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Stock image UAV drone monitoring gas near pipeline valves

LLNL researchers have developed a TDLAS-based, standalone, real-time gas analyzer in a small form-factor for continuous or single-point monitoring.  The system can analyze multiple gases with ultra-high sensitivity (ppm detection levels) in harsh conditions when utilizing wavelength-modulation spectroscopy (WMS). 

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Adobe Stock image laser beam

This invention proposes to engineer the current density along the length of a laser diode to overcome the penalty associated with non-uniformity resulting from asymmetry in the gain, photon or carrier density despite having uniform contact. Optimizing the current density profile enables diode lasers to operate with greater power conversion efficiency or operate with equivalent power conversion…

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Schematic showing mismatched coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) coating

This invention proposes to engineer the temperature dependence of the emission wavelength of LEDs and laser diodes. The approach is to use a strain-inducing coating to counteract the intrinsic temperature coefficient of the emission wavelength of the LED or laser diode device thereby rendering it athermal. This invention avoids additional complexity, size, weight and power dissipation of…

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Photoconductive Semiconductor Laser Diodes and LEDs

This invention proposes a method to overcome the key limitation of electrically pumped lasers based on AlN, AlGaN, or AlInGaN, namely the lack of suitable shallow donor and acceptor dopants. As the band gap of these materials increases (and the emission wavelength decreases), both electrons and holes require greater thermal energies in order to ionize.

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Adobe Stock image laser beam

Laser diode lensing effect can be substantially reduced by creating a pattern interface such that the substrate is only attached at the diode mesa. This is achieved by either creating a pattern solder joint and/or pattern substrate.

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Schematic of 2P3C setup.  Pump laser component is in red while probe laser component is denoted in blue.

LLNL’s novel approach combines 2-color spectroscopy with CRDS, a combination not previously utilized.

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Graphic of NMR

There are prominent technical challenges arising from spinning a battery on the order of kilohertz as required by magic angle spinning in order to obtain spectral resolution that are addressed and enable operando solid-state NMR. The operando NMR measurement allows for continuous monitoring of the battery components and of potential metastable states that may exist during…

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mesoscale_nand_gate

Recent advancements in additive manufacturing, also called 3D printing, allow precise placement of materials in three dimensions. LLNL researchers have invented mechanical logic gates based on flexures that can be integrated into the microstructure of a micro-architected material through 3D printing. The logic gates can be combined into circuits allowing complex logic operations to be…

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Optics

The LLNL method for optimizing as built optical designs uses insights from perturbed optical system theory and reformulates perturbation of optical performance in terms of double Zernikes, which can be calculated analytically rather than by tracing thousands of rays. A new theory of compensation is enabled by the use of double Zernikes which allows the performance degradation of a perturbed…