DEVELOPMENTS AT NIST Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have developed a number of new devices and methods involving a variety of technologies. In certain cases other parties have participated in the development of these technologies. NIST may enter into a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with interested parties to perform further research on the invention for purposes of commercialization. NIST may grant CRADA Partners an option to negotiate for exclusive licenses to any jointly owned inventions which arise from the CRADA as well as an option to negotiate for exclusive royalty-bearing licenses for NIST employee inventions which arise from the CRADA. Anyone interested in the further development of any of these should send a written request for further information, referencing the NIST Docket Number and Title, to: National Institute of Standards and Technology, Industrial Partnerships Program, Building 820, Room 213, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899; Telecopy: 301-869-2751. This is not an announcement of a contract action or grant. NIST DOCKET NUMBER: 97-042PA, Title: Spectrally-Enhanced, Double-Pass Superfluorescent Fiber Source, Description: The invention is a high-power, broadband source with a tailored spectrum. A combination of reflective Bragg gratings and wavelength-selective filters are added to the conventional SFS design. Instead of creating a double-pass device through the use of a mirror, the Bragg gratings are used as wavelength-selective reflectors that boost the output power within their reflectivity bandwidth. This new configuration of the SFS is an ideal source for many applications, including fiber optic gyroscopes, low-coherence interferometric fiber sensors, low-coherence optical reflectometry, and wavelength-selective component testing. The invention is available for commercial use without a license from NIST. WEB: NIST Contracts Homepage, http://www.nist.gov/admin/od/contract/contract.htm. E-MAIL: NIST Contracts Office, Contract@nist.gov. Posted 09/14/98 (W-SN249108).

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