[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 29 (Tuesday, February 12, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6499-6500]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-3314]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Institute of Standards and Technology


Notice of Government Owned Inventions Available for Licensing

AGENCY: National Institute of Standards and Technology Commerce, 
Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of government owned inventions available for licensing.

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SUMMARY: The inventions listed below are owned in whole or in part by 
the U.S. Government, as represented by the Department of Commerce. The 
Department of Commerce's interest in the inventions is available for 
exclusive or non-exclusive licensing in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 207 
and 37 CFR part 404 to achieve expeditious commercialization of results 
of federally funded research and development.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Technical and licensing information on 
these inventions may be obtained by writing to: Mary Clague, 301-975-
4188, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Office of 
Technology Partnerships, Building 820, Room 213, Gaithersburg, MD 
20899; Fax 301-869-2751. Any request for information should include the 
NIST Docket number and title for the relevant invention as indicated 
below.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NIST may enter into a Cooperative Research 
and Development Agreement (``CRADA'') with the licensee to perform 
further research on the inventions for purposes of commercialization. 
The inventions available for licensing are:

[Docket No.: 97-017C-CIP]

    Title: Domain Engineered Ferroelectric Optical Radiation Detector 
Having Multiple Domain Regions For Acoustic Dampening.
    Abstract: The invention comprises a pyroelectric detector with 
significantly reduced microphonic noise sensitivity comprising a 
pyroelectric detector element constructed from a z-cut 
LiNbO3 electret. Selective domain reversal is accomplished 
in the electret by applying an electric field. Electrodes are attached 
to either surface of the electret spanning the domain reversed region 
and a portion of the original domain region to create areas of equal 
and opposite sensitivity. The detector is mounted in an electrically 
grounded container or housing. The detector may also be constructed 
having multiple detector regions to accommodate resonant frequencies of 
the electret or to function as a position sensor.

[Docket No.: 00-005US]

    Title: Cavity Ringdown Spectroscopy System Using Differential 
Heterodyne Detection.
    Abstract: This invention is jointly owned by the University of 
Colorado and the Department of Commerce. The Department's interest is 
available for licensing. An ac technique for cavity ringdown 
spectroscopy permits 1  x  10-10 absorption sensitivity with 
microwatt light power. Two cavity modes are provided temporarily out of 
phase such that when one mode is decaying, the other mode is rising. 
When one of the modes probes intra-cavity absorption of a sample gas, 
heterodyne detection between the two modes reveals dynamic time 
constants associated with the cavity and the cavity plus intra-cavity 
absorption. The system and method provides a quick comparison between 
on-resonance and off-resonance modes and enables sensitivities that 
approach the shot-noise limit.

[Docket No.: 01-001US]

    Title: Sensitive and Selective Chemical Sensor with Nanostructured 
Surfaces.
    Abstract: The invention was made jointly by scientists from NIST 
and Informed Diagnostics, Inc. under the auspices of a Cooperative 
Research and Development agreement( CRADA). A novel chemical sensor is 
described that utilizes an optical resonator with nanostructured 
surfaces to permit highly sensitive and selective chemical detection by 
absorption spectroscopy, typically in the visible spectral region. The 
analyte is not required to possess a significant absorption cross 
section at the probe wavelength. Instead, the absorption of one or more 
nanoparticles that are bound to the resonator surface is detected. 
These nanoparticles have an enormous absorption cross section, which is 
highly sensitive to the dielectric properties of the particle or its 
environment. The analyte is detected by combining the sensitive optical 
response of the nanoparticle with selective chemical interactions that 
modify the dielectric properties of the particle or its environment. 
These selective interactions can occur by (1) a direct chemical 
interaction between the nanoparticle and the analyte that alters the 
nanoparticle optical constants, or (2) employing a coated nanoparticle 
that selectively binds the analyte to produce an effective coating 
refractive index change. The nanoparticles can be formed from gold, 
silver, cadmium sulfide, zinc selenide, or other material and have a 
spherical, spheroidal, tetrahedral, or other shape. Typically,

[[Page 6500]]

metal or semiconductor particles are employed which support a surface 
plasmon polariton resonance (SPPR). The nanoparticles modify one or 
more surfaces of an optical resonator where a light beam interrogates 
the absorption change in response to the analyte. In one embodiment, 
the nanoparticles modify one or more ultra-smooth surfaces of a high-
finesse resonator that employs intracavity total internal reflection, 
allowing evanescent wave cavity ring-down spectroscopy (EW-CRDS) to be 
employed for probing the absorbance change. Through proper choice of 
nanoparticle density, size, shape, material, coating, and resonator 
design, a miniature chemical sensor is achieved, permitting trace 
detection of a wide range of absorbing or non-absorbing analytes in the 
gas or liquid phase.

    Dated: February 5, 2002.
Karen H. Brown,
Deputy Director.
[FR Doc. 02-3314 Filed 2-11-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-13-P