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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 253 records · Page 14
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2014

SU-E-T-321: The Effects of a Dynamic Collimation System On Proton Pencil Beams to Improve Lateral Tissue Sparing in Spot Scanned Proton Therapy

Purpose: To evaluate the lateral beam penumbra in pencil beam scanning proton therapy delivered using a dynamic collimator device capable of trimming a portion of the primary beam in close proximity to the patient. Methods: Monte Carlo simulations of pencil beams were performed using MCNPX. Each simulation transported a 125 MeV proton pencil beam through a range shifter, past acollimator, and into a water phantom. Two parameters were varied among the simulations, the source beam size (sigma in air from 3 to 9 mm), and the position of the edge of the collimator (placed from 0 to 30 mm from the central axis of the beam). Proton flux was tallied at the phantom surface to determine the effective beam sizefor all combinations of source beam size and collimator edge position. Results: Quantifying beam size at the phantom surface provides a useful measure tocompare performance among varying source beam sizes and collimation conditions. For arelatively large source beam size (9 mm) entering the range shifter, sigma at thesurface was found to be 10 mm without collimation versus 4 mm with collimation. Additionally, sigma at the surface achievable with collimation was found to be smallerthan for any uncollimated beam, even for very small source beam sizes. Finally, thelateral penumbra achievable with collimation was determined to be largely independentof the source beam size. Conclusion: Collimation can significantly reduce proton pencil beam lateral penumbra.Given the known dosimetric disadvantages resulting from large beam spot sizes,employing a dynamic collimation system can significantly improve lateral tissuesparing in spot-scanned dose distributions.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2012

Effect of residual chips on the material removal process of the bulk metallic glass studied by in situ scratch testing inside the scanning electron microscope

Research on material removal mechanism is meaningful for precision and ultra-precision manufacturing. In this paper, a novel scratch device was proposed by integrating the parasitic motion principle linear actuator. The device has a compact structure and it can be installed on the stage of the scanning electron microscope (SEM) to carry out in situ scratch testing. Effect of residual chips on the material removal process of the bulk metallic glass (BMG) was studied by in situ scratch testing inside the SEM. The whole removal process of the BMG during the scratch was captured in real time. Formation and growth of lamellar chips on the rake face of the Cube-Corner indenter were observed dynamically. Experimental results indicate that when lots of chips are accumulated on the rake face of the indenter and obstruct forward flow of materials, materials will flow laterally and downward to find new location and direction for formation of new chips. Due to similar material removal processes, in situ scratch testing is potential to be a powerful research tool for studying material removal mechanism of single point diamond turning, single grit grinding, mechanical polishing and grating fabrication.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2024

Autonomous hybrid optimization of a SiO 2 plasma etching mechanism

Computational modeling of plasma etching processes at the feature scale relevant to the fabrication of nanometer semiconductor devices is critically dependent on the reaction mechanism representing the physical processes occurring between plasma produced reactant fluxes and the surface, reaction probabilities, yields, rate coefficients, and threshold energies that characterize these processes. The increasing complexity of the structures being fabricated, new materials, and novel gas mixtures increase the complexity of the reaction mechanism used in feature scale models and increase the difficulty in developing the fundamental data required for the mechanism. This challenge is further exacerbated by the fact that acquiring these fundamental data through more complex computational models or experiments is often limited by cost, technical complexity, or inadequate models. In this paper, we discuss a method to automate the selection of fundamental data in a reduced reaction mechanism for feature scale plasma etching of SiO 2 using a fluorocarbon gas mixture by matching predictions of etch profiles to experimental data using a gradient descent (GD)/Nelder–Mead (NM) method hybrid optimization scheme. These methods produce a reaction mechanism that replicates the experimental training data as well as experimental data using related but different etch processes.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2011

Scanning He+ Ion Beam Microscopy and Metrology

The CD-SEM has been the tool of choice for the imaging and metrology of semiconductor devices for the past three decades but now, with critical dimensions at the nanometer scale, electron beam instruments can no longer deliver adequate performance. A scanning microscope using a He+ ion beam offers superior resolution and depth of field, and provides enhanced imaging contrast. Device metrology performed using ion beam imaging produces data which is comparable to or better than that from a conventional CD-SEM although there are significant differences in the experimental conditions required and in the details of image formation. The charging generated by a He+ beam, and the sample damage that it can cause, require care in operation but are not major problems.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2013

Understanding S-shaped current-voltage characteristics of organic solar cells: Direct measurement of potential distributions by scanning Kelvin probe

We present a comparison of the potential distribution along the cross section of bilayer poly(3-hexylthiophene)/1-(3-methoxycarbonyl)propyl-1-phenyl[6,6]C61 (P3HT/PCBM) solar cells, which show normal and anomalous, S-shaped current-voltage (IV) characteristics. We expose the cross sections of the devices with a focussed ion beam and measure them with scanning Kelvin probe microscopy. We find that in the case of S-shaped IV-characteristics, there is a huge potential drop at the PCBM/Al top contact, which does not occur in solar cells with normal IV-characteristics. This behavior confirms the assumption that S-shaped curves are caused by hindered charge transport at interfaces.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2015

Visualization of Current and Mapping of Elements in Quantum Dot Solar Cells

The delicate influence of properties such as high surface state density and organic-inorganic boundaries on the individual quantum dot electronic structure complicates pursuits toward forming quantitative models of quantum dot thin films ab initio. Our report describes the application of electron beam-induced current (EBIC) microscopy to depleted-heterojunction colloidal quantum dot photovoltaics (DH-CQD PVs), a technique which affords one a map of current production within the active layer of a PV device. The effects of QD sample size polydispersity as well as layer thickness in CQD active layers as they pertain to current production within these PVs are imaged and explained. The results from these experiments compare well with previous estimations, and confirm the ability of EBIC to function as a valuable empirical tool for the design and betterment of DH-CQD PVs. Lastly, extensive and unexpected PbS QD penetration into the mesoporous TiO 2 layer is observed through imaging of device cross sections by energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy combined with scanning transmission electron microscopy. Finally, the effects of this finding are discussed and corroborated with the EBIC studies on similar devices.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2018

Tungsten Blister Formation Kinetic as a Function of Fluence, Ion Energy and Grain Orientation Dependence Under Hydrogen Plasma Environment

This work deals with the formation kinetic of tungsten (W) blisters under smooth plasma conditions, i.e. low hydrogen flux and energy in order to analyze the first stages of their formation. In addition, we focus on determining the W grain orientation where blisters grow preferentially. For this purpose, mirror-polished polycrystalline tungsten samples were exposed to hydrogen plasma under fixed hydrogen flux of 2.2 × 10{sup 20} m{sup −2} s{sup −1}, with a fluence in the range of ~ 10{sup 24} m{sup −2}, ion energy of ~ 20, 120 and 220 eV, and sample surface temperature of ~ 500 K. The formation of blisters at the surface was investigated using SEM, AFM and EBSD to determine the size, the distribution and the orientation of grain where blisters are formed, respectively. The critical fluence for initiating blisters was established around 2.3 × 10{sup 24} m{sup −2}. The evolution of blister size distribution and density is discussed as function of fluence and ion energy. At lower ion energy, i.e. 20 eV, only nanoblisters (less than 150 nm) are observed whatever the fluence value (1.5 and 2.3 × 10{sup 24} m{sup −2}). At higher ion energy i.e. 120 and 220 eV, micrometric (~ few to tens of µm) blisters are observed and their density highly depends on fluence. We show that blisters can also be formed on (001) oriented grains contrarily to previous results from the literature where the (111) orientation seemed more favorable. Such information is of importance for tungsten based fusion tokamak operation and design.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2019

Study on mechanically alloyed tin telluride screen-printed films for optoelectronic device applications

Narrow band gap semiconductor tin telluride (SnTe) was synthesized by mechanical alloying and its film was deposited on glass substrates by the economically and commercially feasible screen-printing technique. Deposition of the film was followed by sintering. Different analytical techniques were utilized to study the structure, surface morphology, elemental, optical and electrical characteristics of the film. X-ray diffraction analysis confirms that the film is polycrystalline in nature and exhibits rock salt type structure with preferred orientation of grains along (200) direction. EDAX spectrum confirms the presence of Sn and Te elements in the film. SEM image shows that the film exhibits uniform surface. The energy band gap of the film was determined by reflection spectra. The film is found to have a direct band gap of 0.37 eV. The dark electrical conductivity and activation energy of the film were measured in temperature range 300–380 K. Hall Effect measurement indicates that the film has p-type electrical conductivity.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2018

Effects of ambient humidity and temperature on the NO 2 sensing characteristics of WS 2 /graphene aerogel

The effects of ambient humidity and temperature on the NO 2 sensing characteristics of WS 2 /graphene aerogel (WS 2 /GA) composite are investigated. In order to probe the gas sensing performances of WS 2 /GA, the sensor is fabricated by integrating WS 2 /GA with a microfabricated two-electrode device. The WS 2 /GA is characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and nitrogen porosimetry. This hybrid nanomaterial is found to improve the selectivity to NO 2 , compared to control graphene and WS 2 aerogels. The NO 2 sensing performance of the WS 2 /GA-based sensors is investigated under different relative humidities (0–60%), and ambient temperatures (room temperature (RT) to 180 °C). In all instances, the sensors exhibit p-type behavior. In dry atmosphere, faster response and better recovery are obtained with increasing temperature, reaching optimum sensing performance around 180 °C. At room temperature, interestingly, humidity is found helpful for enhancing the response and recovery of the sensor to NO 2 . Detection limits in the range of 10–15 ppb NO 2 were determined. A potential gas sensing mechanism for this composite aerogel is introduced.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2012

Controllable synthesis, magnetic and biocompatible properties of Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4} and {alpha}-Fe{sub 2}O{sub 3} nanocrystals

Iron oxide nanocrystals (NCs) with a series of well-controlled morphologies (octahedron, rod, wire, cube and plate) and compositions (Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4} and {alpha}-Fe{sub 2}O{sub 3}) were synthesized via a facile hydrothermal process. The morphological and compositional control of various iron oxide NCs was based on the regulations of precursor thermolysis kinetics and surfactants. The obtained samples were characterized by XRD, SEM, TEM, SQUID and cytotoxicity test. These as-prepared iron oxide NCs showed excellent magnetic properties and good biocompatibility, paving the way for their high-efficiency bio-separation and bio-detection applications. - Graphical Abstract: Schematic illustration for the formation of iron oxide NCs (Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4} and {alpha}-Fe{sub 2}O{sub 3}) with different controlled morphologies and compositions. Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Iron oxide NCs with a series of well-controlled morphologies (octahedron, rod, wire, cube, and plate) and compositions (Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4} and {alpha}-Fe{sub 2}O{sub 3}) were synthesized via a facile hydrothermal method. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The mechanism of the morphological and compositional control process is directly related to precursor thermolysis kinetics and surfactants. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer These iron oxide NCs exhibited excellent magnetic response and good biocompatibility, which should have great applications in the cell separation and biodetection.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2018

Construction of Eu2+ doped H3Sr6(PO4)5·2H2O with novel cruciate multilayer microarchitectures: facile hydrothermal synthesis, growth mechanism, and luminescence properties

Highlights: • H{sub 3}Sr{sub 6}(PO{sub 4}){sub 5}·2H{sub 2}O:Eu{sup 2+} phosphors were synthesized via a simple hydrothermal method. • H{sub 3}Sr{sub 6}(PO{sub 4}){sub 5}·2H{sub 2}O:Eu{sup 2+} showed novel cruciate multilayer microarchitectures. • Phase and morphology were depended on the optimization of the reaction conditions. • H{sub 3}Sr{sub 6}(PO{sub 4}){sub 5}·2H{sub 2}O:Eu{sup 2+} exhibited intense characteristic blue emission of Eu{sup 2+}. - Abstract: A series of monodisperse cruciate multilayer H{sub 3}Sr{sub 6}(PO{sub 4}){sub 5}·2H{sub 2}O:Eu{sup 2+} microarchitectures assembled by crossed nanorods have been successfully synthesized via a facile surfactant-assisted hydrothermal route. XRD and FT-IR confirmed the existence of crystalline water in the phosphor. The FE-SEM images revealed that the phase and morphology of resulting samples were strongly depended on the optimization of the reaction conditions, especially the pH value and the molar ratio of citric acid (CA)/Cations. Furthermore, the possible growth mechanism of H{sub 3}Sr{sub 6}(PO{sub 4}){sub 5}·2H{sub 2}O:Eu{sup 2+} microarchitectures was proposed in detail. Under near-ultraviolet excitation of 365 nm, the as-obtained H{sub 3}Sr{sub 6}(PO{sub 4}){sub 5}·2H{sub 2}O:0.05Eu{sup 2+} sample exhibited intense wide characteristic blue emission of Eu{sup 2+}, which could be decomposed by Gaussian fitting into two peaks corresponding to different Eu{sup 2+} luminous centers. The present results demonstrated that the morphology-tunable H{sub 3}Sr{sub 6}(PO{sub 4}){sub 5}·2H{sub 2}O:Eu{sup 2+} microarchitecture could be used as a potential candidate for future optoelectronic device applications.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2017

A power compensated differential scanning calorimeter for protein stability characterization

This study presented a power compensated MEMS differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) for protein stability characterization. In this microfabricated sensor, PDMS (Polydimethylsiloxane) and polyimide were used to construct the adiabatic chamber (1 μL) and temperature sensitive vanadium oxide was used as the thermistor material. A power compensation system was implemented to maintain the sample and reference at the same temperature. The resolution study and step response characterization indicated the high sensitivity (6 V/W) and low noise level (60 μk) of the device. The test with IgG1 antibody (mAb1) samples showed clear phase transitions and the data was confirmed to be reasonable by comparing it with the results of commercial DSC’s test. Finally, this device used ~1uL sample amount and could complete the scanning process in 4 min, significantly increasing the throughput of the bimolecular thermodynamics study like drug formulation process.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2012

Fatigue properties of atomic-layer-deposited alumina ultra-barriers and their implications for the reliability of flexible organic electronics

The fatigue degradation properties of atomic-layer-deposited alumina, with thickness ranging from 4.2 to 50 nm, were investigated using a silicon micro-resonator on which the coatings were deposited and strained in a static or cyclic manner, with strain amplitudes up to 2.2%, in controlled environments. Based on the measured resonant frequency evolution, post-test scanning electron microscopy observations, and finite element models, it is shown that cracks in the alumina nucleate and propagate under cyclic loading, and that the crack growth rates scale with the strain energy release rates for crack channeling. The implications for the reliability of flexible electronics are discussed.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2013

Diamond sensors and polycapillary lenses for X-ray absorption spectroscopy

Diamond sensors are evaluated as incident beam monitors for X-ray absorption spectroscopy experiments. These single crystal devices pose a challenge for an energy-scanning experiment using hard X-rays due to the effect of diffraction from the crystalline sensor at energies which meet the Bragg condition. This problem is eliminated by combination with polycapillary lenses. The convergence angle of the beam exiting the lens is large compared to rocking curve widths of the diamond. A ray exiting one capillary from the lens meets the Bragg condition for any reflection at a different energy from the rays exiting adjacent capillaries. This serves to broaden each diffraction peak over a wide energy range, allowing linear measurement of incident intensity over the range of the energy scan. Extended X-ray absorption fine structure data are measured with a combination of a polycapillary lens and a diamond incident beam monitor. These data are of comparable quality to data measured without a lens and with an ionization chamber monitoring the incident beam intensity.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2014

Intrinsic magnetic properties of hexagonal LuFeO{sub 3} and the effects of nonstoichiometry

We used oxide molecular-beam epitaxy in a composition-spread geometry to deposit hexagonal LuFeO{sub 3} (h-LuFeO{sub 3}) thin films with a monotonic variation in the Lu/Fe cation ratio, creating a mosaic of samples that ranged from iron rich to lutetium rich. We characterized the effects of composition variation with x-ray diffraction, atomic force microscopy, scanning transmission electron microscopy, and superconducting quantum interference device magnetometry. After identifying growth conditions leading to stoichiometric film growth, an additional sample was grown with a rotating sample stage. From this stoichiometric sample, we determined stoichiometric h-LuFeO{sub 3} to have a T{sub N} = 147 K and M{sub s} = 0.018 μ{sub B}/Fe.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2014

Low bias stress and reduced operating voltage in SnCl{sub 2}Pc based n-type organic field-effect transistors

Vacuum deposited tin (IV) phthalocyanine dichloride (SnCl{sub 2}Pc) field-effect transistors were fabricated on polymethylmethacrylate/aluminum oxide (PMMA/Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}) bilayer gate dielectric, with reduced operating voltage and low contact resistance. The devices with top contact Ag electrodes exhibit excellent n-channel behavior with electron mobility values of 0.01 cm{sup 2}/Vs, low threshold voltages ∼4 V, current on/off ratio ∼10{sup 4} with an operating voltage of 10 V. Bias stress instability effects are investigated during long term operation using thin film devices under vacuum. We find that the amount of bias stress of SnCl{sub 2}Pc based thin film transistor is extremely small with characteristic relaxation time >10{sup 5} s obtained using stretched exponential model. Stressing the SnCl{sub 2}Pc devices by applying 10 V to the gate for half an hour results in a decrease of the source drain current, I{sub DS} of only ∼10% under low vacuum. These devices show highly stable electrical behavior under multiple scans and low threshold voltage instability under electrical dc bias stress (V{sub DS} = V{sub GS} = 10 V, for 2 h) even after 40 days.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2015

Electronic modulations in a single wall carbon nanotube induced by the Au(111) surface reconstruction

The structural and electronic structure of single wall carbon nanotubes adsorbed on Au(111) has been investigated by low-temperature scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy. The nanotubes were dry deposited in situ in ultrahigh vacuum onto a perfectly clean substrate. In some cases, the native herringbone reconstruction of the Au(111) surface interacted directly with adsorbed nanotubes and produced long-range periodic oscillations in their local density of states, corresponding to charge transfer modulations along the tube axis. This effect, however, was observed not systematically for all tubes and only for semiconducting tubes.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2015

Template-free synthesis of Nd{sub 0.1}Bi{sub 0.9}FeO{sub 3} nanotubes with large inner diameter and wasp-waisted hysteresis loop

One-dimensional (1D) nanotubes of Nd{sub 0.1}Bi{sub 0.9}FeO{sub 3} (NBFO) with an inner diameter of ∼50 nm were synthesized via sol-gel based electrospinning without template assistant. The phases, morphologies, crystalline structures, and magnetic properties of these 1D nanostructures were characterized by means of X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and SQUID, respectively. It was found that the calcination condition plays a crucial role in determining the morphologies and the magnetic properties. Interestingly, these 1D NBFO nanotubes exhibit wasp-waisted magnetic hysteresis with a lower coercivity and larger saturation magnetization, which were prevalent in natural rocks and artificial composite materials. The origin of these wasp-waisted hysteresis loops was discussed.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗