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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 649 records · Page 36
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2014

Photoluminescence lineshape and dynamics of localized excitonic transitions in InAsP epitaxial layers

The excitonic radiative transitions of InAs{sub x}P{sub 1−x} (x = 0.13 and x = 0.40) alloy epitaxial layers were studied through magnetic field and temperature dependent photoluminescence and time-resolved photoluminescence spectroscopy. While the linewidth and lineshape of the exciton transition for x = 0.40 indicate the presence of alloy broadening due to random anion distribution and the existence of localized exciton states, those of x = 0.13 suggest that this type of compositional disorder is absent in x = 0.13. This localization is further supported by the behavior of the exciton transitions at low temperature and high magnetic fields. InAs{sub 0.4}P{sub 0.6} exhibits anomalous “S-shaped” temperature dependence of the excition emission peak below 100 K as well as linewidth broadening at high magnetic fields due to the compression of the excitonic volume amid compositional fluctuations. Finally, photoluminescence decay patterns suggest that the excitons radiatively relax through two channels, a fast and a slow decay. While the lifetime of the fast decay is comparable for both compositions (∼30 ps), that of the slow decay increases from 206 ps to 427 ps as x increases from 0.13 to 0.40, attributable to carrier migration between the localization states of InAs{sub 0.4}P{sub 0.6}.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2014

Charge carrier transport properties in layer structured hexagonal boron nitride

Due to its large in-plane thermal conductivity, high temperature and chemical stability, large energy band gap (~ 6.4 eV), hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) has emerged as an important material for applications in deep ultraviolet photonic devices. Among the members of the III-nitride material system, hBN is the least studied and understood. The study of the electrical transport properties of hBN is of utmost importance with a view to realizing practical device applications. Wafer-scale hBN epilayers have been successfully synthesized by metal organic chemical deposition and their electrical transport properties have been probed by variable temperature Hall effect measurements. The results demonstrate that undoped hBN is a semiconductor exhibiting weak p-type at high temperatures (> 700 °K). The measured acceptor energy level is about 0.68 eV above the valence band. In contrast to the electrical transport properties of traditional III-nitride wide bandgap semiconductors, the temperature dependence of the hole mobility in hBN can be described by the form of μ ∝ (T/T{sub 0}){sup −α} with α = 3.02, satisfying the two-dimensional (2D) carrier transport limit dominated by the polar optical phonon scattering. This behavior is a direct consequence of the fact that hBN is a layer structured material. The optical phonon energy deduced from the temperature dependence of the hole mobility is ħω = 192 meV (or 1546 cm{sup -1}), which is consistent with values previously obtained using other techniques. The present results extend our understanding of the charge carrier transport properties beyond the traditional III-nitride semiconductors.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2015

Layer-by-layer and intrinsic analysis of molecular and thermodynamic properties across soft interfaces

Interfaces are ubiquitous objects, whose thermodynamic behavior we only recently started to understand at the microscopic detail. Here, we borrow concepts from the techniques of surface identification and intrinsic analysis, to provide a complementary point of view on the density, stress, energy, and free energy distribution across liquid (“soft”) interfaces by analyzing the respective contributions coming from successive layers.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2016

Dynamic atomic layer epitaxy of InN on/in +c-GaN matrix: Effect of “In+N” coverage and capping timing by GaN layer on effective InN thickness

The growth front in the self-organizing and self-limiting epitaxy of ∼1 monolayer (ML)-thick InN wells on/in +c-GaN matrix by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) has been studied in detail, with special attention given to the behavior and role of the N atoms. The growth temperatures of interest are above 600 °C, far higher than the typical upper critical temperature of 500 °C in MBE. It was confirmed that 2 ML-thick InN wells can be frozen/inserted in GaN matrix at 620 °C, but it was found that N atoms at the growth front tend to selectively re-evaporate more quickly than In atoms at temperatures higher than 650 °C. As a result, the effective thickness of inserted InN wells in the GaN matrix at 660–670 °C were basically 1 ML or sub-ML, even though they were capped by a GaN barrier at the time of 2 ML “In+N” coverage. Furthermore, it was found that the N atoms located below In atoms in the dynamic atomic layer epitaxy growth front had remarkably weaker bonding to the +c-GaN surface.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2016

Oxygen vacancy defect engineering using atomic layer deposited HfAlO{sub x} in multi-layered gate stack

This work evaluates the defects in high quality atomic layer deposited (ALD) HfAlO{sub x} with extremely low Al (<3% Al/(Al + Hf)) incorporation in the Hf based high-k dielectrics. The defect activation energy estimated by the high temperature current voltage measurement shows that the charged oxygen vacancies, V{sup +}/V{sup 2+}, are the primary source of defects in these dielectrics. When Al is added in HfO{sub 2}, the V{sup +} type defects with a defect activation energy of E{sub a} ∼ 0.2 eV modify to V{sup 2+} type to E{sub a} ∼ 0.1 eV with reference to the Si conduction band. When devices were stressed in the gate injection mode for 1000 s, more V{sup +} type defects are generated and E{sub a} reverts back to ∼0.2 eV. Since Al has a less number of valence electrons than do Hf, the change in the co-ordination number due to Al incorporation seems to contribute to the defect level modifications. Additionally, the stress induced leakage current behavior observed at 20 °C and at 125 °C demonstrates that the addition of Al in HfO{sub 2} contributed to suppressed trap generation process. This further supports the defect engineering model as reduced flat-band voltage shifts were observed at 20 °C and at 125 °C.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2016

Thermal chemistry of copper acetamidinate atomic layer deposition precursors on silicon oxide surfaces studied by XPS

The thermal surface chemistry of copper(I)-N,N′-di-sec-butylacetamidinate, [Cu({sup s}Bu-amd)]{sub 2}, a metalorganic complex recently proposed for the chemical-based deposition of copper films, has been characterized on SiO{sub 2} films under ultrahigh vacuum conditions by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Initial adsorption at cryogenic temperatures results in the oxidation of the copper centers with Cu 2p{sub 3/2} XPS binding energies close to those seen for a +2 oxidation state, an observation that the authors interpret as the result of the additional coordination of oxygen atoms from the surface to the Cu atoms of the molecular acetamidinate dimer. Either heating to 300 K or dosing the precursor directly at that temperature leads to the loss of one of its two ligands, presumably via hydrogenation/protonation with a hydrogen/proton from a silanol group, or following a similar reaction on a defect site. By approximately 500 K the Cu 2p{sub 3/2}, C 1s, and N 1s XPS data suggest that the remaining acetamidinate ligand is displaced from the copper center and bonds to the silicon oxide directly, after which temperatures above 900 K need to be reached to promote further (and only partial) decomposition of those organic moieties. It was also shown that the uptake of the Cu precursor is self-limiting at either 300 or 500 K, although the initial chemistry is somewhat different at the two temperatures, and that the nature of the substrate also defines reactivity, with the thin native silicon oxide layer always present on Si(100) surfaces being less reactive than thicker films grown by evaporation, presumably because of the lower density of surface nucleation sites.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2016

Effect of the chamber wall on fluorocarbon-assisted atomic layer etching of SiO{sub 2} using cyclic Ar/C{sub 4}F{sub 8} plasma

The authors studied the effect of the temperature and chemical state of the chamber wall on process performance for atomic layer etching of SiO{sub 2} using a steady-state Ar plasma, periodic injection of a defined number of C{sub 4}F{sub 8} molecules, and synchronized plasma-based Ar{sup +} ion bombardment. To evaluate these effects, the authors measured the quartz coupling window temperature. The plasma gas phase chemistry was characterized using optical emission spectroscopy. It was found that although the thickness of the polymer film deposited in each cycle is constant, the etching behavior changed, which is likely related to a change in the plasma gas phase chemistry. The authors found that the main gas phase changes occur after C{sub 4}F{sub 8} injection. The C{sub 4}F{sub 8} and the quartz window react and generate SiF and CO. The emission intensity changes with wall surface state and temperature. Therefore, changes in the plasma gas species generation can lead to a shift in etching performance during processing. During initial cycles, minimal etching is observed, while etching gradually increases with cycle number.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2019

Lattice Structure and Dynamics of Two-Layer Heterostructures of Barium–Strontium Titanate and Layered Bismuth Titanate of Various Thicknesses on a Magnesium Oxide Substrate

The lattice structure and dynamics of single-crystal Bi{sub 4}Ti{sub 3}O{sub 12} with a thickness from 4 to 430 nm on a (001)MgO substrate with a previously deposited Ba{sub 0.4}Sr{sub 0.6}TiO{sub 3} sublayer (4 nm) have been studied. The two-layer structures were prepared by radio-frequency sputtering of ceramic targets of the corresponding compositions. The X-ray diffraction studies performed at room temperature have shown that, in this heterostructure, axis c of the Bi{sub 4}Ti{sub 3}O{sub 12} unit cell is perpendicular to the substrate, and direction [100] has an angle of ±45° to the [100]MgO direction. At the thicknesses of Bi{sub 4}Ti{sub 3}O{sub 12} to ~40 nm, the film unit cell is compressed in the direction of a normal to the substrate plane and extended in the conjugate plane, and the sign of the deformation is changed at large thicknesses. It is found that the phonon mode frequency in the Bi{sub 4}Ti{sub 3}O{sub 12} film shift and additional peaks appear in the Raman spectra, which demonstrates an increase in the degree of monoclinic distortion of the film crystal structure as compared to the crystal structure.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2024

Effect of Engineered Cracks in Catalyst Layers on PEMFC Catalyst Layer Durability

Proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) are expected to play a pivotal role in decarbonizing the transportation sector, and particularly heavy-duty vehicles (HDVs). However, improvements in durability are needed for PEMFCs to compete with state-of-the-art power sources for HDVs. Here, we examine how catalyst layer (CL) cracks that are engineered affect the CL durability by using patterned silicon templates to control the CL crack density at the micrometer scale. Electrochemical analyses show that the initial PEMFC performance is relatively unaffected by crack density, but the performance after durability testing was strongly affected. Specifically, CLs with high crack density showed higher performance relative to CLs without cracks after application of a carbon corrosion accelerated stress test. Electrochemical analyses coupled with X-ray computed tomography and scanning transmission electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy showed that the cracks provide shorter oxygen diffusion pathways to reaction sites, leading to decreased oxygen transport resistance. Additionally, we observed that the catalyst durability is unaffected by cracks. Our results provide a mechanistic explanation of the role of cracks in CL durability.

30 DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSION↗
DOE OSTI2014

The Effect of Various Actuator-Line Modeling Approaches on Turbine-Turbine Interactions and Wake-Turbulence Statistics in Atmospheric Boundary-Layer Flow

When using an actuator-line representation of a wind turbine for computational fluid dynamics, it is common practice to volumetrically project the line force onto the flow field to create a body force in the fluid momentum equation. The objective of this study is to investigate how different volumetric projection techniques of the body force created by an actuator-line wind turbine rotor model affect the generated wake characteristics and blade loads in a turbine-turbine interaction problem. Two techniques for the body-force projection width are used , and they are based on either i) the grid spacing, or ii) the combination of grid spacing and an equivalent elliptic blade planform. An array of two NREL 5-MW turbines separated by seven rotor diameters is simulated within a large-eddy simulation solver subject to offshore neutral and moderately-convective atmospheric boundary-layer inflow. Power, thrust,and bending moment histories of both turbines, the statistics of angle of attack and blade loads over 2000 sec, variations in the mean and fluctuating velocity components, and turbulent kinetic energy and selected Reynolds stresses along vertical and spanwise sampling locations in the wake are analyzed. Comparisons for the different techniques of determining the body-force projection width of the actuator-line method are made and their effect on different physical quantities are assessed.

Atmospheric boundary layer, wind turbine wake↗
DOE OSTI2014

Control of Thickness and Chemical Properties of Atomic Layer Deposition Overcoats for Stabilizing Cu/γ-Al 2 O 3 Catalysts

Whereas sintering and leaching of copper nanoparticles during liquid-phase catalytic processing can be prevented by using atomic layer deposition (ALD) to overcoat the nanoparticles with AlOx, this acidic overcoat leads to reversible deactivation of the catalyst by resinification and blocking of the pores within the overcoat during hydrogenation of furfural. We demonstrate that decreasing the overcoat thickness from 45 to 5 ALD cycles is an effective method to increase the rate per gram of catalyst and to decrease the rate of deactivation for catalysts pretreated at 673 K, and a fully regenerable copper catalyst can be produced with only five ALD cycles of AlOx. Moreover, although an overcoat of MgOx does not lead to stabilization of copper nanoparticles against sintering and leaching during liquid-phase hydrogenation reactions, the AlOx overcoat can be chemically modified to decrease acidity and deactivation through the addition of MgOx, while maintaining stability of the copper nanoparticles.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗