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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.

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At least 559 records · Page 31
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2026

Adaptive optical correction for in vivo two-photon fluorescence microscopy with neural fields

Adaptive optics restore ideal imaging performance in complex samples by measuring and correcting optical aberrations but often require custom-built microscopes with carefully aligned wavefront sensing/shaping devices and can be susceptible to sample motion. Here we describe NeAT, a computational framework using neural fields for adaptive optics two-photon fluorescence microscopy. NeAT estimates wavefront aberration and recovers sample structure from a 3D image stack without requiring external datasets for training. Incorporating motion correction in learning and correcting conjugation errors commonly found in commercial microscopes, NeAT is designed for deployment in biological laboratories for in vivo imaging. We validate NeAT’s performance using a custom-built microscope with a wavefront sensor under varying signal-to-noise ratios, aberration and motion conditions. With a commercial microscope, we demonstrate real-time aberration correction for in vivo morphological and functional imaging in the living mouse brain, with NeAT improving the signal and accuracy of glutamate and calcium imaging of synapses and neurons.

Kang, Iksung↗
DOE OSTI2017

p -Carborane Conjugation in Radical Anions of Cage–Cage and Cage–Phenyl Compounds

Optical electron transfer (intervalence) transitions in radical anions of p-carborane oligomers attest to delocalization of electrons between two p-carboranes cages or a p-carborane and a phenyl ring. Oligomers of the 12 vertex p-carborane (C 2 B 10 H 12 ) cage, [12], with up to 3 cages were synthesized, as well as p-carboranes with one or two trimethylsilylphenyl groups, [6], attached to the carbon termini. Pulse radiolysis in tetrahydrofuran produced radical anions, determined redox potentials by equilibria and measured their absorption spectra. Density functional theory computations provided critical insight into the optical electron transfer bands and electron delocalization. One case, [6–12–6], showed both Robin–Day class II and III transitions. The class III transition resulted from a fully delocalized excess electron across both benzene rings and the central p-carborane, with an electronic coupling H ab = 0.46 eV between the cage and either benzene. This unprecedented finding shows that p-carborane bridges are not simply electron withdrawing insulators. In other cases with more than ~1/2 of the excess electron localized on a [12], large cage distortions were triggered, producing a partially open cage with a nido-like structure. This resulted in class II transitions with similar Hab but massive reorganization energies. The computations also predicted delocalization in radical cations, but complexities in cation formation allowed only tentative experimental support of the predictions. Thus, the results with anions provide clear evidence for carborane conjugation that might be exploited in molecular wire materials, which are classically composed of all π-conjugated molecules.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2026

Commercialization of Reflected Target Non-Intrusive Assessment (ReTNA) Tool, for Indoor Optical Analysis of Heliostats

Under HelioCon, NLR began developing a new optical measurement system, called Reflected Target Non-Intrusive Assessment (ReTNA). ReTNA has shown promise towards addressing metrology gaps for heliostat used in concentrated solar thermal (CST) plant. This project is focused on advancing this measurement system from the laboratory into industry, where it can provide valuable information for heliostat developers during research, development, and qualification of a heliostat design, and be used for quality assurance during heliostat manufacture. Over the course of this project, ReTNA was deployed at several commercial heliostat facilities. The system developed and deployed with the primary project partner, Solar Dynamics LLC, is described in detail. The report discusses each project Milestone, the ending status, the achieved value, and how these Milestones improve and qualify the ReTNA measurement tool. Finally, the final report covers the market advancements, path forward, commercial successes, and lessons learned. Final Technical report for TCF Base Technology-Specific project TCF-23-20118, Commercialization of Reflected Target Non-Intrusive Assessment (ReTNA) tool, for indoor optical analysis of Heliostats.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2018

Fluorescent Benzocoumarin-π-Extended Styryl Hybrids: Solvatochromism, Excess Dipole Moment, NLO Properties and DFT Study

Four benzo[h]chromen-3-yl)ethylidene) malononitrilestyryl hybrid dyes are presented for their potential non-linear optical properties using solvatochromism and density functional theory. The dyes are characterized by {sup 1}H and {sup 13}C NMR and elemental analysis. They have different donor and same acceptor as dicyanovinyl coumarin. Absorption and emission properties are highly dependent on substituents and environment. Dyes 3a and 3c show absorption solvatochromism while 3b and 3d show emission solvatochromism. Solvatochromism is used for the evaluation of excited state dipole moment and nonlinear optical properties which are comparable with the computed values. Limits of hyperpolarizability are close to the experimental and calculated values. Results shows that these dyes having strong intramolecular charge transfer characters proposing their potential nonlinear optical character.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2011

Comment on 'Modal expansion approach to optical-frequency-comb generation with monolithic whispering-gallery-mode resonators'

Authors of a recent paper [Y. K. Chembo and N. Yu, Phys. Rev. A 82, 033801 (2010)] claimed to have developed a general framework for description of nonlinear effects in whispering-gallery-mode resonators with particular focus on optical-frequency-comb generation. In this Comment we demonstrate that the author's approach contains mathematical errors affecting some of the results of the paper. Fortunately, analysis of this phenomenon using a mathematically more rigorous approach shows that the main conclusions of that paper remain intact.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2017

Plasmonic nanohole array for enhancing the SERS signal of a single layer of graphene in water

In this study, we numerically design and experimentally test a SERS-active substrate for enhancing the SERS signal of a single layer of graphene (SLG) in water. The SLG is placed on top of an array of silver-covered nanoholes in a polymer and is covered with water. Here we report a large enhancement of up to 2×10 5 in the SERS signal of the SLG on the patterned plasmonic nanostructure for a 532nm excitation laser wavelength. We provide a detailed study of the light-graphene interactions by investigating the optical absorption in the SLG, the density of optical states at the location of the SLG, and the extraction efficiency of the SERS signal of the SLG. Our numerical calculations of both the excitation field and the emission rate enhancements support the experimental results. We find that the enhancement is due to the increase in the confinement of electromagnetic fields on the location of the SLG that results in enhanced light absorption in the graphene at the excitation wavelength. We also find that water droplets increase the density of optical radiative states at the location of the SLG, leading to enhanced spontaneous emission rate of graphene at its Raman emission wavelengths.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2023

High-throughput feedback-enabled optogenetic stimulation and spectroscopy in microwell plates

Abstract The ability to perform sophisticated, high-throughput optogenetic experiments has been greatly enhanced by recent open-source illumination devices that allow independent programming of light patterns in single wells of microwell plates. However, there is currently a lack of instrumentation to monitor such experiments in real time, necessitating repeated transfers of the samples to stand-alone analytical instruments, thus limiting the types of experiments that could be performed. Here we address this gap with the development of the optoPlateReader (oPR), an open-source, solid-state, compact device that allows automated optogenetic stimulation and spectroscopy in each well of a 96-well plate. The oPR integrates an optoPlate illumination module with a module called the optoReader, an array of 96 photodiodes and LEDs that allows 96 parallel light measurements. The oPR was optimized for stimulation with blue light and for measurements of optical density and fluorescence. After calibration of all device components, we used the oPR to measure growth and to induce and measure fluorescent protein expression in E. coli . We further demonstrated how the optical read/write capabilities of the oPR permit computer-in-the-loop feedback control, where the current state of the sample can be used to adjust the optical stimulation parameters of the sample according to pre-defined feedback algorithms. The oPR will thus help realize an untapped potential for optogenetic experiments by enabling automated reading, writing, and feedback in microwell plates through open-source hardware that is accessible, customizable, and inexpensive.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2017

Tunable bandgap in halogen doped 2D nitrogenated microporous materials

The quest for new materials with extraordinary electronic, magnetic, and optical properties leads to the synthesis of 2D nitrogenated microporous materials with the hole diameter of 1.16 nm. We computationally study the evolution of the energy bandgaps, optical, and transport properties with the following substituents: hydrogen, fluorine, chlorine, and iodine. We find that such a small perturbation by these atoms has a tremendous impact on the electronic properties of these materials. Indeed, the direct energy bandgaps can be tuned from 1.64 to 0.96 eV by the substituents from hydrogen to iodine. The optical gaps demonstrate similar dependence. From the transport properties, we calculate the effective masses of π-conjugated microporous polymers and find that the conduction electron effective masses are insensitive to halogen substituents while for some low-lying energy valence bands the effective masses can be drastically increased from 0.71 to 2.98 m e and 0.28 to 0.58 m e for the heavy and light holes, respectively. The application of the nitrogenated microporous materials is very broad. They can be useful as sensitizers in solar cells, for water splitting catalysis, in biomedicine, and for gas and energy storage.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2022

Deep Learning and Natural Language Processing for Accelerated Inverse Design of Optical Metamaterials

Optical metamaterial device design has enjoyed a long track of success over the past 50 years leading to the manipulation of light over a wide range of wavelengths spanning the ultraviolet to the far infrared. The manipulation of light over such wavelengths has already led to many technological advancements such as the design of selective radiative absorbers for solar energy, daytime passive cooling using deep space, and optical invisibility cloaks for defense applications. Further disruptive advancements in energy, defense, computing, and biomedical fields could be enabled or enhanced by future optical metamaterial devices. These technologies could lead to increased energy efficiency and hence reduced national primary energy consumption, cheap long duration energy storage, and next generation solid-state heat engines. But historically the methods to invent and develop all of these devices have been time- consuming and based mostly on intuition and iteration. Finding an optimal design can take years. In this project we developed a machine learning-based algorithm capable of automatically generating device designs to produce desired optical properties, reducing the design cycle life in certain situations to be almost instantaneous.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2010

Thermal-stress modeling of an optical microphone at high temperature.

To help determine the capability range of a MEMS optical microphone design in harsh conditions computer simulations were carried out. Thermal stress modeling was performed up to temperatures of 1000 C. Particular concern was over stress and strain profiles due to the coefficient of thermal expansion mismatch between the polysilicon device and alumina packaging. Preliminary results with simplified models indicate acceptable levels of deformation within the device.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2025

A Modified Model Dielectric Function for Analyzing Optical Spectra of InGaN Nanofilms on Sapphire Substrates

Due to a lower InN bandgap energy Eg~0.7 eV, InxGa1−xN/Sapphire epifilms are considered valuable in the development of low-dimensional heterostructure-based photonic devices. Adjusting the composition x and thickness d in epitaxially grown films has offered many possibilities of light emission across a wide spectral range, from ultraviolet through visible into near-infrared regions. Optical properties have played important roles in making semiconductor materials useful in electro-optic applications. Despite the efforts to grow InxGa1−xN/Sapphire samples, no x- and d-dependent optical studies exist for ultrathin films. Many researchers have used computationally intensive methods to study the electronic band structures Ejk→, and subsequently derive optical properties. By including inter-band transitions at critical points from Ejk→, we have developed a semiempirical approach to comprehend the optical characteristics of InN, GaN and InxGa1−xN. Refractive indices of InxGa1−xN and sapphire substrate are meticulously integrated into a transfer matrix method to simulate d- and x-dependent reflectivity RE and transmission TE spectra of nanostructured InxGa1−xN/Sapphire epifilms. Analyses of RE and TE have offered accurate x-dependent shifts of energy gaps for InxGa1−xN (x = 0.5, 0.7) in excellent agreement with the experimental data.

Talwar, Devki N. (ORCID:0000000202723195)↗
DOE OSTI2017

Collapse events of two-color optical beams

Here in this work, we study optical self-focusing that leads to collapse events for the time-independent model of copropagating beams with different wavelengths. We show that collapse events depend on the combined critical power of two beams for fundamental, vortex, and mixed configurations as well as on the ratio of their individual powers.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

An Efficient Holographic Huygens? Metasurface based on Dielectric Resonant Meta-Atoms.

Subwavelength-thin metasurfaces have shown great promises for the control of optical wavefronts, thus opening new pathways for the development of efficient flat optics. In particular, Huygens’ metasurfaces based on all-dielectric resonant meta-atoms have already shown a huge potential for practical applications with their polarization insensitivity and high transmittance efficiency. Here, we experimentally demonstrate a holographic Huygens’ metasurface based on dielectric resonant meta-atoms capable of complex wavefront control at telecom wavelengths. Our metasurface produces a hologram image in the far-field with 82% transmittance efficiency and 40% imaging efficiency. Such efficient complex wavefront control shows that Huygens’ metasurfaces based on resonant dielectric meta-atoms are a big step towards practical applications of metasurfaces in wavefront design related technologies, including computer-generated holograms, ultra-thin optics, security and data storage devices.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2022

Deep Learning and Natural Language Processing for Accelerated Inverse Design of Optical Metamaterials

Optical metamaterial device design has enjoyed a long track of success over the past 50 years leading to the manipulation of light over a wide range of wavelengths spanning the ultraviolet to the far infrared. The manipulation of light over such wavelengths has already led to many technological advancements such as the design of selective radiative absorbers for solar energy, daytime passive cooling using deep space, and optical invisibility cloaks for defense applications. Further disruptive advancements in energy, defense, computing, and biomedical fields could be enabled or enhanced by future optical metamaterial devices. These technologies could lead to increased energy efficiency and hence reduced national primary energy consumption, cheap long duration energy storage, and next generation solid-state heat engines. But historically the methods to invent and develop all of these devices have been time- consuming and based mostly on intuition and iteration. Finding an optimal design can take years.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2018

Improvement of the Simulation of Cloud Longwave Scattering in Broadband Radiative Transfer Models

Abstract Cloud longwave scattering is generally neglected in general circulation models (GCMs), but it plays a significant and highly uncertain role in the atmospheric energy budget as demonstrated in recent studies. To reduce the errors caused by neglecting cloud longwave scattering, two new radiance adjustment methods are developed that retain the computational efficiency of broadband radiative transfer simulations. In particular, two existing scaling methods and the two new adjustment methods are implemented in the Rapid Radiative Transfer Model (RRTM). The results are then compared with those based on the Discrete Ordinate Radiative Transfer model (DISORT) that explicitly accounts for multiple scattering by clouds. The two scaling methods are shown to improve the accuracy of radiative transfer simulations for optically thin clouds but not effectively for optically thick clouds. However, the adjustment methods reduce computational errors over a wide range, from optically thin to thick clouds. With the adjustment methods, the errors resulting from neglecting cloud longwave scattering are reduced to less than 2 W m−2 for the upward irradiance at the top of the atmosphere and less than 0.5 W m−2 for the surface downward irradiance. The adjustment schemes prove to be more accurate and efficient than a four-stream approximation that explicitly accounts for multiple scattering. The neglect of cloud longwave scattering results in an underestimate of the surface downward irradiance (cooling effect), but the errors are almost eliminated by the adjustment methods (warming effect).

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2018

Experimental characterization and modeling of optical tweezer particle handling dynamics [Modeling and Simulation of Optical Tweezer Particle Handling Dynamics]

Here, we report a new framework for a quantitative understanding of optical trapping (OT) particle handling dynamics. We present a novel three-dimensional particle-based model that includes optical, hydrodynamic, and inter-particle forces. This semi-empirical colloid model is based on an open-source simulation code known as LAMMPS (large-scale atomic/molecular massively parallel simulator) and properly recapitulates the full OT force profile beyond the typical linear approximations valid near the trap center. Simulations are carried out with typical system parameters relevant for our experimental holographic optical trapping (HOT) system, including varied particle sizes, trap movement speeds, and beam powers. Furthermore, we present a new experimental method for measuring both the stable and metastable boundaries of the optical force profile to inform or validate the model’s underlying force profile. We show that our framework is a powerful tool for accurately predicting particle behavior in a practical experimental OT setup and can be used to characterize and predict particle handling dynamics within any arbitrary OT force profile.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2011

NEAR-INFRARED REVERBERATION BY DUSTY CLUMPY TORI IN ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEI

According to recent models, the accretion disk and black hole in active galactic nuclei (AGNs) are surrounded by a clumpy torus. We investigate the NIR flux variation of the torus in response to a UV flash for various geometries. Anisotropic illumination by the disk and the torus self-occultation contrast our study with earlier works. Both the waning effect of each clump and the torus self-occultation selectively reduce the emission from the region with a short delay. Therefore, the NIR delay depends on the viewing angle (where a more inclined angle leads to a longer delay), and the time response shows an asymmetric profile with negative skewness, opposing the results for optically thin tori. The range of the computed delay coincides with the observed one, suggesting that the viewing angle is primarily responsible for the scatter of the observed delay. We also propose that the red NIR-to-optical color of type 1.8/1.9 objects is caused not only by the dust extinction but also the intrinsically red color. Compared with the modest torus thickness, both a thick and a thin tori display weaker NIR emission. A selection bias is thus expected such that NIR-selected AGNs tend to possess moderately thick tori. A thicker torus shows a narrower and more heavily skewed time profile, while a thin torus produces a rapid response. A super-Eddington accretion rate leads to much weaker NIR emission due to the disk self-occultation and the disk truncation by self-gravity. A long delay is expected from an optically thin and/or a largely misaligned torus. Very weak NIR emission, such as in hot-dust-poor active nuclei, can arise from a geometrically thin torus, a super-Eddington accretion rate, or a slightly misaligned torus.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗