Tech Briefs Magazine - February 2022 - 31

MANUFACTURING AND PROTOTYPING CHANNEL
Sponsored by
FEATURED SPONSOR VIDEO:
Additive Manufacturing Trends in Aerospace
Josh Parker, DMLS Production Lead at Protolabs, shares what factors
are leading aerospace companies to choose additive manufacturing
over traditional methods like CNC machining and casting.
www.techbriefs.com/tv/additive-trends
NASA Brings
Manufacturing
The new technology uses acoustics to better control a pulse of laser light
split into a frequency comb, potentially helping LiDAR achieve detection
of nearby high-speed objects. (Photo: WoogieWorks graphic/Alex Mehler)
Experiments to Space
A variety of experiments are
arriving on the International Space
Station, including a handheld " bio
printer " and a manufacturing
device that processes heat-resistant
metal parts in microgravity.
www.techbriefs.com/tv/
manufacturing-in-space
Researchers built a high-overtone bulk acoustic wave resonances-driven
optical isolator that would enable LiDAR to better detect light that
bounces off of an object. (Photo: Purdue University image/Hao Tian)
gigahertz. An array of phased MEMS transducers, also used in
cellphones to discern cellular bands, stirs light at gigahertz frequencies
by launching a cork screw-like stress wave into a silicon
chip. The stirring motion modulates light such that it can only
travel in one direction.
Other transducers in the same technology excite an acoustic
wave that shakes the chip at megahertz frequencies, demonstrating
sub-microsecond control and tuning of the laser pulse
microcomb or soliton. This light modulation technique not
only integrates mechanics with optics but also the fabrication
processes involved, making the technology more commercially
viable. The MEMS transducers are simply fabricated on top of
the silicon nitride photonics wafer with minimal processing.
The new technology could provide the impetus for microcomb
applications in power-critical systems such as in space,
data centers, and portable atomic clocks or in extreme environments
such as those with cryogenic temperatures.
For more information, contact Sunil Bhave, Professor of Electrical
and Computer Engineering, at bhave@purdue.edu.
Tech Briefs, February 2022
Cov
www.techbriefs.com
ToC
Augmented Smart
Cane Helps Navigate
the World
Stanford University researchers
are prototyping a cane for the
visually equipped with a LiDAR
sensor and other technologies
found in self-driving vehicles.
www.techbriefs.com/tv/
smart-cane
Innovative Cold
Storage with Moldable,
Reusable Ice Cubes
These reusable, plastic-free
cubes can be designed or cut
to any shape and size needed.
www.techbriefs.com/tv/
jelly-ice-cubes
www.techbriefs.tv
31

http://www.techbriefs.com/tv/additive-trends http://www.techbriefs.com/tv/manufacturing-in-space http://www.techbriefs.com/tv/smart-cane http://www.techbriefs.com/tv/jelly-ice-cubes http://www.techbriefs.tv http://www.techbriefs.com http://info.hotims.com/82318-800

Tech Briefs Magazine - February 2022

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