SBIR phase i: Improved Magneto-Optical Imaging Films Employing Surface Plasmon Resonance

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to demonstrate the feasibility of utilizing surface plasma resonance phenomena to obtain significant improvements in magneto-optical imaging. Improved sensors and systems are needed for non-destructive, non-contact testing and evaluation (NDE) in many areas, including security, structural, medical, research and industrial manufacturing and quality control applications. Magnetic detectors and imagers play a major and growing role in these applications. In Phase I, the research objectives include improvements in spatial and magnetic field resolutions and imaging bandwidth over existing methods. Magneto-optical materials quality and sensor design will be improved. Prototype sensors measuring 1cm2 will be fabricated by combining surface plasma structures with materials exhibiting high Verdet constants. The compositional, magnetic and optical properties of the starting sensor materials will be measured, and the magnetic imaging capabilities of the prototype sensor structures will be evaluated in terms of magnetic field and spatial resolution. Imaging tests will be made on electrical current patterns, magnetic inks, magnetostrictive structural composites and magnetic medical cell-tagging particles, among others. Commercial applications include magnetic character reading, magnetic code reading for security, superconductor research, spin valve and magnetic RAM research and manufacturing, integrated circuit electrical current imaging, structural composite stress imaging using magnetic and magnetostrictive materials, flaw detection in metals, biomedical tagging and identification of cancer and other cells, and research and testing of MEMs actuators and devices.