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A composite induction consolidation apparatus includes a base mandrel and a ferromagnetic base mandrel facesheet having a specific Curie temperature carried by the base mandrel. The base mandrel facesheet is adapted to support a composite part and allow ambient air pressure to compact the composite part against the base mandrel facesheet. At least one magnetic induction coil is provided in the base mandrel.
Microwave Kinetic Inductance Detectors (MKIDs) belong to non-equilibrium superconducting devices. It is a new promising device due to high quantum efficiency, low theoretical noise limit, multiplex frequency domain, photon-number-resolving, and energy resolving. In the case of MKIDs, a change in the kinetic inductance is produced by the breaking of Cooper pairs, modifying the electrodynamic response of the superconductor. The production process of an MKID consists of depositing a superconducting thin film on an insulating substrate and applying standard lithographic patterning techniques to produce a resonator structure. When an MKID is produced via sputtering, film nonuniformity is observed, producing instability, low yield, frequency collisions, and low energy resolution. We exploring film uniformity in films produced with Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) and through ALD archive high values in the energy resolution. The uniformity of ALD is evaluated via measurement of the critical temperature of 4 MKIDs. Two MKIDs belong to the first fabrication process and the other two to another. The results obtained are: ΔTc/max(σT1,σT2) is 0.45 for A1-B1 and 0.21 for A2-B2. The difference in the Tc for MKIDs of the same wafer is around 5.1 mK and from different wafers, the maximum difference is 66 mk with a minimum of 48 mK. However, with the high uniformity archived, we obtained a poor response of the MKIDs when a photon is absorbed. As a consequence of the low response, we examined in the literature about the process of photon absorption. In this evaluation, we were focusing on the down-conversion efficiency as a possible cause for the degraded energy resolution. In this process, one part of the initial energy of the photon is lost, transferred to the creation of quasiparticles and phonons. The phonons that do not possess enough energy to break a Cooper pair are lost from the system. This loss in energy is accounted for by the eff iciency η which has a constant value reported as 0.57 (! from simulation). Due to the efficiency had been reported always as constant. We proceed to evaluate its value through a new method. The process consists of measuring the gain of the system via the photon transfer curve and thermal calibration. The efficiency obtained with this new method is of 0.008 which has a lower value in comparison with the simulation. The methods to obtain the critical temperature, as well as the new method to evaluate the efficiency of an MKID will be shown in this work.
We propose a near-term quantum simulator based on the fluxonium qubits inductively coupled to form a chain. This system provides long coherence time, large anharmonicity, and strong coupling, making it suitable to study Ising spin models. At the half-flux quantum sweet spot, the system is described by the transverse field Ising model (TFIM). We evaluate the propagation of qubit excitations through the system. As disorder increases, the excitations become localized. A single qubit measurement using the circuit QED methods is sufficient to identify localization transition without introducing tunable couplers. We argue that inductively coupled fluxoniums provide opportunities to study localization and many-body effects in highly coherent quantum systems.
An inductive circuit sensor system and method for monitoring an electromagnetic signal path through a circuit is shown. A protected element or door is movably positionable adjacent to the stationary element or frame in a monitored position. A conductive sensor pattern element is connected to a pair of inductive coils. The pattern element is a conductive wire traversing a predetermined cross-section of the door. The frame has a transmitting coil in communication with a microcontroller. The transmitting coil is coupled with the first coil and a receiving coil is coupled with the second coil. The transmitting coil receives a signal from the microcontroller and couples the signal to the pattern element. The signal is in communication with a receiving port on the microcontroller. The microcontroller is programmed to compare the signal from the transmit port with the signal at the receiving port.
Kinetic inductance phonon-mediated (KIPM) detectors use microwave kinetic inductance detectors (MKIDs) to read out phonon signals in the substrate. They are a promising class of detectors to be used in light dark matter (DM) searches due to their potential eV-scale sensitivity and native frequency-domain multiplexability. In order to improve upon the design of these detectors, simulations are needed to understand the effects of detector design on measurable physical parameters including the phonon collection efficiency, $\eta_{ph}$, which is defined as the ratio of phonon energy detected by the sensitive target element to the incident energy deposited in the substrate. This work simulates the phonon collection efficiency for two existing detector architectures to study phonon absorption at substrate-sensor interfaces and phonon loss to non-sensitive detector elements.
Here, we present a status update on the development of a phonon-mediated particle detector using kinetic inductance detector (KID). The design is intended for \(\mathscr {O}(1)\) kg substrate, using \(\mathscr {O}(10^{2})\) KIDs on a single readout line, to image the athermal phonon distribution at < 1 mm position resolution and \(\mathscr {O}(10)\) eV energy resolution. The design specification is set by the need to improve position reconstruction fidelity while maintaining low energy threshold for future rare-event searches such as for low-mass dark matter. Furthermore, we report on the design, which shows negligible crosstalk and > 95% inductor current uniformity, using the coplanar waveguide feedline, ground shield, and a new class of KIDs with symmetric coplanar stripline (sCPS) inductor. The multiplexing is designed upon the frequency-geometry relation we develop for the sCPS KIDs. We introduce the fabrications of the Nb RF assessment prototypes and the high phonon collection efficiency Al–Nb devices. We achieve \(\lesssim \) 0.07% frequency displacement on a 80-KID RF assessment prototype, and the result indicates that we may place more than 180 resonances in our 0.4 GHz readout band with minimal frequency misordering. The coupling quality factors are \(\sim \) 10 \(^{5}\) as designed. Finally, we update our work in progress in fabricating the \(\mathscr {O}(10^{2})\) KID, bi-material, \(\mathscr {O}(1)\) kg detectors, and the expected position and energy resolutions.
Free induction decay (FID), optical nutation and rapid passage induced (RP) signals in nitrous oxide, under both optically thin and optically thick conditions, have been observed using a rapid current pulse modulation, or chirp, applied to the slow current ramp of a quantum cascade (QC) laser. The variation in optical depth was achieved by increasing the pressure of nitrous oxide in a long pathlength multipass absorption cell. This allows the variation of optical depth to be achieved over a range of low gas pressures. Since, even at the highest gas pressure used in the cell, the chirp rate of the QC laser is faster than the collisional reorientation time of the molecules, there is minimal collisional damping, allowing a large macroscopic polarization of the molecular dipoles to develop. This is referred to as rapid passage induced gain. The resultant FID signals are enhanced due to the constructive interference between the field within the gas generated by the slow ramp of the laser (pump), and the fast chirp of the laser (probe) signal generated by pulse modulation of the continuously operating QC laser. The FID signals obtained at large 2 optical depth have not been observed previously in the mid-infrared regions, and unusual oscillatory signals have been observed at the highest gas pressures used.
Non-equilibrium inductively coupled plasmas (ICPs) operating in hydrogen are of significant interest for applications including large-area materials processing. Increasing control of spatial gas heating, which drives the formation of neutral species density gradients and the rate of gas-temperature-dependent reactions, is critical. In this study, we use 2D fluid-kinetic simulations with the Hybrid Plasma Equipment Model to investigate the spatially resolved production of atomic hydrogen in a low-pressure planar ICP operating in pure hydrogen (10–20 Pa or 0.075–0.15 Torr, 300 W). The reaction set incorporates self-consistent calculation of the spatially resolved gas temperature and 14 vibrationally excited states. We find that the formation of neutral-gas density gradients, which result from spatially non-uniform electrical power deposition at constant pressure, can drive significant variations in the vibrational distribution function and density of atomic hydrogen when gas heating is spatially resolved. This highlights the significance of spatial gas heating on the production of reactive species in relatively high-power-density plasma processing sources.
Within this project, Eaton undertook the task of bringing about significant impact with respect to sustainability. One of the major goals for the Department of Energy is to achieve energy savings with a corresponding reduction in carbon foot print. The use of a coupled induction heat treatment with high magnetic field heat treatment makes possible not only improved performance alloys, but with faster processing times and lower processing energy, as well. With this technology, substitution of lower cost alloys for more exotic alloys became a possibility; microstructure could be tailored for improved magnetic properties or wear resistance or mechanical performance, as needed. A prototype commercial unit has been developed to conduct processing of materials. Testing of this equipment has been conducted and results demonstrate the feasibility for industrial commercialization.
Transformational melter technologies are being considered to support mission acceleration within the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) complex. New glass formulations are required to take full advantage of the next generation melters, for example, the cold crucible induction melter (CCIM). The key advantage of CCIM technology over current reference technologies is its capability to provide higher processing temperatures, which can lead to an increased waste throughput rate by achieving higher waste loadings and by increasing the feed processing rate. Various waste compositions within the DOE complex were evaluated to determine their potential for successfully demonstrating the unique advantages of the CCIM technology. Glass formulations that satisfy a set of constraints for product quality and assumed CCIM processing conditions were developed for two Hanford waste streams, AZ-101 high-level waste (HLW) and AN-105 low-activity waste (LAW). Three glasses selected for AZ-101 HLW have waste loadings of 40, 42.5, and 45 wt%. The 45-wt% waste loading corresponds to a 22% increase from 37 wt%, which is the maximum expected waste loading based on the current reference formulation. One glass selected for AN-105 LAW has a waste loading of 31.3 wt% at 24 wt% Na2O in glass, which is a 14% increase from the current reference formulation maximum of 21 wt% Na2O. These four glasses are planned for scaled melter tests for initial demonstration of the CCIM technologies for Hanford wastes.
Polarization sensitivity is a major requirement in future cosmic microwave background studies. Even though lumped-element kinetic inductance detectors (LEKIDs) have already demonstrated a good performance in the millimeter range, the typical configuration based on linear meander inductors exhibits a cross polarization up to 30%. In this work, we propose a new configuration of LEKIDs coupled to a microstrip transmission line where the continuous ground plane has been replaced with parallel lines in order to be used as a polarizing grid. Microwave simulations and preliminary experiments show that the polarizer acts as an effective ground plane with no influence in the electromagnetic performance and that the cross polarization can be decreased to 3%.
We are developing superconducting Microwave Kinetic Inductance Detectors to operate at near infrared and optical wavelengths for astronomy. In order to efficiently meet with the requirements of astronomical applications, we propose to replace the interdigitated capacitor by a metal–insulator–metal capacitor which has the advantage of presenting a larger capacitance value within a much smaller space. The pixel will occupy a space of typically 100 × 85 µm which is nine times less than a typical pixel size using the interdigitated capacitor operating at the same frequency, below 2 GHz.
We present the first published results of near-infrared single-photon detection in aluminium lumped element kinetic inductance detectors (LEKIDs). Using aluminium as a well-understood material that follows conventional superconductor theory, we discuss and validate a model that describes the energy-resolving performance of a LEKID to single-photon absorption events. We also discuss data analysis techniques used to extract single-photon detections from noisy data. We measure an energy resolution of 662 meV for a 1550 nm photon source which is in close agreement to our model predictions for this non-optimised device limited by generation–recombination noise.
An on-chip FTS consists of two waveguides coupled to long superconducting transmission lines (STLs) (similar to 620 mm) using two coupling probes. The signal propagating on one of the STLs is phase-shifted with respect to the other line with a bias current that affects the nonlinear dependence of kinetic inductance, Lk(I)of the STL material. Here we describe the design and simulation of a superconducting on-chip FTS coupled to a dual polarization W-band (90-110 GHz) waveguide. These devices have applications in ground-based and space-based millimeter-wave spectral surveys.
Future cosmic microwave background (CMB) experiments, including the large scale ground-based Stage Four CMB Experiment (CMB-S4), satellites, and balloons, aim to map the CMB to an unprecedented precision in order to answer several key questions in cosmology. However, to reach the target noise sensitivity, more than 100,000 detectors will be needed. Arrays of kinetic inductance detectors (KIDs) are a promising alternative for experiments that require large number of detectors due to the intrinsic multiplexing capabilities. We present the fabrication procedure for a prototype planar orthomode transducer (OMT)-coupled multi-color KID array optimized for 220/270 GHz frequency bands. These devices are made from silicon-on-insulator wafers to provide a low-loss substrate for the KIDs. The OMT couples the two polarizations of light from a wide-band feedhorn to separate Nb/SiN/Nb microstrip lines, which are then coupled to Al/Nb lumped-element KIDs (LEKIDs). The silicon on the backside of the OMT is etched away using deep reactive ion etch to release the OMT membrane to enable operation over a wide bandwidth. Finally, the buried oxide is removed underneath the KID capacitors in order to minimize two-level system noise and loss mitigation. We achieved a good yield (> 80%) on our prototype devices.
Bioassay monitoring is an important capability for any facility that works with significant amounts of radioactive material. The speed at which these analyses can be made is critical in the event of a potential exposure. Here, we present a new method that facilitates the rapid separation of uranium from a urine matrix for assay and isotopic determination by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. This method is validated with archived urine samples that were previously analyzed using established, more time consuming methods. The sources of uncertainty for uranium assay and isotopic measurements are modelled using the Monte Carlo method to better understand the precision and accuracy of this method at the limit of quantification.
Working within a vineyard in the Pessac Léognan Appellation of Bordeaux, France, this study documents the potential of using simple statistical methods with spatially-resolved and increasingly available electromagnetic induction (EMI) geophysical and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) datasets to accurately estimate Bordeaux vineyard soil classes and to quantitatively explore the relationship between vineyard soil types and grapevine vigor. First, co-located electrical tomographic tomography (ERT) and EMI datasets were compared to gain confidence about how the EMI method averaged soil properties over the grapevine rooting depth. Then, EMI data were used with core soil texture and soil-pit based interpretations of Bordeaux soil types (Brunisol, Redoxisol, Colluviosol and Calcosol) to estimate the spatial distribution of geophysically-identified Bordeaux soil classes. A strong relationship (r = 0.75, p < 0.01) was revealed between the geophysically-identified Bordeaux soil classes and NDVI (both 2 m resolution), showing that the highest grapevine vigor was associated with the Bordeaux soil classes having the largest clay fraction. The results suggest that within-block variability of grapevine vigor was largely controlled by variability in soil classes, and that carefully collected EMI and NDVI datasets can be exceedingly helpful for providing quantitative estimates of vineyard soil and vigor variability, as well as their covariation. The method is expected to be transferable to other viticultural regions, providing an approach to use easy-to-acquire, high resolution datasets to guide viticultural practices, including routine management and replanting.
This study investigated the alloying effects of 0.4 wt.% Sc on the microstructure, mechanical properties, and fracture behavior of a cast Be-Al alloy prepared by vacuum induction melting. The micromechanics of Sc-containing secondary-phase particles (SPs) were characterized by nanoindentation, and the fracture behavior of the alloy was investigated via tensile fractography and optical metallography. The addition of 0.4 wt.% Sc significantly modified the alloy microstructure by decreasing the secondary dendritic arm spacing (SDAS), weakening the dendritic structure of Be, and producing an equiaxed/cellular alloy microstructure with refined Be grains. Sc alloying increased the Vickers hardness by 36%, elastic modulus by 28%, yield strength by 35%, ultimate strength by 52%, but decreased the elongation from 3.6 to 2.9%. Sc-containing SPs had a higher elastic modulus, yield strength, microhardness, and a lower plasticity index than the Be and Al matrices, resulting in interface separation during the fracture process. SPs located at the Be/Al interfaces did not act as microcrack sources for the matrices, whereas highly faceted SPs within the Be grains induced microcrack formation and decreased the elongation. The failure mode of the cast Be-Al-0.4Sc alloy still involved the brittle cleavage failure of Be regions and ductile dimple failure of Al regions, which was not the case with the cast Be-Al alloy.