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At least 343 records · Page 19
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2010

Characterization of Orbital Debris Photometric Properties Derived from Laboratory-Based Measurements

To better characterize and model optical data acquired from ground-based telescopes, the Optical Measurements Center (OMC) at NASA/JSC attempts to emulate illumination conditions seen in space using equipment and techniques that parallel telescopic observations and source-target-sensor orientations. The OMC uses a 75 Watt Xenon arc lamp as a solar simulator, an SBIG CCD camera with standard Johnson/Bessel filters, and a robotic arm to simulate an object's position and rotation. The laboratory uses known shapes, materials suspected to be consistent with the orbital debris population, and three phase angles to best match the lighting conditions of the telescope based data. The fourteen objects studied in the laboratory are fragments or materials acquired through ground-tests of scaled-model satellites/rocket bodies as well as material samples in more/less "flight-ready" condition. All fragments were measured at 10 increments in a full 360 rotation at 6 , 36 , and 60 phase angles. This paper will investigate published color photometric data for a series of orbital debris targets and compare it to the empirical photometric measurements generated in the OMC. Using the data acquired over specific rotational angles through different filters (B, V, R, I), a color index is acquired (B-R, R-I). Using these values and their associated lightcurves, this laboratory data is compared to observational data obtained on the 1 m telescope of the Astronomical Institute of the University of Bern (AUIB), the 0.9 m operated by the Small- and Medium-Aperture Research Telescope System (SMARTS) Consortium and the Curtis-Schmidt 0.6 m Michigan Orbital Debris Space Debris Telescope both located at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO). An empirical based optical characterization model will be presented to provide preliminary correlations between laboratory based and telescope-based data in the context of classification of GEO debris objects.

Cowardin, H.↗
DOE OSTI2014

Optical bandgap of ultra-thin amorphous silicon films deposited on crystalline silicon by PECVD

An optical study based on spectroscopic ellipsometry, performed on ultrathin hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) layers, is presented in this work. Ultrathin layers of intrinsic amorphous silicon have been deposited on n-type mono-crystalline silicon (c-Si) wafers by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD). The layer thicknesses along with their optical properties –including their refractive index and optical loss- were characterized by spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE) in a wavelength range from 250 nm to 850 nm. The data was fitted to a Tauc-Lorentz optical model and the fitting parameters were extracted and used to compute the refractive index, extinction coefficient and optical bandgap. Furthermore, the a-Si:H film grown on silicon was etched at a controlled rate using a TMAH solution prepared at room temperature. The optical properties along with the Tauc-Lorentz fitting parameters were extracted from the model as the film thickness was reduced. The etch rate for ultrathin a-Si:H layers in TMAH at room temperature was found to slow down drastically as the c-Si interface is approached. From the Tauc-Lorentz parameters obtained from SE, it was found that the a-Si film exhibited properties that evolved with thickness suggesting that the deposited film is non-homogeneous across its depth. It was also found that the degree of crystallinity and optical (Tauc) bandgap increased as the layers were reduced in thickness and coming closer to the c-Si substrate interface, suggesting the presence of nano-structured clusters mixed into the amorphous phase for the region close to the crystalline silicon substrate. Further results from Atomic Force Microscopy and Transmission Electron Microscopy confirmed the presence of an interfacial transitional layer between the amorphous film and the underlying substrate showing silicon nano-crystalline enclosures that can lead to quantum confinement effects. Quantum confinement is suggested to be the cause of the observed increase in the optical bandgap of a-Si:H films close to the a-Si:H/cSi interface.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2015

Advanced Elastic/Inelastic Nuclear Data Development Project

The optical model is used to analyze the elastic and inelastic scattering of nucleons, deuterons, hellions, tritons, and alpha particles by the nuclei. Since this paper covers primarily neutron-nucleus scattering, the focus will be limited to only that interaction. For the sake of this model, the nucleus is described as a blob of nuclear matter with properties based upon its number of nucleons. This infers that a single potential can describe the interaction of particles with different energies with different nuclei.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2011

Comparison of experimental data with predictions of various models for silicon and aluminum fragmentation under the effect of high-energy cosmic rays

The accuracy attained in theoretically estimating the yields of isotopes and isobars and their energy, charge, and mass distributions in silicon fragmentation that occurs in spacecraft electronics under the effect of cosmic-ray protons is an important factor in forecasting the probability for single-event upsets in the electronics and the reliability of spacecraft operation in general. In previous studies of our group, it was shown that the results of the calculations are highly sensitive to the choice of parameters for opticalmodel potentials. In addition to cross sections for elastic and inelastic proton scattering and charge, mass, and energy distributions of heavy nuclear-reaction products, the results of our calculations for doubledifferential spectra of protons originating from the interaction of highly energetic (30-400 MeV) protons with aluminum and double-differential spectra of other particles (neutrons and alpha particles) arising in competing channels of the p + {sup 27}Al reaction are also described in the present article. The calculations in question were performed on the basis of the EMPIRE-II-19 code by using various optical-model potentials, including the Becchetti-Greenlees potential for the (p, n) channel, the Wilmore-Hodgson potential for the (p, n) channel, the Madland potential for the (p, p) channel, the Koning-Delaroche potential for the (p, p) channel, and the McFadden-Satchler potential for the (p, {alpha}) channel. A comparative analysis of the double-differential spectra obtained for outgoing protons, neutrons, and alpha particles experimentally and in the calculations of various authors was performed.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

Properties of high-energy isoscalar monopole excitations in medium-heavy mass spherical nuclei

The recently developed particle-hole dispersive optical model is applied to describe properties of high-energy isoscalar monopole excitations in medium-heavy mass spherical nuclei. In particular, the double transition density averaged over the energy of the isoscalar monopole excitations is considered for {sup 208}Pb in a wide energy interval, which includes the isoscalar giant monopole resonance and its overtone. The energy-averaged strength functions of these resonances are also analyzed.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2019

Direct + Semidirect E1 Photoneutron Reactions: Semimicroscopic Description

The particle-hole dispersive optical model is implemented to describe together E1 photo-absorption and direct + semidirect photoneutron reactions accompanied by excitation of the giant dipole resonance. Being based on this description, a quantitative estimation of the partial and total branching ratios for direct one-neutron decay of the mentioned giant resonance in a few medium-heavy neutron-closed-shell nuclei is obtained. Calculation results are compared with corresponding experimental data.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2015

Detection of a MoSe{sub 2} secondary phase layer in CZTSe by spectroscopic ellipsometry

We demonstrate the application of Spectroscopic Ellipsometry (SE) for identification of secondary phase MoSe{sub 2} in polycrystalline Cu{sub 2}ZnSnSe{sub 4} (CZTSe) samples. A MoSe{sub 2} reference sample was analyzed, and its optical constants (ε{sub 1} and ε{sub 2}) were extracted by SE analysis. This dataset was implemented into an optical model for analyzing SE data from a glass/Mo/CZTSe sample containing MoSe{sub 2} at the back side of the absorber. We present results on the n and k values of CZTSe and show the extraction of the thickness of the secondary phase MoSe{sub 2} layer. Raman spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy were applied to confirm the SE results.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2014

Elastic scattering and total reaction cross section for the {sup 6}He+{sup 58}Ni system

Elastic scattering measurements of {sup 6}He + {sup 58}Ni system have been performed at the laboratory energy of 21.7 MeV. The {sup 6}He secondary beam was produced by a transfer reaction {sup 9}Be ({sup 7}Li, {sup 6}He) and impinged on {sup 58}Ni and {sup 197}Au targets, using the Radioactive Ion Beam (RIB) facility, RIBRAS, installed in the Pelletron Laboratory of the Institute of Physics of the University of São Paulo, Brazil. The elastic angular distribution was obtained in the angular range from 15° to 80° in the center of mass frame. Optical model calculations have been performed using a hybrid potential to fit the experimental data. The total reaction cross section was derived.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

Elastic scattering measurements for {sup 7}Be+{sup 27}Al system at RIBRAS facility

Elastic scattering angular distribution measurements of {sup 7}Be+{sup 27}Al system were performed at the laboratory energy of 15.6 MeV. The {sup 7}Be secondary beam was produced by the proton transfer reaction {sup 3}He({sup 6}Li,{sup 7}Be) and impinged on {sup 27}Al and {sup 197}Au targets, using the Radioactive Ion Beam (RIB) facility, RIBRAS. The elastic angular distribution was obtained within the angular range of 15{sup 0} - 80{sup 0} at the center of mass frame. Optical model calculations have been performed using the Woods- Saxon form factors and the Sao Paulo potential to fit the experimental data. The total reaction cross section was derived.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

Special features of single-particle proton spectra of nickel, zinc, and germanium isotopes in the vicinity of the proton drip line

The single-particle proton spectra of the neutron-deficient isotopes {sup 50,52}Ni, {sup 56,58,60,62}Zn, and {sup 60,62,64}Ge were calculated on the basis of the dispersive optical model whose parameters were extrapolated from the region of stable isotopes. The resulting parameter values lead to agreement between the total number of protons in bound states and the charge number Z of the respective nucleus. The results of the calculations are indicative of a weakly magic character of the {sup 58}Zn nucleus, which has a traditional magic number of N = 28 and a nearly magic number of Z = 30, and the {sup 64}Ge nucleus, for which N = Z = 32.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

Detection of nanoscale embedded layers using laboratory specular X-ray diffraction

Unusual specular X-ray diffraction patterns have been observed from certain thin film intergrowths of metal monochalcogenide (MX) and transition metal dichalcogenide (TX{sub 2}) structures. These patterns exhibit selective “splitting” or broadening of selected (00l) diffraction peaks, while other (00l) reflections remain relatively unaffected [Atkins et al., Chem. Mater. 24, 4594 (2012)]. Using a simplified optical model in the kinematic approximation, we illustrate that these peculiar and somewhat counterintuitive diffraction features can be understood in terms of additional layers of one of the intergrowth components, MX or TX{sub 2}, interleaved between otherwise “ideal” regions of MX-TX{sub 2} intergrowth. The interpretation is in agreement with scanning transmission electron microscope imaging, which reveals the presence of such stacking “defects” in films prepared from non-ideal precursors. In principle, the effect can be employed as a simple, non-destructive laboratory probe to detect and characterize ultrathin layers of one material, e.g., 2-dimensional crystals, embedded between two slabs of a second material, effectively using the two slabs as a highly sensitive interferometer of their separation distance.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2011

Structural and electrical characterization of HBr/O{sub 2} plasma damage to Si substrate

Silicon substrate damage caused by HBr/O{sub 2} plasma exposure was investigated by spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE), high-resolution Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. The damage caused by H{sub 2}, Ar, and O{sub 2} plasma exposure was also compared to clarify the ion-species dependence. Although the damage basically consists of a surface oxidized layer and underlying dislocated Si, the damage structure strongly depends on the incident ion species, ion energy, and oxidation during air and plasma exposure. In the case of HBr/O{sub 2} plasma exposure, hydrogen generated the deep damaged layer ({approx}10 nm), whereas ion-enhanced diffusion of oxygen, supplied simultaneously by the plasma, caused the thick surface oxidation. In-line monitoring of damage thicknesses by SE, developed with an optimized optical model, showed that the SE can be used to precisely monitor damage thicknesses in mass production. Capacitance-voltage (C-V) characteristics of a damaged layer were studied before and after diluted-HF (DHF) treatment. Results showed that a positive charge is generated at the surface oxide-dislocated Si interface and/or in the bulk oxide after plasma exposure. After DHF treatment, most of the positive charges were removed, while the thickness of the ''Si recess'' was increased by removing the thick surface oxidized layer. As both the Si recess and remaining dislocated Si, including positive charges, cause the degradation of electrical performance, precise monitoring of the surface structure and understanding its effect on device performance is indispensable for creating advanced devices.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2012

Functional Multi-Layer Solution Processable Polymer Solar Cells (Final Closeout Report)

The original objectives were: (1) Develop a method to deposit multiple conjugated polymer film layers and avoid the problem of dissolution from mutually solubility; (2) Use this deposition method to develop multi-layer polymer based solar cells with layers that are function specific; (3) characterize these layers and devices; (4) develop electrical and optical models that describe and predict the properties of the multi-layers; and (5) Ultimate efficiency goals are ≈6.75% with J sc = 12 mA/cm 2 , FF = 0.75, and V oc = 0.75. The question of whether photovoltaic (PV) cells will ever be able to replace fossil fuels as the main provider of electrical power is not just a question of device efficiency; it is a question of how much power can be provided for what price. It has been well documented that PV devices at 10% power efficiency can provide for all of the world's power needs without covering too much of the earth's surface. Assuming desert like cloud coverage, an area equivalent to the land area of Texas would have to be covered. However, it has also been shown that using the current state-of-the-art silicon devices, the price-per-Watt will never be low enough to be economically feasible for large-scale development. Solution-processable PV devices based on polymers are a very attractive alternative to traditional Silicon PV because this technology is much lower in materials cost and in environmentally toxic waste production. Solution-based polymers can be rapidly deposited using printing technologies and are compatible with light-weight flexible substrates that can increase the range of available PV applications. In the past ten years, the efficiency of polymer based PV devices has increased from ≈1% to over 10%. The highest efficiency organic solar cells are based upon a single layer than consists of a mixture of donor and acceptor moieties. This one layer has multiple optical and electrical functions, so the design of a single heterojunction layer is based upon the idea of balancing good and bad properties within a single film. This proposal addresses the idea that the use of multiple layers that have differing electrical and optical functions could lead to greater efficiency because fewer materials compromises must be made. This idea is not new, multiple functional layer have been successfully used in cross-linked OLED's and organic small molecule evaporated PV devices. The main reason that multiple layers of polymers are not commonly deposited is that most conjugated polymers are mutually soluble in the same solvents. The work outlined in the proposal was intended to develop a new deposition strategy that would allow multiple organic layers to be deposited from solution using spin coating. The deposition method that we proposed was successful, sometimes, but ultimately not reliable. Instead we focused on more reliable methods to implement doping along the interface between layers. This work has been very successful. We found that using PEDOT:PSS, the PSS would form a surface layer of ≈2-3 nm thickness that would mix with and electrochemically react with P3HT upon heating. This mechanism is also a crosslinking reaction in that H 2 is released and permanent new bonds are formed. Using the Plextronics Inc. replacement to PEDOT:PSS, for which there are no mobile dopants, we were able to show that a second and different mechanism can be used to p-type dope organic materials. We are currently working with Plextronics to develop a new product. Finally we produced n-type doping of a thin fullerene layer near the cathode also using a self-assembly method. Low work function metals will diffuse into the BHJ layer and dope the fullerene upon heating. This doping also affects the vertical segregation of BHJ materials in a predictable way. We accomplished all of the scientific goals that we set out in the proposal written in May 2007. Some of the methods we proposed were not fully successful, but we did come up with better methods to achieve the same goal. We did not achieve the efficiency goal for this proposal. We did increase V oc and explain why, but the same effect did not affect FF or J sc as we had proposed.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

SWIPE: Spectral Water Inversion Processor and Emulator

Degradation of Earth’s inland water resources due to anthropogenic perturbations and climate anomalies at both local and global scales continues to place human health at substantial risk. There is now a growing necessity to develop pragmatic approaches that allow timely and effective extrapolation of local processes, to spatially resolved global products, and to promote operational and sustainable resource policy management. This presentation will be discussing the progress made developing SWIPE: Spectral Water Inversion Processor and Emulator. SWIPE is a platform for advanced modeling of coastal and inland aquatic habitats. The goal is create a comprehensive and cohesive system to leverage recent advancements in computation and machine learning to develop a synthetic training ground for sensitivity studies and algorithm development. The four principal facets of SWIPE include: 1. Advanced two-layer coated sphere bio-optical modeling and GPU radiative transfer modeling, 2. Big Data involving massive synthetic spectral libraries of optical properties of various global aquatic particles, surface reflectance, and top-of-atmosphere reflectance, all at hyperspectral resolution leveraging high-end computing systems at NASA Ames Research Center, 3. Deep Learning for algorithm development for water quality inversion of concentrations of common biogeophysical variables as well as optics, full uncertainty characterization by water type, and forward emulation, and lastly, 4. Image Processing for application of developed retrieval algorithms for both hyperspectral and multispectral sensors with experimental corrections for global adjacency, noise, sunglint, and benthic reflectance. This presentation will demonstrate the Equivalent Algal Populations (EAP) two-layer coated sphere scattering model which has been used develop spectral libraries of hyperspectral inherent optical properties of roughly 80 species of phytoplankton, covering 15 different classes and nine taxonomic functional types. The EAP model was also used to derive spectral properties of 10 different non-algal particle functional types. Examples of how the SMART-G (Speed-up Monte-carlo Advanced Radiative Transfer using GPU) radiative transfer code is used to model optically complex aquatic signals will be presented and discussed in the context of creating a massive synthetic database which can leverage the full power of next generation machine learning techniques and high end computing for water quality inversion. We will discuss our active investigation in things like appropriate model architectures, dimensionality reduction techniques such as PCA and autoencoders, uncertainty quantification and abstaining, and which variables actually benefit most from hyperspectral information versus multispectral resolution. We are also curious about questions relating to cost/benefit analysis in terms of computation resources, neural network complexity, and data volumes. Answers to these questions will hopefully elaborate on cost efficiency for potential future sensor design considerations.

SWIPE↗
DOE OSTI2011

Analyzing power in elastic scattering of {sup 6}He from a polarized proton target at 71 MeV/nucleon

The vector analyzing power has been measured for the elastic scattering of neutron-rich {sup 6}He from polarized protons at 71 MeV/nucleon making use of a newly constructed solid polarized proton target operated in a low magnetic field and at high temperature. Two approaches based on local one-body potentials were applied to investigate the spin-orbit interaction between a proton and a {sup 6}He nucleus. An optical model analysis revealed that the spin-orbit potential for {sup 6}He is characterized by a shallow and long-ranged shape compared with the global systematics of stable nuclei. A semimicroscopic analysis with an {alpha}+n+n cluster folding model suggests that the interaction between a proton and the {alpha} core is essentially important in describing the p+{sup 6}He elastic scattering. The data are also compared with fully microscopic analyses using nonlocal optical potentials based on nucleon-nucleon g matrices.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2025

16 O + 16 O fusion at sub-coulomb energies

A simple optical model (OPM) method using non-monotonic (NM) potentials characterized by a repulsive core from the microscopic theory of the Pauli-led energy-density functional (EDF) has been developed to investigate the 16 O + 16 O fusion at sub-Coulomb energies relevant to the oxygen burning. Here, the study involves the analysis of the experimental fusion cross-section (FCS) data in energy range 6.92 ≤ E cm ≤ 13.83 MeV, which includes the Coulomb barrier region E cm = 10.0–11.92 MeV. Apart from an excellent description of the existing FCS data in the studied energy range, the associated hindrance, characterized by the S-factor reaching a maximum and then gradually falling off at lower energies, so far suggested empirically for the system, is reproduced down to 4 MeV for the first time in the simple OPM. An S-factor maximum of S 0 = 3.15 × 10 25 MeV.b at E 0 = 7.14 MeV is observed with T ≃ 2.6 GK, which conforms to the values reported for quiescent and explosive burning. Our reaction rate, deduced from the NM potential, compares well with the Caughlan and Fowler data. Dominant partial waves implicit in the observed maximum S-factor in the studied Gamow range are also explored. Our present findings, with the success of NM potentials, suggest that the nucleus–nucleus potential is non-monotonic.

16O+16O↗
DOE OSTI2025

First Measurement of 87 Rb( α , xn ) Cross Sections at Weak r -process Energies in Supernova ν -driven Ejecta to Investigate Elemental Abundances in Low-metallicity Stars

Observed abundances of Z ∼ 40 elements in metal-poor stars vary from star to star, indicating that the rapid and slow neutron capture processes may not contribute alone to the synthesis of elements beyond iron. The weak r-process was proposed to produce Z ∼ 40 elements in a subset of old stars. Thought to occur in the ν-driven ejecta of a core-collapse supernova, ( α, xn ) reactions would drive the nuclear flow toward heavier masses at T = 2−5 GK. However, current comparisons between modeled and observed yields do not bring satisfactory insights into the stellar environment, mainly due to the uncertainties of the nuclear physics inputs where the dispersion in a given reaction rate often exceeds 1 order of magnitude. Involved rates are calculated with the statistical model where the choice of an α -optical-model potential ( α OMP) leads to such a poor precision. The first experiment on 87 Rb( α, xn ) reactions at weak r -process energies is reported here. Total inclusive cross sections were assessed at E c.m. = 8.1−13 MeV (3.7−7.6 GK) with the active target MUlti-Sampling Ionization Chamber. With an N = 50 seed nucleus, the measured values agree with statistical model estimates using the α OMP Atomki-V2. A reevaluated reaction rate was incorporated into new nucleosynthesis calculations, focusing on ν-driven ejecta conditions known to be sensitive to this specific rate. These conditions were found to fail to reproduce the lighter heavy element abundances in metal-poor stars.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗