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At least 433 records · Page 24

All sources NASA NTRS DOE OSTI

DOE OSTI2024

Single-photon detection using large-scale high-temperature MgB2 sensors at 20 K

Abstract Ultra-fast single-photon detectors with high current density and operating temperature can benefit space and ground applications, including quantum optical communication systems, lightweight cryogenics for space crafts, and medical use. Here we demonstrate magnesium diboride (MgB 2 ) thin-film superconducting microwires capable of single-photon detection at 1.55 μ m optical wavelength. We used helium ions to alter the properties of MgB 2 , resulting in microwire-based detectors exhibiting single-photon sensitivity across a broad temperature range of up to 20 K, and detection efficiency saturation for 1 μ m wide microwires at 3.7 K. Linearity of detection rate vs incident power was preserved up to at least 100 Mcps. Despite the large active area of up to 400 × 400 μ m 2 , the reset time was found to be as low as ~ 1 ns. Our research provides possibilities for breaking the operating temperature limit and maximum single-pixel count rate, expanding the detector area, and raises inquiries about the fundamental mechanisms of single-photon detection in high-critical-temperature superconductors.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

DOE OSTI2022

Novel Sensors for Particle Tracking: a Contribution to the Snowmass Community Planning Exercise of 2021

Five contemporary technologies are discussed in the context of their potential roles in particle tracking for future high energy physics applications. These include sensors of the 3D configuration, in both diamond and silicon, submicron-dimension pixels, thin film detectors, and scintillating quantum dots in gallium arsenide. Drivers of the technologies include radiation hardness, excellent position, vertex, and timing resolution, simplified integration, and optimized power, cost, and material.

Detectors↗

NASA NTRS1988

Tunable superlattice p-i-n photodetectors: Characteristics, theory, and applications

Extended measurements and theory on the recently developed monolithic wavelength demultiplexer consisting of voltage-tunable superlattice p-i-n photodetectors in a waveguide configuration are discussed. It is shown that the device is able to demultiplex and detect two optical signals with a wavelength separation of 20 nm directly into different electrical channels at a data rate of 1 Gb/s and with a crosstalk attenuation varying between 20 and 28 dB, depending on the polarization. The minimum acceptable crosstalk attenuation at a data rate of 100 Mb/s is determined to be 10 dB. The feasibility of using the device as a polarization angle sensor for linearly polarized light is also demonstrated. A theory for the emission of photogenerated carriers out of the quantum wells is included, since this is potentially a speed limiting mechanism in these detectors. It is shown that a theory of thermally assisted tunneling by polar optical phonon interaction is able to predict emission times consistent with the observed temporal response.

Larsson, Anders↗

NASA NTRS2003

Using Proteins to Build Nanocomputers

How low can we go? This is the question challenging scientists who want to build ever-smaller electronic components. As famed physicist Richard Feynmann said in 1959, 'there is plenty of room at the bottom,' meaning at the atomic or nanometric scale. But even Feynmann could only guess at how we might eventually build things 'down there.' As current lithographic techniques for etching semiconductor circuits rapidly approach their physical limits, scientists are looking for new and less expensive ways to fabricate circuits at infinitesimally small scales. NASA scientists have discovered a new tool that may help accomplish this goal - proteins. The basic building blocks of life may be harnessed to build computers and sensors on the nanoscale. Proteins provide self-assembling structures that can be engineered to build ordered arrays of quantum dots.

Laufenberg, Larry↗

NASA NTRS2010

Reducing Field Distortion in Magnetic Resonance Imaging

A concept for a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system that would utilize a relatively weak magnetic field provides for several design features that differ significantly from the corresponding features of conventional MRI systems. Notable among these features are a magnetic-field configuration that reduces (relative to the conventional configuration) distortion and blurring of the image, the use of a superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) magnetometer as the detector, and an imaging procedure suited for the unconventional field configuration and sensor. In a typical application of MRI, a radio-frequency pulse is used to excite precession of the magnetic moments of protons in an applied magnetic field, and the decaying precession is detected for a short time following the pulse. The precession occurs at a resonance frequency proportional to the strengths of the magnetic field and the proton magnetic moment. The magnetic field is configured to vary with position in a known way; hence, by virtue of the aforesaid proportionality, the resonance frequency varies with position in a known way. In other words, position is encoded as resonance frequency. MRI using magnetic fields weaker than those of conventional MRI offers several advantages, including cheaper and smaller equipment, greater compatibility with metallic objects, and higher image quality because of low susceptibility distortion and enhanced spin-lattice-relaxation- time contrast. SQUID MRI is being developed into a practical MRI method for applied magnetic flux densities of the order of only 100 T

Eom, Byeong Ho↗

NASA NTRS2010

5,120 Superconducting Bolometers for the PIPER Balloon-Borne CMB Polarization Experiment

We are constructing the Primordial Inflation Polarization Explorer (PIPER) to measure the polarization of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) and search for the imprint of gravity waves produced during an inflationary epoch in the early universe. The signal is faint and lies behind confusing foregrounds, both astrophysical and cosmological, and so many detectors are required to complete the measurement in a limited time. We will use four of our matured 1,280 pixel, high-filling-factor backshort-under-grid bolometer arrays for efficient operation at the PIPER CMB wavelengths. All four arrays observe at a common wavelength set by passband filters in the optical path. PIPER will fly four times to observe at wavelengths of 1500, 1100, 850, and 500 microns in order to separate CMB from foreground emission. The arrays employ leg-isolated superconducting transition edge sensor bolometers operated at 145 mK; tuned resonant backshorts for efficient optical coupling; and a second-generation superconducting quantum interference device multiplexer readout. We describe the design, development, and performance of PIPER bolometer array technology to achieve background-limited sensitivity for a cryogenic balloon-borne telescope.

Benford, Dominic J.↗

DOE OSTI2022

Novel Sensors for Particle Tracking: a Contribution to the Snowmass Community Planning Exercise of 2021

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

DOE OSTI2020

Laser adaptive holographic hydroacoustic intensimeter

A new type of a vector hydrophone, a laser adaptive hydroacoustic intensimeter, is investigated. Two identical, spatially separated coil-type sensors are used as a primary receiver of the acoustic signal. The signals received at the sensor output are phase demodulated in a two-channel adaptive holographic interferometer based on two dynamic holograms multiplexed in a CdTe photorefractive crystal. Using a laser intensimeter, the acoustic field formed in a limited volume is studied. The performance characteristics of the intensimeter are determined experimentally; its threshold sensitivity, according to the acoustic field intensity, constitutes 0.1 × 10{sup −13} W m{sup −2}. (laser applications)

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

DOE OSTI2025

Quantum sensing of paramagnetic analytes by nanodiamonds in levitated microdroplets and aqueous solutions

Nanodiamonds (ND) hosting negatively charged nitrogen-vacancy (NV-) color centers have received attention for applications in magnetic field, electric field, chemical, and bio-sensing. The versatility of these probes is their excellent room-temperature optical and spin properties, along with their small size, functionalized surfaces and resistance to bleaching, making them ideal as nanoscopic sensors in picoliter volumes (e.g. single cells, but also microcompartments and aerosols). For quantitative ND-NV- sensing of paramagnetic analytes in such contexts, however, there remains an incomplete understanding of how factors related to the aqueous phase environment control detection efficiency. To address this, optically detected magnetic resonance (ODMR) is measured in bulk macroscale solutions and single levitated microdroplets as a function of Gd+3 concentration (340 nM to 1.5 mM), nanodiamond size, pH, competitor ions, and ligands. The ODMR response to [Gd+3] is found to be nonlinear, and pH, ND and sample volume dependent; indicating the detection of Gd+3 requires efficient adsorption of the analyte to the diamond surface. Langmuir adsorption isotherms embedded in a quantitative photophysical model links the ODMR response to adsorption thermodynamics of Gd+3. The equilibrium constant for Gd+3 adsorption to a carboxylated ND surface is determined to be (1 ± 0.5) x 105 M-1 corresponding to a free energy of adsorption of (-28 ± 1) kJ mol-1. These results provide general insight into how complex aqueous and microscale environments impact nanodiamond based quantum sensing modalities, and portend their application as quantitative chemical sensors in microenvironments.

Brown, Emily K↗

DOE OSTI2026

X-ray characterization of fully-depleted p-channel Skipper-CCDs for the DarkNESS mission

The Dark matter Nanosatellite Equipped with Skipper Sensors (DarkNESS) mission is a 6U CubeSat designed to search for X-ray lines from decaying dark matter using Skipper-CCDs. Thick, fully-depleted p-channel Skipper-CCDs provide low readout noise and high quantum efficiency for 1-10 keV X-rays, but their X-ray performance has not yet been demonstrated in the space environment. DarkNESS will operate in low-Earth orbit, where trapped protons induce displacement damage in the sensor that increases charge-transfer inefficiency and degrades the X-ray energy resolution. This work measures the X-ray line response of Skipper-CCDs before and after proton irradiation and quantifies the associated degradation. A sensor was exposed to 217 MeV protons at a fluence of 8.4 x 10^10 protons cm^-2, corresponding to a displacement-damage dose more than an order of magnitude above the three-year expectation for representative mid-inclination and Sun-synchronous low-Earth orbits. A 55Fe source was used to compare the energy resolution of the beam-exposed quadrant to adjacent unexposed quadrants and a non-irradiated reference sensor. These measurements provide a quantitative assessment of radiation-induced spectral degradation in Skipper-CCDs and enable an estimate of the end-of-life X-ray energy resolution expected for DarkNESS operation in low-Earth orbit.

Alpine, Phoenix [Illinois U., Urbana] (ORCID:00090↗

DOE OSTI2025

Enhanced Carbon Dioxide Uptake in Drilled Hollow Core Fibers for Raman Spectroscopy

Fiber-based Raman spectroscopy enhances the Raman signal by maximizing the overlap of the optical field and the gas species. However, filling the hollow-core fiber (HCF) with gas requires time that is dependent on the fiber core diameter, fiber length, and pressure of the gas. At ambient pressure, the fiber gas uptake is driven by diffusion into the fiber ends, severely limiting the response time of the system. By laser drilling access holes to the core along the length of the fiber, the uptake time of the gas is reduced, improving the system response time. In this work, we study the carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) sensor dynamics based on Raman signal intensity generated in HCFs. The signal intensity versus gas concentration is characterized by controlling the CO 2 concentration in the surrounding environment of the fiber. Next, we characterize the gas uptake time in HCFs as a function of fiber length. Finally, we optimize the access hole configuration along the fiber, demonstrating reduced sensor uptake time by a factor of three.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

NASA NTRS1978

Biomagnetic instrumentation and measurement

The instruments and techniques of biomagnetic measurement have progressed greatly in the past 15 years and are now of a quality appropriate to clinical applications. The paper reports on recent developments in the design and application of SQUID (Superconducting Quantum Interference Device) magnetometers to biomagnetic measurement. The discussion covers biomagnetic field levels, magnetocardiography, magnetic susceptibility plethysmography, ambient noise and sensor types, principles of operation of a SQUID magnetometer, and laboratory techniques. Of the many promising applications of noninvasive biomagnetic measurement, magnetocardiography is the most advanced and the most likely to find clinical application in the near future.

Iufer, E. J.↗

NASA NTRS2015

Scintillating Quantum Dots for Imaging X-Rays (SQDIX) for Aircraft Inspection

Scintillation is the process currently employed by conventional X-ray detectors to create X-ray images. Scintillating quantum dots (StQDs) or nano-crystals are novel, nanometer-scale materials that upon excitation by X-rays, re-emit the absorbed energy as visible light. StQDs theoretically have higher output efficiency than conventional scintillating materials and are more environmentally friendly. This paper will present the characterization of several critical elements in the use of StQDs that have been performed along a path to the use of this technology in wide spread X-ray imaging. Initial work on the scintillating quantum dots for imaging X-rays (SQDIX) system has shown great promise to create state-of-the-art sensors using StQDs as a sensor material. In addition, this work also demonstrates a high degree of promise using StQDs in microstructured fiber optics. Using the microstructured fiber as a light guide could greatly increase the capture efficiency of a StQDs based imaging sensor.

Burke, E. R.↗

DOE OSTI2023

Aqueous phosphate detection using Eu(acac) 3

Currently, the majority of phosphate-sensitive phosphors reported in literature are metal-based complexes that require complicated and expensive synthesis to prepare. Here, in this study, we investigate the phosphate detecting capabilities of an inexpensive off-the-shelf phosphor: Eu(acac) 3 . We characterize its phosphate sensitivity as a function of sensor concentration and find that the quenching coefficient is inversely proportional to sensor concentration. This results in the limit-of-detection scaling linearly with sensor concentration. We determine its concentration-independent sensitivity to be 1.558 ± 0.012, which results in our lowest sensor concentration (44 μM) having a limit-of-detection of 3.39 ± 0.68 μM. We also find that for phosphate concentrations less than the sensor concentration, the fluorescence intensity ratio behaves linearly, but transitions to a non-linear functionality as the phosphate concentration exceeds the sensor concentration.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

DOE OSTI2022

A room-temperature polarization-sensitive CMOS terahertz camera based on quantum-dot-enhanced terahertz-to-visible photon upconversion

Detection of terahertz (THz) radiation has many potential applications, but presently available detectors are limited in many aspects of their performance, including sensitivity, speed, bandwidth and operating temperature. Most do not allow the characterization of THz polarization states. Recent observation of THz-driven luminescence in quantum dots offers a possible detection mechanism via field-driven interdot charge transfer. Here, we demonstrate a room-temperature complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor THz camera and polarimeter based on quantum-dot-enhanced THz-to-visible upconversion mechanism with optimized luminophore geometries and fabrication designs. Besides broadband and fast responses, the nanoslit-based sensor can detect THz pulses with peak fields as low as 10 kV cm–1. A related coaxial nanoaperture-type device shows a to-date-unexplored capability to simultaneously record the THz polarization state and field strength with similar sensitivity.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗

NASA NTRS2021

Advances in Detector-Integrated Filter Coatings for the Far Ultraviolet

We report on the continued development of multilayer optical coatings on back-illuminated silicon imaging sensors in order to enhance the functionality of such systems at ultraviolet wavelengths. This includes the development metal-dielectric filter structures to enable solar-blind operation, and graded thickness coatings to tune the spatial response of a detector system to the dispersion of a spectrometer. Such systems can maintain the high internal quantum efficiency afforded by the delta-doping process utilized at NASA JPL, while also providing long-wavelength rejection or a spatially optimized efficiency (or both). We present the characterization of CCD and CMOS image sensors incorporating these processes, and describe the atomic layer deposition coating processes. Such detectors are currently being developed for ground-based high energy physics applications as well as NASA orbital astrophysics instruments operating at wavelengths shorter than 200 nm.

Nikzad, Shouleh↗

DOE OSTI2020

Lidar-based remote infrared gas sensor for monitoring anthropogenic pollution: a proof of concept

We propose using wavelength-modulation laser absorption spectroscopy in combination with quadrature detection of scattered light for remote industrial pollution monitoring in the atmosphere with a compact lidar-based gas sensor, which can be mounted on board an unmanned aerial vehicle. The instrument can be used for detecting leaks in product pipe lines; monitoring toxic gases near landfill sites, waste incineration plants, and other hazardous man-made facilities; analysing the gas atmosphere in industrial buildings and structures; and monitoring engineering processes at a sensitivity level of tens of ppm m in gas concentration measurements at characteristic distances of tens of metres. (laser applications and other issues in quantum electronics)

42 ENGINEERING↗

DOE OSTI2023

Visualizing the atomic-scale origin of metallic behavior in Kondo insulators

A Kondo lattice is often electrically insulating at low temperatures. However, several recent experiments have detected signatures of bulk metallicity within this Kondo insulating phase. In this study, we visualized the real-space charge landscape within a Kondo lattice with atomic resolution using a scanning tunneling microscope. We discovered nanometer-scale puddles of metallic conduction electrons centered around uranium-site substitutions in the heavy-fermion compound uranium ruthenium silicide (URu 2 Si 2 ) and around samarium-site defects in the topological Kondo insulator samarium hexaboride (SmB 6 ). These defects disturbed the Kondo screening cloud, leaving behind a fingerprint of the metallic parent state. Our results suggest that the three-dimensional quantum oscillations measured in SmB 6 arise from Kondo-lattice defects, although we cannot exclude other explanations. Finally, our imaging technique could enable the development of atomic-scale charge sensors using heavy-fermion probes.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗