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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 271 records · Page 15
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2011

NASA Tech Briefs, April 2011

Topics covered include: Amperometric Solid Electrolyte Oxygen Microsensors with Easy Batch Fabrication; Two-Axis Direct Fluid Shear Stress Sensor for Aerodynamic Applications; Target Assembly to Check Boresight Alignment of Active Sensors; Virtual Sensor Test Instrumentation; Evaluation of the Reflection Coefficient of Microstrip Elements for Reflectarray Antennas; Miniaturized Ka-Band Dual-Channel Radar; Continuous-Integration Laser Energy Lidar Monitor; Miniaturized Airborne Imaging Central Server System; Radiation-Tolerant, SpaceWire-Compatible Switching Fabric; Small Microprocessor for ASIC or FPGA Implementation; Source-Coupled, N-Channel, JFET-Based Digital Logic Gate Structure Using Resistive Level Shifters; High-Voltage-Input Level Translator Using Standard CMOS; Monitoring Digital Closed-Loop Feedback Systems; MASCOT - MATLAB Stability and Control Toolbox; MIRO Continuum Calibration for Asteroid Mode; GOATS Image Projection Component; Coded Modulation in C and MATLAB; Low-Dead-Volume Inlet for Vacuum Chamber; Thermal Control Method for High-Current Wire Bundles by Injecting a Thermally Conductive Filler; Method for Selective Cleaning of Mold Release from Composite Honeycomb Surfaces; Infrared-Bolometer Arrays with Reflective Backshorts; Commercialization of LARC (trade mark) -SI Polyimide Technology; Novel Low-Density Ablators Containing Hyperbranched Poly(azomethine)s; Carbon Nanotubes on Titanium Substrates for Stray Light Suppression; Monolithic, High-Speed Fiber-Optic Switching Array for Lidar; Grid-Tied Photovoltaic Power System; Spectroelectrochemical Instrument Measures TOC; A Miniaturized Video System for Monitoring Drosophila Behavior; Hydrofocusing Bioreactor Produces Anti-Cancer Alkaloids; Creep Measurement Video Extensometer; Radius of Curvature Measurement of Large Optics Using Interferometry and Laser Tracker n-B-pi-p Superlattice Infrared Detector; Safe Onboard Guidance and Control Under Probabilistic Uncertainty; General Tool for Evaluating High-Contrast Coronagraphic Telescope Performance Error Budgets; Hidden Statistics of Schroedinger Equation; Optimal Padding for the Two-Dimensional Fast Fourier Transform; Spatial Query for Planetary Data; Higher Order Mode Coupling in Feed Waveguide of a Planar Slot Array Antenna; Evolutionary Computational Methods for Identifying Emergent Behavior in Autonomous Systems; Sampling Theorem in Terms of the Bandwidth and Sampling Interval; Meteoroid/Orbital Debris Shield Engineering Development Practice and Procedure; Self-Balancing, Optical-Center-Pivot, Fast-Steering Mirror; Wireless Orbiter Hang-Angle Inclinometer System; and Internal Electrostatic Discharge Monitor - IESDM.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1998

Review and Design of Printed Reflectarray Antennas

A printed reflectarray is an antenna similar to a parabolic reflector, but with its reflecting surface capable of being designed either flat or slightly curved for conformal mounting onto an existing structure without adding significant amount of mass and volume to the structure.

printed↗
NASA NTRS1977

"Printed-circuit" rectenna

Rectifying antenna is less bulky structure for absorbing transmitted microwave power and converting it into electrical current. Printed-circuit approach, using microstrip technology and circularly polarized antenna, makes polarization orientation unimportant and allows much smaller arrays for given performance. Innovation is particularly useful with proposed electric vehicles powered by beam microwaves.

Dickinson, R. M.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Ka-band dual frequency array feed for a low cost ACTS ground terminal

Because of low cost and ease of fabrication, microstrip arrays are attractive as feeds for reflector antenna systems. The development of a 4 x 4 microstrip array which will be used as a feed for a low cost Advanced Communications Technology Satellite (ACTS) ground terminal is described. The array feed consisting of four 2 x 2 subarrays is fed with coplanar waveguide power dividing networks. The patch radiator is designed to excite two orthogonal, linearly polarized waves at Ka-band frequencies (around 20 and 30 GHz). Test results for the developed array are presented.

Lee, Richard Q.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Two microstrip arrays for interferometric SAR applications

Two types of C-band aircraft interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) are being developed at JPL to measure the ocean wave characteristics. Each type requires two identical antennas with each having a long rectangular aperture to radiate fan-shaped beam(s). One type of these radars requires each of its antennas to radiate a broadside beam that will measure the target's cross-track velocity. The other type, having each of its antennas to radiate two off-broadside pointed beams, will allow the measurement of both the cross-track and the along-track velocities of the target. Because flush mounting of the antenna on the aircraft fuselage is desirable, microstrip patch array is selected for these interferometric SAR antennas. To meet the radar system requirement, each array needs a total of 76 microstrip patches which are arranged in a 38 x 2 rectangular aperture with a physical size of 1.6m x 16.5cm. To minimize the insertion loss and physical real estate of this relatively long array, a combined series/parallel feed technique is used. Techniques to suppress cross-pol radiation and to effectively utilize the RF power are also implemented. Cross-pol level of lower than -30 dB from the co-pol peak and low insertion loss of 0.36 dB have been achieved for both types of arrays. For the type of radar that requires two off-braodside pointed beams, a simple phasing technique is used to achieve this dual-beam capability with adequate antenna gain (20 dBi) and sidelobe level (-14 dB). Both radar arrays have been flight tested on aircraft with excellent antenna performance demonstrated.

Huang, J.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Four-to-one power combiner for 20 GHz phased array antenna using RADC MMIC phase shifters

The design and microwave simulation of two-to-one microstrip power combiners is described. The power combiners were designed for use in a four element phase array receive antenna subarray at 20 GHz. Four test circuits are described which were designed to enable testing of the power combiner and the four element phased array antenna. Test Circuit 1 enables measurement of the two-to-one power combiner. Test Circuit 2 enables measurement of the four-to-one power combiner. Test Circuit 3 enables measurement of a four element antenna array without phase shifting MMIC's in order to characterize the power combiner with the antenna patch-to-microstrip coaxial feedthroughs. Test circuit 4 is the four element phased array antenna including the RADC MMIC phase shifters and appropriate interconnects to provide bias voltages and control phase bits.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1992

Ka-Band Dual Frequency Array Feed for a Low Cost ACTS Ground Terminal

Because of low cost and ease of fabrication, microstrip arrays are attractive as feeds for reflector antenna systems. This paper describes the development of a 4x4 microstrip array which will be used as a feed for a low cost ACTS ground terminal. The array feed consisting of four 2x2 subarrays is fed with coplanar waveguide power dividing networks. The patch radiator is designed to excite two orthogonal, linearly polarized waves at Ka-band frequencies (around 20 and 30 GHz). Test results for the developed array are presented.

Lee, Richard Q.↗
DOE OSTI2023

Spiral antenna assembly with integrated feed network structure and method of manufacture

A spiral antenna assembly with an integrated feed network and method of manufacturing the same are disclosed. The spiral antenna assembly may comprise a supporting structure integrally formed with a feed network structure, thereby presenting a monolithic structure. A spiral antenna element may be disposed on a bottom surface or a top surface of the supporting structure. The feed network structure may comprise the feed network and project from a center of the top surface of the supporting structure. The feed network may comprise a microstrip balun architecture. The spiral antenna assembly may be formed by additively manufacturing the supporting structure and the feed network structure. A laser direct structuring process may write and activate the spiral antenna element on the supporting structure and the feed network on the feed network structure.

Byers, Kyle J.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Superconducting Microwave Electronics at Lewis Research Center

Over the last three years, NASA Lewis Research Center has investigated the application of newly discovered high temperature superconductors to microwave electronics. Using thin films of YBa2Cu3O7-delta and Tl2Ca2Ba2Cu3Ox deposited on a variety of substrates, including strontium titanate, lanthanum gallate, lanthanum aluminate and magnesium oxide, a number of microwave circuits have been fabricated and evaluated. These include a cavity resonator at 60 GHz, microstrip resonators at 35 GHz, a superconducting antenna array at 35 GHz, a dielectric resonator at 9 GHz, and a microstrip filter at 5 GHz. Performance of some of these circuits as well as suggestions for other applications are reported.

Warner, Joseph D.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Coplanar-waveguide/microstrip probe coupler and applications to antennas

A method to couple microwave power from a coplanar waveguide to a microstrip line on opposite sides of a ground plane is demonstrated. The coupler uses a metallic post which passes through an aperture on the ground plane connecting the strip conductor of the coplanar waveguide to the microstrip line. The measured insertion loss and return loss are about 1 dB and 10 dB, respectively, across the frequency range of 0.045-6.5 GHz. To demonstrate potential applications of the coupler as a feeding network for a microstrip patch array, measured radiation patterns of two rectangular patch antennas with a direct coplanar-waveguide/microstrip feed and with a proximity coupled coplanar-waveguide/microstrip feed are presented.

Simons, R. N.↗
NASA NTRS2007

Aperture-Coupled Thin-Membrane L-Band Antenna

The upper part of the figure depicts an aperture-coupled L-band antenna comprising patterned metal conductor films supported on two thin polyimide membranes separated by an air gap. In this antenna, power is coupled from a microstrip line on the lower surface of the lower membrane, through a slot in a metal ground plane on the upper surface of the lower membrane, to a radiating metal patch on the upper surface of the upper membrane. The two-membrane configuration of this antenna stands in contrast to a three-membrane configuration heretofore considered as the basis for developing arrays of dual-polarization, wideband microwave antennas that could be thin and could be, variously, incorporated into, or supported on, thin structures, including inflatable structures. By reducing the number of membranes from three to two, the present design simplifies the problems of designing and fabricating such antennas or arrays of such antennas, including the problems of integrating such antennas or arrays with thin-membrane-mounted transmit/ receive modules. In addition, the use of aperture (slot) coupling eliminates the need for rigid coaxial feed pins and associated solder connections on thin membranes, making this antenna more mechanically reliable, relative to antennas that include coaxial feed pins. This antenna is designed for a nominal frequency of 1.26 GHz. The polyimide membranes are 0.05 mm thick and have a relative permittivity of 3.4. The radiating patch is square, 8.89 cm on each side. This radiating patch lies 1.27 cm above the ground plane. The feeding microstrip line is 0.12 mm wide and has a characteristic impedance of 50 . The aperture-coupling slot, etched in the ground plane, is 0.48 mm wide and 79.5 mm long. In order to maximize coupling, the microstrip line is extended beyond the middle of the slot by a length of 36 mm, which corresponds to a transmission- line electrical length of about a quarter wavelength. The other end of the microstrip line is transformed to a 50-Ohm coplanar waveguide line, which is used for connection to a transmit/receive module. Some plated-through vias are added to the outer conductors of the coplanar waveguide to suppress parallel-plate modes. The measured and calculated 10-dB-return-loss bandwidth of the antenna is 100 MHz. By eliminating the radiating patch and the upper membrane that supports it, and performing two other simple modifications, one can convert the two-membrane antenna described above to a paper-thin single-membrane antenna, shown in the lower part of the figure. One modification is to increase the slot length to 104.95 mm; the other is to extend the microstrip to 36.68 mm past the middle of the slot. With these modifications, the slot now becomes a half-wavelength radiator with a nearly omnidirectional radiation pattern. In one potential use, such a paper-thin antenna could be pasted on an automobile window to enable omnidirectional communication.

Huang, John↗
NASA NTRS1980

SPS solid state antenna power combiner

A concept for a solar power satellite antenna power combiner which utilizes solid state dc-rf converters is described. To avoid the power combining losses associated with circuit hybrids it is proposed that the power from multiple solid state amplifiers be combined by direct coupling of each amplifier's output to the radiating antenna structure. The selected power-combining antenna consists of a printed (metalized) microstrip circuit on a ceramic type dielectric substrate which is backed by a shallow lightweight aluminum cavity which sums the power of four microwave sources. The antenna behaves like two one-half wavelength slot-line antennas coupled together via their common cavity structure. A significant feature of the antenna configuration selected is that the radiated energy is summed to yield a single radiated output phase which represents the average insertion phase of the four power amplifiers. This energy may be sampled and, by comparison with the input signal, one can phase error correct to maintain the insertion phase of all solid state power combining modules at exactly the same value. This insures that the insertion phase of each SPS power combining antenna module is identical. An experiment verification program is described.

Fitzsimmons, G. W.↗
NASA NTRS1995

A Micromechanical INS/GPS System for Small Satellites

The cost and complexity of large satellite space missions continue to escalate. To reduce costs, more attention is being directed toward small lightweight satellites where future demand is expected to grow dramatically. Specifically, micromechanical inertial systems and microstrip global positioning system (GPS) antennas incorporating flip-chip bonding, application specific integrated circuits (ASIC) and MCM technologies will be required. Traditional microsatellite pointing systems do not employ active control. Many systems allow the satellite to point coarsely using gravity gradient, then attempt to maintain the image on the focal plane with fast-steering mirrors. Draper's approach is to actively control the line of sight pointing by utilizing on-board attitude determination with micromechanical inertial sensors and reaction wheel control actuators. Draper has developed commercial and tactical-grade micromechanical inertial sensors, The small size, low weight, and low cost of these gyroscopes and accelerometers enable systems previously impractical because of size and cost. Evolving micromechanical inertial sensors can be applied to closed-loop, active control of small satellites for micro-radian precision-pointing missions. An inertial reference feedback control loop can be used to determine attitude and line of sight jitter to provide error information to the controller for correction. At low frequencies, the error signal is provided by GPS. At higher frequencies, feedback is provided by the micromechanical gyros. This blending of sensors provides wide-band sensing from dc to operational frequencies. First order simulation has shown that the performance of existing micromechanical gyros, with integrated GPS, is feasible for a pointing mission of 10 micro-radians of jitter stability and approximately 1 milli-radian absolute error, for a satellite with 1 meter antenna separation. Improved performance micromechanical sensors currently under development will be suitable for a range of micro-nano-satellite applications.

Barbour, N.↗
NASA NTRS2005

NASA Tech Briefs, September 2005

Topivs include: Diamond-Coated Carbon Nanotubes for Efficient Field Emission; Improved Anode Coatings for Direct Methanol Fuel Cells; Advanced Ablative Insulators and Methods of Making Them; PETIs as High-Temperature Resin-Transfer-Molding Materials; Stable Polyimides for Terrestrial and Space Uses; Low-Density, Aerogel-Filled Thermal-Insulation Tiles; High-Performance Polymers Having Low Melt Viscosities; Nonflammable, Hydrophobic Aerogel Composites for Insulation; Front-Side Microstrip Line Feeding a Raised Antenna Patch; Medium-Frequency Pseudonoise Georadar; Facilitating Navigation Through Large Archives; Program for Weibull Analysis of Fatigue Data; Comprehensive Micromechanics-Analysis Code - Version 4.0; Component-Based Visualization System; Software for Engineering Simulations of a Spacecraft; LabVIEW Interface for PCI-SpaceWire Interface Card; Path Following with Slip Compensation for a Mars Rover; International Space Station Electric Power System Performance Code-SPACE; Software for Automation of Real-Time Agents, Version 2; Software for Optimizing Plans Involving Interdependent Goals; Computing Gravitational Fields of Finite-Sized Bodies; Custom Sky-Image Mosaics from NASA's Information Power Grid; ANTLR Tree Grammar Generator and Extensions; Generic Kalman Filter Software; Alignment Stage for a Cryogenic Dilatometer; Rugged Iris Mechanism; Treatments To Produce Stabilized Aluminum Mirrors for Cryogenic Uses; Making AlNx Tunnel Barriers Using a Low-Energy Nitrogen-Ion Beam; Making Wide-IF SIS Mixers with Suspended Metal-Beam Leads; Sol-Gel Glass Holographic Light-Shaping Diffusers; Automated Counting of Particles To Quantify Cleanliness; Phase Correction for GPS Antenna with Nonunique Phase Center; Compact Infrasonic Windscreen; Broadband External-Cavity Diode Laser; High-Efficiency Solar Cells Using Photonic-Bandgap Materials; Generating Solid Models from Topographical Data; Computationally Lightweight Air-Traffic-Control Simulation; Spool Valve for Switching Air Flows Between Two Beds; Partial Model of Insulator/ Insulator Contact Charging; Asymmetric Electrostatic Radiation Shielding for Spacecraft; and Reusable Hybrid Propellant Modules for Outer-Space Transport.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS2011

Mu-Spec - A High Performance Ultra-Compact Photon Counting spectrometer for Space Submillimeter Astronomy

We have designed and are testing elements of a fully integrated submillimeter spectrometer based on superconducting microstrip technology. The instrument can offer resolving power R approximately 1500, and its high frequency cutoff is set by the gap of available high performance superconductors. All functions of the spectrometer are integrated - light is coupled to the microstrip circuit with a planar antenna, the spectra discrimination is achieved using a synthetic grating, orders are separated using planar filter, and detected using photon counting MKID detector. This spectrometer promises to revolutionize submillimeter spectroscopy from space. It replaces instruments with the scale of 1m with a spectrometer on a 10 cm Si wafer. The reduction in mass and volume promises a much higher performance system within available resource in a space mission. We will describe the system and the performance of the components that have been fabricated and tested.

Moseley, H.↗
NASA NTRS2012

Mu-Spec: A High Performance Compact Spectrometer for Submillimeter Astronomy

We describe the Mu-Spec, an extremely compact high performance spectrometer for the submillimeter and millimeter spectral ranges. We have designed a fully integrated submillimeter spectrometer based on superconducting microstrip technology and fabricated its critical elements. Using low loss transmission lines, we can produce a fully integrated high resolution submillimeter spectrometer on a single four inch Si wafer. A resolution of 500 can readily be achieved with standard fabrication tolerance, higher with phase trimming. All functions of the spectrometer are integrated - light is coupled to the microstrip circuit with a planar antenna, the spectra discrimination is achieved using a synthetic grating, orders are separated using a built-in planar filter, and the light is detected using photon counting Microwave Kinetic Inductance Detectors (MKID). We will discus the design principle of the instrument, describe its technical advantages, and report the progress on the development of the instrument.

Hsieh, Wen-Ting↗
DOE OSTI2022

Testing Low-Loss Microstrip Materials with MKIDs for Microwave Applications

Future measurements of the millimeter-wavelength sky require a low-loss superconducting microstrip, typically made from niobium and silicon-nitride, coupling the antenna to detectors. Here, we propose a simple device for characterizing these low-loss microstrips at 150 GHz. In our device we illuminate an antenna with a thermal source and compare the measured power at 150 GHz transmitted down microstrips of different lengths. The power measurement is made using Microwave Kinetic Inductance Detectors (MKIDs) fabricated directly onto the microstrip dielectric, and comparing the measured response provides a direct measurement of the microstrip loss. Our proposed structure provides a simple device (4 layers and a DRIE etch) for characterizing the dielectric loss of various microstrip materials and substrates. We present initial results using these devices. We demonstrate that the millimeter wavelength loss of microstrip lines, a few tens of millimeters long, can be measured using a practical aluminum MKID with a black body source at a few tens of Kelvin.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗