Abstract: Single crystals of binary and ternary compounds of alkaline earth and a chalcogen, with or without a transition element, are grown by: charging a reaction vessel with an alkaline earth chalcogenide, with or without a transition element or a halide thereof, an acidic mineralizer, and anhydrous ammonia to where the fill factor in the reaction vessel is 30-95%; sealing the reaction vessel to the outside atmosphere; heating the contents of the reaction vessel to a temperature of at least 300.degree. C. until single crystal materials visible to the eye form in the reaction vessel; cooling the contents of the reaction vessel; and extracting the single crystal materials from the reaction vessel.

Abstract: A vertically disposed apparatus used to make core-clad optical fibers inces an inner elongated cylinder removably closed at the top and provided at the bottom with an inner exit port of a smaller diameter than the inner cylinder and an outer cylinder, disposed around the inner cylinder, removably closed at the top and provided at the bottom with an outer exit port of a smaller diameter than the outer cylinder. The inner exit port is of a smaller diameter than the outer exit port and is disposed directly above the outer exit port. The apparatus also includes a heater for heating the inner and outer cylinders and acces to the inner and the outer cylinders for individually pressurizing inner and outer cylinders.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for bonding a layer of coating or cladding material onto a substrate with minimal bulk heating of the substrate. A pulsed electron beam generator is used to produce high energy electrons at the beginning of the pulse and a larger number of lower energy electrons at the end of the pulse. A thin sacrificial or ablative layer of an easily-vaporized material such as tin is placed on top the coating. The high energy electrons penetrate through the ablative and coating layers and heat the coating-substrate interface. The ablative layer is then heated by the low energy electrons to a much higher temperature, causing it to vaporize. The ablation process generates a force on the coating layer which drives it into the substrate.

Abstract: Metal foams are impregnated with a phthalonitrile prepolymer. The metal f/polymer composite formed upon curing has excellent acoustic damping, structural properties, oxidative stability, and flame resistance. Foams of various metals, such as aluminum, titanium, nickel, copper, iron, zinc, lead, silver, gold, platinum, tantalum, and alloys based on these metals may be used.

Abstract: A system in which two circuits which are spatially mobile with respect to one another communicate with one another over a preselected range to identify themselves. So long as the communication remains, one of the circuits, called a detector, maintains the input/output of a third circuit enabled. Upon breaking communication, for example by one of the circuits moving outside the preselected range, input/output of the third circuit is disabled. In one embodiment, the third circuit is a computer workstation to which the detector is affixed, and the other circuit, called the agent, is worn or carried by an authorized user of the workstation. This permits the workstation to be available to the user while he is present, and become unavailable in general when he is not.

Abstract: A process for making diamond and diamond products includes the steps of implanting ions in a diamond substrate to form a damaged layer of non-diamond carbon below the top surface of the substrate, heating the substrate to about 600-1200.degree. C., growing diamond on the top surface of the heated substrate by chemical vapor deposition, and electrochemically etching the damaged layer to separate the grown diamond from the substrate along the damage layer. The diamond product consists of a first diamond layer and a second diamond layer attached to the first layer. The second layer contains damage caused by ions traversing the second layer.

Abstract: High temperature superconductor composite thin film devices with easily moved Josephson vortices are described having high T.sub.c and good magnetic vortex properties. A preferred composite material was YBCO/CeO.sub.2 thin film on a MgO substrate. The superconductor composites were preferably formed by off-axis co-sputtering. A surprising recovery in properties was seen after plasma etching with oxygen.

Abstract: A method for enhancing signal-to-noise ratio and resolution of amplitude stable signals wherein underwater acoustic data is first collected with an array of hydrophones, and then the data is digitally sampled. After producing spectra of sequential time snapshots of the digitally-sampled data, the spectra are beamformed for a single frequency. Next the low resolution beamformer response is deconvolved from the data by use of a calculated beam response pattern for the hydrophone array, so that many high-resolution estimates are created for each time snapshot. Finally, the resulting high resolution estimates are reduced to a single estimate for each spatial bin across all of the time snapshots, and the high resolution, high gain results are displayed.

Abstract: Nuclear magnetic resonance analysis of powdery or other randomly oriented solid samples is improved by slowly rotating the sample with a period exceeding the nuclear spin relaxation time of nuclei in the sample. As a result, a relatively large proportion of the crystallites in the sample are brought into resonance, thereby improving the signal to noise ratio of the NMR reading. In addition, information about the width of the entire spectrum can be obtained from analysis of measurements of only a portion of it.

Abstract: A solar concentrator having flexible retractable reflector panels of a thin lastic film coated with aluminum or silver configured as a trough along the long edges of the solar panel and tilted so as to direct the reflected sunlight onto the solar panel in such a manner that the ray from the extreme outer edge of a reflector panel will fall on the edge of the opposite side of the solar panel, resulting in an even distribution of reflected sunlight on the solar panel for optimum performance. The flexible reflector panels are stowed during launch by rolling them around the booms or around themselves. For launch, the booms with the reflector panel rolled thereon, are stowed against the long edges of the solar panel. After launch, the booms are extended to a an angular position respective to the solar panel, by a system of pulleys and wires that keep tension on the reflector panels as the reflector panels are deployed as the plurality of sections of the solar panel are extended to a flat position.

Abstract: A water vapor insensitive and corrosion resistant chemical or biochemical nsor device, including a transducer, coated with a protective coating of diamond or a diamond-like carbon, preferably by a pulsed laser deposition technique. The surface of the protective coating is coated with a chemoselective or bioselective absorption material or film.

Abstract: A core/clad glass optical fiber is made by melting a core glass rod and a adding glass rod in separate crucibles which are not intersecting with respect to each other and the respective core and cladding glass melts passed out of contact with each other to a glass melt contacting zone proximate a fiber drawing orifice in which the cladding glass surrounds the core glass and a core/clad glass fiber is drawn. This process enables the clad glass fiber to be drawn directly from core and cladding glass rods without the need for a preform or forming a melt from glass chards or chunks, thereby reducing the cost of producing the fiber and also producing a glass clad optical fiber of high purity and excellent concentricity. Chalcogenide glass fibers having a concentricity of 100% have been made.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a powder of unagglomerated metallic particles. More particularly, the present invention relates to a powder of unagglomerated metallic particles having an average diameter of about 1-100 nm and the process for making the same. Additionally, the powder of unagglomerated metallic particles can be formed into a lyophilized form which upon reconstitution maintains the average diameter of between about 1-100 nm wherein the particles remain unagglomerated.

Abstract: Near net-shapeable nanostructured ceramic nitride powder and a process for producing the same by nitriding molecular precursor powder in a nitrogen containing atmosphere, e.g., in ammonia, to form nanostructured ceramic nitride powder.

Abstract: A device for producing circularly polarized optical emission includes a light emitting semiconductor heterostructure, further including at least one semiconducting layer; a ferromagnetic contact having a magnetic moment, in electrical contact with a layer of the semiconductor heterostructure; and a contact electrically connected to a different region of the semiconductor heterostructure. This light emitting semiconductor heterostructure may be a light emitting diode (LED), or some other structure. The ferromagnetic contact injects spin polarized carriers (electrons or holes) into the semiconducting device, which recombine with their opposing carriers to produce circularly polarized light. A process for producing circularly polarized optical emission includes applying a bias across a light emitting semiconductor heterostructure having a contact with a net magnetic moment, therby injecting spin polarized carriers into the light emitting semiconductor heterostructure.

Abstract: The process for making a porous mass containing dense aggregates or granu includes the steps of mixing powder with more than 10% by weight of a binder to form agglomerated powder, heating the agglomerated powder to remove the binder and to grow crystallites in the powder to an average diameter exceeding 5 microns to form a porous mass containing the dense aggregates, and cooling the porous mass. The porous mass is broken up, if it is cohesive, into the aggregates containing the crystallites and the aggregates can be used to make an article, such as a transducer. The transducer is essentially a thick film and its thickness is that of the ceramic aggregates of granules. The electrodes connect to the top and to the bottom of the aggragates. As a result, the transducer material operates in the 1-3 mode.

Abstract: The large area plasma processing system (LAPPS) is a system wherein an elron beam is used to produce a plasma. A large area uniform plasma is produced where length and width can be comparable (10's-100's of cm) and very much larger than the plasma thickness (.about.1 cm). The plasma distribution is created independent of the surface to be processed and the bias applied to the surface. The beam-produced plasma has a low intrinsic electron and excitation temperature plasma, allowing the process to be conducted with better control of free radical production. A material, such as a substrate, being processed may be placed in close proximity to plasma with controlled ion bombardment or without substantial bombardment by energetic ions. The system also offers a large available area for gas inflow and removal from the processing chamber and cathode chamber so as not to contaminate the material being processed or damage the cathode.

Abstract: In one embodiment, this invention pertains to desalination of seawater by eding methane into seawater at a depth exceeding 100 meters to form methane hydrate which rises to where it is decomposed into methane and water, and recovering water. Methane is recycled.

Abstract: A moving target indicating system wherein a pulse source which generates radiofrequency drive pulses at a predetermined pulse repetition frequency is connected to the inputs of a pair of channels. The first channel includes a phase-dispersive filter having a first phase-slope dispersion characteristic, while the second channel has a phase-dispersive filter having a phase-slope dispersion characteristic which is the negative of that of the first filter. A pulse group comprising the output of the first and the second channels is transmitted periodically as each drive pulse is applied. The pulse repetition frequency is sufficiently low that when transmitted, echos of only one pulse of each group are received at a time.

Abstract: A monolithic piezoelectric accelerometer of the longitudinal type having a ass element, a piezoelectric accelerometer sensor element and electrodes interconnecting the mass and sensor elements, in which the mass and sensor elements are formed as a monolithic structure. Included is the method for making the monolithic piezoelectric accelerometer.