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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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At least 235 records · Page 13
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2022

Direct current magnetic Hall probe technique for measurement of field penetration in thin film superconductors for superconducting radio frequency resonators

Superconducting Radio Frequency (SRF) cavities used in particle accelerators are typically formed from or coated with superconducting materials. Currently, high purity niobium is the material of choice for SRF cavities that have been optimized to operate near their theoretical field limits. This brings about the need for significant R & D efforts to develop next generation superconducting materials that could outperform Nb and keep up with the demands of new accelerator facilities. To achieve high quality factors and accelerating gradients, the cavity material should be able to remain in the superconducting Meissner state under a high RF magnetic field without penetration of quantized magnetic vortices through the cavity wall. Therefore, the magnetic field at which vortices penetrate a superconductor is one of the key parameters of merit of SRF cavities. Techniques to measure the onset of magnetic field penetration on thin film samples need to be developed to mitigate the issues with the conventional magnetometry measurements that are strongly influenced by the film orientation and shape and edge effects. In this work, we report the development of an experimental setup to measure the field of full flux penetration through films and multi-layered superconductors. Our system combines a small superconducting solenoid that can generate a magnetic field of up to 500 mT at the sample surface and three Hall probes to detect the full flux penetration through the superconductor. We report this setup can be used to study alternative materials that could potentially outperform niobium, as well as superconductor–insulator–superconductor (SIS) multilayer coatings on niobium.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2022

Analysis of nonlinear features associated with radio-frequency sheaths

An analytic study is conducted of nonlinear features that arise when radio-frequency (RF) sheath boundary conditions are solved self-consistently with the electromagnetic fields in a magnetized plasma. An instability associated with RF sheath–plasma interactions is identified and shown to be closely linked with sheath–plasma resonance and the occurrence of multiple solutions. It is proposed that this instability serves as a physical mechanism that enables jumping from one solution branch to another, providing a physical basis for the prediction of an RF sheath hysteresis in the time domain. It is further shown that this instability can lead to non-intuitive features such as spontaneous symmetry breaking in an otherwise completely symmetric problem. In plane-stratified geometry, two analytically solvable examples are considered for the cases of an unbounded half-space and a bounded domain

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2022

High resolution diagnostic tools for superconducting radio frequency cavities

Superconducting radio-frequency (SRF) cavities are one of the fundamental building blocks of modern particle accelerators. To achieve the highest quality factors (10 10 –10 11 ), SRF cavities are operated at liquid helium temperatures. Magnetic flux trapped on the surface of SRF cavities during cool-down below the critical temperature is one of the leading sources of residual RF losses. Instruments capable of detecting the distribution of trapped flux on the cavity surface are in high demand in order to better understand its relation to the cavity material, surface treatments and environmental conditions. We have designed, developed, and commissioned two high-resolution diagnostic tools to measure the distribution of trapped flux at the surface of SRF cavities. One is a magnetic field scanning system, which uses cryogenic Hall probes and anisotropic magnetoresistance sensors that fit the contour of a 1.3 GHz cavity. This setup has a spatial resolution of ~ 13 μm in the azimuthal direction and ~ 1 cm along the cavity contour. The second setup is a stationary, combined magnetic and temperature mapping system, which uses anisotropic magnetoresistance sensors and carbon resistor temperature sensors, covering the surface of a 3 GHz SRF cavity. This system has a spatial resolution of 5 mm close to the iris and 11 mm at the equator. Initial results show a non-uniform distribution of trapped flux on the cavities’ surfaces, dependent on the magnitude of the applied magnetic field during field-cooling below the critical temperature.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2023

High efficiency radio frequency antennas for amplifier free quantum sensing applications

Radio frequency (RF) signals are frequently used in emerging quantum applications due to their spin state manipulation capability. Efficient coupling of RF signals into a particular quantum system requires the utilization of carefully designed and fabricated antennas. Nitrogen vacancy (NV) defects in diamond are commonly utilized platforms in quantum sensing experiments with the optically detected magnetic resonance (ODMR) method, where an RF antenna is an essential element. We report on the design and fabrication of high efficiency coplanar RF antennas for quantum sensing applications. Single and double ring coplanar RF antennas were designed with -37 dB experimental return loss at 2.87 GHz, the zero-field splitting frequency of the negatively charged NV defect in diamond. The efficiency of both antennas was demonstrated in magnetic field sensing experiments with NV color centers in diamond. In conclusion, an RF amplifier was not needed, and the 0 dB output of a standard RF signal generator was adequate to run the ODMR experiments due to the high efficiency of the RF antennas.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2023

Similarity-based scaling networks for capacitive radio frequency discharge plasmas

We demonstrate similarity-based scaling networks for capacitive radio frequency (RF) plasmas, which extensively correlate discharge characteristics under varied conditions, incorporating the transition from original to similarity states. Based on fully kinetic particle-in-cell simulations, similar RF discharges in argon are demonstrated with three external control parameters (gas pressure, gap distance, and driving frequency) simultaneously tuned. A complete set of scaling pathways regarding fundamental discharge parameters is obtained, from which each plasma state finds its neighboring node with only one control parameter tuned. The results from this study provide a promising strategy for plasma multi-parameter mapping, enabling effective cross-comparisons, prediction, and manipulation of RF discharge plasmas.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2023

Radio frequency electrical resistance measurement under destructive pulsed magnetic fields

We developed a resistance measurement using radio frequency reflection to investigate the electrical transport characteristics under destructive pulsed magnetic fields above 100 T. A sample stage consisting of a homemade flexible printed circuit reduced the noise caused by the induced voltage from the pulsed magnetic fields, improving the accuracy of the measurements of the reflected waves. From the obtained reflectance data, the absolute value of the magnetoresistance was successfully determined by analyzing the phase with admittance charts. In conclusion, these developments enable more accurate and comprehensive measurements of electrical resistance in pulsed magnetic fields.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2023

Field reversal in low pressure, unmagnetized radio frequency capacitively coupled argon plasma discharges

In general, the radio frequency (rf) electric field within a sheath points toward the metal electrode in low pressure, unmagnetized rf electropositive capacitively coupled plasma (CCP) glow discharges. This is due to the large ratio of electron to ion mobility and the formation of an ion sheath. In this work, we studied, using fully kinetic particle-in-cell simulations, a reversed electric field induced by the strong secondary electron emission during the phase of sheath collapse in a high-voltage rf-driven low pressure CCP glow discharge. We explored the transition behavior of the formation of field reversal as a function of driving voltage amplitude and found that field reversal starts to form at around 750 V, for a discharge with an electrode spacing of 4 cm at 10 mTorr argon pressure driven at 13.56 MHz. Accordingly, the energy distribution function of electrons incident on the electrode shows peaks from around 3 to 10 eV while varying the driving voltage from 150 to 2000 V, showing potentially beneficial effects in plasma material processing where relatively directional electrons are preferred to solely thermal diffusion electrons.

Physics↗
DOE OSTI2024

Coherent spin wave excitation with radio-frequency spin–orbit torque

Spin waves, collective perturbations of magnetic moments, are both fundamental probes for magnetic physics and promising candidates for energy-efficient signal processing and computation. Traditionally, coherent propagating spin waves have been generated by radio frequency (RF) inductive Oersted fields from current-carrying electrodes. An alternative mechanism, spin–orbit torque (SOT), offers more localized excitation through interfacial spin accumulation but has been mostly limited to DC to kHz frequencies. SOT driven by RF currents, with potentially enhanced pumping efficiency and unique spin dynamics, remains largely unexplored, especially in magnetic insulators. Here, we conduct a comprehensive theoretical and computational investigation into the generation of coherent spin waves via RF-SOT in the prototypical yttrium iron garnet. We characterize the excitation of forward volume, backward volume, and surface modes in both linear and nonlinear regimes, employing single and interdigitated electrode configurations. We reveal and explain several unique and surprising features of RF-SOT compared to inductive excitation, including higher efficiency, distinct mode selectivity, and directional symmetry, a ~ $3π/4$ phase offset, reduced anharmonic distortion in the nonlinear regime, and the absence of second harmonic generation. These insights position RF-SOT as a promising new mechanism for future magnonic and spintronic applications.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2024

A high-frequency, low-power resonant radio-frequency neutron spin flipper for high-resolution spectroscopy

Here, we present a resonant-mode, transverse-field, radio-frequency (rf) neutron spin flipper design that uses high-temperature superconducting films to ensure sharp transitions between uniform magnetic field regions. Resonant mode allows for low-power, high-frequency operation but requires strict homogeneity of the magnetic fields inside the device. This design was found to efficiently flip neutrons at 96.6 ± 0.6% at an effective frequency of 4 MHz in bootstrap configuration with a beam size of 2.4 × 2.5 cm 2 and a wavelength of 0.4 nm. The high frequency and efficiency enable this device to perform high-resolution neutron spectroscopy with comparable performance with currently implemented rf flipper designs. The limitation of the maximum frequency was found due to the field homogeneity of the device. We numerically analyze the maximum possible efficiency of this design using a Bloch solver simulation with magnetic fields generated from finite-element simulations. We also discuss future improvements of the efficiency and frequency to the design based on the experimental and simulation results.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2026

Implementation of heterodyne detection of radio frequency waves using phase contrast imaging

An upgrade to the DIII–D phase contrast imaging (PCI) diagnostic for detection of radio frequency waves has been implemented using low-noise optical heterodyning. Electro-optical modulation allows detection of waves with frequencies up to 500 MHz with wide flexibility restricted only by the driver electronics, with continuous adjustability up to 100 MHz and fixed frequency drivers needed for higher frequencies. The PCI diagnostic images the line-integrated plasma density fluctuations and provides absolutely calibrated measurements with good wavenumber resolution.

Rost, J. C. [Massachusetts Institute of Technology↗
DOE OSTI2025

Design and Engineering of LUPIN: A Test-Bed Radio-Frequency Ion Source for Enhanced Neutral Beam Injection on DIII-D

The Large, Uniform Plasma for Ionizing Neutrals (LUPIN) is a radio-frequency (RF) inductively coupled plasma (ICP) chamber for demonstrating plasma performance of an RF ICP positive ion source upgrade for the DIII-D neutral beam injection (NBI) system. LUPIN will be used to investigate ion source physics, including neutral gas dynamics, plasma density uniformity, interactions with Faraday shields, and power coupling to novel RF antenna designs. LUPIN has an RF generator capable of delivering 20 kW of power at 2 MHz, which is coupled into a cylindrical quartz vessel measuring 20 cm in length and 10 cm in radius. This configuration matches the power density requirements for a full-scale ion source. Target hydrogen and deuterium plasma densities exceeding 10 18 m -3 would relate to extracted ion current densities of 2100 A/m 2 for 10s. Vacuum conductance and gas flow calculations predict a maximum achievable neutral gas flow rate of 1675 Pa ⋅ L/s at 5 Pa of He, which mimics the gas flow of the DIII-D NBI system. Designs have been developed for an internal Faraday shield to mitigate heat flux and ion sputtering on the dielectric vessel. Thermomechanical finite element simulations demonstrated the Faraday shield design to be capable of withstanding anticipated heat loads from worst-case operation scenarios. Finally, results of upcoming experimental investigations on LUPIN will guide the design of a full-scale prototype for DIII-D integration.

Faraday shield↗
DOE OSTI2020

High-energy ballistic electrons in low-pressure radio-frequency plasmas

This study demonstrates the presence of a small number of high-energy ballistic electrons (HEBEs) that originate from secondary electrons in low-pressure radio-frequency (rf) plasmas. The kinetic behaviors of the HEBEs are illustrated through electron energy probability functions from the fully kinetic particle-in-cell simulations, showing two wavy high-energy tails and two bifurcations during one rf cycle. Test-particle simulations and a semi-analytical method associated with nonlocal electron kinetics are performed to characterize the HEBE trajectories, which reveal the ballistic nature of the HEBEs and their typical bouncing features between the rf sheaths. Parameter dependence of the HEBEs on the discharge conditions (e.g., gas pressure, gap distance, and rf frequency) are identified, which is relevant to the plasma collisionality. With a pronounced presence of HEBEs, the overall impacts of the secondary electron emission on discharge parameters, such as electron power absorption and ionization rate, are also illustrated.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2020

Multidimensional modeling of non-equilibrium plasma generated by a radio-frequency corona discharge

Low-temperature plasma (LTP) ignition concepts rely on the production of radical and charged species to speed up the onset of combustion in spark-ignition engines. These features are responsible for the superior performance of LTP igniters under extremely dilute combustion operation that is not achievable by conventional spark igniters. Additionally, LTP discharges extend the lifetime of the igniters, due to the avoidance of spark processes. For these reasons, the engine research community and the automotive industry have shown growing interest in this technology in the recent years. As of today, computational fluid-dynamics (CFD) codes typically used by the multi-dimensional engine modeling community do not have reliable models to describe LTP ignition processes. One key missing piece of information is the physical and chemical properties of the plasma and their effect on combustion ignition. Most non-equilibrium plasma simulations reported in literature are based on simplified, canonical geometries, with simple discharge excitation schemes. Here we conduct multi-dimensional modeling of the non-equilibrium plasma generated by an application-relevant radio-frequency (RF) corona discharge in air. Three test cases are simulated, characterized by different environmental pressure levels and peak electrode voltage values at room temperature. Streamer penetration, electron number density, atomic oxygen production, and bulk gas temperature distribution in the first 10 sinusoidal pulses are presented and discussed. This model can be used as a key tool for an in-depth understanding of RF-corona discharge for automotive applications and provides the basis for future implementations of dedicated LTP ignition models in CFD codes.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2021

Similarity properties in capacitive radio frequency plasmas with nonlinear collision processes

Abstract Similarity laws (SL) are essential for correlating the characteristics of plasmas at different dimensional scales, which have been validated for radio frequency (rf) discharges at low pressure but under limited conditions. In this work, we evaluate the effects of nonlinear collisions (e.g. stepwise ionization) on the similarity properties in capacitive rf discharges in argon across a wide range of pressure regimes via fully kinetic particle-in-cell simulations. The SL scalings of fundamental discharge parameters, e.g. the electron power absorption and electron energy probability function, are examined with and without nonlinear collisions, respectively. Without the nonlinear collisions, the similarity scalings are found to be rigorously valid. When the nonlinear collisions are considered, the similarity properties in rf discharges still exist approximately, which indicates that the violations caused by the nonlinear collisions are still minor in the studied cases. The reasons for the effectiveness of SL scalings with nonlinear collision processes are also discussed. The results from this study confirmed the validity of similarity transformations with more complex reaction kinetics, which may promote the applicability of the SL scalings for the design and fabrications of plasma devices.

Physics↗
DOE OSTI2025

Electron density measurements and calculations in a helium capacitively-coupled radio-frequency plasma

We report a comparison of inferred electron density (n e ) in a He capacitively-coupled plasma, deduced from laser-collision induced fluorescence measurements, with values computed using a hybrid simulation framework based on particle-in-cell/Monte Carlo collisions simulations and a fluid model for excited He atoms. The studies were carried out for gas pressures between 50 mTorr and 1000 mTorr and peak-to-peak radio-frequency (13.56 MHz) voltages between 150 V and 350 V, in a highly symmetric source equipped with plane-parallel electrodes. A good agreement is found between the experimental and modeling results for n e except at the lowest operating voltages and gas pressures. The (effective) electron temperature (T e ) values derived by the two methods agree as well reasonably within the plasma bulk. The simulation results are used to compare the density distributions of He + and various He excited levels and their major populating and de-populating channels at 100 mTorr and 1000 mTorr.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2026

Fluid-kinetic modeling of a high power density radio frequency inductively coupled positive hydrogen ion source

High power density radio-frequency (RF) inductively coupled positive ion sources are attractive candidates for next-generation neutral beam injection (NBI) systems, where higher injected power and longer pulse lengths are desired without sacrificing source reliability. Operating at absorbed power densities of order $\gt 1~\mathrm{W\,cm}^{-3}$ places these sources in a regime with stronger gas heating, higher dissociation, and non-Maxwellian electron energy distributions. The Large Uniform Plasma for Ionizing Neutrals (LUPIN) is an RF inductively coupled plasma source designed to explore this high power density regime and to provide guidance for a positive ion source upgrade for the DIII-D NBI system. LUPIN is designed to operate at up to 20 kW of RF power at 2 MHz, coupling energy through a cylindrical quartz vessel to achieve target ion current densities of $2100\,\mathrm{A\,m}^{-2}$ . This paper presents fluid-kinetic modeling of LUPIN using the hybrid plasma equipment model where electrons are treated kinetically, and the simulations reveal that electron energy distribution function transitions from nearly Maxwellian in the core to bi-Maxwellian towards the edge. Parametric simulations investigate the effects of RF power, gas pressure, and frequency on plasma density, ion flux, and uniformity. Parametric sweeps reveal that increasing power shifts the primary ionization channel from molecular to atomic with diminishing flux gains due to skin-depth contraction and gas rarefaction. Higher frequency localizes heating and increases $\mathrm{H}_2^+$ and $\mathrm{H}_3^+$ delivery to the grid, while elevated pressure boosts ionization yet hinders ion transport due to increase in collisionality.

inductively coupled plasma↗
DOE OSTI2026

Dynamics of argon metastables in Ar–CH 4 radio frequency capacitively-coupled plasma: real-time monitoring with neural network-augmented broadband optical emission spectroscopy

In moderate-pressure radio frequency (RF) capacitively coupled plasmas generated in argon–methane mixtures, the density of argon metastable atoms (Ar 1 s 5 ) exhibits a non-monotonic dependence on methane (CH 4 ) concentration. Laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) was used to measure and compare local Ar 1 s 5 densities in Ar and Ar–CH 4 plasmas at 2.6 Torr and RF powers of 17–117 W. The addition of 1% CH 4 increases the metastable density, and 2% CH 4 triggers a strong depletion by an order of magnitude, compared to 1% CH 4 case. This non-monotonic behavior demonstrates the sensitivity of metastable populations to small gas admixtures, which is critical for processes where metastables drive precursor dissociation. For real-time monitoring of metastable population, broadband optical emission spectroscopy (OES) is augmented with a feedforward neural network (NN) to predict Ar s1 5 densities from spectral features. When trained on LIF data, the NN replicates the absolute densities and the dynamic trends of Ar 1 s 5 density variation. The NN-augmented broadband OES approach can be used as a simple and cost-effective tool for tracking Ar metastables in Ar-rich plasmas, facilitating industrial-scale optimization.

Yatom, Shurik [Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory↗
DOE OSTI2020

Multi-metallic conduction cooled superconducting radio-frequency cavity with high thermal stability

Superconducting radio-frequency cavities are commonly used in modern particle accelerators for applied and fundamental research. Such cavities are typically made of high-purity, bulk Nb and with cooling by a liquid helium bath at a temperature of ~2 K. The size, cost and complexity of operating a particle accelerator with a liquid helium refrigerator make the current cavity technology not favorable for use in industrial-type accelerators. We have developed a multi-metallic 1.495 GHz elliptical cavity conductively cooled by a cryocooler. The cavity has a ~2 µm thick layer of Nb 3 Sn on the inner surface, exposed to the rf field, deposited on a ~3 mm thick bulk Nb shell and a bulk Cu shell, of thickness $\geqslant\! 5$ mm deposited on the outer surface by electroplating. A bolt-on Cu plate 1.27 cm thick was used to thermally connect the cavity equator to the second stage of a Gifford-McMahon cryocooler with a nominal capacity of 2 W at 4.2 K. The cavity was tested initially in liquid helium at 4.3 K and reached a peak surface magnetic field of ~36 mT with a quality factor of 2 × 10 9 . The cavity cooled by the cryocooler achieved a peak surface magnetic field of ~29 mT, equivalent to an accelerating gradient of 6.5 MV m –1 . The conduction-cooled cavity could be operated in continuous-wave with as high as 5 W dissipation in the cavity for 1 h without any thermal breakdown, because of the Cu outer layer with high thermal conductivity. This result represents a paradigm shift in the technology of superconducting accelerator cavities.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗