Award Data

We propose to develop a "black carbon" (soot) monitor for measuring non-volatile particulate emissions from gas turbine engines employing a proprietary optical extinction measurement technique based on cavity attenuated phase shift spectroscopy (CAPS) operting in conjunction with a differential mobility analyzer. The singular aspect of the CAPS approach is that extinction is measured by determinin ...

By providing size resolved compositional information, the Aerosol Mass Spectrometer (AMS) has greatly advanced understanding of aircraft particulate matter (PM) emissions. AMS data have been critical to much of our understanding of aircraft PM emissions, but in the past it has had limited utility in probing the smallest (

Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations for combustion do not currently have the predictive capability typically found for non-reacting flows due to the prohibitively high computational cost incurred when one introduces detailed chemical kinetics. In this SBIR project, we propose a novel method, Adaptive Chemistry, to enable such detailed modeling. This method adapts the reaction mechanism ...

Leveraging on Agiltron’s industry leading development of optical MEMS devices and the PI’s experience with FTIR spectrometer design, we propose to develop a new class of high performance compact and rugged FTIR spectrometers for LWIR optical range. The design is based on the MEMS lamellar mirror technique. Although this approach is not new, it has not yet been efficiently applied to LWIR, and ...

Secondary neutrons make a significant contribution to the total absorbed dose received by space crews during long duration space missions However, only a limited number of measurements of the dose contribution from secondary neutrons have been made. In part this is due to an inability to easily discriminate between the fraction of dose which results from secondary neutrons and that which results f ...

To further advance the characterization and utility of microcantilevers, next generation optical detectors with higher frequency response, improved displacement resolution and lower noise for weak signal detection are needed. Consequently, Radiation Monitoring Devices, Inc. (RMD) will develop a turnkey optical detector module for use in characterizing the displacement and resonant frequencies of m ...

Long-range optical telecommunications (LROT) impose challenging requirements on detector array sensitivity at 1064nm and arrays timing bandwidth. Large photonic arrays with integrated beam acquisition, tracking and/or communication capabilities, and smart pixel architecture should allow the implementation of more reliable and robust LROT systems. Integration of smart pixel technology for parallel ...

Longwave infrared (LWIR, 8-12µm) focal plane arrays (FPAs) play an important role in hyperspectral chemical and biological sensing. Existing thermal detectors are unable to meet the high sensitivity and fast response requirements of many hyperspectral chemical and biological sensing applications. Photodetectors and FPAs based on photon excited electron generation process can fulfill the speed and ...

NextGen will require the development of novel solutions to shape the airspace of tomorrow. Along with the ability to generate new systems and technologies comes the need to rigorously evaluate, and eventually validate, the effectiveness of these concepts. However, it is often challenging to translate simulation data into useful, integrated, and contextually-based assessments. Many critical finding ...

For remote sensing of laser/lidar technology and global environment monitoring applications, the pulsed coherent Doppler lidars are of considerable contemporary interest as an effective tool. At present, the coherent 2-ƒÝm laser radar has been used to replaced CO2 gas laser (10.6-ƒÝm) for its higher spatial and velocity resolution. Considering the commercial 2 micron laser systems are complex ...