Engineering topics
Publications and source records attributed to Fischer, David G..
GRC has developed multiple innovative particulate sensor technologies for spacecraft cabin environmental monitoring, spacecraft fire safety, and lunar dust characterization. This has been driven by lack of commercial (COTS) devices to meet the volume, mass, power, reliability, and measurement requirements of any given application.
Methods, detectors and systems detect particles and/or measure particle properties. According to one embodiment, a detector for detecting particles comprises: a sensor for receiving radiation scattered by an ensemble of particles; and a processor for determining a physical parameter for the detector, or an optimal detection angle or a bound for an optimal detection angle, for measuring at least one moment or integrated moment of the ensemble of particles, the physical parameter, or detection angle, or detection angle bound being determined based on one or more of properties (a) and/or (b) and/or (c) and/or (d) or ranges for one or more of properties (a) and/or (b) and/or (c) and/or (d), wherein (a)-(d) are the following: (a) is a wavelength of light incident on the particles, (b) is a count median diameter or other characteristic size parameter of the particle size distribution, (c) is a standard deviation or other characteristic width parameter of the particle size distribution, and (d) is a refractive index of particles.
We present our strategic experiment and thermochemical analyses on combustion flow using a subframe burst gating (SBG) Raman spectroscopy. This unconventional laser diagnostic technique has promising ability to enhance accuracy of the quantitative scalar measurements in a point-wise single-shot fashion. In the presentation, we briefly describe an experimental methodology that generates transferable calibration standard for the routine implementation of the diagnostics in hydrocarbon flames. The diagnostic technology was applied to simultaneous measurements of temperature and chemical species in a swirl-stabilized turbulent flame with gaseous methane fuel at elevated pressure (17 atm). Statistical analyses of the space-/time-resolved thermochemical data provide insights into the nature of the mixing process and it impact on the subsequent combustion process in the model combustor.
Accurate experimental measurement of spatially and temporally resolved variations in chemical composition (species concentrations) and temperature in turbulent flames is vital for characterizing the complex phenomena occurring in most practical combustion systems. These diagnostic measurements are called multiscalar because they are capable of acquiring multiple scalar quantities simultaneously. Multiscalar diagnostics also play a critical role in the area of computational code validation. In order to improve the design of combustion devices, computational codes for modeling turbulent combustion are often used to speed up and optimize the development process. The experimental validation of these codes is a critical step in accepting their predictions for engine performance in the absence of cost-prohibitive testing. One of the most critical aspects of setting up a time-resolved stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) diagnostic system is the temporal optical gating scheme. A short optical gate is necessary in order for weak SRS signals to be detected with a good signal- to-noise ratio (SNR) in the presence of strong background optical emissions. This time-synchronized optical gating is a classical problem even to other spectroscopic techniques such as laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) or laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS). Traditionally, experimenters have had basically two options for gating: (1) an electronic means of gating using an image intensifier before the charge-coupled-device (CCD), or (2) a mechanical optical shutter (a rotary chopper/mechanical shutter combination). A new diagnostic technology has been developed at the NASA Glenn Research Center that utilizes a frame-transfer CCD sensor, in conjunction with a pulsed laser and multiplex optical fiber collection, to realize time-resolved Raman spectroscopy of turbulent flames that is free from optical background noise (interference). The technology permits not only shorter temporal optical gating (down to <1 s, in principle), but also higher optical throughput, thus resulting in a substantial increase in measurement SNR.
This work relates to the development of sensors that measure specific aerosol properties. These properties are in the form of integrated moment distributions, i.e., total surface area, total mass, etc., or mathematical combinations of these moment distributions. Specifically, the innovation involves two fundamental features: a computational tool to design and optimize such sensors and the embodiment of these sensors in actual practice. The measurement of aerosol properties is a problem of general interest. Applications include, but are not limited to, environmental monitoring, assessment of human respiratory health, fire detection, emission characterization and control, and pollutant monitoring. The objectives for sensor development include increased accuracy and/or dynamic range, the inclusion in a single sensor of the ability to measure multiple aerosol properties, and developing an overall physical package that is rugged, compact, and low in power consumption, so as to enable deployment in harsh or confined field applications, and as distributed sensor networks. Existing instruments for this purpose include scattering photometers, direct-reading mass instruments, Beta absorption devices, differential mobility analyzers, and gravitational samplers. The family of sensors reported here is predicated on the interaction of light and matter; specifically, the scattering of light from distributions of aerosol particles. The particular arrangement of the sensor, e.g. the wavelength(s) of incident radiation, the number and location of optical detectors, etc., can be derived so as to optimize the sensor response to aerosol properties of practical interest. A key feature of the design is the potential embodiment as an extremely compact, integrated microsensor package. This is of fundamental importance, as it enables numerous previously inaccessible applications. The embodiment of these sensors is inherently low maintenance and high reliability by design. The novel and unique features include the underlying computational underpinning that allows the optimization for specific applications, and the physical embodiment that affords the construction of a compact, durable, and reliable integrated package. The advantage appears in the form of increased accuracy relative to existing instruments, and the applications enabled by the physical attributes of the resulting configuration
A two-photon fluorescence microscope has been developed for the study of biophysical phenomena. Two-photon microscopy is a novel form of laser-based scanning microscopy that enables three-dimensional imaging without many of the problems inherent in confocal microscopy. Unlike one-photon optical microscopy, two-photon microscopy utilizes the simultaneous nonlinear absorption of two near-infrared photons. However, the efficiency of two-photon absorption is much lower than that of one-photon absorption, so an ultra-fast pulsed laser source is typically employed. On the other hand, the critical energy threshold for two-photon absorption leads to fluorophore excitation that is intrinsically localized to the focal volume. Consequently, two-photon microscopy enables optical sectioning and confocal performance without the need for a signal-limiting pinhole. In addition, there is a reduction (relative to one-photon optical microscopy) in photon-induced damage because of the longer excitation wavelength. This reduction is especially advantageous for in vivo studies. Relative to confocal microscopy, there is also a reduction in background fluorescence, and, because of a reduction in Rayleigh scattering, there is a 4 increase of penetration depth. The prohibitive cost of a commercial two-photon fluorescence-microscope system, as well as a need for modularity, has led to the construction of a custom-built system (see Figure 1). This system includes a coherent mode-locked titanium: sapphire laser emitting 120-fs-duration pulses at a repetition rate of 80 MHz. The pulsed laser has an average output power of 800 mW and a wavelength tuning range of 700 to 980 nm, enabling the excitation of a variety of targeted fluorophores. The output from the laser is attenuated, spatially filtered, and then directed into a confocal scanning head that has been modified to provide for side entry of the laser beam. The laser output coupler has been replaced with a dichroic filter that reflects the longer-wavelength excitation light and passes the shorter-wavelength fluorescence light. Also, the confocal pinhole has been removed to increase the signal strength. The laser beam is scanned by a twoperpendicular- axis pair of galvanometer mirrors through a pupil transfer lens into the side port of an inverted microscope. Finally, the beam is focused by a 63-magnification, 1.3-numerical- aperture oil-immersion objective lens onto a specimen. The pupil transfer lens serves to match the intermediate image planes of the scanning head and the microscope, and its location is critical. In order to maximize the quality of the image, (that is, the point spread function of the objective lens for all scan positions), the entire system was modeled in optical-design software, and the various free design parameters (the parameters of the spatial-filter components as well as the separations of all of the system components) were determined through an iterative optimization process. A modular design was chosen to facilitate access to the optical train for future fluorescence correlation spectroscopy and fluorescence-lifetime experiments.
Recent research efforts within the Microgravity Fluid Physics Branch of the NASA Glenn Research Center have necessitated the development of a microscope capable of high-resolution, three-dimensional imaging of intracellular structure and tissue morphology. Standard optical microscopy works well for thin samples, but it does not allow the imaging of thick samples because of severe degradation caused by out-of-focus object structure. Confocal microscopy, which is a laser-based scanning microscopy, provides improved three-dimensional imaging and true optical sectioning by excluding the out-of-focus light. However, in confocal microscopy, out-of-focus object structure is still illuminated by the incoming beam, which can lead to substantial photo-bleaching. In addition, confocal microscopy is plagued by limited penetration depth, signal loss due to the presence of a confocal pinhole, and the possibility of live-cell damage. Two-photon microscopy is a novel form of laser-based scanning microscopy that allows three-dimensional imaging without many of the problems inherent in confocal microscopy. Unlike one-photon microscopy, it utilizes the nonlinear absorption of two near-infrared photons. However, the efficiency of two-photon absorption is much lower than that of one-photon absorption because of the nonlinear (i.e., quadratic) electric field dependence, so an ultrafast pulsed laser source must typically be employed. On the other hand, this stringent energy density requirement effectively localizes fluorophore excitation to the focal volume. Consequently, two-photon microscopy provides optical sectioning and confocal performance without the need for a signal-limiting pinhole. In addition, there is a reduction in photo-damage because of the longer excitation wavelength, a reduction in background fluorescence, and a 4 increase in penetration depth over confocal methods because of the reduction in Rayleigh scattering.
Limits on the effective resolution of many optical near-field experiments are investigated. The results are applicable to variants of total-internal-reflection microscopy (TIRM), photon-scanning-tunneling microscopy (PSTM), and near-field-scanning-optical microscopy (NSOM) in which the sample is weakly scattering and the direction of illumination may be controlled. Analytical expressions for the variance of the estimate of the complex susceptibility of an unknown two-dimensional object as a function of spatial frequency are obtained for Gaussian and Poisson noise models, and a model-independent measure is examined. The results are used to explore the transition from near-zone to far-zone detection. It is demonstrated that the information content of the measurements made at a distance of even one wavelength away from the sample is already not much different from the information content of the far field. Copyright 2004 Optical Society of America
We will present a novel new form of near-field microscopy known as total internal reflection tomography (TIRT), which allows for true three-dimensional sub-wavelength imaging. It is based on recent theoretical advances regarding the fundamental interaction of light with sub-wavelength structures, as well as stable algorithms for the near-field inverse problem. We will discuss its theoretical underpinnings, as well describe current efforts at the NASA Glenn Research Center to implement a TIRT system for biofluid research.
We will describe a two-photon microscope currently under development at the NASA Glenn Research Center. It is composed of a Coherent Mira 900 tunable, pulsed Titanium:Sapphire laser system, an Olympus Fluoview 300 confocal scanning head, and a Leica DM IRE inverted microscope. It will be used in conjunction with a technique known as fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) to study intracellular protein dynamics. We will briefly explain the advantages of the two-photon system over a conventional confocal microscope, and provide some preliminary experimental results.