This novel invention relates to a portable, pneumatically -controlled instrument capable of generating a vacuum (less than 10 Torr), calibrating volumes, and performing quantitative leak tests, all without the use of A/C power. This means testing will not be disrupted when working in sensitive or hazardous environments (e.g., flammable or...
Featured Opportunities
Microsystems Enabled Photovoltaics (MEPV)
Revolutionary micro-solar technology utilizes glitter-sized photovoltaic cells to change how we generate and use solar power. The significantly reduced size and 100 times less silicon used, allows for increased versatility of photovoltaic applications. Traditional solar cells are 6” square wafers which restricts location, performance, and manufacturing. Other unique factors to...
Low Cost TiO2 Nanoparticles
TEM image of TiO2 nanoparticles taken at 50KX magnification demonstrates discrete and stable end product. Current methods of producing titanium dioxide nanoparticles require costly surfactants and/or high temperature and pressure processing. Processing under these conditions results in nanoparticles with extremely wide particle size distributions and significant particle agglomeration. These problems...
Digital Communication
Many communication systems employ multi-channels that transmit and receive a common signal. In these systems, the common signal is combined at thereceiver to achieve maximum channel capacity. During the combining of such signals the delay and phase parameters are estimated based on a convolution decoding operation and are removed from...
Tunable Surface Plasmon Infrared Modulator
There is a need for improved active infrared optical elements such as modulators. Extraordinary optical transmission (EOT) through subwavelength apertures allows for tailored filtering based on plasmon resonance. Until now EOT devices have not fully achieved the need for variable attenuation capabilities. Sandia has developed an EOT device with a...
Powder Dispersion System
A powder dispersion system that outputs up to 60 grams per syringe and achieves dispersion rates of at least 170 mg per minute Research and development settings sometimes require large-scale powder dispersion for experimental purposes. The best existing commercially available aerosol powder dispersion devices are small-scale powder disperser, fluidized bed...
Microscale Immune and Cell Analysis (MICA)
Researchers at Sandia National Laboratories have created a sophisticated, integrated platform for single-cell manipulation and interrogation. Called Microscale Immune and Cell Analysis (MICA), this platform represents a revolutionary breakthrough in biological research. MICA offers experimenters the ability to understand cell behavior at the molecular and cellular levels with unprecedented speed,...
Vibrational Energy Converters
Summary Inexhaustible, miniature electrical power supplies offer the means to power battery-free microelectronic systems, or at a minimum provide a recharging capability to reduce battery size and extend their lifetimes. In particular, the unattended operation of remote microelectronic sensors and communication systems stand to benefit from inexhaustible miniature power technologies....
Startup Design Features for Supercritical Power Conversion Systems
Sandia National Laboratories has created solutions to startup flow issues in supercritical conversion systems. The Supercritical Brayton Cycle is a power conversion system that is undergoing extensive testing and advancements at Sandia Labs. The brayton cycle system has the ability to achieve higher efficiency and more cost effect power conversion...
pH Adjustment of Power Plant Cooling Water with Flue Gas/ Fly Ash
Increased recycling of power plant cooling water calls for low-cost means of preventing the formation of calcium carbonate and silicate scale.Hardness (Ca and Mg) and silica are two of the primary water components that must be selectively precipitated or maintained in solution for intensive water recycling to be achieved.Sandia researchers...
Fluid Interface Position Optical Sensor
Sandia National Laboratories has developed a continuously monitoring fluid interface optical sensor.The method of determining the liquid level through a single immersed optical wave guide allows for a simple and mobile solution to fluid monitoring systems.Current technologies use monitored floating devices and require mechanical or magnetic coupling, which can pose...
Direct Detector for Terahertz Radiation
A direct detector that is a depletion mode field-effect transistor built from heterostructures and consisting of electrical contacts and a grating-gate There has been much interest expressed in terahertz technology due to the diverse range of applications that it applies to. However, the terahertz components have been known to perform...
Polymer Membrane Separators for Fuel Cells
Versatile polymer membrane separator technologies with improved long-term stability, performance in high temperatures, and suitability for acidic and alkaline environments Fuel cells are hailed as clean, quiet, and efficient technologies with great promise for electric vehicle applications. To date, water-based acidic polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) have been widely...
Diffraction: Enhanced Light Absorption of Solar Cells and Photodetectors
The solar and photovoltaic industry has grown steadily over the last several years.In order to maintain these growth rates, the processes and methods need to be continuously improved.Sandia National Laboratories has created a method for enhanced light absorption of solar cells and photodetectors in a narrowband or wideband spectral absorption....
The µChemLab™ Bio Detector
Sandia's chemical analysis system can rapidly detect and analyze toxic agents such as bacteria, viruses, and protozoa Sandia National Laboratories has developed a compact, hand-held detection system that places the capability of a fully functional chemistry laboratory at the fingertips of a trained field operator. The µChemLabTM was designed, demonstrated,...
SpinDx™: Point-of-Care Diagnostics Using Centrifugal Microfluidics
Researchers at Sandia National Laboratories have developed an innovative technique for conducting simultaneous multiplexed immunoassays and white blood cell counts from a single finger prick of whole blood with less than 15 minutes total sample-to-answer time. The technique is based on centrifugal microfluidics, or “lab-on-a-disk’ technology, which uses centrifugal forces...
Rapid Automated Point-of-Care System (RapiDx)
The Rapid, Automated Point-of-Care System (RapiDx) developed by Sandia National Laboratories is a portable diagnostic instrument. RapiDx quickly measures--with high sensitivity--disease and toxin biomarkers in human biological samples (e.g., blood, saliva, urine) so that patient ailments can be quickly diagnosed and treated. RapiDx is an ideal instrument for point-of-care diagnostics...
Miniature High-Voltage Power Supply and Miniature High-Voltage Controller
Many microfluidics systems use electrokinetic (EK) pumping of fluid. These applications generally require high voltage at a low current. Sandia has developed two custom power supply designs with miniaturization, modularity, and scalability in mind. Each supply version is available in a variety of voltage ranges and polarities, with some ranges...
Microfluidic Polymer Valves
In a technological breakthrough, Sandia researchers have developed polymer microvalves to allow fluids to be shuttled as easily in microfluidic chips as they are on a laboratory benchtop. The valves are photopatterned, cast-to-shape microscale polymer elements that can be used to isolate electric fields, and, as a consequence, locally isolate...
Hyperspectral Imaging and Multivariate Curve Resolution
Researchers at Sandia have designed and constructed a hyperspectral confocal fluorescence microscope. Hyperspectral microscopes image hundreds of spectral wavelengths when obtaining spectral images. Included in the hyperspectral imaging system are software programs for controlling the microscope and its data collection, as well as spectral image viewing software for viewing both...
Dual-Etalon Frequency-Comb Spectrometer
Absorption spectroscopy is the most quantitative and straightforward means of measuring the concentration and temperature of a species having a known spectrum. The primary criteria associated with using absorption spectroscopy, as an everyday tool for identifying environmental contaminates, are that large spectral bandwidths with good resolution are needed and high...
Gas Diffusion Electrodes for Fuel Cells
Direct methanol fuel cells have an advantage over hydrogen fuel cells because the liquid methanol has high energy density and is easily transportable. However, one of the challenges with this process has been the large amount of methanol that crosses over from the cathode side of the membrane electrode assembly....
The Sandia Cooler
Sandia researchers have developed a radically new architecture for air-cooled heat exchangers In conventional “fan-plus-finned-heat-sink” air-cooled heat exchangers, the primary physical limitation to performance (i.e. achieving low thermal resistance) is the boundary layer of motionless air that adheres to and envelops all surfaces of the heat exchanger. Within this boundary...
Miniaturized Mass Spectrometer
Sandia has developed an improved quadrupole mass spectrometer (QMS). The improvement lies in the substitution of the conventional hot flament electron source with a cold cathode field emitter array (FEA), which in turn, allows the operations of a small QMS at much higher internal pressures then are currently achievable. By...
Non-Invasive Energy Meter
Sandia has developed an energy monitoring device that measures energy from liquid flow systems (e.g., solar systems) using a simple technique that senses when the system is running and then estimates the BTU energy production. Current energy meters must be installed into the system to measure how much energy the...
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