Award Data

We will develop and test an innovative computer Assisted reading device for improving the ability ovisually impaired users to complete independent living tasks. The unique optical character recognitidevice requires only one hand for operation and can read food and pharmacological packaging includinThe user will acquire functional capability after only a few minutes of training. Since the incidencl ...

AstroPower proposes to develop high performance, room temperature, mass-producible, low-cost infrared detectors using liquid-phase heteroepitaxy of lattice-matched InGaAsSb and AlGaAsSb on GaSb substrates. The structure of these detectors will be a Separate Absorption and Multiplication Avalanche Photodiode (SAM-APD). This structure has proven to be an effective means of producing large gain in ...

This proposal describes a new optical phase-shifter technology incorporating analog ferroelectric liquid crystal (FLC) materials. This technology will be used to produce a phased-array beamsteerer that can be reconfigured in under 100 microseconds. Due to the analog behavior, the device promises high diffraction efficiency and low sidelobe amplitude. Because FLC materials are used, rapid switchi ...

Spectrally and spatially coherent, high pulse energy, tunable mid-IR sources remain elusive. Solid-State and semiconductor lasers do not operate over the 1.5 to 5 micron wavelength range, leaving laser-pumped frequency converters, such as Optical Parametric Oscillators (OPOs), as the most viable technology. Achieving high conversion efficiency and continuous tunability in rugged OPOs has present ...

The development of graphite fibers with thermal conductivities along the fiber of greater than 1000 W/m degree K have allowed composites to reach in-plane thermal conductivities (11, k22) of 300 to 660 W/m degree K. These conductivities are two to four times those of the aluminum alloys currently used for spacecraft structure. However, the composites have very low thermal conductivit ...

Extracorporeal life support (ECLS) is used for newborn infants with respiratory failure. Improvedlong term ECLS efficiency is desirable and would allow broader (children/adults/ cardiac support) andsafer use. Systems are based on microporous (hollow fiber) membranes or silicon non-porousmembranes. Microporous membranes have adequate initial performance but after 2-6 hours "plasmaleakage" clogs the ...

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Data Fusion Corporation (DFC) proposed the development of radiometric invariants for automated target recognition (ATR) using thermal imagery in Phase I, together with SAR imagery in Phase II. This development will complement DFC's current efforts for exploiting geometric invariants for targeting and ATR. This effort exploits the concept of thermal invariants and thermal history constra ...

Advanced, smart pixel spatial light modulators (SLMs) should be able to simultaneously accept multiple two-dimensional inputs (e.g. images or control signals), and be able to produce multi-state or fully analog two-dimensional optical outputs. Furthermore, the wavefront quality of the optical outputs must meet the standards required by coherent light optical systems. Displaytech has extensive ex ...

Enterotoxigenic E. coli (ETEC) is among the most important agents involved in pediatric diarrhea anmost frequently encountered cause of illness in visitors to these regions. It is estimated that 16 mindustrialized nations travel to ETEC-endemic regions annually, and that 30-70% of these travelers cdiarrhea. The overall objective of this work is to facilitate development of passive antibody producd ...