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International

Joint Optoelectronic Project Marks Three Years of Success

The first report cards are in for the U.S.-Japan Joint Optoelectronic Project (known as the JOP), and the grades on both sides of the Pacific are straight A’s. The U.S.-Japanese collaborative effort expedites the design and development of advanced computing technologies that integrate optical, optoelectronic and electronic components. A recent seminar pronounced the project’s performance since 1996 as “a working model for international research collaborations in competitive, high-technology areas.”

The JOP operates through two brokers funded by Japan’s Real World Computing Partnership. The American broker is selected and managed by a committee with representatives from the Departments of Commerce (NIST), Defense (the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency), Energy and State, and the National Science Foundation. This broker and its Japanese counterpart link designers of advanced computer systems dependent on optoelectronic devices and modules with suppliers of such components in both countries. DARPA and NSF provided special funds to U.S. users to stimulate growth of the JOP. Fifty-four domestic and international transactions were completed in the past three years, prompting comments from U.S. academic, industry and government users that:

  • many of their R&D experiments would have been impossible without JOP-brokered state-of-the-art devices (such as tunable lasers, array waveguides and modulators);

  • JOP-supplied devices helped augment and accelerate ongoing research programs funded by the DARPA, NSF and other federal organizations;

  • a few JOP-supplied devices were instrumental in developing and demonstrating concepts with near-term commercial potential;

  • the JOP encouraged advanced research by providing access to leading-edge devices not commercially available; and

  • the JOP brokers successfully streamlined the connections between users and suppliers; helped overcome cultural differences between the U.S. and Japanese research and business communities; and reduced legal barriers, paperwork and fulfillment time for device requests.

For more information on the JOP, contact Mansoor Saifi, Optoelectronics Industry Development Association, 2010 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Suite 200, Washington, D.C. 20036-1023; (202) 785-4426; msoida@osa.org; or check out the OIDA World Wide Web site at www.oida.org.

Media Contact:
Michael E. Newman, (301) 975-3025 Up

 

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MEP

Save Time, Dollars in Selecting New Manufacturing Technologies

Manufacturing Efficiency Decision Support (MEDS) is a new web-based tool that can help manufacturers, technical assistance providers and others quickly and easily compare and evaluate manufacturing technologies. The MEDS web site is at http://meds.mmtc.org.

MEDS provides users with information on the performance, cost, energy and environmental implications of more than 175 technologies in areas such as fabricated metals, plastics and electronics. Background information, economic and technical feasibility, case studies and vendor information are provided for each technology.

MEDS also allows users to conduct “what if” analyses by altering key variables, such as budget constraints. MEDS was developed by the Michigan Manufacturing Technology Center with funding from NIST’s Manufacturing Extension Partnership. NIST MEP is a nationwide network of non-profit centers serving small manufacturers in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.

Media Contact:
Jan Kosko, (301) 975-2767 Up

 

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Physics

Ionizing Radiation Council to Hold Eighth Annual Meeting at NIST

Radiation measurements and standards for medical applications, occupational radiation protection, public and environmental radiation protection, and industrial applications will be the focus of the eighth annual meeting of the Council on Ionizing Radiation Measurements and Standards to be held at NIST’s Gaithersburg, Md., headquarters on Oct. 13-15, 1999. A broad range of topics will be covered for each of these areas.

CIRMS serves as a forum for discussing ionizing radiation measurements and standards issues, for identifying new needs of the user communities and for disseminating information on standards. CIRMS brings together representatives from academic, industrial and government agencies involved in nearly every aspect of ionizing radiation.

The registration fee for the October meeting is $150.

For registration information, contact Lori Phillips Buckland, NIST, 100 Bureau Drive, Stop 3460, Gaithersburg, Md., 20899-3460; (301) 975-4513; fax: (301) 948-2067. For technical information, contact Bert Coursey, (301) 975-5584.

Media Contact:
Linda Joy, (301) 975-4403Up

 

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Optoelectronics

Standard Aids Mode-Field Diameter Measurement of Fibers

Optical fiber manufacturers and many others will want to get Standard Reference Material 2513, NIST’s new artifact for calibrating systems that use the direct far-field scanning method for measuring the mode-field diameter of a single-mode optical fiber at wavelengths of 1.31 micrometer and 1.55 micrometer.

The SRM is a short length of uncoated fiber in an aluminum housing, with the end of the fiber carefully cleaved so that scattering will be minimal. Each unit was measured individually and bears a serial number. The certified mode-field diameters at the two wavelengths were determined by the direct far-field method as specified by the Telecommunications Industry Association. The uncertainty at each wavelength is 0.030 micrometer. The SRM also includes a 3.5 inch floppy disk containing raw data for the measured power as a function of angle. These data may be useful for calculating the effective area of the fiber core as well.

To order SRM 2513, Mode-Field Diameter of Single-Mode Fiber, contact the Standard Reference Materials Program, NIST, 100 Bureau Drive, Stop 2322, Gaithersburg, Md. 20899-2322; (301) 975-6776, fax: (301) 948-3730, srminfo@nist.gov. Information on other optoelectronic SRMs is available on the World Wide Web at ts.nist.gov/srm by choosing the “catalog” selection and searching on “optoelectronics.” For technical information on SRM 2513, contact Timothy J. Drapela, NIST, MC 815.02, Boulder, Colo. 80303-3337; (303) 497-5858.

Media Contact:
Fred McGehan (Boulder), (303) 497-3246

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Standards

NIST Launches Conformity Assessment Web Site

A soup (canned, that is) to nuts directory of the hundreds of products, services and systems subject to federal certification requirements and procurement standards is one of many resources featured on a newly launched NIST web site (http://ts.nist.gov/ts/htdocs/210/gsig/assessment.htm) devoted to conformity-assessment issues, programs and procedures. The goal of the new site is to provide one-stop shopping for conformity assessment information.

The web site features the 1999 edition of NIST’s Directory of Federal Government Certification and Related Programs, a document summarizing requirements issued by the U.S. Departments of Agriculture and Transportation, the Federal Communications Commission, and 15 other departments and independent agencies. Entries describe the purpose of each requirement, whether it is mandatory or voluntary, and methods used to ensure compliance. Also listed are sources of documentation, reciprocity arrangements, enforcement approaches and other items. The directory covers a wide range of products and services, including such diverse items as drinking water, motor fuels, building products and communications satellites.

NIST developed the new web site in cooperation with the recently formed Conformity Assessment Network. CAN is a government and private-sector partnership created to improve businesses’ and consumers’ understanding of the various and sometimes confusing procedures used to assess the worthiness of products and services. Testing, sampling, inspection, certification and other conformity assessment methods are intended to verify that a particular product meets a specified level of quality or safety or to accomplish other aims. They also can influence market entry and business competitiveness.

For more information on the directory (NIST SP 739, 1999 edition), the new web site, or CAN, contact Maureen Breitenberg, NIST Global Standards Program, (301) 975-4031.

Media Contact:
Mark Bello, (301) 975-3776

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Electronics

Want to Know Everything About Printed Wiring Boards? Ask NIST!

Printed wiring boards (and substrates) are ubiquitous in radio-frequency and microwave equipment, and accurate knowledge of their dielectric and magnetic properties is essential to designing this equipment. As electrical components are miniaturized, the need for accurate low-loss dielectric measurements on thin materials becomes even more important.

NIST has published an overview of the entire topic of printed wiring board technology, including such features as descriptions of the materials employed and lamination geometries, tables of thermal properties, conductor conductivities, dielectric constants and loss tangents for many materials. Also included are the equations used to model and measure material properties and behavior. Ten different measurement methods are described in detail with diagrams of fixtures, charts and tables of results for many materials and geometries. An extensive bibliography also is included.

Dielectric and Magnetic Properties of Printed Wiring Boards and Other Substrate Materials (NIST Technical Note 1512) is available from Bill Riddle, NIST, MC 813.01, Boulder, Colo. 80303-3337; (303) 497-5752.

Media Contact:
Collier Smith (Boulder), (303) 497-3198Up

 

 

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Editor: Michael Newman
HTML conversion: Crissy Wines
Last updated: August 31, 1999

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