[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 134 (Friday, July 13, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38564-38565]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-13651]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[University of Minnesota, et al.]


Notice of Consolidated Decision on Applications for Duty-Free 
Entry of Scientific Instruments

This is a decision consolidated pursuant to Section 6(c) of the 
Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Materials Importation Act of 1966 
(Pub. L. 89-651, as amended by Pub. L.106-36; 80 Stat. 897; 15 CFR part 
301). Related records can be viewed between 8:30 A.M. and 5 P.M. in 
room 2104, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14\th\ and Constitution Ave, 
NW., Washington, DC.
Comments: None received. Decision: Approved. We know of no instrument 
of equivalent scientific value to the foreign instruments described 
below, for such purposes as each is intended to be used, was being 
manufactured in the United States at the time of its order.
Docket Number: 07-013. Applicant: University of Minnesota. Instrument: 
Carbon Monoxide Monitor and Accessories. Manufacturer: Aerolaser, 
Germany. Intended Use: See notice at 72 CFR 31287, June 6, 2007. 
Reasons: The foreign instrument provides quantification of the amount 
of CO\2\ due to biological activity as opposed to fossil fuel 
consumption. Since it will employ streaming, gigabyte, real-time fiber 
optic data, an instrument capable of measuring CO concentration 
fluctuations with the fastest response time is essential to the 
project.
Docket Number: 07-016. Applicant: The University of Alabama, 
Tuscaloosa, AL. Instrument: Fast-response NOx Analyzer. Manufacturer: 
Combustion Ltd., UK. Intended Use: See notice at 72 CFR 31287, June 6, 
2007. Reasons: The foreign instrument provides near ms response (3 ms 
for NO, and < 10 ms for other oxides of N),allowing measurement of 
changes in concentration of NOx within an internal combustion engine 
cycle (2 revolutions for a 4-stroke cycle engine) and correlation with 
other intra-cycle data such as cylinder pressure or temperature in 
order to identify and determine mitigation methods of NOx formation in 
internal combustion engines.
Docket Number: 07-017. Applicant: Stanford University, Stanford, CA. 
Instrument: 1.1 Micron Wavelength Fiber Laser, Model: Boostik 5 W. 
Manufacturer: Koheras A/S, Denmark. Intended Use: See notice at 72 CFR 
31287, June 6, 2007. Reasons: The foreign instrument provides an 
important accessory tool for building and testing a point-to-point 
freespace communication link operating in the 3.8 micron waveband to 
verify the system design, using parametric frequency conversion of 
telecom-like sources. A high-power, cw, polarized laser source 
operating at a wavelength of exactly 1.1 micron is essential for making 
these measurements.
Docket Number: 07-029. Applicant: University of Washington, Seattle, WA 
98195. Instrument: Femtosecond Laser. Manufacturer: Femtolasers 
Produktions, GmbH, Austria. Intended Use: See notice at 72 CFR 31287, 
June 6, 2007. Reasons: The foreign instrument provides a necessary 
accessory for conducting ultra-fast nonlinear optical far and near-
field microscopic investigations of nanoscale physical phenomena of 
ferroelectric and semiconducting materials, especially ferroelectric 
domain ordering of manganites. These multiferroic materials are of 
great interest due to their potential for nonvolatile storage devices. 
By using photon echo and pump probe techniques, the electronic and 
vibrational properties of semiconductor nanocrystals, particularly CdSe 
and PdSe, will be used to study the effect of quantum confinement on 
vibronic coupling. A femtosecond laser with with pulse durations of 10 
fs and below, with more than 480 mW power will be necessary for this 
work.
Docket Number: 07-030. Applicant: Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA 
18015. Instrument: Low Voltage Transmission and Scanning Electron 
Microscope. Manufacturer: Delong Insruments A.s, Czech Republic. 
Intended Use: See notice at 72 CFR 31287, June 6, 2007. Reasons: The 
foreign instrument provides detection of proteins of interest (actin, 
synapsin and Rab3a) in nerve terminals, allowing immunolabeling of 
these proteins such that the tissue can be processed for transmission 
electron microscopy and the samples can be examined. This unique TEM 
operates at a low voltage of 5 kV, which enables obtaining of high-
contrast images of non-osmicated samples, which is crucial since 
osmication cannot be performed together with immunolabeling. The TEM is 
capable of both fast and gradual changes in magnification which is 
needed, since nerve terminals are not readily found in the preparations 
of neuromuscular tissue being examined.
Docket Number: 07-031. Applicant: University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, 
IN. Instrument: Surface Roughness Analyzer. Manufacturer: Elionix, 
Japan. Intended Use: See notice at 72 CFR 31287, June 6, 2007. Reasons: 
The foreign instrument will be needed to study Al and other metal 
tunnel junctions, microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) related 
materials such as Al, silicon dioxide and nitride and silicon. New 
imaging systems for infrared detectors in the form of both nanoantennas 
and micro-spectrometers will be fabricated. The instrument will be 
required to image the devices formed at high magnification and also to 
accurately determine their surface morphology. Measurement of step-
coverage of thin metal films with very high resolution is crucial for 
determining if the nanometer scale, overlapped metal areas are properly

[[Page 38565]]

formed. The Elionix is claimed to be essential for this work since it 
is the only instrument known that can perform surface roughness 
analysis using an electron beam.
Docket Number: 07-033. Applicant: Stanford University, Stanford, CA 
94305. Instrument: Amplified Ultrafast Laser System. Manufacturer: 
Thales Laser, France. Intended Use: See 72 FR 36961, July 6 2007. 
Reasons: The foreign Instrument is an accessory that can optimize for 
either absorption in proteins or fragmentation for smaller molecules 
such as CO\2\. The laser system will be used to generate light of 
different colors in a non-collinear optical parametric amplifier. The 
laser system used must be very reliable, with a clean mode and 
capability of generating reproducible high powers on a daily basis with 
very little noise or operator intervention.

    Dated: July 10, 2007.
Faye Robinson,
Director, Statutory Import Programs Staff, Import Administration.
[FR Doc. E7-13651 Filed 7-12-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-S