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At least 37 records · Page 2

Dose rate, dose-equivalent rate, and quality factor in SLS-1

A tissue-equivalent proportional counter (TEPC) sensitive to the lineal energy range of 0.26-300 keV micrometer-1 was flown on STS-40 (39 degrees x 278 km x 296 km) inside the Spacelab. This instrument was previously flown on STS-31 but was modified to provide a finer resolution at lower lineal energies to better map the South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA) protons. The instrument was turned on 6 June 1991, and operated for 7470 min (124.5 h). The flight duration was characterized by a very large number of X-ray solar flares and enhanced magnetic field fluctuations; however, no significant dose from the solar particles was measured at the location of this instrument. The flight data can be separated into trapped and galactic cosmic radiation parts. The dose rate, dose-equivalent rate and quality factor for trapped radiation were 4.21 +/- 0.03 mrad day-1, 7.72 +/- 0.05 mrem day-1, and 1.83 +/- 0.1, respectively. The dose rate, dose-equivalent rate, and quality factor for galactic cosmic radiation were 5.34 +/- 0.03 mrad day-1, 14.63 +/- 0.06 mrem day-1, and 2.74 +/- 0.1, respectively. The overall quality factor for the flight was 2.38. The dose from the GCR is higher than from SAA protons because of the high inclination and low altitude of this flight. The AP8MAX model of the trapped radiation gives a dose rate of 2.43 mrad day-1 and a quality factor of 1.77. The CREME solar maximum model of galactic cosmic radiation gives a dose rate of 2.54 mrad day-1 and a quality factor of 2.91. Thus the AP8MAX model underestimates the dose by a factor of 1.8 whereas the CREME model leads to an underestimation of the dose by a factor of 2. A comparison of the LET spectra using the AP8MAX model and galactic cosmic radiation transport codes shows only a qualitative agreement.

NASA Discipline Number 00-00↗

High quality factor subwavelength grating waveguide micro-ring resonator based on trapezoidal silicon pillars

Subwavelength grating waveguide-based micro-ring resonators (SWGMRs) are a promising platform for research in light–matter interaction. However, it is extremely difficult to achieve small radius SWGMR devices (e.g., 5 μm) with satisfying quality factors (e.g., ~10,000). One major issue is the large bend loss of small radius SWGMRs. In this work, we report the use of trapezoidal silicon pillars instead of conventional rectangular silicon pillars as building blocks of SWGMRs. We found that an asymmetric effective refractive index profile created by trapezoidal silicon pillars can significantly reduce the bend loss and therefore increase the quality factors of SWGMRs. For the first time to the best of our knowledge, we have experimentally demonstrated a 5 μm radius SWGMR made of trapezoidal silicon pillars (T-SWGMR) with an applicable quality factor as high as 11,500, 4.6 times of that (~2800) offered by a conventional SWGMR made of rectangular silicon pillars, which indicates an 81.4% reduction of the propagation loss. This approach can also be readily employed to enhance SWGMRs with larger radii. Furthermore, we have also experimentally demonstrated a 10 μm radius T-SWGMR with a quality factor as high as 45,000, which indicates a propagation loss as low as 6.07 dB/cm.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Gallium nitride L3 photonic crystal cavities with an average quality factor of 16 900 in the near infrared

Photonic crystal point-defect cavities were fabricated in a GaN free-standing photonic crystal slab. The cavities are based on the popular L3 design, which was optimized using an automated process based on a genetic algorithm, in order to maximize the quality factor. Optical characterization of several individual cavity replicas resulted in an average unloaded quality factor Q = 16 900 at the resonant wavelength λ∼1.3 μm, with a maximal measured Q value of 22 500. The statistics of both the quality factor and the resonant wavelength are well explained by first-principles simulations including fabrication disorder and background optical absorption.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

On the evaluation of antenna quality factors

Antenna reactive energies and modal quality factors by compact expressions given in terms of polynomials with positive coefficients not involving spherical Bessel functions

Kalafus, R. M.↗

High quality factor non-uniform metasurfaces

High quality factor electromagnetic metasurfaces are provided. The metasurface is configured to have in plane guided-mode resonances (e.g., corresponding to waveguide modes or the like). Coupling features are included in the metasurface that are configured to couple free-space radiation to the guided mode resonances. The resulting structures have a high-Q response to free-space radiation and can be used for various applications, such as beam splitting, beam steering, and beam focusing or defocusing.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Dynamic Focusing with High-Quality-Factor Metalenses

Metasurface lenses provide an ultrathin platform in which to focus light, but weak light–matter interactions limit their dynamic tunability. Here we design submicron-thick, ultrahigh quality factor (high-Q) metalenses that enable dynamic modulation of the focal length and intensity. Using full-field simulations, we show that quality factors exceeding 5000 can be generated by including subtle, periodic perturbations within the constituent Si nanoantennas. Such high-Q resonances enable lens modulation based on the nonlinear Kerr effect, with focal lengths varying from 4 to 6.5 μm and focal intensities decreasing by half as input intensity increases from 0.1 to 1 mW/μm 2 . We also show how multiple high-Q resonances can be embedded in the lens response through judicious placement of the perturbations. Our high-Q lens design, with quality factors 2 orders of magnitude higher than existing lens designs, provides a foundation for reconfigurable, multiplexed, and hyperspectral metasurface imaging platforms.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

On the potential impact of the newly proposed quality factors on space radiation protection

The recently proposed changes in the defined quality factor hold great potential for easing some of the protection requirements from electrons and protons in the near-Earth environment. At the same time, the high Linear Energy Transfer (LET) components play an even more important role which must be further evaluated. Several recommendations are made which need to be addressed before these new quality factors can be implemented into space radiation potection practice.

Wilson, John W.↗

Enhancement in Quality Factor of SRF Niobium Cavities by Material Diffusion

An increase in the quality factor of superconducting radiofrequency cavities is achieved by minimizing the surface resistance during processing steps. The surface resistance is the sum of temperature independent residual resistance and temperature/material dependent Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS) resistance. High temperature heat treatment usually reduces the impurities concentration from the bulk niobium, lowering the residual resistance. The BCS part can be reduced by selectively doping non-magnetic impurities. The increase in quality factor, termed as Q-rise, was observed in cavities when titanium or nitrogen thermally diffused in the inner cavity surface.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Realization of high quality production schedules: Structuring quality factors via iteration of user specification processes

This paper describes an architecture for realizing high quality production schedules. Although quality is one of the most important aspects of production scheduling, it is difficult, even for a user, to specify precisely. However, it is also true that the decision as to whether a scheduler is good or bad can only be made by the user. This paper proposes the following: (1) the quality of a schedule can be represented in the form of quality factors, i.e. constraints and objectives of the domain, and their structure; (2) quality factors and their structure can be used for decision making at local decision points during the scheduling process; and (3) that they can be defined via iteration of user specification processes.

Hamazaki, Takashi↗

Measurement of a high electrical quality factor in a niobium resonator for a gravitational radiation detector

The mechanical and electrical quality factors of a 10-g niobium resonator were measured at 4.4 K and were found to be 8.1 x 10 to the 6th, and 3.8 x 10 to the 6th, respectively. The value for the electrical quality factor is high enough for a system operating at 50 mK at a sensitivity level of one phonon. The resonator's low damping properties make it suitable for use as a transducer for a cryogenic three-mode gravitational radiation detector. A practical design is given for the mounting of the resonator on a 2400-kg aluminum-bar detector. Projections are made for the sensitivity of a 2400-kg bar instrumented as a three-mode system with this resonator inductively coupled to a SQUID.

Folkner, W. M.↗

High quality factor manganese-doped aluminum lumped-element kinetic inductance detectors sensitive to frequencies below 100 GHz

Aluminum lumped-element kinetic inductance detectors (LEKIDs) sensitive to millimeter-wave photons have been shown to exhibit high quality factors, making them highly sensitive and multiplexable. The superconducting gap of aluminum limits aluminum LEKIDs to photon frequencies above 100 GHz. Manganese-doped aluminum (Al-Mn) has a tunable critical temperature and could therefore be an attractive material for LEKIDs sensitive to frequencies below 100 GHz if the internal quality factor remains sufficiently high when manganese is added to the film. To investigate, we measured some of the key properties of Al-Mn LEKIDs. A prototype eight-element LEKID array was fabricated using a 40 nm thick film of Al-Mn deposited on a 500 μm thick high-resistivity, float-zone silicon substrate. The manganese content was 900 ppm, the measured T c = 694 ± 1mK, and the resonance frequencies were near 150 MHz. Using measurements of the forward scattering parameter S 21 at various bath temperatures between 65 and 250 mK, we determined that the Al-Mn LEKIDs we fabricated have internal quality factors greater than 2 × 10 5 , which is high enough for millimeter-wave astrophysical observations. In the dark conditions under which these devices were measured, the fractional frequency noise spectrum shows a shallow slope that depends on bath temperature and probe tone amplitude, which could be two-level system noise. In conclusion, the anticipated white photon noise should dominate this level of low-frequency noise when the detectors are illuminated with millimeter-waves in future measurements. The LEKIDs responded to light pulses from a 1550 nm light-emitting diode, and we used these light pulses to determine that the quasiparticle lifetime is 60 μs.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Development of control quality factor for HVAC control loop performance assessment—II: Field testing and results (ASHRAE RP-1587)

This article is the third paper from the research project RP-1587, focusing on presenting a comprehensive field test of the proposed control quality factors (CQFs; i.e., CQF-Harris and CQF-exponentially weighted moving average [EWMA]) and testing results. Firstly, the simulated control loops and real control loops are evaluated for offline assessment. Then, the field experiment implemented for different HVAC control loops is assessed online using the proposed CQFs. Test results show that the proposed CQFs are capable of adequately and effectively assessing the HVAC control loop performance. The methodology of obtaining those CQFs is provided in the companion paper: Development of Control Quality Factor for HVAC Control Loop Performance Assessment I - Methodology (ASHRAE RP-1587) (Li et al. 2019 Li, Y., Z. D. O'Neill, and X. Zhou. 2019. Development of control quality factor for HVAC control loop performance assessment I - Methodology (ASHRAE RP-1587).

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

Optimizing the quality factor of InP nanobeam cavities using atomic layer deposition

Photonic crystal nanobeam cavities are valued for their small mode volume, CMOS compatibility, and high coupling efficiency-crucial features for various low-power photonic applications and quantum information processing. However, despite their potential, nanobeam cavities often suffer from low quality factors due to fabrication imperfections that create surface states and optical absorption. In this work, we demonstrate InP nanobeam cavities with up to 140% higher quality factors by applying a coating of Al 2 O 3 via atomic layer deposition to terminate dangling bonds and reduce surface absorption. Additionally, changing the deposition thickness allows precise tuning of the cavity mode wavelength without compromising the quality factor. This Al 2 O 3 atomic layer deposition approach holds great promise for optimizing nanobeam cavities that are well-suited for integration with a wide range of photonic applications.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Comparison of Integrated Radiation Transport Models with TEPC Measurements for the Average Quality Factors in Spaceflights

The purpose of this work is to test our theoretical model for the interpretation of radiation data measured in space. During the space missions astronauts are exposed to the complex field of radiation type and kinetic energies from galactic cosmic rays (GCR), trapped protons, and sometimes solar particle events (SPEs). The tissue equivalent proportional counter (TEPC) is a simple time-dependent approach for radiation monitoring for astronauts on board the International Space Station. Another and a newer approach to Microdosimetry is the use of silicon-on-insulator (SOI) technology launched on the MidSTAR-1 mission in low Earth orbit (LEO). In the radiation protection practice, the average quality factor of a radiation field is defined as a function of linear energy transfer (LET), Q(sub ave)(LET). However, TEPC measures the average quality factor as a function of the lineal energy y, Q(sub ave)(y), defined as the average energy deposition in a volume divided by the average chord length of the volume. Lineal energy, y, deviates from LET due to energy straggling, delta-ray escape or entry, and nuclear fragments produced in the detector volume. Monte Carlo track structure simulation was employed to obtain the response of a TEPC irradiated with charged particle for an equivalent site diameter of 1 micron of wall-less counter. The calculated data of the energy absorption in the wall-less counter were compiled for various y values for several ion types at various discrete projectile energy levels. For the simulation of TEPC response from the mixed radiation environments inside a spacecraft, such as, Space Shuttle and International Space Station, the complete microdosimetric TEPC response, f( y, E, Z), were calculated with the Monte Carlo theoretical results by using the first order Lagrangian interpolation for a monovariate function at a given y value (y = 0.1 keV/micron 5000 keV/micron) at any projectile energy level (E = 0.01 MeV/u to 50,000 MeV/u) of each specific radiation type (Z = 1 to 28). Because the anomalous response has been observed at large event sizes in the experiment due to the escape of energy out of sensitive volume by delta-rays and the entry of delta-rays from the high-density wall into the low-density gas-volume cavity, Monte Carlo simulation was also made for the response of a walled-TEPC with wall thickness 2 mm and density 1 g/cm(exp 3). The radius of cavity was set to 6.35 mm and a gas density 7.874 x 10(exp -5) g/cm(exp 3). The response of the walled- and the wall-less counters were compared. The average quality factor Q(sub ave)(y) for trapped protons on STS-89 demonstrated the good agreement between the model calculations and flight TEPC data as shown. Using an integrated space radiation model (this includes the transport codes HZETRN and BRYNTRN, the quantum nuclear interaction model QMSFRG) and the resultant response distribution functions of walled-TEPC from Monte-Carlo track simulations, we compared model calculations with walled-TEPC measurements from NASA missions in LEO and made predictions for the lunar and the Mars missions. The Q(sub ave)(y) values for the trapped or the solar protons ranged from 1.9-2.5. This over-estimates the Qave(LET) values which ranged from 1.4-1.6. Both quantities increase with shield thickness due to nuclear fragmentation. The Q(sub ave)(LET) for the complete GCR spectra was found to be 3.5-4.5, while flight TEPCs measured 2.9-3.4 for Q(sub ave)(y). The GCR values are decreasing with the shield thickness. Our analysis for a proper interpretation of data supports the use of TEPCs for monitoring space radiation environment.

Kim, Myung-Hee Y.↗

Toward Ultra‐High‐Quality‐Factor Wireless Masing Magnetic Resonance Sensing

It has recently been shown that a bolus of hyperpolarized nuclear spins can yield stimulated emission signals similar in nature to maser signals, potentially enabling new ways of sensing hyperpolarized contrast media, including most notably [1- 13 C]pyruvate that is under evaluation in over 50 clinical trials for metabolic imaging of cancer. The stimulated NMR signal emissions lasting for minutes do not require radio-frequency excitation, offering unprecedented advantages compared to conventional MR sensing. However, creating nuclear spin maser emission is challenging in practice due to stringent fundamental requirements, making practical in vivo applications hardly possible using conventional passive MR detectors. Here, in this study, we demonstrate the utility of a wireless NMR maser detector, the quality factor of which was enhanced 22-fold (to 1,670) via parametric pumping. This active-feedback technique breaks the intrinsic fundamental limit of NMR detector circuit quality factor. We show the use of parametric pumping to reduce the threshold requirement for inducing nuclear spin masing at 300 MHz resonance frequency in a preclinical MRI scanner. Indeed, stimulated emission from hyperpolarized protons was obtained under highly unfavorable conditions of low magnetic field homogeneity (T 2 * of 3 ms). Greater gains of the quality factor of the MR detector (up to 1 million) were also demonstrated.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

An analytical study on the diffraction quality factor of open cavities

Open cavities are often employed as interaction structures in a new generation of coherent millimeter, sub-millimeter, and terahertz (THz) radiation sources called the gyrotron. One of the open ends of the cavity is intended for rapid extraction of the radiation generated by a powerful electron beam. Up to the sub-THz regime, the diffraction loss from this open end dominates over the Ohmic losses on the walls, which results in a much lower diffraction quality factor (Q{sub d}) than the Ohmic quality factor (Q{sub ohm}). Early analytical studies have led to various expressions for Q{sub d} and shed much light on its properties. In this study, we begin with a review of these studies, and then proceed with the derivation of an analytical expression for Q{sub d} accurate to high order. Its validity is verified with numerical solutions for a step-tunable cavity commonly employed for the development of sub-THz and THz gyrotrons. On the basis of the results, a simplified equation is obtained which explicitly expresses the scaling laws of Q{sub d} with respect to mode indices and cavity dimensions.

07 ISOTOPE AND RADIATION SOURCES↗

High quality factor indium oxide mechanical microresonators

The mechanical resonance behavior of as-grown In{sub 2}O{sub 3} microrods has been studied in this work by in-situ scanning electron microscopy (SEM) electrically induced mechanical oscillations. Indium oxide microrods grown by a vapor–solid method are naturally clamped to an aluminum oxide ceramic substrate, showing a high quality factor due to reduced energy losses during mechanical vibrations. Quality factors of more than 10{sup 5} and minimum detectable forces of the order of 10{sup −16} N/Hz{sup 1/2} demonstrate their potential as mechanical microresonators for real applications. Measurements at low-vacuum using the SEM environmental operation mode were performed to study the effect of extrinsic damping on the resonators behavior. The damping coefficient has been determined as a function of pressure.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗