NASA SBIR 2012 Solicitation

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/Zip, Phone)
Southwest Sciences, Inc.
1570 Pacheco Street, Suite E-11
Santa Fe, NM 87505 - 3993
(505) 984-1322

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/Zip, Phone)
David Christian Hovde
dchovde@swsciences.com
6837 MAIN ST
CINCINNATI, OH 45244 - 3470
(513) 272-1323

CORPORATE/BUSINESS OFFICIAL (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/Zip, Phone)
Alan C Stanton
astanton@swsciences.com
1570 Pacheco Street, Suite E-11
Santa Fe, NM 87505 - 3993
(505) 984-1322

Estimated Technology Readiness Level (TRL) at beginning and end of contract:
Begin: 1
End: 3

Technology Available (TAV) Subtopics
Particles and Field Sensors and Instrument Enabling Technologies is a Technology Available (TAV) subtopic that includes NASA Intellectual Property (IP). Do you plan to use the NASA IP under the award?
No

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (Limit 2000 characters, approximately 200 words)
This Phase I research project will investigate a novel method of operating an atomic magnetometer to simultaneously measure total magnetic fields and vector magnetic fields. Magnetometry has provided critical scientific information throughout the history of space exploration. The ideal magnetic sensor for space applications would be one which shares the advantages of the fluxgate (vector precision, robust operation) with the precision and absolute accuracy of the atomic magnetometer. Our approach will result in an all-optical vector magnetometer (AOVM) that can be calibrated from the fundamental quantum properties of the atoms. Stable calibration is essential if magnetic dynamics are to be inferred by flying different missions to the same planet separated by decades. The sensor and electronics will be small and lightweight and operate from a few Watts of electrical power.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS (Limit 1500 characters, approximately 150 words)
The successful completion of the project through Phase II will result in a compact, rugged instrument for measuring vector and scalar magnetic fields in the 0-100 �T range. The primary customer for such a sensor for space borne applications is NASA and its subcontractors for Earth and planetary science missions. Vector magnetometers are also used aboard high altitude balloons as a back-up to differential GPS for pointing telescopes and other scientific payloads. The small size and weight would be a good match for such platforms, as the magnetometer would not interfere with the science package.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS (Limit 1500 characters, approximately 150 words)
The instrument will be of use to the Navy for anti-submarine applications and the Army for detecting hidden tanks, reinforced bunkers, etc, as the large steel content of these targets generates a magnetic signature on top of the Earth's field. The civilian market for magnetometers includes applications in oil and mineral exploration, mining, buried object detection, and the recovery of objects lost at sea.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING (NASA's technology taxonomy has been developed by the SBIR-STTR program to disseminate awareness of proposed and awarded R/R&D in the agency. It is a listing of over 100 technologies, sorted into broad categories, of interest to NASA.)

Electromagnetic Lasers (Measuring/Sensing)