MIT Lincoln Laboratory: Publications: Lab Notes

Lab Notes

Lab Notes are brief, nontechnical descriptions of some of Lincoln Laboratory's most intriguing engineering innovations and their potential impact.

All Versus All Conjunctions › Weaving through a minefield of objects in Earth orbit is getting more difficult.
Nanowire Single-Photon Detector Arrays › Detect a billion photons per second with low noise and high efficiency.
Runway Status Lights › Protecting aircraft when they are most vulnerable—during takeoff and landing.
Ultrasensitive Two-Dimensional Photodetection › What information can be associated with the detection of a single photon?

Looking Back

The TX-2 Computer and Sketchpad › Early computer technology at Lincoln Laboratory led to computer graphics and the functionality of your touchpad

A Bright Idea › Simple tweaks turn tiny diode lasers into powerhouses.
Let a Robot Do the Work › They're not automatons, but these robots map, track, and locate things for you.
Uncoiling DNA Analysis › Rapid DNA-fingerprinting method would identify biological organisms in the field.
A Route to Energy Savings › Predictive control of plug-in hybrid vehicles will analyze your route to work and optimize battery and gas usage.
Vision Correction › Two projects should help astronomers see further across the universe.

Looking Back

Wideband Radar › Lincoln Laboratory reseaerchers built the world's first long-range wideband radar and launched a new era in defense radar and satellite imaging capability.

Foul-Weather Friend › The Corridor Integrated Weather System now covers the continental U.S., expanding air traffic planners' and airline dispatchers' view of the nation's weather.
Going Beyond Limits › New lens lets microscopes peer at smaller objects.
Early-Warning Chemical Sensors Pass an Indoor Test › A relatively cheap sensor system can detect indoor chemical weapons attacks.
A Fast Switch › Work on a high-speed optical switch could provide one component for future communications networks.
Dialect Detectives › Systems that distinguish among variants in spoken language could enhance automated machine translation.
Radio Wave of the Future › Modeling of communications protocols helps the military design next-generation software-defined radios.

Looking Back

Space Needles › Project West Ford proved that survivable communications were possible.

Auto-mation › A robotic car bedecked with Lincoln Laboratory sensors takes on DARPA's Urban Challenge.
"Nano-urchins" Could Save Soldiers' Eyes › Novel materials darken quickly when hit by intense light, such as from a stray laser beam.
Cruising the Energy Bands › New kind of atomic probe could be boon for quantum computing.
Standing Guard › Protecting process control systems: Q&A with Robert Cunningham.
Looking for a Reaction › A new DNA amplification method is better, faster, and cheaper than traditional tests.
A Big Eye Sees Small Things › An upgrade to the Millstone radar antenna will ensure uninterrupted tracking of the ever more crowded geosynchronous orbit.
Plugging the Right Holes › NetSPA software maps computer networks to find paths most vulnerable to hacking.
Untangling the Friendly Skies › Computer recommendations could clear up some weather-caused airline delays.
Good Vibrations › A different take on terahertz radiation can measure moving motors or beating hearts.
Threat Detection › Cheap sensors plus mesh networking could yield an effective alarm system for biological and chemical attacks.
Order from Chaos › Human factors engineering adds value to complex systems by making them seem simple to the user.

Looking Back

Conceiving Collision Avoidance › Lincoln Laboratory proved that unfeasible was not the same as impossible.

Pump on a Chip › A microfluidic lab-on-a-chip moves tiny volumes of fluids around on a silicon chip without the use of external pumps and valves.
Small Packages › A new way to squeeze compound semiconductors onto silicon chips promises smaller, more efficient microelectronics.
Power to Go › Integrating a thermovoltaic device with a butane-fueled combustor yields an efficient source of portable power to challenge batteries.
A Little Light Work › Getting silicon to respond to light could usher in a new era of integrated optical devices.
No More Babel? › An algorithm that accounts for parts of speech lowers a key barrier to real-time language translation.
Detector Avoids Speed Traps › Photodiodes sensitive around 1.9 micrometers could sense biological and chemical agents.
Shadowy Work › Arrays of telescopes figure out what satellites are doing by looking at their silhouettes.

Looking Back

Saving a Satellite › Forty years ago, a Lincoln Laboratory team spent agonizing hours waiting for a pioneering UHF communications satellite to wake up.

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