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NASA NTRS1991

Crystal regularity with high-resolution synchrotron X-radiation diffraction imaging

New, high-resolution sources of X-radiation such as monochromatic synchrotron radiation beams with subarcsec divergence allow observation of regularities in a range of crystals with sufficient clarity for comprehensive analyses, whose results can deepen understanding of the nature of various crystal irregularities, their sources, and their effects on device performance. An account is presented of the results thus achievable with irregularities encountered in lattice orientation and strain, grain and subgrain boundaries, dislocations, domain boundaries, additional phases, and surface scratches. Significant achievements to date encompass the observation of critical anomalies in lead tin telluride, the reconciliation of disparate observations of GaAs, the determination of the performance effects of irregularities in mercuric iodide, and the characterization of the origins of crystal growth in bismuth silicon oxide.

Steiner, Bruce↗

NASA NTRS1990

Buried homojunction solar cells formed in p-InP during sputter deposition and hydrogen plasma processing

Although it is apparent that direct current (DC) magnetron sputter deposition of indium tin oxide (ITO) leads to the formation of a buried homojunction in single-crystal p-type InP, the actual mechanism of type conversion of the InP surface is not clear. Since sputter deposition of In2O3 has also led to high-quality cells, it appears that Sn is not the cause of type conversion. To investigate the junction formation process further, experiments involving the use of a pure hydrogen plasma have been performed, resulting in type conversion of Fe-doped InP surfaces and in solar cells with efficiencies over 16 percent (global). The results confirm that sputter deposition is not necessary to form this type of buried homojunction solar cell, and they suggest a fabrication process that may be used with other relevant photovoltaic materials.

Gessert, T. A.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Calculations of hadronic dissociation of Si-28 projectiles at 14.6A GeV by nucleon emission

An optical potential abrasion-ablation collision model is used to calculate hadronic dissociation cross sections for one, two, and three nucleon removal for the first time for a 14.6A GeV Si-28 beam fragmenting in aluminum, tin, and lead targets. These estimates are compared with recent semiinclusive measurements. Significant differences between some calculated and measured semiinclusive cross sections exist which cannot be resolved without measurements of the exclusive channel hadronic cross sections. Calculations for each exclusive reaction channel contributing to the semiinclusive cross sections are presented and discussed.

Townsend, Lawrence W.↗

NASA NTRS1991

High resolution synchrotron X-radiation diffraction imaging of crystals grown in microgravity and closely related terrestrial crystals

Irregularities in three crystals grown in space and in four terrestrial crystals grown under otherwise comparable conditions have been observed in high resolution diffraction imaging. The images provide important new clues to the nature and origins of irregularities in each crystal. For two of the materials, mercuric iodide and lead tin telluride, more than one phase (an array of non-diffracting inclusions) was observed in terrestrial samples; but the formation of these multiple phases appears to have been suppressed in directly comparable crystals grown in microgravity. The terrestrial seed crystal of triglycine sulfate displayed an unexpected layered structure, which propagated during directly comparable space growth. Terrestrial Bridgman regrowth of gallium arsenide revealed a mesoscopic structure substantially different from that of the original Czochralski material. A directly comparable crystal is to be grown shortly in space.

Steiner, Bruce↗

NASA NTRS1990

Ellipsometric analysis of materials degradation in space

The fundamentals of variable angle spectroscopic ellipsometry (VASE) are reviewed, and its usefulness in studying the effect of atomic oxygen on space coatings such as indium tin oxide (ITO), silicon dioxide, and aluminum oxide is discussed. Monolayer sensitive and nondestructive VASE is found to be an effective technique for monitoring the atomic oxygen diffusion through the aluminum oxide and silicon dioxide protective overcoatings on space reflectors. Ashing of ITO/silicon samples had the net effect of annealing the film inside the plasma. The annealing effect was supported both by structural changes as verified by X-ray diffraction measurements and by increased absorbance in the spectral range below 3 eV as measured by VASE.

Woollam, John A.↗

NASA NTRS1991

High resolution diffraction imaging of crystals grown in microgravity and closely related terrestrial crystals

Irregularities found in three crystals grown in space, in four crystals grown entirely on the ground were examined and compared. Irregularities were observed in mercuric iodide, lead tin telluride, triglycine sulfate, and gallium arsenide by high resolution synchrotron x radiation diffraction imaging. Radiation detectors made from mercuric iodide crystals grown in microgravity were reported to perform far better than conventional detectors grown from the same material under full gravity. Effort is now underway to reproduce these 'space' crystals, optimize their properties, and extend comparable superiority to other types of materials.

Steiner, B.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Electron energy spectrum and magnetic interactions in high-Tc superconductors

The character of magnetic interactions in La-Sr-Cu-O and Y-Ba-Cu-O systems is of primary importance for analysis of high-T(sub c) superconductivity in these compounds. Neutron diffraction experiments showed the antiferromagnetic ground state for nonsuperconducting La2CuO4 and YBa2Cu3O6 with the strongest antiferromagnetic superexchange being in the ab plane. The nonsuperconducting '1-2-3' system has two Neel temperatures T(sub N1) and T(sub N2). The first one corresponds to the ordering of Cu atoms in the CuO2 planes; T(sub N2) reflects the antiferromagnetic ordering of magnetic moments in CuO chains relatively to the moments in the planes T(sub N1) and T(sub N2) which depend strongly on the oxygen content. Researchers describe magnetic interactions in high-T superconductors based on the Linear Muffin-Tin Orbitals (LMTO) band structure calculations. Exchange interaction parameters can be defined from the effective Heisenberg Hamiltonian. When the magnetic moments are not too large, as copper magnetic moments in superconducting oxides, J(sub ij) parameters can be defined through the non-local magnetic susceptibility of spin restricted solution for the crystal. The results of nonlocal magnetic susceptibility calculations and the values of exchange interaction parameters for La CuO and YBa2Cu3O7 systems are given in tabular form. Strong anisotropy of exchange interactions in the ab plane and along the c axis in La2CuO4 is obviously seen. The value of Neel temperature found agrees well with the experimental data available. In the planes of '1-2-3' system there are quite strong antiferromagnetic Cu-O and O-O interaction which appear due to holes in oxygen subbands. These results are in line with the magnetic model of oxygen holes pairing in high-T(sub c) superconductors.

Turshevski, S. A.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Superconductivity in the Sn-Ba-Sr-Y-Cu-O system

After the discovery of high-T(sub c) superconductivity in the La-Ba-Cu-O compound, several families of superconducting oxides were synthesized. Here, researchers report the results of the search for superconductivity in the compounds based on tin which has a lone electron pair like Bi, Tl, and Pb. The following compounds were synthesized: Sn1Ba1Sr1Cu3O(sub x), Sn1Ba1Ca1Cu3O(sub x), Sn1Ba1Mg1Cu3O(sub x), Sn1Sr1Ca1Cu3O(sub x), Sn1Sr1Mg1Cu3O(sub x), and Sn1Ca1Mg1Cu3O(sub x). The initial components were oxides and carbonates of the appropriate elements. A standard firing-grinding procedure was used. Final heating was carried out at 960 C during 12 hours. Then the samples were cooled inside the furnace. All the synthesis cycles were carried out in air atmosphere. Among the synthesized compounds only Sn1Ba1Sr1Cu3O(sub x) showed remarkable conductivity. Other compounds were practically dielectrics. Presence of a possible superconductivity in Sn1Ba1Sr1Cu3O(sub x) was defined by using the Meissner effect. At low temperature a deviation from paramagnetic behavior is observed. The hysteresis loops obtained at lower temperature undoubtly testify to the presence of a superconductive phase in the sample. However, the part of the superconductive phase in the Sn1Ba1Sr1Cu3O(sub x) ceramic turned out to be small, less than 2 percent, which agrees with the estimation from magnetic data. In order to increase the content of the superconductive phase, two-valent cations Ba and Sr were partially substituted by univalent (K) and three-valent ones (Y).

Aleksandrov, K. S.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Preliminary results from the heavy ions in space experiment

The Heavy Ions In Space (HIIS) experiment has two primary objectives: (1) to measure the elemental composition of ultraheavy galactic cosmic rays, beginning in the tin-barium region of the periodic table; and (2) to study heavy ions which arrive at LDEF below the geomagnetic cutoff, either because they are not fully stripped of electrons or because their source is within the magnetosphere. Both of these objectives have practical as well as astrophysical consequences. In particular, the high atomic number of the ultraheavy galactic cosmic rays puts them among the most intensely ionizing particles in Nature. They are therefore capable of upsetting electronic components normally considered immune to such effects. The below cutoff heavy ions are intensely ionizing because of their low velocity. They can be a significant source of microelectronic anomalies in low inclination orbits, where Earth's magnetic field protects satellites from most particles from interplanetary space. The HIIS results will lead to significantly improved estimates of the intensely ionizing radiation environment.

Adams, James H., Jr.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Heavy Ions In Space (HIIS) experiment

The Heavy Ions In Space (HIIS) experiment has two primary objectives: (1) to measure the elemental composition of ultraheavy Galactic cosmic rays, beginning in the tin-barium region of the periodic table; and (2) to study heavy ions which arrive at LDEF below the geomagnetic cutoff, either because they are not fully stripped of electrons or because their source is within the magnetosphere. Both have practical as well as astrophysical consequences. The HIIS experiment used eight thick stacks of plastic track detectors mounted in two trays on the space facing end of LDEF. Since the last LDEF symposium, the statistics were increased of the observations and have extended the analysis to a second stack and to detector sheets near the top of a stack. New results are reported on the detector resolution and on the observations of both stopping and relativistic particles.

Adams, James H., Jr.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Electronic and total energy properties of ternary and quaternary semiconductor compounds, alloys, and superlattices: Theoretical study of Cu/graphite bonding

The goals of the research were to provide a fundamental science basis for why the bonding of Cu to graphite is weak, to critically evaluate the previous analysis of the wetting studies with particular regard to the values used for the surface energies of Cu and graphite, and to make recommendations for future experiments or other studies which could advance the understanding and solution of this technological problem. First principles electronic structure calculations were used to study the problem. These are based on density functional theory in the local density approximation and the use of the linear muffin-tin orbital band structure method. Calculations were performed for graphite monolayers, single crystal graphite with the hexagonal AB stacking, bulk Cu, Cu(111) surface, and Cu/graphite superlattices. The study is limited to the basal plane of graphite because this is the graphite plane exposed to Cu and graphite surface energies and combined with the measured contact angles to evaluate the experimental adhesion energy.

Lambrecht, Walter R. L.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Microlensing and the structure of active galactic nucleus accretion disks

Rapid variability has been reported in two of the four gravitationally lensed images of Q2237 + 0305, and this is attributed to microlensing caused by the intervening stars. The associated constraints on the source size and properties are studied and compared with a variety of stationary accretion disk models. The reported microlensing variation in Q2237 + 0305 requires the disk size to be over 3 times smaller than a blackbody disk of similar luminosity, implying that the optical emission is either nonthermal or optically tin. An exploration of nonstationary disk models including orbiting, transient hot spots leads to a similar conclusion. Implications for models of active galactic nucleus optical continua are briefly discussed.

Rauch, Kevin P.↗

NASA NTRS1990

Double-diffusive convection and its effect under reduced gravity

This paper reviews recent results on three aspects of double-diffusive convection under reduced gravity: diffusive instability caused by sideways heating, diffusive instability caused by bottom heating, and the salt-finger convection case. Some of the processes that are likely to occur during solidification are highlighted. Using property values of lead-tin alloy, it is concluded that diffusive instabilities are unlikely to occur at steady reduced gravity levels of 0.01 and 0.0001 g(0). Salt finger convection is likely to be generated, however.

Chen, C. F.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Material and tribological considerations for turbopump bearings

The frictional heat generation in the rolling/sliding contact areas of high pressure oxygen turbopump (HPOTP) bearings is a key factor in bearing life. Several bulk materials, surface treatments and coatings are examined for their attributes of rolling contact fatigue life, wear and friction. Emphasis is given to the frictional response of these materials under conditions of rolling with incipient sliding as predicted from HPOTP bearing analysis. Rolling contact fatigue life is shown to be significantly improved with silicon nitride. Fatigue life can also be improved by coating the chromium carbide-laden stainless steels (440C, BG42) with TiN and thin dense chrome. The traction (friction under rolling/sliding) of these materials is discussed in terms of microslip and the presence of interfacial films.

Wedeven, L. D.↗

NASA NTRS1990

High rate reactive sputtering in an opposed cathode closed-field unbalanced magnetron sputtering system

Attention is given to an opposed cathode sputtering system constructed with the ability to coat parts with a size up to 15 cm in diameter and 30 cm in length. Initial trials with this system revealed very low substrate bias currents. When the AlNiCo magnets in the two opposed cathodes were arranged in a mirrored configuration, the plasma density at the substrate was low, and the substrate bias current density was less than 1 mA/sq cm. If the magnets were arranged in a closed-field configuration where the field lines from one set of magnets were coupled with the other set, the substrate bias current density was as high as 5.7 mA/sq cm when NdFeB magnets were used. In the closed-field configuration, the substrate bias current density was related to the magnetic field strength between the two cathodes and to the sputtering pressure. Hard well-adhered TiN coatings were reactively sputtered in the opposed cathode system in the closed-field configuration, but the mirrored configuration produced films with poor adhesion because of etching problems and low plasma density at the substrate.

Sproul, William D.↗

NASA NTRS1990

Effects of an unbalanced magnetron in a unique dual-cathode, high rate reactive sputtering system

Simple plasma and magnetic field measurements are presented to illustrate the opportunities afforded by using unbalanced magnetrons in a dual-cathode system. The system employs a pair of opposed cathodes, 38 cm x 13 cm, placed 27.5 cm apart, to coat specimens mounted on a rotational substrate holder. Comparisons are drawn between the original 'balanced' magnetron and several unbalanced configurations in terms of field strengths, deposition rates, etching characteristics, and substrate ion current densities for the growth of TiN films. The effects of 'unbalancing' on the nature of the plasma within the 3D geometry of the deposition chamber are elucidated via plasma probe and magnetic field studies performed under a variety of conditions. All the unbalanced configurations examined provided enhanced ion bombardment at the surface of the growing film. The closed-field or opposed magnet geometry resulted in a threefold or greater increase in current density when compared with that obtained using the corresponding mirrored geometry under the same conditions.

Rohde, S. L.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Investigation of reaction kinetics and interfacial phase formation in Ti3Al + Nb composites

Titanium aluminide metal matrix composites are prominent materials systems being considered for high temperature aerospace applications. One of the major problems with this material is the reactivity between existing reinforcements and the matrix after prolonged thermal exposure. This paper presents results from an investigation of reaction kinetics between Ti-14Al-21Nb (wt pct) and SCS-6 fibers and SiC fibers with surface coatings of TiB2, TiC, TiN, W, and Si. Microstructural evaluation of the reaction layers as well as matrix regions around the fibers is presented.

Wawner, F. E.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Vertical solidification of dendritic binary alloys

Three numerical techniques are employed to analyze the influence of thermosolutal convection on defect formation in directionally solidified (DS) alloys. The finite-element models are based on the Boussinesq approximation and include the plane-front model and two plane-front models incorporating special dendritic regions. In the second model the dendritic region has a time-independent volume fraction of liquid, and in the last model the dendritic region evolves as local conditions dictate. The finite-element models permit the description of nonlinear thermosolutal convection by treating the dendritic regions as porous media with variable porosities. The models are applied to lead-tin alloys including DS alloys, and severe segregation phenomena such as freckles and channels are found to develop in the DS alloys. The present calculations and the permeability functions selected are shown to predict behavior in the dendritic regions that qualitatively matches that observed experimentally.

Heinrich, J. C.↗