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At least 343 records · Page 19

Broadband Frequency Conversion of Spectrally Incoherent Pulses and Initial Laser-Plasma Instabilities Mitigation Experiments

There is a need for efficient broadband frequency conversion schemes from the infrared, where optical pulses are efficiently amplified by solid-state laser materials, to the ultraviolet, a wavelength range more suitable for inertial confinement fusion (ICF). The current schemes are inadequate for broadband, spectrally incoherent optical pulses composed of a large number of frequency components distributed over a large frequency range. Implementing novel technologies that generate optical pulses with a large number of spectral components improves the laser-target interaction. In particular, it has long been believed that broad bandwidth mitigates the electron-plasma-wave instabilities that generate suprathermal electrons, which degrade ICF performance by increasing the fuel adiabat and reducing the shell areal density. It is important to develop a platform to demonstrate hot electron suppression caused by the larger available bandwidth, which has not previously been feasible in the laboratory. Experimentally measuring and theoretically assessing these effects with adequately benchmarked simulation codes are paramount to the design and development of novel laser facilities aiming at producing energy via laser fusion. The Laboratory for Laser Energetics is building a new laser facility, the Fourth-generation Laser for Ultrabroadband eXperiments (FLUX), to generate high-energy nanosecond laser pulses with fractional bandwidth larger than 1% in the ultraviolet and perform combined experiments with the 60-beam Omega facility. This large increase in bandwidth from the ~ 0.1% currently available on high-energy laser systems, is achieved by combining amplification in nonlinear optical parametric amplifiers (OPAs) around 1053 nm (1w) with nonlinear frequency conversion to the ultraviolet (around 351 nm, 3w). The novel scheme for frequency conversion is based on the noncollinear sum-frequency generation (SFG) of the angularly dispersed amplified 1w output with a narrowband 2w pulse, which is also used to pump the OPA system. The proposal funded scientific and engineering studies necessary to implement this novel laser facility, accelerated the SFG deployment by funding additional project team resources (shop time, engineers, and technicians), and funded preliminary experiments on the Omega Laser.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Measurement of precision oscillator phase noise using the two-oscillator coherent down-conversion technique

The characterization of precision frequency standard phase noise and spurious outputs is addressed, using the two-oscillator coherent downconversion technique. Focus is on techniques for making accurate measurements of phase noise and spurious outputs within 100 KHz of a carrier. Significant sources of measurement error related to hardware design problems and inadequate measurement procedures are discussed: measurement errors resulting from system noise sources, phase-locked loop effects, and system bandwidth limitations. In addition, methods and design considerations for minimizing the effects of such errors are presented. Analytic discussions and results are supplemented with actual test data and measurements made using measurement hardware developed at the Ball Corporation, Efratom Division.

Christopher J. Pagnanelli↗

Some n-p (Hg,Cd)Te photodiodes for 8-14 micrometer heterodyne applications

The results describing the dc and CO2 laser heterodyne characteristics of a three element photodiode array and single element and four element photodiode arrays are presented. The measured data shows that the n(+)-p configuration is capable of achieving bandwidths of 475 to 725 MHz and noise equivalent powers of 3.2 x 10 to the minus 20th power W/Hz at 77 K and 1.0 x 10 to the minus 19th power W/Hz at 145 K. The n(+)-n(-)-p photodiodes exhibited wide bandwidths (approximately 2.0 GHz) and fairly good effective heterodyne quantum efficiencies (approximately 13-30 percent at 2.0 GHz). Noise equivalent powers ranging from 1.44 x 10 to the minus 19th power W/Hz to 6.23 x 10 to the minus 20th power W/Hz were measured at 2.0 GHz.

Shanley, J. F.↗

Impact of increased smoothing by spectral dispersion bandwidth on stimulated Brillouin scattering in laser driven Hohlraums

Experiments were conducted at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) to investigate the impact of increased smoothing by spectral dispersion (SSD) bandwidth on the production of stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) within an indirect-drive inertial confinement fusion (ICF) Hohlraum. This was done in a subscale gold Hohlraum driven by 192 laser beams depositing 1.1 MJ of energy. The laser bandwidth was increased from 45 to 118 GHz (before frequency tripling) on the 30° and 50° cones, where backscatter could be measured using the Full Aperture Backscatter Station (FABS). It was expected that this 2.6-fold increase in bandwidth would suppress SBS generated within the Hohlraum plasma and lower the backscattered SBS energy on the 50° cones by over a factor of four. Experimental results, however, show that this SSD change only reduced the 50° cone SBS during the main capsule drive by -18±31% and -4.5±7.8% over the entire pulse. This is small compared to expected shot-to-shot SBS reproducibility (∼30%), such that the result can be considered within normal performance fluctuations. New 3D parallel paraxial code (pF3D) simulations, accounting for beam refractive intensification reproduce this result, suggesting that closer to 300 GHz of bandwidth would have been required to mitigate SBS to the expected level. Delivering such a high bandwidth is not feasible at NIF when operating at high peak power and would potentially prevent NIF’s ability to use cross-beam energy transfer (CBET) for implosion symmetry tuning.

Physics↗

Generator coordinate method for transition-state dynamics in nuclear fission

Since its beginnings, fission theory has assumed that low-energy induced fission takes place through transition-state channels at the barrier tops. Nevertheless, up to now there is no microscopic theory applicable to those conditions. We suggest that modern reaction theory is suitable for this purpose, and propose a methodology based on a configuration-interaction framework using the generator coordinate method (GCM). Simple reaction-theoretic models are constructed with the Gaussian overlap approximation to parametrize both the dynamics within the channels and their incoherent couplings to states outside the barrier. The physical characteristics of the channels examined here are their effective bandwidths and the quality of the coupling to compound-nucleus states as measured by the transmission factor T. We also investigate the spacing of GCM states with respect to their degree of overlap. We find that a rather coarse mesh provides an acceptable accuracy for estimating the bandwidths and transmission factors. The common numerical stability problem in using the GCM is avoided due to the choice of meshes and the finite bandwidths of the channels. Here, the bandwidths of the channels are largely controlled by the zero-point energy with respect to the collective coordinate in the GCM configurations.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Mars 1064-nm Spectral Radiance Measurements from the Receiver Noise Response of the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter

The Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter not only provides surface topography from the laser pulse time-of-flight, but also two radiometric measurements, the active measurement of transmitted and reflected laser pulse energy, and the passive measurement of reflected solar illumination. The passive radiometry measurement is accomplished in a novel fashion by monitoring the noise density at the output of the photodetector and solving for the amount of background light. The passive radiometry measurements provide images of Mars at 1064-nm wavelength over a 2 nm bandwidth with sub-km spatial resolution and with 2% or better precision under full illumination. We describe in this paper the principle of operation, the receiver mathematical model, its calibration, and performance assessment from sample measurement data.

Sun, Xiaoli↗

An 86-106 GHz quasi-integrated low noise Schottky receiver

An integrated planar receiver was developed and tested over the 82-112 GHz bandwidth. The quasi-integrated antenna used in the receiver has a high gain, a high Gaussian coupling efficiency, and a wide bandwidth. The novel mixer design consists of a planar GaAs Schottky diode placed at the feed of a dipole-probe suspended inside an integrated horn antenna. The diode uses an etched surface channel and a planar air bridge for reduced parasitic capacitance. At 92 GHz, the room-temperature antenna-mixer exhibits a double sideband conversion loss and noise temperature of 5.5 +/- 0.5 dB and 770 K +/- 50 K, respectively. The measured DSB conversion loss and noise temperature over a 20 GHz bandwidth (86 GHz-106 GHz) remain less than 6.2 dB +/- 0.5 dB and 1000 K +/- 50 K, respectively. The low cost of fabrication and simplicity of the design makes it ideal for millimeter- and submillimeter-wave receivers.

Ali-Ahmad, Walid Y.↗

Twenty Years of Terra MODIS Spectral Performance using the Spectro-Radiometric Calibration Assembly

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument on-board the Terra spacecraft has provided valuable Earth data to the science community for the last 20 years. Equipped with several on-board calibrators (OBCs), MODIS has continued to operate nominally since its launch in December 1999. The Spectro-Radiometric Calibration Assembly (SRCA) is one such OBC that is able to provide on-orbit measurements of the MODIS reflective solar bands (RSBs) in radiometric, spatial and spectral modes. While the SRCA is operating in spectral mode, it is able to monitor the center wavelength (CW), bandwidth (BW) and in-band relative spectral response (RSR) of most RSBs. Prelaunch measurements of the CWs, BWs and RSRs of the RSBs were performed at the system level using the Spectral measurement Assembly (SpMA). Using both the prelaunch measurements and the measurements obtained on-orbit using the SRCA, the changes in the spectral response of the MODIS reflective bands can be monitored throughout the mission. This paper will provide a brief description of the spectral calibration approach and report on-orbit changes in these spectral performance parameters and their uncertainties over the last 20 years. It will also address changes to the SRCA operation on-orbit and their impact on measured spectral calibration results. Despite two decades in orbit, the spectral responses for most Terra MODIS reflective bands continue to remain within their design specifications.

MODIS↗

A Low-Noise NbTiN Hot Electron Bolometer Mixer

Hot electron bolometer (HEB) mixer elements, based on niobium titanium nitride (NbTiN) thin film technology, have been fabricated on crystalline quartz substrates over a 20 nm thick AlN buffer layer. The film was patterned by optical lithography, yielding bolometer elements that measure about 1 micrometer long and between 2 and 12 micrometers wide. These mixer chips were mounted in a fixed-tuned waveguide mixer block, and tested in the 600 and 800 GHz frequency range. The 3-dB output bandwidth of these mixers was determined to be about 2.5 GHz and we measured a receiver noise temperature of 270 K at 630 GHz using an intermediate frequency of 1.5 GHz. The receiver has excellent amplitude stability and the noise temperature measurements are highly repeatable. An 800 GHz receiver incorporating one of these mixer chips has recently been installed at the Sub-Millimeter Telescope in Arizona for field test and for astronomical observations.

Tong, C. Edward↗

32 Gbps heterogeneously integrated quantum dot waveguide avalanche photodiodes on silicon

We report a heterogeneous GaAs-based quantum dot (QD) avalanche photodiode (APD) on silicon with an ultralow dark current of 10 pA at − <#comment/> 1 V , 3 dB bandwidth of 20 GHz and record gain-bandwidth product (GBP) of 585 GHz. Furthermore, open eye diagrams up to 32 Gb/s are demonstrated at 1310 nm. The k-factor has been measured for these devices to be as low as 0.14. A polarization dependence on gain and bandwidth has been observed and investigated. This shows the potential to integrate a high-speed receiver in a wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) system on a QD-based silicon photonics platform.

Tossoun, Bassem↗

160-190 GHz Monolithic Low Noise Amplifiers

This paper presents the results of two 160-190 GHz monolithic low noise amplifiers (LNAs) fabricated with 0.07-microns pseudomorphic (PM) InAlAs/InGaAs/InP HEMT technology using a reactive ion etch (RIE) via hole process. A peak small signal gain of 9 dB was measured at 188 GHz for the first LNA with a 3-dB bandwidth from 164 to 192 GHz while the second LNA has achieved over 6-dB gain from 142 to 180 GHz. The same design (second LNA) was also fabricated with 0.08-micron gate and a wet etch process, showing a small signal gain of 6 dB with noise figure 6 dB. All the measurement results were obtained via on-wafer probing. The LNA noise measurement at 170 GHz is also the first attempt at this frequency.

Kok, Y. L.↗

A Magnetic Field Response Recorder: A New Tool for Measurement Acquisition

A magnetic field response recorder was developed to facilitate a measurement acquisition method that uses magnetic fields to power and to interrogate all sensors. Sensors are designed as electrically passive inductive-capacitive or passive inductive-capacitive-resistive circuits that produce magnetic field responses when electrically activated by oscillating magnetic fields. When electrically activated, the sensor's magnetic field response attributes (frequency, amplitude and bandwidth) correspond to the one or more physical states that each sensor measures. The response recorder makes it possible to simultaneously measure two unrelated physical properties using this class of sensors. The recorder is programmable allowing it to analyze one or more response attributes simultaneously. A single sensor design will be used to demonstrate that the acquisition method and the sensor example can be used to for all phases of a component's life from manufacturing to damage that can destroy it.

Woodard, Stanley E.↗

In-situ proton radiation testing of 2.4 micron wavelength extended InGaAs photodiodes at dry ice and room temperatures

We have successfully tested 290 µm diameter, 2.4 micron wavelength, Extended InGaAs photodiodes coupled with single mode fiber using 50 MeV Protons at both dry ice temperature (-72 °C) and room temperature (20 °C). The devices were reverse biased at 100 mV during the radiation run and their leakage current was continuously monitored insitu during the exposure. These devices find multiple applications in space for spectroscopy & sensing, inter-satellite optical communication links, rapid Doppler shift LIDAR, as well as inter-planetary and Earth-to-Moon communication links. Several photodiodes were tested using 50 MeV Protons with an average flux level of 2.11 × 10 7 protons/cm 2 /s, for a total fluence of 1.0 × 10 11 protons/cm 2 and total dose of 20 krad (water). Pre- and post-radiation results were also measured for leakage current vs. voltage, responsivity (quantum efficiency), and bandwidth of the Extended InGaAs photodiodes. Finally, all devices were found to be fully functional at normal operating conditions and at both dry ice and room temperature.

2.4 micron wavelength↗

Understanding HPC Benchmark Performance on Intel Broadwell and Cascade Lake Processors

Hardware platforms in high performance computing are constantly getting more complex to handle even when considering multicore CPUs alone. Numerous features and configuration options in the hardware and the software environment that are relevant for performance are not even known to most application users or developers. Microbenchmarks, i.e., simple codes that fathom a particular aspect of the hardware, can help to shed light on such issues, but only if they are well understood and if the results can be reconciled with known facts or performance models. The insight gained from microbenchmarks may then be applied to real applications for performance analysis or optimization. In this paper we investigate two modern Intel x86 server CPU architectures in depth: Broadwell EP and Cascade Lake SP. We highlight relevant hardware configuration settings that can have a decisive impact on code performance and show how to properly measure on-chip and off-chip data transfer bandwidths. The new victim L3 cache of Cascade Lake and its advanced replacement policy receive due attention. Finally we use DGEMM, sparse matrix-vector multiplication, and the HPCG benchmark to make a connection to relevant application scenarios.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Machine Learning for Real-time Fusion Plasma Behavior Prediction and Manipulation (Final Report)

The goal of this project is to implement real-time analysis of 2D Beam Emission Spectroscopy (BES) data to predict and control transient and high-bandwidth events at DIII-D. In essence, we wish to bring high-bandwidth fluctuation diagnostics into the realm of real-time measurements and control. The BES ML models will necessarily be deep neural networks (DNN) with a “data flow” architecture for compatibility with high-throughput, low-latency evaluation on a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) or other emerging processor technologies. The real-time output will be fed to the plasma control system (PCS) for real-time control tasks, specifically for ELM control and avoidance and for QH-mode access and sustainment. We anticipate that the real-time analysis of fluctuation diagnostics will create new enabling technologies to predict and control transient events such as confinement mode transitions, edge-localized modes, Alfven eigenmode events, and disruptions. The proposed research is aligned with ITER research needs and DIII-D programmatic goals. For instance, the prediction and avoidance of ELM events is critical for ITER machine safety. Also, H-mode access with RMP ELM suppression in ITER is an active research area due to high separatrix density, narrow SOL width, and elevated LH transition power threshold.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

On the use of a single blue band in oceanography

The selection of a single blue band to quantitatively measure ocean chlorophyll is dependent upon the altitude and spectral bandwidth of the filter. These relationships are discussed, and the conclusion made that a blue band from 0.44 to 0.50 microns would best serve this oceanographic application.

Sherman, J. W., III↗

10-30 GHz monolithic GaAs travelling-wave divider/combiner

A four-way monolithic GaAs traveling-wave power divider/combiner has been designed, fabricated and evaluated. With a design center frequency of 20 GHz, a bandwidth of from 10 GHz to 30 GHz has been measured. The insertion loss per dividing or combining action is less than 0.5 dB, with isolation between ports no worse than 20 dB. The input/output VSWRs are better than 2:1 across the same band. This divider/combiner can readily be used with monolithic GaAs power FET amplifiers to produce a several-fold increase in output powers over the 10 to 30 GHz frequency range.

Tserng, H. Q.↗