Synopsis: NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, VA solicits inquiries from companies interested in obtaining license rights to commercialize, manufacture and market the following technology. License rights may be issued on an exclusive or nonexclusive basis and may include specific fields of use. NASA provides no funding in conjunction with these potential licenses. THE TECHNOLOGY: Scientists at NASA Langley Research Center have developed a new application of a Digital Light Processing (DLP) mirror/aperture as an optical shutter as a means of improving performance of existing optical instruments. There are numerous experiments and activities in which a laser or light beam needs to be chopped or shuttered (rapidly turned on and off) or modulated spatially or in time. In many applications, shuttering needs to be done rapidly to improve signal-to-noise ratio or improve performance of the optical device being used. Current methods have limited speeds or are excessively large or expensive. The new device can perform these actions using a small, inexpensive, optically and electrically efficient, optically high quality, and computer-controlled method. When a laser or a light source is incident on a detector, it usually passes through a shutter that can open and then close to limit the amount of light hitting the detector. There are limitations on the speed, size and cost of such apertures. A DLP mirror can rapidly deflect the incoming light beam onto an aperture, which blocks the beam path, or through the aperture, which allows it to go onto the detector. The DLP mirror in this shutter uses an aperture design that is nearly 3 orders of magnitudes faster (shorter exposure time) than similar-sized aperture using conventional commercial-off-the-shelf mechanical shutters and 1-2 orders of magnitude smaller and cheaper than higher-performing custom-made shutters that are used by a few labs around the world. The DLP mirror is actuated via a computer controlled oscillator circuit. A laser beam directed to the mirror is either passed to a target detector, or diverted, based on the inputs from the circuit. In this manner, the DLP mirror / circuit can act as a fast shutter, modulator, or chopper for the light beam. The potential benefits are improved signal to noise ratio, half the cost and three times faster than existing technology. Potential applications include high speed optical imaging in medical, communications, scientific research, photography or spectroscopy in luminous environments, lithography, laser beam shaping, pharmaceutical detection, chemical analysis and consumer food analysis. NASA is seeking to license this technology commercially in the United States. US Patent Pending. To express interest in this opportunity, please respond to
[email protected] with the title of this Technology Transfer Opportunity as listed in this FBO notice and your preferred contact information. Please also provide how you foresee using the technology along with a brief background of your company. Additionally, please identify any non-US interests/subsidiaries in your company as well. For more information about licensing other NASA Langley-developed technologies, please visit the NASA Langley's Technology Gateway at https://technologygateway.nasa.gov/ These responses are provided to members of NASA Langley's Office of Strategic Analysis and Business Development "OSACB" for the purpose of promoting public awareness of NASA-developed technology products, and conducting preliminary market research to determine public interest in and potential for future licensing opportunities. If direct licensing interest results from this posting, OSACB will follow the required formal licensing process of posting in the Federal Register. No follow-on procurement is expected to result from responses to this Notice.