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Rabson, T. A.

Publications and source records attributed to Rabson, T. A..

At least 19 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1983

Applications of fiber optics technology to the Space Station

Attention is given to the EM interference, data bandwidth requirement, zero gravity operation, data security, crew safety, and modular expansion considerations affecting the future design of fiber-optical systems for large manned orbiting stations. Emphasis is given to replacing current, solar cell array electric systems technology for onboard furnace operation, leading to the formulation of a concentrated solar energy (thermal IR) transport system that yields higher efficiency than photovoltaics, despite its lower weight, in conjunction with Brayton, Rankine or Stirling cycle engines. The optical characteristics of the optical fibers employed by this system are discussed.

Erwin, H. O.↗
NASA NTRS1976

Characterization of iron-doped lithium niobate for holographic storage applications

A comprehensive characterization of chemical and holographic properties of eight systematically chosen Fe:LiNbO3 crystals is performed in order to determine optimum performance of the crystals in holographic storage and display applications. The discussion covers determination of Fe(2+) and Fe(3+) ion concentrations in Fe:LiNbO3 system from optical absorption and EPR measurements; establishment of the relation between the photorefractive sensitivity of Fe(2+) and Fe(3+) concentrations; study of the spectral dependence, the effect of oxygen annealing, and of other impurities on the photorefractive sensitivity; analysis of the diffraction efficiency curves for different crystals and corresponding sensitivities with the dynamic theory of hologram formation; and determination of the bulk photovoltaic fields as a function of Fe(2+) concentrations. In addition to the absolute Fe(2+) concentration, the relative concentrations of Fe(2+) and Fe(3+) ions are also important in determining the photorefractive sensitivity. There exists an optimal set of crystal characteristics for which the photorefractive sensitivity is most favorable.

Shah, R. R.↗
NASA NTRS1976

Contactless method of measuring resistivity

A method is described for measuring the conductivity of materials without having to make electrical contact with the material. Currents which are magnetically induced in the conducting sample are measured by means of the magnetic fields they produce. Although induction techniques have been used in the past for this type of measurement, the configuration presented here makes it possible to perform absolute measurements of resistivity over a wide range of values for relatively small samples. The theory of the technique, the results of measurements made with it, and a comparison of the technique with other methods are presented.

Crowley, J. D.↗
NASA NTRS1976

Nonlinear dynamic theory for photorefractive phase hologram formation

A nonlinear dynamic theory is developed for the formation of photorefractive volume phase holograms. A feedback mechanism existing between the photogenerated field and free-electron density, treated explicitly, yields the growth and saturation of the space-charge field in a time scale characterized by the coupling strength between them. The expression for the field reduces in the short-time limit to previous theories and approaches in the long-time limit the internal or photovoltaic field. Additionally, the phase of the space charge field is shown to be time-dependent.

Kim, D. M.↗
NASA NTRS1976

Photorefractive materials for optical storage and display

Real-time data storage and processing using optical techniques have been considered in recent years. Of particular interest are photosensitive electro-optic crystals which permit volume storage in the form of phase holograms, by means of a charge transfer process. A survey of the state of the art of such holographic memories is presented. The physical mechanism responsible for the formation of phase holograms in such crystals is discussed. Attention is focused on various aspects of materials characterization, development and utilization. Experimental reversible holographic read-write memory systems with fast random access and high storage capacity employing this new class of photosensitive materials have already been demonstrated.

Shah, R. R.↗
NASA NTRS1974

Effects of intrinsic region width in Si/Li/ p-i-n diodes

Description of certain effects related to the width of the intrinsic region produced in a silicon p-i-n diode by lithium ion drifting. It is found that for wider intrinsic regions at large forward biases there is a larger ohmic drop across the region and a correspondingly smaller current. Moreover, the recovery time decreases with increasing intrinsic region width. Conversely, the decay phase time increases with increasing intrinsic region width and with increasing current levels.

Harman, T. L.↗
NASA NTRS1973

Pulsed writing of solid state holograms.

The pulsed writing of volume holograms in lithium niobate is reported, both with 200-nsec and 20-nsec duration pulses. This information is of particular interest in high capacity information storage applications since it indicates that writing times at least as short as 20-nsec are readily possible. A series of pulses was used in each case, and the diffraction efficiency was monitored using a He-Ne laser operating at 6328 A and aligned to its corresponding Bragg angle.

Gaylord, T. K.↗
NASA NTRS1972

Stimulated parametric fluorescence induced by picosecond pump pulses.

Stimulated parametric fluorescence emission tunable over the range from 0.96 to 1.16 microns has been obtained using a barium sodium niobate crystal pumped by a frequency-doubled and mode-locked neodymium:glass laser. The pump radiation in the form of a train of picosecond pulses produced infrared parametric fluorescence pulses, less than 10 psec in duration and with average peak powers on the order of 300 W when pumped with a power density of 300 MW/sq cm.

Rabson, T. A.↗
NASA NTRS1972

A study of compressed spatially non-Gaussian optical pulses from mode-locked lasers.

The effect of the grating-induced phase and spatial modulations by multiple transverse modes simultaneously present in mode-locked laser pulses is investigated. Our analysis shows that the dispersions of the grating pair become strongly dependent on wavelength because of the energy exchanges occurring among transverse modes. As a result, the maximum-intensity trace at the output of the grating is shown to be curved and the grating-induced pulse-compression rate is shown to vary significantly across the beam cross section. Also, a discussion is presented relating our analysis to existing experimental data on the wavelength-dependent chirping rates of mode-locked laser beams.

Kim, D. M.↗
NASA NTRS1972

Effect of saturated frequency chirping on mode-locked laser pulses.

A dye-induced nonlinear frequency chirping is analytically shown to have significant modifications on the nature of the output mode-locked lasers. It is shown that the saturated frequency sweeping is responsible for substantial pulse broadening as well as substructures.

Kim, D. M.↗
NASA NTRS1972

Efficient second harmonic generation of picosecond laser pulses.

Efficient conversion to the second harmonic (SH) using KD2PO4 and CsH2AsO4 crystals inside a folded cavity of a high-power-dye mode-locked neodymium-glass laser is reported. For the first time, frequency-doubled picosecond light pulses have been obtained in CsH2AsO4 with peak powers of the order of 1 GW/sq cm at 0.531 micron for an effective pump power density of 4 GW/sq cm.

Rabson, T. A.↗
NASA NTRS1972

On the possibility of transverse negative differential conductivity in semiconductors.

Information relevant to the possible occurrence of transverse negative differential conductivity (TNDC) is reviewed. Discussed TNDC aspects include (1) necessary conditions for TNDC occurrence, (2) the role of locations and shapes of energy surfaces in k-space, and (3) crystallographic orientations most favorable to TNDC occurrence.

Gaylord, T. K.↗
NASA NTRS1972

Optically erasable and rewritable solid-state holograms.

Optical holographic storage in single-crystal LiNbO3 is described which can be optically erased at room temperature and then rewritten with no degradation in efficiency or writing rate. The diffraction efficiencies associated with the process are about 0.0001. Some variations from previously obtained results include a lack of threshold power density for writing, very-long-term persistence of the stored hologram, and a lack of a dependence of the diffracted intensity on the polarization of the readout beam.

Gaylord, T. K.↗