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Articles 69421 - 69450 of 77630

Full-Text Articles in Engineering

A Synthetic Environment Flight Simulator: The Afit Virtual Cockpit, John C. Switzer Dec 1992

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.

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Methods For Viewing Radar Cross Section Data In Three Dimensions, David J. Tisdale Dec 1992

Methods For Viewing Radar Cross Section Data In Three Dimensions, David J. Tisdale

Theses and Dissertations

Radar Cross Section data is an important factor in the design of modern fighter and bomber aircraft. Minimization of the reflected radar energy is one of the key issues when choosing shapes and materials in new aircraft. Visualization of the energy scattered back to a radar is neither intuitive nor easy. The mission planner and pilot need to gain an understanding of the vulnerabilities inherent in the design of the systems they use. The advent of relatively low cost graphics workstations has made their use affordable in applications inconceivable only a few short years ago. This thesis examines three graphics …

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Development Of A Protocol Usage Guideline For Conservative Parallel Simulations, Prescott J. Van Horn Dec 1992

Development Of A Protocol Usage Guideline For Conservative Parallel Simulations, Prescott J. Van Horn

Theses and Dissertations

The objective of distributed simulation is to speedup simulation execution by partitioning the simulation processing load over multiple processors, This thesis reviews current synchronization protocol methods for distributed simulations, and proposes guidelines for obtaining optimal conservative simulation partitionings using empirical evidence. An analysis is performed using three protocol variations of the Chandy-Misra HULL message algorithm, two using a pending message blocking strategy, and the other using a safetime blocking strategy. A fourth protocol evaluated is based on the SRADS algorithm proposed by Reynolds. The analysis involves a study of all possible 2 and 4 node configurations, for three queuing simulations, …

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Scientific Visualization Of Volumetric Radar Cross Section Data, Thomas G. Wojszynski Dec 1992

Scientific Visualization Of Volumetric Radar Cross Section Data, Thomas G. Wojszynski

Theses and Dissertations

For aircraft design and mission planning, designers, threat analysts, mission planners, and pilots require a Radar Cross Section (RCS) central tendency with its associated distribution about a specified aspect and its relation to a known threat, Historically, RCS data sets have been statically analyzed to evaluate a d profile. However, Scientific Visualization, the application of computer graphics techniques to produce pictures of complex physical phenomena. appears to be a more promising tool to interpret this data. This work describes data reduction techniques and a surface rendering algorithm to construct and display a complex polyhedron from adjacent contours of RCS data. …

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Formalizing, Validating, And Verifying Real-Time System Requirements With Reacto And Vhdl, Frank C. Young Dec 1992

Formalizing, Validating, And Verifying Real-Time System Requirements With Reacto And Vhdl, Frank C. Young

Theses and Dissertations

We develop a methodology for formalizing, verifying, and validating the requirements specification of real-time systems based on a graphical and formal hierarchical Finite State Machine (FSM) language Reacto. We define a means to quantify time and express real-time constraints in Reacto and a transformation from Reacto to the Very High Speed Integrated Circuit (VHSIC) hardware Description Language (VHDL). Reacto's high level abstractions, graphical nature, and theorem prover produce efficient, accurate, and easily understood specifications. We use VHDL's event driven simulation capability, concurrency, and temporal operators to thoroughly examine temporal dependencies between the state machine transitions, and to increase simulation power …

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Theory And Implementation Of Wavelet Analyses In Rational Resolution Decompositions, Bruce P. Anderson Dec 1992

Theory And Implementation Of Wavelet Analyses In Rational Resolution Decompositions, Bruce P. Anderson

Theses and Dissertations

The multiresolution analysis (MRA) developed by Mallat and Meyer and further discussed by Daubechies is a useful tool in the analysis of sampled signals such as images and speech. This thesis develops the theory and implementation of a rational-resolution analysis (RRA) as an extension of the dyadic MRA for arbitrary rational dilation factors. We present a method to calculate families of compactly-supported scaling functions and wavelets based on arbitrary integer dilation factors and provide examples. The perfect- reconstruction properties of the RRA are discussed and it is demonstrated that the compactly-supported scaling functions and wavelets do not yield perfect- reconstruction. …

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Design And Characterization Of Optically Pumped Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Lasers, Richard J. Bagnell Dec 1992

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 …

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An Investigation Of Structural Locality In The Memory Referencing Behavior Of Computer Programs, Michael E. Bletzinger Dec 1992

An Investigation Of Structural Locality In The Memory Referencing Behavior Of Computer Programs, Michael E. Bletzinger

Theses and Dissertations

The nature of structural locality as defined by same stack distance access is investigated in this thesis. The question is whether structural locality can be characterized as an inherent type of behavior. The results revealed that structural locality is strongly influenced by a program's design and phase of execution. Entropy measurements revealed that the predictiveness of structural locality is also influenced by program design. A Markov model was refined to capture the characteristics of structural locality that were measured. Trace synthesis demonstrated some success in reproducing same stack distance run distributions when the model had enough states to encompass the …

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Automated Control Of Aircraft In Formation Flight, Louis E. Buzogany Dec 1992

Automated Control Of Aircraft In Formation Flight, Louis E. Buzogany

Theses and Dissertations

In this study, an automated formation control system for an aircraft formation comprised of one lead and multiple wing aircraft is analyzed. Second- order models of the C-130 aircraft are developed in order to accurately model the flying qualities of large aircraft. This automated formation control system is capable of controlling the C-130 aircraft in maneuvering formation flight, thus reducing the wing's pilot workload. During formation flight, the wing aircraft continuously measures the lead aircraft's relative position with an ideal on-board position sensor. This information, in addition to Proportional Plus Integral feedback control, is used to maintain the aircraft in …

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Cepstral And Auditory Model Features For Speaker Recognition, John M. Colombi Dec 1992

Cepstral And Auditory Model Features For Speaker Recognition, John M. Colombi

Theses and Dissertations

The TIMIT and KING databases, as well as a ten day AFIT speaker corpus, are used to compare proven spectral processing techniques to an auditory neural representation for speaker identification. The feature sets compared were Linear Predictive Coding (LPC) cepstral coefficients and auditory nerve firing rates using the Payton model. This auditory model provides for the mechanisms found in the human middle and inner auditory periphery as well as neural transduction. Clustering algorithms were used to generate speaker specific codebooks - one statistically based and the other a neural approach. These algorithms are the Linde-Buzo-Gray (LBG) algorithm and a Kohonen …

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Kalman Filter Tracking Of A Ballistic Missile Using Forward Looking Infrared Measurements And Doppler Returns, Michael L. Ching Dec 1992

Kalman Filter Tracking Of A Ballistic Missile Using Forward Looking Infrared Measurements And Doppler Returns, Michael L. Ching

Theses and Dissertations

The Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) has been involved in developing Kalman Filter trackers for airborne targets for the last 14 years. The goal of this particular thesis was to track a ballistic missile in the boost phase at ranges up to 2000 km, in order to control a high energy laser weapon designed to destroy the target The filter developed combined an existing 'FLIR' filter, which estimated location of the plume intensity centroid based on measurements from a forward looking infrared sensor (FLIR), and an existing center-of-mass filter, which estimated the offset between the plume and missile center-of-mass …

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Satcom General Purpose Modem Dscs Iii Sct Beacon Telemetry Display, James D. Coppola Dec 1992

Satcom General Purpose Modem Dscs Iii Sct Beacon Telemetry Display, James D. Coppola

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis documents the design and implementation of a DSCS III single Channel Transponder (SCT) beacon telemetry display. The system is a personal computer based design which interfaces to three SCT beacon receiver/demodulators. The software was designed to decode and display both the DSCS III A and DSCS HI B satellite beacons. Recordings of the SCT beacon display can be made on paper and/or magnetic media when triggered by the user, a watchdog timer, or the SCT command accept telemetry bit. In addition, the system can be configured with an IRIG B Universal Time Coordinates (UTC) card which enables the …

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An Analytical And Experimental Investigation Of Fm-By-Noise Jamming, Charles J. Daly Dec 1992

An Analytical And Experimental Investigation Of Fm-By-Noise Jamming, Charles J. Daly

Theses and Dissertations

Among the jamming waveforms used in Electronic Warfare, FM-by-noise is the least understood, and no exhaustive analytical and experimental investigation of the subject exists. This investigation presents a thorough review, consolidation, and elucidation of the theory of FM-by-noise. To explain and predict the behavior of FM-by-noise at RF and IF, three useful ratios, namely the deviation-to-victim ratio, the noise-to-victim ratio, and the sweep- to-victim ratio, are developed. To complement the theory, results of FM-by-noise jamming experiments conducted using commercial test and measurement equipment are presented. Specifically, the time- and frequency-domain behavior of FM-by- noise at RF and IF is studied …

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High Range Resolution Radar Target Identification Using The Prony Model And Hidden Markov Models, Mark R. Dewitt Dec 1992

High Range Resolution Radar Target Identification Using The Prony Model And Hidden Markov Models, Mark R. Dewitt

Theses and Dissertations

Fully polarized Xpatch signatures are transformed to two left circularly polarized signals. These two signals are then filtered by a linear FM pulse compression ('chirp') transfer function, corrupted by AWGN, and filtered by a filter matched to the 'chirp' transfer function. The bandwidth of the 'chirp' radar is about 750 MHz. Range profile feature extraction is performed using the TLS Prony Model parameter estimation technique developed at Ohio State University. Using the Prony Model, each scattering center is described by a polarization ellipse, relative energy, frequency response, and range. This representation of the target is vector quantized using a K-means …

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Failure Identification Using Multiple Model Adaptive Estimation For The Lambda Flight Vehicle, Peter D. Hanlon Dec 1992

Failure Identification Using Multiple Model Adaptive Estimation For The Lambda Flight Vehicle, Peter D. Hanlon

Theses and Dissertations

This study develops and investigates the performance of a Multiple Model Adaptive Estimator (MMAE) to detect and identify control surface and sensor failures on the LAMBDA flight vehicle (a URV developed by Wright Laboratories). The MMAE uses a bank of Kalman filters that predict the aircraft response to a given input, with each filter model based on a different failure hypothesis, and then forms the residual difference between the prediction and sensor measurements for each filter. The MMAE uses these residuals to determine the probabilities of the failures that are modeled by the Kalman filters. Initially the MMAE identified all …

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Analysis And Simulation Of Modified Tanlock And Delay Lock Loops For Gps Receiver Design, James A. Hird Dec 1992

Analysis And Simulation Of Modified Tanlock And Delay Lock Loops For Gps Receiver Design, James A. Hird

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this thesis is to investigate two types of tracking loops used in Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver design. The first loop, the Delay Lock Loop (DLL), is a code tracking loop used to synchronize a locally generated pseudo-noise (PN) sequence with the PN sequence in the GPS satellite broadcast. Synchronization of the PN sequences is essential for de-spreading the direct-sequence spread spectrum (DS/SS) broadcast and demodulating the transmitted data. The second loop, the Modified Tanlock Loop (MTLL), is a carrier tracking loop used to synchronize the phase of a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) with the carrier of …

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Remote Sensing Of Turbulence And Transverse Atmospheric Wind Profiles Using Optical Reference Sources, Steven C. Koeffler Dec 1992

Remote Sensing Of Turbulence And Transverse Atmospheric Wind Profiles Using Optical Reference Sources, Steven C. Koeffler

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines a remote sensing technique for measuring the atmospheric structure constant and the transverse atmospheric wind velocity as a function of altitude by performing temporal and spatial correlations of band pass filtered wave front slope sensor measurements. Two point sources are used to illuminate two pairs-of cc>-located wave front slope sensors. The sources and sensors are arranged to give rise to crossed optical paths. For each pair of wave front slope sensors, the output of the larger sensor is subtracted from the output of the smaller sensor. This band pass filters the smaller sensor's output. The filtered …

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Face Recognition With Neural Networks, Dennis L. Krepp Dec 1992

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 …

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Computer Simulation Of A General Purpose Satellite Modem, William L. Montgomery Jr. Dec 1992

Computer Simulation Of A General Purpose Satellite Modem, William L. Montgomery Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to model and simulate the performance of a digital phase shift keyed satellite modem. The probability of bit error (P sub b) at different levels of energy per bit to noise power ratio (E sub b/N sub o) was the performance measure. The channel was assumed to contribute only additive white Gaussian noise. A second order Costas loop performs demodulation in the modem and was the key part of the simulation. The Costas loop with second order Butterworth arm filters was tested by finding the response to a phase or frequency step. The Costas …

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Digital Signal Processing Using Lapped Transforms With Variable Parameter Windows And Orthonormal Bases, Brian D. Raduenz Dec 1992

Digital Signal Processing Using Lapped Transforms With Variable Parameter Windows And Orthonormal Bases, Brian D. Raduenz

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis develops and evaluates a number of new concepts and tools for the analysis of signals using variable overlapped windows and orthonormal bases. Windowing, often employed as a spectral estimation technique, can result in irreparable distortions in the transformed signal. By placing conditions on the window and incorporating it into the orthonormal representation, any signal distortion resulting from the transformation can be eliminated or cancelled in reconstruction. This concept is critical to the theory underpinning this thesis. As part of this evaluation, a tensor product based general N-point fast Fourier transform algorithm was implemented in the DOD standard language, …

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Radar Cross Section Models For Limited Aspect Angle Windows, Mark C. Robinson Dec 1992

Radar Cross Section Models For Limited Aspect Angle Windows, Mark C. Robinson

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis presents a method for building Radar Cross Section (RCS) models of aircraft based on static data taken from limited aspect angle windows. These models statistically characterize static RCS. This is done to show that a limited number of samples can be used to effectively characterize static aircraft RCS. The optimum models are determined by performing both a Kolmogorov and a Chi-Square goodness-of-fit test comparing the static RCS data with a variety of probability density functions (pdf) that are known to be effective at approximating the static RCS of aircraft. The optimum parameter estimator is also determined by the …

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Automated Face Recognition System, Kenneth R. Runyon Dec 1992

Automated Face Recognition System, Kenneth R. Runyon

Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis three variations of an end-to-end face recognition prototype system are developed, implemented and tested. Each version includes real-time image collection, automated segmentation, preprocessing, feature extraction, and classification. The first version uses a Karhunen Loeve Transform (KLT) feature extractor and a K-nearest neighbor classifier. Version two uses the same feature set but utilizes a multilayer perception neural network with a back propagation learning rule. Finally the third version uses a Discrete Cosine Transform as the feature extractor and the K-nearest neighbor as the classifier. Only the KLT versions of the system were tested. The tests were based on …

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Enhancement Of Audio Localization Cue Synthesis By Adding Environmental And Visual Cues, Eric L. Scarborough Dec 1992

Enhancement Of Audio Localization Cue Synthesis By Adding Environmental And Visual Cues, Eric L. Scarborough

Theses and Dissertations

An audio localization cue synthesizer, the DIRectional Audio Display (DIRAD) was used to simulate auditory distance, room reflections, and to provide spatial audio for computer graphics images. The DIRAD processes input audio signals to generate spatially located sounds for headphone listening. The DIRAD can position audio sources around the head and these sounds are stable with respect to the listener's head position. An interactive, real-time simulation of auditory distance and room reflections was accomplished using the DIRAD in combination with a Silicon Graphics audio processor board installed in a Personal Iris 4D/35. Several demonstrations of auditory distance and the effects …

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Acquisition Of Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum Signals Using Digital Signal Processing Techniques, Ronald E. Schmitz Dec 1992

Acquisition Of Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum Signals Using Digital Signal Processing Techniques, Ronald E. Schmitz

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis investigates the use of digital signal processing (DSP) techniques to achieve initial synchronization with Global Positioning System (GPS) Pseudo-Noise (PN) signals. Synchronization with the transmitted PN signal is essential to the despreading of the transmitted Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum (DS/SS) signals and decoding of the transmitted satellite data. The use of DSP methods to decrease the time required to achieve initial synchronization is investigated. This thesis proposes an initial acquisition section of the GPS receiver and derives the equations to show the method is mathematically feasible. Computer simulations of the proposed receiver using received signals corrupted by Doppler …

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Detection Of Spoofing, Jamming, Or Failure Of A Global Positioning System (Gps), Juan R. Vasquez Dec 1992

Detection Of Spoofing, Jamming, Or Failure Of A Global Positioning System (Gps), Juan R. Vasquez

Theses and Dissertations

The Air Force has equipped its aircraft with avionic systems such as Global Positioning System (GPS) and Inertial Guidance Systems (INS) capable of providing accurate navigation solutions. The aircrews flying these aircraft require a system that can either survive the hostile environments encountered in combat or notify the aircrew that their performance has been significantly degraded. This research focuses on failure detection and isolation techniques using an extended Kalman filter and generalized likelihood ratios using matched filters. Analysis is conducted using a Kalman filter development package known as the Multimode Simulation for Optimal Filter Evaluation (MSOFE). Both a large order …

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Real Image Visual Display System, James R. Brandt Dec 1992

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 …

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The Effect Of An Adaptive Optical System's Spatio-Temporal Response On Imaging Performance, Patrick M. Harrington Dec 1992

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 …

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Object Tracking Through Adaptive Correlation, Dennis A. Montera Dec 1992

Object Tracking Through Adaptive Correlation, Dennis A. Montera

Theses and Dissertations

This paper discusses the use of a correlation based system to track, an object through a series of images based on templates derived from previous image frames. The ability to track is extended to sequences which include multiple objects of interest within the field of view. This is accomplishes by comparing the height and shape of the template autocorrelation to the peaks in the correlation of the template with the next scene. The result is to identify the region in the next scene which best matches the designated target. In addition to correlation plane postprocessing, an adaptive window is used …

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Phase Conjugation In Optical Fiber Via Stimulated Brillouin Scattering With Feedback From A Barium Titanate Crystal, Patrick R. Emmert Dec 1992

Phase Conjugation In Optical Fiber Via Stimulated Brillouin Scattering With Feedback From A Barium Titanate Crystal, Patrick R. Emmert

Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this thesis was to obtain phase conjugation in multi-mode optical fiber via stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) with the aid of a barium titanate crystal which formed a phase conjugate cavity for the Stokes beam. SBS was demonstrated but the SBS threshold was unaffected by the presence of the barium titanate crystal and no evidence for the presence of phase conjugation in the optical fiber was obtained.

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Processability Of Polythiophene Thin Films By Ultraviolet Photo Bleaching, Derek D. Fletcher Dec 1992

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

Theses and Dissertations

Materials possessing strong ��(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 …

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