Sandia Corporation

Other

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Gerard E Sleefe

Ernest J Garcia

James L Novak

Marc A Polosky

Padmakar P Lele

Thomas Jeffery Rudnick

Paul H Eichel

Amy A Yee

K Terry Stalker

A microelectromechanical (MEM) apparatus is disclosed which includes a platform that can be electrostatically tilted from being parallel to a substrate on which the platform to being tilted at an angle of 1&#x2013;20 degrees with respect to the substrate. Once the platform has been tilted to a maximum angle of tilt, the platform can be locked in position using an electrostatically-operable latching mechanism which engages a tab protruding below the platform. The platform has a light-reflective upper surface which can be optionally coated to provide an enhanced reflectivity and form a micromirror. An array of such micromirrors can be formed on a common substrate for applications including optical switching (e.g. for fiber optic communications), optical information processing, image projection displays or non-volatile optical memories.

Mechanically latchable tiltable platform for forming micromirrors and micromirror arrays

Methods are disclosed for row and column addressing of an array of microelectromechanical (MEM) devices. The methods of the present invention are applicable to MEM micromirrors or memory elements and allow the MEM array to be programmed and maintained latched in a programmed state with a voltage that is generally lower than the voltage required for electrostatically switching the MEM devices.

Electrical latching of microelectromechanical devices

A system for electrically measuring variations over a flexible web has a capacitive sensor including spaced electrically conductive, transmit and receive electrodes mounted on a flexible substrate. The sensor is held against a flexible web with sufficient force to deflect the path of the web, which moves relative to the sensor.

Sensor system for web inspection

A system for detecting defects on a moving web having a sequential series of identical frames uses an imaging device to form a real-time camera image of a frame and a comparitor to comparing elements of the camera image with corresponding elements of an image of an exemplar frame. The comparitor provides an acceptable indication if the pair of elements are determined to be statistically identical; and a defective indication if the pair of elements are determined to be statistically not identical. If the pair of elements is neither acceptable nor defective, the comparitor recursively compares the element of said exemplar frame with corresponding elements of other frames on said web until one of the acceptable or defective indications occur.

Sequential detection of web defects

Methods and devices for characterizing tissues and the like utilize signals obtained from ultrasonic backscatter processes. The method accounts for frequency-dependent attenuation, spatially-varying media statistics, arbitrary beam geometries, and arbitrary pulse shapes. Statistical analysis is employed to estimate the scatterer number density (SND) of tissues. The method for estimating the scatterer number density incorporates measurements of both the statistical moments of the backscattered signals and the point spread function of the acoustic system.

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Cedar Crest, NM, United States of America

Gerard E Sleefe