Welcome to your Digital Edition

of Tech Briefs and

Photonics & Imaging Technology
September 2022
September 2022 www.techbriefs.com Vol. 46 No. 9
September 2022

Executive
Roundtable:
Collaborative
Robots

Bolstering
Root-of-Trust
Security Measures
Gel Film Harvests Challenges of
Water from Air Fabricating and
Coating Laser Crystals
NEW! NASA Space SPECIAL SECTION:
Communications Designing a Human-Robot Technology Leaders
Workshop Collaboration System in Optics
See page 16
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September 2022 www.techbriefs.com Vol. 46 No. 9

Executive
Roundtable:
Collaborative
Robots

Bolstering
Root-of-Trust
Security Measures
Gel Film Harvests
Water from Air
NEW! NASA Space
Communications
Workshop
See page 16
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 September 2022 • Vol. 46 No.9

Contents
Features 10
10 Products of Tomorrow

14 Create the Future Design Contest: Success Story

16 NASA Space Communications Workshop Preview

18 Executive Roundtable: Collaborative Robots

22 Root of Trust: A Standardization Model that Needs to

Happen Now
16
46 Application Briefs

52 Facility Focus: Virginia Tech College of Engineering

56 NASA Spinoff: Webb Telescope Mirror Tech Improves Eye

Surgery on Earth

Solutions
30 Sensors
46
30 Future Wearable Health Tech Could Measure Gases Released
from Skin

31 Sensor Breakthrough Paves the Way for a Map of the World

Under Earth’s Surface

32 Ultrathin Pressure Sensor Attaches to Skin

33 Thin, Stretchable Biosensors Could Make Surgery Safer

34 Robotics & Automation Departments

34 Advanced Humanoid Robotic Hand Technologies 8 Click
12 5 Ws
35 Teaching Drones How to Navigate Real-World Weather 13 Q&A
55 Advertisers Index
36 Firefly-Inspired Robotic Lightning Bugs Take Flight

37 Mechanical & Fluid Systems

37 Corrugated Rollable Tubular Boom New for Design Engineers

37 Tiny Motors to Power a Network of Nanomachines 50 New on the Market

38 Integral Tuned Mass Absorber for Turbine Blades

39 Active Flow Control System for Simple-Hinged Flaps

40 Power & Energy

40 Enhancing Solar Option During Power Outages

(Power & Energy continued on page 6)

4 www.techbriefs.com Tech Briefs, September 2022

 KEEP IT SIMPLE!
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WSEN-ITDS WSEN-TIDS WSEN-PADS WSEN-PDUS WSEN-HIDS
 Contents

40 New Approach to Reducing EV Battery Testing Time

Product of the Month
41 Large Format Li-Ion Calorimeter The compact optoNCDT 1420LL la-
ser sensors from Micro-Epsilon (Or-
tenburg, Germany) perform precise
42 Energy Storage Materials Make Batteries More Efficient and distance measurements on metallic
Heat-Resistant and structured surfaces. The sensor
projects a small laser line onto the
42 Room-Temperature Liquid-Metal Battery measuring object, which compen-
sates for any interference. This en-
sures stable and reliable measure-
43 Sustainable Technology ment values. These sensors are used
whenever standard laser point sen-
43 A Biodegradable Filtration System for Waste Metal Recovery
sors reach their limit.
50
43 Using AI to Help Scale Up Advanced Solar Cell Manufacturing On the Cover
The demand for collaborative robots (cobots) is steadily
44 Lignin-Based Jet Fuel Packs More Power mounting across all industries. Big manufacturing compa-
nies have been receptive to cobots. As factory automation
45 Unprinting Method Removes Toner with Xenon Light becomes accessible to even the small- and medium-enter-
prises (SMEs), will the adoption of cobots by SMEs accel-
erate in near future? What are the key challenges cobots
45 Organic Steam Generator Uses Sunlight to Purify Water need to overcome before they become ubiquitous? On
page 18, four industry experts share their views about the
future outlook of cobots.
(Image: OnRobot)

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06/05/2022 08:29
 CLICK
VIDEO PODCAST

Four Industrial Applications of Collaborative Here’s an Idea: Wearables

Robots
Cobots continue to prove their effectiveness in industrial
applications by enabling companies to fill labor gaps, while
at the same time boosting the performance of existing staff
by taking over the dull, dirty, and dangerous tasks. This vid-
eo highlights four applications of cobots in manufacturing.
Sophisticated sensors do exist — the kind that can tell you
that you’re getting a sunburn, that your heartrate is a bit too
high, or even that you have the symptoms associated with
COVID-19. In this episode of our Here’s an Idea podcast series,
we speak to researchers who are building a variety of wearables.
And some sensors blend in more than others.

Watch this video and more on Listen to this episode at

TechBriefs.TV TechBriefs.com/podcast

QUESTION
QUIZ INTERVIEW
BLOG
OF THE MONTH

You Don’t Know ISS — Or Do You? When AI Meets Human Intelligence

NASA plans to retire the legendary International Space
Station by 2030 — after more than 20 years on the job —
with its operations transitioning to commercial space sta-
tions. Before it says goodbye, though, can you name the six
earthbound benefits that it has borne? Put your knowledge
to the test with our quiz.
The system designer’s job changes when artificial intelligence
enters the mix; learn what happens when the two meet. Associate
Editor Ed Brown details how he, as a designer, now must consider
back-and-forth interactions between user and device — and how
that can be trickier than it seems at first glance. A designer’s job
gets much more complicated when AI is part of the system.

Take the quiz on Read the full interview at

TechBriefs.com TechBriefs.com/blog

Instagram: @TechBriefs Twitter: @TechBriefsMag Facebook: @TechBriefsMagazine LinkedIn: Tech Briefs Media

8 www.techbriefs.com Tech Briefs, September 2022

Take the Lead
in RF Design
with COMSOL Multiphysics®
Multiphysics simulation is expanding the scope of RF analysis to higher
frequencies and data rates. Accurate models of microwave, mmWave, and
photonic designs are obtained by accounting for coupled physics effects,
material property variation, and geometry deformation. Ultimately, this
helps you more quickly see how a design will perform in the real world.

» comsol.com/feature/rf-innovation
 This column presents technologies that have

Products of
applications in commercial areas, possibly
creating the products of tomorrow. To learn

Tomorrow
more about each technology, see the contact
information provided for that innovation.

u High-Powered
Infrared Laser
Innovators at NASA
Johnson Space Cen-
ter have developed a
high-powered infrared
(IR) laser that can trig-
ger Lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery cells into thermal
runaway (TR) without perforating the battery’s wall
like previous methods. Inducing TR in a battery cell
allows engineers to test and improve the safety per-
formance of overheated batteries that can poten-
tially catch fire or explode. The primary advantage
of this method is the heat energy delivered by the
laser that can be localized to the exact target spot
on the battery cell, minimizing thermal biasing to
adjacent cells. Triggering Li-ion cells with laser radi-
ation could work on any commercial battery cell de-
sign with only exterior surface treatment required.
The technology has several potential applications,
including human-occupied vehicular transport ap-
plications that require a high level of rigor in deter-
mining margins of safety.
Contact: NASA’s Licensing Concierge
Phone: 202-358-7432
E-mail: Agency-Patent-Licensing@mail.nasa.gov
u Muscle-Like Fibers
Researchers at The Uni-
versity of Texas at Austin
and Penn State University
have created a new type of
fiber that can perform like
a muscle actuator, in many
ways better than other op-
tions that exist today. And,
most importantly, these muscle-like fibers are sim-
ple to make and recycle. The researchers showed
that these fibers, which they initially discovered
while working on another project, are more effi-
cient, flexible, and able to handle increased strain
compared to what’s out there today. These fibers
could be used in a variety of ways, including medi-
cine and robotics. Such a robotic arm could be used
in an assistive exoskeleton to help people with weak
arms regain movement and strength. Another po-
tential application could be a sort of “self-closing
bandage” that could be used in surgical procedures
and naturally degrade inside the body once the
wound heals.

Contact: Nat Levy

Phone: 512-471-2129
E-mail: nat.levy@utexas.edu

u Ultrasound Stickers
Ultrasound imaging currently requires bulky and specialized equipment available
only in hospitals and doctor’s offices. But a new design by MIT engineers might
make the technology as wearable and accessible as buying Band-Aids at the pharma-
cy. The engineers designed an adhesive patch that produces ultrasound images of
the body. The stamp-sized device sticks to skin and can provide continuous ultra-
sound imaging of internal organs for 48 hours. The stickers could have immediate
applications: For instance, the devices could be applied to patients in the hospital, similar to heart-monitoring
EKG stickers, and could continuously image internal organs without requiring a technician to hold a probe in
place for long periods of time. If the devices can be made to operate wirelessly, the ultrasound stickers could
be turned into wearable imaging products that patients could take home from a doctor’s office or even buy at
a pharmacy.

Contact: Abby Abazorius

Phone: 617-253-2709
E-mail: abbya@mit.edu

10 www.techbriefs.com Tech Briefs, September 2022

MCC would like to see you at Booth #339419

A sampling of our technology that will be on display

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5 Who
Ws of
headline
Gel Film
headline
Water
headline
for
Harvesting
headline line
Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text
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air
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evenTex
the driest climates.

What
The researchers used renewable cellulose and a
common kitchen ingredient, konjac gum, as a
main hydrophilic (attracted to water) skeleton.
The open-pore structure of gum speeds the
moisture-capturing process. Another designed
component, thermo-responsive cellulose with
hydrophobic (resistant to water) interaction
when heated, helps release the collected water
immediately so that overall energy input to pro-
duce water is minimized. The film is flexible
and can be molded into a variety of shapes and
sizes, depending on the need of the user. Mak- An example of a different shape the water-capturing film can take. (Image:
ing the film requires only the gel precursor, UT Austin)
which includes all the relevant ingredients
poured into a mold. The materials that cost a
mere $2 per kilogram, and a single kilogram
can produce more than 6 liters of water per day
in areas with less than 15 percent relative hu-
midity and 13 liters in areas with up to 30 per-
Hygrometer
cent relative humidity.

Thermocouple
Where
The University of Texas, Austin

Condenser

Why SHPF on heating plate

The research was funded by the U.S. Depart-
ment of Defense’s Defense Advanced Research
Projects Agency (DARPA) and drinking water
for soldiers in arid climates is a big part of the A prototype device for capturing water from the air using the new film.
project. (Image: UT Austin)

When
The researchers also envision this as something that people could someday buy at a hardware store and use in their
homes because of the simplicity.

Contact Prabhpreet Gill, Technology Licensing Associate, Office of Technology Licensing, at psgill@princeton.edu,
Contact Nat Levy
609-258-3653, at nat.levy@utexas.edu;
or visit 512-471-2129.
https://innovation.princeton.edu

12 www.techbriefs.com Tech Briefs,

Tech Briefs,
September
June 2022
 Q& A
Focusing the Sun – A Big Gain for Solar Power Efficiency
Professor Nina Vaidya has developed a new
kind of optical concentrator — Axially Graded
Index Lens (AGILE) — that can passively fo-
cus the sun onto a photovoltaic cell from any
angle to reduce the amount of photovoltaic
material needed for a given amount of power
generation.
Tech Briefs: What led you to this project?
Vaidya: While working on my PhD at Stanford, Professor
Olav Solgaard asked whether it was possible to design an opti-
cal device that can take all the light from all angles and focus it
at the same point without moving it toward the source, and he
mentioned gradient index optics.
Tech Briefs: Was this just a theoretical idea of his — to
ask that question?
Vaidya: Yes, we started from that impossible theoretical
dream, then I worked on a feasibility study and showed that
it could work. Several people told me that to make this idea
as a real device with real materials could not be done — but I
thought it could. I built a funnel-shaped concentrator, with a
refractive index graded from low to high. The challenge was
that the range of the refractive index difference needed is very
large, from about 1.0 to about 3.5. And not only that, I wanted
to be able to use the whole broadband spectrum of sunlight.
Tech Briefs: What made it possible to cover these
wavelengths?
Vaidya: I did an extensive material search, basically character-
izing various materials and then matching them to be used as
the layers in AGILE.
Vaidya: Great question. If you have a magnifying glass and
then the sun, you know that the spot on the leaf or your hand
will move as the sun does. Now imagine instead of that lens, you
have a material with a graded refractive index that goes from
a low index to a high index gradually across the height of the
AGILE from a larger aperture to a smaller aperture, with re-
flective sidewalls. Because of that gradient index, as light enters
our funnel, it slows down and curves toward the normal due to
refraction instead of travelling in straight lines. That way we
can collect light from all angles without solar tracking and can
even collect light diffused from cloud cover and atmosphere.
Tech Briefs: What excites you most about this project?
Vaidya: In today’s energy and urgent climate crisis, AGILE’s
potential to make solar arrays more effective and cheaper is
going to be very impactful.
Read the full transcript of this Q&A at www.techbriefs.com.
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When I was burning dry leaves with my magnifying
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Solar Power for Carbon Capture
A solar thermal device converts carbon dioxide emissions into a clean energy resource.
A device that pulls carbon out of the air on the
cheap, with renewable energy, creating fresh
fuel in the process, would help us put a harness
on our planet’s runaway temperatures. Xiangkun
(Elvis) Cao, now a Schmidt Science Fellow at
MIT, created just such a device, the HI-Light So-
lar Thermal Chemical Reactor, while pursuing
his Ph.D. with David Erickson at Cornell. It won
the team SAE’s Create the Future Design Contest
award in 2017.
The idea was inspired by the Erickson Lab’s
prior work on biofuel production from algae.
“For algae cultivation, only the top layer will get
access to light,” said Cao. “So, our lab previously
engineered waveguides for uniform light distri-
bution within the whole reactor for better algae
production.” They decided to apply a similar sys-
tem with non-living materials.
Cao set out to create a scalable reactor for photothermal cata-
lytic CO2 conversion. In short, incoming light irradiation into
the reactor is transmitted by glass rod waveguides with specially
designed scattering surfaces to enable uniform irradiation. The
surface of those rods is coated with a catalyst that breaks apart
CO2 and other reactants, producing renewable solar fuels.
Things have come a long way since 2017, both for Cao and
for the solar reactor technology. “For me, I feel like the Create
the Future award was the starting point for my professional ca-
reer,” he said. The industrial partner for the HI-Light effort,
Dimensional Energy, was a finalist for the $20 Millon Carbon
XPrize. In 2019, Forbes featured Cao as one of their “30 Under
30” in Energy for North America. The reactor has progressed
2017 GRAND PRIZE WINNER
INNOVATORS: Xiangkun (Elvis)
Cao (left) and David Erickson
INNOVATION: A solar thermal
device mimics photosynthesis to
convert carbon dioxide emissions
into a clean energy resource.
IMPACT: The HI-Light reactor
transforms CO2 and water into
methanol and other high-value hydrocarbons, which could
help reduce carbon emissions and make carbon dioxide
capture and conversion more economical.
Learn more about the 20th Anniversary Contest at
www.createthefuturecontest.com
14 www.techbriefs.com Tech Briefs, September 2022
in terms of efficiency, scalability, and how it’s manufactured —
just how remains proprietary.
And the reactor may have abilities beyond producing fuel.
The same system can be used for other solar-driven catalytic
processes. And people on this planet may not be the only ones
to benefit from the technology. “It could potentially do a very
good job on Mars,” added Cao. “There’s far more CO2 there
than on Earth, and there’s evidence of subglacial liquid water
on Mars. When you feed CO2 and H2O into the reactor, you
could produce methanol to power a spacecraft and oxygen for
the first Martians.”
Closer to home, Cao is working on pathways to integrate
various carbon capture and utilization processes. “For exam-
ple, taking pure CO2 out of the air — whatever the method
— can be costly. But if, instead, we created concentrations of
carbon at 1,000 parts per million (compared to air’s 420), the
result could be used in greenhouses at little cost. “1,000 is not
good for human health, but tomatoes really like it,” said Cao.
“There are many existing carbon capture and carbon utiliza-
tion processes out there. If we think outside of the box to
bridge carbon capture and utilization, we can create new excit-
ing economic opportunities while working to mitigate global
climate change.”
He’s also turned his mind to policy issues and believes the
world needs to work together to create a roadmap for carbon
capture that’s implemented immediately. “The United States
just banned the EPA from banning emissions from power
plants — that doesn’t make sense at all,” he said. “Right now we
need a global system. We don’t have a global Carbon XPrize.”
“The problem is that we have really limited time to deal with
the massive CO2 emissions,” said Cao. “I’m thinking about the
whole field: with the technologies that are out there already,
what can we do right now, not 20 years later.”
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S
ince the first satellite launched over six decades ago,
spacecraft have relied on radio waves to communi-
cate with Earth. But radio has its limitations. With
more and more satellites now in space and entry
of commercial players as well as the growing demand for
space services, the field of space communications is primed
for disruption.
NASA expects the space-based market to grow signifi-
cantly in the coming years. As space missions become more
sophisticated and far-reaching, communication systems
and technologies must evolve to successfully transmit data
between Earth, the Moon, and beyond. On October 4,
2022, NASA, other government agencies, academia, and
industry will convene at Martin’s Crosswinds Greenbelt,
MD, to discuss important advances in space communica-
tions at the NASA Goddard Space Communications Work-
shop: The Power of Optical and Quantum Technology, Net-
working, and Interoperability.
Presented by NASA and Tech Briefs magazine, this
in-person Space Communications Workshop will foster
discussions surrounding new and emerging technologies,
including optical communications, radio frequency tech-
16 www.techbriefs.com Tech Briefs, September 2022
Preview
nologies, networking, quantum devices, and interoperabil-
ity efforts.
“We are hard at work bringing together NASA, other
government agencies, industry, and academia to discuss
the power of optical and quantum communications tech-
nologies, provide networking opportunities, and increase
interoperability,” said Neal Barthelme, Chief, Commercial-
ization, Innovation, and Synergies Office, NASA’s Explora-
tion and Space Communications.
At this workshop, attendees will have the opportunity to
interface directly with leaders and bright minds from NASA,
other government agencies, and industry. To enhance col-
laboration and interoperability, NASA will be providing a
unique forum to share information, discuss future technol-
ogies, solicit feedback, and network.
Sessions will feature speakers from NASA, other govern-
ment agencies, industry, and academia who will speak to
the growing importance of developments in space commu-
nications and navigation.
The keynote will be presented by NASA’s Space Commu-
nications and Navigation (SCaN) and SDA leadership. You
will hear directly from Badri Younes, the Deputy Associate All Images: NASA/GSC
 Administrator for SCaN program office, about how SCaN
currently manages communications and navigation ser-
vices for NASA and non-NASA missions and what he envi-
sions for the future of space communications.
Another key highlight of the event is the Rapid Devel-
opment, Deployment, and Evolution of Optical Technolo-
gies Panel Discussion. Since the dawn of space exploration,
NASA has used radio frequency systems to communicate
with astronauts and spacecraft. However, as space missions
generate and collect more data, the need for enhanced
communications capabilities increases. Optical communi-
cations will allow missions to send more data per trans-
mission — more data yields more discoveries. During this
panel discussion, attendees can learn more about current
and upcoming optical communications missions.
In addition to the keynote speech and panel, there will
be industry demos as well as breakout sessions covering
communications developments in the commercial and civil/
defense sectors. Whether you are from a civil or defense
organization, or you are from industry, there will be panels
and speakers discussing topics relevant to your field.
There will be many networking opportunities at this in-
vite-only event, where you can join NASA in harnessing the
power of the electromagnetic spectrum to communicate,
navigate, and build a holistic space ecosystem.
For more information, visit www.techbriefs.com/gscw.

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Tech Briefs, September 2022 www.techbriefs.com 17

 Executive
Roundtable:
Collaborative
Robots Gerhard Borho
ot
Rob
r/On

Katja Butterweck
tize
e
Pall

Joe Campbell
niversal Robots
Cobot Welding/U

Pneumat
ic Cobot
/Festo Kristian Hulgard

T
he demand for collaborative robots (cobots) is steadily
mounting across all industries. By taking over the dull,
dirty, and dangerous tasks, Cobots continue to prove
their effectiveness in industrial applications by en-
abling companies to fill labor gaps caused by the pandemic.
Cobots are versatile and can work side-by-side with people,
just like co-workers, on a broad range of tasks. These include
material handling, machine tending, assembly, as well as
testing and packaging in manufacturing, laboratories, logis-
tics hubs, and small production facilities. They can weld, as-
semble, package, palletize, pick and place, and conduct
quality inspections.
Big manufacturing companies have been receptive to co-
bots. As factory automation becomes accessible to even the
small- and medium-enterprises (SMEs), will the adoption of
cobots by SMEs accelerate in near future? What are the key
18 www.techbriefs.com Tech Briefs, September 2022
Background Image: ABB GoFa Electronic Assembly/ABB Global
challenges cobots need to overcome before they become
ubiquitous? Tech Briefs posed questions to four industry ex-
perts about the current trends and future outlook of cobots.
Our roundtable participants include Kristian Hulgard,
General Manager Americas at OnRobot, Joe Campbell, Se-
nior Manager of Applications Development and Strategic
Marketing at Universal Robots, Gerhard Borho, Member of
the Management Board Information Technology and Digita-
lization at Festo, and Katja Butterweck, ABB Global Product
Specialist, Collaborative Robots.
Tech Briefs: What are some of the key trends driving the
growth of cobots today?
Kristian Hulgard: The ongoing labor shortage, which is
happening across all industries and verticals and in many

“ A major driver for cobot adoption is the
technology’s proven ability to increase
productivity and throughput, improve quality
and enhance your bottom line.
countries is a major driver for cobot
adoption. It’s hard to find people to
perform general operative roles, for ex-
ample, which effects many manufactur-
ing processes. Cobots enable compa-
nies to fill these labor gaps, while at the
same time boosting the performance of
existing staff by taking over the dull,
dirty, and dangerous tasks. Cobots have
proven their effectiveness in industrial
applications over the past decade. A
major driver for cobot adoption is the
technology’s proven ability to increase
productivity and throughput, improve
quality and enhance your bottom line.
The flexibility of cobot technology is
also a major factor driving adoption.
With the right tooling, the same cobot
could be used for sanding, screw-
driving, assembly, machine tending
and myriad other applications. Usabili-
ty is another key driver. You don’t have
to be a robot programmer to program a
cobot cell, which creates massive possi-
bilities for companies with little or no
prior robotics experience.
Joe Campbell: Labor shortages are
hitting several sectors, which in turn
drives adoption of cobot technologies.
To take just one sector, the American
Welding Society estimates that there is
a current shortfall of 85,000 welders in
the United States alone. This is a pat-
tern that is repeated across verticals
and regions. The workers simply aren’t
there to take on many of the dull, dirty,
and dangerous tasks from sanding to
palletizing that are critical to a success-
ful manufacturing company.
Gerhard Borho: The world popula-
tion — and thus the demand for goods
— is growing. Factory and logistics halls
are increasing. Industrial robotics en-
sures that we can increase the high pro-
duction demands of a growing world
population through efficient produc-
tion. Work steps can thus be carried out
Tech Briefs, September 2022 www.techbriefs.com 19
” Kristian Hulgard
faster, safer and (more) cost-efficiently.
More and more people are working in
industrial production. They often lift
heavy loads and/or make monotonous
movements for hours on end. Due to
demographic change, for many work-
ers this means decades of exhausting or
unhealthy work. Industrial robotics, es-
pecially collaborative robotics, makes
many people’s working lives easier by
relieving them of strenuous work or
even taking it over completely. The
know-how of the employees can be
used in other, more meaningful ways.
Katja Butterweck: The key trends in
the growth of collaborative robots are
flexibility and ease of use. Cobots from
the leading robot OEMs remove com-
plexity from operations with precision
and repeatability, and, with their sim-
ple design and engineering, can be in-
tegrated into existing production lines
quickly and easily. As far as flexibility
goes, one of the key elements in the
successful implementation of collabo-
rative robots is their approachable,
sleek, compact, and lightweight design,
allowing them to be easily moved be-
tween locations so they can be used
when and where necessary, to support
short-term process changes, or to auto-
mate a task while an employee is off
sick or on holiday.
Tech Briefs: Big manufacturing com-
panies have been receptive to this tech-
nology. As factory automation becomes
accessible to even the small manufac-
turing enterprises, do you think adop-
tion of cobots by SMEs will accelerate
in near future?
Kristian Hulgard: Undoubtedly. In
fact, acceleration of automation adop-
tion among SMEs is one of OnRobot’s
primary goals. By designing hardware
and software that eliminates complex-
ity, OnRobot aims to empower SMEs
to adopt automation — often for the
first time and with no prior robotics
experience. By taking the fussiness
out of automation, adoption becomes
a less daunting process, encouraging
SMEs to incorporate automation in
their workshops.
Joe Campbell: Our founders envi-
sioned a world in which SMEs could
enjoy the benefits of industrial automa-
tion, without the customary cost and
complexity attached. That vision re-
mains central to Universal Robots’ mis-
sion today. The arrival of cobots has
broken down traditional barriers to
adoption and inspired thousands of
SMEs to deploy automation for the first
time. We want people to work with ro-
bots, not like robots. Adoption of co-
bots by SMEs is on an upward trend
and has been for several years. Fast ROI
and a lower Total Cost of Ownership
(TCO) compared to traditional auto-
mation, are additional factors driving
interest among SMEs. UR customers
typically see ROI within 12-18 Septem-
bers. In many cases, depending on the
application, it’s even quicker than that.
And with cobots being easy to program
and deploy, eliminating the need to
hire expensive robot programmers,
TCO is vastly reduced compared to al-
ternative industrial robot solutions.
“
The arrival of
cobots has broken
down traditional
barriers to adoption
and inspired
thousands of SMEs to
deploy automation
for the first time.
Joe Campbell
”
Gerhard Borho: For large corpora-
tions, robot-based solutions are now
standard equipment in large produc-
tion halls. In medium-sized companies,
however, they have by no means ar-
rived across the board. Many still shy
Collaborative Robots
away from this technological leap. The
reasons are different: some fear high
investments — with comparatively lit-
tle added value due to too small fields
of application and possibilities. In
some cases, however, the inhibitions
also lie on the human side: Many asso-
ciate highly complex technical systems
with it and see hurdles in terms of new
competence requirements. Festo
makes collaborative robotics intuitively
controllable, flexibly applicable and —
above all — financially affordable and
thus economically worthwhile even in
smaller companies. Cobots are particu-
larly attractive for SMEs when they can
pragmatically and quickly take on a
new task and are not only intended for
permanent use. The price is a central
aspect for establishing cobots in SMEs
in large numbers. It is a decision crite-
rion when it comes to trying out the
added value simply and without great
financial risk.
Katja Butterweck: Yes, SMEs are ripe
for significant growth in the installa-
tion of cobots due to production and
material cost pressures, labor shortag-
es, and increasing need for flexibility.
ABB is currently witnessing a growing
demand for automation not only in
large companies in industries like auto-
motive and electronics, where robotics
are already in place, but also in SMEs in
new segments like healthcare, consum-
er goods, logistics and retail, which cur-
rently have a low level of robotic auto-
mation. No robot can replace a person.
But often, people are forced into robot-
ic jobs — dull, dangerous, or repetitive
tasks. The increasing capability, auton-
omy, and intelligence of collaborative
robots to handle such tasks can free
employees up for more fulfilling work
and contribute toward a happier, safer,
and healthier society.
Tech Briefs: Interacting with humans
in a shared workspace comes with chal-
lenges of safety. Are robot manufactur-
ers installing more safety features while
designing cobots?
Kristian Hulgard: From the outset,
cobots have been designed to operate
safely close to humans, so safety has al-
ways been a feature of the technology.
This is not to say that traditional indus-
trial automation is unsafe, but it typical-
ly requires extensive fencing and
guarding to protect human workers. In
20 www.techbriefs.com Tech Briefs, September 2022
contrast, following a risk assessment,
cobots can be deployed without all that
fencing and guarding.
Joe Campbell: Safety is central to the
cobot concept which includes the free-
dom, following a risk assessment, to de-
ploy cobots in close proximity to hu-
man workers without all the safety
fencing and guarding traditional in-
dustrial robots require. To make this
possible, Universal Robots has incorpo-
rated an extensive range of safety fea-
tures into our cobots. The e-Series, for
example, has 17 safety features built in
and are certified by TÜV Nord and in
compliance with the EN ISO 13849-1
and EN ISO 10218-1 safety standards.
While cobots provide levels of safety
beyond that of any other industrial ro-
bot, it’s important to counter the mis-
conception that cobots are inherently
safe. For any machine to be inherently
safe, it means that there is no risk of
injury in all situations. No such ma-
chine exists. Cobots are incomplete
machines. As a standalone product
your cobot has no end-effector (grip-
per or other peripheral), and there is
no way to know how it will be used and
what it will do. Only the application of
a cobot can be judged to be safe or not
and this is determined by performing a
simple risk assessment of the cobot ap-
plication in accordance with ISO/TS
15066 before deployment.
Gerhard Borho: The safety require-
ments for collaboration are defined.
Our pneumatic robot meets these stan-
dards and is also inherently more com-
pliant and softer because of the tech-
nology. We owe this to the advantages
of pneumatic drive technology, which,
“ In order to establish
collaborative robotics
on a broad scale, two
aspects are indispensable:
”
flexibility and simplicity.
Gerhard Borho
for example, does not require any gears
at all compared to electric drive solu-
tions. In case of a collision, a “hard
stop” is not always good: e.g. jammed
condition. Then it is important to push
the cobot aside again. This can be real-
ized pneumatically very easily and flexi-
bly in balancer mode.
Katja Butterweck: For a robot to be
considered collaborative, it must have
the necessary safety functions which
prevent injury to a human operator.
This means factoring in the robot’s
speed, the combined mass of the ro-
bot, its payload, and the ability of the
robot to quickly come to a halt. Built-in
safety features, therefore, are the pri-
mary point of differentiation between
collaborative robots and standard in-
dustrial robots. Leading collaborative
robots incorporate a range of features
that allow it to be used directly along-
side human workers without the space
and expense associated with physical
barriers or fences. Enabling a robot
and human to continuously share the
same workspace and cooperate on the
same tasks, without jeopardizing speed
and safety, allows for maximum flexi-
bility and efficiency. ABB’s GoFa co-
bot, for example, features intelligent
torque and position sensors in each
of its six joints to offer superior power
and force limiting performance. These
joints eliminate the risk of injury to hu-
man workers by sensing any unexpect-
ed contact between the cobot’s arm
and a human to bring the robot arm to
a stop within milliseconds.
Tech Briefs: How will advancement in
technologies such as additive manufac-
turing and artificial intelligence impact
the design and development of cobots?
Kristian Hulgard: Additive manufac-
turing offers exciting possibilities
when it comes to customizing automa-
tion and testing prototypes on the
shopfloor. OnRobot Partner EMI, for
example, designs and builds in-stock
and custom solutions for OnRobot
products, from 3D-printed vacuum
tools to machined fingers for handling
grippers. The impact is immediate –
greater flexibility and faster deploy-
ment times for custom applications.
Artificial intelligence is another excit-
ing prospect. Software is the brains of
any robot and if robots can learn from
experience and then share that infor-

“ Artificial intelligence will allow the
realization of a lot more advanced applications
”
with cobots.
mation with other robots worldwide,
it’s easy to imagine a world in which
your automation learns new skills on
an ongoing basis.
Joe Campbell: Additive manufactur-
ing has great potential in terms of cus-
tomization of end-effectors and other
tooling. Moreover, 3D printing allows
rapid prototyping of cobot tooling. The
extent to which this will impact on the
design of cobots themselves remains to
be seen. Many of our UR+ partners in-
corporate AI features into applications
such as bin-picking solutions, but we
expect to see more widespread use of
AI in the years ahead.
Gerhard Borho: Additive manufac-
turing and artificial intelligence are be-
coming more and more important and
bring with them new requirements that
impact the design and development of
cobots. Traditional development and
production processes will change, and
we will see increasing flexibility. For co-
bots, this means that they will also have
to adapt to the new challenges. Devel-
opment platforms help to master the
growing complexity and offer possibili-
ties for modular development. In par-
ticular, the increasing number of intel-
ligent solutions and products, inevitably
brings with it an increasing software
share. The short development cycles in
the software require even more a de-
tached development of the software
and mechanics.
Katja Butterweck: Artificial intelli-
gence, especially, will allow the realiza-
tion of a lot more advanced applica-
tions with cobots. AI allows robots to
see, reason, and act in the world around
them, completing tasks too complex
and varied for traditional programmed
robots. AI software enables robots to
engage in reinforcement learning:
adapting to new tasks on their own
Tech Briefs, September 2022 www.techbriefs.com 21
Katja Butterweck
through trial and error and therefore
constantly broadening the range of ob-
jects they can pick. With collaborative
robots, in addition to AI, programming
simplicity is one of the leading techno-
logical advancements. For example,
end users can easily program GoFa via
lead-through programming and ABB’s
new Wizard easy programming soft-
ware. Based on simple graphical blocks,
Wizard makes it easy for non-specialists
to automate their applications. The
blocks represent actions such as ‘move
to location’, ‘pick up an object’, and
‘repeat task’, making it easy and intui-
tive to build a series of simple processes
for the robot to perform.
Tech Briefs: What are the key challeng-
es cobots need to overcome before
they become ubiquitous?
Kristian Hulgard: Cobots are not
suited to every type of application. For
example, if you need to manufacture
millions of the same part in a Low Mix/
High Volume environment or if you
need to lift extremely heavy items such
as aircraft fuselages, then it’s possible
that traditional automation would be a
better fit. Cobots are best suited to
High Mix/Low Volume manufacturing
processes and lighter payloads. In this
sense, cobots will never be ubiquitous.
Joe Campbell: Given that cobots are
best suited to High Mix/Low Volume
production, and typically handle small-
er payloads than traditional industrial
robots, it’s unlikely that cobots will ever
be ubiquitous. Some applications re-
quire robots that can handle massive
payloads in excess of 100 lbs and be-
yond. While payloads are increasing all
the time — the recently launched UR20
can handle payloads up to 20 kg (44.1
lbs), for example — and we are contin-
ually improving the speed and accuracy
of our cobots, for some applications,
traditional industrial robots will remain
the better choice. What we are also see-
ing is that traditional industrial auto-
mation builders are incorporating as-
pects of collaborative robotics,
enhanced safety features and improved
user interfaces, for example, into their
designs. In effect, the line between col-
laborative and industrial robotics is
starting to blur, but the differences re-
main stark in terms of affordability,
speed of ROI, and overall usability.
Gerhard Borho: In order to establish
collaborative robotics on a broad scale,
two aspects are indispensable: flexibili-
ty and simplicity. Our customers should
“experience” directly — in their pro-
duction environments — how uncom-
plicated, intuitive, and efficiency-in-
creasing our product is. Ease of use is
the prerequisite for Cobots to be ac-
cepted in practice by employees, espe-
cially by customers who have not yet
come into contact with them.
Katja Butterweck: Many companies,
especially SMEs, are reluctant to imple-
ment cobots, as they regard them as
too expensive and too complicated to
handle. Much progress has been made
by leading collaborative robot OEMs to
address these issues. Simplicity is key to
unlocking automation for SMEs. The
recent progress in making cobots easy
to use has enabled more SMEs to bene-
fit from cobot automation. Smaller
end users can start working with cobots
straight out of the box — without prior
programming experience or special-
ized training. When it comes to the
costs for a cobot, the key question is
about the return of investment. Cus-
tomers tell us about unusually short
returns on investment. It is not unusu-
al to hear that an SME has achieved an
ROI in 12 months or less.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
ABB
www.abb.com
Festo
www.festo.com
OnRobot
www.onrobot.com
Universal Robots
www.universal-robots.com
Root of Trust:
A Standardization Model
that Needs to Happen Now
W
e are seeing a digital trans-
formation of all industries;
new cybersecurity challeng-
es are on the horizon. With
that, comes the opportunity to act now and
build resilience against cyber threats, so we
can welcome the next chapter of our digi-
tal ecosystem with more trust than before.
As technology plays an ever-increasing
role in our lives, it brings with it a whole
host of security challenges. The need
to make our devices secure couldn’t be
more important, from smart fridges to
doorbells, from phones to tablets to the
Metaverse; for the world we now live and
work in, it is essential that cybersecurity is
a priority for the Internet of Things (IoT).
In fact, the need has never been greater,
and manufacturers and the end-user all
need to ensure it is a priority.
Rising Threat
Billions of connected devices have been
adopted within our personal eco-systems,
22 www.techbriefs.com Tech Briefs, September 2022
rising two-fold during the pandemic. This
means there are even more devices in our
lives which can be attacked. This is par-
ticularly true for the smaller, embedded
devices. These can often be overlooked,
making them an easy target. Adopting a
security protocol for these devices is an es-
sential step in securing the supply chain
and avoiding more critical attacks.
An average of four IoT devices are
owned which communicate with the
cloud in any given network. With this
huge number of devices being connect-
ed, it brings a wave of potential securi-
ty risks that must be protected. This is
where Root of Trust (RoT) must be con-
sidered and actioned. As manufacturers
make an increasing variety of IoT devic-
es at a rapid rate to be the first to of-
fer the best capabilities at the cheapest
price, security is often the last consider-
ation. This needs to change.
The reason being, that there is more
to lose than ever before. The current
threat landscape presents a wide field
of opportunities for hackers. Howev-
er, it is encouraging to see some busi-
nesses and individuals becoming more
aware of the risks ahead and starting
to change their priorities by adopting
proper security strategies for protec-
tion. They are spending and putting
security at the forefront of their devel-
opment programmes. This is encour-
aging as every product put into service
has the potential to be attacked within
its product lifecycle, especially from re-
mote threats.
Security First
A RoT is a component that is always
trusted to act in an expected manner
Name/Shutterstock.com
and should be provided by embedded
systems manufacturers within the de-
vice. These security-first manufacturers
are ensuring they embed a RoT as a
set of functions in the trusted comput-
ing module; serving as a separate com-
puting engine controlling the trusted
computing platform cryptographic pro-
cessor on the PC or mobile device it is
embedded in.
To ensure standardization of the adop-
tion of RoT, millions of devices are work-
ing with the Trusted Platform Module
(TPM) which provides the standardized
hardware RoT to help measure integrity
and provide health checks and authen-
tication services. We should remember
that vital to the security of any device, is
the ability to determine its integrity.
The TPM is a computer chip that can
be implemented in a variety of systems
with varying security levels, providing tech-
nicians with secure storage of boot and
runtime integrity measurements, as well as
private encryption keys and cryptograph-
ic secrets. These TPM capabilities can be
used to prevent hackers from being able
to replace code on devices and access en-
crypted data by isolating keys, so data re-
mains protected from unauthorized users.
For devices lacking a TPM, developers As security standardizations become a priority for manufacturers, engineers should also look to
can instead use Device Identifier Compo- resilience technologies and build on the protection offered by TPM and DICE.
sition Engine (DICE) based architecture.
DICE uses a combination of a small hard- es, environments, applications, and use RoT must be planted in the device to
ware engine and security code embedded cases, there is not a one-size fits all ap- begin. The TPM is the standard hard-
in boot code and later software layers to proach when it comes to cybersecurity. ware RoT that can provide integrity
provide device identity, integrity report- Rather, a diverse approach is needed to measurements, health checks, and
ing, and data protection capabilities. Sim- address unique needs. authentication services to protect em-
ilar to TPM, the DICE capabilities help To establish a foundation of secu- bedded systems. Depending on the re-
perform measurement, attestation, au- rity for every device in the system, a quirements of each unique system, the
thentication, and certification of software.
As these security standardizations be-
come a priority for manufacturers, engi-
neers should also look to resilience tech-
nologies and build on the protection
offered by TPM and DICE on IoT and
other systems. As consumer IoT con-
tinues to rapidly outnumber people, it
is key to ensure their devices have secu-
rity capabilities which have an automat-
ic way to recover a device to a trusted
state in an automated way and without
the need for manual intervention. Re-
silience encompasses better protection
and detection of compromises with a re-
liable recovery to a trusted state.

Where to Start
Securing devices and components
across all connected industries starts un-
der the operating system. A Zero Trust
approach to the system is needed where-
by the integrity of each device and its
movement of data can be determined.
Adopting trusted computing stan-
dards can help create the pervasive se-
The TPM is a computer chip that can be implemented in a variety of systems with varying security
curity validation needed in this kind of levels, providing technicians with secure storage of boot and runtime integrity measurements, as
approach. With the complexity of devic- well as private encryption keys and cryptographic secrets.

Tech Briefs, September 2022 www.techbriefs.com 23

Cybersecurity
chip can be implemented at different
security levels and is equipped to pro-
tect against even the most sophisticat-
ed attacks.
For low-cost, low power endpoints,
DICE provides cryptographically strong
device identities which forms the foun-
dation for attestation for software up-
dates, patches and so on. It helps to
provide viable security and privacy foun-
dations for systems without a TPM and
enhances the security and privacy of
systems with a TPM. In both cases it cre-
ates a strong device identity, attestation
of device firmware, and security policy
with verification of software updates and
safe deployment.
The DICE model offers strong attes-
tation of device identity, firmware, and
security along with the secure deploy-
ment of software updates. All these fea-
tures make it a great tool for manufac-
turers and developers who can recover
the device securely following a com-
promise, attest device firmware and
security policy, and allow for secure
software updates. Suitable for low-cost,
low power endpoints, DICE provides
24 www.techbriefs.com Tech Briefs, September 2022
strong security and privacy foundations
for systems without a TPM, but it also
enhances the existing protection and
privacy on those with a TPM.
Let’s Work Together
Good IoT security practices and
strategies still have a long way to go.
There is a great need for more busi-
nesses and individuals to get on board.
As the deployment of IoT heightens in
popularity, it is crucial there are a va-
riety of measures available for system
developers and product manufactur-
ers to ensure devices remain safe and
secure throughout their lifetime.
The first nine months of 2021 saw
40 percent more cyberattacks com-
pared to the same period in 2020 with
2022 expected to see a further in-
crease. One of the biggest, and argu-
ably the most important, challenges
in the realm of hardware supply chain
security and integrity is the number
of different organizations or groups
involved; everyone implements differ-
ent processes and methods to varying
levels of success.
To truly ensure end-to-end protection
and integrity, we need industry stan-
dards that provide guidance for all stag-
es of the supply chain and device lifecy-
cle. Implementing a hardware RoT is a
fundamental place to start.
By encouraging a security first ap-
proach through the continued preven-
tion of malware and viruses along with
resilience to recover a device once com-
promised, the ecosystem remains secure
and safeguarded through futureproof
measures and tools. As cyberthreats grow
in sophistication and IoT applications
become complex, the industry can be as-
sured there is a safe, secure future for all
where information remains protected,
and systems remain online.
The Trusted Computing Group
(TCG) has developed a wealth of secu-
rity standards and trusted computing
technologies which address the securi-
ty challenges of today and the future.
This article was written by Dennis Mat-
toon, Board Director, Trusted Computing
Group (Beaverton, OR). For more informa-
tion, visit www.trustedcomputinggroup.org.
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About Our Company
From jet planes to laboratory equipment, today’s life-chang-
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Sensors
Future Wearable Health Tech Could Measure Gases
Released from Skin
New research points the way to monitoring metabolic diseases.
The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH

S cientists have taken the first step to cre-

ating the next generation of wearable
health monitors.
Most research on measuring human
biomarkers, which are measures of a
body’s health, rely on electrical signals to
sense the chemicals excreted in sweat.
But sensors that rely on perspiration of-
ten require huge amounts of it just to get
a reading.
A new study suggests that a wearable
sensor may be able to monitor the
body’s health by instead detecting the
gases released from a person’s skin.
“It is completely noninvasive, and
completely passive on the behalf of the
user,” said Anthony Annerino, lead au-
thor of the study.
Some wearable devices, like smart-
watches or fitness trackers, are already
capable of measuring pulse rates or tem-
peratures, but this team’s method would
allow the technology to sense biomark-
ers related to metabolic disorders, like
heart disease or diabetes. The study suggests future health sensors could work by detecting chemicals released from the skin.
“Discerning health issues through the (Image: Getty Images)
skin is really the ultimate frontier,” said
study co-author Pelagia-Iren Gouma. snapshot” of the body, Annerino said. and water to gauge its sensitivity, selec-
“The project still has a couple of years to Compared to the amount of chemicals tivity, and repeatability.
go. But in six months, we should have we release when we breathe, he said, this “We found significant bias toward
proof of concept and in a year, we’d like to team’s sensors can operate on much bending more upon exposure to cer-
have it tested in people,” said Gouma. smaller amounts of gaseous acetone re- tain chemicals over others,” said Anne-
The final product of the team’s research leased from the skin. rino. This bending happens in millisec-
would be a small device a person could Acetone is one of the substances secret- onds, and the researchers used machine
wear on low- sweat body locations, like be- ed from the skin that can tell researchers a learning and complex computational
hind the ear or on the nails, she said. And lot about the inner workings of the human algorithms to accurately record and
as more people become familiar with us- body. Concentrations of acetone in the track the film’s bending response to the
ing wearable devices in their everyday lives, breath have also been shown to be related different chemical solutions.
Gouma expects technology and medicine to blood sugar levels and fat-burning rates. Their findings showed that the films
to become even more intertwined. To test whether their sensors could de- are sensitive enough to track long-term
Scientists, including Gouma, have a tect varying amounts of these enlightening changes in the body. While focusing on a
long history of measuring the concentra- chemicals (which would signal the pres- metabolic rate sensor, another possible
tion of organic compounds in our breath, ence of the gaseous molecules), the re- use would be to track ethanol, which, in
a type of gas, as indicators of health. One searchers created a film material made the body, can spell signs of liver disease.
example would be blowing into a breatha- from derivatives of plant cellulose and More work needs to be done on how the
lyzer, a device that can measure the electroactive polymers. This film can bend films used in this study would work as ac-
amount of alcohol in a person’s blood or dramatically in response to how much of tual sensors worn on the body, the re-
be used to detect viruses. the acetone is detected in its environment. searchers said.
But such a gadget requires “active in- The team then placed the film over For more information, contact Tatyana
tent” and only provides a “momentary solutions containing ethanol, acetone, Woodall at woodal.52@osu.edu.
30 www.techbriefs.com Tech Briefs, September 2022
Sensor Breakthrough Paves the Way for a Map of the
World Under Earth’s Surface
It has the potential to open a range of new applications for gravity survey, providing a new
lens to the underground.
University of Birmingham, United Kingdom

A n object hidden below ground has

been located using quantum technolo-
gy — a long- awaited milestone with pro-
found implications for industry, human
knowledge, and national security.
University of Birmingham researchers
from the UK National Quantum Technolo-
gy Hub in Sensors and Timing have report-
ed their achievement in Nature. It is the first
in the world for a quantum gravity gradi-
ometer outside of laboratory conditions.
The quantum gravity gradiometer was
used to find a tunnel buried outdoors in
real-world conditions one meter below the
ground surface. It wins an international
race to take the technology outside.
The sensor works by detecting varia-
tions in microgravity using the principles
of quantum physics, which is based on
manipulating nature at the sub-molecu-
lar level.
The success opens a commercial path
to significantly improved mapping of
what exists below ground level.
This will mean reduced costs and re-
duced delays to construction, rail, and
road projects; improved prediction of
natural phenomena such as volcanic
eruptions; discovery of hidden natural
resources and built structures; and un-
derstanding archaeological mysteries
without damaging excavation.
Professor Kai Bongs said: “This is an
‘Edison moment’ in sensing that will
transform society, human understand-
ing, and economies. With this break-
through we have the potential to end
reliance on poor records and luck as we
explore, build, and repair. In addition,
an underground map of what is current-
ly invisible is now a significant step closer
to ending a situation where we know
more about Antarctica than what lies a
few feet below our streets.”
Current gravity sensors are limited by a
range of environmental factors. A particu-
lar challenge is vibration, which limits the
measurement time of all gravity sensors for
survey applications. If these limitations can
be addressed, surveys can become faster,
more comprehensive, and lower cost.
The sensor developed by Dr. Michael
Holynski, Head of Atom Interferometry at
Birmingham and lead author of the study,
and his team at Birmingham is a gravity
gradiometer. The system overcomes vibra-
tion and a variety of other environmental
challenges in order to successfully apply
quantum technology in the field.
This breakthrough will allow future grav-
ity surveys to be cheaper, more reliable and
delivered 10 times faster, reducing the time
needed for surveys from a month to a few

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Tech Briefs, September 2022 www.techbriefs.com 31

 Sensors

days. It has the potential to open a range of

new applications for gravity survey, provid-
ing a new lens into the underground.
“Detection of ground conditions such as
mine workings, tunnels, and unstable
ground is fundamental to our ability to de-
sign, construct, and maintain housing, in-
dustry, and infrastructure. The improved
capability that this new technology rep-
resents could transform how we map the
ground and deliver these projects,” said
Professor George Tuckwell.
Dr. Gareth Brown said: “For national De-
fense and Security, accurate and rapid mea-
surements of variations in microgravity
open up new opportunities to detect the
otherwise undetectable and navigate more
safely in challenging environments. As grav-
ity sensing technology matures, applica-
tions for underwater navigation and reveal-
ing the subterranean will become possible.”
For more information, contact Beck
An object hidden below ground has been located using quantum technology — a long-awaited
Lockwood at r.lockwood@bham.ac.uk, milestone with profound implications for industry, human knowledge, and national secuity.
+44 (0)781 3343348. (Image: University of Birmingham)

Ultrathin Pressure Sensor Attaches to Skin

The imperceptible thin-film sensor records movement and the sense of touch.
University of Tokyo, Japan

R esearchers have developed an ultra-

thin pressure sensor that can be at-
tached directly to the skin to measure
how fingers interact with objects to pro-
duce useful data for medical and techno-
logical applications. The sensor has min-
imal effect on the users’ sensitivity and
ability to grip objects and it is resistant to
disruption from rubbing.
There are many reasons why re­
searchers wish to record motion and oth-
er physical details associated with hands
and fingers. The hands are the primary
tools for directly interacting with and
manipulating materials and environ-
ments. By recording the way in which
hands perform various tasks, it could
help researchers in fields such as sports
and medical science as well as neuroen-
gineering.
Fingertips are extremely sensitive — The polyurethane and gold fingertip sensor can resist shear forces and rubbing. (Image: Someya et al.)
so much so that a superthin plastic foil
just a few millionths of a meter thick is al that is thin and porous called a nano- meters thick. The second layer is a sten-
enough to affect somebody’s sensations. mesh sensor. cil-like network of lines that forms the
A wearable sensor for the fingers has to Two kinds of layers were made for the functional electronic component of the
be extremely thin, which also makes it sensors. Both layers were made by a pro- sensor. This is made from gold and uses
very fragile and susceptible to damage cess called electrospinning, which re- a supporting frame of polyvinyl alcohol,
from rubbing or repeated physical ac- sembles a spider spinning its web. One is often found in contact lenses, which af-
tions. In order to overcome this, the an insulating polyurethane mesh with fi- ter manufacture, is washed away to leave
team created a special functional materi- bers about 200 nanometers to 400 nano- only the gold traces it was supporting.
32 www.techbriefs.com Tech Briefs, September 2022
Multiple layers combine to form a functional pressure and
movement sensor.
The sensor maintained its performance as a pressure sensor
even after being rubbed against a surface with a force of 100
kilopascals (roughly equivalent to atmospheric pressure) 300
times without breaking.
For more information, contact Professor Takao Someya at
someya@ee.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp;+81-3-5841-0411.

Thin, Stretchable Biosensors

Could Make Surgery Safer
The new biosensors allow for simultaneous
recording and imaging of tissues and organs
during surgical procedures.
Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM
and Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN

A research team developed bio-inks for biosensors that

could help localize critical regions in tissues and organs
during surgical operations. The ink is biocompatible and pro-
vides a user-friendly design with workable time frames of more
than one day. Simul­taneous recording and imaging could be
useful during heart surgery in localizing critical regions and
guiding surgical interventions such as a procedure for restor-
ing normal heart rhythms.
Los Alamos researchers formulated and synthesized the bio-
inks, with the goal of creating create an ultra-soft, thin, and
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The printed bio-inks, however, do not have any shape deforma-
YOUR CABINET.
tion during the curing process. It’s simple. When AC just isn't an
The bio-inks are softer than tissue, stretch without experienc-
ing sensor degradation, and have reliable natural adhesion to option, go DC.
the wet surface of organs without needing additional adhesives.
For more information, contact Nick Njegomir at nickn@lanl.
gov; 505-695-8111.

LED 025 Lamp

DC 24-48v: IP20/III
On/Off switch or movement sensor
Magnet, screw, or clip fixing
Daisy chain
The new biosensors allow for simultaneous recording and imaging of tis-
sues and organs during surgical procedures. In this photo, researchers
attached the biosensor to the heart of a pig that was obtained commer-
cially. (Image: Bongjoong Kim, Purdue University)

Tech Briefs, September 2022 www.techbriefs.com 33

Robotics & Automation

Advanced Humanoid Robotic Hand Technologies

The unique design of R2’s hand enables the assembly to achieve the compact form factor of
a human hand while retaining the strength required to work with human tools.
Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX

N ASA and General Motors developed

the Robonaut 2 (R2) a state-of-the-art,
dexterous, humanoid robot capable of
performing tasks in an automated fashion
(or via teleoperation). The R2 hand and
forearm assembly represents the cutting
edge of humanoid robotics technologies.
The highly modular design provides signif-
icant improvements over prior humanoid
robotic hands, especially in the areas of
strength, speed, sensing, and ability to ap-
proximate human grasps.
R2’s hands are highly dexterous, en-
abling the robot to perform ergonomi-
cally challenging tasks. The robotic hu-
manoid lower arm design includes novel
robotic finger, thumb, and wrist assem-
blies. A novel finger actuation system
comprises an actuator, tendon, conduit,
tension sensor, and terminator. The ac- Gear Head
tuation system is packaged in the wrist Ball Screw Assembly
and reduces the number of actuators,
providing significant space savings. Con-
Flexible Conduit
trol systems include methods for ten-
sioning and controlling torque of the
tendon-driven robotic fingers.
The R2 hand and forearm assembly is
designed in a modular fashion, enabling
rapid replacement of components and
sub-assemblies. The finger actuation con-
Motor
trol system can operate using force- or
position-based control laws. R2’s hands
feature an innovative tactile system that Tension Sensor
grant the robot a sense of touch (e.g., Tendon Terminator
measurement of external contact forces,
shear force, and slippage of objects held
in the hand) an important requirement The R2 hand and forearm assembly, including avionics. (Image: NASA)
for robots designed to perform complex
tasks in an automated fashion. The tac- nication. A calibration system ensures sonal assistance and caregiving, emer-
tile system is enabled by novel six degree the sensors maintain high accuracy gency services and operations in hazard-
of freedom (DoF) force torque sensors, throughout operation. A novel grasp as- ous environment, as well as repetitive
three of which are integrated into the fin- sist device enables reliable, autonomous task automation.
gers (at the proximal, medial, and distal interaction with a broad range of objects NASA is actively seeking licensees to
phalanges) and two in the thumb (medi- (e.g., tools). A particle filter-based con- commercialize this technology. Please
al and distal phalanges). tact state estimation performs object lo- contact NASA’s Licensing Concierge at
The dexterous hand plus forearm is a calization and characterization. Agency-Patent-Licensing@mail.nasa.gov
completely self-contained unit with all R2’s fingers have a top speed of more or call at 202-358-7432 to initiate licensing
motors and avionics packaged inside the than 200 mm/sec. The applications in- discussions. For more information, visit
forearm, reducing the number of con- clude industrial manufacturing and https://technology.nasa.gov/patent/
ductors required for power and commu- maintenance, space exploration, per- MSC-TOPS-102.
34 www.techbriefs.com Tech Briefs, September 2022
Teaching Drones How to Navigate Real-World Weather
A deep-learning method that can help drones cope with new and unknown wind conditions.
Caltech, Pasadena, CA

R ight now, drones are either flown un-

der controlled conditions, with no
wind, or are operated by humans using
remote controls. However, for drones to
autonomously perform necessary but
quotidian tasks, such as delivering pack-
ages or airlifting injured drivers from a
traffic accident, drones must be able to
adapt to wind conditions in real time.
To face this challenge, a team of engi-
neers from Caltech has developed Neu-
ral-Fly, a deep-learning method that can
help drones cope with new and unknown
wind conditions in real time just by up-
dating a few key parameters. Neural-Fly
is described in a study published in Sci-
ence Robotics.
Neural-Fly was tested at Caltech’s Cen-
ter for Autonomous Systems and Tech- Time-lapse photo shows a drone equipped with Neural-Fly maintaining a figure-eight course amid
nologies (CAST) using its Real Weather stiff winds at Caltech’s Real Weather Wind Tunnel. (Image: Caltech)
Wind Tunnel, a custom 10-foot-by-10-
foot array of more than 1,200 tiny com-
puter-controlled fans that allows engi-
neers to simulate everything from a light
gust to a gale.
“The issue is that the direct and specific
effect of various wind conditions on air-
craft dynamics, performance, and stability
cannot be accurately characterized as a
simple mathematical model,” said Soon-Jo
Chung, Bren Professor of Aerospace and
Control and Dynamical Systems and Jet
Propulsion Laboratory Research Scientist.
“Rather than try to qualify and quantify
each and every effect of turbulent and un-
predictable wind conditions we often ex-
perience in air travel, we instead employ a
combined approach of deep learning and
adaptive control that allows the aircraft to
learn from previous experiences and
adapt to new conditions on the fly with sta-
bility and robustness guarantees.”
Neural-Fly gets around these challenges
by using a so-called separation strategy,
through which only a few parameters of Engineers test Neural-Fly in the open air on Caltech’s campus. (Image: Caltech)
the neural network must be updated in
real time. drones equipped with the current state of Neural-Fly performed as well in flight
After obtaining as little as 12 minutes of the art adaptive control algorithms that tests conducted outside the CAST facility
flying data, autonomous quadrotor identify and respond to aerodynamic ef- as it did in the wind tunnel. Further, the
drones equipped with Neural-Fly learn fects but without deep neural networks. team has shown that flight data gathered
how to respond to strong winds so well Though landing might seem more by an individual drone can be trans-
that their performance significantly im- complex than flying, Neural-Fly, unlike ferred to another drone, building a pool
proved (as measured by their ability to the earlier systems, can learn in real of knowledge for autonomous vehicles.
precisely follow a flight path). The error time. It can respond to changes in wind For more information, contact Robert
rate following that flight path is up to 2.5 on the fly, and it does not require tweak- Perkins at rperkins@caltech.edu; 626-
times to 4 times smaller compared to ing after the fact. 395‑1862.
Tech Briefs, September 2022 www.techbriefs.com 35
 Robotics & Automation

Firefly-Inspired Robotic Lightning Bugs Take Flight

Insect-scale robots that can emit light when they fly could enable motion tracking
and communication.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA

F ireflies have sparked the inspiration

of MIT researchers. Taking a cue from
nature, they built electroluminescent
soft artificial muscles for flying, in-
sect-scale robots. The tiny artificial mus-
cles that control the robots’ wings emit
colored light during flight.
This electroluminescence could enable
the robots to communicate with each oth-
er. If sent on a search-and-rescue mission
into a collapsed building, for instance, a
robot that finds survivors could use lights
to signal others and call for help.
The ability to emit light also brings
these microscale robots, which weigh
barely more than a paper clip, one step
closer to flying on their own outside the
lab. These robots are so lightweight that
they can’t carry sensors, so researchers
must track them using bulky infrared
cameras that don’t work well outdoors.
Now, they’ve shown that they can track
the robots using the light they emit and
just three smartphone cameras.
“If you think of large-scale robots, they
can communicate using a lot of different
tools — Bluetooth, wireless, all those sorts
of things. But for a tiny, power-con-
strained robot, we are forced to think
about new modes of communication.
This is a major step toward flying these
robots in outdoor environments where
we don’t have a well-tuned, state-of-the-art
motion tracking system,” said Kevin
Chen, the D. Reid Weedon, Jr. Assistant
Professor in the Department of Electrical
Engineering and Computer Science
(EECS) and the head of the Soft and Mi-
cro Robotics Laboratory in the Research
Laboratory of Electronics (RLE).
He and his collaborators accomplished
this by embedding miniscule electrolumi-
nescent particles into the artificial mus-
cles. To fabricate a glowing actuator, the
team incorporated electroluminescent
zinc sulphate particles into the elastomer
but had to overcome several challenges
along the way. First, the researchers had
to create an electrode that would not
block light. They built it using highly
transparent carbon nanotubes, which are
only a few nanometers thick and enable
light to pass through.
However, the zinc particles only light
up in the presence of a very strong and
36 www.techbriefs.com Tech Briefs, September 2022
MIT researchers have created soft actuators that can emit light in different colors or patterns. (Im-
age: Courtesy of Kevin Chen, Suhan Kim,et al)
high-frequency electric field. This elec-
tric field excites the electrons in the zinc
particles, which then emit subatomic
particles of light known as photons. The
researchers use high voltage to create a
strong electric field in the soft actuator,
and then drive the robot at a high fre-
quency, which enables the particles to
light up brightly.
“Traditionally, electroluminescent ma-
terials are very energetically costly, but in
a sense, we get that electroluminescence
for free because we just use the electric
field at the frequency we need for flying.
We don’t need new actuation, new wires,
or anything. It only takes about 3 per-
cent more energy to shine out light,”
said Kevin Chen.
As they prototyped the actuator, they
found that adding zinc particles reduced
its quality, causing it to break down more
easily. To get around this, Kim mixed
zinc particles into the top elastomer lay-
er only. He made that layer a few mi-
crometers thicker to accommodate for
any reduction in output power. While
this made the actuator 2.5 percent heavi-
er, it emitted light without impacting
flight performance.
Adjusting the chemical combination of
the zinc particles changes the light color.
The researchers made green, orange, and
blue particles for the actuators they built;
each actuator shines one solid color.
They also tweaked the fabrication pro-
cess so the actuators could emit multicol-
ored and patterned light. Once they had
finetuned the fabrication process, they
tested the mechanical properties of the
actuators and used a luminescence meter
to measure the intensity of the light.
From there, they ran flight tests using
a specially designed motion-tracking sys-
tem. Each electroluminescent actuator
served as an active marker that could be
tracked using iPhone cameras. The cam-
eras detect each light color, and a com-
puter program they developed tracks the
position and attitude of the robots to
within 2 millimeters of state-of-the-art in-
frared motion capture systems.
In the future, they plan to enhance
that motion tracking system, so it can
track robots in real-time. The team is
working to incorporate control signals
so the robots could turn their light on
and off during flight and communicate
more like real fireflies. They are also
studying how electroluminescence
could even improve some properties of
these soft artificial muscles.
For more information, contact Abby
Abazorius at 617-253-2709; abbya@
mit.edu.
Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Corrugated Rollable Tubular Boom
The COROTUB boom can be erected from an orbiting satellite or unfurled to set up emergen-
cy shelters, communication towers, or masts for antennas in remote areas.
Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA

D eployable composite booms are par-

ticularly attractive in space con-
strained applications. Their high pack-
aging volume efficiency enables relatively
large spacecraft systems required for
power generation, communications, or
propulsion to be housed within small
volumes. NASA’s new COROTUB boom
is flattened, rolled, and stowed in a small
package for easy transport to remote lo-
cations. When unfurled, it expands into
a load-bearing structural boom.
COROTUB is a monolithic closed-sec-
tion tubular thin-shelled structure that’s
been shown to scale efficiently up to
50m yet maintain its strength. Its two
corrugated thin shells form a closed sec-
tion, which yields high bending and tor-
sional stiffness, allowing for high di-
mensional stability. (Left) A traditional boom and the new COROTUB (right) of the same size. The COROTUB reaches its
Computational analysis and early tests full extension over a shorter distance compared to noncorrugated boom designs. (Image: NASA)
show that the corrugation provides in-
creased strength against buckling, en- boom bending and axial strength and to masts for antennas or solar power in re-
abling longer booms and targeting more shorten the length of the boom transi- mote areas on other planets, the moon,
demanding structural applications than tion from flat/rolled to deployed. or here on earth.
noncorrugated designs. Compared to other thin-shelled NASA is actively seeking licensees to
The corrugation geometry that dic- booms, COROTUB has improved stiff- commercialize this technology. Please
tates the boom cross-section shape was ness, strength, and stability, while main- contact NASA’s Licensing Concierge at
informed by parametric studies to opti- taining the package size as other booms. Agency-Patent-Licensing@mail.nasa.
mize the parameters that most influence It might be erected from an orbiting sat- gov or call at 202-358-7432 to initiate li-
the cross-sections area moment of iner- ellite to hoist and support equipment; or censing discussions. Follow this link for
tia and torsional constant. The corrugat- may be unfurled to set up emergency more information: https://technology.
ed designs were found to improve the shelters, communication towers, or nasa.gov/patent/LAR-TOPS-341.

Tiny Motors to Power a Network of Nanomachines

A fuel-free and gear-free engine to convert light into mechanical energy for various
solid-state micro-/nano-electromechanical systems.
The University of Texas at Austin, TX

R esearchers from the Cockrell School

of Engineering at The University of
Texas at Austin recently created the first
ever solid-state optical nanomotor. These
tiny motors could power a network of
nanomachines and replace some of the
power sources used in devices today.
All previous versions of these light-driv-
en motors reside in a solution of some
Tech Briefs, September 2022 www.techbriefs.com 37
sort, which held back their potential for
most real-world applications. “Life start-
ed in the water and eventually moved on
land,” said Yuebing Zheng, an Associate
Professor in the Walker Department of
Mechanical Engineering. “We have
made these micro nanomotors that have
always lived in solution work on land, in
a solid state.”
The researchers envision these motors
powering a variety of things. The spin-
ning motion could pick up dust and oth-
er particles, making it useful for air qual-
ity measurement. They could propel
drug delivery devices in the human body.
And they could power tiny drones for
surveillance and measurements, as well
as other mini vehicles.
 Mechanical &
Fluid Systems
The new motor is less than 100 nano-
meters wide, and it can rotate on a solid
substrate under light illumination. It
can serve as a fuel-free and gear-free en-
gine to convert light into mechanical
energy for various solid-state micro-/
nano-electro-mechanical systems.
Bringing these nanomotors on land
and out of water, so to speak, avoids
Brownian Motion, one of the biggest
hurdles holding back implementation of
these devices. It happens when water
molecules push these little motors off
their spin. The smaller the motor, the
stronger this motion becomes. Remov-
ing the solution from the equation side
steps this problem entirely.
Nanomotors are part of a large and
growing field of miniature power
sources. They serve as a middle ground
in scale between molecular machines
at the smaller end and micro-engines
at the larger end. The field is of im-
Integral Tuned Mass Absorber for Turbine Blades
The innovation addresses the resonance vibration challenges of conventionally machined
turbine bladed discs.
Marshall Flight Center, Huntsville, AL
A novel turbine blade design and
manufacturing approach devel-
oped by NASA provides a significant re-
duction in turbine blade resonant vibra-
tion. This innovation addresses the
The design approach uses an internal column manufactured as part of the blade. (Image: NASA)
38 www.techbriefs.com Tech Briefs, September 2022
The spinning motors are 100-nanometers wide
and can rotate on a solid substrate under light
illumination. (Image: The University of Texas
at Austin)
mense interest, but at this point, re-
searchers are still trying to figure out
the fundamental science to make these
tiny motors more viable through in-
creased efficiency.
unique resonance vibration challenges
of conventionally machined turbine
bladed discs, or blisks. Additive manu-
facturing is used to make this unique
structure.
By taking these motors out of the solu-
tion and putting them onto chips, they
have the potential to replace batteries in
some instances, using only light to gener-
ate mechanical motion and power devic-
es. This breakthrough arises from a novel
design: a thin layer of phase change mate-
rial on the substrate. The thin film can
undergo a local and reversible change
from the solid to a quasi-liquid phase
when exposed to light. This phase change
can reduce the friction force of the nano-
motors and drives the rotation.
This was the team’s first demonstra-
tion of the motors using nanoparticles.
Going forward, the researchers will con-
tinue to improve their creation, working
on enhancing performance, by making
them more stable and controllable,
which leads to converting light to me-
chanical energy at higher rates.
For more information, contact Nat Levy
at 512-471-2129; nat.levy@utexas.edu.
The design approach uses an internal
column manufactured as part of the
blade that is optimized such that the dy-
namics of the blade damper system are
rearranged and reduced according to
the well-known science of tuned
mass-absorption (TMA). The TMA con-
cept has been implemented successfully
in applications ranging from skyscrap-
ers to liquid oxygen tanks for space ve-
hicles. Indeed, this theory has been
conceptually applied to bladed-disk vi-
bration, but a practical design has not
previously been reported.
The NASA innovation addresses anoth-
er important challenge for turbine blade
vibration damper designs. All existing
blade damper solutions are essentially in-
capable of being reliably predicted, so an
expensive post-design test program must
be performed to validate the expected re-
sponse. Even then, the actual magnitude
of the response reduction under actual
hot fire conditions may never be known.
The dynamic response of this
tuned-mass-absorber design is both sub-
stantial and can be analytically predict-
ed with high confidence, and thus the
response can be incorporated fully into
the upfront design process.

×107 Reduction of Blade Response using Tuned Mass Absorber
8 percent reduction in resonant vibra-
Baseline, No Absorber
With Absorber
7
6
Response to Unit Load
5
4 tremely complex, and therefore, re-
3
2 damper design.
1 commercialize this technology. Please
0
5000 5100 5200 5300 5400 5500 5600 5700 5800 5900
Frequency (Hz)
Reduction of Blade Response using Tuned Mass Absorber
Reduction in resonant response of a turbine blade with the NASA integral tuned mass absorber.
(Image: NASA)
Active Flow Control System for Simple-Hinged Flaps
The system represents a breakthrough in flow separation control technology to efficiently
achieve necessary lift performances while requiring low pneumatic power.
Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA
C onventional high-lift systems allow
transport aircraft to safely operate at
low speeds for landing and takeoff. These
ternally under the wings, requiring exter-
nal fairings, which increase cruise drag.
Simple-hinged flaps are less complex, and
high-lift devices, such as Fowler flaps, are an ideal choice for low-drag cruise efficien-
complex, heavy, and have high part counts. cy. However, simple-hinged flaps require
Fowler flap mechanisms also protrude ex- high flap deflections to achieve lift compa-
rable to Fowler flaps. These flap deflec-
tions cause severe adverse pressure gradi-
ents, which generate flow separation that
is difficult to control. In response to these
challenges, NASA developed the High Ef-
ficiency Low Power (HELP) active flow
control (AFC) system.
Although simple-hinged flaps repre-
sent optimal high-lift systems for reduc-
ing cruise drag, previous attempts to de-
sign flow control systems enabling such
technology in transport aircraft have
been unsuccessful. This is largely because
such systems generally require a tradeoff
between (a) the ability to achieve the re-
HELP actuator
quired lift performance, and (b) possess-
cartridges ing sufficiently low pneumatic power to
enable feasible aircraft system integration
(i.e., avoiding excess weight penalties as-
sociated with high pneumatic power).
NASAs HELP AFC system represents a
breakthrough in flow separation control
HELP actuator cartridges on the NASA High-Lift technology to efficiently achieve neces-
Common Research Model (CRM-HL). Testing sary lift performances while requiring low
proved that HELP flow control actuators were pneumatic power relative to alternative
very effective in controlling the substantial
flow separation on a simple-hinged flap system flow control techniques. It uses a unique
with a 50-degree flap deflection. (Image: NASA) two-row actuator approach comprised of
Tech Briefs, September 2022 www.techbriefs.com 39
Prototypes have demonstrated a 50
tion. The innovation also enables im-
proved predictive modelling of the res-
onant behavior of new blisk designs
because the tuned-mass absorber acts as
a linear system. In contrast, modelling
of conventional blade dampers is ex-
quires an expensive iterative test pro-
gram dedicated to validation of the
NASA is actively seeking licensees to
contact NASA’s Licensing Concierge at
6000 Agency-Patent-Licensing@mail.nasa.gov
or call at 202-358-7432 to initiate licensing
discussions. For more information, visit
https://technology.nasa.gov/patent/
MFS-TOPS-111.
upstream sweeping jet (SWJ) actuators
and downstream discrete jets, which
share the same air supply plenum. The
upstream (row 1) SWJ actuators provide
good spanwise flow-control coverage with
relatively mass flow, effectively pre-condi-
tioning the boundary layer such that the
downstream (row 2) discrete jets achieve
better flow control authority.
The two-row actuator system, working
together, produce a total aerodynamic lift
greater than the sum of each row acting
individually. The result is a system that
generates sufficient lift performance for
simple-hinged flaps with pneumatic pow-
er requirements low enough to enable
aircraft integration.
This simple, elegant invention can
control flow separation resulting from
the high flap deflections required by
simple-hinged flap systems making such
flaps a viable option for aircraft design-
ers. Aircraft with simple-hinged flap sys-
tems will achieve reduced cruise drag,
thereby increased fuel efficiency.
NASA is actively seeking licensees to
commercialize this technology. Please
contact NASA’s Licensing Concierge at
Agency-Patent-Licensing@mail.nasa.gov
or call at 202-358-7432 to initiate licensing
discussions. Follow this link for more in-
formation: https://technology.nasa.gov/
patent/LAR-TOPS-340.
Power & Energy
Enhancing Solar Option During Power Outages
A building-solar controller that optimizes solar energy with smart technology to keep
microgrids operating for up to five days.
Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont, IL
E ngineers at the U.S. Department of En-
ergy’s Argonne National Laboratory
have designed a novel building-solar con-
troller that optimizes solar energy with
smart technology to keep microgrids op-
erating for up to five days. The Argonne
project was funded by the DOE Solar En-
ergy Technologies Office to advance re-
search in solar energy technologies.
Utility companies can restore most pow-
er outages within 7-10 days of a natural di-
saster. But a five-day power supply is a rea-
sonable threshold to allow isolated
microgrids to provide power during most
outages, said principal investigator, Bo
Chen, an Argonne computational scientist.
Microgrids come in a variety of sizes and
can generate enough power for a few
homes or an entire community. The grids
offer the opportunity to use more ze-
ro-emission electricity sources which re-
duces greenhouse gas emissions.
As technology gets smarter, the build-
ings themselves can essentially be trans-
formed into microgrids, or grid-interactive
efficient buildings. These buildings use
smart controls, sensors, and analytics to
communicate with the electrical grid.
Argonne’s novel building-solar control-
ler is an algorithm and framework that
coordinates multiple grid-interactive
New Approach to Reducing EV Battery Testing Time
The process could drastically reduce the cost of assessing how battery configurations will
perform over the long haul.
University of Michigan, Detroit, MI
T esting the longevity of new electric
vehicle battery designs could be four
times faster with a streamlined approach.
A new optimization framework created by
researchers at University of Michigan
could drastically reduce the cost of assess-
ing how battery configurations will per-
form over the long haul.
“The goal is to design a better battery
and, traditionally, the industry has tried to
40 www.techbriefs.com Tech Briefs, September 2022
Technology developed at Argonne National
Laboratory optimizes solar energy to keep mi-
crogrids operating for up to five days, offering
critical backup during outages. (Photo: Shutter-
stock/Sergii Molchenko)
buildings, solar energy, and other energy
resources in one integrated network.
While solar power is environmentally
friendly, the renewable energy source is
dependent on weather and is not avail-
able continuously. To ensure a consis-
tent, reliable energy supply for five
days, the Argonne team relied on an
energy storage system that captures en-
ergy for later use.
“Energy storage works as a buffer that
absorbs power when there is a surplus and
releases power when there is a deficit,” said
Chen. “In this way, we can continuously bal-
do that using trial and error testing,” said
Wei Lu, U-M Professor of mechanical engi-
neering and leader of the research team
behind the framework. “It takes such a
long time to evaluate.”
With electric vehicle (EV) battery manu-
facturers grappling with range anxiety and
concerns of charging availability, the opti-
mization system developed by Lu’s team
could cut the time for both simulation and
ance electricity supply and demand to en-
sure a reliable power supply.”
Argonne worked with public and private
partners including utilities and education-
al and research centers on the three-year
project completed in late 2021.
The team successfully tested the frame-
work in a real-world microgrid at the Illi-
nois Institute of Technology (IIT) in Chica-
go. The team applied the framework to the
real-world microgrid on the IIT campus.
Chen said the team demonstrated in real
time how solar, wind, energy storage and
variable power loads keep the lights on in
various power outage scenarios.
A single building microgrid is limited by
capacity, response speed and other factors.
The team showed that multiple building
microgrids can complement each other to
expand grid service capability and restore
power more quickly.
The framework is primarily targeted for
use by utility companies, which can direct-
ly embed the framework into their control
centers. Private vendors can also incorpo-
rate the flexible network into existing
products. Still in the early stages, the
framework will eventually be available in a
free, open-source format.
For more information, contact media@
anl.gov; 630-252-5580.
physical testing of new and better batteries
by about 75 percent. That speed could
provide a major boost to battery develop-
ers searching for the right combination of
materials and configurations to ensure
that consumers always have enough capac-
ity to reach their destinations.
Parameters involved in battery design
include everything from the materials
used to the thickness of the electrodes to
the size of the particles in the electrode
and more.
Testing each configuration usually
means several months of fully charging
and then fully discharging — or cycling
the battery — 1,000 times to mimic a de-
Wei Lu, a U-M professor of mechanical engineering, cycling batteries in the Lu Lab at the George G.
Brown Laboratories building on the North Campus of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.
(Image: Brenda Ahearn, College of Engineering)
Large Format Li-Ion Calorimeter
The system tests lithium-ion battery cells with capacities over 100Ah.
Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX
Innovators at NASA Johnson Space
Center have developed a method to
measure the total and fractional heat re-
sponse of large format Li-ion cells (cells
with capacities greater than 100Ah)
when driven into thermal runaway con-
ditions. The new hardware can handle
up to 40 times the energy yield of a small
format iteration. By understanding the
thermal runaway behavior of larger Li-
Gas Velocity Sensor
Lifting Hoist
Gas Collection and
Characterization System
Assembly and DPA Stands
The Large Format Li-Ion Thermal Runaway Calorimeter’s portability contributes to an array of appli-
cations. (Image: NASA)
Tech Briefs, September 2022 www.techbriefs.com 41
cade of use. It is extremely time-consum-
ing to repeat this test through the huge
number of possible battery designs to
discover the better ones.
“Our approach not only reduces test-
ing time, but it also automatically gener-
ion cells, engineers can gain insight to
improve the design of both the cell and
battery level. This in turn helps prevent
cell-to-cell propagation during a cell ex-
plosion, reducing both consequence of
failure as well as the likelihood of loss of
hardware or mission.
The Large Format Thermal Runaway
Calorimeter (L-FTRC) implements a
novel basket capture system designed to
Ejecta Bore
Ejecta Mating
Expansion Chamber
Cell Chamber and Nail
Pentration Stration
Housing and
Insulation
ates better designs,” Lu said. “We use
early feedback to discard unpromising
battery configurations rather than cy-
cling them till the end. This is not a sim-
ple task since a battery configuration
performing mediocrely during early cy-
cles may do well later on, or vice versa.”
The team has formulated the ear-
ly-stopping process systematically and
enabled the system to learn from the
accumulated data to yield new promis-
ing configurations. To get a sizable re-
duction in the time and cost, U-M engi-
neers harnessed the latest in machine
learning to create a system that knows
both when to quit and how to get bet-
ter as it goes.
U-M’s framework is effective in testing
designs of all battery types, from those
used for decades to run internal combus-
tion automobiles, to the smaller prod-
ucts that power our watches and cell
phones. But EV batteries may represent
the most pressing use of the technology.
For more information, contact Kate
McAlpine at 734-647-7087; kmca@
umich.edu.
facilitate the direct capture and tempera-
ture measurement of a completely ejected
electrode winding a common occurrence
in a thermal runaway event for cells of this
size. The L-FTRC also makes use of new
strain relief techniques for all associated
instrumentation, improving measurement
reliability. The system provides a gas col-
lection system capable of capturing the
expelled gases in a manner that provides
the means to analyze the overall volume
of expelled gases, as well as flowrate, tem-
perature, and chemical composition.
This design enables a novel overall ca-
pability. Large format Li-ion battery man-
ufacturers can now benefit from testing
their batteries for aerospace, automotive,
military, and other heavy-duty commer-
cial applications using this technology.
NASA is actively seeking licensees to
commercialize this technology. Please
contact NASA’s Licensing Concierge at
Agency-Patent-Licensing@mail.nasa.gov
or call at 202-358-7432 to initiate licens-
ing discussions. For more information,
visit https://technology.nasa.gov/patent/
MSC-TOPS-98.
 Power & Energy

Energy Storage Materials Make Batteries More Efficient

and Heat-Resistant
New polymer electrolytes are used as electrolytes in redox flow batteries.
Friedrich Schiller University, Jena, Germany

R esearchers have developed new poly-

mer electrolytes for redox flow bat-
teries that are flexible, efficient, and en­
vironmentally friendly.
In redox flow batteries, the energy-stor-
ing components are dissolved in a solvent,
and can therefore, be stored at a decen-
tralized location, which allows the battery
to be scaled as re­quired, from a few millili-
ters to several cubic meters of electrolyte
solution.
Thanks to this flexibility, redox flow
batteries could become an important
means of energy storage; however, until
now, they suffered from two weaknesses
that have prevented their widespread
use. The first is the frequent use of
environ­ mentally hazardous and toxic
heavy metal salts, such as vanadium dis-
solved in sul­ furic acid, as electrolytes.
The other problem is the restriction of
the batteries to a maxi­ mum working
temperature of 40 °C, which necessitates
the use of an elabo­rate cooling system.
With the help of the new material, these
two problems were solved.
The new type of polymer is soluble in
water — which makes it suitable for use in
an aqueous electrolyte — and that con-
tains iron, which provides the ability to
store elec­tricity. At the same time, the poly-
mer can cope with a significantly higher
temperature of up to 60 °C, so that the ad-
ditional expense for sensitive tem­pe­rature
management is eliminated. In addition,
during their tests with the new system, the
researchers discovered that it also works
more efficiently than its predecessors.
This means that electricity can be stored
in a non-hazardous, water-based solution
that is then stored temporarily in tanks
and the electricity in the battery can be
used again the next day without significant
losses or additional effort. Systems of this
kind can also be used in warmer re­gions.
For more information, contact Ulrich
S. Schubert, Prof. Dr, at ulrich.schubert@
uni-jena.de; +49 3641-9-48560.

Room-Temperature Liquid-Metal Battery

The battery promises more power than lithium-ion batteries and can charge and deliver
energy several times faster.
University of Texas, Austin, TX

R esearchers have built a new

type of battery that combines
the benefits of existing options
Because of the liquid compo-
nents, the battery can be scaled up
or down easily, depending on the
while eliminating their key short- 20 °C 68 °F power needed —the bigger the
comings and saving energy. Most battery, the more power it can de-
batteries are composed of either liver. That flexibility allows these
solid-state electrodes, such as lith- batteries to potentially power ev-
ium-ion batteries for portable Na-K liquid erything from smartphones and
electronics, or liquid-state elec- metal anode wearable devices to the infrastruc-
trodes including those for smart ture underpinning the movement
grids. The researchers have creat- toward renewable energy.
ed a “room-temperature all-liq- Organic electrolyte Many of the elements that con-
uid-metal battery,” which includes stitute the backbone of the new
the best of both worlds of liquid- battery are more abundant than
and solid-state batteries. some of the key materials in tradi-
Ga-based liquid
Solid-state batteries feature metal cathode
tional batteries, making them po-
significant capacity for energy tentially easier and less expensive
storage but they typically en- to produce on a large scale; how-
counter numerous problems The battery includes a sodium-potassium alloy as the anode and a ever, gallium remains an expen-
that cause them to degrade over gallium-based alloy as the cathode. sive material. Finding alternative
time and become less efficient. materials that can deliver the
Liquid-state batteries can deliver energy of 20 °C (68 °F) — a major change be- same performance while reducing the
more efficiently without the long-term cause current liquid-metal batteries must cost of production remains a key chal-
decay of sold-state devices; however, be kept at temperatures above 240 °C. lenge. The next step to in­ creasing the
they either fall short on high energy de- The battery includes a sodium-potas- power of the room-temperature battery
mands or require significant resources sium alloy as the anode and a galli- comes in improving the electrolytes —
to constantly heat the electrodes and um-based alloy as the cathode. It may the components that allow the electrical
keep them molten. be possible to create a battery with charge to flow through the battery.
The metallic electrodes in the new bat- even lower melting points using differ- For more information, contact Nat
tery can remain liquefied at a temperature ent materials. Levy at nat.levy@utexas.edu.
42 www.techbriefs.com Tech Briefs, September 2022
Sustainable Technology
A Biodegradable Filtration System for Waste Metal Recovery
An inexpensive biological approach to removing or adsorbing a target substance or material
from solution.
Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA
R apid socio-economic development and
technological advancement has made
the hazardous chemical components of
end-of-life electronics waste (e-waste) an
imminent challenge. Conventional ex-
traction methods rely on energy-intensive
processes and are inefficient when applied
to recycling e-waste or waste streams that
contain mixed materials and small
amounts of metals. NASA Ames Research
Center has developed an inexpensive bio-
logical approach to removing or adsorb-
ing a target substance or material, for ex-
ample a metal, non-metal toxin, dye, or
small molecule drug, from solution.
This invention is a method of remov-
ing or adsorbing a target substance or
material, for example, a metal, non-met-
al toxin, dye, or small molecule drug,
from solution, by functionalizing a sub-
strate with a peptide configured to selec-
Using AI to Help Scale Up Advanced Solar
Cell Manufacturing
A new approach to machine learning could help make the next generation of solar power
a reality.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA
P erovskites are a family of materials
that are currently the leading contend-
er to potentially replace today’s sili-
con-based solar photovoltaics. Manufac-
turing perovskite-based solar cells involves
optimizing at least a dozen or so variables
at once, even within one particular manu-
facturing approach among many possibili-
ties. But a new system based on a novel
approach to machine learning could
speed up the development of optimized
production methods and help make the
next generation of solar power a reality.
The system, developed by researchers at
MIT and Stanford University over the last
few years, makes it possible to integrate
data from prior experiments, and informa-
tion based on personal observations by ex-
Tech Briefs, September 2022 www.techbriefs.com 43
tively bind to the target substance or ma-
terial and to bind to the substrate. The
substrate is fungal mycelium, and the
naturally occurring or bioengineered
peptide is called a target-binding do-
main, which is chemically bonded to a
selected solid substrate.
The target chemical species binds to
the target-binding domain and is re-
moved from solution. The target can be
any chemical species dissolved or sus-
pended in the solution. Capture of the
target by the substrate can isolate and
allow removal of the target substance
from solution, or for utilization in water
filtration, or recovery of targeted chemi-
cal species from solution, particularly
aqueous solution applications.
The peptides used include fusion pep-
tides and/or proteins containing
metal-binding domain sequence and op-
perienced workers, into the machine
learning process.
While most laboratory-scale develop-
ment of perovskite materials uses a
spin-coating technique, that’s not practical
for larger-scale manufacturing, so compa-
nies and labs around the world have been
searching for ways of translating these lab
materials into a practical, manufacturable
product.
The MIT team looked at a process that
they felt had the greatest potential, a meth-
od called rapid spray plasma processing
(RSPP). The manufacturing process
would involve a moving roll-to-roll surface,
or series of sheets, on which the precursor
solutions for the perovskite compound
would be sprayed or ink-jetted as the sheet
tionally containing substrate-binding do-
main sequence; fusion peptides/pro-
teins containing a metal-binding domain
and a chitin-binding domain; and (nu-
cleic acids encoding fusion peptides
and/or proteins containing metal-bind-
ing domain sequence.
The technology enables simple scale
up to a level that could be successfully
implemented in an environment with
limited resources, such as on a space mis-
sion or on earth in developing countries
with poor access to clean water.
NASA is actively seeking licensees to
commercialize this technology. Please
contact NASA’s Licensing Concierge at
Agency-Patent-Licensing@mail.nasa.gov
or call at 202-358-7432 to initiate licens-
ing discussions. For more information,
visit https://technology.nasa.gov/patent/
TOP2-295.
rolled by. The material would then move
on to a curing stage, providing a rapid and
continuous output.
Within that process, at least a dozen vari-
ables may affect the outcome, some of
them more controllable than others.
These include the composition of the
starting materials, the temperature, the
humidity, the speed of the processing
path, the distance of the nozzle used to
spray the material onto a substrate, and
the methods of curing the material. Many
of these factors can interact with each oth-
er, and if the process is in open air, then
humidity, for example, may be uncon-
trolled. Evaluating all possible combina-
tions of these variables through experi-
mentation is impossible, so machine
 Sustainable Technology

learning was needed to help guide the ex-

perimental process.
But while most machine-learning systems
use raw data such as measurements of the
electrical and other properties of test sam-
ples, they don’t typically incorporate hu-
man experience such as qualitative observa-
tions made by the experimenters of the
visual and other properties of the test sam-
ples, or information from other experi-
ments reported by other researchers. So,
the team found a way to incorporate such
outside information into the machine
learning model, using a probability factor
based on a mathematical technique called
Bayesian Optimization.
The system now allows experimenters to
much more rapidly guide their process in
order to optimize it for a given set of condi-
tions or required outcomes. The research
team is currently focusing on tech transfer
to existing perovskite manufacturers.
For more information, contact Abby
A machine learning system promises to speed up production of perovskite-based solar cells. (Im-
age: Photo of solar cell by Nicholas Rolston, Stanford, and edited by MIT News. Perovskite illustra- Abazorius at 617-253-2709; abbya@
tion by Christine Daniloff, MIT) mit.edu.

Lignin-Based Jet Fuel Packs More Power

A new method turns lignin from agricultural waste into a sustainable jet fuel.
Washington State University, Pullman, DC

A n experimental plant-based jet fuel

could increase engine performance
and efficiency, while dispensing with aro-
matics, the pollution-causing com-
pounds found in conventional fuels, ac-
cording to new research.
In a study published in the journal
Fuel, researchers analyzed a Washington
State University-developed jet fuel based
on lignin, an organic polymer that makes
plants tough and woody. Using a range
of tests and predictions, the researchers
examined fuel properties critical to jet
engine operation, including seal swell,
density, efficiency, and emissions. Their
results suggest that this sustainable fuel
could be mixed with other biofuels to
fully replace petroleum-derived fuels.
“When we tested our lignin jet fuel, we
saw some interesting results,” said Bin
Yang, professor with WSU’s Department A Pacific Northwest National Laboratory scientist helps develop a sustainable fuel component as
of Biological Systems Engineering and part of research into bio-based jet fuels. (Image: Washington State University)
corresponding author on the study. “We
found that it not only had increased en- trails, which are estimated to contribute “Aromatics are still used in fuel today
ergy density and content but also could more to the climate impact of aviation because we do not have solutions to
totally replace aromatics, which are a than carbon dioxide,” said Joshua some of the problems they solve: They
real problem for the aviation industry.” Heyne, co-author, University of Dayton provide jet fuel with a density that other
“Aromatics are associated with in- scientist and current co-director of the sustainable technologies do not. Most
creased soot emissions, as well as con- joint WSU-PNNL Bioproducts Institute. unique is their ability to swell the
44 www.techbriefs.com Tech Briefs, September 2022
O-rings used to seal metal-to-metal
joints, and they do this well.”
Yang developed a patented process
that turns lignin from agricultural
waste into bio-based lignin jet fuel.
Such sustainable fuel could help the
aviation industry reduce dependance
on increasingly expensive fossil fuels
Unprinting Method Removes Toner with Xenon Light
This method can help recycle paper and curb environmental costs.
Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ
A method was created to unprint pa­per
that, unlike laser-based methods, can
work with the standard, coated paper used
in home and office printers. The new meth-
od uses intense pulses of light from a xenon
lamp and can erase black, blue, red, and
green toners without damaging the paper.
The method makes it possible to unprint
and then reprint on the same paper at least
five times, which is typically as many times
paper can be reused with conventional re-
cycling. By eliminating the steps involved in
conventional recycling, the unprinting
method could reduce energy costs, pollu-
tion, and greenhouse gas emissions.
Conventional recycling of coated pa­per
is a major contributor to climate change
Organic Steam Generator Uses Sunlight to Purify Water
A high-efficiency steam generator that purifies and desalinates water can be built using
cheap and natural materials such as cellulose.
Linköping University, Sweden
R esearchers have developed an inex-
pensive and eco-friendly steam gen-
erator to desalinate and purify water us-
ing sunlight. The rate of steam
production is four to five times higher
than that of direct water evaporation.
The steam generator consists of an aero-
gel that contains a cellulose-based struc-
ture decorated with the organic conjugat-
ed polymer PEDOT:PSS. The polymer has
the ability to absorb the energy in sunlight
in the infrared part of the spectrum where
much of the Sun’s heat is transported. The
aerogel has a porous nanostructure, which
means that large quantities of water can be
absorbed into its pores. A 2-mm layer of
this material can absorb 99 percent of the
energy in the Sun’s spectrum.
A porous and insulating floating
foam is also located between the water
Tech Briefs, September 2022 www.techbriefs.com 45
while meeting higher environmental
standards.
“The lignin-based fuel we tested comple-
ments other sustainable aviation fuels by
increasing the density and, perhaps most
importantly, the ring-swelling potential of
blends,” Heyne said. “While meeting our
material needs, these sustainable blends
Xenon
lamp
Printed paper
Intense
Pulsed Light
Ethanol
wipe
Unprinted paper
A new way to unprint paper uses intense pulsed
light from a xenon lamp. (Image: Rajiv Malhotra/
Rutgers University)
The heat from the Sun vaporizes the water, while
salt and other materials remain behind. (Image:
Thor Balkhed)
confer higher energy densities and specific
energies without using aromatics.”
“This process creates a cleaner, more
energy-dense fuel,” Yang added. “That’s
exactly what sustainable aviation fuels
need for the future.”
For more information, contact Bin Yang
at bin.yang@wsu.edu; 509-372-7640.
emissions, chemical pollution, and energy
use, according to the study. Extending
the life of paper while avoiding these re-
cycling steps would yield significant envi-
ronmental benefits.
The next steps are to further refine
the method by testing additional toner
colors on a wider range of paper types.
Unprinting can be done with simple
equipment and a wipe with a very
small amount of benign alcohol. Re-
searchers are working to integrate un-
printing with typical office and home
printers.
For more information, contact Todd
Bates at todd.bates@rutgers.edu; 848-
932-0550.
and the aerogel so that the steam gen-
erator is kept afloat. The heat from the
Sun vaporizes the water, while salt and
other materials remain behind. The
durable aerogel can be cleaned in, for
example, salt water so that it can be
used again immediately. This can be
repeated many times. The water that
passes through the system by evapora-
tion becomes very high-quality drink-
ing water.
All the materials are eco-friendly —
the system uses nanocellulose and a poly-
mer that has a very low impact on the
environment and people. Very small
amounts of material are used; the aero-
gel is made up of 90 percent air.
For more information, contact
Simone Fabiano at simone.fabiano@
liu.se; +45 11 36 36 33 .
 APPLICATION
BRIEFS
Raising the Reliability of Scientific
Space Exploration
LASP
Boulder, CO
https://lasp.colorado.edu/home/
AdaCore
New York, NY
www.adacore.com
T he Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) at
the University of Colorado Boulder was founded in 1948, a
decade before NASA. It began as the Upper Air Laboratory,
using captured German V2 rockets to
send scientific instruments into our
planet’s upper atmosphere.
Today, LASP continues to focus on
scientific research, both in the earth’s
upper atmosphere and beyond. LASP
partners with government agencies
like NASA and the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration,
commercial entities like Ball Aero-
space, and other universities like the
University of Arizona and Northern
Arizona University, to develop, test,
and operate spacecraft and scientific
instruments.
Projects in which LASP has partici-
pated include NASA’s Kepler space
telescope mission, the Mars Atmo-
sphere and Volatile Evolution Mis-
sion (MAVEN), the Solar Radiation
and Climate Experiment (SORCE),
the Total and Spectral Solar Irradiance Sensor (TSIS-1), the
Emirates Mars Mission (EMM), and many others.
A Highly Scalable Command and Control
System
One of LASP’s key tools for fulfilling its mission is the Oper-
ations and Science Instrument Support–Command & Control
(OASIS-CC) software suite. OASIS-CC is LASP’s in-house-devel-
oped, ground-based, real-time command and control system
for spacecraft and instruments. It can be scaled from low-level
development through integration, test, and flight ops. LASP
has been using OASIS-CC in all its mission roles for more than
30 years.
The OASIS-CC project began in 1985 and chose Ada as the
implementation language. According to Jason Gurgel, the
OASIS-CC Program Manager at LASP, OASIS-CC uses a client
server model. The core server makes network connections to
scientific instruments, spacecraft systems, ground control sys-
tems, other ground stations, ground instrumentation, simu-
lators, and other systems. The OASIS-CC client graphical
46 www.techbriefs.com Tech Briefs, September 2022
user interfaces (GUIs) allow users to design workspaces to
display command control panels, telemetry data, and addi-
tional information.
OASIS-CC can be used to develop and test scientific instru-
ments in the laboratory and control those same instruments
during missions aboard spacecraft. By using OASIS-CC
throughout the life of a program, project managers can greatly
reduce both risk and cost by leveraging re-use.
Mission-Critical Software Must Remain Reliable
The heart of the OASIS-CC system — the client server por-
tion — is written in Ada. It has been certified as NASA Class B
software (Non-Human Space Rated Software Systems or Large-
Scale Aeronautics Vehicles). One of LASP’s big challenges, ac-
cording to Gurgel, is making sure that the mission-critical soft-
ware remains reliable.
LASP is constantly modifying OA-
SIS-CC to control new instruments.
And they need to be sure those ex-
pensive instruments will work per-
fectly throughout their mission when
doing so. Neither LASP nor their
partners can afford to have unde-
fined code behavior or other bugs
waste the money spent developing
and testing an instrument and send-
ing it into space.
“Naturally, any changes or new fea-
tures have to be thought about and
then thoroughly tested,” Gurgel said.
“That’s just the nature of the soft-
ware; it’s mission-critical.”
One of the big challenges of main-
taining the reliability of a 30-year-old
real-time system is keeping it up-to-
date, manageable, and efficient.
That’s why, in 2010, LASP decided to undertake a major over-
haul of OASIS-CC.
Until then, OASIS-CC had been a monolithic system — a sin-
gle program written in Ada 83. To make the system more effi-
cient and maintainable, LASP decided to repartition it and
update its code to a more modern version of Ada.
For the latter, LASP needed a new compiler. They had been
using a Verdix/Vads Ada 83 compiler from the 1980s. What
they wanted was a modern Ada compiler supported by a vendor
with deep Ada expertise. They were looking for a partner who
would aid them in their Ada upgrade and help them make sure
their software remained certified to NASA Class B.
A Total System Migration
LASP decided to refactor their entire code base and migrate
it from a SPARC/Solaris system to a Linux platform. They re-
moved all the GUI portions from the Ada code and reworked
the rest as a distributed client server, upgrading the code from
Ada 83 to Ada 95. Then, they wrote brand new C++ code for the
front end and the displays on all the GUIs.
 For their new Ada compiler, they chose AdaCore’s GNAT Pro
compiler. “The main reason was support,” said Gurgel of why
they went with GNAT. “We wanted a supported compiler. We
also wanted Ada language support to help with the transition
[to Ada 95] and to check the box for keeping that software
certification in place.”
AdaCore realizes that teams exist on a spectrum, from those
who simply wait for new versions and features to be released
through AdaCore’s continuous release download page, to
those who require ultra-reliable, long-term support.
For the latter, AdaCore provides GNAT Pro Assurance, a ver-
sion of the standard GNAT Pro Enterprise product augmented
by a service known as “sustained branch”— a stable develop-
ment line in which critical fixes can be back-ported and accom-
panied by a thorough impact analysis. GNAT Pro Enterprise
customers, like LASP, are welcome and encouraged to make
technology enhancement requests. Through this system, many
customer suggestions have been implemented and incorporat-
ed into GNAT Pro over the past several years.
According to Gurgel, Ada’s features make it the best lan-
guage choice for the mission-critical portions of OASIS-CC.
Two features he cited as essential are concurrency (tasking)
and data type security.
Ada Training for New Employees
Another challenge for LASP is one that many Ada organiza-
tions face when hiring new employees. “Few candidates know
anything about the language,” said Gurgel, “but if we want them
to work on the system, we’ve got to train them in Ada. Our OA-
SIS-CC team is small, so that’s a big challenge for us.”
Help with Ada training is also a big benefit of partnering with
AdaCore. LASP has availed itself of several of AdaCore’s train-
ing opportunities, including a live, five-day Ada Fundamentals
course. “We don’t have a formal training program,” said Gur-
gel. “From my experience in hiring a few new people, I think
it’s a little difficult for them to pick up Ada without some kind
of basic training. If you just throw them in the deep end, I think
they’ll be overwhelmed at first. But once they get a little Ad-
aCore training, it’s fairly easy for new team members to adapt.”
Gurgel said the time and effort LASP invested in rearchi-
tecting and upgrading the system 10 years ago is still paying
dividends today. He expects it will continue to do so for many
years.“That effort has extended the system’s life well into the
future,” he added. “We don’t have any plans to rewrite it. It’s
definitely fulfilling our needs.”
This article was contributed by AdaCore. For more informa-
tion, visit https://www.adacore.com/industries/space.
Upcoming...

Webinars
Improve Speed and Accuracy of Electronic Component
Inspection with Automated Video Inspection
Thursday, September 8, 2022 at 2:00 pm U.S. EDT
Manual microscopy is giving way more and more to video-measuring machines for inspection of semiconductor components, and manufactur-
ing advancements in 3D video measuring solutions for the electronics industry is essential. This 60-minute Webinar will provide insight into how
automated video measuring machines address the needs of repeatable, reproducible measurements, creating an ideal platform for inspecting
mini and micro-LEDs, MEMS and sensors, and wafer- and panel- level semiconductor packaging.
Speaker:
Brad Bartmess
Sales Director,
Vision Group,
Nikon Metrology Inc.

Please visit www.techbriefs.com/webinar312

The Value of Sensor Simulation for

Hardware-in-the-Loop Design Validation
Wednesday, September 21, 2022 at 11:00 am U.S. EDT
With the recent advances in electrification and new technology developments in propulsion methodology, hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) test bench-
es—historically the domain of production test—are becoming increasingly prominent in R&D. In this 60-minute Webinar, speakers will analyze new
challenges for companies designing HIL test benches and see how test and measurement companies have addressed the simulation challenges.
Speakers:
Paul Bovingdon Alexandre Leboeuf
Technical Engineering Manager, Aerospace Business Unit
Pickering Interfaces Manager,
Opal-RT Technologies

Please visit www.techbriefs.com/webinar316

Modeling Inverse Kinematics: Improving Actuation

Control in Industrial Robots
Tuesday, September 27, 2022 at 2:00 pm U.S. EDT
From small task robots to large industrial manipulators, an efficient solution to the inverse kinematics problem is a necessary part of the actu-
ation control system. Using multiple examples, this 30-minute Webinar reviews the typical challenges and computational demands of numeric
solutions and compares how the use of modern simulation tools can provide modeling options that reduce effort and make it simpler to connect
with control systems.
Speaker:
Orang Vahid, Ph.D.,
Director,
Application Engineering,
Maplesoft

Please visit www.techbriefs.com/webinar319

 Efficient Thermal Runaway Modeling for
Sensitivity, Parametric, and Variability Analysis
Monday, September 26, 2022 at 9:00 am U.S. EDT
Under certain off-nominal conditions, Li-ion cells can generate excessive heat and gas, which result in a catastrophic failure known as thermal runaway.
The complexity of the physics involved, and the variability associated with thermal runaway make it very challenging to model. This 60-minute
Webinar discusses a multi-physics solution that can be used to develop a systematically reduced thermal runaway modeling framework to
conduct sensitivity, parametric, and variability analysis.
Speakers:
Mohammad Parhizi Joseph Solomon
Research Scientist, Simulation Solutions Consultant,
Electrochemical Safety Gamma Technologies
Research Institutes

Please visit www.techbriefs.com/webinar318

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The Flexibility of Embedded Systems and
Automation in 2022
This 60-minute Webinar examines embedded systems designed to give developers
fast, convenient, and simplified solutions for industrial and embedded applications. Two
experts in industrial IoT will discuss the implementation of solutions that are needed for
the success of smart industry, smart cities, and smart service ecosystems.
Speakers:
Diego González Charlie Wu
Sales Development Executive, Product Manager,
Advantech Advantech

Please visit www.techbriefs.com/webinar256

Effective Power Management:

Minimizing Downtime and Maximizing Efficiency
This 60-minute Webinar from the editors of Tech Briefs highlights how to choose the appro-
priate power distribution and monitoring equipment, control system, sensors, and data man-
agement software. This Webinar discusses how to prevent power disturbances, benefits of
continuous vibration analysis, energy consumption of rotating equipment, and more.
Speakers:
Frank DeLattre Chad Flowe Mark Wilkins
Executive VP, Senior Reliability & Engineering Manager,
Sales and Marketing, Customer Success Manager, Acopian Technical Co.
Gateview Technologies Grundfos

Please visit www.techbriefs.com/webinar207

 New on the
MARKET
Product of the Month
The compact optoNCDT 1420LL laser sensors from Micro-Epsilon, Ortenburg, Germany, perform
precise distance measurements on metallic and structured surfaces. The sensor projects a small laser
line onto the measuring object, which compensates for any interference. This ensures stable and re-
liable measurement values. These sensors are used whenever standard laser point sensors reach their
limit. Working with a small laser line rather than a laser point enables the sensors to measure accu-
rately even on rough, diffuse, and shiny metallic surfaces. The laser line ensures optical averaging and compensates for irreg-
ular surfaces. The sensors achieve reliable, highly precise measurement values on rough surfaces, as well as defects, recesses,
and holes and are available with measuring ranges of 10, 25, and 50 mm.
For Free Info Visit http://info.hotims.com/82325-120

Low Profile Power Inductors Stamped Spring Pin Socket

Coilcraft, Inc., Cary, IL, is offer- Ironwood Electronics, Eagan, MN, has intro-
ing a series of inductors with cur- duced a new stamped spring socket with 31
rent ratings up to 4.5 A with very gram actuation force per ball and life-cycle of
low DCR and 24 inductance values 125,000 insertions. Self-inductance is 0.88 nH,
from 0.38 to 220 µH. insertion loss < 1 dB at 15.7 GHz, and capaci-
· 4.0 × 4.0 mm footprint and only 1.0 mm tall. tance is 0.097 pF. Current capacity of each con-
· Magnetic shielding allows high-density mounting. tactor is 4 amps at 40 °C temperature rise. Sock-
· AEC-Q200 Grade 1 (-40 °C to +125 °C). et temperature range is -55 °C to +180 °C.
For Free Info Visit http://info.hotims.com/82325-101 For Free Info Visit http://info.hotims.com/82325-106

IP67 Snap-Action Switches Absolute Pressure Switch

CIT Relay & Switch, Rogers, MN, is offer-
ing shorter than average lead times on their
VM3S Series snap-action switch. Miniature
in size, these UL/cUL certified switches of-
fer multiple actuator style options and the
choice of .187" quick connect terminals or 300 mm UL 1015 20
AWG wire. Available with two standard options of operating force,
they can create other force options as needed.
For Free Info Visit http://info.hotims.com/82325-102
Remote Signal-Sender
Anywhere Alerter, by Electronic Sensors,
Inc., Wichita, KS, monitors any pair of dry con-
tacts (simple switch, relay, binary sensor, etc.).
Changes in circuit continuity (on/off, or
open/closed) trigger Anywhere Alerter to
quickly send a user-defined text message to the user’s smartphone
or e-mail address, via cellular communications. Cellular service
and long-life battery are included.
For Free Info Visit http://info.hotims.com/82325-104
Multi-Range Pressure Sensor
Multi-Range technology from
Superior Sensor Technology,
San Jose, CA, supports up to
eight different pressure ranges,
each of which is factory calibrated to ensure there is no degra-
dation in total error band, accuracy, and stability regardless of
the range selected. Users can program the pressure range via a
single software command. Moreover, pressure ranges can be
selected ‘on the fly’ in the field by technicians.
For Free Info Visit http://info.hotims.com/82325-105
Pressure Controls, Inc. (PCI),
West Greenwich, RI, announced a
new Absolute Pressure Switch prod-
uct line in a variety of customizable
sizes, shapes, and set points. Designed to compensate for
changes in barometric pressure and environment, they utilize a
hermetically sealed housing with an aneroid capsule for pres-
sure sensing. This eliminates the risk of false readings due to
external or uncontrolled environmental conditions.
For Free Info Visit http://info.hotims.com/82325-107
High-Precision Planetary Reducer
Andantex, Ocean Township, NJ, is intro-
ducing its EVO 1 mechanical gearing sys-
tem, which approaches the performance of a
linear motor at the lower price of a rack and
pinion linear axis. Features include high stiff-
ness, zero backlash, and an ultra-minimal transmis-
sion error. This new design provides vibration-free
motion and an optimum surface finish for the machined part.
For Free Info Visit http://info.hotims.com/82325-112
Micro AC Drives
AutomationDirect, Cumming, GA, has
added the DURApulse GS10 series as their
newest line of micro AC drives. They are
available in a variety of voltage and horse-
power ratings, including single-phase 120
VAC models in sizes from ¼ to 1 hp, single-phase 230 VAC models
from ¼ to 3 hp, three-phase 230 VAC models from ¼ to 7.5 hp,
and 460 VAC three-phase units from ½ to 10 hp.
For Free Info Visit http://info.hotims.com/82325-109

50 www.techbriefs.com Tech Briefs, September 2022

 PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT
PRECISION
ORIFICES & FILTERS
New Machine to Produce High Accuracy Cutting Tools Bird Precision offers laser-drilled,
wire-lapped ruby and sapphire
ANCA CNC Machines, Melbourne, Australia, will fea- orifices.
ture at IMTS 2022, the capabilities of its ANCA Integrat- www.birdprecision.com • Huge variety of Orifices, In-
ed Manufacturing System (AIMS), which optimizes cut- sales@birdprecision.com
serts, Connectors, and Fittings
• Unique micron orifices series
ting tool production through streamlined manufacturing, Control the Flow
sizes from .0004” thru .081” • High-
automation, and connectivity. With ANCA and AIMS, ly repeatable flow from < .5sccm at 5psi • Extreme
customers can achieve continuous, unattended produc- wear & chemical resistance • Engineering resources &
design guides. Please visit our award-winning website
tion that dramatically reduces non-productive machine time, with smart automa- for more information. Bird Precision, Waltham, MA;
tion that connects sequential tool production processes and offers connectivity Tel: 800-454-7369; Fax: 800-370-6308; e-mail: sales@
across the whole factory. birdprecision.com; www.birdprecision.com
For Free Info Visit http://info.hotims.com/82325-103
Bird Precision
MEMS DC Calibration Reference Accelerometers
Silicon Designs, Inc., Kirkland, WA, has introduced the
Model 2290 Series of high-precision, single axis MEMS DC MULTIPHYSICS
calibration reference accelerometers. Offered in four full- MODELING AND
scale acceleration ranges of ±5 g, ±10 g, ±25 g, and ±50 g, it SIMULATION
offers a precise, reliable, and accurate means of determin- APPLICATIONS
ing the sensitivity and frequency response characteristics of unknown MEMS DC ac- COMSOL Multiphysics®  is a
celerometers during end-to-end calibrations and related performance verifications. software environment for cre-
ating physics-based models and simulation apps and
For Free Info Visit http://info.hotims.com/82325-108
managing simulation projects. Add-on products pro-
vide tools for electromagnetics, structural, acoustics,
RF and Microwave Simulation Software fluid flow, heat transfer, and chemical simulations.
Interfacing products offer a unified workflow with
Keysight Technologies, Inc., Santa Rosa, CA, has intro- all major technical computing and CAD tools. COM-
duced the new PathWave Advanced Design System (ADS) SOL Compiler™  and COMSOL Server™  are used
2023, an integrated design and simulation software that ad- for deploying simulation applications to colleagues
and customers. https://www.comsol.com/products
dresses increasing design complexity and higher frequen-
cies in the radio frequency (RF) and microwave industry. It
COMSOL, Inc.
includes enhancements to electromagnetic simulation for circuit designers and
streamlines integration of multi-technology circuit assembly and simulation into
enterprise electronic design automation (EDA) design workflows. SILVER FILLED
For Free Info Visit http://info.hotims.com/82325-110 EPOXY CURES
AT 80 °C
IP67 Power Supplies Master Bond EP4S-80 is a
The new TRIO IP67 power supplies from Phoenix Contact, one part, silver filled epoxy
Middletown, PA, can be mounted directly on a machine, re- for bonding, sealing, and coating. It is low in viscosity
and flows smoothly and easily. EP4S-80 has superb di-
placing those previously located in a large, centralized con- mensional stability, low shrinkage upon curing, and
trol cabinet. Mounting the IP67 power supply on or closer to contains no solvents or diluents. It bonds well to a wide
where power is needed reduces cable length and voltage variety of substrates such as metals, ceramics, compos-
ites, and many plastics. https://www.masterbond.
drop that can occur with longer cables. Because it reduces or eliminates enclosure com/tds/ep4s-80
space, it can also reduce overall system costs.
For Free Info Visit http://info.hotims.com/82325-111
Master Bond
C6 USB-C Adapter
The new C6 adapter from Delta Electronics, Fremont,
CA, adopts GaN instead of traditional Si-MOSFET compo-
nents to optimize its electrical circuitry and enhance power PRECISE INERTIAL
efficiency. It automatically detects the output voltage for any SENSING IN A
device and provides fast charging for a wide range of 3C TINY GYRO
products. The C6 lowers operating temperature by 10 °F at The size of your smallest fin-
60 W full load charging — compared to the previous 60C Pro generation of adapters. gernail (approximately 5mm
For Free Info Visit http://info.hotims.com/82325-113 × 6mm) Silicon Sensing’s Pin-
Point® gyro delivers on perfor-
mance, reliability, and price. It is available in both
GigE Industrial Cameras flat and orthogonal mounts — ideal for a wide variety
With uEye Warp10, IDS Imaging Development Systems of applications. Inertial sensing available for any task.
www.siliconsensing.com/products/gyroscopes/
GmbH, Woburn, MA, is launching a new camera family crm-pinpoint
that, thanks to 10 GigE, transmits data in the Gigabit Eth-
ernet-based network at a very high frame rate and virtual-
ly without delay. The first models with the IMX250 (5 Silicon Sensing
MP), IMX253 (12 MP), and IMX255 (8.9 MP) sensors from the Sony Pregius series
are now available.
For Free Info Visit http://info.hotims.com/82325-114

Tech Briefs, September 2022 www.techbriefs.com 51

 FACILITY FOCUS
Virginia Tech College of Engineering
F ounded in 1872, Virginia Tech is a public land-grant research
university with its main campus in Blacksburg, VA. From artifi-
cial intelligence, cybersecurity, and manufacturing to health sci-
ences, robotics, and more, the Virginia Tech College of Engineer-
ing offers an advanced engineering curriculum.
Engineering undergraduate students major in one of 15 ma-
jors within the college and engineering graduate students
choose from 18 areas of study that include traditional re-
search-based programs, online programs, and flexible profes-
sional-oriented programs.
The Innovation Campus features a design centered on the principles of sustainability,
health and wellness, green and social spaces, accessibility, connectivity, flexibility, and inte-
grated technology. (Image: Virginia Tech)
Christina DiMarino works in the Center for Power Electronics Lab in Arlington. (Image:
Chelsea Seeber for Virginia Tech)
52 www.techbriefs.com Tech Briefs, September 2022
The departments at the college include Aerospace and
Ocean Engineering, Biological Systems Engineering, Bio-
medical Engineering and Mechanics, Chemical Engineer-
ing, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Computer Sci-
ence, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Engineering
Education, Industrial and Systems Engineering, Materials
Science and Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Mining
and Minerals Engineering, and the Myers-Lawson School of
Construction.
Research Labs
The Advanced Engineering Design Lab is a
joint venture between Virginia Tech’s College of
Engineering and the Aerospace and Ocean Engi-
neering department. The facility houses up to 12
undergraduate design teams in the areas of rock-
etry, drone technology, aircraft technology, and
turbine energy.
The Frith First-Year Makerspace is a space where
first-year engineering students learn by dissecting,
designing, making, and analyzing engineering
products.
Located within the inVenTs residence hall, the
inVenTs Studios provide an interdisciplinary liv-
ing-learning space for students interested in ex-
ploring their ability to envision, create, and trans-
form innovative ideas into action.
The Ware Lab provides space, equipment, and
facilities for undergraduates to work within design
student teams and removes boundaries that often
separate engineering disciplines.
The 3.5-acre Virginia Tech Innovation Campus,
which is set to open in 2024, will unite industry,
government, and academia in dynamic proj-
ect-based learning and research to shape the way
emerging technologies influence society.
Northrop Grumman has made a $12.5-million
commitment to support research and teaching in
quantum information science and engineering.
Virginia Tech is forming two centers for quan-
tum engineering — one in Blacksburg and one in
Alexandria. Each with a complementary focus
area spanning multiple fields, these centers will
work together to provide a uniquely transdisci-
plinary approach to tackle quantum challenges.
Technology Development
The future of space engineering requires effec-
tive communication and building a secure net-
work in space is crucial. Commonwealth Cyber
Initiative (CCI) researchers at Virginia Tech have
partnered with the University of Surrey in the
United Kingdom to build the world’s first
hardware-in-the-loop test bed that emu-
lates the changing connectivity of a mega
satellite constellation at scale. With sup-
port from the CCI, the Virginia Tech team
and its partners have been researching new
space-based, high-bandwidth networks.
The test bed they built will be simulat-
ing mega internet constellations, includ-
ing satellites, ground stations, connected
devices such as phones, and the links be-
tween them all. By running the test bed
through different scenarios, the team is
looking at what to do when operations
are disrupted by something like a space
event or a security breach and how an ad-
jacent satellite network could compen-
sate for a compromised system.
Another research team at the college
has recently received $2.9 million in
funding from the U.S. Department of En-
ergy (DOE) to tackle power grid sustain- Assistant Professor Satoru Emori seeks to develop thin films with a big payoff. (Image: Steven
ability, innovative approaches to power Mackay for Virginia Tech)
conversion, and related technologies.
The team submitted a proposal for a new
solution called SCALED, or Substation in
a Cable for Adaptable, Low-cost Electrical
Distribution, with a goal to create a more
streamlined structure that combines the
functionality of power electronics and the
power density benefits of high-voltage ca-
bles to replace bulky power substations in
the electrical grid we use today.
This new, more compact design could
eliminate the need for large and expen-
sive power substations and enable simple
integration of renewable energy sources,
electric vehicle fast-charging infrastruc-
ture, energy storage, and efficient direct
current distribution lines. The team
hopes to make SCALED adaptable for the
future by making it bidirectional so pow-
er can flow in both directions.
The huge amount of digital data in
John Chappell (at left), an associate professor with the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC,
the “cloud” today is stored on magnetic and research scientist Laura Beth Payne used high-resolution, time-lapse imaging and a technique
tapes and discs that are fast becoming a called transcriptional profiling to understand relationships between cells. (Image: Virginia Tech)
big part of the global energy problem. A
Virginia Tech Department of Physics team is aiming to solve showing promise for energy-efficient device applications, but
by creating new thin films made of specially engineered mag- more studies need to be done about how chemical gradients
netic materials. actually affect the magnetic switching process.
These proposed films are “vertically graded.” For example, a Researchers at Virginia Tech are closer to understanding the
vertically graded iron-nickel film may be rich in iron on the earliest beginnings of the circulatory system during embryonic
bottom and rich in nickel at the top. The magnetic films will be development — a discovery that could lead to ways to repair dam-
about 10 nanometers thick, nearly 10,000 times thinner than a age in the human body after a stroke or heart attack.
sheet of copy paper. Early research success indicated that mag- Using high-resolution, time-lapse imaging and a technique
netism in vertically graded films can be rotated with low loss, called transcriptional profiling to understand relationships
Tech Briefs, September 2022 www.techbriefs.com 53
 Facility Focus
Gabriela Mendes, a Postdoctoral Associate in the Munson Lab, holds an example of the 3D model
of the glioblastoma tumor microenvironment the lab developed to study how different people’s
cancers respond to different therapies. (Image: Clayton Metz for Virginia Tech)
between cells, scientists at the Fralin
Biomedical Research Institute found
separate but closely connected cell
types working together to build blood
and other circulatory vessels in a mouse
model and in cell cultures. The discov-
ery may reshape current theories of vas-
cular development and inform medical
strategies to restore circulation to dam-
aged tissue in the event of stroke or
heart attack.
A biomechanics research team at Vir-
ginia Tech is using artificial intelligence
to detect injuries and improve treat-
ment. Musculoskeletal injuries, such as
small tendon tears or tissue degenera-
tion, can be challenging for the human
eye to detect on ultrasound images.
They are using machine-learning algo-
rithms to address this problem with the
goal of facilitating more accurate medi-
cal diagnoses.
The team is developing algorithms to
identify features unique to injured ten-
dons in ultrasound images provided by
local clinical collaborators. The goal is to
use these algorithms in clinical settings
where machines can identify injuries in
real-time. These analyses may assist with
clinical diagnosis and injury prevention.
Another team in the Department of
Electrical and Computer Engineering is
exploring new methods of treatment that
would promote healing and alleviate
some of the financial burden. To do this,
the team is building computational tools
and models to better understand the
functional role of astrocytes in the brain.
54 www.techbriefs.com Tech Briefs, September 2022
The hope is that a deeper understanding
of astrocytes in the brain will help ad-
vance the development of new drugs and
other treatments.
Additionally, the team’s work will focus
on the brain’s system of complex signal-
ing, or the way information is transmitted
from one area to another. Because this
process also occurs in other organs, the
tools developed for astrocytes could be
broadly applied to medical conditions af-
fecting other areas of the body.
Glioblastoma, a rare but deadly brain
cancer, has been extremely difficult to
treat. Chemotherapy and radiation ther-
apy have limited effects. But now Virginia
Tech scientists have developed a novel
3D tissue-engineered model of the glio-
blastoma tumor microenvironment that
can be used to learn why the tumors re-
turn and what treatments will be most
effective at eradicating them — right
down to a patient-specific level.
The model is an important step to
identify new markers and therapies for
the cancer. Research using the new mod-
el has already identified a new measure
for understanding a patient’s tumor, in-
cluding the capability of the cancer cells
to renew and differentiate themselves,
which is an indicator of how the cancer
will respond to drug treatments.
Technology Transfer
The Center for Technology Commer-
cialization is the technology transfer arm
of Virginia Tech. For more information,
call 540-231-1782.
www.techbriefs.com
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 Advertisers
Index
Advertisers listed in bold-face type have banner ads on the Tech Briefs web site — www.techbriefs.com
Advertiser Page Web Link
ATI Industrial Automation............................. 31..................................................... www.ati-ia.com
AutomationDirect......................................... Cover 2, 24 A-D, 25.................. automationdirect.com
Bird Precision............................................... 51...................................................birdprecision.com
COMSOL, Inc........................................... 9, 51................................................. comsol.com
Dymax Corporation...................................... 15............................................................dymax.com
Electronic Sensors, Inc.................................. 33..............................................electronicsensors.net
Harwin PLC.................................................. 6............................................................. harwin.com
HEIDENHAIN................................................ 1, 26....................................................heidenhain.us
Keystone Electronics Corp............................. 7.............................................................keyelco.com
L-com.......................................................... 3............................................................... l-com.com
Marubeni Citizen-Cincom Inc........................ 11, 27.....................................................marucit.com
Master Bond Inc..................................... 13, 51....................................... masterbond.com
NASA Goddard Space
Communications Workshop.......................... Cover 3.......................................techbriefs.com/gscw
PI USA......................................................... 47................................................................pi-usa.us
Pickering Interfaces....................................... Cover 4...........................................pickeringtest.com
Renishaw Inc............................................... 28........................................................ renishaw.com
Silicon Sensing Systems Ltd........................... 51................................................. siliconsensing.com
Stego USA.................................................... 33....................................................... stego-usa.com
Thomas, a Xometry Company....................... 29......................................................thomasnet.com
Transtector................................................... 2........................................................ transtector.com
UC Components, Inc..................................... 24................................................uccomponents.com
Würth Elektronik.......................................... 5.........................................................we-online.com
Tech Briefs, September 2022 www.techbriefs.com 55
Advertiser Page Web Link
Battery & Electrification Technology
Accu-Power................................................ 3, 24............................................ accupowerus.com
Advanced Cell Engineering......................... 29...............................advancedcellengineering.com
Aspen Aerogels.......................................... Cover 3.................................................aerogel.com
Battery & Electrification Summit................... 4.......................................techbriefs.com/bes-nov22
COMSOL, Inc......................................... 5, 25, Cover 4................................. comsol.com
CS Hyde Company...................................... 13..........................................................cshyde.com
Elektrisola Inc............................................. 30.....................................................elektrisola.com
Element Materials Technology..................... 5, 31....................................................element.com
Ellsworth Adhesives.................................... 19...................................................... ellsworth.com
FRONTIER - a Delta ModTech Company....... 2, 39.......................................... frontiercoating.com
Hirschmann Automotive
North America LLC...................................... 32................................ hirschmann-automotive.com
Keystone Electronics Corp........................... 9...........................................................keyelco.com
KOA Speer Electronics................................. 45.......................................................koaspeer.com
Marposs..................................................... 33....................................................... marposs.com
Master Bond Inc.................................... 47, 50..................................... masterbond.com
Pickering Interfaces..................................... Cover Flap, 26............................... pickeringtest.com
Polymer Science.......................................... 34............................................. polymerscience.com
SCHURTER.................................................. 35.........................................................schurter.com
Sheldahl Flexible Technologies,
A Flex Company......................................... 36....................................................... sheldahl.com
TAIYO YUDEN (U.S.A.) INC.......................... 37............................................... www.t-yuden.com
TE Connectivity........................................... Cover 2, 27................................... te.com/e-mobility
Thermo Fisher Scientific............................... 1, 28.................................................... fishersci.com
TLX Technologies........................................ 38.......................................................... tlxtech.com
Voith Group................................................ 15.............................................................voith.com
Photonics & Imaging Technology
Chroma Technology.................................... 16, Cover 4...........................................chroma.com
Diverse Optics Inc....................................... 9, 18.............................................diverseoptics.com
Labsphere, Inc............................................ 1, 18................................................. labsphere.com
Master Bond Inc.................................... 29........................................... masterbond.com
Micro-Epsilon............................................. Cover 2, 17..................................micro-epsilon.com
Photon Engineering.................................... 12...................................................photonengr.com
Photron USA, Inc........................................ 6.......................................................... photron.com
Precision Glass & Optics (PG&O®)............... 15, 19........................................................ pgo.com
Supplement to Tech Briefs: 2, 3
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 Spinoff is NASA’s annual publication featuring
successfully commercialized NASA technology. This
commercialization has contributed to the development

SPINOFF
of products and services in the fields of health and
medicine, consumer goods, transportation, public safety,
computer technology, and environmental resources.

Webb Telescope Mirror Tech Improves Eye Surgery on Earth

Technology to measure Webb telescope mirrors boosts LASIK eye surgery precision.

T he James Webb Space Telescope is

set to show us some of the first
stars in the universe, with its enor-
mous and powerful mirrors captur-
ing bits of light from more than 13
billion years ago. Meanwhile, tech-
nology developed as part of the de-
cades-long effort to build Webb has
already improved the vision of mil-
lions back on Earth by driving major
improvements to LASIK eye surgery.
Part of a process for measuring
Webb’s mirrors has been incorporat-
ed into Johnson & Johnson Vision’s
iDesign Refractive Studio, a device
that takes precise eye measurements
to map imperfections in visual path-
ways and cornea curvature. One
Johnson & Johnson (J&J) executive
called the resulting information “an
optical fingerprint unique to each pa- Johnson & Johnson’s iDesign Refractive Studio, pictured prove the algorithms in the seemingly
tient’s eye.”
iDesign Refractive Studio is now nose and plan treatment for eye issues. (Image: Johnson
available to eye doctors in 47 coun- & Johnson Vision)
tries, and the iDesign technology has
enabled well over 18 million successful
LASIK procedures worldwide, according
to J&J.
The technology got its start in the ear-
ly 2000s, when Albuquerque, New Mexi-
co-based subcontractor WaveFront Sci-
ences worked with NASA to develop a
system to measure deviations in Webb’s
mirrors as they were being ground and
polished to precise specifications.
“The mirrors were one of the really
critical technologies we needed to devel-
op to enable the observatory,” said Lee
Feinberg, Optical Telescope Element
Manager for Webb at NASA’s Goddard
Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, MD.
“We had to polish them in such a way
that, when they cool down, they become
the mirror shape that we want,” he said.
“We had to match the curvature of one
mirror to the next, which was a very chal-
lenging problem.”
WaveFront Sciences incorporated
some of the algorithms it developed for
the Webb mirrors into a commercial
product it called the Complete Ophthal-
mic Analysis System (COAS), which
here, takes precise eye measurements that map visual
pathways and cornea curvature to help doctors diag-
could diagnose eye conditions by map-
ping the eye.
The technology changed hands sever-
al times and was rolled into the iDesign
system before J&J Vision, which is head-
quartered in Santa Ana, CA, acquired it
in 2017, incorporating it into its iDesign
As Webb returns some of its first images, such as this alignment evaluation image, eye surgery
patients on Earth are benefiting from early research on the telescope’s enormous mirrors. (Image:
NASA)
Refractive Studio, which won approval
from the U.S. Food and Drug Adminis-
tration in 2018.
Once based on the limited informa-
tion of a patient’s eyeglasses prescrip-
tion, LASIK surgery today — guided by
the iDesign Refracted Studio — can
involve more than 1,200 measurements
for individualized vision correction that
is also fast and safe.
Kristian Santana, now an electrical
engineer at J&J Vision, has worked
with this technology from the outset,
originally helping to develop the sys-
tem to measure Webb’s mirrors while
working at WaveFront Sciences in the
early 2000s.
“NASA was a very good partner,” San-
tana recalled, noting that the work on
the telescope helped the company im-
unrelated eye-mapping system.
Indeed, the space agency’s work of-
ten benefits people on Earth. “Ulti-
mately, the investments that NASA
made helped the company develop the
technology to be useful for other appli-
cations — in this case, LASIK eye sur-
gery,” NASA’s Feinberg said.
For more information, visit https://
spinoff.nasa.gov/Telescope-Mirror-
Tech-Improves-Eye-Surgery.

56 www.techbriefs.com Tech Briefs, September 2022

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 September 2022

Challenges of
Fabricating and
Coating Laser Crystals
SPECIAL SECTION:
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Collaboration System in Optics

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 CONTENTS
FEATURES
2 Time-of-Flight: Highly Reliable 3D Imaging for
Challenging Applications
7 Meeting the Challenges for Space to Earth Optical
Communication
APPLICATION BRIEFS
20 Challenges of Fabricating and Coating Laser Crystals
22 Designing a Human-Robot Collaboration System
TECH BRIEFS
24 New Technology Could Make Biopsies a Thing of the Past
25 Rice ‘Metalens’ Could Disrupt Vacuum UV Market
26 Upside-Down Design Expands Wide-Spectrum Super-
Camera Abilities
27 Researchers Demonstrate 40-Channel Optical
Communication Link
Photonics & Imaging Technology, September 2022 1
SPECIAL SECTION
10 Technology Leaders in Optics
10 Designing a Silicon Photonic MEMS Phase Shifter
with Simulation
13 Meta Optical Elements
DEPARTMENTS
28 New Products
ON THE COVER
Because laser crystals are sensitive optical components
often used with high-power lasers, depositing the correct
coatings onto them without introducing any defects is
essential. Careful cleaning of all polished surfaces prior to
the deposition of the coatings is particularly important for
preventing the introduction of any contamination such as
slurry or blocking substances. Ultrasonic cleaning removes
any leftover polishing compounds before coating. To learn
more about the technology involved in coating laser crystals,
read the applications brief on page 20.
(Image courtesy of Edmund Optics)
 Time-of-Flight:
Highly Reliable 3D Imaging for
Challenging Applications
T
ime-of-flight (ToF) technol- years. This is mainly driven by the con- Overall, the technology is being used
ogy enables new applications sumer and automotive markets, but in industries such as robotics, logis-
in multiple markets, resulting also by prosumers — amateurs who tics, construction mapping, and more
in a market boom for time-of- purchase equipment with quality or recently, intelligent transportation sys-
flight CMOS sensors over the last few features suitable for professional use. tems (ITS).

oonal/iStock.com

2 Photonics & Imaging Technology, September 2022

 There are multiple technologies
based on the time-of-flight concept.
Generally, all of them are synchronized
with a light source and estimate the dis-
tance by calculating the time taken for
the light to travel from the camera to
the object and then back again.
ToF systems can be categorized into
two main groups:
• Direct ToF: where the distance is di-
rectly calculated by measuring the
light travel time
• Indirect ToF: where the distance is
measured based on the phase of the
reflected light pulse.
Photonics & Imaging Technology, September 2022 3
This article will focus on indirect
time-of-flight (iToF) since in our opin-
ion, it is a more flexible technology
that addresses different markets and
applications with working distances
lower than 50m and with challenging
requirements.
Diverse Applications Drive Many
Requirements and Challenges
The requirements coming from
these markets are very diverse, in-
cluding field of view, distance range,
reflectivity range, and 3D frame rate,
to name just a few. These are critical
to the design of ToF systems and ToF
sensors. However, thanks to its flexi-
bility, iToF can provide accurate mea-
surements for indoor applications,
such as factory safety, and outdoor ap-
plications, such as surveillance or ITS.
It works for applications where there
is a small range of reflectivity like pick
and place robots and for applications
with a wide range of reflectivity such
as warehouse/logistics management.
iToF is also suitable for short-range ap-
plications like automotive in-cabin ap-
plications and long-range ones such as
autonomous driving. Also, it fits with
small field-of-view applications such as
Time-of-Flight Technology

ible sensor will allow more reliable mea-

Tlight
surements to be made.

Light Pulse
Reliable Measurement Without
Motion Artifact
As explained above, in iToF, sever-
Reflected Light al images are necessary to estimate the
distance of the objects. In the example
described, three images are necessary
Phase 1
(two phases + the background). If using
a 1-tap pixel sensor, which is the most
Phase 2 common today, it is required to expose
and read out the multiple phases se-
quentially. Shoot the light once to get
Backround phase 0, another time to get phase 1,
and then run a third acquisition without
light and readout to acquire the back-

(
ground. Only then can the 3D image be

c Tlight
Distance =
2 Phase1 + Phase2 – 2Background
Figure 1. Example of an algorithm to estimate the distance in iToF.
robot navigation and with large field-
of-view applications like construction/
building mapping.
How does iToF work?
In iToF, multiple images (or phases)
are required to estimate the distance
of the objects. As shown in Figure 1,
the first two images are obtained with
a 90-degree phase, so that the ratio of
charge captured in each phase allows the
distance to be estimated, while the third
one is used to remove the background.
With all that in mind, what does “re-
)
Phase2 – Background
liable distance measurement” mean in
the context of 3D applications? It cer-
tainly means very precise and accurate
measurement, but it goes beyond that.
It is necessary to ensure that the mea-
surements are precisely and accurately
obtained but also have a good angular
resolution, with minimum motion blur/
artifacts, and that both dark and bright
objects at both minimum and maximum
distance can be sensed at a reasonable
performance, etc. Therefore, a reliable
distance measurement is tightly linked
with very high flexibility— a more flex-
computed. Therefore, if there is a mov-
ing object, motion artifacts will appear
since the object will be in a different
position within each capture. Also, the
light needs to be shot twice, once for
each phase.
Using a multiple-tap pixel sensor, for
instance, a 3-tap pixel for the example
shown, all exposures and readouts are
made in an interleaved way, so that all
phases are acquired virtually in parallel,
minimizing motion artifacts. Further-
more, since the phases can be captured
with a single train of light pulses, it re-
duces the average light power, which is
important both from an eye-safety and
power consumption point of view.
Both cases are described in Figure 2.
Note that the difference between a
motion artifact and motion blur is simi-

1 Tap
Multiple train of pulses has to be emitted by the light
source to build one 3D image, one for each phase

NIR Light

Exposure

Phase Phase Back- Phase Phase Back-

Readout 2D 0 1 ground 0 1 ground

3D Frames Acquisition & Acquisition & Acquisition & 3D Image 3D Image

RO Phase 0 RO Phase 1 RO Background Computation

of 3D image

3 Tap
A single train of pulses is emitted
NIR Light to capture all phases! In this example, frame rate has been
maintained, so average light power
consumption is much lower!
Exposure
Acquisition & RO of But light power can be traded-off to get
Phases 0, 1 and Background higher frame rate or higher precision
(through multiple acquisition)

Phase Phase
Readout 2D 0,1, Bg 0,1, Bg
Computation
3D Frames 3D Image of 3D image 3D Image

Figure 2. Differences between single-tap and multi-tap pixels.

4 Photonics & Imaging Technology, September 2022

lar to the difference between rolling and
global shutters in 2D vision. Motion blur
can slightly warp the objects, which are
moving fast but it does not provide false
information, while motion artifacts can
drastically change the appearance of the

Motion blur
objects and provide false measurement,
which can have major consequences in
some applications.

Reliable Measurement with High

Dynamic Range
Another crucial matter in ToF is dy-
namic range. ToF is intrinsically a very
high dynamic range application, due Example in ToF Analogy in 2D
to the combined contribution of the re-
flectivity of the objects and the distance
range required. To illustrate this point,

Motion artifact
assume an original application targeting
the detection of objects with reflectivity
between 15 percent and 85 percent and
a distance from 0.5m to 6m that needs
to be improved to detect objects with
reflectivity between 1.8 percent and 95
percent reflectivity and up to 10m dis-
tance. In these conditions, the new case
requires more than 25-times more dy-
namic range than the original one. This
is large enough to need much more than
a good Full Well Capacity in the pixel. Figure 3. Motion Blur/Motion Artifact — two different phenomena.
Teledyne e2v’s Hydra3D ToF CMOS
image sensor embeds specific tech-
niques to manage this huge dynamic • HDR due to the distance

range, such as non-destructive readouts Hydra3D technology

( )
2
based on multiple captures combined ∆DR =
dmax
dmin
with a high frame rate, making it suitable d
2d
• High flexibility combined
4d
for most application cases.
( )
Rmax
with high frame rate
• HDR due to significant differences in reflectivity ∆DR =
Rmin • HDR based on multiple
Reliable Measurement in All captures
Conditions with High Flexibility • Example • Non-destructive
• Distance from 0.5m to 6m and readouts
Having said that, brute force is nor- reflectivity range from 15% to 85%
=> ∆DR > 800 • Highest exposure before
mally not a good idea in ToF. Having saturation
high flexibility to adapt to a very wide • Distance from 0.5m to 10m and
reflectivity range from 1.8% to 95%
range of situations in terms of distance => ∆DR > 21000

range, reflectivity, dynamics, etc., is
clearly a significant asset. In Hydra3D, a
single trigger initiates a sequence of ac-
quisitions and readouts and is very easy
to program, resulting in a tool that can
adapt to the conditions of each applica-
tion. This illustrated in Figure 5.
The first blue outlined rectangle is
the exposure and readout of the three
phases, resulting in one 3D image. Mul-
tiple acquisitions (blue outline rectan-
gles) can be done in each measurement
sequence (green outline rectangles),
either to increase the dynamic range or
to improve the precision. Also, having
multiple measuring sequences allows
measurement at different distance rang-
es, or with different levels of precision,
Photonics & Imaging Technology, September 2022 5
It implies more than 26 times more Dynamic Range
Figure 4. ToF is intrinsically a very high dynamic range application, and the sensor must manage it.
or to perform 2D captures. This happens
all with a single trigger. On top of that,
the sequence is changeable from frame-
to-frame, live, without halting the sensor.
This high configurability can be used
to find the best trade-off for every appli-
cation between distance range, reflec-
∆ tivity range, precision, frame rate, light
power, etc.
Examples of Flexibility
For an application where the distance
range and the reflectivity range are
small, a configuration with a single 3D
acquisition (only the first blue outline
rectangle) will be enough. In this case,
the dynamic range won’t be the largest,
but it is possible to reach a 100 fps frame
rate, with a total lack of motion blur.
For an application where it is required
to use the HDR capabilities due to the
large distance range and/or reflectivity
range, several acquisitions and readouts
can be performed (several blue outline
rectangles) to increase the dynamic range.
With such an application, around 25 fps
can be achieved with a 10m range and tar-
gets between 15 percent and 85 percent.
Time-of-Flight Technology
Trigger
Measuring Sequence 1
B1 R1,0 G1,1 R1,1 G1,2 R1,2
Figure 5. High flexibility allows having different measuring sequences to perfectly fit the application needs.
For an application covering a 10m
distance range but using three differ-
ent ranges to keep high precision in the
whole range, several measuring sequenc-
es (green outline rectangles) can be
used switching from one to another in
real-time, depending on where the tar-
geted object is. Therefore, the precision
is achievable with a small distance range,
but the covered distance range is larger.
Reliable Measurement with
Robustness to the Environment
The last challenge is to address
multi-system interference. Since ToF
requires active illumination, one system
can suffer from interference caused
by the light emitted by another system
working simultaneously in the same
6 Photonics & Imaging Technology, September 2022
3D Frame
Measuring Sequence 2
G1,m R1,m Idle1 B1 R2,0 G2,1 R2,1 G2,2 R2,2 G2,n R2,n
area. This can lead to incorrect distance
measurements. To be robust to this in-
terference, multi-system management is
embedded on-chip in the Hydra3D sen-
sor. Because of this, systems can run with-
out causing any mutual interference and
without any connection between them.
Sensor Level Innovations
Innovations at the sensor level help to
overcome the challenges that made many
time-of-flight applications too difficult to
implement effectively. A sensor like Tele-
dyne e2v’s Hydra3D implements all these
innovations: it has above average spatial
resolution, with 832 x 600 pixels, sup-
porting a high field of view with a good
angular resolution. It’s a 3-tap pixel, suit-
able for the three-phase iToF technique,
allowing reliable 3D detection without
motion artifacts even with fast-moving ob-
jects. It also reduces power consumption
Idle2 and improves eye safety. In addition, it is
Reset
extremely flexible in the way it manages
Readout high dynamic range (which is really cru-
Gating
cial in ToF), making it adaptable to all
Idle
environments. And it can be configured
for distance measurement, including in-
terleaving 2D and 3D captures. Finally, it
incorporates an on-chip function provid-
ing robustness to interference caused by
other systems working in the same area,
so camera-makers don’t need to solve this
issue when designing their systems.
As industries – such as robotics, logis-
tics, construction mapping, and ITS – re-
quire more precise and reliable measure-
ment, indirect time of flight techniques
will enable that measurement with ro-
bustness, flexibility, and without artifacts.
This article was written by Yoann Lo-
chardet, Marketing Manager 3D, Tele-
dyne e2v, and Sergio Morillas, Business
Manager for 3D products and applica-
tions, Teledyne e2v. For more informa-
tion, visit https://www.teledyne-e2v.
com/en/home/
 Meeting the Challenges
for Space to Earth
Optical Communication

A
nyone who has a satellite dish
at home depends on radio
communication between a
geostationary satellite and
Earth. Consumer satellite services are
capable of broadcasting hundreds of
channels of high and standard defini-
tion TV simultaneously over an RF link
that is reliable in nearly all conditions
except heavy rain.
Satellite radio communication is
in fact widely used in industry and
government for high-bandwidth data
transfers. But what happens when
even this bandwidth is not enough?
This is the problem faced by the Eu-
ropean Space Agency (ESA), an insti-
tution backed by 22 European member Figure 1. ESA’s technical heart, the European Space Research and Technology Center (ESTEC).
states, the mission of which is to push
the frontiers of science and technology, links will soon not be able to mee tthe while in optical communication, carrier
and to promote economic growth in demand. This is because the bandwidth frequencies are four orders of magni-
Europe. is dependent on the carrier frequency. tude higher, with correspondingly high-
Just as in terrestrial networks, the In radio communication, the ceiling for er bandwidths.
requirement for bandwidth in satellite carrier frequencies is around 30 GHz, The geostationary satellites of the Eu-
communications is increas- ropean Data Relay System
ing rapidly, and (EDRS) already
radio use
metamorworks/Shutterstock.com

Photonics & Imaging Technology, September 2022 7

Space to Earth Optical Communication
Figure 2. Helmos Observatory, Aristarchos telescope.
Figure 3. Yokogawa test setup at Helmos Observatory.
optical links to communicate with a con-
stellation of European Low Earth Orbit
(LEO) satellites called Sentinels, the job
of which is to monitor the Earth. Howev-
er, the EDRS satellites today use radio
communication to upload the LEO sat-
8 Photonics & Imaging Technology, September 2022
ellites’ images and other data to terres-
trial servers.
But in the foreseeable future the
amount of information from LEO and
geostationary satellites and satellite
constellations will become so great that
the bandwidth of its radio communi-
cation links will be too low. So, what
comes next?
Optical, laser-based communication is
the obvious answer since it is a technique
already used to transfer data between the
LEO satellites and the EDRS network.
And optical communication, which
forms the backbone of the internet, is a
proven technology on Earth. The fiber
optic cables that run at the bottom of
the oceans and cross continents are the
medium through which billions of page
views are served to computer and smart-
phone screens every day.
So, communication via optical fiber is
a proven technology that offers extraor-
dinarily high bandwidth. But optical
communications in free space between
the Earth and a satellite, or between sat-
ellites calls for special laser technology
— and an incredibly accurate piece of
measurement equipment.
Optical signals transmitted between
the Earth and space are subject to inter-
ference from various sources — the diffi-
culty in maintaining an optical link there
is far higher than for satellite-to-satellite
optical communication, since in space
there are no clouds or other weather
phenomena, or indeed any other ob-
jects, to interfere with their signals.
Optical communication systems need
to achieve a sufficient signal-to-noise ratio
to maintain the link between transmitter
and receiver. In the ESA’s EDRS, signals
are transmitted at a very precisely speci-
fied infrared wavelength of 1064.625 nm
±11 pm, with almost zero variance in the
peak wavelength. This allows the receiv-
er to lock on to the transmitted narrow-
band signal and to eliminate interfering
signals. With this technology, the EDRS
satellite can operate even when the sun is
in its line of sight.
ESA is implementing optical Earth-
to-satellite communications technolo-
gy in its optical ground station (OGS)
on the Spanish island of Tenerife and
at the Aristarchos 2.2m telescope at the
Helmos observatory in the Peloponnese
in Greece.
Maintaining the exact transmitter
wavelength is a critical part of the Aris-
tarchos system’s operation. To accom-
plish that, the ESA uses a complex ar-
rangement in which the transmitter
laser, a so-called nonplanar ring oscilla-
tor made of neodymium-doped yttrium
aluminium garnet, is pumped by an 808
nm laser diode to generate an accurate
1064.625 nm ±11 pm output. This accu-
racy of the wavelength is controlled by adjusting the operating
temperature of the transmitter laser.
The tuning of the laser is a critically important part of the
Aristarchos system’s operation, ensuring that the laser’s output
is centered precisely at the required wavelength. This means We see your
FUTURE
that the ESA team needs a precise and accurate method for
measuring the wavelength of the laser’s output in real time.
In the ESA’s test set-up, the optical measurement instrument
is connected to the nonplanar ring oscillator laser to sample its
output. The requirement is to verify that the peak wavelength is
centered precisely at the target, 1064.625 nm ±11 pm.
Measurement of optical communications systems is usually
performed using an optical spectrum analyzer (OSA), a high-
differently.
ly accurate and reliable instrument that analyzes optical wave-
length, among other factors.
OSAs such as the AQ6370D from Yokogawa Test & Mea-
surement Corporation, Tokyo, Japan, achieve a wavelength
measurement accuracy of ±10 pm at a reference wavelength of
1550 nm and ±100 pm at 1064.625 nm. Although this is highly
accurate, it is still not accurate enough to meet the demands of
the Aristarchos installation.
Zoran Sodnik is the optical communications technology
manager at the ESA’s telecommunications and integrated ap-
plications directorate. He is responsible for the optical com-
munications system installed with the Aristarchos telescope.
Said Sodnik: “The EDRS operates at frequencies measured in
multiples of terahertz and the transmitter and receiver wave-
lengths are no more than 28 Gigahertz apart. This means
that the laser’s frequency has to be set with Gigahertz pre-
cision, and then measured with the same level of precision
and accuracy.”
Working with Simac Electronics, a Netherlands-based sup-
plier of connectivity and measurement technologies, the ESA
selected a specialist optical wavelength meter, the AQ6151B
from Yokogawa. The instrument uses a Michelson interfer-
ometer, capable of measuring wavelength very accurately. Its
accuracy is specified at ±0.2 ppm. The Aristarchos installation
uses the Wide Range version, covering wavelengths from 900
nm to 1700 nm. It also has the ability to acquire, analyze, and
transfer a measurement to a PC within 0.2 seconds with its
built-in analysis functions. As well as high accuracy, the in-
strument can perform simultaneous measurements of up to
1024 wavelengths and can handle input signal power as low
as -40 dBm.
The installation at the Helmos observatory is part of a long-
term project to build the ESA’s optical communications capa- PRECISION POLYMER

OPTICS
bility for ground-to-satellite communications. The installation
at the Aristarchos telescope is using the ±0.2 ppm accuracy of
the AQ6151B to tune the laser output. Eventually, backed by
the accuracy of the Yokogawa technology, it is envisaged that
optical communications could take over the high bandwidth
traffic from radio communication systems.
Simplify Design • Trim Weight
Improve Performance
An Optical Future
According to Sodnik, the ESA expects that optical transmis-
Reduce Costs
sion could take on the burden of handling high bandwidth
traffic, replacing radio communication as the primary means
of sending and receiving data from satellites.
(909) 559-1300
This article was written by Kelvin Hagebeuk, Marketing Man- DIVERSEOPTICS.COM
ager — Test & Measurement, Yokogawa Europe B.V. For more
information, visit https://tmi.yokogawa.com/us/
Photonics & Imaging Technology, September 2022 9
diverse-optics_tech-briefs-one-half-vertical_3375 x 9625_1-21-21.indd 1 1/26/21 12:01 PM
TECHNOLOGY LEADERS Optics
Topic

Designing a Silicon Photonic MEMS Phase

Shifter with Simulation
A team at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL) Uses Simulation
to Design Nanoscale Silicon Photonic Network Components

T
he modern internet-connected
world is often described as
wired, but most core network
data traffic is actually carried by
optical fiber — not electric wires. De-
spite this, existing infrastructure still
relies on many electrical signal process-
ing components embedded inside fiber
optic networks. Replacing these com-
ponents with photonic devices could
boost network speed, capacity, and reli-
ability. To help realize the potential of
this emerging technology, a multina-
tional team at the Swiss Federal Insti-
tute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL)
has developed a prototype of a silicon
photonic phase shifter, a device that
could become an essential building
block for the next generation of optical
fiber data networks.
Phase shifter off (no optical coupling)
Mechanical stopper Coupler Waveguide
Lighting a Path Toward All-Optical Net-
works
Using photonic devices to process
photonic signals seems logical, so why
is this approach not already the norm?
“A very good question, but actually a
tricky one to answer!” says Hamed Sat-
tari, an engineer currently at the Swiss
Center for Electronics and Microtech-
nology (CSEM) specializing in photon-
ic integrated circuits (PIC) with a fo-
cus on microelectromechanical system
(MEMS) technology. Sattari was a key
member of the EPFL photonics team
that developed the silicon photonic
phase shifter. In pursuing a MEMS-
based approach to optical signal pro-
cessing, Sattari and his colleagues are
taking advantage of new and emerging
fabrication technology. “Even ten years
Bus waveguide
ago, we were not able to reliably pro-
duce integrated movable structures for
use in these devices,” Sattari says. “Now,
silicon photonics and MEMS are be-
coming more achievable with the cur-
rent manufacturing capabilities of the
microelectronics industry. Our goal is
to demonstrate how these capabilities
can be used to transform optical fiber
network infrastructure.”
The phase shifter design project is
part of EPFL’s broader efforts to de-
velop programmable photonic com-
ponents for fiber optic data networks
and space applications. These devices
include switches; chip-to-fiber grating
couplers; variable optical attenuators
(VOAs); and phase shifters, which mod-
ulate optical signals. “Existing optical
phase shifters for this application tend
to be bulky, or they suffer from signal
loss,” Sattari says. “Our priority is to
create a smaller phase shifter with low-
er loss, and to make it scalable for use
in many network applications. MEMS
actuation of movable waveguides could
modulate an optical signal with low
power consumption in a small foot-
print,” he explains.

How a Movable Waveguide Helps Modu-

late Optical Signals
The MEMS phase shifter is a sophis-
ticated mechanism with a deceptively
Outer electrodes (on-off switching) simple-sounding purpose: It adjusts
the speed of light. To shift the phase
of light is to slow it down. When light
Phase shifter on (continuous tuning) is carrying a data signal, a change in
its speed causes a change in the sig-
nal. Rapid and precise shifts in phase
will thereby modulate the signal, sup-
porting data transmission with mini-
mal loss throughout the network. To
change the phase of light traveling
through an optical fiber conductor, or
Inner electrodes (phase shifting) bus waveguide, the MEMS mechanism
moves a piece of translucent silicon
called a coupler into close proximity
Figure 1. Two stages of motion for the MEMS mechanism in the phase shifter. with the bus.

10 Photonics & Imaging Technology, September 2022

TECHNOLOGY LEADERS Topic

1
0.9
0.8
0.7
0.6 L=0µm g=185nm L=15µm g=185nm L=30µm g=185nm
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0 L=0µm g=85nm L=15µm g=85nm L=30µm g=85nm

Figure 2. Left: Light passes from left to right through a path composed of an optical bus and a coupled movable waveguide. Right: Cross-sectional slices of a simulated
light waveform as it passes through the coupled device. By adjusting the distance between the two optical elements in their simulation, the EPFL team could determine
how that distance affected the speed, or phase, of the optical signal. (Images courtesy EPFL and licensed under CC BY 4.0)

The design of the MEMS mechanism

in the phase shifter provides two stag-
es of motion (Figure 1). The first stage
provides a simple on–off movement of
the coupler waveguide, thereby engag-
ing or disengaging the coupler to the
bus. When the coupler is engaged, a
finer range of motion is then provided
by the second stage. This enables tun-
ing of the gap between the coupler and
bus, which provides precise modulation
of phase change in the optical signal.
“Moving the coupler toward the bus is
what changes the phase of the signal,”
explains Sattari. “The coupler is made
from silicon with a high refractive in-
dex. When the two components are
coupled, a light wave moving through
the bus will also pass through the cou-
pler, and the wave will slow down.” If the
Figure 3. Simulation showing deformation of the movable waveguide support structure. The thin elements that
optical coupling of the coupler and bus suspend the movable waveguide will flex in response to an applied voltage. (Image courtesy EPFL and licensed
is not carefully controlled, the light’s under CC BY 4.0)
waveform can be distorted, potentially
losing the signal and the data. phase relationship. “Voltage vs. phase is help achieve this, we can determine the
a complex multiphysics question. The eigenmode of our system in COMSOL®.”
Designing at Nanoscale with Optical and COMSOL Multiphysics® software gave Along with determining the physical
Electromechanical Simulation us many options for breaking this large forms of the waveguide and actuation
The challenge for Sattari and his team problem into smaller tasks,” Sattari says. mechanism, simulation also enabled
was to design a nanoscale mechanism to “We conducted our simulation in two Sattari to study stress effects, such as
control the coupling process as precisely parallel arcs, using the RF Module for unwanted deformation or displacement
and reliably as possible. As their phase optical modeling and the Structural Me- caused by repeated operation. “Every
shifter would use electric current to phys- chanics Module for electromechanical decision about the design is based on
ically move an optical element, Sattari simulation.” what the simulation showed us,” he says.
and the EPFL team took a two-track ap- The optical modeling (Figure 2) in-
proach to the device’s design. Their goal cluded a mode analysis, which deter- Adding to the Foundation of Future Pho-
was to determine how much voltage had mined the effective refractive index of tonic Networks
to be applied to the MEMS mechanism the coupled waveguide elements, fol- The goal of this project was to demon-
to induce a desired shift in the photon- lowed by a study of the signal propaga- strate how MEMS phase shifters could be
ic signal. Simulation was an essential tion. “Our goal is for light to enter and produced with existing fabrication capa-
tool for determining the multiple values exit our device with only the desired bilities. The result is a robust and reliable
that would establish the voltage versus change in its phase,” Sattari says. “To design that is achievable with existing

Photonics & Imaging Technology, September 2022 11

 TECHNOLOGY LEADERS Optics

Excess
Loss [dB]
2.0 2.890 0.12 2.0
Vertical Gap [nm]
0.11
2.885 0.11 180 ΔΦ/π
Los [dB]
1.5 1.5
2.880 0.10 175 0.10
Phase Shift [π]

Vertical Gap [nm]

170
1.0 2.875 0.09 1.0 0.09

165
2.870 0.08
0.5 0.5 0.08
160
2.865 0.07

155 0.07
0.0 2.860 0.06 0.0
180 175 170 165 160 155 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22
Effective Excess
Vertical Gap [nm] Index Loss [dB] Phase
Actuation Voltage at Inner Electrode Pair [V]
Shift [π]

Figure 4. Optical simulation (left) established the vertical distance between the coupler and waveguide that would result in a desired phase shift in the optical signal.
Electromechanical simulation (right) determined the voltage that, when applied to the MEMS mechanism, would move the coupler waveguide to the desired distance
away from the bus. (Images courtesy EPFL and licensed under CC BY 4.0)

surface micromachined manufacturing
processes, and occupies a total footprint
of just 60 μm × 44 μm. Now that they
have an established proof of concept,
Sattari and his colleagues look forward
to seeing their designs integrated into
the world’s optical data networks. “We
are creating building blocks for the fu-
ture, and it will be rewarding to see their
potential become a reality,” says Sattari.
This article was written by Alan Petril-
lo, COMSOL. For more information, vis-
it https://www.comsol.com.
References
1. H. Sattari et al., “Silicon Photonic MEMS
Phase-Shifter,” Optics Express, vol. 27, no. 13, pp.
18959–18969, 2019.
2. T.J. Seok et al., “Large-scale broadband digital sili-
con photonic switches with vertical adiabatic cou-
plers,” Optica, vol. 3, no. 1, pp. 64–70, 2016.

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12 Photonics & Imaging Technology, September 2022

TECHNOLOGY LEADERS Optics
Meta Optical Elements
The Technology of Flat Metalenses
O
ptical technology predates Ar-
chimedes by more than two
thousand years. In ancient
Egypt, early refractive lenses
were used for artistic purposes. Though
centuries have passed, comparable tech-
nology is still used today for the cam-
era lenses in many products, including
smartphones.
Traditionally, lenses are made with
multiple bulky refractive lenses or lens
elements stacked on top of each other.
Though they produce high-quality imag-
es, their downside is their large size and
weight. Luckily, the size and complexity
of lens systems can be reduced through
flat optics that are based on pioneering
meta optical elements (MOEs).
Meta Optical Elements
Meta optical elements — also known
as metasurfaces — are artificially engi-
1µm
Figure 1. Electron micrography of an NILT meta optical element.
substrate
Metalens
Figure 2. Illustration of the differences between a metalens and DOE lens, showing cross-sections of the typical
building blocks.
Photonics & Imaging Technology, September 2022 13
neered subwavelength-spaced arrays of
nanophotonic phase-shifting elements
that can be programmed to manipulate
wavefront and polarization.
Depending on the application, NILT’s
meta optical elements are comprised of
arrays of pillars to sub-100 nm diameters
with vertical sidewalls. Instead of the
curved surface of a traditional lens ele-
ment, MOEs are entirely flat but effec-
tively create the same result. They bend
and redirect the light, using a single
MOE in place of several lenses stacked
on top of each other.
The benefits of MOEs are many. For
example, MOEs reduce the number of
elements in the optics system, are easier
to assemble, and provide increased func-
tionality.
They allow you to rethink how you
define your optical system and hold the
promise of the perfect lens — perfect
substrate
DOE lens
in the sense that they offer significant-
ly more than the (refractive) lenses we
have today. Previously, low efficiency has
been the main barrier to manufactured
meta optics. With the introduction of
this new technology, the barrier has fi-
nally been removed. In late 2021, NILT
designed, built, and characterized multi-
ple meta optical element (MOE) lenses
with 94% absolute efficiency.
High efficiency makes MOEs ideal for
sensing and machine vision applications
that target consumer electronics, indus-
trial, IoT, medical, and automotive mar-
kets. These innovative markets will great-
ly benefit from MOE optical solutions, as
market requirements call for precision,
excellent performance, and lightweight,
compact designs.
MOEs have enormous potential. They
can advance numerous applications,
such as simplified Time-of-Flight (ToF)
systems, with high relative illumination
and ultra-compact NIR cameras used for
eye-tracking and driver monitoring.
Meta Optical Elements Compared to Dif-
fractive Optical Elements
Although most lens systems today are
based on refractive optics, MOEs are
not the first generation of optical system
miniaturization. For many years, flat op-
tics have been developed using diffrac-
tive optics technology. Diffractive optical
elements (DOEs) are created by struc-
turing the surface of transparent mate-
rials to produce wavelength-scale height
variations. The contour map of spatially
varying heights results in spatially vary-
ing phase shifts that shape the wavefront
as light propagates through the element.
The phase-inducing mechanism remains
similar to a refractive lens, which is based
on the length of the ray path inside the
lens material. In this way, the thickness
of the optical element is reduced to ~1
µm (comparable to the wavelength)
with the expense of a higher sensitivity
to wavelength variation (in optical lingo,
this is called “chromatic aberration”).
This contrasts with MOEs, where the
phase shift is induced via the response
of nanoantennas. Nanoantennas are bi-
TECHNOLOGY LEADERS Optics

ization, and wavelength. This results signed to meet required specifications.

Meta Optical Elements (MOE), are in single-surface optical elements that The MOE itself is made in silicon on a
groundbreaking in their form, performance, would otherwise require multiple op- glass substrate, making it strong, rigid,
compactness, and efficiency, compared to tical components, or — especially in reliable, and thermally stable. It can be
traditional refractive lenses. polarization optics — require compo- customized for wavelengths in NIR and
• COMPACTNESS: MOEs are flatter, nents that do not have a counterpart in SWIR bands.
thinner, and lighter than refractive lenses, conventional optics. NILT has more than 15 years of ex-
having a lens simplicity not demonstrated Comparing lenses allows us to high- perience in high precision nanostruc-
before.
light the underlying differences in phys- turing and is applying this expertise to
• SUPERIOR IMAGING: MOE lenses ical mechanisms for imparting phase realize fast prototyping and mass MOE
have significantly better imaging quality with delays. A DOE lens is typically made by production. The entire process of MOE
a wide field of view, low F-number, high
MTF, and high relative illumination, all at a
multi-layer etching to form a digitized production, from design, prototyping,
low total track length. version of the sawtooth Fresnel lens. In manufacturing, and assembling is done
the metalens, varying the nanopillars’ internally.
• COST-EFFICIENCY: Lower assembly
diameter is a common way of imparting Production of customized single sur-
costs and integration complexity.
the phase delay. Each nanopillar can be face MOEs is based on a combination
• ROBUSTNESS: Silicon on glass-sub- treated as a truncated waveguide; the of high expertise, and proven, validat-
strate makes for strong, thermally stable
smaller the diameter, the more the elec- ed, and reliable methodology. NILT is
lenses.
tric field leaks into the air, lowering its an established company with more than
effective index. 1,500 purchase orders of experience. In
addition, we have made customized pro-
nary subwavelength structures with vary- Ready for Mass Production totypes for many years.
ing geometry built on the surface of the Whereas most of the work in MOEs in
substrate material. This further reduces the last 20 years has been concentrated E-Beam Lithography versus Deep UV
the thickness of the element. The prin- in academia, NILT is now ready to com- Lithography
ciple of an MOE is still diffractive, but mercialize MOE technology. Because of the sub-wavelength later-
the optical parameters are mainly con- MOEs from NILT are ready to be al size of nanostructures, most meta-
trolled by geometric parameters rather delivered and mass-produced to cus- surfaces demonstrated by academic
than the material composition of the tomers’ specifications. A design can be institutions are fabricated with E-beam
nanostructures. generated and made into a prototype in lithography (EBL). EBL is a high-res-
This opens new degrees of design only two weeks. MOEs can be designed olution, high-fidelity technology that
freedom to allow unprecedented con- with complex phase functions and multi- is ill-suited as a standalone technology
trol over the phase, amplitude, polar- MOE stacked components can be de- for commercial purposes due to the
time-consuming rasterization of the
electron-beam.
However, combined with Nano-Im-
print Lithography (NIL), EBL provides
the possibility of fabricating high-quali-
ty, low-cost MOEs in batch sizes suitable
for mass production. This is obtained
by using mechanical deformation of
imprint resist to create copies of the
initial E-beam written master.
2 mm 2 mm
The fabrication of an NIL master using
EBL secures high design freedom and
A single metalens A refractive lens low-cost prototyping. It provides a sig-
20.0 nificantly quicker turnaround time than
DENC, Samp=2, Wave=0, Field=0,Frac=0.8, Type=1,Refp=4, I Samp=0,I Delta=0

20.0
DENC, Samp=3, Wave=0, Field=0,Frac=0.8, Type=1,Refp=4, I Samp=0,I Delta=0

Deep UV Lithography (DUV), which

requires the fabrication of a new mask
16.0 16.0

12.0 12.0 when a design parameter is changed.

8.0 8.0
Extensive experience in EBL and
NIL, combined with sophisticated op-
4.0 4.0
tical design methods and advanced in-
0
0 0.055 0.11 0.164 0.219 0.274 0.329 0.384 0.438 0.493 0.548
0
0 0.055 0.11 0.164 0.219 0.274 0.329 0.384 0.438 0.493 0.548
house optical characterization allowed
y Field 1
NIL Technology to recently introduce a
single surface metalens. This metalens
Figure 3. A single metalens compared with a refractive lens for collimating the light from a VCSEL array. Shown
below is the residual divergence vs VCSEL position after collimation, illustrating the metalens’ increase in per- is groundbreaking in its form, perfor-
formance. To reduce the divergence, more refractive lenses are typically introduced, which increases the size. mance, compactness, and efficiency.

14 Photonics & Imaging Technology, September 2022

 Single meta optics lenses, fabricated
on silicon wafers, have the potential to
replace the several refractive lenses cur-
rently used in today’s mobile devices,
eliminating the so-called “smartphone
camera bump.”

NIR MOE Camera Module

A demonstration of the capabilities of
NILT MOEs is a 940 nm near-infrared
(NIR) wavelength imaging lens with a
single metasurface, used for 3D sensing
and face recognition in smartphones
and driver-monitoring in automobiles.
A complete NIR camera module is
built using a 940 nm single meta optical
element and an NIR sensor. Both demon-
strator and customer-specific metalenses
are currently being prototyped, shipped,
and made ready for mass production.

This article was written by Theodor

Nielsen, CEO and founder, and Michael
Juhl, Optical Engineer, NIL Technolo-
Figure 4. An image from a near Infrared imaging system using a single meta optical element surface (1M MOE)
designed for 940 nm wavelength. The demonstrated NILT image has excellent resolution for edge-to-edge NIR gy. For more information, visit https://
imaging and is comparable to images captured with a multi-element refractive lens. www.nilt.com.

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Challenges of Fabricating and Coating Laser Crystals
L aser crystals can be considered the
“engines” of solid-state lasers. They are
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must be considered. Some common crys-
tal shapes include rods, cubes, and zig-
zag slabs used to reduce thermal lensing
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version, and to manage laser characteris- and stress-induced birefringence. the other surfaces is critical to maintain-
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to operate at a higher level. In the case of tions needed for the application. The even complete failure if high-power laser
a laser system, operating at a high level parallelism and perpendicularity of the light scatters off of defects or is absorbed.
means creating a stable beam and reach- different faces of the crystal must be In-process metrology ensures that
ing high optical powers. Some advan- tightly controlled since the alignment of requirements for surface figure, paral-
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Because laser crystals are sensitive opti-
cal components and are often used with
high-power lasers, depositing the correct
coatings onto them without introducing
any defects is essential. While the complex
geometries and high laser-damage thresh-
old (LDT) requirements make the fabrica-
tion of laser crystals challenging, keeping
several key considerations in mind helps
ensure that the crystal and its coating be-
have as intended.

Fabricating Laser Crystals

Laser crystals are optical crystals typi-
cally doped with transition metals or rare
earth ions. There are many different
crystal types and shapes and each crystal
has its own unique set of attributes that

Figure 1. Laser crystals are optical components

often doped with rare earth ions or transition
metals. They can be thought of as the “engines” Figure 2. Ultrasonic cleaning uses high-frequency sound waves in a liquid to knock off any contaminants
of solid-state lasers. from the optics being cleaned.

20 Photonics & Imaging Technology, September 2022

lelism, perpendicularity, dimensional
specifications, and surface quality have
been met. Careful cleaning of all pol-
ished surfaces prior to the deposition
of the coatings is also important for pre-
venting the introduction of any contam-
ination such as slurry or blocking sub-
stances. Ultrasonic cleaning removes
any leftover polishing compounds be-
fore coating. This is especially helpful
for cleaning ground surfaces, as they
are harder to clean by hand than pol-
ished surfaces. Finally, a manual inspec-
tion using a high-magnification micro-
scope verifies cleanliness and quality,
determining if an additional manual
cleaning step is required.

Coating
Most laser crystals have two surfaces that
need to be polished and coated, but de-
pending on the crystal geometry, up to six
different polished and coated surfaces
may be needed. Coating multiple surfaces
increases the complexity of the coating Figure 3. Thin film coatings are added to laser crystals to maximize light throughput.
process. The specific order in which coat-
ings are applied must be considered to AR @ 532, & 1064nm @ 0° AOI
preserve the surface quality of the remain- 1.00

ing crystal faces and not damage any coat- 0.95

ings that have already been applied. The 0.90

tooling and blocking techniques used 0.85

during coating are also critical to protect- 0.80

ing already-coated surfaces and prevent- 0.75

ing unwanted overspray onto other surfac- 0.70

es. Tooling is designed to allow for the 0.65

expansion of different materials during

REFLECTION %

0.60

coating without getting damaged. In cer- 0.55

tain cases, polishing and coating steps are 0.50

alternated. This is common when the sur- 0.45

faces adjacent to each other are both coat- 0.40

ed all the way to their edges. 0.35

Thin film coatings are deposited to im- 0.30

prove transmissive and reflection proper- 0.25

ties. The specific coatings used are entire- 0.20

ly dependent on the end application’s 0.15

wavelength, power levels, environmental 0.10

requirements (temperature, humidity, 0.05

vacuum, radiation, salt spray, etc.), laser 0.00

design, and other factors. The coatings 500 550 600 650 700 750 800 850 900 950 1000 1050 1100 1150

are applied as single-band and multi-band WAVELENGTH (nm)

wavelengths according to the customer’s
specifications. Chamber geometry and ROOM TEMPERATURE @ 120° C

evaporation techniques are important pa-
rameters that must be met in order to
have perfect uniformity between all the
parts. Multiband coatings are very careful-
ly designed for repeatability with very dis-
crete layer thickness control to get low-
loss, non-absorbing films. Sometimes a
whole crystal slab is coated, diced into
smaller pieces, and then coated again to
cover the newly-created surfaces.
Photonics & Imaging Technology, September 2022 21
Figure 4. Coatings must be designed for and tested at the actual use conditions of the end application, as this
plot shows how temperature differences can shift the spectral performance of an anti-reflection (AR) coating.
Electron-beam (e-beam) coatings are data and testing at the end-application’s
slightly porous, and their behavior can operating conditions inform how the crys-
slightly shift based on absorbing moisture tal will behave in the field. Other coating
or temperature increases, which drive out techniques such as ion-assisted deposition
absorbed moisture. Figure 4 shows an ex- (IAD) and ion beam sputtering (IBS) can
ample of how a change in temperature can minimize shifting or eliminate it altogether
impact spectral performance. Historical by compressing the films to limit moisture
intrusion. However, these techniques may band coatings, the placement of each if they will affect the crystal’s final per-
introduce stress to the crystal and lower its individual crystal in the coating cham- formance.
laser damage threshold (LDT), so all re- ber is important to maintain repeat-
quirements must be prioritized against ability (Figure 5). Parts are specifically Confirming Laser Crystal Quality
each other. arranged in the chamber to ensure A wide range of in-process and post-pro-
For extremely difficult specifica- uniformity among all parts. Any thick- cess metrology including spectrophotome-
tions such as narrow-band or multi- ness errors are evaluated to determine ters, interferometers, high-power micros-
copy, dimensional gauging, photothermal
1.00
AR @ 355, 532 & 1064nm @ 0° AOI absorption, and laser damage testing is
0.95
used to verify key specifications. This is
0.90
essential for optical suppliers to be confi-
0.85
dent that all customer requirements are
0.80
actually met.
0.75
As many laser applications continue to
0.70 move to higher powers, maintaining tight
0.65 dimensional tolerances, high laser dam-
0.60 age thresholds, and precise spectral per-
REFLECTION %

0.55 formance becomes increasingly important

0.50 for laser crystals. Speak to your optical
0.45 component supplier when sourcing laser
0.40 crystals to ensure that they have factored
0.35
in the above considerations into their
0.30
quotes and designs. Aligning on these re-
0.25
quirements early on will reduce the likeli-
0.20
hood of design iterations and make it
0.15
more likely that your crystals will behave as
needed in your final system.
0.10

0.05

0.00
300 350 400 450 500 550 600 650 700 750 800 850 900 950 1000 1050 1100 1150 1200 This article was written by Karl
WAVELENGTH (nm) George Jr., Laser Optics Business Devel-
opment Manager, and James Karchner,
Figure 5. This multi-band anti-reflection (AR) coating has little-to-no room for error in its spectral Laser Optics Sales Manager, Edmund
performance because the wavebands are so narrow. Multiband coatings like these are common for laser
crystals that will be used with a laser source with multiple harmonic wavelengths (like a Nd:YAG laser Optics. For more information, visit
operating at 1064 nm with 532 nm and 355 nm harmonics). https://www.edmundoptics.com

Designing a Human-Robot Collaboration System

Today’s industrial robots maneuver
heavy and dangerous workpieces at high
Mikrotron Image
speeds and cannot safely operate near hu- EoSens 4CXP
Infrared LED Light
mans, which is why most process steps are Camera
either fully automated or fully manual. In-
creasingly, however, it is being recognized
that the best choice is to combine the
strength, precision, and speed of indus- Image
trial robots with the ingenuity, judgment, processing
PC
and dexterity of human workers.
This approach, dubbed human-robot
collaboration (HRC), was the recent Board
topic of a study at the University of To-
kyo. Scientists there sought to develop Board state
and evaluate a real-time HRC system High-speed Robot Hand
that could achieve concrete tasks such
as collaborative “peg-in-hole” exercises
using an algorithm for visual sensing to
control a robot hand interacting with Motor Real-time
a human subject. Scientists analyzed Current driver controller
Torque
the stability of the collaborative system input
based on speed and accuracy, as well as
the conditions required for successfully Figure 1. Experimental setup for the collaborative peg-in-hole exercise.

22 Photonics & Imaging Technology, September 2022


left and right up and down
torsion
Visual
feedback
Compensation of pitch angle and
following to left, right and torsion motion
Figure 2. Robot hand with two degrees of freedom.
performing tasks from geometric, force,
and posture viewpoints.
As a start, the scientists devised a vision
system consisting of a camera and an im-
age-processing PC. For the camera, they
selected a Mikrotron EoSens 4CXP CoaX-
Press monochrome camera (MC4086)
featuring a 4/3" CMOS sensor. While the
EoSens 4CXP offers 2,336 × 1,728-pixel
resolution at speeds up to 563 frames per
second (fps), in this experimental setting a
higher frame rate of 1000 fps was required,
so it was configured at 1024 × 768 pixels.
An image-processing PC was equipped
Figure 3. Mikrotron EoSens 4CXP CoaXPress
monochrome camera.
Figure 4. Human-robot collaboration (HRC) process.
Photonics & Imaging Technology, September 2022 23
Guidance
Visual
feedback
Following and
board state compensation
with an Intel® Xeon® W5-1603 v3 2.8 GHz
processor, 16 GB of RAM, a Microsoft
Windows 7 Professional (64-bit) operating
system, and Microsoft Visual Studio 2017
image-processing software. A CXP frame
grabber board acquired the 1024 × 768-pix-
el, 8-bit gray-scale raw image data from the
Mikrotron camera. After acquiring the
image data every one millisecond, the PC
measured position and orientation of ob-
jects and sent the measurement results to
a real-time controller via an Ethernet con-
nection using the User Datagram Protocol.
The robot hand featured three fingers:
a left thumb, an index finger, and a right
thumb with a closing speed of 180° in 0.1
second, which is a level of performance be-
yond that of a human being. Each finger
had a top link and a root link, with the left
and right thumbs able to rotate around a
palm. Therefore, the index finger had two
degrees of freedom.
Manufacturing processes are faster,
more efficient, and more cost-effective
when humans and robots work together.
In a study conducted by MIT, for exam-
ple, idle time was reduced by 85% when
people work collaboratively with a hu-
man-aware robot compared to when work-
ing in all-human teams.
To test their HRC system’s speed, ef-
ficiency, and accuracy, the University of
Tokyo scientists conducted a peg-in-hole
exercise at different angles and hand-off
speeds. The holed board had retro-reflec-
tive markers attached at the four corners
to simplify corner detection by the Mikro-
tron camera, while the peg itself was sim-
ply made of stainless steel and fixed to a
frame by a magnet.
Motion flow was as follows:
•The human subject moved the board,
changing its position and orientation, an
action that is captured by the Mikrotron
camera.
• Tracking of the markers attached to the
four corners of the board was executed
by image-processing with the board’s po-
sition and posture calculated based on
the information of the marker positions.
• The reference joint angle of the robot
hand was obtained by solving inverse ki-
nematics of the robot hand, based on the
position and posture of the board
• The torque to be input to the servo mo-
tor of the robot hand was generated by
proportional derivative (PD) control for
the reference joint angle.
• The robot hand is moved according to
the torque input and assists in placing
the board onto the pin.
In the experiment, the collaborative
motion was performed in time spans vary-
ing from 2 to 15 seconds. Because of the
high frame rate of the Mikrotron camera
combined with the low latency of the
CoaXPress interface, any collaborative
error could be successfully suppressed to
within 0.03 radian angle even when the
board was moved by the human subject at
a high rate of speed or in a random fash-
ion. Furthermore, the torque input could
be suppressed. As a result, collaborative
motion between the human and the ro-
bot hand using the proposed method was
successfully confirmed.
Applying its new system, the University
of Tokyo team plans to demonstrate oth-
er tasks that cannot currently be achieved
with conventional HRC methods, and
to continue to add flexibility and intelli-
gence to the system.
This article was written by Stephen W.
Ferrell, Director of Business Development,
Americas, Mikrotron. For more informa-
tion, visit https://mikrotron.de/en/
New Technology Could Make Biopsies a Thing of the Past
Columbia University New York, NY
A Columbia Engineering team has
developed a technology that could
replace conventional biopsies and his-
tology with real-time imaging within
the living body. Described in a new
paper published in Nature Biomedical
Engineering, MediSCAPE is a high-
speed 3D microscope capable of cap-
turing images of tissue structures that
could guide surgeons to navigate tu-
mors and their boundaries without
needing to remove tissues and wait for
pathology results.
For many medical procedures, partic-
ularly cancer surgery and screening, it
is common for doctors to take a biopsy,
cutting out small pieces of tissue to be
able to take a closer look at them with a
microscope. “The way that biopsy sam-
ples are processed hasn’t changed in
100 years, they are cut out, fixed, em-
bedded, sliced, stained with dyes, posi-
tioned on a glass slide, and viewed by a
pathologist using a simple microscope.
That is why it can take days to hear news
back about your diagnosis after a biop-
sy,” said Elizabeth Hillman, professor of
biomedical engineering and radiology
at Columbia University and senior au-
thor of the study.
Hillman’s group dreamed of a bold
alternative, wondering whether they
could capture images of the tissue while
it is still within the body. “Such a tech-
nology could give a doctor real-time
feedback about what type of tissue they
are looking at without the long wait,” she
explains. “This instant answer would let
imaging
cap
Light
Shoot
Scans
tongue moves
New technology could relegate biopsies to the history books. (Image: Kripa Patel-Hillman Lab/Columbia Engineering)
24 Photonics & Imaging Technology, September 2022
them make informed decisions about
how best to cut out a tumor and ensure
there is none left behind.”
Another major benefit of the ap-
proach is that cutting tissue out, just to
figure out what it is, is a hard decision for
doctors, especially for precious tissues
such as the brain, spinal cord, nerves,
the eye, and areas of the face. This
means that doctors can miss important
areas of disease.
Although some microscopes for surgi-
cal guidance are already available, they
only give doctors an image of a small,
single 2D plane, making it difficult to
quickly survey larger areas of tissue and
interpret results. These microscopes
also generally require a fluorescent dye
to be injected into the patient, which
takes time and can limit their use for
certain patients.
Over the past decade, Hillman has
been developing new kinds of micro-
scopes for neuroscience research that
can capture very fast 3D images of liv-
ing samples like tiny worms, fish, and
flies to see how neurons throughout
their brains and bodies fire when they
move. The team decided to test wheth-
er their technology, termed SCAPE
(for Swept Confocally Aligned Planar
Excitation microscopy) could see any-
thing useful in tissues from other parts
of the body.
“One of the first tissues we looked at
was fresh mouse kidney, and we were
stunned to see gorgeous structures
that looked a lot like what you get with
standard histology,” said Kripa Patel,
lead author of the study. “Most impor-
tantly, we didn’t add any dyes to the
mouse —everything we saw was natural
fluorescence in the tissue that is usually
too weak to see. Our microscope is so
efficient that we could see these weak
signals well, even though we were also
imaging whole 3D volumes at speeds
fast enough to rove around in real time,
scanning different areas of the tissue as
if we were holding a flashlight.”
As she “roved around,” Patel could
even stitch together the acquired vol-
umes and turn the data into large 3D
representations of the tissue that a pa-
thologist could examine as if it were a
full box of histology slides.
The researchers found many exam-
ples where they would not have been
able to identify a structure from a 2D
section on a histology slide, but in 3D
they could clearly see its shape. In renal
pathology in particular, where there are
very limited amounts of tissue, the more
information able to be derived from the
sample, the better for delivering more
effective patient care.
The team demonstrated the power of
MediSCAPE for a wide range of applica-
tions, from analysis of pancreatic cancer
in a mouse, to non-destructive, rapid
evaluation of human transplant organs
such as kidneys. The team got fresh
samples from human kidneys to prove
that MediSCAPE could see telltale signs
of kidney disease that matched well to
conventional histology images.
The team also realized that
by imaging tissues while they
are alive in the body, they
could get even more informa-
tion than from lifeless excised
biopsies. They found that they
could actually visualize blood
flow through tissues and see
the cellular-level effects of
ischemia and reperfusion
(cutting off the blood supply
to the kidney and then letting
it flow back in).
“Understanding whether
tissues are staying healthy
and getting good blood supply during
surgical procedures is really import-
ant,” said Hillman. “We also realized
that if we don’t have to remove (and
kill) tissues to look at them, we can
find many more uses for MediSCAPE,
even to answer simple questions such
as ‘what tissue is this?’ or to navigate
around precious nerves. Both of these
applications are really important for
robotic and laparoscopic surgeries
where surgeons are more limited in
their ability to identify and interact
with tissues directly.”
A critical final step for the team was
to reduce the large format of the stan-
dard SCAPE microscopes in Hillman’s
lab to something that would fit into an
operating room and could be used by a
surgeon in the human body.
So, the team worked to develop a
smaller version of the system with a
better form factor, and a sterile imag-
ing cap. PhD candidate Malte Casper
helped with the team’s first demonstra-
tion of MediSCAPE in a living human,
collecting images of a range of tissues in
and around the mouth. These results in-
cluded rapidly imaging while a volunteer
literally licked the end of the imaging
probe, producing detailed 3D views of
the papillae of the tongue.
Eager to take this technology to the
next level with a larger clinical trial, the
team is currently working on commercial-
ization and FDA approval. “We are just so
amazed to see what MediSCAPE reveals
every time we use it on a new tissue, and
especially that we barely ever even needed
to add dyes or stains to see structures that
pathologists can recognize,” said Hillman.
Hillman and her team hope that Me-
diSCAPE will make standard histology a
thing of the past, putting the power of
real-time histology and decision making
into the surgeon’s hands.
For more information, contact Holly
Evarts at holly.evarts@columbia.edu.

Rice ‘Metalens’ Could Disrupt Vacuum UV Market

Rice University, Houston, TX

R ice University photonics research-

ers have created a potentially dis-
ruptive technology for the ultraviolet Excitation
Matelens

optics market. (394 nm)

By precisely etching hundreds of tiny
triangles on the surface of a microscop-
ic film of zinc oxide, nanophotonics
pioneer Naomi Halas and colleagues
created a “metalens” that transforms
incoming long-wave UV (UV-A) into a
focused output of vacuum UV (VUV)
radiation. VUV is used in semiconduc-
tor manufacturing, photochemistry,
and materials science and has histori-
cally been costly to work with, in part
because it is absorbed by almost all
types of the glass used to make conven-
tional lenses.
Halas’ team showed its microscopic
metalens could convert 394-nanometer
UV into a focused output of 197-nano-
meter VUV. The disc-shaped metalens is
a transparent sheet of zinc oxide that is
thinner than a sheet of paper and just
45 millionths of a meter in diameter. In
the demonstration, a 394-nanometer
UV-A laser was shined at the back of the
disc, and researchers measured the light
that emerged from the other side.
The key feature of the metalens is its
interface, a front surface that is studded
with concentric circles of tiny triangles.
The interface is where all of the physics
is happening,” said Catherine Arndt, co-
first author of the study. “We’re actually
imparting a phase shift, changing both
how quickly the light is moving and the
direction it’s traveling. We don’t have to
collect the light output because we use
Photonics & Imaging Technology, September 2022 25
ZnO
Glass
Nanoresonators
Vacuum UV output
(197 nm)
Focal point
By precisely etching hundreds of tiny triangular nanoresonators in precisely configured concentric
circles on a microscopic film of zinc oxide, photonics researchers at Rice University created a “metal-
ens,” a transparent, solid-state device thinner than a sheet of paper that bends light like a conventional
lens. Rice’s metalens converts 394-nanometer ultraviolet light (blue) into 197-nanometer “vacuum UV”
(pink) and simultaneously focuses the VUV output on a small spot less than 2 millionths of a meter in
diameter. (Image: M. Semmlinger/Rice University)
electrodynamics to redirect it at the in- don’t generate VUV,” Arndt said. “It’s
terface where we generate it.” made today with nonlinear crystals,
Violet light has the lowest wavelength which are bulky, expensive, and often
visible to humans. Ultraviolet has even export-controlled. The upshot is that
lower wavelengths, which range from VUV is quite expensive.”
400 nanometers to 10 nanometers. The team demonstrated they could
Vacuum UV, with wavelengths between transform 394-nanometer UV into
100 and 200 nanometers, is so-named 197-nanometer VUV with a zinc oxide
because it is strongly absorbed by ox- metasurface. Like the metalens, the
ygen. Using VUV light today typically metasurface was a transparent film of
requires a vacuum chamber or oth- zinc oxide with a patterned surface.
er specialized environment, as well But the required pattern wasn’t as
as machinery to generate and focus complex since it didn’t need to focus
VUV. “Conventional materials usually the light output.
 “Metalenses take advantage of the fact
that the properties of light change when
it hits a surface,” Arndt said. “For exam-
ple, light travels faster through air than
it does through water. That’s why you get
reflections on the surface of a pond. The
surface of the water is the interface, and
when sunlight hits the interface, a little
of it reflects off.”
Their prior work showed a metasur-
face could produce VUV by upconvert-
ing long-wave UV via a frequency-dou-
bling process called second-harmonic
generation. But VUV is costly, in part,
because it is expensive to manipulate
after it’s produced. Commercially avail-
able systems for that can fill cabinets as
large as refrigerators or compact cars
and cost tens of thousands of dollars,
she said.
“For a metalens, you’re trying to both
generate the light and manipulate it,”
Arndt said. “In the visible wavelength re-
gime, metalens technology has become
very efficient. Virtual reality headsets use
it. Metalenses have also been demon-
strated in recent years for visible and
infrared wavelengths, but no one had
done it at shorter wavelengths. And a lot
of materials absorb VUV. So, for us it was
just an overall challenge to see, ‘Can we
do this?’”
Tests at Rice showed the metalens they
made could focus its 197-nanometer out-
put onto a spot measuring 1.7 microns
in diameter, increasing the power densi-
ty of the light output by 21 times.
Arndt said it’s too early to say whether
the technology can compete with state-
of-the-art VUV systems. “It’s really funda-
mental at this stage, but it has a lot of
potential. It could be made far more ef-
ficient. With this first study, the question
was, ‘Does it work?’ In the next phase,
we’ll be asking, ‘How much better can
we make it?’”
For more information, contact Jade
Boyd at jadeboyd@rice.edu.

Upside-Down Design Expands Wide-Spectrum Super-Camera Abilities

Duke University, Pratt School of Engineering, Durham, NC

B y turning a traditional lab-based

fabrication process upside down,
researchers at Duke University have
greatly expanded the abilities of
light-manipulating metasurfaces while
also making them much more robust
against the elements.
The combination could allow these
quickly maturing devices to be used in
a wide range of practical applications,
such as cameras that capture images in a
broad spectrum of light in a single shut-
ter snap.
Plasmonics is a technology that essen-
tially traps the energy of light in groups
of electrons oscillating together on a
metal surface. This creates a small but
powerful electromagnetic field that in-
teracts with incoming light.
Traditionally, these groups of elec-
trons — called plasmons — have been
excited on the surfaces of metal nano-
cubes. By controlling the size of the
nanocubes and their spacing from each
other as well as the metal base below, the
system can be tuned to absorb specific
wavelengths of light.
These so-called plasmonic metasur-
faces consist of three layers — a met-
al base is coated in a nanometer-thin
transparent substrate and topped with
silver nanocubes. While this configu-
ration has worked well for laboratory
demonstrations, it leaves little room
for creativity. Because an area of the
nanoparticle must be within a few
nanometers of the metal surface below,
researchers couldn’t use a wide variety
of shapes.
To get around this need for flatness,
the team decided to try to put each
nanoparticle in its own dimple or well.
This would surround the entire lower
halves of the nanoparticles with metal,
allowing the sides as well as the bottoms
to host plasmons. But because of incred-
ibly tight tolerances, this is easier said
than done.
To meet this challenge, the research-
ers essentially flipped the traditional
fabrication process upside down. Rather
than starting with a metal surface and
putting a thin transparent substrate on
top followed by nanocubes, they start
with the nanocubes, which they cover
with a precisely thin spacer coating that
follows the underlying shape, and top
off with a metal coating. It’s almost like a
pineapple upside-down cake, where the
nanocubes are the pineapples that get
covered in caramelized sugar and baked
into a thin bottom.
Because more than one surface of the
nanocubes could now trap plasmons be-
tween gaps, they could experiment in 3D
with new nanoparticle shapes. In their
paper, the team tried out solid spheres
and cuboctahedra — a shape consisting
of eight triangular faces and six square

Sputter Metal
Grow Spacer
Assemble NPs

NP

Cubes Cuboctahedra Spheres Transparent

Substrate

A new upside-down fabrication method for light-manipulating metamaterials envelops nanoparticles with a transparent spacing layer followed by a coating
of metal. The way the metal coating envelops part of the nanoparticle while maintaining tight, nanometer tolerances, allows for a much larger design space
than was previously possible. (Image: Duke University)

26 Photonics & Imaging Technology, September 2022

faces — as well as metal spheres with a
quartz core.
Test results showed that not only can
the new fabrication method match or ex-
ceed the capabilities of previous methods
using silver nanocubes, but it can also ex-
pand the range of frequencies that are
harnessed by using these different shapes
and metals. The research also revealed
that these variations change where the
nanoparticles capture energy on their
surfaces. Combined with the added bo-
nus of essentially weatherizing the entire
device by enveloping the nanoparticles,
the new technique could potentially ex-
pand the technology’s use into driving
chemical reactions or thermal detectors.
Professor Maiken Mikkelsen is apply-
ing the fabrication technique to her $7.5
million Department of Defense project
to create a “super camera” that can cap-
ture and process a wide range of light’s
properties, such as polarization, depth,
phase, coherence, and incidence angle.
“What is really significant here, is
that large, macroscopic areas can be
covered by the metasurfaces very in-
expensively, as we use entirely lithog-
raphy-free fabrication techniques,”
Mikkelsen said. “This means the meta-
surfaces can be integrated with other
existing technologies and also create
inspiration for new plasmonic metasur-
face applications.”
For more information, contact Ken
Kingery at ken.kingery@duke.edu

Researchers Demonstrate 40-Channel Optical Communication Link

Optica, Washington, DC

R esearchers have demon-

strated a silicon-based op-
tical communication link that
combines two multiplexing
technologies to create 40 op-
tical data channels that can si-
multaneously move data. The
new chip-scale optical inter-
connect can transmit about
400 GB of data per second
— the equivalent of about 10 µm
100,000 streaming movies.
This could improve data-in-
tensive internet applications Researchers demonstrated a silicon-based optical communication link that combines two multiplexing technologies
to create 40 optical data channels. The ring-shaped photonic crystal resonator (left) features a nanopattern inside
from video streaming services (right) that splits a selected resonant mode for comb generation. Images taken with scanning electron microscopy.
to high-capacity transactions (Image: Su-Peng Yu, NIST)
for the stock market.
A multi-institutional group of re- oscillation on the inner wall. The result- while offering smaller footprints, better
searchers have described the new optical ing photonic crystal micro-ring resona- efficiencies, and new functionalities.
communication link in the Optica Pub- tor turns a laser input into ten different Tests of the new device matched well
lishing Group journal Optics Letters. wavelengths. They also designed and with simulations and showed that the
It achieves 40 channels by combining a optimized a mode-division multiplexer channels exhibited a low crosstalk of less
frequency comb light source based on that transforms each wavelength into than −20 dB. Using less than −10 dBm
a new photonic crystal resonator devel- four new beams that each have different of received optical receiver power, the
oped by the National Institute of Stan- shapes. Adding this spatial dimension link performed error-free data transmis-
dards and Technology (NIST) with an enables a fourfold increase in data ca- sion in 34 out of the 40 channels using a
optimized mode-division multiplexer pacity, creating the 40 channels. PRBS31 pattern, a standard used to test
designed by the researchers at Stanford Once the data is encoded onto each high-speed circuits under stress.
University. Each channel can be used to beam shape and each beam color, the The researchers are now working to
carry information much like different light is recombined back into a single further improve the device by incor-
stereo channels, or frequencies, trans- beam and transmitted to its destina- porating photonic crystal micro-ring
mitting different music stations. tion. At the final destination, the wave- resonators that produce more wave-
In addition to improving internet data lengths and beam shapes are separated lengths or by using more complex
transmission, the new technology could so that each channel can be received beam shapes. Commercializing these
also be used to make faster optical com- and detected independently, without devices would require the full inte-
puters that could provide the high levels interference from the other transmit- gration of a transmitter and receiver
of computing power needed for artificial ted channels. chip with high bandwidth, low power
intelligence, machine learning, large- To optimize the mode division mul- consumption, and a small footprint.
scale emulation, and other applications. tiplexer, the researchers used a compu- This could enable the next generation
The researchers created the optical tational nanophotonic design approach of optical interconnects for use in da-
link using tantalum pentoxide (Ta2O5) called photonic inverse-design. This ta-center networks.
waveguides on a silicon substrate fabri- method provides a more efficient way to For more information, contact
cated into a ring with a nanopatterned explore a full range of possible designs mediarelations@optica.org.
Photonics & Imaging Technology, September 2022 27
Large Polished Optics Co-Packaged Optics Platform
Precision Glass & Optics (Santa
Ana, CA) offers precision optics
on large polished substrates up to
30” in diameter. Customer speci-
fications that can be applied to
the large format glass include pol-
ishing up to 30", flatness/trans-
mitted wavefront equal to Lamb-
da/30 over any 6" diameter, with parallelism at 1 arc second,
angles to 1 second, and surface roughness at 2 angstroms.
The company’s scratch-dig specifications for prisms and oth-
er large optics are at 20/10, also known as “high precision”
quality. With eleven continuous planetary polishers (CPs),
including a state-of-the-art 96" CP, PG&O manufactures fin-
ished plano optical components with exceptional flatness and
uniformity.
For Free Info Visit: http://info.hotims.com/82325-230
Meniscus SAC For Free Info Visit: http://info.hotims.com/82325-235
Focuslight Technologies Inc.
(Xi’an, China) has announced the
Focuslight Blue Meniscus slow-axis
collimator (SAC). This new SAC
with an effective focal length (EFL)
of 9.7 mm has a concave-convex,
acylindrical lens design for the col-
limation of the slow axis of laser diodes. Blue diode lasers contin-
ue to revolutionize the processing of different materials such as
copper and aluminum. The high absorption of blue light com-
pared to infrared light results in a great advantage for typical in-
dustrial applications such as cutting or welding. A material with
low absorption is the key to prevent the detrimental effects of
heating. In addition to material processing, other applications in
medicine (bacterial treatment and surgery), lighting, or pump-
ing also enjoy recent interest.
For Free Info Visit: http://info.hotims.com/82325-231
3D Scanner
Evatronix SA (Bielsko-Biala, Po-
land) recently unveiled its latest eviX-
scan 3D Quadro+ scanner. Two scan-
ning ranges allow both the precise
measurement of small parts with very
high accuracy and the rapid geometry
measurement of large objects. The de-
vice’s inner range enables objects from 120 to 450 mm in size
to be scanned efficiently. In case of the outer range the recom-
mended size of the scanned objects is from 250 to 1000 mm.
Quadro+ is equipped with high-resolution cameras: 9 Mpix for
the outer range and 12 Mpix for the inner range. The combi-
nation of modern matrixes and lenses with low distortion level
makes the scanner obtain as much as 350 ptk/mm2 in the inner
range. The device has a new projector equipped with a blue
LED light source in DLP technology, allowing it to obtain an
image of 1080p resolution.
For Free Info Visit: http://info.hotims.com/82325-232
28 Photonics & Imaging Technology, September 2022
Ranovus Inc. (Ottawa, Canada)
recently demonstrated a co-pack-
aged optics platform using a Xilinx
Versal ACAP (adaptive compute
acceleration platform) and Ran-
ovus Odin™ 800 Gbps CPO 2.0.
The joint demonstration between
Ranovus and AMD highlights the
arrival of the CPO 2.0 solution for AI/ML platforms that demand
power efficient, high throughput and high-density optical inter-
connect. RANOVUS’ Odin™ scales from 800 Gbps to 3.2 Tbps
in the same footprint by leveraging Ranovus’ 100 Gbps per lamb-
da monolithic Electro-Photonic Integrated Circuit (EPIC) IP, la-
ser platform, and advanced packaging technologies. CPO is an
innovative approach that provides Nx100 Gbps PAM4 Optical
I/O channels for Ethernet switch and ML/AI silicon in a single
packaged assembly that significantly reduces the cost and power
consumption of the complete system.
OLED DDIC
Magnachip Semiconductor Cor-
poration (Seoul, South Korea)
announced that the company has
commenced full-scale mass pro-
duction of an organic light-emit-
ting diode display driver integrated
circuit (OLED DDIC) for OLED TVs. The new DDIC supports
a maximum of 960 source output channels, and, coupled with a
Chip On Film (COF) package and high-speed serial interface,
it is an ideal solution for UHD OLED TVs. With Magnachip’s
advanced technology for optimizing resolution, the new prod-
uct supports various resolutions between HD (1,366 x 768) and
UHD 4K (3,840 × 2,160). It also can be applied to different
sizes of panels, ranging from 40 to 80 inches.
For Free Info Visit: http://info.hotims.com/82325-243
High-Speed InGaAs Photodiodes
Fermionics Opto-Technology
(Simi Valley, CA) introduced
the ultra-compact FD80 Series
of high-speed, low-dark-current,
low-capacitance photodiodes.
The innovative InGaAs product
line is designed specifically for
use in extremely tight spaces, such as high-speed communi-
cation systems. The FD80 series features a planar-passivated
device structure with an 80 µm diameter active area on a ver-
tical or horizontal-mount S8 ceramic package pigtail assembly
in solderable surface-mount configurations. For added conve-
nience, the high-speed indium gallium arsenide PIN photo-
diodes are coupled directly to a single- or multi-mode pigtail
fiber. The devices are also available with an internal fiber tip
angle which is polished for low back reflection, and other cus-
tomizable options.
For Free Info Visit: http://info.hotims.com/82325-239
3D Surface Inspection System Soft X-Ray and
Chromasens (Konstanz, Germany) has intro- EUV Imaging
duced a 3D inspection system expressly designed Camera
for detecting imperfections on the surface of met- Andor Tech-
al cylinder heads requiring large field of views. nology (Belfast,
Leveraging the Chromasens 3DPIXA wave dual UK) announced
30µm stereo line scan camera, the Chromasens Corona II LED illuminator with the launch of its
controller, and the Chromasens 3D Application Programming Interface (CS-3D- new Marana-X plat-
API), the turnkey imaging system achieves 100% inline inspection at frequencies form for high energy physics.
up to 30 kHz at full resolution. Every part coming down a high-speed line can be The product integrates the latest in
imaged and inspected including larger parts requiring fields of view (FOV) up to scientific CMOS technology (sCMOS)
450 mm (17.8 inches) wide. Images are captured simultaneously in both 2D and designed specifically for ultrafast soft
3D by the 3DPIXA wave dual camera at a GPU accelerated speed of 552 mm (21.7 X-ray/EUV tomography and High
inches) per second. Resolution up to 30µm is possible in 2D using the 3DPIXA Harmonic Generation (HHG) applica-
wave dual camera, with object dependent height resolution up to 5.87µm. tions. Marana integrates the first “un-
For Free Info Visit: http://info.hotims.com/82325-234 coated”, 4.2 Megapixel sCMOS sensor
with >90% quantum efficiency in the 80
NanoRF Optical Modules eV-1keV range, 74 frame/s full frame
TE Connectivity (TE) (Harrisburg, PA) has intro- and superb dynamic range. sCMOS’ in-
duced its NanoRF optical hybrid modules for the de- herent shutterless technology addresses
fense industry’s VPX-based embedded computing the inconvenience associated with tra-
systems that require increased bandwidth and radio ditional mechanical shutters lifetime
frequency (RF) signaling. The new hybrid modules and limited repetition rates. Moreover,
feature high-density RF and optical connections with- the Marana-X features a convenient
in common connector module applications like radar, USB3 plug and play interface and a ro-
electronic warfare (EW) missile guidance and tactical communications, along with bust CoaXPress interface.
any other small footprint applications where high-frequency RF and optical signals For Free Info Visit:
are critical. The NanoRF optical hybrid module’s cable mechanical transfer (MT) http://info.hotims.com/82325-258
and edge-mount transceivers provide additional modularity and options for imple-
mentation. Intermateability and interoperability among VPX suppliers is accom-
plished by multiple slot profiles and connector modules added to the VITA 65.0 and
VITA 65.1 compliant backplanes and board-level profiles.
For Free Info Visit: http://info.hotims.com/82325-237

Full HD Digital Microscope

The new F35 HD optical inspection system from
INSPECTIS (Solna, Sweden) offers full HD 1080p, 60 UV curable epoxy meets NASA
frames per second lag-free video with true colors, bring- low outgassing requirements
ing digital microscopy to a new level with more precise
imagery of objects ranging from increasingly compact
miniaturized electronic assemblies to medical devices.
Thanks to its fast optics and large image sensor, F35 pro-
Outstanding
vides images of objects under inspection such as solder optical clarity
joints on electronic PCBs and metallic parts with minimum glare and reflections. Refractive index 1.52
Camera and lens attributes including optical zoom, lens aperture size, focus and
color balance can be adjusted directly by integrated on-board controls, via INSPEC-
TIS software, or through a range of remote-control consoles. The F35 offers a 35:1 Nanosilica
motorized zoom lens with auto-focus and iris-controlled depth of field, and is sup- reinforced
plied with a wide range of lenses, lights, and other accessories. • Linear shrinkage <1%
For Free Info Visit: http://info.hotims.com/82325-240 • Abrasion resistant

Hydrogen Alpha (H-alpha) Emission Line Filters High temperature resistant

Alluxa, Inc. (Santa Rosa, CA) announced the develop-
ment of two Hydrogen Alpha (H-alpha) Emission Line Fil- • Serviceable from -60°C to 175°C
ters for astronomy applications. The novel 5 Cavity H-alpha • Tg (with post cure) 135°C
Filter has a 50% BW of only 0.35 nm, a 1% BW of <0.6 nm,
and a peak transmission of approximately 80% and is fully
blocked to OD6 out of band. Alluxa’s 2 Cavity H-alpha Fil-
ter features an even narrower design with a FWHM of 0.12
nm and peak transmission of greater than 90%.
+1.201.343.8983 ∙ main@masterbond.com
For Free Info Visit: http://info.hotims.com/82325-249 www.masterbond.com

Photonics & Imaging Technology, September 2022 29

sales@chroma.com • 1-800-824-7662 • chroma.com