All Fiber Gas Reference Cell

TIPD proposed to build a stable, robust, rugged, compact, fiber coupled gas reference cell (GRC) with tens of meters of interaction length that is required in atmospheric constituent and trace gas analysis sensors as well as LIDAR instruments in the near and shortwave infrared supporting NASA's future planetary science missions. Specifically, this proposal addresses the need for a water vapor reference cell that is required for differential absorption LIDAR (DIAL) systems for water sensing in 820nm and 940nm bands.

The TIPD's all fiber gas reference cell is directly applicable to future NASA goals in Earth and planetary science as well as missions requiring remote spectroscopic sensing of key atmospheric species at near and shortwave infrared wavelengths where robust, compact, and long interaction length reference gas cells are required. Specifically, our GRC could be used in water vapor, CO2, and CH4 DIAL systems.

One of the most promising markets for commercializing the GRC technology proposed by TIPD beyond direct NASA applications is in the area of molecular spectroscopy including biological sensing, quality control in manufacturing processes, and environmental sensing and monitoring.

This is early/mid-stage (TRL 4) — the most realistic path in is NASA SBIR/STTR, which funds small businesses and research institutions to develop technology aligned with NASA's needs (equity-free, phased funding). Check whether a current SBIR/STTR solicitation topic overlaps with this project's technology area, or contact the project directly (above) to ask.

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.