United States of America as Represented by the Administrator of Nasa

Other

Sunfriend Corporation

Shahid Aslam

Gerard T Quilligan

Nicolas Gorius

John R Kolasinski

Daniel P Glavin

Dat Tran

Karin Edgett

Peter Chen

Ari D Brown

David H Franz

George Nehmetallah

Siddharth Potbhare

Terry Hurford

Perry A Gerakines

Todd C Purser

Emily M Barrentine

Conor Nixon

Karin Louise Edgett

Theodor Kostiuk

Tilak Hewagama

Thuc Phan

Imaging devices, methods, and systems are disclosed. The disclosure includes a Fourier Ptychographic Microscope ('FPM') compatible for integration to a Microfluidic Device (“MD”) to perform wide Field-of-View (“FoV”), high spatial resolution imaging (<1 μm), for biosignature detection and motility in liquid samples, for use, without limitation, as a space-based payload. Fourier ptychography (“FP”) algorithms adapted for reconstruction are disclosed. A processor board and camera combined with FP algorithms adapted for reconstruction are used to computationally reconstruct sub-micron resolution images. In certain embodiments, a dual-modality portable FPM performs wide FoV, high lateral and axial resolution imaging, and high-resolution birefringence imaging, for biosignature detection and motility in liquid samples. Various combinations of the disclosed devices, methods, and systems may be employed, depending on the particular requirements of each implementation.

Fourier ptychographic microscope systems and methods

The present invention relates to a compact, lightweight, cost-efficient ultraviolet-visible-far infrared (UV-VIS-IR) telescope system, covering the 300 nm to 2500 nm (0.3 μm to 2.5 μm) spectral range, based on a fast focal-ratio, reflective optics design, and an optical coupling interface appropriate for COTS spectrometers, commensurate with about 1U-2U CubeSat payload volume.

Carbon nano-tube polymer composite mirrors for CubeSat telescope

A methane alert station for detecting methane gas in an environment. The methane alert station comprises a casing, at least one window opening formed in the casing, a infrared transmitting window disposed in the at least one window opening, an infrared light source disposed adjacent to the infrared transmitting window, a hyperbolic mirror disposed in the casing coaxially with a central axis, a Winston cone disposed coaxially with the central axis and spaced from the hyperbolic mirror along the central axis, and a filter-detector arranged coaxially with the central axis and so that the Winston cone is disposed between the hyperbolic mirror and the filter-detector. The infrared light source is configured to emit an outgoing infrared light from the casing. The filter-detector is configured to measure a methane gas concentration in the environment by measuring an absorption of infrared radiation of the methane gas at specific wavelength bandwidths.

System, apparatus and methods for detecting methane leak

An analog digital converter that does not require a dedicated reference voltage, can digitize a rail-rail input signal and provide house-keeping functions to a ROIC or other IC. The RHADR system may operate without support from a main electronics board, which would only have to supply a power supply voltage to, and read the outputs from, the chip. This is achieved with (1) a Pivoting Successive Approximation Register ADC (PSAR ADC) and (2) radiation hard by design (RHBD) techniques.

Pivoting successive approximation register ADC for a radiation hard autonomous digital readout

An apparatus for measuring vapor partial pressures of water and carbon dioxide includes a pair of infrared (IR) sources and a pair of quad filter detectors are placed opposite to one another such that the vapor partial pressures of water (HO) and carbon dioxide (CO) is measured and quantified in a short pathlength gas cell.

Compact non-dispersive infrared gas analyzer

An apparatus include one or more DACs and a resistor divider are configured to generate a variable bias voltage Vwith respect to a CM voltage V. The CM voltage Vis applied to a cathode of one or more thermopiles or a negative input of one or more amplifiers to prevent saturation and over range of one or more low voltage readout amplifiers and one or more ADCs.

Thermopile bias method for low voltage infrared readout integrated circuits

The present invention relates to uncooled microbolometers which can be integrated in future thermal instruments engaged in land imaging on future observatories. The present invention includes: (1) developing and characterizing a microstructured VOx thin film, and, (2) fabricating an uncooled microbolometer array over the 8-14 micron spectral band.

Nanostructured vanadium oxide uncooled bolometers and method of fabrication

A Gated CDS Integrator (GCI) may amplify low-level signals without introducing excessive offset and noise. The GCI may also amplify the low level signals with accurate and variable gain. The GCI may include a modulator preceding an amplifier such that offset or noise present in a signal path between the modulator and a demodulator input is translated to a higher out of band frequency, and thereafter reduced by a double sampled discrete time integrator which also reduces thermal noise. The thermal noise may also be reduced by averaging the output of the discrete time integrator.

Gated CDS integrator

A Gated CDS Integrator (GCI) may amplify low-level signals without introducing excessive offset and noise. The GCI may also amplify the low level signals with accurate and variable gain. The GCI may include a modulator preceding a linear amplifier such that offset or noise present in a signal path between the modulator and a demodulator input is translated to a higher out of band frequency.

An autozero amplifier may include a window comparator network to monitor an output offset of a differential amplifier. The autozero amplifier may also include an integrator to receive a signal from a latched window comparator network, and send an adjustment signal back to the differential amplifier to reduce an offset of the differential amplifier.

Auto-zero differential amplifier

Provided herein are a wearable radiation detector and a method of controlling thereof, the detector including: the radiation collection unit operable to collect light and output a signal corresponding to the light collected; a memory; a display unit; a processor operable to receive the signal output by the radiation collection unit, to store a value in the memory corresponding to the signal output by the radiation collection unit, to output an output signal based at least on the signal corresponding to the light collected by the radiation collection unit and to control the display unit to display an indication corresponding to the output signal, wherein the determining includes continually calculating the maximum exposure level based on the light being received by the radiation collection unit.

Wearable radiation detector

Wearable sensor

Pt/nGaN Schottky barrier diodes are disclosed that are particularly suited to serve as ultra-violet sensors operating at wavelengths below 200 nm. The Pt/nGaN Schottky barrier diodes have very large active areas, up to 1 cm, which exhibit extremely low leakage current at low reverse biases. Very large area Pt/nGaN Schottky diodes of sizes 0.25 cmand 1 cmhave been fabricated from n/nGaN epitaxial layers grown by vapor phase epitaxy on single crystal c-plane sapphire, which showed leakage currents of 14 pA and 2.7 nA, respectively for the 0.25 cmand 1 cmdiodes both configured at a 0.5V reverse bias.

Growing community of inventors

Washington, DC, United States of America

Shahid Aslam