Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Design And Characterization Of Optically Pumped Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Lasers, Richard J. Bagnell

Theses and Dissertations

Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Lasers (VCSELs) are a form of semiconductor laser which have their cavity oriented orthogonally to the plane of the wafer. The orientation necessitates short cavities, highly reflective mirrors and a relatively high gain/loss ratio. Even so, the resultant superior exit beam characteristics and the tight packing density of the finished lasers provide strong motivation for pursuing the growth of these structures. This thesis details the design of an optically pumped InGaAs multiple quantum well periodic gain structure VCSEL with a 950 nm lasing wavelength. These growths were to be a first attempt at VCSEL construction, so …

An Object-Oriented Computer Aided Design Program For Traditional Control Systems Analysis, Wayne E. Bell

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is a continuation of the ICECAP-PC research project conducted under Prof. Gary B. Lamont at the Air Force Institute of Technology. It is an ongoing development of a public domain Computer Aided Design package for Control Engineering and Digital Signal Processing students, faculty and practitioners with a special emphasis on education. This investigation begins with the software maintenance task of restructuring, debugging, and testing the functional version of ICECAP-PC 9.0. The continuous, traditional portions are then ported to a new object-oriented program structure which is the primary focus of this effort. New interactive graphics capabilities are then added …

Face Recognition With Neural Networks, Dennis L. Krepp

Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated neural networks for face verification and classification. The research concentrated on developing a neural network based feature extractor and/or classifier to perform authorized user verification in a realistic work environment. Recognition accuracy, system assumptions, training time, and execution time were analyzed to determine the feasibility of a neural network approach. Data was collected using a camcorder and two segmentation schemes: manual segmentation and motion-based, automatic segmentation. Data consisted of over 2000. 32x32 pixel, 8 bit gray scale images of 52 subjects; each subject had two to ten days worth of images collected. Several training and test sets …

Optical Haar Wavelet Transforms Using Computer Generated Holography, Peter G. Block

Theses and Dissertations

This research introduces an optical implementation of the continuous wavelet transform to filter images. The wavelet transform is modeled as a correlation process and is implemented with a Vander Lugt correlator. The orthonormal basis set used is composed of two one-dimensional Haar functions and a two-dimensional Haar function. Each wavelet, as well as its first two dyadic scalings, is implemented with computer generated holography. The Interferogram method, which represents a function only in terms of its phase, is used to encode the wavelet functions. The results are imaged onto a CCD array and captured using a framegrabber. The optical results …

Processability Of Polythiophene Thin Films By Ultraviolet Photo Bleaching, Derek D. Fletcher

Theses and Dissertations

Materials possessing strong 𝜒⁽³⁾ optical properties such as Polythiophene are sought for the production of optical switches. Polythiophene thin films produced by plasma enhanced CVD show a surface rms roughness of 10^-15 angstroms over single square micron areas which is acceptable for wave guiding in the near IR. This research investigates permanently changing the optical properties of such a thin film by exposure to UV radiation (254 nm, 35 mW/cm²), known as photo bleaching, in hope of creating a refractive index boundary for use in total internal reflection. After 60 minutes exposure the refractive index shows …

Cation Production And Reactions Induced By Electron Impact On Tetraethoxysilane, Jeremy C. Holtgrave

Theses and Dissertations

The production of cations by electron impact on tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) is studied with a Fourier Transform mass spectrometer (FTMS). The operating principles of FTMS are reviewed and the experimental approach to the mass calibration and cross-section measurement is discussed. The cross-sections for total and partial ionization of Si(OC₂H₅)₄ from threshold to 50 eV are measured. Also, the ion chemistry resulting from interactions between ions and neutral TEOS is examined.

Software Support Measurement And Estimating For Oracle Database Applications Using Mark Ii Function Points, Steven D. Radnov

Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated the results of measuring software support of Oracle database applications and estimating the effort and schedule required to provide support. Software measurement was accomplished with a variant of the function points metric, called Mark II function points, which is comprised of three weighted parameters, inputs, entities, and outputs. A technique for mapping Mark II function points to Oracle DBMS components was developed, and the size of the software support for each project, per team, was measured by tabulating and weighting the number of inputs, entities, and outputs that are added, changed, and/or deleted. Software support effort was …

Increasing The Corrected Field Of View Of An Adaptive Optical Telescope, Dustin C. Johnston

Theses and Dissertations

Current adaptive optical telescope designs use a single deformable mirror (DM) to compensate for atmospheric distortion. The corrected field of view (FOV) of an adaptive optics system could be increased through the use of multiple DMs optically conjugated to corresponding planes which sample the turbulence region in altitude. Often, the atmospheric turbulence responsible for the degradation of telescope images is concentrated in several layers. Each DM would correct for the component of the total wavefront in the pupil contributed by one or more layers. If the atmosphere does not possess a layered structure, the best fit of the turbulence profile …

Data Reduction With Least Squares Differential Correction Using Equinoctial Elements, Michael S. Wasson

Theses and Dissertations

This study investigates earth satellite orbit estimation on a track of range, azimuth, and elevation data from a single tracking station. The estimation routine is a least squares batch filter based solely on two-body orbital motion. Using equinoctial elements for the reference orbit avoids the numerical difficulties of the classical elements at eccentricities near zero and inclinations near zero or 90 degrees. Orbits for Mir, DMSP, Explorer, Cosmos, and GPS are investigated. The goal of this study is to reduce orbit information from observations (range, azimuth, and elevation) to an element set and a covariance matrix without considering perturbation effects. …

Solution To A Multicriteria Aircraft Routing Problem Utilizing Parallel Search Techniques, James J. Grimm Iii

Theses and Dissertations

Pilots select routes based on factors such as threats, fuel, time on target, distance, and refueling points. This is a time consuming task. This thesis presents the software engineering synthesis of a software tool, based on a parallelized A* search algorithm, to select routes. For simplicity only threats and distance are used. A centralized open list is used with one processor managing the list while the other processors perform the node expansions. This decomposition result in a dynamically load balanced system. A number of parameters are changed to study their impact on the execution time. The use of a branch …

A User Interface To A True 3-D Display Device, Bruce A. Hobbs

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis describes an interactive interface to a true three dimensional, real-dm dynamic graphic display, the TI Omniview™. The system generates true 3-D images of volumetric data and objects. The TI Omniview is a cylindrical volumetric laser display that uses a rotating double-helix translucent disk to fill the display cylinder. Voxels are illuminated on the 2-D surface. The rotational speed of the disk allows the viewer to fuse the 2-D images into a true 3-D image. The interface provides the user with a quick and flexible means of manipulating the image generated, the sub-volume displayed, and the resulting 3-D image. …

Creating And Manipulating Formalized Software Architectures To Support A Domain-Oriented Application Composition System, Cynthia G. Anderson

Theses and Dissertations

This research investigated technology which enables sophisticated users to specify, generate, and maintain application software in domain-oriented terms. To realize this new technology, a development environment, called Architect, was designed and implemented. Using canonical formal specifications of domain objects, Architect rapidly composes these specifications into a software application and executes a prototype of that application as a means to demonstrate its correctness before any programming language specific code is generated. Architect depends upon the existence of a formal object base (or domain model) which was investigated by another student in related research. The research described in this thesis relied on …

The Effect Of An Adaptive Optical System's Spatio-Temporal Response On Imaging Performance, Patrick M. Harrington

Theses and Dissertations

Ideally, an adaptive optical control system would have instantaneous temporal response and infinite spatial bandwidth. In real systems, the response time of the adaptive optical control system is limited by the integration time of the wave front sensor, the computational time of the control algorithm, and the actuator response time. Additionally, finite inter actuator spacing limits the deformable mirror's ability to reproduce spatial frequencies having a period less than twice this spacing. Although analyses general enough to account for both the temporal and spatial characteristics of the adaptive optical system exist, they are complex and require detailed information regarding the …

Automated Logistics Information Systems: A Case Study, James E. Hogue

Theses and Dissertations

A change within the Air Force has shifted management responsibilities within the logistics community. Formerly diverse functions have come under the purview of a single manager-the Logistics Group Commander-who has inherited information systems that may riot be able to provide consolidated information for informed and accurate decision making. The purpose of this thesis was to describe the current and potential ability for three logistics information management systems to share data: Standard Base Supply System, Consolidated Aircraft Management System, and On-Line Vehicle Information Management System. A systems model was synthesized from the literature review to determine what components of a system …

The Adaptation Of The Sei's Capability Maturity Model To The Air Force Software Acquisition Management Process, William G. Dickerhoff Jr., William J. Sommers

Theses and Dissertations

This study develops an Air Force Software Acquisition Maturity Framework (SAMF) by adapting the Software Engineering Institute's (SEI) capability Maturity Model (CMM) to the Air Force software acquisition process. The SAMFs purpose is to provide the Air Force Materiel Command's product centers and program off ices with criterion to assess their software acquisition maturity in a similar fashion as the SEI's CMM provides companies a benchmark to measure their organization's software production maturity. The research was accomplished through a combination of information gathering techniques and data analysis. A literature search of documentation, both within and external to the Department of …

Efficient Derivation And Approximations Of Cepstral Coefficients For Speech Coding, Kimberly A. Limcangco

Theses and Dissertations

A new formulation is presented for the calculation of cepstral coefficients directly from measured sine wave amplitudes and frequencies of speech waveforms. Approximations to these cepstral coefficients are shown to be suitable for operation in a real-time speech coding environment. These results were encoded in the C programming language and then evaluated through experiments that were conducted on the McAulay-Quatieri Sinusoidal Transform Coder (STC).

Ada Implementation Of An Object Data Repository, Stephen P. Perucca

Theses and Dissertations

The many benefits of object-oriented software development such as encapsulation and extendibility have inspired numerous models of the object- oriented paradigm. Rumbaugh's Object Modeling Technique (OMT) is an object- oriented model that uses three submodels. The object, dynamic, and functional submodels of the OMT describe the data, behavioral, and processing aspects of a system by using entity-relationship, state-transition, and data flow models. Cross-links relate how the three submodels tie together. Two metamodels (models of models) of the OMT are developed using the OMT methodology and notation. The essential data elements of the OMT are abstracted into a data metamodel, and …

A Synthetic Environment Flight Simulator: The Afit Virtual Cockpit, John C. Switzer

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis describes the design and implementation of a part of the Virtual Cockpit: a synthetic environment, distributed network flight simulator. The goal of the project was to prove the concept that this type of flight simulator could fill the gap between high-end, very expensive flight simulators and low-end game quality flight simulators. Discussed are: object-oriented design techniques, multi-processor utilization, the flight dynamics model, synthetic environment technology, the frame-rate vs. realism issue, and the interfaces to a realistic joystick and throttle.

Design Recovery For Software Library Population, Chester A. Wright Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis research investigated design recovery as a means of populating a reuse library. The targeted library was part of the Automatic Programming Technologies for Avionics Systems (APTAS). APTAS uses a knowledge base of forms, to present questions to a user, and rules, to select the forms to present and choose existing library modules to use in composing a new system. The approach applied the reengineering model developed by Eric Byrne to accomplish planning for the project, expanded the renovation phase of this model to cover the actual design recovery, and applied the expanded model to populating the library. Using …

Laser Phase Front Measurements Using A Phase Conjugate Twyman-Green Interferometer, William J. Mandeville

Theses and Dissertations

This study demonstrated the use of a phase conjugate TwymanGreen interferometer for measuring the phase fronts of beams emitted by infrared diode lasers operating at 830 nm. This interferometer successfully measured the phase front of a single element diode laser, providing better resolution than its conventional counterpart. The phase conjugate mirror compensated for aberrations introduced by imperfect optics in the phase conjugating arm of the interferometer. This interferometer was unable to measure the phase front of a diode array due to the array's inability to create a phase conjugate return. The array's short coherence length is believed to be the …

Collisional Detachment Of Anions Using Fourier Transform Mass Spectrometry, Kevin B. Riehl

Theses and Dissertations

Fourier Transform Mass Spectrometry (FTMS) is used to make energy resolved ion-neutral reaction measurements at high translational energies (up to several hundred eV). The technique is demonstrated for collisional detachment of anions, and should be easily applied to other inelastic reactions. Collisional detachment cross sections of iodine anions onto gas phase targets of neon, xenon, and trifluoromethyl iodide are measured for 1-300 eV (lab frame). Peak detachment cross sections are roughly 2, 8.5, and 7 Ų, respectively. Ion kinetic measurements show the iodine anion is unreactive in trifluoromethyl iodide at thermal energies. Positive ion chemistry is consistent with …

A Vhdl Interpreter For Model-Based Diagnoses, David R. Griffin

Theses and Dissertations

Model-based reasoning permits diagnostic applications to be written without waiting for someone to become an 'expert' of the system. For model-based diagnostics, there must be a model to reason from. This thesis explores using a VHDL description of the system as that model. A system based around a VHDL interpreter was written specifically for a model-based diagnostic algorithm. Currently, the diagnostic system uses an algorithm by Dries. This algorithm was derived from Scarl's Full Consistency Algorithm. The system was designed to be modular so that different diagnostic techniques could be implemented. It is divided into three parts: a VHDL parser, …

Generalization And Parallelization Of Messy Genetic Algorithms And Communication In Parallel Genetic Algorithms, Laurence D. Merkle

Theses and Dissertations

Genetic algorithms (GA) are highly parallelizable, robust semi- optimization algorithms of polynomial complexity. The most commonly implemented GAs are 'simple' GAs (SGAs). Reproduction, crossover, and mutation operate on solution populations. Deceptive and GA-hard problems are provably difficult for simple GAs. Messy GAs (MGA) are designed to overcome these limitations. The MGA is generalized to solve permutation type optimization problems. Its performance is compared to another MGA's, an SGA's, and a permutation SGA's. Against a fully deceptive problem the generalized MGA (GMGA) consistently performs better than the simple GA. Against an NP-complete permutation problem, the GMGA performs better than the other …

Real Image Visual Display System, James R. Brandt

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis investigates a technique for improving the perception of three-dimensionality in images generated by a Silicon Graphics workstation. The technique involves using a spherical mirror into which the graphics from the CRT are projected. A real image of the graphic is formed by the mirror and it appears to be floating at the image plane. The three-dimensional effect is improved by adding reflections or shadows of the displayed object. Additionally, a method of using real objects with computer generated shadows and computer generated objects with real shadows is investigated. This is done in an effort to quantify how far …

A Critical Examination Of The Use Of Preliminary Tests In Two-Sample Tests Of Location, Kimberly Tucker Perry

Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation was to explore the appropriateness of testing the equality of two means using either a t test, the Welch test, or the Mann-Whitney-Wilcoxon test for two independent samples based on the results of using two classes of preliminary tests. One class of preliminary tests determines whether the population variances differ, and the other class ascertains if the underlying distributions are symmetric or skewed. The F-ratio test and the Levene test (using the median) were compared as preliminary tests for variance homogeneity; and the DAgostino Sy and the Triples tests were also compared as preliminary tests …

Multivariate Quadrature On Mimd Machines With Shared Or Distributed Memory, Ignatios E. Vakalis

Dissertations

For a procedure as numerical integration, of high computational expense which is used extensively in large-scale computations, it is natural to aim at the design of algorithms which can be used on parallel computes. This work deeds with the design of efficient and portable parallel algorithms on MIMD (Multiple Instruction Multiple Data) architectures with shared memory, and on distributed memory systems.

A parallel global adaptive algorithm is presented for multivariate integration over simplex type regions. Process synchronization is achieved through the use of monitors. Macros were developed, for managing the task pool with a heap data structure. Layered over the …

Optimal Control Of The Starfire Beam Director, Troy V. Lanier

Theses and Dissertations

The Starfire Beam Director (SBD) is located at the Starfire Optical Range at Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The SBD capabilities include tracking celestial objects and active or passive tracking of artificial satellites to support the Phillips Laboratory Ground Based Laser Acquisition, Tracking, and Pointing (GBL ATP) program. The pointing and tracking accuracy needed to support such experiments is micron rad to sub-grad level. To accomplish this goal requires precise pointing of the massive 6 ton 1 -meter clear aperture coelostat. The purpose of this thesis is to use optimal control design techniques to develop a controller …

Spatial Partitioning Of A Battlefield Parallel Discrete-Event Simulation, Kenneth C. Bergman

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis describes a method for spatially partitioning a battlefield into units known as sectors to achieve speedup two ways: through the reduction of each battlefield object's next event search space, and lowering the amount of message-passing required. Each sector is responsible for tracking and controlling access to all objects within its boundaries. A distributed proximity detection algorithm employing boundary-crossing events is used to control player movement between sectors. Each object's state information is replicated in all sectors it has sensor capability for the minimum time required; -this ensures that each object's next event is properly determined based upon interactions …

Formalization And Transformation Of Informal Analysis Models Into Executive Refine™ Specifications, Mary M. Boom, Bradley D. Mallare

Theses and Dissertations

This research developed and implemented an automated technique for translating informal specifications into formal, executable specifications. A unified Abstract Model (UAM) was developed to combine the information contained in Entity Relationship, State Transition, and Data Flow Models into a concise, object-based representation. The UAM forms the basis for defining a formal language, the Object Modeling Language (OML), used to capture the information contained in the UAM. By using OML, we were able to develop an automated translation process to convert informal specifications into executable, formal specifications. The Software Refinery Development Environment enabled us to easily develop a parser that translates …

Examining A Layered Approach To Function And Design Representation For Reusable Software Components, Paul D. Siebels

Theses and Dissertations

This effort examined ways to improve the effectiveness of reusable software libraries. The main area of investigation was in improving the user interface by finding better ways to present the software components to potential re-users. The first aspect which was considered was finding an effective representation for reusable software components. A set of criteria was developed for evaluating the effectiveness of software representations. The criteria consisted of generality, expressiveness, understandability, consistency, and resolution. The second aspect which was considered was how to present the software component information to the user to facilitate finding the appropriate component for reuse. A representation …