SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “module”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

SourceResearch connectionFrom yearThrough year

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 55 records · Page 3

All sources NASA NTRS DOE OSTI

DOE OSTI2026

Investigation and Diagnosis of Faulty Data Channels in CMS Outer Tracker Module Testing

The High-Luminosity Large Hadron Collider (HL-LHC) is currently undergoing upgrades to improve its luminosity. In parallel, this requires an upgrade to the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS)’s Outer Tracker, consisting of Pixel-Strip (PS) and Strip-Strip (2S) modules that can accurately track the path of charged particles originating from the collisions. It follows that such complex modules call for extensive testing, requiring a sophisticated Data Acquisition (DAQ) system that can perform specific tests to assess their performance. In addition, errors caused by the hardware of a given testing station, and its associated data channel, need to be accurately identified to guarantee proper testing of modules. We have developed a software extension to the Phase-II Outer Tracker Analyzer of Test Outputs (POTATO), which is a specialized software designed to analyze and grade all of the module tests through a centralized database. This extension categorizes and analyzes module test results by its station and data channel. Its analysis can be used to identify trends in grading that indicate issues in these channels’ grading process rather than in the individual modules. This poster shows our methodology and results for identifying faulty data channels. Using this extension, we can quickly diagnose and address problems in our DAQ system, ensuring proper evaluation corrections for each module.

Chen, Angus [Fermilab]↗

DOE OSTI2026

Investigation and Diagnosis of Faulty Data Channels in CMS Outer Tracker Module Testing

Chen, Angus [Fermilab]↗

DOE OSTI2024

Analyzing the impact of design factors on solar module thermomechanical durability using interpretable machine learning techniques

Solar modules in utility-scale systems are expected to maintain decades of lifetime to rival conventional energy sources. However, cyclic thermomechanical loading often degrades their long-term performance, highlighting the importance of effective design to mitigate thermal expansion mismatches between module materials. Given the complex composition of solar modules, isolating the impact of individual components on overall durability remains a challenging task. In this work, we analyze a comprehensive data set that comprises bill-of-materials (BOM) and thermal cycling power loss from 251 distinct module designs to identify the predominant design factors and their impacts on the thermomechanical durability of modules. The methodology of our analysis combines machine learning modeling (random forest) and Shapley additive explanation (SHAP) to correlate design factors with power loss and interpret the model’s decision-making. The interpretation reveals that silicon type (monocrystalline or polycrystalline), encapsulant thickness, busbar numbers, and wafer thickness predominantly influence the degradation. With lower power loss of around 0.6% on average in the SHAP analysis, monocrystalline cells present better durability than polycrystalline cells. This finding is further substantiated by statistical testing on our raw data set. The SHAP analysis also demonstrates that while thicker encapsulants lead to reduced power loss, further increasing their thickness over around 0.6 to 0.7 mm does not yield additional benefits, particularly for the front side one. In addition, other important BOM features such as the number of busbars are analyzed. This study provides a blueprint for utilizing explainable machine learning techniques in a complex material system and can potentially guide future research on optimizing the design of solar modules.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

DOE OSTI2024

Towards Polymer-Free, Femto-Second Laser-Welded Glass/Glass Solar Modules

This project explores the use of femto-second (fs) lasers to form glass-to-glass welds for hermetically sealed, polymer-free solar modules. Low iron solar glass coupons were welded together without the use of glass filler using a fs laser with dedicated optics to elongate the focal plane parallel to the incident beam. The resulting welds were then stress tested to failure to reveal the critical stress intensity factor, KIc. These values were used in a structural mechanics model of a 1 m by 2 m glass/glass module under a simulated static load test. The results show that the fs laser welds are strong enough for a suitably framed module to pass the IEC 61215 static load test with a load of 5400 Pa. Key to this finding is that the module must be framed and braced, and the glass must be ribbed to allow pockets for the cells and welds inside the border of the module. The result is a module design that is completely polymer-free, hermetically sealed, has improved thermal properties, and is easily recycled.

femto-second laser welded↗

DOE OSTI2025

In‐Scribe Silane Bonding for Mechanical Reinforcement of Perovskite Photovoltaic Modules

Despite the extraordinary rise in power conversion efficiency over the last decade, metal halide perovskite (MHP) photovoltaics remain more mechanically fragile than other PV technologies. In this work, the scribe area, created by the monolithic interconnection of thin-film solar cells, is used to extrinsically reinforce the mechanical robustness of packaged MHP solar modules. In contrast to the epoxy-based chemistries often leveraged in the MHP literature, silane-grafted polyolefin encapsulants are designed to form strong covalent bonds to oxide surfaces, specifically to glass and the transparent conductive oxide at the base of the scribe line. Pseudo-modules encapsulated with silane-grafted polyolefin are measured with more than an order-of-magnitude enhancement infracture energy from 0.27 ± 0.01 J·m −2 (no scribes) to 5.97 ± 0.42 J·m −2 (scribes perpendicular to delamination directioncovering ≈2.2% of the module area). The silane-grafted polyolefin retains strong adhesion even after undergoing an accelerated IEC 61215 thermal cycling test consisting of 250 cycles. We find that the in-scribe bonding allows perovskite modules to have adhesion strength comparable to commercial c-Si and CdTe technologies with only 5% reduction in the active module area. This manufacturing-compatible approach offers a practical solution to address the mechanical integrity challenges in MHP solar modules, regardless of cell architecture.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

DOE OSTI2024

Commissioning of a modulated pulse-power magnetron sputtering system for depositing niobium thin films

A modulated pulse-power magnetron sputtering system (MPPMS) was commissioned and used to deposit niobium on copper. MPPMS utilizes a modulated pulse train with high peak-to-average energy ratios, thereby increasing the energy density leading to the production of the energetic ions. The MPPMS modulator was designed and constructed based on large voltage/current IGBT modules, which can be externally modulated, produce bi-polar waveforms, and are readily available. A high voltage power supply provides moderate current to the IGBT module to create the precise pulse structure. The MPPMS system was used to deposit ~1 mm thick, niobium film on a copper substrate held at ~77 K to minimize Nb atom surface diffusion and maximize intrinsic film energy. Finally, the Nb film had an average grain size of ~8 nm.

42 ENGINEERING↗

DOE OSTI2025

Gigahertz-frequency acousto-optic phase modulation of visible light in a CMOS-fabricated photonic circuit

Optical phase modulators operating at visible wavelengths are essential components for photonic technologies such as those for quantum control, communications, and laser ranging. However, they remain challenging to implement in scalable, integrated platforms capable of handling high optical powers. Here we present a visible-light, gigahertz-frequency acousto-optic phase modulator, fabricated on a 200-mm wafer in a volume CMOS foundry, that supports greater than 500 mW of optical power at 730 nm. The device combines a piezoelectric transducer and a photonic waveguide within a single, wavelength-scale structure that confines both a propagating optical mode and an electrically excitable breathing-mode mechanical resonance. By tuning the device’s geometry to optimize the optomechanical interaction, we achieve modulation depths up to 4.85 rad with 80 mW of applied microwave power at 2.31 GHz in a 2-mm-long device. This corresponds to resonant modulation figures of merit of V π = 1.32V and V π ⋅ L = 0.26V cm. To our knowledge, this is the lowest V π ever demonstrated in any acousto-optic phase modulator and represents a 15-fold reduction in V π and a 100-fold reduction in required microwave power relative to state-of-the-art modulators with high visible-wavelength power handling commonly employed in quantum control systems.

Freedman, Jacob M. [Univ. of Arizona, Tucson, AZ (↗

DOE OSTI2026

Challenging conventional assumptions in PV: a high-throughput open-air approach to low-cost perovskite module production

Perovskite solar modules (PSMs) offer a promising pathway to low-cost photovoltaics, yet their commercialization is challenged by manufacturing scalability, device uniformity, additive costs, interlayer complexity, and module stability. This study introduces a comprehensive technoeconomic analysis of single junction PSM's and projections for tandem perovskite-Si modules that integrate all materials and manufacturing steps, module performances, projected lifetimes, and manufacturing costs across scales. Here, we highlight an open-air manufacturing approach to fabricate all active layers of serially interconnected PSMs, including electrodes and charge transport layers, enabling high-throughput production without inert or vacuum environments. The analysis reveals two orders of magnitude throughput enhancement and cost reductions of 24% in all-open-air production, escalating to over 60% at 1 GW factory capacity compared to conventional methods. Levelized cost of energy (LCOE) projections for utility-scale installations over 30 years, accounting for module replacement and recycling, demonstrate the potential to achieve the 2030 US target of $0.03 per kWh with realistic 7–11-year PSM lifetimes, outperforming incumbent silicon-based modules. Neither four terminal (4T) nor two terminal (2T) tandem-Si PSMs improve over single junction perovskite or silicon LCOE regardless of higher efficiencies at any modeled lifetime. Addressing PSM technical challenges with a cost-modeling framework guides commercialization efforts and provides a convincing pathway for challenging incumbent Si-based PV.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

DOE OSTI2024

An extreme thermal cycling reliability test of ATLAS ITk Strips barrel modules

At the end of Run 3 of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the accelerator complex will be upgraded to the High-Luminosity LHC (HL-LHC) in order to increase the total amount of data provided to its experiments. To cope with the increased rates of data, radiation, and pileup, the ATLAS detector will undergo a substantial upgrade, including a replacement of the Inner Detector with a future Inner Tracker, called the ITk. The ITk will be composed of pixel and strip sub-detectors, where the strips portion will be composed of 17,888 silicon strip detector modules. During the HL-LHC running period, the ITk will be cooled and warmed a number of times from about -35°C to room temperature as part of the operational cycle, including warm-ups during yearly shutdowns. To ensure ITk Strips modules are functional after these expected temperature changes, and to ensure modules are mechanically robust, each module must undergo ten thermal cycles and pass a set of electrical and mechanical criteria before it is placed on a local support structure. This paper describes the thermal cycling Quality Control (QC) procedure, and results from the barrel pre-production phase (about 5% of the production volume). Additionally, in order to assess the headroom of the nominal QC procedure of 10 cycles and to ensure modules don't begin failing soon after, four representative ITk Strips barrel modules were thermally cycled 100 times — this study is also described.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

DOE OSTI2024

Artificial Replication of Field Soiling Losses on PV Modules

In this paper, we experimentally demonstrate an improved replication of field soiling losses using an indoor artificial soiling chamber and tests on anti-soiling coated PV modules and coupons. The primary focus is to use site-specific soil collected from module surface and replicate the natural soiling processes including dust concentration in the air, slow and gradual dust accumulation and sedimentation on the module surface during the dominant soiling season of the site of interest. The experiments were conducted on two sample sets having different anti-soiling properties. The first set contains commercial modules with two different surface properties retrieved after three years of exposure from a single PV plant in a mid-Atlantic location; the other set contain glass coupons with three different coating materials that were installed and exposed over 4 months, at Lemoore, California. Major field-representative factors considered here for the close replication in the chamber include: the use of dust collected from modules surfaces at the outdoor sites to give the same dust chemistry; dust particle size distribution and concentration; the charge size of dust (< 0.15 g per injection); field humidity, and module temperature. The effectiveness of antisoiling coatings (or surface properties) for both sample sets were ranked in the artificial testing and were found to be closely matching with the field rank orders of the respective sites and sample sets. This paper provides the rank ordering results to objectively demonstrate the replication of field soiling losses in the artificial soiling chamber.

artificial soiling↗

DOE OSTI2024

Broadband rapid-scanning phase-modulated Fourier transform electronic spectroscopy

We present a phase-modulated approach for ultrabroadband Fourier transform electronic spectroscopy. To overcome the bandwidth limitations and spatial chirp introduced by acousto-optic modulators (AOMs), pulses from a 1 µm laser are modulated using AOMs prior to continuum generation. This phase modulation is transferred to the continuum generated in a yttrium aluminum garnet crystal. Separately generated phase-modulated continua in two arms of a Mach-Zehnder interferometer interfere with the difference of their modulation frequencies, enabling physical under-sampling of the signal and the suppression of low-frequency noise. By interferometrically tracking the relative time delay of the continua, we perform continuous, rapid-scanning Fourier transform electronic spectroscopy with a high signal-to-noise ratio and spectral resolution. As proof of principle, we measure the linear absorption and fluorescence excitation spectra of a laser dye and various biological samples.

Javed, Ariba↗

DOE OSTI2024

Strain-concentration for fast, compact photonic modulation and non-volatile memory

A critical figure of merit (FoM) for electro-optic (EO) modulators is the transmission change per voltage, d T / d V . Conventional approaches in wave-guided modulators maximize d T / d V via a high EO coefficient or longer light-material interaction lengths but are ultimately limited by material losses and nonlinearities. Optical and RF resonances improve d T / d V at the cost of spectral non-uniformity, especially for high- Q optical cavity resonances. Here, we introduce an EO modulator based on piezo-strain-concentration of a photonic crystal cavity to address both trade-offs: (i) it eliminates the trade-off between d T / d V and waveguide loss—i.e., enhancement of the resonance tuning efficiency d v c / d V for the fixed EO coefficient, waveguide length, and cavity Q —and (ii) at high DC strains it exhibits a non-volatile (NV) cavity tuning Δ v c ,NV for passive memory and programming of multiple devices into resonance despite fabrication variations. The device is fabricated on a scalable silicon nitride-on-aluminum nitride platform. We measure d v c / d V =177±1MHz/V, corresponding to Δ v c =40±0.32GHz for a voltage spanning ±120V with an energy consumption of δ U /Δ v c =0.17nW/GHz. The modulation bandwidth is flat up to ω BW,3dB /2 π =3.2±0.07MHz for broadband DC-AC and 142±17MHz for resonant operation near a 2.8 GHz mechanical resonance. Optical extinction up to 25 dB is obtained via Fano-type interference. Strain-induced beam-buckling modes are programmable under a “read-write” protocol with a continuous, repeatable tuning range of 5±0.25GHz, allowing for storage and retrieval, which we quantify with mutual information of 2.4 bits and a maximum non-volatile excursion of 8 GHz. Using a full piezo-optical finite-element-model (FEM) we identify key design principles for optimizing strain-based modulators and chart a path towards achieving performance comparable to lithium niobate-based modulators and the study of high strain physics on-chip.

Wen, Y. Henry (ORCID:0009000685423628)↗

DOE OSTI2026

CMS Outer Tracker Module QA

The High Luminosity Large Hadron Collider is a planned upgrade to the LHC that will allow it to take up to 7 times as much data. Upgrades to all detector systems, including the Outer Tracker, are necessary to allow them to handle the increased radiation and pileup. Fermilab has been tasked with assembling modules for the Outer Tracker system. This presentation discusses the QA tests performed on these modules and the integration procedure required to ensure all modules work in sync. The QA tests include sensor IV curves, MaPSA testing, visual inspection, skeleton testing, and module testing. There are additional tests that can only be performed on integrated modules that are working in sync, and developing an understanding of the timing and latency of the modules is necessary to perform this synchronization.

Hobbeheydar, Samuel [Fermilab; Carnegie Mellon U. ↗

DOE OSTI2026

CMS Outer Tracker Module QA

Hobbeheydar, Samuel [Fermilab; Carnegie Mellon U. ↗

DOE OSTI2025

Experimental Validation of a Module Cell Cracking Model

The What's Cracking app can predict how changes in crystalline silicon photovoltaic (PV) module materials, design, and mounting affect its susceptibility for cell fracture under uniform loading. This work has experimentally validated the app. A set of commercial crystalline silicon PV modules was obtained for this study. The modules were uniformly loaded at three different mounting points, and their subsequent cell fractures were recorded. A large sample size allowed for the development of an experimental statistical model for cell fracture. Here, the comparison of the experiment to predictions from the app is in excellent agreement. Both experimental and modeling results also elucidate how moving the module mounting points toward the center of the module increases the probability of cell fracture.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

DOE OSTI2025

Rapid Prototyping Techniques for Organic Direct-Bonded-Copper Power Modules

Organic Direct-Bonded-Copper (ODBC) is a novel packaging technology for power modules which allows higher flexibility in layout design. In this work, a set of rapid prototyping techniques are developed for ODBC modules based on a polyimide dielectric material. These techniques enable fast and low-cost fabrication of modules with 3-Dimensional (3D) layout features. An example half-bridge (HB) silicon carbide (SiC) metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET) module is designed and prototyped using the proposed techniques aiming at ultra-low power loop inductance. Finite element analysis (FEA)-circuit co-simulations results and experimental results validate an approximately 0.71nH power loop inductance for the example module design.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2025

Sequential Stress Identifies Processing Defects in Bifacial Photovoltaic Modules That Limit Durability

Here, we use sequential stress to investigate hurdles to bifacial photovoltaic (PV) module durability from lamination defects. We test mini-modules with glass/glass (G/G) and glass/transparent-backsheet (G/TB) constructions using either ethylene vinyl acetate or polyolefin elastomer (POE) based encapsulants under a modified IEC 63209-2 sequential stress. This sequence includes multiple iterations of damp heat (DH200), full spectrum light exposure (A3), thermal cycling (TC50), and humidity/freeze (HF10). We compare indoor stress with outdoor exposure. Results show similar relative trends in degradation after a year outdoors compared to our first stress cycle. Subsequent stress cycles impart more severe damage than outdoor exposure for the short outdoor duration used here. Edge-pinch lamination defects in G/G mini-modules limit durability causing delamination and cell cracks. Conversely, we observe greater degradation in G/TB mini-modules compared to G/G in the later stages of the stress sequence when the backsheets are directly exposed to UV-containing light. Our results highlight: 1) the utility of sequential stress testing to uncover degradation modes in bifacial PV, 2) implications of using mini-modules for testing PV quality, and 3) the importance of lamination defects that must be avoided to ensure durability as the industry adopts G/G or G/TB packaging.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

DOE OSTI2024

PV Modules Temperature Variation and Patterns in Medium and Utility-Scale Floating PV Systems

This paper presents the preliminary results and findings of the four operational Floating PV systems across the USA. At each site, temperature of five PV modules located at North-West, North-East, Middle, South-West, and, South-East have been monitored through the Resistant Temperature Detector (RTD) sensors. Three RTDs were attached to each PV module on the rear-side along the diagonal at top, middle and bottom cells. The preliminary results reveal wide temperature differences among the inter and intra PV modules. Besides this, wave pattern temperatures were observed in a few PV modules. The final results, findings, and, factors responsible will be investigated during the next few months. Index Terms - photovoltaic module, floating PV systems, string, array, temperature, mismatch, utility scale.

ENGINEERING,SOLAR ENERGY↗