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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 OSTI2021

A novel network-based approach to determining measurement representation error for model evaluation of aerosol microphysical properties

Atmospheric aerosol size and abundance influence radiative effects and climate change. To date, efforts to constrain global climate models’ radiative forcing with in situ aerosol observations have been hamstrung by uncertainty. One source of error, the regional “representation error,” arises when accurate but sparse single-point measurements of atmospheric aerosol distributions are compared with a model value, assuming that the single-point measurement is representative of the model domain. The Portable Optical Particle Spectrometer network in the Southern Great Plains (POPSnet-SGP) campaign has demonstrated that a network of nearly autonomous aerosol instruments operating at ambient temperature and relative humidity (with low measurement error) may be used to quantify measurement representation error and investigate the factors introducing heterogeneity in aerosol distributions across a rural, continental background region. Measurements were made using Portable Optical Particle Spectrometer (POPS) instruments at several sites for five months across the Department of Energy’s Aerosol Radiation Measurement Southern Great Plains (ARM-SGP) User Facility in the central USA. Measurement representation error decreased with longer averaging periods (20-40 % between 1 sec and 1 day), varied between sites by 10 – 20 % for aerosol concentration 140 – 2500 nm in diameter (N_140), and was higher for aerosols > 400 nm in diameter (N_400). Our measurements also show the influence of local meteorology on aerosol surface area (A_140) and size distributions: A_140 is positively correlated with wind speed and relative humidity, negatively correlated with precipitation, and lower given westerly winds. Based on this study, we conclude that the POPSnet approach provides considerably more insight into the spatial variability in the aerosol population that can be used to constrain climate models than would be available from similar networks of PM 2.5 monitors.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2022

Convective Updraft and Downdraft Characteristics of Continental Mesoscale Convective Systems in the Model Gray Zone

Here, the "gray zone" of convective modeling is defined as the range of horizontal grid spacings (Δx) at which turbulent transport processes are only partially resolved by the dynamics of the numerical model. This zone typically covers Δx from a few kilometers to several hundred meters, wherein the realistic representation of convective cloud processes can be challenging. This study characterizes the convective draft behaviors at multiple Δx across the gray zone and determines the appropriate Δx that can reliably capture these salient convective properties. We perform an ensemble of idealized simulations of mesoscale convective systems (MCS) using the Weather Research and Forecasting model at various Δx from 4 km to 250 m over the central U.S. An evaluation of key MCS kinematic properties is constrained using unique, long-term vertical velocity estimates obtained by radar wind profilers deployed by the Department of Energy Atmospheric Radiation Measurement user facility. MCS simulations for all Δx tested overestimate (underestimate) the probabilities of convective updrafts (downdrafts) compared to the observations. In terms of the convective draft intensity, finer-Δx models overestimate the updraft intensity, while the opposite is found for downdrafts. Moving from Δx = 4 km to 250 m, downdrafts become stronger and more frequent especially at middle and upper levels, attributed to additional drag from an increasing graupel frequency and compensation of enhanced updraft velocity. Simulated draft characteristics, including core size, intensity, and probability of occurrence, exhibit pronounced changes at Δx greater than 500 m, but suggest less sensitivity when Δx is reduced below 500 m.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2025

Assessment of Extinction‐, Satellite‐, and Model‐Based Vertical Cloud Condensation Nuclei (CCN) Retrieval Methods Using Airborne CCN Measurements Over the Southern Great Plains

Abstract Accurate estimates of the vertical profile of cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) concentration are crucial to better quantify aerosol‐cloud interactions. We assessed the correlation between the vertical CCN concentrations obtained from extinction‐, satellite‐, and model‐based retrieval methods and airborne CCN concentrations collected at 0.24% supersaturation within the 3, 9, 27, and 81 km regions centered over the U.S. Department of Energy's Atmospheric Radiation Measurement User Facility Southern Great Plains (SGP) site during the spring and summer of 2016. The extinction profiles at a wavelength 355 nm were provided by the ground‐based Raman lidar. Our analysis showed moderate correlation between dry‐corrected extinction and airborne CCN data. We found the retrieved number concentration of CCN (RNCCN) method showed regression best‐fit slopes close to unity and consistent prediction errors for the majority of the data. The Lenhardt et al. (2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt‐16‐2037‐2023 ) method showed similar conclusions but only during spring, whereas the Mamouri and Ansmann (2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp‐16‐5905‐2016 ) method showed poor correlation. The Shinozuka et al. (2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp‐15‐7585‐2015 ) satellite‐based method exhibited reasonable agreement during summer but poor correlation during periods where both high (∼1,400 #/cm 3 ) and low (∼50 #/cm 3 ) airborne CCN concentrations were observed. The Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service reanalysis modeled 3‐D CCN data set showed a moderate to weak positive correlation but performed poorly at high airborne CCN concentrations. Our analysis suggests the extinction‐based RNCCN method performed better than other methods across most observation periods under the diverse meteorological conditions observed at the SGP site.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2025

Mesoscale Cellular Convection Detection and Classification Using Convolutional Neural Networks: Insights From Long-Term Observations at ARM Eastern North Atlantic Site

Marine boundary layer clouds are crucial in Earth's climate system. They frequently manifest as closed or open cell mesoscale cellular convection (MCC). MCC clouds are challenging to represent accurately in current climate models, highlighting the need for detailed observational data sets and in-depth analyses. This study utilizes over 8 years of observations from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) User Facility Eastern North Atlantic (ENA) site at Graciosa Island, Azores, to investigate these clouds. We first apply a convolutional neural network with a U-Net architecture to classify open and closed cells, marking the first application of such an approach for automatically detecting MCC patterns from ground-based radar measurements. This method addresses some observational gaps in satellite data related to low temporal resolution, nighttime challenges, and limited vertical structure capture. The analysis of the MCC cases shows clear differences between closed and open MCCs: Closed MCC clouds are characterized by lower cloud tops and bases, shallower cloud geometrical depth, weaker horizontal wind speeds, stronger atmospheric stability, and a more homogeneous liquid water path than open MCCs. Finally, we demonstrate two potential applications of our radar-based MCC classifications: (a) facilitating the investigation of aerosol-cloud interactions and (b) exploring meteorological factors along with MCC's evolution by integrating satellite imagery and back-trajectory analysis. The identified MCC cases offer a valuable resource for the scientific community to study MCC processes further and improve climate model accuracy.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2025

Causal Directions Matter: How Environmental Factors Drive Convective Cloud Detrainment Heights

This study investigates how environmental factors influence the level of maximum detrainment (LMD) in deep convective clouds. Through a novel application of the Linear Non‐Gaussian Acyclic Model (LiNGAM), we discover causal structures between environmental variables and LMD, observed at six tropical sites operated by the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) user facility. LiNGAM effectively identifies causal directions among variables of interest, revealing robust relationships such as those among the lifting condensation level (LCL), level of free convection (LFC), and convective inhibition (CIN), aligning with prior knowledge. Relative humidity is shown to directly influence LMD; however, this relationship exhibits strong nonlinearity and becomes difficult to detect when the contrast between oceanic and continental environments is excluded from the analysis. This study highlights the importance of establishing causal relationships before performing statistical inference.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2025

Enhanced Boundary Layer Height Detection Using Ceilometer, Surface Meteorology, and Radiation Products With a Random Forest Ensemble Method

This study develops and evaluates a Random Forest (RF) model for estimating planetary boundary layer height (PBLH) using 9 years of data from the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Southern Great Plains (ARM SGP) user facility, with potential application in the NOAA Surface Radiation (SURFRAD) Network. The model integrates ceilometer, surface meteorology, and radiation measurements, and is trained using thermodynamic PBLH estimates derived from radiosondes. This approach aims to bridge gaps between aerosol-based and thermodynamic-based PBLH estimates. The RF model outperformed traditional methods during daytime and better captured transition periods, demonstrating improved accuracy and robustness. At ARM SGP, it showed a substantial reduction in both bias and RMSE, with a bias near zero (−4.9 m) compared with traditional Haar Wavelet (HW) (70.9 m) and Vaisala BL-View software (124.1 m), and an RMSE of 303.2 m, lower than both BL-View (566.9 m) and HW (404.6 m). During daytime hours, RF consistently outperformed both alternatives, maintaining lower bias and RMSE across all periods. At a second evaluation site, RF achieved the lowest overall RMSE (323.7 m), similar to HW (326.4 m) and significantly better than BL-View (738.3 m). However, all models showed reduced accuracy under stable nighttime conditions, limiting the reliability of PBLH estimates. Key predictors for the model included the lifting condensation level height (LCLH), aerosol gradients, and month for seasonal variability. The study underscores the potential of integrating machine learning with multiple data sets such as surface energy and thermodynamic data to advance PBLH estimation.

boundary layer height↗
DOE OSTI2026

Climatology of Cloud‐Land‐Surface Coupling Across Different ARM Sites

Land-atmosphere interactions play a critical role in the evolution and formation of low-level clouds. The different states of coupling between low-level clouds and the surface are uncertain, primarily over continental regions, where complex thermodynamics complicates their investigation. This study uses observations from the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement User Facility to explore cloud-surface coupling and perform a climatological analysis of this interaction in five countries across three continents. The results reveal consistent coupling thresholds and average percentages across the five sites, with coupled clouds accounting for 66% of the cases and decoupled clouds for 34%. Thermodynamic and dynamic evaluations show distinct differences between coupled and decoupled clouds. Coupled clouds are characterized by humid environments, in which vertical motions connect the surface and lower atmosphere to the cloud base, conditions that favor the formation of boundary layer clouds. Decoupled clouds prefer to occur in a drier and colder environment with vertical motions inside the boundary layer being detached from the cloud base, under which boundary layer clouds are hard to form. Coupled clouds peak during warmer hours and seasons, and vice versa for decoupled clouds. This study underscores the complexity of cloud-land-surface interactions and paves the way for further investigations into cloud formation and evolution under different atmospheric environments.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2020

Author Correction: Chemical trends of deep levels in van der Waals semiconductors

The original version of this Article omitted the following from the Acknowledgements: This research was partially conducted at the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, which is a DOE Office of Science User Facility. This has now been corrected in both the PDF and HTML versions of the Article.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2021

Accurate and confident prediction of electron beam longitudinal properties using spectral virtual diagnostics

Abstract Longitudinal phase space (LPS) provides a critical information about electron beam dynamics for various scientific applications. For example, it can give insight into the high-brightness X-ray radiation from a free electron laser. Existing diagnostics are invasive, and often times cannot operate at the required resolution. In this work we present a machine learning-based Virtual Diagnostic (VD) tool to accurately predict the LPS for every shot using spectral information collected non-destructively from the radiation of relativistic electron beam. We demonstrate the tool’s accuracy for three different case studies with experimental or simulated data. For each case, we introduce a method to increase the confidence in the VD tool. We anticipate that spectral VD would improve the setup and understanding of experimental configurations at DOE’s user facilities as well as data sorting and analysis. The spectral VD can provide confident knowledge of the longitudinal bunch properties at the next generation of high-repetition rate linear accelerators while reducing the load on data storage, readout and streaming requirements.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Photoelectron spectroscopy and computational investigations of the electronic structures and noncovalent interactions of cyclodextrin-closo-dodecaborate anion complexes x-CD·B12X122- (x = a, ß, y; X = H, F)

We report a joint negative ion photoelectron spectroscopy (NIPES) and computational study on the electronic structures and noncovalent interactions of a series of cyclodextrin-closo-dodecaborate dianion complexes, ?-CD·B12X122- (? = a, ß, ?; X = H, F). The measured vertical / adiabatic detachment energies (VDEs / ADEs) are 1.15/0.93, 3.55/3.20, 3.90/3.60, and 3.85/3.60 eV for B12H122- and its a-, ß-, ?-CD complexes, respectively; while the corresponding values are 1.90/1.70, 4.00/3.60, 4.33/3.95, and 4.30/3.85 eV for the X = F case. These results show that the inclusion of B12X122- into the CD cavities greatly increase the electronic stability of the dianions. The effect of electronic stabilization for ß-CD is roughly the same as for ?-CD, both being considerably stronger than that for a-CD. Density functional theory (DFT) based geometry optimization reveals that B12X122- are inserted into CDs increasingly deeper from a-CD to ?-CD. The calculated VDEs and ADEs agree with the experiments well, particularly, reproducing the electron binding energy (EBE) trends. The molecular orbital analyses indicate that the most loosely bound photodetached electrons origin from the guest B12X122- moieties. In addition to a shift of all signals to larger EBE, significant changes in the signal patterns are observed. At low EBE, this is due to the splitting of highly degenerate B12X122- orbitals, while at high EBE, photodetachment from CD oxygens contributes to the new bands. The guest B12X122- and host CD nocovalent, size-specific interaction based on the independent gradient model (IGM) and energy decomposition analysis (EDA), is dominated by electrostatic interactions. The analysis further unravels unambiguiously the existence of dihydrogen bonding and how it affects the total energy that stabilizes the host-guest complexes of CDs·B12H122- compared to the general hydrogen bonding interaction in CDs·B12F122-. This work clearly exhibits strong influences on the electronic structures of dodecaborates upon clustering with CDs, with both size (a-, ß-, ?-) and molecular (X = H or F) specificities, thus providing critical molecular-level information on the cyclodextrin-closo-dodecaborate interactions of interest to medical applications, e.g. Boron neutron capature therapy. The NIPES experiments done at PNNL were supported by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Division of Chemical Sciences, Geosciences and Bioscience (X.-B.W.) and was performed at the EMSL, a national scientific user facility sponsored by DOE’s Office of Biological and Environmental Research and located at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. H.S. and Z.S. acknowledge the funding support of National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos.11727810, 61720106009 and 21603074), the Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality (Nos. 19JC1412200), and the Program of Introducing Talents of Discipline to Universities 111 project (B12024). Z. L. thanks the China Scholarship Council (CSC) for financial support. We acknowledge the ECNU Multifunctional Platform for Innovation (001) and HPC Research Computing Team for providing computational and storage resources. J.W. acknowledges support from the Alexander von Humboldt foundation (Feodor Lynen Fellowship and Rückkehrerstipendium), a Freigeist fellowship of the Volkswagenfoundation and Prof. Vladimir A. Azov for helpful discussions.

Li, Zhipeng↗
DOE OSTI2020

Distonic radical anion species in cysteine oxidation processes

Oxidation of cysteine residues constitutes an important regulatory mechanism in the function of biological systems. Much of this behavior is controlled by the specific chemical properties of the thiol side-chain group, where reac-tions with reactive oxygen species take place. Herein, we in-vestigated the entire cysteine oxidation cycle Cys-SH ? Cys-SOnH (n = 1, 2, 3) using cryogenic negative ion photoelectron spectroscopy and quantum-chemical calculations. The conven-tional view on the first reversible oxidation step (n = 1) is as-sociated with sulfinate species. Yet our results indicate that an alternative option exists in the form of novel distonic radical anion •OS-CH2CH(NH2)-COO- with an unpaired electron on the thiol group and excess negative charge on the carboxylate. Higher order oxidation states (n = 2, 3) are thought to be asso-ciated with irreversible oxidative damage, and our results show that excess negative charge in those cases migrates to -SOn- group. Furthermore, these species are stable towards 1e oxidation, as opposed to the n = 1 case that undergoes intra-molecular proton transfer. The molecular level insights report-ed in this work provide direct spectroscopic evidences towards unique chemical versatility of Cys-sulfenic acid (Cys-SOH) in post-translational modifications of protein systems. This research was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Division of Chemical Sciences, Geosciences and Biosciences (X.-B. W. and M. V.) and was performed at the EMSL, a national scientific user facility sponsored by DOE's Office of Biological and Environmental Research and located at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Z. B. Q. acknowledges additional support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 21873003 and 21503003) and the Special Program for Applied Research on Super Computation of the NSFC-Guangdong Joint Fund (the second phase) (Grant No. U1501501) and Super Computation of Shenzhen.

Qin, Zhengbo↗
DOE OSTI2020

Determinants for proton location and electron coupled proton transfer in hydrogen bonded pentafluorophenol-anion clusters

This work aims to reveal the determinant factors for proton locations and electron coupled proton transfer (ECPT) in biologically relevant hydrogen bonded systems. Pentafluorophenol-anion clusters [C6F5O-•H+•A-]- are chosen to model active sites of biological functions, with the anion A- being systematically varied to ensure the proton affinities (PAs) of the anions well cover the referenced PA of C6F5O- from being appreciably smaller, similar, and to significantly larger. Negative ion photoelectron spectroscopy of these clusters provides spectroscopic evidence showing that proton location in the anionic state is largely following the PA prediction, while ECPT is observed only for the clusters with the anion possessing the electron binding energy (EBE) significantly larger than that of the referenced C6F5O-. Theoretical calculations suggest these clusters are stabilized by forming single strong hydrogen bond between donor and acceptor, and the associated charge and MO analyses fully support the experimental observations. The current holistic cluster model study indicates that PA is the right determinant that can be used to predict the proton location and describe hydrogen bonding structures, while both PA and EBE of anionic groups play important roles in facilitating ECPT process. This work was supported by U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Division of Chemical Science, Geosciences, and Biosciences (X.-B.W.), and performed using EMSL, a national scientific user facility sponsored by DOE’s Office of Biological and Environmental Research and located at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, which is operated by Battelle Memorial Institute for the DOE. Part of this work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No-11604046 for JZ; No. 11727810 for ZRS), as well as “Chenguang Program” by Shanghai Education Development Foundation, Shanghai Municipal Education Commission (No. 16CG38) and Natural Science Foundation of Shanghai (No. 16ZR1448100) (JZ).

Zhang, Jian↗
DOE OSTI2020

Feasibility study of a compact neutron resonance transmission analysis instrument

Neutron Resonance Transmission Analysis (NRTA) uses resonant absorption of neutrons to infer the absolute isotopic composition of a target object, enabling applications in a broad range of fields such as archaeology, enrichment analysis of nuclear fuel, and arms control treaty verification. In the past, NRTA involved large user facilities and complex detector systems. However, recent advances in the intensity of compact neutron sources have made compact neutron imaging designs increasingly feasible. This work describes the Monte Carlo (MC) based design of a compact epithermal NRTA radiographic instrument which uses a moderated, compact deuterium-tritium (DT) neutron source and an epithermal neutron detector. Such an instrument would have a wide range of applications, and would be especially impactful for such scenarios as nuclear inspection and arms control verification exercises, where system complexity and mobility may be of critical importance. The MC simulations presented in this work demonstrate accurate time-of-flight (TOF) reconstructions for transmitted neutron energies, capable of differentiating isotopic compositions of nuclear material with high levels of accuracy. A new generation of miniaturized and increasingly more intense neutron sources will allow this technique to achieve measurements with greater precision and speed, with significant impact on a variety of engineering and societal problems.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2021

Composite pressure cell for pulsed magnets

We report that extreme pressures and high magnetic fields can affect materials in profound and fascinating ways. However, large pressures and fields are often mutually incompatible; the rapidly changing fields provided by pulsed magnets induce eddy currents in the metallic components used in conventional pressure cells, causing serious heating, forces, and vibration. Here, we report a diamond-anvil-cell made mainly out of insulating composites that minimizes inductive heating while retaining sufficient strength to apply pressures of up to 8 GPa. Any residual metallic component is made of low-conductivity metals and patterned to reduce eddy currents. The simple design enables rapid sample or pressure changes, desired by pulsed-magnetic-field-facility users. The pressure cell has been used in pulsed magnetic fields of up to 65 T with no noticeable heating at cryogenic temperatures. Several measurement techniques are possible inside the cell at temperatures as low as 500 mK.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2024

Designing workflows for materials characterization

Experimental science is enabled by the combination of synthesis, imaging, and functional characterization organized into evolving discovery loop. Synthesis of new material is typically followed by a set of characterization steps aiming to provide feedback for optimization or discover fundamental mechanisms. However, the sequence of synthesis and characterization methods and their interpretation, or research workflow, has traditionally been driven by human intuition and is highly domain specific. Here, we explore concepts of scientific workflows that emerge at the interface between theory, characterization, and imaging. In this study, we discuss the criteria by which these workflows can be constructed for special cases of multiresolution structural imaging and functional characterization, as a part of more general material synthesis workflows. Some considerations for theory–experiment workflows are provided. We further pose that the emergence of user facilities and cloud labs disrupts the classical progression from ideation, orchestration, and execution stages of workflow development. To accelerate this transition, we propose the framework for workflow design, including universal hyperlanguages describing laboratory operation, ontological domain matching, reward functions and their integration between domains, and policy development for workflow optimization. These tools will enable knowledge-based workflow optimization; enable lateral instrumental networks, sequential and parallel orchestration of characterization between dissimilar facilities; and empower distributed research.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2025

A multi-scale cognitive interaction model of instrument operations at the Linac Coherent Light Source

The Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) is the world’s first x-ray free electron laser. It is a scientific user facility operated by the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, at Stanford, for the U.S. Department of Energy. As beam time at LCLS is extremely valuable and limited, experimental efficiency—getting the most high quality data in the least time—is critical. Our overall project employs cognitive engineering methodologies with the goal of improving experimental efficiency and increasing scientific productivity at LCLS by refining experimental interfaces and workflows, simplifying tasks, reducing errors, and improving operator safety and stress. Here, in this study, we describe a multi-agent, multi-scale computational cognitive interaction model of instrument operations at LCLS. Our model simulates the aspects of human cognition at multiple cognitive and temporal scales, ranging from seconds to hours, and among agents playing multiple roles, including instrument operator, real time data analyst, and experiment manager. The model can roughly predict impacts stemming from proposed changes to operational interfaces and workflows. Example results demonstrate the model’s potential in guiding modifications to improve operational efficiency. We discuss the implications of our effort for cognitive engineering in complex experimental settings and outline future directions for research. The model is open source, and the videos of the supplementary material provide extensive detail.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2025

On measuring stimulated photon–photon scattering using multiple ultraintense lasers

Stimulated photon–photon scattering is a predicted consequence of quantum electrodynamics that has yet to be measured directly. Measuring the cross section for stimulated photon–photon scattering is the aim of a flagship experiment for NSF OPAL, a proposed laser user facility with two, 25-PW beamlines. We present optimized experimental designs for achieving this challenging and canonical measurement. A family of experimental geometries is identified that satisfies the momentum- and energy-matching conditions for two selected laser frequency options. Numerical models predict a maximum signal exceeding 1000 scattered photons per shot at the experimental conditions envisaged at NSF OPAL. Experimental requirements on collision geometry, polarization, cotiming and copointing, background suppression, and diagnostic technologies are investigated numerically. These results confirm that a beam cotiming shorter than the pulse duration and control of the copointing on a scale smaller than the shortest laser wavelength are needed to robustly scatter photons on a per-shot basis. Finally, we assess the bounds that a successful execution of this experiment may place on the mass scale of Born–Infeld nonlinear electrodynamics beyond the standard model of physics.

Beyond the Standard Model↗
DOE OSTI2020

Multimodal, Multidimensional, and Multiscale X-ray Imaging at the National Synchrotron Light Source II

Over the last couple of decades, the synchrotron radiation research community has witnessed tremendous advancement in the field of x-ray imaging and microscopy. Continuing enhancement of the light sources’ brightness, advances in x-ray focusing optics, incorporation of precision instruments, and development of innovative imaging techniques are some of the leading contributors for the rapid progress. New imaging and microscopy beamlines, such as the ones at the National Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLS-II), a Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science user facility located at DOE’s Brookhaven National Laboratory, are capable of performing more sophisticated and complicated measurements than ever before, either on their own or used together as a suite of tools. These sophisticated and complex measurements exhibit attributes for multimodal, multidimensional, and multiscale imaging. Recent popularity of these methods is strongly driven by the current trends in materials characterizations, where researchers desire to map out hierarchical materials structure over a large range of length scales, to understand structure-property correlation, to quantify materials structures in 3D, and/or to perform operando or in situ experiments. It is important to emphasize that “materials” under investigation are not only synthesized materials but also the natural materials. In this article, we describe multimodal, multidimensional and multiscale x-ray imaging capabilities of the NSLS-II beamlines and how these methods are used to tackle complex scientific problems.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗