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At least 199 records · Page 11
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2014

Lower hybrid current drive and ion cyclotron range of frequencies heating experiments in H-mode plasmas in Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokomak

An ion cyclotron range of frequencies (ICRF) system with power up to 6.0 MW and a lower hybrid current drive (LHCD) system up to 4 MW have been applied for heating and current drive experiments in Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokomak (EAST). Significant progress has been made with ICRF heating and LHCD for realizing the H-mode plasma operation in EAST. During 2010 and 2012 experimental campaigns, ICRF heating experiments were carried out at the fixed frequency of 27MHz, achieving effective ions and electrons heating with the H minority heating (H-MH) mode. The H-MH mode produced good plasma performance, and realized H-mode using ICRF power alone in 2012. In 2010, H-modes were generated and sustained by LHCD alone, where lithium coating and gas puffing near the mouth of the LH launcher were applied to improve the LHCD power coupling and penetration into the core plasmas of H-modes. In 2012, the combination of LHCD and ICRH power extended the H-mode duration up to over 30 s. H-modes with various types of edge localized modes (ELMs) have been achieved with H{sub IPB98}(y, 2) ranging from 0.7 to over unity. A brief overview of LHCD and ICRF Heating experiment and their application in achieving H-mode operation during these two campaigns will be presented.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2020

Validation of high-fidelity ion cyclotron range of frequencies antenna coupling simulations in full 3D geometry against experiments in the ASDEX Upgrade tokamak

We address the validation of finite elements ion cyclotron range of frequencies (ICRF) antenna coupling simulation against experiments performed in the ASDEX Upgrade tokamak. Measurements of the loading resistance in ICRF-heated, magnetically-perturbed 3D plasma discharges are compared against numerical predictions of the RAPLICASOL code. To this end, the 3D induction field and the 3D density profile are modeled by concatenating the PARVMEC, BMW and EMC3-EIRENE codes. The 3D density is input to RAPLICASOL, where full-wave simulations are performed on a finite element mesh retaining full 3D geometry in the ICRF antenna model and the plasma description. The results are further compared with RAPLICASOL simulations using a 1D density profile as measured at the outboard midplane in the same experiments. We find that simulations using a 1D density profile overestimate the change in loading resistance by a factor of ~197 -248%, while simulations using the full 3D density profile are in agreement with experiments within a factor ~16%.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
NASA NTRS2011

All-Solid-State 2.45-to-2.78-THz Source

Sources in the THz range are required in order for NASA to implement heterodyne instruments in this frequency range. The source that has been demonstrated here will be used for an instrument on the SOFIA platform as well as for upcoming astrophysics missions. There are currently no electronic sources in the 2 3- THz frequency range. An electronically tunable compact source in this frequency range is needed for lab spectroscopy as well as for compact space-deployable heterodyne receivers. This solution for obtaining useful power levels in the 2 3- THz range is based on utilizing power-combined multiplier stages. Utilizing power combining, the input power can be distributed between different multiplier chips and then recombined after the frequency multiplication. A continuous wave (CW) coherent source covering 2.48 2.75 THz, with greater than 10 percent instantaneous and tuning bandwidth, and having l 14 W of output power at room temperature, has been demonstrated. This source is based on a 91.8 101.8-GHz synthesizer followed by a power amplifier and three cascaded frequency triplers. It demonstrates that purely electronic solid-state sources can generate a useful amount of power in a region of the electromagnetic spectrum where lasers (solid-state or gas) were previously the only available coherent sources. The bandwidth, agility, and operability of this THz source has enabled wideband, high-resolution spectroscopic measurements of water, methanol, and carbon monoxide with a resolution and signal-to-noise ratio unmatched by other existing systems, providing new insight in the physics of these molecules. Further - more, the power and optical beam quality are high enough to observe the Lamb-dip effect in water. The source frequency has an absolute accuracy better than 1 part in 1012, and the spectrometer achieves sub-Doppler frequency resolution better than 1 part in 108. The harmonic purity is better than 25 dB. This source can serve as a local oscillator for a variety of heterodyne systems, and can be used as a method for precision control of more powerful but much less frequency-agile quantum mechanical terahertz sources.

Mehdi, Imran↗
DOE OSTI2014

Note: Efficient generation of optical sidebands at GHz with a high-power tapered amplifier

Two methods using a laser-diode tapered amplifier to produce high-power, high-efficiency optical frequency sidebands over a wide tunable frequency range are studied and compared. For a total output of 500 mW at 811 nm, 20% of the power can be placed in each of the first-order sidebands. Functionality and characterization are presented within the sideband frequency region of 0.8–2.3 GHz, and it is shown that both methods can be applied beyond this frequency range. These methods provide a versatile and effective tool for atomic physics experiments.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
NASA NTRS1998

Three-dimensional organization of otolith-ocular reflexes in rhesus monkeys. III. Responses To translation

The three-dimensional (3-D) properties of the translational vestibulo-ocular reflexes (translational VORs) during lateral and fore-aft oscillations in complete darkness were studied in rhesus monkeys at frequencies between 0.16 and 25 Hz. In addition, constant velocity off-vertical axis rotations extended the frequency range to 0.02 Hz. During lateral motion, horizontal responses were in phase with linear velocity in the frequency range of 2-10 Hz. At both lower and higher frequencies, phase lags were introduced. Torsional response phase changed more than 180 degrees in the tested frequency range such that torsional eye movements, which could be regarded as compensatory to "an apparent roll tilt" at the lowest frequencies, became anticompensatory at all frequencies above approximately 1 Hz. These results suggest two functionally different frequency bandwidths for the translational VORs. In the low-frequency spectrum (<<0.5 Hz), horizontal responses compensatory to translation are small and high-pass-filtered whereas torsional response sensitivity is relatively frequency independent. At higher frequencies however, both horizontal and torsional response sensitivity and phase exhibit a similar frequency dependence, suggesting a common role during head translation. During up-down motion, vertical responses were in phase with translational velocity at 3-5 Hz but phase leads progressively increased for lower frequencies (>90 degrees at frequencies <0.2 Hz). No consistent dependence on static head orientation was observed for the vertical response components during up-down motion and the horizontal and torsional response components during lateral translation. The frequency response characteristics of the translational VORs were fitted by "periphery/brain stem" functions that related the linear acceleration input, transduced by primary otolith afferents, to the velocity signals providing the input to the velocity-to-position neural integrator and the oculomotor plant. The lowest-order, best-fit periphery/brain stem model that approximated the frequency dependence of the data consisted of a second order transfer function with two alternating poles (at 0.4 and 7.2 Hz) and zeros (at 0.035 and 3.4 Hz). In addition to clearly differentiator dynamics at low frequencies (less than approximately 0.5 Hz), there was no frequency bandwidth where the periphery/brain stem function could be approximated by an integrator, as previously suggested. In this scheme, the oculomotor plant dynamics are assumed to perform the necessary high-frequency integration as required by the reflex. The detailed frequency dependence of the data could only be precisely described by higher order functions with nonminimum phase characteristics that preclude simple filtering of afferent inputs and might be suggestive of distributed spatiotemporal processing of otolith signals in the translational VORs.

Non-NASA Center↗
DOE OSTI2019

Resolving interactions between ion-cyclotron range of frequencies heating and the scrape-off layer plasma in EAST using divertor probes

Waves in the ion-cyclotron range of frequencies (ICRF) used for tokamak heating are known to interact strongly with the scrape-off layer (SOL) plasma, potentially limiting ICRF performance. We present the effect of ICRF heating on triple-probe signals in the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) experiment, an advanced superconducting tokamak with two ICRF antennas and 12 MW of ICRF source power in support of high-power and long-pulse operation. Applying time-resolved magnetic mapping to the divertor probe arrays enables detailed sensing of the spatial structure of the SOL modifications. We observe a sharp transition in floating potential from negative to positive over a length scale of a centimeter at a major radius just inboard of the ICRF antenna. The largest changes in floating potential are observed not for probes connecting to the active ICRF antennas but rather to the main limiter or limiters for inactive lower hybrid launchers. Ion saturation current can be greatly reduced for probes mapping just in front of an antenna. Where relevant, comparison with results from the National Spherical Torus Experiment are made. This work will provide insight into sputtering, impurity production and antenna coupling as higher ICRF power levels are attempted on EAST.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
NASA NTRS2022

Low Frequency ULF Waves in the Earth’s Inner Magnetosphere: Power Spectra During High Speed Streams and Quiet Solar Wind and Seeding of EMIC Waves

Here we extend the scope of the Gamayunov and Engebretson (2021, hereinafter Paper 1) work by analyzing the low frequency ultra-low-frequency (ULF) wave power spectra in the Earth’s inner magnetosphere during high speed stream (HSS) and quiet solar wind (QSW) driving conditions in the upstream solar wind (SW) and comparing our results to the results of Paper 1, where the statistics of ULF wave power spectra during coronal mass ejections (CMEs) are presented. The most important results of our statistical and comparative analyses are as follows. (a) During CMEs, HSSs, and QSW, the magnetic field power spectra of the transverse and compressional fluctuations are well approximated by power-laws in the ∼ mHz - Hz frequency range, where on average the parameters of power-law fits during CMEs and HSSs are close, and those during QSW differ considerably from the respective parameters during CMEs and HSSs. (b) The dominance of the average compressional power over the average transverse power for the low frequency ULF waves during the 0 < SYM/H . 25 nT geomagnetic conditions may serve as a proxy of HSSs in the upstream SW, whereas the opposite relation between the average powers is an indication of CMEs. (c) Independently of the SW driving conditions, a turbulent energy cascade from low frequencies in the ULF wave frequency range into the higher frequency range exists in the Earth’s inner magnetosphere, supplying the nonthermal electromagnetic seed fluctuations needed for the growth of electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) waves (∼ Hz) due to relaxation of unstable distributions of energetic magnetospheric ions.

Konstantin V. Gamayunov↗
DOE OSTI2013

Physics and technology in the ion-cyclotron range of frequency on Tore Supra and TITAN test facility: implication for ITER

To support the design of an ITER ion-cyclotron range of frequency heating (ICRH) system and to mitigate risks of operation in ITER, CEA has initiated an ambitious Research & Development program accompanied by experiments on Tore Supra or test-bed facility together with a significant modelling effort. The paper summarizes the recent results in the following areas: Comprehensive characterization (experiments and modelling) of a new Faraday screen concept tested on the Tore Supra antenna. A new model is developed for calculating the ICRH sheath rectification at the antenna vicinity. The model is applied to calculate the local heat flux on Tore Supra and ITER ICRH antennas. Full-wave modelling of ITER ICRH heating and current drive scenarios with the EVE code. With 20 MW of power, a current of 400 kA could be driven on axis in the DT scenario. Comparison between DT and DT(3He) scenario is given for heating and current drive efficiencies. First operation of CW test-bed facility, TITAN, designed for ITER ICRH components testing and could host up to a quarter of an ITER antenna. R&D of high permittivity materials to improve load of test facilities to better simulate ITER plasma antenna loading conditions.

Litaudon, X↗
DOE OSTI2016

Active laser ranging with frequency transfer using frequency comb

A comb-based active laser ranging scheme is proposed for enhanced distance resolution and a common time standard for the entire system. Three frequency combs with different repetition rates are used as light sources at the two ends where the distance is measured. Pulse positions are determined through asynchronous optical sampling and type II second harmonic generation. Results show that the system achieves a maximum residual of 379.6 nm and a standard deviation of 92.9 nm with 2000 averages over 23.6 m. Moreover, as for the frequency transfer, an atom clock and an adjustable signal generator, synchronized to the atom clock, are used as time standards for the two ends to appraise the frequency deviation introduced by the proposed system. The system achieves a residual fractional deviation of 1.3 × 10{sup −16} for 1 s, allowing precise frequency transfer between the two clocks at the two ends.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
NASA NTRS1993

Investigation of spectral analysis techniques for randomly sampled velocimetry data

It is well known that velocimetry (LV) generates individual realization velocity data that are randomly or unevenly sampled in time. Spectral analysis of such data to obtain the turbulence spectra, and hence turbulence scales information, requires special techniques. The 'slotting' technique of Mayo et al, also described by Roberts and Ajmani, and the 'Direct Transform' method of Gaster and Roberts are well known in the LV community. The slotting technique is faster than the direct transform method in computation. There are practical limitations, however, as to how a high frequency and accurate estimate can be made for a given mean sampling rate. These high frequency estimates are important in obtaining the microscale information of turbulence structure. It was found from previous studies that reliable spectral estimates can be made up to about the mean sampling frequency (mean data rate) or less. If the data were evenly samples, the frequency range would be half the sampling frequency (i.e. up to Nyquist frequency); otherwise, aliasing problem would occur. The mean data rate and the sample size (total number of points) basically limit the frequency range. Also, there are large variabilities or errors associated with the high frequency estimates from randomly sampled signals. Roberts and Ajmani proposed certain pre-filtering techniques to reduce these variabilities, but at the cost of low frequency estimates. The prefiltering acts as a high-pass filter. Further, Shapiro and Silverman showed theoretically that, for Poisson sampled signals, it is possible to obtain alias-free spectral estimates far beyond the mean sampling frequency. But the question is, how far? During his tenure under 1993 NASA-ASEE Summer Faculty Fellowship Program, the author investigated from his studies on the spectral analysis techniques for randomly sampled signals that the spectral estimates can be enhanced or improved up to about 4-5 times the mean sampling frequency by using a suitable prefiltering technique. But, this increased bandwidth comes at the cost of the lower frequency estimates. The studies further showed that large data sets of the order of 100,000 points, or more, high data rates, and Poisson sampling are very crucial for obtaining reliable spectral estimates from randomly sampled data, such as LV data. Some of the results of the current study are presented.

Sree, Dave↗
NASA NTRS2005

Correlation Between Low Frequency Auroral Kilometric Radiation (AKR) and Auroral Structures

Auroral Kilometric Radiation (AKR) is a radio wave emission that has long been associated with auroral activity. AKR is normally observed in the frequency range from -60 - 600 kHz. Low frequency AKR (or LF-AKR) events are characterized as a rapid extension of AKR related emissions to 30 kHz or lower in frequency for typically much less than 10 minutes. LF-AKR emissions predominantly occur within a frequency range of 20 kHz - 30 kHz, but there are LF-AKR related emissions that reach to a frequency of 5 kHz. This study correlates all instances of LF-AKR events during the first four years of observations from the IMAGE spacecraft's Radio Plasma Imager (WI) instrument with auroral observations from the wideband imaging camera (WIC) onboard IMAGE. The correlation between LF-AKR occurrence and WIC auroral observations shows that in the 295 confirmed cases of LF-AKR emissions, bifurcation of the aurora is seen in 74% of the cases. The bifurcation is seen in the dusk and midnight sectors of the auroral oval, where AKR is believed to be generated. The polarization of these LF-AKR emissions has yet to be identified. Although LF-AKR may not be the only phenomena correlated with bifurcated auroral structures, bifurcation will occur in most instances when LF-AKR is observed. The LF-AKR emissions may be an indicator of specific auroral processes sometimes occurring during storm-time conditions in which field-aligned density cavities extend a distance of perhaps 5-6 RE tailward from the Earth for a period of 10 minutes or less.

Paxamickas, Katherine A.↗
DOE OSTI2012

Ultra-wideband coaxial hybrid coupler for load resilient ion cyclotron range of frequency heating at fusion plasmas

We designed a high power and ultra-wideband two-section 3 dB coaxial hybrid coupler for load resilient ion cyclotron range of frequency heating by configuring asymmetric impedance matching using a three-dimensional simulation code, hfss. By adjusting the characteristic impedances of main and coupled lines of the hybrid coupler, we realized that the bandwidth of the proposed circuit is not only wider than that of a conventional three-section coupler, but also that the bandwidth is almost twice as wide compared to the conventional two-section hybrid coupler while maintaining the identical overall size.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2015

A new B-dot probe-based diagnostic for amplitude, polarization, and wavenumber measurements of ion cyclotron range-of frequency fields on ASDEX Upgrade

A new B-dot probe-based diagnostic has been installed on an ASDEX Upgrade tokamak to characterize ion cyclotron range-of frequency (ICRF) wave generation and interaction with magnetized plasma. The diagnostic consists of a field-aligned array of B-dot probes, oriented to measure fast and slow ICRF wave fields and their field-aligned wavenumber (k{sub //}) spectrum on the low field side of ASDEX Upgrade. A thorough description of the diagnostic and the supporting electronics is provided. In order to compare the measured dominant wavenumber of the local ICRF fields with the expected spectrum of the launched ICRF waves, in-air near-field measurements were performed on the newly installed 3-strap ICRF antenna to reconstruct the dominant launched toroidal wavenumbers (k{sub tor}). Measurements during a strap current phasing scan in tokamak discharges reveal an upshift in k{sub //} as strap phasing is moved away from the dipole configuration. This result is the opposite of the k{sub tor} trend expected from in-air near-field measurements; however, the near-field based reconstruction routine does not account for the effect of induced radiofrequency (RF) currents in the passive antenna structures. The measured exponential increase in the local ICRF wave field amplitude is in agreement with the upshifted k{sub //}, as strap phasing moves away from the dipole configuration. An examination of discharges heated with two ICRF antennas simultaneously reveals the existence of beat waves at 1 kHz, as expected from the difference of the two antennas’ operating frequencies. Beats are observed on both the fast and the slow wave probes suggesting that the two waves are coupled outside the active antennas. Although the new diagnostic shows consistent trends between the amplitude and the phase measurements in response to changes applied by the ICRF antennas, the disagreement with the in-air near-field measurements remains. An electromagnetic model is currently under development to address this issue.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2014

Direct torsional actuation of microcantilevers using magnetic excitation

Torsional mode dynamic force microscopy can be used for a wide range of studies including mapping lateral contact stiffness, torsional frequency or amplitude modulation imaging, and dynamic friction measurements of various materials. Piezo-actuation of the cantilever is commonly used, but it introduces spurious resonances, limiting the frequency range that can be sampled, and rendering the technique particularly difficult to apply in liquid medium where the cantilever oscillations are significantly damped. Here, we demonstrate a method that enables direct torsional actuation of cantilevers with high uniformity over wide frequency ranges by attaching a micrometer-scale magnetic bead on the back side of the cantilever. We show that when beads are magnetized along the width of the cantilever, efficient torsional actuation of the cantilevers can be achieved using a magnetic field produced from a solenoid placed underneath the sample. We demonstrate the capability of this technique by imaging atomic steps on graphite surfaces in tapping mode near the first torsional resonance of the cantilever in dodecane. The technique is also applied to map the variations in the lateral contact stiffness on the surface of graphite and polydiacetylene monolayers.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2015

Acoustic superlens using Helmholtz-resonator-based metamaterials

Acoustic superlens provides a way to overcome the diffraction limit with respect to the wavelength of the bulk wave in air. However, the operating frequency range of subwavelength imaging is quite narrow. Here, an acoustic superlens is designed using Helmholtz-resonator-based metamaterials to broaden the bandwidth of super-resolution. An experiment is carried out to verify subwavelength imaging of double slits, the imaging of which can be well resolved in the frequency range from 570 to 650 Hz. Different from previous works based on the Fabry-Pérot resonance, the corresponding mechanism of subwavelength imaging is the Fano resonance, and the strong coupling between the neighbouring Helmholtz resonators separated at the subwavelength interval leads to the enhanced sound transmission over a relatively wide frequency range.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
NASA NTRS1997

Frequency Response Calculations of Input Characteristics of Cavity-Backed Aperture Antennas Using AWE with Hybrid FEM/MoM Technique

Application of Asymptotic Waveform Evaluation (AWE) is presented in conjunction with a hybrid Finite Element Method (FEM)/Method of Moments (MoM) technique to calculate the input characteristics of cavity-backed aperture antennas over a frequency range. The hybrid FEM/MoM technique is used to form an integro-partial-differential equation to compute the electric field distribution of the cavity-backed aperture antenna. The electric field, thus obtained, is expanded in a Taylor series around the frequency of interest. The coefficients of 'Taylor series (called 'moments') are obtained using the frequency derivatives of the integro-partial-differential Equation formed by the hybrid FEM/MoM technique. Using the moments, the electric field in the cavity is obtained over a frequency range. Using the electric field at different frequencies, the input characteristics of the antenna are obtained over a wide frequency band. Numerical results for an open coaxial line, probe fed cavity, and cavity-backed microstrip patch antennas are presented. Good agreement between AWE and the exact solution over the frequency range is observed.

Reddy, C. J.↗
NASA NTRS1998

Application of Model Based Parameter Estimation for Fast Frequency Response Calculations of Input Characteristics of Cavity-Backed Aperture Antennas Using Hybrid FEM/MoM Technique

Model Based Parameter Estimation (MBPE) is presented in conjunction with the hybrid Finite Element Method (FEM)/Method of Moments (MoM) technique for fast computation of the input characteristics of cavity-backed aperture antennas over a frequency range. The hybrid FENI/MoM technique is used to form an integro-partial- differential equation to compute the electric field distribution of a cavity-backed aperture antenna. In MBPE, the electric field is expanded in a rational function of two polynomials. The coefficients of the rational function are obtained using the frequency derivatives of the integro-partial-differential equation formed by the hybrid FEM/ MoM technique. Using the rational function approximation, the electric field is obtained over a frequency range. Using the electric field at different frequencies, the input characteristics of the antenna are obtained over a wide frequency range. Numerical results for an open coaxial line, probe-fed coaxial cavity and cavity-backed microstrip patch antennas are presented. Good agreement between MBPE and the solutions over individual frequencies is observed.

Reddy C. J.↗
NASA NTRS2012

670-GHz Down- and Up-Converting HEMT-Based Mixers

A large category of scientific investigation takes advantage of the interactions of signals in the frequency range from 300 to 1,000 GHz and higher. This includes astronomy and atmospheric science, where spectral observations in this frequency range give information about molecular abundances, pressures, and temperatures of small-sized molecules such as water. Additionally, there is a minimum in the atmospheric absorption at around 670 GHz that makes this frequency useful for terrestrial imaging, radar, and possibly communications purposes. This is because 670 GHz is a good compromise for imaging and radar applications between spatial resolution (for a given antenna size) that favors higher frequencies, and atmospheric losses that favor lower frequencies. A similar trade-off applies to communications link budgets: higher frequencies allow smaller antennas, but incur a higher loss. All of these applications usually require converting the RF (radio frequency) signal at 670 GHz to a lower IF (intermediate frequency) for processing. Further, transmitting for communication and radar generally requires up-conversion from IF to the RF. The current state-of-the-art device for performing the frequency conversion is based on Schottky diode mixers for both up and down conversion in this frequency range for room-temperature operation. Devices that can operate at room temperature are generally required for terrestrial, military, and planetary applications that cannot tolerate the mass, bulk, and power consumption of cryogenic cooling. The technology has recently advanced to the point that amplifiers in the region up to nearly 1,000 GHz are feasible. Almost all of these have been based on indium phosphide pseudomorphic high-electron mobility transistors (pHEMTs), in the form of monolithic microwave integrated circuits (MMICs). Since the processing of HEMT amplifiers is quite differ en t from that of Schottky diodes, use of Schottky mixers requires separate MMICs for the mixers and amplifiers. Fabrication of all the down-/up-conversion circuitry on single MMICs, using a ll-HEMT circuits, would constitute a major advance in circuit simplicity.

Schlecht, Enrich T.↗