Magnetic Shield Using Proximity Coupled Spatially Varying Superconducting Order Parameters

The low-profile sensor is configured with a spiral electrical trace on flexible substrate. In typical inductor designs, the space between traces is designed to minimize parasitic conductance to reduce the impact of the capacitance to neighboring electronics. In the low-profile sensor, however, greater capacitance is desired to allow the operation of an inductor-capacitor circuit. This allows the traces to be closer together, decreasing the overall size of the spiral trace. The sensor receives a signal from the accompanying magnetic field data acquisition system. Once electrically active, the sensor produces its own harmonic magnetic field as the inductor stores and releases magnetic energy. The antenna of the measurement acquisition system is switched from a transmitting to a receiving mode to acquire the magnetic-field response of the sensor. The magnetic-field response attributes of frequency, amplitude, and bandwidth of the inductor correspond to the physical property states measured by the sensor. The received response is correlated to calibration data to determine the physical property measurement. When multiple sensors are inductively coupled, the data acquisition system needs to activate and read only one sensor to obtain measurement data from all of them.

The SansEC sensor system consists of multiple pairs of inductor-capacitor sensors with no electrical connections, which are placed throughout the material being monitored for damage. The sensors are embedded in or placed directly onto the surface of the material. Strains and breaks are detected by changes in resonant frequency read by the accompanying magnetic field data acquisition system. When pulsed by a sequence of magnetic field harmonics from the acquisition system, the sensors become electrically active and emit a wireless response. The magnetic field response attributes of frequency, amplitude, and bandwidth of the inductor correspond to the physical property states measured by the sensor. The received response is correlated to calibration data to determine the physical property measurement. Because each sensor pair has its own frequency response, when damage occurs to that circuit the frequency response changes. This change identifies the damage location within the material. A unique feature achieved by eliminating electrical connections is that damage to a single point will not prevent the sensor from being powered or interrogated. If a sensor is broken, two concentric inductively coupled sensors are created, thus identifying tamper or damage location.

The difference between Layered Energy Depletion Radiation Shielding (LEDRS) and Stacked Energy Depletion Radiation Shielding (SEDRS) is how the piece of matter, or shield, is analyzed as radiation passes through the matter. SEDRS involves using a defined and ordered stack of layers of shielding with different material properties such that the thickness and chemical properties of each material maximizes the absorption of energy from the radiation particles that are most damaging to the target. The SEDRS shielding method aims to provide the maximum level of energy absorption while still keeping shielding mass and volume low. The process of LEDRS involves using layers of shielding material such that the thickness of each material is designed to absorb the maximum amount of energy from the radiation particles that are most damaging to the target after subsequent layers of shielding. The more energy is absorbed by the shielding material, the less energy will be deposited in the target minimizing the required mass to achieve a resulting lower dose for a given geometrical feature. The LEDRS shielding method aims to provide the maximum level of energy absorption. The process for designing LEDRS views potential radiation shields as a cascade of effects from each shielding layer to the next and is helpful for investigating the particular effects of each layer. SEDRS and LEDRS can improve any technology that relies on the controlled manipulation of a radiation field by interaction with a material element.

This technology is a flexible, lighter weight radiation shield made from hybrid carbon/metal fabric and based on the Z-grading method of layering metal materials of differing atomic numbers to provide radiation protection for protons, electrons, and x-rays. To create this material, a high density metal is plasma spray-coated to carbon fiber. Another metal with less density is then plasma spray-coated, followed by another, and so on, until the material with the appropriate shielding properties is formed. Resins can be added to the material to provide structural adhesion, reducing the need for mechanical bonding. This material is amenable to molding and could be used to build custom radiation shielding to protect cabling and electronics in situations where traditional metal shielding is difficult to place.

The technology presents a fundamental change in the way electrical devices are designed, using an open circuit in conjunction with a floating electrode, or an electrically conductive object not connected to anything by wires, and powered through a wireless device. This system uses inductor-capacitor thin-film open circuit technology. It consists of a uniquely designed, electrically conductive geometric pattern that stores energy in both electric and magnetic fields, along with a floating electrode in proximity to the open circuit. When wirelessly pulsed from the handheld data acquisition system (U.S. Patent Number 7,159,774, Magnetic Field Response Measurement Acquisition System), the system becomes electrically active and develops a capacitance between the two circuit surfaces. The result is a device that acts as a parallel plate capacitor without electrical connections.