Abstract: An apparatus and method for measuring the physical quantities of a data center during operation and method for servicing large-scale computing systems is disclosed. The apparatus includes a cart that supports a plurality of sensors. The cart is moveable within the data center. The sensors capture temperature or other physical parameters within the room. The sensor readings, along with position and orientation information pertaining to the cart are transmitted to a computer system where the data is analyzed to select the optimum temperature or other system environmental parameters for the data center.

Abstract: A present invention provides real-time temperature and power mapping of fully operating electronic devices. The method utilizes infrared (IR) temperature imaging, while an IR-transparent coolant flows through a specially designed cell directly over the electronic device. In order to determine the chip power distributions the individual temperature fields for each heat source of a given power and size on the chip (as realized by a scanning focused laser beam) are measured under the same cooling conditions. Then the measured chip temperature distribution is represented as a superposition of the temperature fields of these individual heat sources and the corresponding power distribution is calculated with a set of linear equations.

Abstract: The present invention is a method and an apparatus for dynamic manipulation and dispersion in photonic crystal devices. In one embodiment, a photonic crystal structure comprises a substrate having a plurality of apertures formed therethrough, a waveguide formed by “removing” a row of apertures, and a plurality of pairs of lateral electrical contacts, the lateral electrical contact pairs extending along the length of the waveguide in a spaced-apart manner. The lateral electrical contact pairs facilitate local manipulation of the photonic crystal structure's refractive index. Thus, optical signals of different wavelengths that propagate through the photonic crystal structure can be dynamically manipulated.

Abstract: A system and method for measuring the thermal distributions of an electronic device during operation is described. In an embodiment of the present invention, the system includes a duct adapted to be coupled with an electronic device and a coolant flowing through the duct so as to cool the electronic device. The duct and the coolant are at least partially transparent to photons with wavelengths between about 0.1 micron to 20 microns. The system further includes a photon detector located adjacent to the duct for detecting photons. The photon detector captures thermal information from the electronic device during operation of the electronic device, wherein the electronic device is operating under conditions for which the electronic device is designed. The system further includes a processor coupled to the photon detector for generating a thermal distribution of the electronic device based on information received from the photon detector.

Abstract: The present invention is a method and an apparatus for thermo-optic control of optical signals using photonic crystal structures. In one embodiment, a first portion of a split signal is modulated by propagating the signal through a photonic crystal waveguide in which two electrical contacts are laterally spaced from the waveguide region by a plurality of apertures formed through the photonic crystal substrate. A voltage applied across the electrical contacts causes resistive heating of the proximate photonic crystal waveguide through which the signal propagates, thereby modulating the temperature relative to an un-modulated second portion of the split signal that is used as a reference.