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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.
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Review of carbon implants developed by NASA discussed four different types of implants and subsequent improvements. Improvements could be of specific interest to rehabilitation centers and similar organizations.
Multiplexed biotelemetry system for animal research combines several power-saving features. Implantable sensor measures up to eight parameters simultaneously, including blood flow. Microamp transistors, switching circuits, and CMOS technology are used to lower power requirements. However, when blood flow is monitored, these measures are insufficient to reduce power enough for long-term operation from implantable primary battery.
Miniature ultrasonic echosonometer implanted within laboratory animals obtains energy from RF power oscillator that is electronically transduced via induction loop to power receiving loop located just under animal's skin. Method of powering device offers significant advantages over those in which battery is part of implanted package.
An electron bombardment ion thruster was used as an ion source to sputter the surfaces of orthopedic prosthetic metals. Scanning electron microscopy photomicrographs were made of each ion beam textured surface. The effect of ion texturing an implant surface on its bond to bone cement was investigated. A Co-Cr-W alloy and surgical stainless steel were used as representative hard tissue implant materials to determine effects of ion texturing on bulk mechanical properties. Work was done to determine the effect of substrate temperature on the development of an ion textured surface microstructure. Results indicate that the ultimate strength of the bulk materials is unchanged by ion texturing and that the microstructure will develop more rapidly if the substrate is heated prior to ion texturing.
A portable automatic fish tracking system was developed for monitoring the two dimensional movements of small fish within fixed areas of estuarine waters and lakes. By using the miniature pinger previously developed for this application, prototype tests of the system were conducted in the York River near the Virginia Institute of Marine Science with two underwater listening stations. Results from these tests showed that the tracking system could position the miniature pinger signals to within + or - 2.5 deg and + or - 135 m at ranges up to 2.5 km. The pingers were implanted in small fish and were successfully tracked at comparable ranges. No changes in either fish behavior or pinger performance were observed as a result of the implantation. Based on results from these prototype tests, it is concluded that the now commercially available system provides an effective approach to underwater tracking of small fish within a fixed area of interest.
Progress in the development of ion implanted silicon solar cells is reported. Effective back surface preparation by implantation, junction processing to achieve high open circuit voltages in low-resistivity cells, and radiation tolerance cells are among the topics studied.
Conducting layer prevents static charges from accumulating during implantation of silicon-on-sapphire MOS structures. Either thick conducting film or thinner film transparent to ions is deposited prior to implantation, and gaps are etched in regions to be doped. Grounding path eliminates charge flow that damages film or cracks sapphire wafer. Prevention of charge buildup by simultaneously exposing structure to opposite charges requires equipment modifications less practical and more expensive than deposition of conducting layer.
Open-circuit voltages as high as 0.645 V (AM0, 25 C) have been obtained by a new process developed for low-resistivity silicon. The process utilizes high-dose phosphorus implantation followed by furnace annealing and simultaneous oxide growth. The effect of the thermally grown oxide is a reduction of surface recombination velocity; the oxide also acts as a moderately efficient antireflection (AR) coating. Boron-doped, float-zone silicon with resistivities from 0.1 to 1.0 (omega)(cm) has been processed according to this sequence; results show that the highest open-circuit voltage is obtained with 0.1(omega)(cm) starting material. The effects of Auger recombination and bandgap narrowing caused by high doping concentrations in the n(+)junction region have been investigated by implanting phosphorus over a wide range of dose levels. The effects of emitter-phosphorus concentrations tailored to optimize electric fields in the emitter have also been investigated.
Development of low cost solar cells fabrication technology is being sponsored by NASA JPL as part of the Low Cost Solar Array Project (LSA). In conformance to Project requirements ion implantation and laser annealing were evaluated as junction formation techniques offering low cost-high throughput potential. Properties of cells fabricated utilizing this technology were analyzed by electrical, transmission electron microscopy, Rutherford backscattering and secondary ion mass spectrometry techniques. Tests indicated the laser annealed substrates to be damage free and electrically active. Similar analysis of ion implanted furnace annealed substrates revealed the presence of residual defects in the form of dislocation lines and loops with substantial impurity redistribution evident for some anneal temperature/time regimes. Fabricated laser annealed cells exhibited improved spectral response and conversion efficiency in comparison to furnace annealed cells. An economic projection for LSA indicates a potential for considerable savings from laser annealing technology.
An experiment, in which carbon steel samples were implanted with mercury ions from a broad beam ion source and their corrosion characteristics in air were evaluated, is described. Mercury doses of a few mA min/square cm at energies of a few hundred electron volts are shown to effect significant improvements in the corrosion resistance of the treated surfaces. In a warm moist environment the onset of rusting was extended from 15 min. for an untreated sample to approximately 30 hrs. for one implanted at a dose of 33 mA min/square cm with 1000 eV mercury ions.
The effects of two types of argon ion sputter etched surface structures on the tensile stress fatigue properties of orthopedic implant alloy MP35N were investigated. One surface structure was a natural texture resulting from direct bombardment by 1 keV argon ions. The other structure was a pattern of square holes milled into the surface by a 1 keV argon ion beam through a Ni screen mask. The etched surfaces were subjected to tensile stress only in fatigue tests designed to simulate the cyclic load conditions experienced by the stems of artificial hip joint implants. Both types of sputter etched surface structures were found to reduce the fatigue strength below that of smooth surface MP35N.
The areas where aerospace technology could be used to improve the reliability and performance of metallic, orthopedic implants was assessed. Specifically, comparisons were made of material controls, design approaches, analytical methods and inspection approaches being used in the implant industry with hardware for the aerospace industries. Several areas for possible improvement were noted such as increased use of finite element stress analysis and fracture control programs on devices where the needs exist for maximum reliability and high structural performance.
For the ion implantation tooling was fabricated with which to hold dendritic web samples. This tooling permits the expeditious boron implantation of the back to form the back surface field (BSF). Baseline BSF web cells were fabricated.
A completely implantable intracranial pressure sensor designed for long-term measurement of intraventricular pressure in hydrocephalic patients is described. The measurement principal of the device is discussed along with the electronic and component structure and sources of instrument error. Clinical tests of this implanted pressure device involving both humans and animals showed it to be comparable to other methods of intracranial pressure measurement.
Equipment designed for junction formation in silicon solar cells is described. The equipment, designed for a production level of approximately one megawatt per year, consists of an ion implanter and annealer. Low cost is achieved by foregoing the use of mass analysis during the implantation, and by the use of a belt furnace for annealing. Results of process development, machine design and cost analysis are presented.
This paper reviews the application of ion implantation to emitter and back surface field formation in silicon space solar cells. Experiments based on 2 ohm-cm boron-doped silicon are presented. It is shown that the implantation process is particularly compatible with formation of a high-quality back surface reflector. Large area solar cells with AM0 efficiency greater than 14 percent are reported.
New applications for high current, low energy hydrogen ion implants on single crystal and polycrystal silicon grain boundaries are discussed. The effects of low energy hydrogen ion beams on crystalline Si surfaces are considered. The effect of these beams on bulk defects in crystalline Si is addressed. Specific applications of H+ implants to crystalline Si processing are discussed. In all of the situations reported on, the hydrogen beams were produced using a high current Kaufman ion source.
The transmission of far-infrared radiation of 100-microns-wavelength through Ge wafers ion implanted with B was measured at a temperature of approximately 4 K. Transmittance ranged from approximately 0.5 to 0.08 for doses from 3 x 10 to the 12th to 3 x 10 to the 15th/sq cm. The resistivity at temperatures between 4 and 1 K, and the impurity profiles of the implanted layers were also measured and correlated with the infrared transmittance.