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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 343 records · Page 19

A Dichroic Plate with Rounded Corners for NASA’s 34m Beam Waveguide Antenna

A S/K-band frequency selective surface (FSS) or a dichroic plate is designed, manufactured and tested for use in NASA’s Deep Space Network (DSN) 34m beam waveguide (BWG) antennas. Due to its large size, the proposed dichroic incorporates a new design feature, waveguides with rounded corners to cut cost and allow ease of manufacturing the plate. The dichroic is designed using an analysis that combines the Finite Element Method (FEM) for arbitrarily shaped guides with the Method of Moments and Floquet mode theory for periodic structures. The software was verified by comparison with previously measured and computed dichroic plates. The large plate was manufactured with end-mill machining. Their RF performance was measured and is in excellent agreement with the analytical results. The dichroic has been successfully installed and in operational at three NASA Deep Space Stations.

Imbriale, William↗

Digital fabrication of a small diameter polymer optical waveguide

A novel polymer optical waveguide and method of manufacturing is presented herein. A digitally manufactured process is described which utilizes a micro-dispensed UV optical adhesive as the contour guiding cladding, a fused deposition modeling technology for creating a core, and a subtractive laser process to finish the two ends of the optical interconnect. The optical waveguide can be printed directly on a circuit board in some embodiments. Alternatively, using a slightly modified process including a step to bond the optical fiber to the substrate, the optical interconnect can be manufactured on a flexible substrate.

Bhethanabotla, Venkat Rama↗

Mock-up Waveguide Loop Development toward a half-meter scale Traveling-Wave (TW) SRF cavity

Traveling-Wave (TW) technology can push the accelera-tor field gradient of niobium SRF cavity to 70MV/m or higher beyond the fundamental limit of 50~60MV/m in Standing-Wave regime. The success of TW resonance excitation in a proof-of-principle 3-cell SRF cavity in 2K liquid helium encouraged to advance TW technologies necessary more for future accelerator-scale one. Fermilab has proposed a preliminary RF design of a half-meter scale TW cavity by considering the physical dimensions of existing SRF facilities and the lessons learned from the 3-cell. It consists of a 7-cell structure and a power feed-back waveguide (WG) loop with new TW excitation and control schemes such as, double directional coupler and two WG tuners. Mock-up waveguide loop development was launched under Fermilab LDRD program to demon-strate those new RF schemes at a room temperature. Fab-rication drawings of a mock-up loop were completed. Here details and plans of the development are reported.

Furuta, F. [Fermilab] (ORCID:0009000072218576)↗

Radiation from Axisymmetric Waveguide Fed Horns

Return losses and radiation patterns for axisymmetric waveguide fed horns are calculated with the finite element method (FEM) in conjunction with the method of moments (MoM) and the mode matching technique (MM).

waveguide fed horns horns axisymmetric waveguide↗

Cost-efficiency enhancement of X- and Ku-band split waveguides for industrial accelerators

Compact microwave electron linear accelerators must operate at high frequencies in order to maintain tight SWaP (size, weight, and power) requirements, set by modern applications. Currently, the frequencies are practically limited to X- and Ku-bands because of the availability of MW-class magnetrons, required to achieve beam energies of several MeV, and tight fabrication tolerances. The latter is associated with micron-level accuracy and further waveguide frequency tuning process, both increasing its costs dramatically. By implying a novel split structure fabrication approach, it is possible to relax these tolerances to the values of 10–20 μm and eliminate the tuning step, greatly reducing their total costs. Finally, this paper presents the results of microwave measurements of split X- and Ku-band accelerating structures of different types and discusses the benefits of our fabrication approach.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

Photoluminescence Enhancement, Blinking Suppression, and Improved Biexciton Quantum Yield of Single Quantum Dots in Zero Mode Waveguides

The capability of quantum dots to generate both single and multiexcitons can be harnessed for a wide variety of applications, including those that require high optical gain. Here, we use time-correlated photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy to demonstrate that the isolation of single CdSeTe/ZnS core–shell, nanocrystal quantum dots (QDs) in Zero Mode Waveguides (ZMWs) leads to a significant modification in PL intensity, blinking dynamics, and biexciton behavior. QDs in aluminum ZMWs (AlZMWs) exhibited a 15-fold increase in biexciton emission, indicating a preferential enhancement of the biexciton radiative decay rate as compared to the single exciton rate. The increase in biexciton behavior was accompanied by a decrease in blinking events due to a shortening in the dark state residence time. These results indicate that plasmon mediated enhanced decay rates of QDs in AlZMWs lead to substantial changes in the photophysical properties of single quantum dots, including an increase in biexciton behavior.

photon correlation↗

Imaging Anisotropic Waveguide Exciton Polaritons in Tin Sulfide

In recent years, novel materials supporting in-plane anisotropic polaritons have attracted a great deal of research interest due to their capability of shaping nanoscale field distributions and controlling nanophotonic energy flows. Here we report a nano-optical imaging study of waveguide exciton polaritons (EPs) in tin sulfide (SnS) in the near-infrared (near-IR) region using scattering-type scanning near-field optical microscopy (s-SNOM). With s-SNOM, we mapped in real space the propagative EPs in SnS, which show sensitive dependence on the excitation energy and sample thickness. Moreover, we found that both the polariton wavelength and propagation length are anisotropic in the sample plane. In particular, in a narrow spectral range from 1.32 to 1.44 eV, the EPs demonstrate quasi-one-dimensional propagation, which is rarely seen in natural polaritonic materials. Here, a further analysis indicates that the observed polariton anisotropy originates from the different optical band gaps and exciton binding energies along the two principal crystal axes of SnS.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗

1.5 – 1.6 μm semiconductor lasers with an asymmetric periodic optically coupled waveguide

High-power 1.5 – 1.6-μm semiconductor lasers with an asymmetric periodic optically coupled waveguide are developed and their current – voltage, light – current, and spectral characteristics are experimentally studied. The characteristics of these lasers are compared with the characteristics of traditional lasers based on double separate-confinement heterostructures. It is shown that the developed lasers have lower divergence and almost the same threshold and power characteristics as conventional lasers with Fabry – Perot resonators. The developed lasers with a cavity length of 1.6 mm and a mesa-stripe contact width of 3 μm mounted in a housing 11 mm in diameter have a power no lower than 200 mW at a pump current not exceeding 700 mA with a divergence of 25 – 35° versus 45° typical for conventional lasers. (lasers)

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Nanostructured $\mathrm{GaAs/(Al,Ga)As}$ Waveguide for Low-Density Polariton Condensation from a Bound State in the Continuum

Exciton-polaritons are hybrid light-matter states that arise from strong coupling between an exciton resonance and a photonic cavity mode. As bosonic excitations, they can undergo a phase transition to a condensed state that can emit coherent light without a population inversion. This aspect makes them good candidates for thresholdless lasers, yet short exciton-polariton lifetime has made it difficult to achieve condensation at very low power densities. In this sense, long-lived symmetry-protected states are excellent candidates to overcome the limitations that arise from the finite mirror reflectivity of monolithic microcavities. In this work we use a photonic symmetry-protected bound state in the continuum coupled to an excitonic resonance to achieve state-of-the-art polariton condensation threshold in a GaAs/(Al,Ga)As waveguide. Most important, we show the influence of fabrication control and how surface passivation via atomic layer deposition provides a way to reduce exciton quenching at the grating sidewalls.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗

Conductive Spray Paint Fabricated Cylindrical Coplanar Waveguide for Noncontact Liquid-Level Sensing

A noncontact liquid-level sensor using a cylindrical coplanar waveguide (CCPW) is proposed. The concept is demonstrated using a prototype device made by directly spraying conductive paint on the outer surface of a glass cylinder. The position of the air–liquid interface is measured using the time-domain reflection (TDR) signal from the CCPW. The geometric parameters of the prototype sensor were optimized using a full-wave simulation tool. The experimental results show that the prototype CCPW-based liquid-level sensor has a resolution of 29.8μm over a range of 210 mm at the sweeping frequency bandwidth of 500 MHz–4 GHz. The tradeoff between the resolution and the measurement range was discussed. The proposed sensor provides a low-cost, easy-to-fabricate, and noncontact method for liquid-level measurement, which has potential applications in fuel storage, chemical production, and wastewater treatment.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Single Event Transient Response of Vertical and Lateral Waveguide-Integrated Germanium Photodiodes

Pulsed-laser induced single event current measurements on two geometries of waveguide-integrated germanium photodiodes were conducted over a range of operating voltages to examine the impact of photodiode geometry on the transient response. Vertical PIN photodiodes exhibit transients with a duration that is relatively independent of the operating voltage while the transient duration in lateral PIN photodiodes depends on operating voltage. Furthermore, the experimental measurements facilitate identification of device dimensions that impact the transient response. In this work, these results can be used to identify potential radiation mitigation strategies for photodiodes operating in a radiation environment. Understanding the implications of design choices is critical for designing integrated photonic systems that balance system performance with tolerance for radiation degradation.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Amplification-free nucleic acid detection with a fluorescence-based waveguide biosensor

Early detection of pathogens using nucleic acids in clinical samples often requires sensitivity at the single-copy level, which currently necessitates time-consuming and expensive nucleic acid amplification. Here, we describe 1) a redesigned flow cell in the shape of a trapezoid-subtracted geometric stadium, and 2) modified experimental procedures that allow for the measurement of sub-attomolar analytes in microliter quantities on a fluorescence-based waveguide biosensor. We verified our instrumental sensitivity with a 200-μL sample of a fluorescent streptavidin conjugate at 100 zM (100 zeptomolar, or 100·10 −21 mol L −1 ) and theoretically explored the applicability of this modified sensing platform in a sandwich immunoassay format using a Langmuir adsorption model. We present assays that demonstrate specific detection of synthetic influenza A DNA (in buffer) and RNA (in saliva) oligonucleotides at the single-copy level (200 μL at 10 zM) using a fluorescent molecular beacon. Lastly, we demonstrate detection of isolated genomic influenza A RNA at a clinically relevant concentration. This work constitutes a sensitivity improvement of over twelve orders of magnitude compared to our previous nucleic acid detection work, illustrating the significant enhancements that can be gained with optimized experimental design.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

Gold Ion Beam Milled Gold Zero-Mode Waveguides

Zero-mode waveguides (ZMWs) are widely used in single molecule fluorescence microscopy for their enhancement of emitted light and the ability to study samples at physiological concentrations. ZMWs are typically produced using photo or electron beam lithography. We report a new method of ZMW production using focused ion beam (FIB) milling with gold ions. We demonstrate that ion-milled gold ZMWs with 200 nm apertures exhibit similar plasmon-enhanced fluorescence seen with ZMWs fabricated with traditional techniques such as electron beam lithography.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗