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At least 145 records · Page 8

Distributed feedback lasers

A ridge waveguide distributed feedback laser was developed in InGaAsP. These devices have demonstrated CW output powers over 7 mW with threshold currents as low as 60 mA at 25 C. Measurements of the frequency response of these devices show a 3 dB bandwidth of about 2 GHz, which may be limited by the mount. The best devices have a single mode spectra over the entire temperature range tested with a side mode suppression of about 20 dB in both CW and pulsed modes. The design of this device, including detailed modeling of the ridge guide structure, effective index calculations, and a discussion of the grating configuration are presented. Also, the fabrication of the devices is presented in some detail, especially the fabrication of and subsequent growth over the grating. In addition, a high frequency fiber pigtailed package was designed and tested, which is a suitable prototype for a commercial package.

Ladany, I.↗

Weighted SAW reflector gratings for orthogonal frequency coded SAW tags and sensors

Weighted surface acoustic wave reflector gratings for coding identification tags and sensors to enable unique sensor operation and identification for a multi-sensor environment. In an embodiment, the weighted reflectors are variable while in another embodiment the reflector gratings are apodized. The weighting technique allows the designer to decrease reflectively and allows for more chips to be implemented in a device and, consequently, more coding diversity. As a result, more tags and sensors can be implemented using a given bandwidth when compared with uniform reflectors. Use of weighted reflector gratings with OFC makes various phase shifting schemes possible, such as in-phase and quadrature implementations of coded waveforms resulting in reduced device size and increased coding.

Puccio, Derek↗

Fabricating Radial Groove Gratings Using Projection Photolithography

Projection photolithography has been used as a fabrication method for radial grove gratings. Use of photolithographic method for diffraction grating fabrication represents the most significant breakthrough in grating technology in the last 60 years, since the introduction of holographic written gratings. Unlike traditional methods utilized for grating fabrication, this method has the advantage of producing complex diffractive groove contours that can be designed at pixel-by-pixel level, with pixel size currently at the level of 45 45 nm. Typical placement accuracy of the grating pixels is 10 nm over 30 nm. It is far superior to holographic, mechanically ruled or direct e-beam written gratings and results in high spatial coherence and low spectral cross-talk. Due to the smooth surface produced by reactive ion etch, such gratings have a low level of randomly scattered light. Also, due to high fidelity and good surface roughness, this method is ideally suited for fabrication of radial groove gratings. The projection mask is created using a laser writer. A single crystal silicon wafer is coated with photoresist, and then the projection mask, with its layer of photoresist, is exposed for patterning in a stepper or scanner. To develop the photoresist, the fabricator either removes the exposed areas (positive resist) of the unexposed areas (negative resist). Next, the patterned and developed photoresist silicon substrate is subjected to reactive ion etching. After this step, the substrate is cleaned. The projection mask is fabricated according to electronic design files that may be generated in GDS file format using any suitable CAD (computer-aided design) or other software program. Radial groove gratings in off-axis grazing angle of incidence mount are of special interest for x-ray spectroscopy, as they allow achieving higher spectral resolution for the same grating area and have lower alignment tolerances than traditional in-plane grating scheme. This is especially critical for NASA Constellation- X project that will utilize hundreds of gratings all of which need to be precisely aligned for x-ray observation of space.

Iazikov, Dmitri↗

Pushing the Boundaries of X-ray Grating Spectroscopy in a Suborbital Rocket

Developments in grating spectroscopy are paramount for meeting the soft X‐ray science goals of future NASA X‐ray Observatories. While developments in the laboratory setting have verified the technical feasibility of using off‐plane reflection gratings to reach this goal, flight heritage is a key step in the development process toward large missions. To this end we have developed a design for a suborbital rocket payload employing an Off‐Plane X‐ray Grating Spectrometer. This spectrometer utilizes slumped glass Wolter‐1 optics, an array of gratings, and a CCD camera. We discuss the unique capabilities of this design, the expected performance, the science return, and the perceived impact to future missions.

McEntaffer, Randall L.↗

Photoelectric scanning /6.65-m/ spectrometer for VUV cross-section measurements

A 6.65-m normal incidence vacuum spectrograph has been provided with a photoelectric scanner that is easily interchangeable with the original plate holder. The scanner consists essentially of a photoelectric detector and an exit slit that scans mechanically along the focal surface while the grating and entrance slit remain stationary. The design and construction of the 6.65-m scanning spectrometer, which operates in the 120-300-nm wavelength region, are discussed. The wavelength resolution of 0.001 nm obtained photoelectrically is better than that of any existing vacuum monochromator. The performance of the instrument is illustrated with vacuum ultraviolet scans of the (1, 5) band of fourth positive system of CO in emission, and the (14, 0) band of the Schumann-Runge system of O2 in absorption.

Yoshino, K.↗

Study of the potential usefulness of superfine holographic x-ray gratings in AXAF and astrophysics in general

Present day high energy electron storage rings and insertion devices (wigglers and undulators) provide the necessary technology to manufacture superfile (line density or=100,00/mm) holographic X-ray gratings. The usefulness in future astrophysical research of such gratings is determined, as a function of the grating size and line density. A model design is given for an instrument which would fit within the (presently specified) constraints of the planned Advanced X-ray Astrophysics Facility (AXAF).

Csonka, P. L.↗

X-ray objective grating spectrograph

A grazing incidence X-ray spectrograph for investigating the spectra of cosmic X-ray sources is described. The overall instrument design is reviewed, and the key components of the spectrograph, including the gratings, telescope, and detector, are examined. Preliminary performance measurements are reported and plans for the instrument are addressed.

Catura, R. C.↗

DBR laser with nondynamic plasma grating formed by focused ion beam implanted dopants

A static plasma grating has been demonstrated experimentally (Wu et al., 1988) in a large-optical-cavity focused-ion-beam-distributed-Bragg-reflector (FIB-DBR) GaAlAs/GaAs laser diode. The grating is formed by implanting stripes of dopants with a focused ion beam. The dopants ionize to form periodic fluctuations in the carrier concentration which, through the Kramers-Kronig relations, form an index grating. A model of the grating strength for optimizaton of the laser design is developed and presented. The computed results show that the coupling coefficient k can be increased by more than an order of magnitude over the 15/cm experimentally. Therefore, FIB-DBR or FIB-distributed-feedback (DFB) lasers with performance comparable to that of conventional DBR (or DFB) lasers can be expected.

Boenke, Myra M.↗

Experimental and modal verification of an integral equation solution for a thin-walled dichroic plate with cross-shaped holes

In order to add the capability of an X-band uplink onto the 70-m antenna, a new dichroic plate is needed to replace the Pyle-guide-shaped dichroic plate currently in use. The replacement dichroic plate must exhibit an additional passband at the new uplink frequency of 7.165 GHz, while still maintaining a passband at the existing downlink frequency of 8.425 GHz. Because of the wide frequency separation of these two passbands, conventional methods of designing air-filled dichroic plates exhibit grating lobe problems. A new method of solving this problem by using a dichroic plate with cross-shaped holes is presented and verified experimentally. Two checks of the integral equation solution are described. One is the comparison to a modal analysis for the limiting cross shape of a square hole. As a final check, a prototype dichroic plate with cross-shaped holes was built and measured.

Epp, L. W.↗

Combining Speed Information Across Space

We used speed discrimination tasks to measure the ability of observers to combine speed information from multiple stimuli distributed across space. We compared speed discrimination thresholds in a classical discrimination paradigm to those in an uncertainty/search paradigm. Thresholds were measured using a temporal two-interval forced-choice design. In the discrimination paradigm, the n gratings in each interval all moved at the same speed and observers were asked to choose the interval with the faster gratings. Discrimination thresholds for this paradigm decreased as the number of gratings increased. This decrease was not due to increasing the effective stimulus area as a control experiment that increased the area of a single grating did not show a similar improvement in thresholds. Adding independent speed noise to each of the n gratings caused thresholds to decrease at a rate similar to the original no-noise case, consistent with observers combining an independent sample of speed from each grating in both the added- and no-noise cases. In the search paradigm, observers were asked to choose the interval in which one of the n gratings moved faster. Thresholds in this case increased with the number of gratings, behavior traditionally attributed to an input bottleneck. However, results from the discrimination paradigm showed that the increase was not due to observers' inability to process these gratings. We have also shown that the opposite trends of the data in the two paradigms can be predicted by a decision theory model that combines independent samples of speed information across space. This demonstrates that models typically used in classical detection and discrimination paradigms are also applicable to search paradigms. As our model does not distinguish between samples in space and time, it predicts that discrimination performance should be the same regardless of whether the gratings are presented in two spatial intervals or two temporal intervals. Our last experiment largely confirmed this prediction.

Verghese, Preeti↗

Combining Speed Information Across Space

We used speed discrimination tasks to measure the ability of observers to combine speed information from multiple stimuli distributed across space. We compared speed discrimination thresholds in a classical discrimination paradigm to those in an uncertainty/search paradigm. Thresholds were measured using a temporal two-interval forced-choice design. In the discrimination paradigm, the n gratings in each interval all moved at the same speed and observers were asked to choose the interval with the faster gratings. Discrimination thresholds for this paradigm decreased as the number of gratings increased. This decrease was not due to increasing the effective stimulus area as a control experiment that increased the area of a single grating did not show a similar improvement in thresholds. Adding independent speed noise to each of the n gratings caused thresholds to decrease at a rate similar to the original no-noise case, consistent with observers combining an independent sample of speed from each grating in both the added- and no-noise cases. In the search paradigm, observers were asked to choose the interval in which one of the n gratings moved faster. Thresholds in this case increased with the number of gratings, behavior traditionally attributed to an input bottleneck. However, results from the discrimination paradigm showed that the increase was not due to observers' inability to process these gratings. We have also shown that the opposite trends of the data in the two paradigms can be predicted by a decision theory model that combines independent samples of speed information across space. This demonstrates that models typically used in classical detection and discrimination paradigms are also applicable to search paradigms. As our model does not distinguish between samples in space and time, it predicts that discrimination performance should be the same regardless of whether the gratings are presented in two spatial intervals or two temporal intervals. Our last experiment largely confirmed this prediction.

Verghese, Preeti↗

Validation and Verification of Composite Pressure Vessel Design

Ten composite pressure vessels were instrumented with fiber Bragg grating sensors and pressure tested Through burst. This paper and presentation will discuss the testing methodology, the test results, compare the testing results to the analytical model, and also compare the fiber Bragg grating sensor data with data obtained against that obtained from foil strain gages.

Kreger, Stephen T.↗

Fiber Optic Temperature Sensors in TPS: Arc Jet Model Design & Testing

Techniques for using fiber optics with Fiber Bragg Gratings (FBGs) have been developed by IFOS Corp. for use in thermal protection systems (TPS) on spacecraft heat shield materials through NASA Phase 1 and 2 SBIR efforts and have been further improved in a recent collaboration between IFOS and NASA that will be described here. Fiber optic temperature sensors offer several potential advantages over traditional thermocouple sensors including a) multiplexing many sensors in a single fiber to increase sensor density in a given array or to provide spatial resolution, b) improved thermal property match between sensor and TPS to reduce heat flow disruption, c) lack of electrical conductivity.

sensors↗

Toroidal Varied-Line Space (TVLS) Gratings

It is a particular challenge to develop a stigmatic spectrograph for XUV wavelengths since the very low normal-incidence reflectance of standard materials most often requires that the design be restricted to a single optical element which must simultaneously provide both re-imaging and spectral dispersion. This problem has been solved in the past by the use of toroidal gratings with uniform line-spaced rulings (TULS). A number of solar EUV (Extreme Ultraviolet) spectrometers have been based on such designs, including SOHO/CDS, Solar-B/EIS, and the sounding rockets SERTS and EUNIS. More recently, Kita, Harada, and collaborators have developed the theory of spherical gratings with varied line-space rulings (SVLS) operated at unity magnification, which have been flown on several astronomical satellite missions. We now combine these ideas into a spectrometer concept that puts varied-line space rulings onto toroidal gratings. Such TVLS designs are found to provide excellent imaging even at very large spectrograph magnifications and beam-speeds, permitting extremely high-quality performance in remarkably compact instrument packages. Optical characteristics of two solar spectrometers based on this concept are described: SUMI, proposed as a sounding rocket experiment, and NEXUS, proposed for the Solar Dynamics Observatory mission.

Thomas, Roger J.↗

Optical grating evaluator - A device for detailed measurement of diffraction grating efficiencies in the vacuum ultraviolet

A device for detailed measurement of diffraction grating efficiencies and over-all performance in the VUV has been designed and constructed at the Naval Research Laboratory. The system employs semiautomated mechanisms to scan the face of the grating with a narrow monochromatic beam, and an efficiency map of the grating surface is produced on a strip chart recorder. Grating efficiency in the various diffracted orders and intensity of light scattered between orders may also be measured. A unique feature is the ability to determine the angle and effectiveness of grating blaze and variations in blaze under different conditions of illumination.

Michels, D. J.↗

6G Sparse Transmitarray

This powerpoint presents a sparse transmitarray design for 6G technology. The proposed approach leverages aperiodic arrays with large inter-element spacings, offering grating lobe-free operation, enhanced gain, and narrow beamwidths. The transmitarray topology, designed for sub-THz and THz frequencies, simplifies feed-network complexity, and minimizes losses. Numerical analysis and full wave simulation results show this approach is feasible.

Christian, Thomas Edward↗

Solar Imaging UV/EUV Spectrometers Using TVLS Gratings

It is a particular challenge to develop a stigmatic spectrograph for UV, EUV wavelengths since the very low normal-incidence reflectance of standard materials most often requires that the design be restricted to a single optical element which must simultaneously provide both reimaging and spectral dispersion. This problem has been solved in the past by the use of toroidal gratings with uniform line-spaced rulings (TULS). A number of solar extreme ultraviolet (EUV) spectrometers have been based on such designs, including SOHO/CDS, Solar-B/EIS, and the sounding rockets Solar Extreme ultraviolet Research Telescope and Spectrograph (SERTS) and Extreme Ultraviolet Normal Incidence Spectrograph (EUNIS). More recently, Kita, Harada, and collaborators have developed the theory of spherical gratings with varied line-space rulings (SVLS) operated at unity magnification, which have been flown on several astronomical satellite missions. We now combine these ideas into a spectrometer concept that puts varied-line space rulings onto toroidal gratings. Such TVLS designs are found to provide excellent imaging even at very large spectrograph magnifications and beam-speeds, permitting extremely high-quality performance in remarkably compact instrument packages. Optical characteristics of three new solar spectrometers based on this concept are described: SUMI and RAISE, two sounding rocket payloads, and NEXUS, currently being proposed as a Small-Explorer (SMEX) mission.

Thomas, Roger J.↗

HIFOGS: Its design, operations and calibration

The High-efficiency, Infrared Faint Object Grating Spectrometer (HIFOGS) provides spectral coverage of selectable portions of the 3 to 18 micron range at resolving powers from 00 to 1000 using 120 Si/Bi detectors. Additional coverage to 30 microns is provided by a bank of 32 Si:P detectors. Selectable apertures, gratings and band-pass filters provide flexibility to this system. Software for operation of HIFOGS and reduction of the data runs on a MacIntosh computer. HIFOGS has been used to establish celestial flux standards using 3 independent approaches: comparison to star models, comparisons to asteroid models and comparisons to laboratory blackbodies. These standards are expected to have wide application in astronomical thermal-infrared spectroscopy.

Witteborn, Fred C.↗