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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 73 records · Page 4
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1991

Space environmental effects on coated optics

Several multilayer coated mirror designs developed for potential space applications were tested on the Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF) along with single layer witness coatings deposited on fused silica and a coated CaF2 window. Performance requirements included high mirror reflectivity, low absorption, low scatter, environmental durability, and radiation hardness. The designs were selected in screening tests using combined electron, proton, and simulated solar UV radiation. The purpose of the space test was to validate the above test results and determine the effects of atomic oxygen and contamination on mirror performance.

Donovan, T. M.↗
NASA NTRS1992

The ALEXIS data processing package: An IDL based system

The Array of Low Energy X-ray Imaging Sensors (ALEXIS) experiment consists of a mini-satellite containing six wide angle EUV/ultrasoft x-ray telescopes. Its purpose is to map out the sky in three narrow (approximately 5 percent) bandpasses around 66, 71, and 93 eV. The 66 and 71 eV bandpasses are centered on intense Fe emission lines which are characteristic of million degree plasmas such as the one thought to produce the soft x-ray background. The 93 eV bandpass is not near any strong emission lines and is more sensitive to continuum sources. The mission will be launched on the Pegasus Air Launched Vehicle in the second half of 1992 into a 400-nautical-mile, high inclination orbit and will be controlled entirely from a small ground station located at Los Alamos. The project is a collaborative effort between Los Alamos National Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratory, and the University of California-Berkeley Space Sciences Laboratory. The six telescopes are arranged in three pairs. As the satellite spins twice a minute they scan the entire anti-solar hemisphere. Each f/1 telescope consists of a spherical, multilayer-coated mirror with a curved, microchannel plate detector located at the prime focus. The multilayer coatings determine the bandpasses of the telescopes. The field of view of each telescope is 30 degrees with a spatial resolution of 0.5 degree, limited by spherical aberration. The data processing requirements for ALEXIS are large. Each event is one of the six telescopes is telemetered to the ground with its time of arrival and position on the detector. This information must be folded with the aspect solution for the satellite to reconstruct the direction on the sky from which the photon came. Because of the way the six telescopes scan the sky, the effective exposure calculation is also very computationally intensive. ALEXIS may generate up to 100 megabytes of raw data per day, which are converted into a gigabyte per day of processed data. While the processing job for ALEXIS is sizable, the programming staff is small. To maximize programming efficiency, and to make the best use of tools available in the public domain, we chose IDL as our software development platform. IDL was used from the start of instrument development through flight. We use IDL as a top-level executive for the processing tasks (replacing Unix shell scripts), as a device independent graphics engine, as a database manager, and as a final data manipulator. IDL routines spawn special purpose C programs to perform detailed telemetry deconvolution and other specialized functions. We discuss the use of IDL and C within the processing and archiving strategy for the ALEXIS data anlaysis system as implemented on a SPARCstation platform. We also show results from our End-to-End software simulation capability as processed by our analysis codes.

Bloch, J. J.↗
DOE OSTI2020

Plasma mirror focal spot quality for glass and aluminum mirrors for laser pulses up to 20 ps

High-intensity short-pulse lasers are being pushed further as applications continue to demand higher laser intensities. Uses such as radiography and laser-driven particle acceleration require these higher intensities to produce the necessary x-ray and particle fluxes. Achieving these intensities, however, is limited by the damage threshold of costly optics and the complexity of target chambers. This is evidenced by the Advanced Radiographic Capability (ARC) short-pulse laser at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, producing four high-energy ≈1 kJ laser pulses at 30 ps pulse duration, being limited to an intensity of 10 18 W/cm 2 by the large focal spot size of ≈100 µm. Due to the setup complexity of NIF, changing the location of the final focusing parabola in order to improve the focal spot size is not an option. Therefore, this leads to the possible use of disposable ellipsoidal plasma mirrors (PMs) placed within the chamber, close to the target in an attempt to refocus the four ARC beams. However, the behavior of PMs at these relatively long pulse durations (tens of picoseconds) is not well characterized. The results from the COMET laser at the Jupiter Laser Facility carried out at 0.5 to 20 ps pulse durations on flat mirrors are presented as a necessary first step towards focusing curved mirrors. The findings show defocusing at longer pulse durations and higher intensities, with less degradation when using aluminum coated mirrors.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
NASA NTRS2009

NASA SBIR Subtopic S2.04 "Advanced Optical Components"

The primary purpose of this subtopic is to develop and demonstrate technologies to manufacture ultra-low-cost precision optical systems for very large x-ray, UV/optical or infrared telescopes. Potential solutions include but are not limited to direct precision machining, rapid optical fabrication, slumping or replication technologies to manufacture 1 to 2 meter (or larger) precision quality mirror or lens segments (either normal incidence for uv/optical/infrared or grazing incidence for x-ray). An additional key enabling technology for UV/optical telescopes is a broadband (from 100 nm to 2500 nm) high-reflectivity mirror coating with extremely uniform amplitude and polarization properties which can be deposited on 1 to 3 meter class mirror.

Stahl, H. Philip↗
DOE OSTI2022

Temporal and spatial laser intensification within nodular defects overcoated with multilayer dielectric mirrors over a wide range of defect geometries

The nodular defect shape and the laser incidence angle have a dramatic impact on the spatial distribution of light intensification within the nodule as well as how the laser light is drained from the defect. Nodular defect geometries unique to ion beam sputtering, ion-assisted deposition, and electron-beam (e-beam) deposition, respectively, are modeled in this parametric study over a wide range of nodular inclusion diameters and layer count for optical interference mirror coatings constructed with quarter-wave thicknesses and capped with a half wave of the low index material. It was found for hafnia ($n$=1.9) and silica ($n$=1.45) multilayer mirrors that the light intensification in nodular defects with a $C$ factor of 8, typical of e-beam deposited coatings deposited with a wide range of deposition angles, was maximized for a 24-layer design. For intermediate size inclusion diameters, increasing the layer count for normal incidence multilayer mirrors reduced the light intensification within the nodular defect. A second parametric study explored the impact of the nodule shape on the light intensification for a fixed number of layers. In this case, there is a strong temporal trend for the different nodule shapes. Narrow nodules tend to drain more laser energy through the bottom of the nodule into the substrate while wide nodules tend to drain more laser energy through the top of the nodule when irradiated at normal incidence. Further, at a 45° incidence angle, waveguiding is an additional method to drain laser energy from the nodular defect. Finally, laser light resonates within nodular defects longer than within the adjacent nondefective multilayer structure.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
NASA NTRS1987

Colorless Polyimide Films for Thermal-Control Coatings

Series of six essentially colorless aromatic polyimide films synthesized and characterized with objective of obtaining maximum optical transparency for applications in space; optical transparency requirement for high-performance polymeric films used in second-surface mirror coatings on thermal-control systems. Films remain more transparent than commercial film after ultraviolet and electron irradiation. Increased transparency and enhanced solubility of optically transparent polyimides makes them viable candidates for use in thermal-control coatings.

St. Clair, Anne K.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Evaluation of colorless polyimide film for thermal control coating applications

A series of essentially colorless aromatic polyimide films was synthesized and characterized with the objective of obtaining maximum optical transparency for applications in space. Optical transparency is a requirement for high performance polymeric films used in second surface mirror coatings on thermal control systems. The intensity in color of aromatic polyimide films was lowered by reducing the electronic interaction between chromophoric centers in the polymer molecular structure and by using highly purified monomers. The resulting lightly colored to colorless polyimide films were characterized by UV-visible and infrared spectroscopy before and after exposure to 300 equivalent solar hours UV irradiation and varying doses of 1 MeV electron irradiation. After irradiation, the films were found to be 2 to 2.5 times more transparent than commercial polyimide film of the same thickness.

St.clair, A. K.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Evaluation of colorless polyimide film for thermal control coating applications

A series of essentially colorless aromatic polyimide films was synthesized and characterized with the objective of obtaining maximum optical transparency for applications in space. Optical transparency is a requirement for high performance polymeric films used in second surface mirror coatings on thermal control systems. The intensity in color of aromatic polyimide films was lowered by reducing the electronic interaction between chromophoric centers in the polymer molecular structure and by using highly purified monomers. The resulting lightly colored to colorless polyimide films were characterized by UV-visible and infrared spectroscopy before and after exposure to 300 equivalent solar hours UV irradiation and varying doses of 1 MeV electron irradiation. After irradiation, the films were found to be 2 to 2.5 times more transparent than commercial polyimide film of the same thickness.

St. Clair, A. K.↗
NASA NTRS1998

Contamination Observed on the Passive Optical Sample Assembly (POSA)-1 Experiment

The Passive Optical Sample Assembly-1 (POSA-1), part of the Mir Environmental Effects Payload (MEEP), was designed to study the combined effects of contamination, atomic oxygen, ultraviolet radiation, vacuum, thermal cycling, and other constituents of the space environment on spacecraft materials. The MEEP program is a Phase 1 International Space Station Risk Mitigation Experiment. The payload was attached by EVA to the exterior of the Mir docking module during the Space Shuttle mission STS-76. It was removed during STS-86 after exposure to the Mir environment for 18 months. POSA-1 consists of nearly 400 samples of thermal control paints, chemical conversion coatings, mirrors, optics, and other candidate materials for International Space Station Alpha (ISSA). POSA-1 also flew state-of-the-art materials, such as electrically conductive thermal control coatings developed under contract by IITRI and AZ Technology, and passive instruments for monitoring the atomic oxygen and ultraviolet radiation dose to the experiment. Contamination was detected on the POSA-1 experiment. On the side facing space (-Z(sub B) direction using the Mir coordinate system), visible contamination was observed. The contamination was uniform as would occur from a slow photodeposition process. A very definite film was deposited on the optical samples. The deposition appears to have directionality with definite shadowing effects. On the side facing the main Mr core (+ZB direction using the Mir coordinate system), no visible contamination was noted. Pre- and post-flight characterization of candidate spacecraft materials is discussed, particularly the effect of contamination on total hemispherical spectral reflectance (250 - 2500 nm), infrared emittance, the bi-directional reflectance distribution function (BRDF), and vacuum ultraviolet spectral reflectance. Extensive photography under normal and black light was performed. Results of electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis (ESCA) and Fourier Transform Infrared Analysis (FTIR) on selected samples are also discussed.

Zwiener, James M.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Evaluation of colorless polyimide film for thermal control coating applications

A series of essentially colorless aromatic polyimide films has been synthesized and characterized with the objective of obtaining maximum optical transparency for applications in space. Optical transparency is a requirement for high performance polymeric films used in second surface mirror coatings on thermal control systems. The intensity in color of aromatic polyimide films was lowered by reducing the electronic interaction between chromophoric centers in the polymer molecular structure and by using highly purified monomers. The resulting lightly colored to colorless polyimide films have been characterized by UV-visible and infrared spectroscopy before and after exposure to 300 equivalent solar hours UV irradiation and varying doses of 1 MeV electron irradiation. After irradiation, the films were found to be 2 to 2.5 times more transparent than commercial polyimide film of the same thickness.

St. Clair, A. K.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Chemical vapor deposited silica coatings for solar mirror protection

A variety of techniques is available to apply protective coatings to oxidation susceptible spacecraft components, and each has associated advantages and disadvantages. Film applications by means of chemical vapor deposition (CVD) has the advantage of being able to be applied conformally to objects of irregular shape. For this reason, a study was made of the oxygen plasma durability of thin film (less than 5000 A) silicon dioxide coatings applied by CVD. In these experiments, such coatings were applied to silver mirrors, which are strongly subject to oxidation, and which are proposed for use on the space station solar dynamic power system. Results indicate that such coatings can provide adequate protection without affecting the reflectance of the mirror. Scanning electron micrographs indicated that oxidation of the silver layer did occur at stress crack locations, but this did not affect the measured solar reflectances. Oxidation of the silver did not proceed beyond the immediate location of the crack. Such stress cracks did not occur in thinner silica flims, and hence such films would be desirable for this application.

Gulino, Daniel A.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Chemical vapor deposited silica coatings for solar mirror protection

A variety of techniques is available to apply protective coatings to oxidation susceptible spacecraft components, and each has associated advantages and disadvantages. Film applications by means of chemical vapor deposition (CVD) has the advantage of being able to be applied conformally to objects of irregular shape. For this reason, a study was made of the oxygen plasma durability of thin film (less than 5000 A) silicon dioxide coatings applied by CVD. In these experiments, such coatings were applied to silver mirrors, which are strongly subject to oxidation, and which are proposed for use on the space station solar dynamic power system. Results indicate that such coatings can provide adequate protection without affecting the reflectance of the mirror. Scanning electron micrographs indicated that oxidation of the silver layer did occur at stress crack locations, but this did not affect the measured solar reflectances. Oxidation of the silver did not proceed beyond the immediate location of the crack. Such stress cracks did not occur in thinner silica films, and hence such films would be desirable for this application.

Gulino, Daniel A.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Fiber-linked interferometric pressure sensor

A fiber-optic pressure sensor is described which uses a diaphragm to modulate the mirror separation of a Fabry-Perot cavity (the sensing cavity). A multimode optical fiber delivers broadband light to the sensing cavity and returns the spectrally modulated light which the cavity reflects. The sensor's output spectrum is analyzed using a tunable Fabry-Perot cavity (the reference cavity) to determine the mismatch in the mirror separations of the two cavities. An electronic servo control uses this result to cause the mirror separation of the reference cavity to equal that of the sensing cavity. The displacement of the pressure-sensing diaphragm is then obtained by measuring the capacitance of the reference cavity's metal-coated mirrors. Relative to other fiber-optic sensors, an important advantage of this instrument is its high immunity to the effects of variations in both the transmissivity of the fiber link and the wavelength of the optical source.

Beheim, G.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Optical surface refurbishment in space environment

The potential use of the vacuum environment of space to clean contaminated mirror surfaces or generate Al mirror surfaces with high reflectance in the 80-200-nm region is discussed and illustrated with diagrams and graphs, reviewing previous studies and current experiment proposals. Consideration is given to (1) applying the atomic oxygen plasma environment of LEO to clean coated mirrors and (2) depositing freshly evaporated Al onto a mirror surface in vacuum, providing relatively long periods of high EUV reflectance before oxidation of the surface degrades performance: such a procedure could be performed as a maintenance measure or even incorporated into the design of a space observatory. A free-flying experiment is described which would produce and maintain an Al surface with controlled exposure to OH, H2O, and O2; demonstrate directed-beam Al deposition onto a simulated telescope/spectrometer surface; monitor instrument reflectance/sensitivity over time; and demonstrate in situ refurbishment of the degraded surface.

Heaney, James B.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Contamination of grazing incidence EUV mirrors - An assessment

Contamination assessment for space optical systems requires an understanding of the sensitivity of component performance, e.g. mirror reflectance, to materials deposited on the mirror surface. In a previous study, the sensitivity of typical normal incidence mirror coatings to surface deposits of generic hydrocarbons was reported. Recent activity in the development of grazing incidence telescopes for extreme ultraviolet space astronomy has stimulated the need for a similar assessment in the spectral region extending from approximately 100 A to 1000 A. The model used for analysis treats the contamination layer as a continuous thin film deposited on the mirror surface. The mirror surfaces selected for this study are opaque vacuum deposited gold and the uncoated and polished Zerodur. Scatter caused by film irregularities or particulates are not included in this assessment. Parametric evaluations at 100, 500, and 1000 A determine the sensitivity of mirror reflectance to a range of optical constants selected for the generic contaminants. This sensitivity analysis combined with the limited amount of optical data in the EUV for hydrocarbons, is used to select representative optical constants for the three wavelength regions. Reflectance versus contamination layer thickness curves are then calculated and used to determine critical thickness limits based on allowable reflectance change. Initial observations indicate that thickness limits will be highly dependent on the real part of the complex index of refraction of the contaminant film being less than 1.0. Preliminary laboratory measurements of samples contaminated with some commonly encountered hydrocarbons confirm trends indicated in the analytical studies.

Osantowski, John F.↗
NASA NTRS2012

NASA Tech Briefs, January 2012

Contents of this issue are: (1) Energy-Based Tetrahedron Sensor for High-Temperature, High-Pressure Environments (2) Handheld Universal Diagnostic Sensor (3) Large-Area Vacuum Ultraviolet Sensors (4) Fiber Bragg Grating Sensor System for Monitoring Smart Composite Aerospace Structures (5) Health-Enabled Smart Sensor Fusion Technology (6) Extended-Range Passive RFID and Sensor Tags (7) Hybrid Collaborative Learning for Classification and Clustering in Sensor Networks (8) Self-Healing, Inflatable, Rigidizable Shelter (9) Improvements in Cold-Plate Fabrication (10) Technique for Radiometer and Antenna Array Calibration - TRAAC (11) Real-Time Cognitive Computing Architecture for Data Fusion in a Dynamic Environment (12) Programmable Digital Controller (13) Use of CCSDS Packets Over SpaceWire to Control Hardware (14) Key Decision Record Creation and Approval Module (15) Enhanced Graphics for Extended Scale Range (16) Debris Examination Using Ballistic and Radar Integrated Software (17) Data Distribution System (DDS) and Solar Dynamic Observatory Ground Station (SDOGS) (18) Integration Manager (19) Eclipse-Free-Time Assessment Tool for IRIS (20) Automated and Manual Rocket Crater Measurement Software (21) MATLAB Stability and Control Toolbox Trim and Static Stability Module (22) Patched Conic Trajectory Code (23) Ring Image Analyzer (24) SureTrak Probability of Impact Display (25) Implementation of a Non-Metallic Barrier in an Electric Motor (26) Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator Heat Exchangers for the Mars Science Laboratory Rover (27) Uniform Dust Distributor for Testing Radiative Emittance of Dust-Coated Surfaces (28) MicroProbe Small Unmanned Aerial System (29) Highly Stable and Active Catalyst for Sabatier Reactions (30) Better Proton-Conducting Polymers for Fuel-Cell Membranes (31) CCD Camera Lens Interface for Real-Time Theodolite Alignment (32) Peregrine 100-km Sounding Rocket Project (33) SOFIA Closed- and Open-Door Aerodynamic Analyses (34) Sonic Thermometer for High-Altitude Balloons (35) Near-Infrared Photon-Counting Camera for High-Sensitivity Observations (36) Integrated Optics Achromatic Nuller for Stellar Interferometry (37) High-Speed Digital Interferometry (38) Ultra-Miniature Lidar Scanner for Launch Range Data Collection (39) Shape and Color Features for Object Recognition Search (40) Explanation Capabilities for Behavior-Based Robot Control (41) A DNA-Inspired Encryption Methodology for Secure, Mobile Ad Hoc Networks (42) Quality Control Method for a Micro-Nano-Channel Microfabricated Device (43) Corner-Cube Retroreflector Instrument for Advanced Lunar Laser Ranging (44) Electrospray Collection of Lunar Dust (45) Fabrication of a Kilopixel Array of Superconducting Microcalorimeters with Microstripline Wiring Spacecraft Attitude Tracking and Maneuver Using Combined Magnetic Actuators (46) Coherent Detector for Near-Angle Scattering and Polarization Characterization of Telescope Mirror Coatings

Source record↗
DOE OSTI2025

Ultrafast optical modulation of vibrational strong coupling in ReCl(CO) 3 (2,2-bipyridine)

Polaritons – hybrid light-matter states formed from the strong coupling of a bright molecular transition with a confined photonic mode – may offer new opportunities for optical control of molecular behavior. Vibrational strong coupling (VSC) has been reported to impact ground-state chemical reactivity, but its influence on electronic excited-state dynamics remains unexplored. Here, we take a first step towards excited-state VSC by demonstrating optical modulation of the ReCl(CO) 3 (bpy), (bpy = 2,2-bipyridine) complex under VSC using femtosecond ultraviolet (UV)-pump/infrared (IR)-probe spectroscopy. We establish ground-state VSC of ReCl(CO) 3 (bpy) in a microfluidic Fabry-Pérot cavity equipped with indium tin oxide (ITO)-coated mirrors. ITO is effectively dichroic as it is reflective in the IR and transmissive in the UV-visible and therefore minimizes optical interference. Excitation with UV pump light drives ReCl(CO) 3 (bpy) into a manifold of electronic excited states that subsequently undergo non-radiative relaxation dynamics. We probe the transient response of the strongly-coupled system in the mid-IR, observing both Rabi contraction and cavity-filtered excited-state absorption signatures. We reconstruct the intrinsic response of intracavity molecules from the transient cavity transmission spectra to enable quantitative comparison with extracavity control experiments. We report no changes in the excited-state dynamics of ReCl(CO) 3 (bpy) under ground-state VSC. However, we do observe significant amplification of transient vibrational signals due to classical cavity-enhanced optical effects. This effort lays the groundwork to pursue direct excited-state VSC aimed at modulating photochemical reactivity.

cavity-enhanced spectroscopy↗