99--TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER OPPORTUNITY REAL-TIME INTERFEROMETRIC FIBER OPTICBRAGG GRATING SENSORS

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. THE TECHNOLOGY: Scientists at NASA Langley Research Center have developed fiber optic-based sensors that enable robust, low-cost, intrinsically safe measurement of physical parameters like stress, temperature, pressure, and the presence of certain chemicals. Fiber optic sensors can be used for single point detection or, in the case of Bragg grating sensors that are written along the length of a fiber, distributed sensing for large area monitoring. However, the use of distributed Bragg grating sensors usually involves a compromise between the highly desirable characteristics of fast data acquisition, high sensor counts, and high resolution. The new NASA Real-Time Interferometric Fiber Optic Bragg Grating Sensor technology eliminates that compromise. The new NASA system modifies existing NASA Optical Frequency Domain Reflectometry technology (NASA patents US#5,798,521 and US#6,566,648) to eliminate the need for massive data storage, complex algorithm manipulation, and the inherent limitations tied to processor speeds. By constructing a location-matched oscillator to each discrete sensor grating, each Bragg grating spectra can be demodulated and peak-detected without the need for complex digital processing. The resulting system allows hundreds of distributed sensors to be interrogated in real time, which is essential for immediate event detection in safety-critical systems. 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 the nature of your interest in the technology along with a brief background of your company. For more information about licensing other NASA-developed technologies, please visit the NASA Technology Transfer Portal at http://technology.nasa.gov/ . These responses are provided to members of NASA Langleys 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.