speeds from I Mill to 

o,er 90 ~llIz . Oe,elopment kils with Frame 

Crabber and ,oftware are also a,ailable. Contact 

our sale department at sales@phoLOn.,i ion.com 

or phone 607·75t>-52()0; """'.phOlon-vision. om 

Photon Vision Systems 

For Free Info Visit www.nasatech.com/681 or Enter No. 681 at www.nasatech.com/rs 

_ LOAD SIMULATION 

PLACID INDUSTRIES 

MAGNETIC 

PARTICLE 

BRAKES & 

CLUTCHES 

Feature smooth, silent 

sliptorque for tensioning 

(unwind / rewinding) , 

torque limiting & load 

simulation. Torque is proportional to OC input 

Cllrrent, and independent 

of slip RPM. Stock items, from 1 oZ.·inch to 220 Ib.-

in. Placid Industries; Tel: 518-523-2422; Fax: 518-

523-2746; www.placidindustries.com 

Placid Industries 

For Free Info Visit www.nasatech.com/67S or Enter No. 675 at www.nasatech.com/rs 

" " 

PRESSURE SENSOR 

WITH ALL-WELDED 

DESIGN 

The P4000 pressure sensor 

from Kavlico incorporates 

{EMS technology into an all· 

welded, stainle steel package. 

The transducer is suited for 

HVAC/ R, off-highway vehicles, 

pressurized tools, and a variety 

of hydraulic applications. Available in pressure rang 

of(}'lOO to ()..8()()() psi absolute or sealed g<lge. Sensor 

has a total error band of ±l % o,'er the operating tem· 

perature range of ·20'C to +100' . Ka,lico Corp.; Tel: 

80:"523-2000; I,""w.ka,·lico.com 

Kavlico Corporation 

For Free Info Enter No. 613 

at www.nasatech.com/rs 

ETHERNETBASED, 6-1 /2-

DIGIT DMM/DAQ 

SYSTEM 

The Model 2701 is the 

industry's first instrument-quality 0 1M/ Oata 

Acqui ition 'tem with built-in Ethernet ne",ork· 

ing and 22·bit integrating A D con,er ion. A J 4-

function expandable mainframe prmides up to 80 

channels of differential switching, analog and digital 

I/ O, temperature, frequency, event counting and 

precision four·wire ohms measuremenl. 

Applications include product development and 

bum·in, ATE, component testing, and proce mono 

itoring/ control. Keithley In truments, Inc., 

eveland, OH; Tel: 53·1-8453; ""w.keithley.com 

Keithley Instruments 

For Free Info Enter No. 614 

at www.nasatech.com/rs 

~ FREEDAQ 

( 

DESIGNERTM 2002 CD 

:- Quickly and Easily ConjigunJ Your 

_ Data Acquisition (DAQ) System. 

From signal acqui ition and generation to data logging, choose 

the right hardware and software components for your 

OAQ application with OAQ Oesigner 2002. This 

interactive configuration advi or recommends the 

appropriate Measurement Ready'" OAQ products, as 

weU as the signal conditioning, inlage acquisition, 

motion control modular in trumemation, and soft· 

ware to conneCt virtually and signal to your PC or net· 

work. Visit nLcom/ info and emer nay741 to order 

today! ational Instruments; Tel: 800-454-2610; Fax: 

512-683-9300; e-mail: info@nLcom 

National Instruments 

For Free Info Visit www.nasatech.com/670 or Enter No. 670 at www.nasatech.com/rs 

MINIATURE 

TELESCOPIC 

CYLINDERS 

Mini- pace!!> Cylinder 

brochure illustrates sizes 

and forces available in 

double and single aCling 

sir or hydraulic. These 

cylinder work in les 

pace than cable or con· 

ventional cylinders. Air & 

Hydraulic Power, Inc., Box 159 ,Wyckoff, NJ 

07481 ; Tel : 201-447·15 9 , ext. 0302; e·mail: 

info@ahpower.com. 

Air & Hydraulic Power, Inc. 

For Free Info Visit www.nasatech.com/676 or Enter No. 676 at www.nasatech.com/rs 

COOLING FOR 

ELECTRONIC 

ENCLOSURES 

pace·saving air condition· 

ers. heal exchangers and 1iIte red fan package manage 

electronic cabinet cooling 

u ing microproces or tech· 

nology. Feature include a 

digital programmable con· 

troller with LEO temperature displa , audible 

alarm, cooling and heilling set points. Thinner 

lightweight cabinet design constn.cted of 16 gauge 

welded teel to with tand harsh factory environments. Ice Qube: Tel: 67 234; Fax: 724-83i· 

3 6: www.iceqube.com 

Ice Qube 

For Free Info Visit www.nasatech.com/674 or Enter No. 674 at www.nasatech.com/rs 

Van Nostrand's 

Scientific Encyclopedia 

NEW Ninth Edition 

The definitive cientific resource - exten ively updated and 

revised for the first time in a decade. Two volumes ... 3,936 

page ... 8,000 listings ... 4,878 diagram , photos, & tables. 

pan a tronomy, computer science, biotechnology, 

mechani al engineering, & much, much more. 295.00 

Order online: 

tore 

', \.Ii\ re( h Htil'l< ,Jtlt\' ~()(::.: 2 _______________ --!!= __ ....,_:..:.:. ....... ________________________ ...... ;l",l __ 
, FLAME 

tleVl' RESISTAIIT ~ EPOXY 

with Low Smoke Emission 

MASTER BOND EP21HTFR-1 

• Flame resistant with minimal smoke emission 

• User friendly one-to-one mix ratio by weight or 

volume. Withstands high temperatures • Contains 

no halogens. High physical strength properties 

• Superior resistance to water, fuels & other chemicals • Remarkable long term durability. Unexcelled 

dimensional stability. Convenient packaging 

70 

Master Bond Inc. 

Adhesives, Sealants & Coatings 

154 Hobart St., Hackensack, NJ 07601 

TEL: 201-343-8983 • FAX: 201-343-2132 

main@masterbond.com • www.MasterBond.com 

For Free Info Enter No. 542 at www.nasatech.comlrs 

We're BIG on 

the little things. 

No matter how complex your custom stamped components, you can count on us to provide you with 

exceptional quality and service from start to finish. We 

firmly believe that superior technology sets us apart. .. 

yet. we also know paying attention to the small details 

is just as important. From design to delivery, we're 

committed to you--and that makes cents (or us both. 

Meier 875 Lund Blvd. Anoka. MN 55303 

763-427-6275 • Fax: 763-427-9242 

TOOL&:ENGlNEERI GINC. www.meiertool.com 

For Free Info Enter No. 543 at www.nasatech.comlrs 

New 

LITERATURE 

Enclosure Systems 

A 40-page product catalog from Riltal 

Corp., pringfield, OH, describes industrial 

e nclosure yst ms, 19" electroni compon e nts, en losure climate control and pro e s 

cooHng system , power di tribution components, data communication and network 

components, and telco and wireless outdoor 

enclosures. Application include network 

structures, web hosting, telecommunications, and factory automation. For Free Info 

Visit www.nasatech.comlrittal 

Adhesives for Plastic Assembly 

An Engineering Adhesives Selector Guide 

from Dymax Corp., Torrington, CT, introduce adhesives for bonding plastic to each 

other, to metal, alld to glass. The guide features eight new light curing urethane acryla te formul ations, three light curing epoxies, 

and 301 eries cyanoacrylate adhesives. A 

substrate selector cha rt shows viscosity, tenile trength, elongation, elasticity, Hnear 

hrinkage, and water absorption. For Free 

Info Visit www.nasatech.comldymax 

Data Acquisition 

nited Electronic Indu trie , Canton, MA, 

has published its 2002 atalog of hardware 

and oftware products for its PowerDAQ data 

acquisition line. Included are drivers that 

collect data from data acquisition board into 

LabVIEW for Linux, driver for real-time 

Linux, preconfigured PXI y tern and I/O 

boards, high-current analog-oulput board , 

P I mu ltifunction boards, and active 

crew-terminal panels. For Free Info Visit 

www.nasatech.comluei 

Machined Springs ~ .. A ....... ' ~ ~.· ••••• v. l·"I .. ·• ..... :·,,·l1 

~ The spnng ,. v-:::: V-. for the! 

21st century 

V. -:. 

II, , 

I 

Helical Products, Santa Maria, CA, has released 

a brochure describing machined plings for the 

medical, aerospace, militall', nuclear, industrial, 

and electrical and electronics industries. A comparison data tabl feature exan1ples of integrated attachments po ible, and compares wirewound springs . machined springs. For Free 

Info Visit www.nasatech.comlhelical 

Rod Ends and Bearings 

Aurora Bearing, Aurora, IL, offe rs a 67-page 

catalog detailing spherical beru'ings and rod 

ends. ommercial bearing feature all-stee l 

race with full wage constnlction around 

ground steel ball . tandard bodies are available in carbon, allo , tainle s steel, and aluminum. Rod ends are available in ize from 

1/ 6" to 2", and spherical bearings are available 

in sizes from 3/ 16" to 2". For Free Info Visit 

www.nasatech.comlaurora 

Tech Briefs,July 2002 
NeWonthe 

MARKET 

Digital Transmitters 

The DIN-IOO OMEGABUS· sensor to computer modules from 

OMEGA Engineering, tamford, cr, convert analog input signals to 

erial data, and u-ansmit via RS-485 to a master unit such as a computer. The modules provide direct connection to sensors and perform signal 

conditioni ng, scaling, and linearization. They measure temperature, voltage. current., bridge inputs, and digital 

input and output ignal . elections are 

stored in nonvolatile EPROM, which maintain data if power is 

removed. For Free Info Visit www.nasatech.comlomegajuly 

Ultrasonic Sensors 

Baumer Electric, outhington, cr, has introduced a family of 

miniature ultrasonic sen or that offer sen ing mnge of 100 mm with 

a blind range ofas little as 10 mm. The ensors are 

available in a tubular enclo ure or in rectangular 

housing . They fearure a narrow sonic beam angle 

of 6°, which enables them to ense objects 

through tight opening such as bottlenecks. test 

tubes, or ampoules. The ensors also offer a 10-

m ec reaction time for detecting mO\'ement of 

objects on a manufacturing line. For Free Info 

Visit www.nasatech.com/baumer 

Data Recorder !Osci lIoscope 

The DL750 cop Gorder from Yokogawa orp. 

of America, ewnan, GA, combine recorder-like 

measurement capabililie with digital storage 

o cillo cope triggering and analysis capabilities. 

p to 16 analog channels fit into the instrument 

through the use of up to eight input modules, 

each of which contains two eparate channels. The unit 

come with 2.5 Mwords/channel memory, advanced triggering and 

waveform anal is capabilitie , and up to 16-bit resolution. For Free 

Info Visit www.nasatech.comlyokogawa 

Composite Design Software 

VI TAGY, Waltham, MA, has released 

Ver ion 4.0 of Fiber IM ~ oftware for 

the de ign of lightweight composite 

materials. The oftware offers data in tegration capabilities bas d on tile open 

tandard of XML, allO\ving u er to 

hare data about their composite 

designs. The software tran form 

TIA, ProlE I EER, and Unigraphics GAD sy terns into specialized environments for de igning composiLe parts. For Free Info 

Visit www.nasatech.com/vistagy 

Camera System for PCs 

Photron ,an Diego, , has introduced tile FASTCAM P I 

12 0, a MO based mega-pixel, high-sp ed c;unel-a tem de igned 

to operate inside a personal computer. The camera lLSe a MO ensor with a 12 0 . 1024 array LO provide image aL a speed of up LO 

16,000 frame per se ond from one P I card. Included is Photron 

MOLion Tools software, nabling the user LO u-ack three points manuall or to aULOmaticall u-a k the m Lion of a ingle pint within tile 

image equence. For Free Info Visit www.nasatech.comlphotron 

Tech Briefs,jul 2002 

Miniature. Shear Mode. ICP~ Accelerometers 

• 10 or 100 mV/g 

• Weights of 3 grams or less 

• Ground isolated versions 

• Frequency response 

from 0.5 to 10k Hz 

• Hermetically sealed 

titanium construction Series 352C40 

• Great for structural, modal, and 

package testing and general 

vibration measurements 

Ultra-Miniature. 

ICP~ Accelerometer 

Low-Cost. Capacitive 

Accelerometers 

• Measure acceleration, 

vibration, and tilt 

• Frequency response from 

OC to 800 Hz 

• Lightweight, Injection·molded, 

plastic housing 

• Integral cable 

Series 3801 

Miniature. Triaxial. IC~ Accelerometer 

• Coaxial connector permits field • 4-pin connector with poSitive keyway 

replacement of cable 

• 5 mV!g senSitivity 

• Ground isolated 

• Adhesive mount 

• Only 0.2 grams in weight 

• Great for small component testing 

(( 

Mod.I352C23 

to prevent bent pins 

• 100 mV/g senSitivity 

• Weighs less than 

6 grams (( 

• Adhesive or stud mounting Mod.ll56Al2 

• 250 OF (121 °C) temperature range 

• Ideal for high frequency and 

structural testing applications 

0PCB PIEIOTRONICS vtBRAT10N DMSION 

Sensors that measure up!'" miE!m 

CEITIFIED 

Toll Free 888·684-0013 · 24·hour Sensorline'" 716-684'{)()()1 • E-mail vibration@pcb.com 

Website www.pcb.com • Total Customer Satisfaction· A PCB Group Co. 

For Free Info Enter No. 544 at www.nasatech.comlrs 

.ALDmIi: rteih~eab . • DXFiTpat/ecpat.~ 

fieId~ • • 000,pa e IISiIIe post-pooessor: 1lDces, 

forces, stresses, torques, i1Wctanc:es, capacita ICES. 

.No lillilalioll on IllCldB size or I'UriJer of elements. 

fr 

www.quickfield.com 

--.:~ Tera Analysis Ltd. USA: loll·free Tel I Fax (877) 215 8688 Europe: Tel +(45) 6354 0080 Fax +(45) 6254 2331 hll :11 www tera ·a nal sla com 

For Free Info Enter No. 545 at www.nasatech.comlrs 71 
Advertisers Index 

For free product literature from these advertisers, enter their reader service numbers at www.nasatech.com/rs 

Advertisers listed in bold-face type have banner ads on the NASA Tech Briefs Web site - www.nasatech.com 

Company 

Reader Service 

Number Page 

Abaris Training Resources ................................ 534 .............................. 50 

Air & Hydraulic Power. Inc ............................. 676 .............................. 69 

A1faIight ............................................................ 403 .............................. 7a 

Algor, Inc . ...................................................... 513 .............................. 7 

Astra-Med ...................................................... 517 ............................ 45 

AT! Industrial Automation .............................. 570 .... .......................... 46 

W.M. Berg ......................................................... .556 .............................. 66 

COMS2002 ........................ .................................................................... 61 

Crossbow Technology ................................... ... 535 .............................. 50 

Cutting Edge Optronics .......... ........ .............. .... 404 .... .......................... 9a 

Dewetron .......................................................... 518 .............................. 23 

Digi-Key Corporation ........................................ 503 ................................ 3 

DuPont Krytox .................................................. 523 ................. ............. 29 

DuPont Vespel .................................................. 529 .............................. 43 

Dyadem International ...................................... 678 .............................. 69 

Dynetic System ................................................ 409 .............................. 63 

EDS Unigraphics ... ........................................... 508 .............................. 11 

Emhan. a Black & Decker COmpany ........ 512, 515 ........................ 16. 17 

Encoder Products .............................................. 680 .............................. 68 

Endevco ............................................................ 505 ................................ 8 

Ensil Illlernational ............................................ 537 .............................. 21 

Epix .................................................................... 445 ............................ 12a 

Fluoramics Inc ................................................... 530 .............................. 44 

Gage Applied. Inc ............................................. 516 .......... ................... .18 

Globe Motors ...................................... .............. 450 .............................. 60 

Ice Qube ............................................................ 674 .. .. .......................... 69 

IDC Digital olutions ........................................ 611 .............................. 69 

IEC Corporation .............................................. 612 .............................. 68 

IEEE .................................................................. 509 .............................. 13 

IMTS - International Manufacturing 

Technology Show ......................................... .531 .............................. 53 

Indigo Systems ................................................. .4 5 .............................. la 

Innovative Integration ...................................... 525 .............................. 38 

Integrated Engineering Software .................... 546 .................... COV IV 

Kavlico .............. ........................... ....................... 613 .............................. 69 

Keithley Instruments ........................................ 614 .............................. 69 

Lake Shore Cryotronics .................................... 541 .............................. 64 

Larnbda Research Corporation ....................... .401 .. ............................ 3a 

Master Bond Inc . .......................................... 542 ............................ 70 

The MathWorks. Inc . ...................... ..... ........... 528 ................... . covrn 

Meier Tool & Engineering Inc ......................... 543 .............................. 70 

NASA Tech BriJojs, ISSN 0145-319X, U P 75().{)70. copyright ©2002 in U .. is published 

monthly by Associated Business Publications Co .• Ltd .• 317 Madison Ave., New York, NY 

10017·5391. The copyright information does not include the (U.S. rights to) individual 

tech briefs thal are supplied by ASA. Editorial, sales. production. and circulation 

office al 317 Madison Ave .• New York, NY 10017·5391. lIbscription for non-<jualified 

subscribers in the U.S. and Pueno Rico, $75.00 for I year; 135 for 2 years. Single 

copies 5.00. Foreign subscriptions one-year U.S. Funds $195.00. Remil by check. draft, 

Company 

Reader Service 

Number Page 

Micra-Epsilon .................................................... 522 .................. ............ 28 

Microsoft Business Tools Diy ........................... 504 ........................... .4-5 

Minco Products. Inc ........... .............................. 538 .............................. 60 

National Instruments 

Corporation ................................................ 670 

COY II. 41 . 59, 69. 5a 

New Age Indusu'ies .......................................... 615 .............................. 68 

Newark Electronics .......................................... 549 .......... .. .................. 39 

NKK Switches ...................................................... .................... .............. 48 

Noran Engineering. Inc . ............... ................... 547 ..... .......... ............... 35 

Omega Engineering. Inc .................... .. ... 500. 501 ................................ 1 

OptoSigma ........................................................ 402 .............................. 6a 

PCB Piezotronic , Inc ...................... ............ ..... 544 ........ ....... .. ............. 71 

PEM Fastening SystemsA PennEngineering Company ...................... 532 ......................... ..... 47 

PhotoMachining. Inc . ...................................... 655 .. ............................ 68 

Photon Engineeling ........................................ 405 ............ ................ 10a 

Photon Vision Systems ...................................... 681 .............................. 69 

Placid Industries ................................................ 675 .............................. 69 

Polyclutch .......................................................... 663 .......... .................... 68 

PTC ................................................................... .551 .............................. 19 

Pulizzi Engineeling. Inc ................................... 656 .............................. 68 

Redlake MASD ................................................ 553 .............................. 33 

Research Systems .......................................... 527 ............................ 40 

RF Indusuies .................................................... 657 .............................. 69 

Software Spectra. Inc ............................ ........... 658 .............................. 68 

Solid Edge-EDS PLM Solutions ........................ 506 ................................ 9 

Spectral In truments ....................................... .410 ............................ 13a 

Stanford Research Systems .............................. 526 .............................. 51 

Sm.lctural Research & Analysis Corp. . ........... 533 ............................. .49 

Synrad. Inc ......................................................... 502 ................................ 2 

Tera Analysis Ltd ............................................... 545 ............................ .. 71 

Translogic, Inc. ................................................ 550 ........................... ... 52 

Triptar Lens Co . ................................................ 672 .............................. 68 

T I Incorporated .............................................. 520 .............................. 26 

Tusk Direct ........................................................ 659 .......................... .... 68 

Vacuum Process Engineering ......................... .554 .............................. 62 

Visual Numerics ................................................ 507 .............................. 10 

Voltek ...... .......................................................... 539 ............................. . 63 

Xtreme Energy .................................................. 511 ........... ................... 15 

yet2.com ................................................ 585, 489 .......... 20. 55, 6a, lla 

YSI Temperature .............................................. 524 .......... .................... 31 

postal. express orders or VI A, MaslerCard, and American Express. Other remittances 

al sender's risk. Address all communications for subscriptions or circulation to NASA 

Tech Bri4s, 317 Madison Ave., ew York. NY 10017·5391. Periodicals postage paid at 

New York, NY and additional mailing offices. 

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to NASA Ttch Briefs, PO Box 10523. Riverton, NJ 

o 076-9023. 

72 www.nasatech.com ASA Tech Briefs,July 2002 
Production code. 

Without the big 

production. 

I ntroducing the best way yet to take your embedded system projects from 

concept, to design, to deployable production C code. 

Use Simulink as your integrated model-based design 

environment. Then use Real-Time Workshop 

Embedded Coder to automatically generate optimized 

Generating productioll code from your code for embedded systems that accurately represents 

desigll is IIOW Jaster alld more reliable 

thatl halld coding. your validated Simulink models. 

Stop (oding by hand. Get Real-Time Workshop Embedded Coder. 

Complete information, tutorials and interactive demos are 

available online. Visit www.mathworks.com/prnt. 

The MathWorks 

Visit www.mathworks.(om/prnt 

or (all 508-647-7040 

Desigll alld develop ecd 

complex embedded 

systems Jaster alld 

more efficietllly. 

8_T tb_sw~tch_out; 

lean_T 

For Free Info Enter No. 528 at www.nasatech.comlrs 
FOR A F; TER 

W M TO ROCKET THROUGH 

THE PRODUCT·TO·MARKET CYCLE? 

ACCELERATE WITH IES 

Whether you're designing electric 

motors, MEMS devices, magnetic sensors, ion guns, high voltage equipment 

or power electronics systems, 

Integrated's innovative electromagnetic 

simulation software will get you from 

concept-to-market faster and beats 

conventional method EM simulation 

software ... hands down. 

HOW? 

• An intuitive graphical user interface 

designed specifically with the 

engineer in mind 

- =.- --

• The industry's most powerful geometric modeler with built-in parametrics for design optimization 

• Fully optimized solvers for unequaled 

speed and performance 

• Exact modeling of geometry and 

superior modeling of regions exterior 

to device for the most accurate field 

results 

• Advanced, direct plug-In interoperability with leading CAD software 

• Unmatched technical support 

Rely on IES's software to accurately 

model your most complex electromagnetic device or system and predict 

force, torque, field components, capacitance, inductance, space charge, eddy 

currents, power system performance 

and more ... 

Dream a design, plug it in, optimize it 

and speed it to market like never 

before. 

I 

For a test flight of any of IES's 

simulation tools, contact 

Integrated Engineering Software 

at 204-632-5636, e-mail us at 

info@integratedsoft.com or visit 

www.integratedsoft.com 

INTE GRA TED 

ENGINEERING SOFTWARE 

S tting the tand rd ... Again 

autodesk' avthoriQd solution 1n-,I'IIUIt 

For Free Info Enter No. 546 at www.nasatech.com/rs