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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 91 records · Page 5
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1988

OPO performance with a long pulse length, single frequency Nd:YAG laser pump

With the advent of new nonlinear materials and single-frequency pump sources, there is renewed interest in optical parametric oscillators (OPOs). A single-mode diode-laser-pumped monolithic Nd:YAG nonplanar ring laser that is both amplified and frequency doubled is used to pump a monolithic MgO:LiNbO3 pulsed singly resonant OPO. The OPO signal output was temperature tuned from 834 to 958 nm, producing an idler tuning from 1.47 to 1.2 microns. Efforts toward a CW all-solid-state doubly resonant OPO are also described.

Kozlovsky, W. J.↗
NASA NTRS2018

Nonlinear Evolution and Breakdown of Azimuthally Compact Crossflow Vortex Pattern over a Yawed Cone

Hypersonic boundary-layer flows over a circular cone at moderate angle of incidence can support strong crossflow instability in between the windward and leeward rays on the plane of symmetry. Due to the more efficient excitation of stationary crossflow vortices by surface roughness, a possible path to transition in such flows corresponds to rapid amplification of the high-frequency secondary instabilities of finite amplitude stationary crossflow vortices. In the present paper, the previous analyses of crossflow instability over a 7- degree half-angle, yawed circular cone in a Mach 6 free stream have been extended to the nonlinear evolution of azimuthally localized crossflow vortex packets and the amplification characteristics and nonlinear breakdown of high-frequency secondary instabilities associated with those packets. A comparison between plane marching PSE and direct Navier-Stokes simulations (DNS) reveals favorable agreement in regard to mode shapes, most amplified disturbance frequencies, and N-factor evolution. In contrast, the quasi-parallel predictions are found to result in severe underprediction of the N-factors. The direct numerical simulations also indicate that the breakdown of secondary instabilities in a 3D hypersonic boundary layer shares certain common features with the previous computations of crossflow transition over subsonic swept wings.

Vortex structure↗
NASA NTRS1977

Improving FM transmitter power and efficiency

Amplifier tracks oscillator frequency allowing narrow band high Q circuit to be used, increasing wide deviation FM transmission efficiency and power output, and suppressing spurious output frequencies system. Tracking oscillator and amplifier act like wideband circuitry with narrow-band advantages.

Honnell, M. A.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Multifrequency excited jets

An analysis of nonlinear wave-wave interactions in turbulent jets based on the integrated energy of each scale of motion in a cross section of the jet shows that two frequency components in the axisymmetric mode can interact with other mackground frequencies in that mode, thereby amplifying many other frequencies. The present computations produce several features consistent with experimental observations on two-frequency excitation, such as the dependence of the interaction on the initial phase differences between the waves, the enhancement of the momentum thickness under multifrequency forcing, and the increase in background turbulence under forcing. Mixing enhancement is found to be due to turbulence enhancement, rather than the simple amplification of forced-wave components.

Mankbadi, Reda R.↗
NASA NTRS2015

Recent Efforts in Advanced High Frequency Communications at the Glenn Research Center in Support of NASA Mission

This presentation will discuss research and technology development work at the NASA Glenn Research Center in advanced frequency communications in support of NASAs mission. An overview of the work conducted in-house and also in collaboration with academia, industry, and other government agencies (OGA) in areas such as antenna technology, power amplifiers, radio frequency (RF) wave propagation through Earths atmosphere, ultra-sensitive receivers, among others, will be presented. In addition, the role of these and other related RF technologies in enabling the NASA next generation space communications architecture will be also discussed.

Optical communications↗
NASA NTRS2012

Miniaturized Laser Heterodyne Radiometer (LHR) for Measurements of Greenhouse Gases in the Atmospheric Column

This passive laser heterodyne radiometer (LHR) instrument simultaneously measures multiple trace gases in the atmospheric column including carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4), and resolves their concentrations at different altitudes. This instrument has been designed to operate in tandem with the passive aerosol sensor currently used in AERONET (an established network of more than 450 ground aerosol monitoring instruments worldwide). Because aerosols induce a radiative effect that influences terrestrial carbon exchange, simultaneous detection of aerosols with these key carbon cycle gases offers a uniquely comprehensive measurement approach. Laser heterodyne radiometry is a technique for detecting weak signals that was adapted from radio receiver technology. In a radio receiver, a weak input signal from a radio antenna is mixed with a stronger local oscillator signal. The mixed signal (beat note, or intermediate frequency) has a frequency equal to the difference between the input signal and the local oscillator. The intermediate frequency is amplified and sent to a detector that extracts the audio from the signal. In the LHR instrument described here, sunlight that has undergone absorption by the trace gas is mixed with laser light at a frequency matched to a trace gas absorption feature in the infrared (IR). Mixing results in a beat signal in the RF (radio frequency) region that can be related to the atmospheric concentration. For a one-second integration, the estimated column sensitivities are 0.1 ppmv for CO2, and <1 ppbv for CH4. In addition to producing a standalone ground measurement product, this instrument could be used to calibrate/validate four Earth observing missions: ASCENDS (Active Sensing of CO2 Emissions over Nights, Days, and Seasons), OCO-2 (Orbiting Carbon Observatory), OCO-3, and GOSAT (Greenhouse gases Observational SATellite). The only network that currently measures CO2 and CH4 in the atmospheric column is TCCON (Total Carbon Column Observing Network), and only two of its 16 operational sites are in the United States. TCCON data is used for validation of GOSAT data, and will be used for OCO-2 validation. While these Fourier-transform spectrometers (FTS) can measure the largest range of trace gases, the network is severely limited due to the high cost and extreme size of these instruments (these occupy small buildings and require personnel for operation). The LHR/AERONET instrument offers a significantly smaller (carry-on luggage size) autonomous instrument that can be incorporated into AERONET s much larger (450 instruments) global network.

Steel, Emily↗
NASA NTRS2001

Non-Contact Linear Actuator Position Sensor Having a PID-Compensating Controller

A position sensor or controller generates a response signal in existing armature windings of an actuator and detects the response signal to determine the position of the armature. To generate the response signal, the actuator includes a sensor excitation winding near the armature. Two sensor excitation windings can be provided, above and below the armature, to cancel out z components and thus allow for a variable gap. The sensor excitation winding or windings are supplied with an excitation signal to induce the response signal in the armature windings. The response signal is derived by differentially amplifying and frequency filtering a raw output of the armature windings. The response signal is demodulated to determine position. If a position controller rather than a mere sensor is desired, the position signal can be buffered, PID compensated, amplified, and fed back to the armature windings.

Dean C Alhorn↗
NASA NTRS2011

Laser Heterodyne Radiometer for Sensitive Detection of CO2 and CH4

We propose to develop an inexpensive, miniaturized, passive laser heterodyne radiometer (LHR) using commercially available telecommunications laser components to measure two significant carbon cycle gases in the atmospheric column: carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4). This instrument would operate in tandem with the passive aerosol sensor currently used in AERONET (an established network of more than 450 ground aerosol monitoring instruments worldwide). Because aerosols induce a radiative effect that influences terrestrial carbon exchange, simultaneous detection of aerosols with these key carbon cycle gases offers a uniquely comprehensive measurement approach that supports the Decadal Survey. Laser heterodyne radiometry is a technique for detecting weak signals that was adapted from radio receiver technology. In a radio receiver, a weak input signal from a radio antenna is mixed with a stronger local oscillator signal. The mixed signal (beat note, or intermediate frequency) has a frequency equal to the difference between the input signal and the local oscillator. The intermediate frequency is amplified and sent to a detector that extracts the audio from the signal. In a laser heterodyne radiometer, the weak input signal is light that has undergone absorption by a trace gas. The local oscillator is a laser at a near-by frequency - in this case a low-cost distributed feedback (DFB) telecommunications laser. These two light waves are superimposed in either a beamsplitter or in a fiber coupler (as is the case in this design). The signals are mixed in the detector, and the RF beat frequency is extracted. Changes in concentration of the trace gas are realized through analyzing changes in the beat frequency amplitude. A schematic of the progression of the LHR development project is shown in the figure below. At the center (within the dashed line), light from the local oscillator is superimposed upon light that has undergone absorption by a trace gas, in a single mode fiber coupler. Superimposed light is mixed in a fast photoreceiver, and the beat signal is analyzed for changes in absorption. The left portion of the figure depicts a progression of light sources that pass through the trace gas, increasing in complexity in the downward direction. On the right side of the figure, RF signal processing progresses from a commercially available spectrum analyzer to a RF receiver, and finally to an RF filter bank to deconvolute portions of the beat frequency more heavily weighted for different altitudes.

Wilson, Emily L.↗
NASA NTRS2011

High power RF solid state power amplifier system

A high power, high frequency, solid state power amplifier system includes a plurality of input multiple port splitters for receiving a high-frequency input and for dividing the input into a plurality of outputs and a plurality of solid state amplifier units. Each amplifier unit includes a plurality of amplifiers, and each amplifier is individually connected to one of the outputs of multiport splitters and produces a corresponding amplified output. A plurality of multiport combiners combine the amplified outputs of the amplifiers of each of the amplifier units to a combined output. Automatic level control protection circuitry protects the amplifiers and maintains a substantial constant amplifier power output.

Sims, III, William Herbert↗
NASA NTRS2009

Three MMIC Amplifiers for the 120-to-200 GHz Frequency Band

Closely following the development reported in the immediately preceding article, three new monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) amplifiers that would operate in the 120-to-200-GHz frequency band have been designed and are under construction at this writing. The active devices in these amplifiers are InP high-electron-mobility transistors (HEMTs). These amplifiers (see figure) are denoted the LSLNA150, the LSA200, and the LSA185, respectively. Like the amplifiers reported in the immediately preceding article, the LSLNA150 (1) is intended to be a prototype of low-noise amplifiers (LNAs) to be incorporated into spaceborne instruments for sensing cosmic microwave background radiation and (2) has potential for terrestrial use in electronic test equipment, passive millimeter-wave imaging systems, radar receivers, communication receivers, and systems for detecting hidden weapons. The HEMTs in this amplifier were fabricated according to 0.08- m design rules of a commercial product line of InP HEMT MMICs at HRL Laboratories, LLC, with a gate geometry of 2 fingers, each 15 m wide. On the basis of computational simulations, this amplifier is designed to afford at least 15 dB of gain, with a noise figure of no more than about 6 dB, at frequencies from 120 to 160 GHz. The measured results of the amplifier are shown next to the chip photo, with a gain of 16 dB at 150 GHz. Noise figure work is ongoing. The LSA200 and the LSA185 are intended to be prototypes of transmitting power amplifiers for use at frequencies between about 180 and about 200 GHz. These amplifiers have also been fabricated according to rules of the aforesaid commercial product line of InP HEMT MMICs, except that the HEMTs in these amplifiers are characterized by a gate geometry of 4 fingers, each 37 m wide. The measured peak performance of the LSA200 is characterized by a gain of about 1.4 dB at a frequency of 190 GHz; the measured peak performance of the LSA185 is characterized by a gain of about 2.7 dB at a frequency of 181 GHz. The measured gain results of each chip are shown next to their respective photos.

Samoska, Lorene↗
NASA NTRS1972

Intermodulation characteristics of X-band IMPATT amplifiers.

Measurement of the intermodulation products produced when two equal amplitude signals are applied to the input of an X-band IMPATT diode amplifier. A Si p(+)nn(+) IMPATT diode was operated in a double-slug-tuned reflection amplifier circuit that was tuned to provide 20 dB of small-signal gain at 9.340 GHz. The intermodulation tests consist of measurements of the magnitudes and frequencies of the amplifier output signals as a function of the input signal drive levels and frequency separations. The gain and single-frequency characteristics of the amplifier were also measured and are used along with the theoretical device and circuit admittance characteristics as a basis for explanation of the intermodulation results. A low-frequency dominance mechanism is found to exist in which the low-frequency signals are amplified more than the high-frequency signals. This mechanism becomes more significant as the amplifier drive level is increased.

Trew, R. J.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Mixing efficiency in heterodyne systems

How the spatial distributions of the signal and local oscillator fields affect the heterodyne signal to noise ratio is examined for both a single detector and an array of detectors. For an array, the distribution of gain among the intermediate frequency (i.f.) amplifiers is included. The emphasis is on understanding why the distributions are important and what is the key to maximizing the signal to noise ratio in any system. It is shown that for a single detector, the highest signal to noise ratio is obtained with a local oscillator (LO) distribution the same as that of the signal. For an array, the product of the i.f. gain times the LO field at each detector has the same distribution as that of the signal field.

Fink, D.↗
NASA NTRS1995

Study of the rotational-level and temperature dependence of the quenching rate of OH fluorescence due to collisions with water molecules

The importance of the OH radical as an intermediate in many combustion reactions and in atmospheric photochemistry has led many researchers to use it as a diagnostic tool in these processes. The amount of data that has been acquired over the years for this radical is quite considerable. However, the quenching rate of OH with water molecules as a function of temperature and the rotational level of the excited state is not very well understood. The motivation of the studies undertaken is to bridge the gap between the low temperature measurements and the high temperature ones reported in the literature. The technique generally employed in these diagnostics is laser-induced fluorescence (LIF), through which rotational state selective excitation of the radical is possible. Furthermore, in a combustion medium, water is produced in abundance so that knowledge of the quenching rate of OH due to water molecules plays a crucial role in interpreting the data. In general, the precursor to an understanding of the collisional quenching rates of OH involves a characterization of the mode in which the radical is produced; the resulting rotational and translational distribution, followed by a measurement of the OH temperature; and ultimately obtaining the rate constants from the pressure dependence of the fluorescence signal. The experimental implementation of these measurements therefore involved, as a first step, the production of the OH radicals in a microwave discharge cell using water vapor as the source, wherein a hydrogen atom is abstracted from H2O. The second step involved the absorption of photons from the frequency-doubled output of a pulsed amplified, single-frequency cw ring dye laser. By tuning the laser to the peak of the transition and observing the fluorescence decay after the laser pulse, the lifetime of the OH in a particular rotational electronic state was determined (tau = 1.4 microseconds for Q(sub 1)(3)). Knowledge of this parameter led to a determination of the quenching rate. By varying the water vapor pressure in the cell and measuring the lifetime as a function of pressure a linear plot of the quenching rate as a function of pressure was obtained. Using this plot, the quenching cross section was deduced. It has therefore been possible to measure the local translational temperature and the quenching cross section with one laser system.

Koker, Edmond B.↗
NASA NTRS1996

Television Transmission Technology

The VKP-7990 Multistage Depressed Collector (MDC) Klystron is a result of cooperative development by Varian Associates, Inc., the National Association of Broadcasters, Lewis Research Center, the Public Broadcasting System and TV transmitter manufacturers. The effort was initiated to make power amplifying devices with efficiencies comparable to VHF available to UHF operators. The klystron is a vacuum tube used to generate and amplify ultrahigh frequencies but at low efficiencies because most of the energy is dissipated as waste heat. Lewis had earlier developed the MDC to enhance the efficiency of communications satellite transmissions. Varian Microwave Power Tube Products, which has since become Communications and Power Industries, and Lewis combined the MDC and the klystron, resulting in a product which increases efficiency by recovering some of the residual energy that normally would be lost as heat. The MDC klystron cuts the electric power consumption of UHF-TV transmitters in half; there are 90 units in operation in 36 UHF-TV stations.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS2004

Theoretical Evaluation of Electroactive Polymer Based Micropump Diaphragm for Air Flow Control

An electroactive polymer (EAP), high energy electron irradiated poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene) [P(VDFTrFE)] copolymer, based actuation micropump diaphragm (PAMPD) have been developed for air flow control. The displacement strokes and profiles as a function of amplifier and frequency of electric field have been characterized. The volume stroke rates (volume rate) as function of electric field, driving frequency have been theoretically evaluated, too. The PAMPD exhibits high volume rate. It is easily tuned with varying of either amplitude or frequency of the applied electric field. In addition, the performance of the diaphragms were modeled and the agreement between the modeling results and experimental data confirms that the response of the diaphragms follow the design parameters. The results demonstrated that the diaphragm can fit some future aerospace applications to replace the traditional complex mechanical systems, increase the control capability and reduce the weight of the future air dynamic control systems. KEYWORDS: Electroactive polymer (EAP), micropump, diaphragm, actuation, displacement, volume rate, pumping speed, clamping ratio.

Xu, Tian-Bing↗
NASA NTRS2009

Broadband Sources in the 1-3 THz Range

Broadband electronically tunable sources in the terahertz range are a critical technology for enabling space-borne as well as ground-based applications. By power-combining MMIC amplifier and frequency tripler chips, we have recently demonstrated >1 mW of output power at 900 GHz. This source provides a stepping stone to enable sources in the 2-3 THz range than can sufficiently pump multi-pixel imaging arrays.

sources↗