Ultra-Wide Bandwidth, Nanomembrane-Based Pressure Transducers for Entry, Descent, and Landing Applications

This NASA Phase II SBIR program would develop ultra-wide bandwidth, nanomembrane based pressure transducers for entry, descent and landing applications, using silicon-on-insulator nanomembrane techniques in combination with nanocomposite materials. The team has developed a wide bandwidth pressure transducer with a bandwidth from DC to 5MHz and has demonstrated these transducers in subsonic, transonic and hypersonic wind tunnels and shock tubes in both university and government facilities. Through this NASA program, the team will develop an improved mechanical and electrical model of semiconductor nanomembrane based sensor performance that will allow quantitative optimization of material properties and suggest optimal methods for sensor packaging and use for in-situ entry, descent and landing applications. The team will fabricate hermetically sealed sensors and internal electronics using optimized materials. Support electronics will be developed to acquire, multiplex, store and process raw sensor array data needed for near real-time entry, decent and landing aerostructure control. The team will also investigate how this normal pressure sensing technology could be extended to create shear stress sensors for entry, descent and landing applications.