← Back to NASA Technology Projects
Surface Micromachined Arrays of Transition-Edge Detectors, Phase I
Completed
Description
An innovative surface micromachining technique is described for the fabrication of closely-packed arrays of transition edge sensor (TES) x-ray microcalorimeters. This technique enables individual TES microcalorimeters to be suspended on a thin membrane for thermal isolation from the bath temperature. The TES detectors are fabricated from normal metal/superconductor bilayers with a transition temperature of around 0.1 K. The proposed surface micromachining technique will simplify the fabrication of closely-packed TES microcalorimeter arrays, which are needed for numerous applications in astronomical x-ray spectroscopy.
Details
| Technology area | Sensors and Instruments > Remote Sensing Instruments and Sensors > Detectors and Focal Planes |
| Program | Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Tech Transfer (SBIR/STTR) |
| Lead organization | Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD |
| Start date | 2004-01-16 |
| End date | 2004-07-19 |
Project contacts
Listed on TechPort itself — the most direct way to ask about this specific project.
How to get involved
This is a mature technology (TRL 7+) — the realistic path in is usually NASA's Technology Transfer Program: licensing an existing NASA patent, or a Space Act Agreement to use NASA facilities/expertise directly. NASA also runs a startup licensing program with no upfront fee for companies formed to commercialize a specific NASA technology.
None of these are guaranteed paths for this specific project — TechPort itself doesn't have an "apply" button. Reaching out to the contact(s) above with a specific question is usually the fastest way to find out what's actually open.