Award Data

Using a novel concept for humidity control, based on a proprietary saturated air source, MAC will construct and evaluate a prototype of an environmental chamber for use with NIST’s SPHERE UV source, in weathering or other UV degradation studies. The chamber will interface to the exit ports of the SPHERE, maintaining the material coupons, mounted in a standardized sample holder, at a programmed t ...

X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy is a widely used and extremely sensitive analytical technique for qualitative as well as quantitative chemical analysis. Superconducting Transition Edge Sensor (TES) microcalorimeter detectors have now been developed that achieve an energy resolution of 2 eV (full width at half maximum) for 1.5 keV X-rays, which is sufficient to enable the measurement of the small s ...

With the growing demand for more efficient fingerprinting techniques, live scans are rapidly displacing traditional ink-based methods. Despite improvements in detector and processing technology for capturing and digitizing fingerprints, current equipment falls well short of NIST’s goal of a small, tamper-resistant, battery-powered, handheld scanner. Incumbent equipment suppliers have little comm ...

We propose to demonstrate near infrared (NIR) InGaAs sensor arrays with 55% lower noise than arrays presently available to improve the sensitivity of current spectroscopy systems. The low noise performance will be enabled by the use of low-noise source follower per detector ROICs, which are also used in astronomy with HgCdTe for low noise measurements. With design improvements to current available ...

A high sensitivity laser-induced incandescence system is proposed for the detailed characterization of environmental soot. The Phase 1 effort has clearly demonstrated the feasibility of (1) reducing the lower detection limit of soot volume fraction and increasing the overall measurement range by at least 2 orders of magnitude from what is currently achievable, and (2) providing PM particle size me ...

NIST is seeking a large area solar simulator to overcome the shortcomings of current solar simulators. To meet this need, Physical Optics Corp. (POC) proposed to develop a new Holographic Light-Emitting-Diode-Based Solar Simulator (HOLIOS) based on holographic gratings, holographic diffuser, high-power light emitting diodes with electronic drivers, collimating and projection optics, and photodetec ...

The objective of this proposal is to create a prototype imaging variable kinetic energy electron analyzer in the range 0.1 to 8 keV for use with an X-ray excitation source. The imaging analyzer is to have a target imaging spatial resolution of 100 nm. The X-ray excitation source will be a synchrotron light source. The instrument can be described as an X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) microsc ...

Two distinct designs with performance characteristics for analyzers consistent with the solicitation requirements were delivered in Phase 1. The Phase 1 research and modeling results have been sufficiently conclusive to indicate feasibility of both designs. The more novel of the two designs is proposed: a hybrid magnetic/electrostatic analyzer that features very high collection and transmission ef ...

Two distinct designs with performance characteristics for analyzers consistent with the solicitation requirements were delivered in Phase 1. The Phase 1 research and modeling results have been sufficiently conclusive to indicate feasibility of both designs. The more novel of the two designs is proposed: a hybrid magnetic/electrostatic analyzer that features very high collection and transmission ef ...

A new type of THz photomixer will be developed using a submicron interdigitated-electrode structure fabricated on an Eras:GaAs ultrafast photoconductive layer, an AIAs heat spreader and an AIGas/AIAs dielecric mirror. The Eras:GaAs-based photomixer will provide extremely wide tuning bandwidth (>1 decade) and a continuous-wave output power of roughly 10 microwatt around 100 GHz, at least 1 microwat ...