Abstract: A specially cut uncoated birefringent crystal having three Brewster-cut faces with adjacent coated Brewster-cut coupling prisms for optical frequency conversion. Two IR input frequencies are used to obtain a third visible light frequency by sum-frequency generation. The uncoated birefringent crystal permits high power input beams. The two Z-polarized IR beams enter the lower portion of the Brewster cut IR input end of the crystal and pass out the Brewster cut lower portion of the output end, generating a Y-polarized visible light beam. The visible wavelength beam is reflected at the Brewster cut Z-polarized surface at the output end and again reflected at the upper output end surface cut perpendicular to the Brewster cut. The visible beam travels back toward the IR input end near the top surface of the crystal and exits through an upper Brewster cut surface cut for Y-polarized light. Input and output prisms with appropriate optical coatings are used to facilitate the process.

Abstract: An open loop liquid spray phase-change cooling system for a laser comprised of an expendable supply of a compressed liquid refrigerant, a laser heat sink, an on/off valve, and a means for controlling the on/off valve in response to the measured heat sink temperature.

Abstract: A membrane mirror having an optical quality spherical shape maintained by differential pressure takes a near parabolic shape when a plunger-induced displacement of the central area of the mirror is introduced. The focal length can be adjusted by varying the differential pressure.

Abstract: PRS07010 A simplified implementation of molecular field programmable gate arrays described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,215,327, reducing the complexity of a single site in a tiled array template to that of a 2-input lookup table.

Abstract: A micro-zero insertion force socket is fabricated capable of connecting pins with diameters of 25 to 200 microns and minimum pitches of from 3:1 to 10:1 using micro-fabrication techniques, MEMS components, and high-density interconnections.

Abstract: A virtual sky hook vibration isolation system provides reduction of transmissibility at resonance without significantly increasing high frequency transmissibility. Isolation is achieved passively and without the need for an inertial reference frame. Design of the primary and secondary suspension systems is performed concurrently to achieve the desired performance. The primary suspension affords the necessary static deflection properties and high frequency isolation. The secondary system couples to the system at resonance and provides damping to the dynamic response. This combination yields the isolation benefits of the skyhook damper concept. The penalty for this performance is the necessity of a secondary spring-mass-damper device. However, results indicated that good performance can be achieved using a relatively small secondary mass (5% of the primary mass).

Abstract: A stack of optically contacted birefringent crystals is configured to carry out coherent beam combination (multiplexing) of narrow-bandwidth phase-locked beams from multiple lasers or laser amplifiers (e.g., multimode Yb-doped fiber amplifiers). A stack of N crystals can multiplex the output of 2N laser amplifiers into a single diffraction-limited beam. Phase control of the beams is maintained by an electronic servo which monitors the optical power emitted into certain undesired beams and minimizes this power by means of phase adjusters (e.g., piezoelectric fiber stretchers) on each amplifier. A configuration is described where a front-end laser master oscillator (FMO) (e.g., a Nd:YAG laser) is demultiplexed by the crystal stack, passes through multiple laser amplifiers, is reflected back through the amplifiers by phase-conjugating mirrors (e.g., passive multimode fibers generating stimulated Brillouin scattering), and is multiplexed on the return trip through the crystal stack.

Abstract: A smart docking surface consisting of closely spaced cantilevered sensor/actuator structures capable of precisely repositioning an object having a ferro-magnetic surface in contact with the smart docking surface. It is designed for use in a micro gravity environment for the final docking sequence of two small (<100 kg) satellites. Its purpose is to reduce the complexity of the docking process where a precise mating is required.

Abstract: The ultra-wide band rf-enhanced chemotherapy for treatment of cancer and other intracellular diseases provides for increasing drug effectiveness. It also provides a means of treatment of inoperable cancers. The invention uses ultra-wide band short pulses to provide high electric field strength in diseased areas of a patient to induce electroporosis preferentially in the region to be treated by chemotherapy. The effect is to make the interiors of the cells in the affected region open to the chemotherapeutic agent. The treatment can be enhanced in its effectiveness thereby. It also enables treatment with reduced doses of the therapeutic agent and reduces side effects in other areas of the patient through the reduction of the total dosage. The invention makes specific use of the polarization of UWB fields and the very short duration of the pulsed electromagnetic fields induced into the region to be treated to minimize the absorbed rf energy associated with the treatment, making the heating of tissue negligible.

Abstract: An airborne pneumatic launch tube ejection system to described for launching an aerospace vehicle/payload into orbit. The system can be installed in a jet transport aircraft without requiring structural modifications.

Abstract: A modular reusable transport container system is described for safely transporting small or medium size satellites and other sensitive cargo. The invention incorporates shock and vibration isolation systems, environmental control systems, integrated power converters, battery backup systems, and monitoring systems.

Abstract: An innovative new structure, called ChamberCore, is disclosed that is damage tolerant, easy to manufacture, and has an inherent design feature that can be exploited to drastically reduce acoustic transmission through the structure. The structure is composed of previously cured tubes that are sectioned to form chambers and co-cured with facesheets to form a sandwich-type structure. Damage tolerance is derived from the fact that the structure has no weak facesheet-core interface as found in traditional sandwich-type structures. Additionally, each chamber has a hole to it through the inner facesheet effectively converting it into a Helmholtz resonator. These resonators can be tuned to attenuate broadband or specific acoustic transmission through the structure.

Abstract: A Multifunctional Capillary System is located within and between a single compensation chamber (CC) and the evaporator of a loop heat pipe. It provides: vapor-liquid interface control for all gravity states from the micro-gravity condition of space (near 0-g) through the earth's gravitational condition (1-g), with liquid supply to the evaporator via wicking from the CC in micro-gravity, and for all orientations (tilts) of the CC-evaporator assembly in earth gravity. As a single compensation chamber is used, dual compensation chamber penalties of weight and wide-temperature-variation are avoided. The system has combined, parallel wicking structure, paths, and joints for micro-gravity and 1-g liquid acquisition. The wick system is comprised of an axial-groove, evaporator-core secondary wick—concentric, contiguous, and in intimate contact with the primary evaporator wick. This secondary wick mates to a porous vane assembly in the CC.

Abstract: Post-process deposition of selected material onto MEMS devices is facilitated by photolithographically incorporating deposition shields during the device fabrication process. Subsequently, simple sputtering or evaporating deposition machines can be used to selectively deposit desired materials onto the MEMS devices.

Abstract: An architectural concept for field programmable gate array circuits is presented based on a universal fabric of cells called look-up tables arranged in a direct, repeatable spatial grid. It is predicated upon an analogy between Boolean functions and cellular automata wherein an m-variable look-up table defines a universal cellular automata of neighborhood size m. Its unique features include universal implementation of Boolean functions, low interconnect demand, no specialized routing resources, high regularity (periodic structures), fault tolerance, and ease in testability.

Abstract: The ultra-wide band rf-enhanced chemotherapy for treatment of cancer and other intracellular diseases provides for increasing drug effectiveness. It also provides a means of treatment of inoperable cancers. The invention uses ultra-wide band short pulses to provide high electric field strength in diseased areas of a patient to induce electroporosis preferentially in the region to be treated by chemotherapy. The effect is to make the interiors of the cells in the affected region open to the chemotherapeutic agent. The treatment can be enhanced in its effectiveness thereby. It also enables treatment with reduced doses of the therapeutic agent and reduces side effects in other areas of the patient through the reduction of the total dosage. The invention makes specific use of the polarization of UWB fields and the very short duration of the pulsed electromagnetic fields induced into the region to be treated to minimize the absorbed rf energy associated with the treatment, making the heating of tissue negligible.

Abstract: This invention presents a passive vibroacoustic device that serves the dual function of attenuating the vibration of a flexible structure, and providing acoustic dissipation to the volume or cavity enclosed by the structure. This reduces the transmission of sound from external sources into the enclosure, and reduces vibration of the structure. By design of the shunting resistor and the mass and suspension properties, the device can be optimized to achieve high levels of both structural vibration attenuation and acoustic attenuation. Incorporating a feedback loop or adaptation mechanism will permit the device to maintain optimum attenuation in the case of time varying systems.

Abstract: The space-based solar power generating system is comprised of a flexible thin film photovoltaic sheet supported as a sail in the solar wind. The solar wind provides pointing support, deployment support, and structure stiffness without a heavy backup structure. A high Isp electric propulsion system is used to counteract the force exerted on the sail by the solar wind.

Abstract: Large quantities of test MEMS devices are fabricated on a single chip with underlying addressable wiring connections. The wiring contains gaps that can be selectively shorted using a post-process metallization process. Deposition shields are photolithographically incorporated into the MEMS devices during the device fabrication process. These shields contain selected small gaps over certain unconnected wires. Subsequently, simple sputtering or evaporating deposition is used to deposit conductive materials onto the MEMS devices, thereby shorting the unconnected wires. Large quantities of devices can be shorted to active address wires by the metallization process in order of decreasing address potential or by testing preference. As a result, far more devices on a single chip can be individually tested and actuated than the number of bond pads that can be placed around the edge of the chip.

Abstract: The Advanced Instrument Controller (AIC) is a stand-alone low-to-medium performance microcontroller with versatile interface and operating options. A tightly coupled MCM design incorporates a CPU, volatile and non-volatile memories, an analog ASIC, a resistor ASIC, internal oscillator, an agile analog capability to implement a gain, offset, impedance, and filter control on all input channels, and an embedded smart power convertor. The AIC uses switch matrices built from micro-mechanical systems technology to reconfigure the signal lines. It also has in-situ reprogrammability and state preservation capability for discontinuous operations. It is designed to operate under extreme conditions of temperature, shock, and radiation and is characterized by ultra-low power requirements, size, and weight.