[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 209 (Tuesday, October 29, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65953-65954]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-27421]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Institute of Standards and Technology


Inventions, Government-Owned; Availability for Licensing

AGENCY: National Institute of Standards and Technology, Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of Government-owned inventions available for licensing.

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SUMMARY: The inventions listed below are owned in whole by the U.S. 
Government, as represented by the Department of Commerce. The 
inventions are available for 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: National Institute of

[[Page 65954]]

Standards and Technology, Office of Technology Partnerships, Attn: Mary 
Clague, Building 820, Room 213, Gaithersburg, MD 20899. Information is 
also available via telephone: 301-975-4188, e-mail: [email protected], 
or 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.: 96-012US]

    Title: A Device for Spatially-Resolved, High-Sensitivity 
Measurement of Optical Absorption Based on Intra-Cavity Total 
Reflection.
    Abstract: An optical cavity resonator device is provided for 
conducting sensitive measurement of optical absorption by matter in any 
state with diffraction-limited spatial resolution through utilization 
of total internal reflection within a high-Q (high quality, low loss) 
optical cavity. Intracavity total reflection generates an evanescent 
wave that decays exponentially in space at a point external to the 
cavity, thereby providing a localized region where absorbing materials 
can be sensitively probed through alteration of the Q-factor of the 
otherwise isolated cavity. When a laser pulse is injected into the 
cavity and passes through the evanescent state, an amplitude loss 
resulting from absorption is incurred that reduces the lifetime of the 
pulse in the cavity. By monitoring the decay of the injected pulse, the 
absorption coefficient of manner within the evanescent wave region is 
accurately obtained from the decay time measurement.

[Docket No.: 96-025CIP]

    Title: Intra-Cavity Total Reflection For High Sensitivity 
Measurement Of Optical Properties.
    Abstract: An optical cavity resonator device is provided for 
conducting sensitive measurement of optical absorption by matter in any 
state with diffraction-limited spatial resolution through utilization 
of total internal reflection within a high-Q (high quality, low loss) 
optical cavity. Intracavity total reflection generates an evanescent 
wave that decays exponentially in space at a point external to the 
cavity, thereby providing a localized region where absorbing materials 
can be sensitively probed through alteration of the Q-factor of the 
otherwise isolated cavity. When a laser pulse is injected into the 
cavity and passes through the evanescent state, an amplitude loss 
resulting from absorption is incurred that reduces the lifetime of the 
pulse in the cavity. By monitoring the decay of the injected pulse, the 
absorption coefficient of manner within the evanescent wave region is 
accurately obtained from the decay time measurement.

[Docket No.: 96-025US]

    Title: Broadband, Ultrahigh-Sensitivity Chemical Sensor Based on 
Intra-Cavity Total Reflection.
    Abstract: A broadband, ultrahigh-sensitivity chemical sensor is 
provided that allows detection through utilization of a small, 
extremely low-loss, monolithic optical cavity. The cavity is fabricated 
from highly transparent optical material in the shape of a regular 
polygon with one or more convex facets to form a stable resonator for 
ray trajectories sustained by total internal reflection. Optical 
radiation enters and exits the monolithic cavity by photon tunneling in 
which two totally reflecting surfaces are brought into close proximity. 
In the presence of absorbing material, the loss per pass in increased 
since the evanescent waves that exist exterior to the cavity at points 
where the circulating pulse is totally reflected, are absorbed. The 
decay rate of an injected pulse is determined by coupling out an 
infinitesimal fraction of the pulse to produce an intensity-versus-time 
decay curve. Since the change in the decay rate resulting from 
absorption is inversely proportional to the magnitude of absorption, a 
quantitative sensor of concentration or absorption cross-section with 1 
part-per-million/pass or better sensitivity is obtained. The broadband 
nature of total internal reflection permits a single device to be used 
over a broad wavelength range. The absorption spectrum of the 
surrounding medium can thereby be obtained as a measurement of inverse 
decay time as a function of wavelength.

    Dated: October 21, 2002.
Karen H. Brown,
Deputy Director.
[FR Doc. 02-27421 Filed 10-28-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-13-P