Award Data

Mayflower Communications has partnered with the Boston University Hearing Research Center to propose novel techniques for speech enhancement in reverberant environment based on advanced auditory modeling of higher-level processing in the human auditory brain. Speech enhancement or noise suppression has been an area of active research for well over three decades. State-of-the-art single-microphone ...

This Small Business Technology Transfer Research phase I program will develop a new class of uncooled THz detectors for the 1-10THz band with a novel design using surface plasmon resonant cavities with integrated metal-insulator-metal tunneling diodes as the detecting element. Tunneling diodes provide ultrafast broadband response, potentially into the visible (300THz), but demonstrated performanc ...

Aerodyne Research, Inc. (ARI) and The University of Massachusetts at Amherst will collaborate to develop a novel technique for efficient mass spectrometric analysis of high molecular weight analytes such as proteins and polymers. Laser desorption and ionization with minimal analyte fragmentaton will be carried out on metal nanoparticle substrates in a particle beam sampled by Aerodyne’s proprie ...

The objective of this Phase I project is to evaluate the use of novel Laser Induced Surface Improvement (LISI) techniques to provide surface modification to substrate materials which will provide superior wear resistance in extreme conditions. The specific application of interest is the hypersonic metal-to-metal contact that occurs at high speed test track facilities that can and has lead to catas ...

Agiltron and the University of Massachusetts Lowell will develop a transformational terahertz (THz) imager based on Agiltron’s established optical readout photomechanical imaging technology. The photomechanical imager contains a MEMS-based focal plane array that transduces THz radiation into a visible signal for capture by a high-performance CCD imager. By leveraging the advances made in the fie ...

Lexitek and U. Mass Lowell propose to develop novel laser nanostructured substrates for laser desorption ionization (LDI) that enables mass spectrometry (MS) without an interfering chemical matrix. Lexitek is developing these patented plasmonic devices for molecular sensing using surface enhanced detection techniques. Using a technique invented by U. Mass researchers, the devices are fabricated in ...

The goal of the proposed STTR is to demonstrate the feasibility of using a rapid, automated spray layer by layer process, developed by the Hammond group in MIT’s Department of Chemical Engineering, to create polyelectrolyte/carbon nanotube composites for Air Force applications at deposition rates superior to existing layer by layer techniques. This proposal will be led by NanoLab, Inc., a compa ...

In this project, we propose to use the radiation-assisted poling technique to enhance the electro-optic coefficient of a polymer that we will integrate within a silicon nano-slot waveguide. The electro-optic coefficient in the slot is expected to improve to nearly its optimal value that it exhibits in bulk material. To avoid a free carrier transit time limit and reduce the radio-frequency propag ...

different modes, while using different combinations of subsystems. This presents a challenge for the personnel validating the system during design and development; the number of combinations of environments, modes, and subsystems is exponential. They cannot all be tested, so an optimal subset of tests must be run. We propose to develop VERITAS: Validation and Evaluation of Remote, Interactive Tea ...

Gallium Nitride (GaN) substrates are ideal materials for fabrication of high-power and high-frequency devices based on III-V materials. The current state-of-the-art Chemical Mechanical Polishing (CMP) methods are plagued by several challenges, including, surface charge affects due to surface contamination, and sub-surface damages, which can limit the quality of III-V devices. Furthermore, there is ...