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Prototype electronically steerable K-band end-fire antenna includes phased array of four printed-circuit linear dipole elements fed by grounded coplanar waveguide (GCPW). Distribution-and-phasing network of antenna fed through single entering antenna split equally by three GCPW T junctions onto four GCPW transmission lines.
A detailed design of a fiber optic propulsion control system, integrating favored sensors and electro-optics architecture is presented. Layouts, schematics, and sensor lists describe an advanced fighter engine system model. Components and attributes of candidate fiber optic sensors are identified, and evaluation criteria are used in a trade study resulting in favored sensors for each measurand. System architectural ground rules were applied to accomplish an electro-optics architecture for the favored sensors. A key result was a considerable reduction in signal conductors. Drawings, schematics, specifications, and printed circuit board layouts describe the detailed system design, including application of a planar optical waveguide interface.
The exchange of Computer Aided Design (CAD) information between dissimilar CAD systems is a problem. This is especially true for transferring electronics CAD information such as multi-chip module (MCM), hybrid microcircuit assembly (HMA), and printed circuit board (PCB) designs. Currently, there exists several neutral data formats for transferring electronics CAD information. These include IGES, EDIF, and DXF formats. All these formats have limitations for use in exchanging electronic data. In an attempt to overcome these limitations, the Navy's MicroCIM program implemented a project to transfer hybrid microcircuit design information between dissimilar CAD systems. The IGES (Initial Graphics Exchange Specification) format is used since it is well established within the CAD industry. The goal of the project is to have a complete transfer of microelectronic CAD information, using IGES, without any data loss. An Application Protocol (AP) is being developed to specify how hybrid microcircuit CAD information will be represented by IGES entity constructs. The AP defines which IGES data items are appropriate for describing HMA geometry, connectivity, and processing as well as HMA material characteristics.
Real number genetic algorithms (GA) were applied for tuning fuzzy membership functions of three controller applications. The first application is our 'Fuzzy Pong' demonstration, a controller that controls a very responsive system. The performance of the automatically tuned membership functions exceeded that of manually tuned membership functions both when the algorithm started with randomly generated functions and with the best manually-tuned functions. The second GA tunes input membership functions to achieve a specified control surface. The third application is a practical one, a motor controller for a printed circuit manufacturing system. The GA alters the positions and overlaps of the membership functions to accomplish the tuning. The applications, the real number GA approach, the fitness function and population parameters, and the performance improvements achieved are discussed. Directions for further research in tuning input and output membership functions and in tuning fuzzy rules are described.
In process, insoluble, low-dielectric-constant polyimides produced by combining dianhydride of bis{4-(3,4-dicarboxyphenoxy) phenyl}perfluoroisopropylidene (BFDA) with fluorinated aromatic diamine; each molecule contains at least one or more CF3 groups. These fully fluorinated polyimides have dielectric constants in range of 2.4 to 2.5 at 10 GHz. Suitable for use as composite matrix resins in advanced aerospace applications. Potential use in microelectronics industry, particularly as insulating resins in production of printed-circuit boards.
Advance in polymer technology yields composites having relatively low dielectric constants. Reduction achieved by reducing interactions between linear polyimide chains and by incorporation of fluorine into polymer backbones. Further reductions obtained by physically incorporating selected diamic acid additives into polyimides. Strong potential for use in microelectronics industry for fabrication of printed-circuit boards and fabrication of components for military aircraft.
V-CAP polyimides are processible matrix resins extending continuous-use temperature of composite materials. Under contract to NASA, General Electric used VCAP to fabricate and successfully test hot section of forward exhaust fairing on their F110 engine. Also used in other components of jet engines and airframes, including vanes, fan frames, cowls, and wing panels. Nonaerospace applications include brake linings, bearings, grinding wheels and slip seals, commutators in electric motors, and parts of motors in refrigerator compressors. Future applications include printed-circuit boards and components of nacelles in jet engines.
The Boeing Company has evaluated the use of Tape Automated Bonding (TAB) and Surface Mount Technology (SMT) for a highly reliable, low cost interconnect for concentrator solar cell arrays. TAB and SMT are currently used in the electronics industry for chip interconnects and printed circuit board assembly. TAB tape consists of sixty-four 3-mil/1-oz tin-plated copper leads on 8-mil centers. The leads are thermocompression gang bonded to GaAs concentrator solar cell with silver contacts. This bond, known as an Inner Lead Bond (ILB), allows for pretesting and sorting capability via nondestruct wire bond pull and flash testing. Destructive wire pull tests resulted in preferred mid-span failures. Improvements in fill factor were attributed to decreased contact resistance on TAB bonded cells. Preliminary thermal cycling and aging tests were shown excellent bond strength and metallurgical results. Auger scans of bond sites reveals an Ag-Cu-Tin composition. Improper bonds are identified through flash testing as a performance degradation. On going testing of cells are underway at Lewis Research Center. SMT techniques are utilized to excise and form TAB leads post ILB. The formed leads' shape isolates thermal mismatches between the cells and the flex circuit they are mounted on. TABed cells are picked and placed with a gantry x-y-z positioning system with pattern recognition. Adhesives are selected to avoid thermal expansion mismatch and promote thermal transfer to the flex circuit. TAB outer lead bonds are parallel gap welded (PGW) to the flex circuit to finish the concentrator solar cell subassembly.
The primary objective of this research and development effort was to develop monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) packaging which will operate efficiently at millimeter-wave frequencies. The packages incorporated fused silica as the substrate material which was selected due to its favorable electrical properties and potential performance improvement over more conventional materials for Ka-band operation. The first step towards meeting this objective is to develop a package that meets standard mechanical and thermal requirements using fused silica and to be compatible with semiconductor devices operating up to at least 44 GHz. The second step is to modify the package design and add multilayer and multicavity capacity to allow for application specific integrated circuits (ASIC's) to control multiple phase shifters. The final step is to adapt the package design to a phased array module with integral radiating elements. The first task was a continuation of the SBIR Phase 1 work. Phase 1 identified fused silica as a viable substrate material by demonstrating various plating, machining, and adhesion properties. In Phase 2 Task 1, a package was designed and fabricated to validate these findings. Task 2 was to take the next step in packaging and fabricate a multilayer, multichip module (MCM). This package is the predecessor to the phased array module and demonstrates the ability to via fill, circuit print, laminate, and to form vertical interconnects. The final task was to build a phased array module. The radiating elements were to be incorporated into the package instead of connecting to it with wire or ribbon bonds.
A comparative study between open and shielded coplanar waveguide (CPW) discontinuities is presented. The space domain integral equation method is used to characterize several discontinuities such as the open-end CPW and CPW series stubs. Two different geometries of CPW series stubs (straight and bent stubs) are compared with respect to resonant frequency and radiation loss. In addition, the encountered radiation loss due to different CPW shunt stubs is evaluated experimentally. The notion of forced radiation simulation is presented, and the results of such a simulation are compared to the actual radiation loss obtained rigorously. It is shown that such a simulation cannot give reliable results concerning radiation loss from printed circuits.
Advanced microfabrication technologies offer the prospect of reducing the weight and size of spacecraft through the use of lighter and stronger materials in conjunction with new mechanical/structural design concepts and design optimization methods. At the same time, electronic components have been scaled down while increasing functional utility. A two-fold benefit is derived for space applications through the use of less expensive components and the lower launch costs associated with lighter components. GE-CRD is actively pursuing research in these key technologies for a wide range of applications including satellites. These key technologies will be reviewed and an update on GE progress will be given. The need to reduce weight and lower cost, while maintaining product quality and reliability are primary drivers in the design of satellites, in general, and microsatellites in particular. For the structural subsystem, these requirements pose a complex design problem unless new mechanical design concepts and computer-aided design optimization methods are employed. Several new concepts, such as battery packs doubling as panel reinforcements and fuel tanks as integral structural members, need to utilized. In addition, new viscoelastic material damping concepts for spacecraft components provide for lighter weight/lower cost designs, while satisfying the structural dynamics requirements. High density interconnect (HDI) technology permits the use of bare IC's on a ceramic substrate with 90 percent active area utilization. A copper/polyimide multilayer structure is the backbone of the technology, which has demonstrated a size/weight reduction of greater than 10x compared to printed circuit board with performance up to the GHz level. HDI modules have exceptional mechanical robustness as evidenced by survival of 180 kg rapid acceleration tests. Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) are redefining sensors and actuators by miniaturization through micromachining techniques. Sharing many fabrication steps with HDI, we have developed a new technique for surface micromachining of copper/polyimide structures using computer-aided laser patterning.
A tactile display device utilizes an electrorheological fluid to activate a plurality of tactile dots. A voltage is selectively produced uniformly across an electrorheological fluid flowing between a common ground electrode and a plurality of conductive dot electrodes, thereby producing an increase in the fluid's viscosity to the extent that fluid flow between the two electrodes is restricted. The flow restriction produces a build-up of electrorheological fluid in a corresponding dot actuator chamber. The resulting pressure increase in the chamber displaces an elastic diaphragm fixed to a display surface to form a lump which can be perceived by the reader as one dot in a Braille character cell. A flow regulation system provides a continually pressurized flow system and provides for free flow of the electrorheological fluid through the plurality of dot actuator chambers when they are not activated. The device is adaptable to printed circuit techniques and can simultaneously display tactile dots representative of a full page of Braille characters stored on a medium such as a tape cassette or to display tactile dots representative of non-Braille data appearing on a computer monitor or contained on another data storage medium. In an alternate embodiment, the elastic diaphragm drives a plurality of spring-loaded pins provided with positive stops to maintain consistent displacements of the pins in both their actuated and nonactuated positions.
The Electronics Manufacturing Productivity Facility (EMPF) is a U.S. Navy Center of Excellence tasked to do research in electronics manufacturing. For the past seven years, the EMPF has performed extensive research in various cleaning materials and processes that have recently been made available to printed circuit board assemblers. This paper outlines our research and points out the positive and negative aspects that need to be considered when choosing an alternative process.
Layout devised to minimize total land area occupied by large phased array of antennas and to minimize total length of cables in array. In original intended application, array expanded version of array of paraboloidal-dish microwave communication antennas of Deep Space Network. Layout also advantageous for other phased arrays of antennas and antenna elements, including notably printed-circuit microwave antenna arrays.
In this final report, Physical Optics Corporation (POC) describes its development of sensors for oxygen, carbon dioxide, and relative humidity. POC has constructed a phase fluorometer that can detect oxygen over the full concentration range from 0 percent to 100 percent. Phase-based measurements offer distinct advantages, such as immunity to source fluctuation, photobleaching, and leaching. All optics, optoelectronics, power supply, and the printed circuit board are included in a single box; the only external connections to the fluorometer are the optical fiber sensor and a power cord. The indicator-based carbon dioxide sensor is also suitable for short-term and discrete measurements over the concentration range from 0 percent to 100 percent. The optical fiber-based humidity sensor contains a porous core for direct interaction of the light beam with water vapor within fiber pores; the detection range for the humidity sensor is 10 percent to 100 percent, and response time is under five minutes. POC is currently pursuing the commercialization of these oxygen and carbon dioxide sensors for environmental applications.
This paper describes a low-profile disk antenna for vehicular mounting that accommodates L-Band (1525-1660.5 MHz) mobile satellite service requirements. The antenna uses a rotatable printed circuit array mechanically-steered in azimuth via an external tracking system. A shaped elevation beam inherent to the antenna design provides continuous coverage with a minimum gain of 9 dBic between elevation angles of 25-degrees and 60-degrees measured above the horizon. A brief background on the theory, design, and performance for this antenna is discussed.
This paper presents a collocated capacitance sensor for magnetic bearings. The main feature of the sensor is that it is made of a specific compact printed circuit board (PCB). The signal processing unit has been also developed. The results of the experimental performance evaluation on the sensitivity, resolution and frequency response of the sensor are presented. Finally, an application example of the sensor to the active control of a magnetic bearing is described.
Micro-technology enables the manufacturing of all kinds of components for miniature systems or micro-systems, such as sensors, pumps, valves, and channels. The integration of these components into a micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) drastically decreases the total system volume and mass. These properties, combined with the increasing need for monitoring and control of small flows in (bio)chemical experiments, makes MEMS attractive for space applications. The level of integration and applied technology depends on the product demands and the market. The ultimate integration is process integration, which results in a one-chip system. An example of process integration is a dosing system of pump, flow sensor, micromixer, and hybrid feedback electronics to regulate the flow. However, for many applications, a hybrid integration of components is sufficient and offers the advantages of design flexibility and even the exchange of components in the case of a modular set up. Currently, we are working on hybrid integration of all kinds of sensors (physical and chemical) and flow system modules towards a modular system; the micro total analysis system (micro TAS). The substrate contains electrical connections as in a printed circuit board (PCB) as well as fluid channels for a circuit channel board (CCB) which, when integrated, form a mixed circuit board (MCB).