Volume 9, Number 5 • September/October 2001 • Moving Forward

Technology Opportunity Showcasehighlights some unique technologies that NASA has developed and which we believe have strong potential for commercial application. While the descriptions provided here are brief, they should provide enough information to communicate the potential applications of the technology.or more detailed information, contact the person listed. Please mention that you read about it in Innovation

MEMS Packaging Techniques

NASA Glenn Research Center’s Manufacturing Engineering Division has developed micromachining and microfabrication techniques that can be applied to Micro-Electro-Mechanical (MEMS) packaging, and is seeking commercial partners to explore traditional micromachining techniques and equipment to apply this research to MEMS packaging technology. The difficulties involved with commercializing MEMS technology have been described as being 90 percent packaging and 10 percent chip design (Madou). Miniature MEMS housings, wire passages and slots that use traditional machining processes (drilling, milling and machining), along with electric discharge machining, can enhance design capabilities for MEMS packaging. The processes involved with this technique are already developed and proven, and have little environmental impact. In addition, a wide variety of metals, composites and plastics can be machined. This traditional machining approach is not to be confused with electromechanical micromachining. Traditional micromachining refers to the mechanical removal of material by conventional machining methods—only on a much smaller scale. With precision equipment and specialized processes developed at Glenn, a hole can be mechanically drilled as small as 0.0005 inches. Traditional micromachining techniques can also produce mirrored surfaces from aluminum by utilizing a high-precision, air-bearing lathe. This machine can hold tolerances to the millionth-of-an-inch range. The quality of the finished cut is so precise that no polishing is necessary. Q

For more information, contact Casey Blaze at Glenn Research Center, 216/433-2119 or Casey.Blaze@GRC.NASA.Gov Please mention you read about it in Innovation.

Low-Cost, Passive Light Exposure Monitor

NASA Marshall Space Flight Center is seeking qualified partners to license and manufacture a low-cost, Passive Light Exposure Monitor (PLEM). The PLEM represents a breakthrough for users of large and expensive light exposure equipment. The invention is: handheld—smaller than current light exposure equipment; passive—requires no batteries, power supply or communication link; inexpensive—costs only $70 in small prototype quantities; accurate—compared favorably to expensive meters in NASA’s space experiments; flexible—can be engineered for various wavelengths and exposure times; and reusable—can be reset with accompanying equipment.

PLEM can be designed for specific wavelengths of light and for varying amounts of total exposure. This flexibility, along with the low cost, makes a variety of applications possible. The device can be used to monitor sun exposure tests for consumer products, materials and chemicals; material tests in space; ultraviolet (UV) applications, including curing processes and electronics data erasing; light output over time from solar simulators; and sunlight over a large area. Versions can also be easily configured for month- or year-long sun exposure readings for climate studies and UV-only monitoring for studying ozone layer depletion.

PLEM offers dramatic improvements in cost and size over existing equipment. It requires no batteries, external power source or communications link to operate, and it can accurately measure total light exposure over a wide range of wavelengths and exposure magnitudes. A small visual indicator, intended only for rough resolution exposure readings, shows the amount of total light exposure that has occurred.

To derive a more resolved and accurate reading of total light exposure, users can post-process the device with a standard companion tool of moderate cost. Then the exposure reading will be as accurate as larger, more expensive exposure monitors. The post-processing operation also resets the device for reuse, if reuse is desired. As an alternative to reusing the PLEM, its low cost allows it to be simply discarded.

Four prototypes of the PLEM were tested on NASA’s Passive Optical Sample Assembly (POSA I and POSA II). Light exposure monitors were used in testing new Space Station materials for the degrading effects of solar exposure in space. Post-processed PLEM readings were compared to readings from the highly accurate exposure monitors. It was determined that the devices had accurately recorded total integrated light exposure. Q

For more information, contact Sammy Nabors at Marshall Space Flight Center, 256/544-5226 or Sammy.Nabors@msfc.nasa.gov Please mention you read about it in Innovation.