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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 739 records · Page 41
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2020

SpecFIDLER User Manual (Software V.2.3.0)

The Spectroscopic Field Instrument for Detection of Low Energy Radiation (SpecFIDLER) allows response teams to detect and quantify plutonium contamination on the ground. Notional scenarios include dispersion from a weapon accident, or the launch failure of a space probe containing a radioisotope thermoelectric generator. Unlike other instruments, the thin-window sodium iodide detector is sensitive to the low-energy gamma rays emitted by plutonium isotopes. The system supports both mobile survey as well as stationary sampling. This manual provides information about installing, maintaining, and troubleshooting the SpecFIDLER. The scope of this document includes the physical hardware, software for data acquisition, and algorithms for data analysis. Recent changes to the software and algorithms aim to streamline the operation of the system.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2020

Single electron–hole pair sensitive silicon detector with surface event discrimination

Here, we demonstrate single electron-hole pair resolution in a single-sided, contact-free 1 cm$^2$ by 1 mm thick Si crystal operated at 48 mK, with a baseline energy resolution of 3 eV. This crystal can be operated at voltages in excess of $\pm50$ V, resulting in a measured charge resolution of 0.06 electron-hole pairs. The high aluminum coverage ($\sim$70%) of this device allows for the discrimination of surface events and separation of events occurring near the center of the detector from those near the edge. We use this discrimination ability to show that dark events seen in previous detectors of a similar design are likely dominated by charge leakage along the side wall of the device. We saw only a small reduction in dark event rate with this biasing scheme, further suggesting that sidewall and edge-dominated processes are responsible for the majority of these events.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2026

First study of the nuclear response to fast hadrons via angular correlations between pions and slow protons in electron-nucleus scattering

We report on the first measurement of angular correlations between high-energy pions and slow protons in electron-nucleus (eA) scattering, providing a new probe of how a nucleus responds to a fast-moving quark. The experiment employed the CLAS detector with a 5-GeV electron beam incident on deuterium, carbon, iron, and lead targets. For heavier nuclei, the pion-proton correlation function is more spread-out in azimuth than for lighter ones, and this effect is more pronounced in the πp channel than in earlier ππ studies. The proton-to-pion yield ratio likewise rises with nuclear mass, although the increase appears to saturate for the heaviest targets. These trends are qualitatively reproduced by state-of-the-art eA event generators, including BeAGLE, eHIJING, and GiBUU, indicating that current descriptions of target fragmentation rest on sound theoretical footing. At the same time, the precision of our data exposes model-dependent discrepancies, delineating a clear path for future improvements in the treatment of cold-nuclear matter effects in eA scattering.

Correlations↗
DOE OSTI2022

Investigation of Microwave Transducers for Linearity Dependence and Applications in Quantum Networking

Quantum devices have the potential to revolutionize applications in computing, communications, and sensing; however, current state-of-art resources must operate at extremely low temperatures, making the routing of microwave control and readout signals challenging to scale. Interest in microwave photonic solutions to this problem has grown in recent years, in which control signals are delivered to the cold stage via optical fiber, where they are converted to electrical signals through photodetection. Overall link performance depends strongly on the characteristics of the photodiode, yet detailed measurements of many detector properties remain lacking at cold temperatures. In this work, we examine and compare the performance of a modified uni-traveling carrier photodiode (MUTC-PD) at both room (300 K) and liquid nitrogen (80 K) temperatures, focusing in particular on responsivity, bandwidth, and linearity. In line with previous work, we find a sharp reduction in responsivity at 1550 nm as temperature decreases, while RF bandwidth remains steady. Interestingly, our linearity tests reveal that the RF output saturates more quickly at 80 K, suggesting reduced linearity with lower temperature, the cause of which is still under investigation. Our results should help contribute to the understanding and future design of highly linear cryogenic quantum links.

Bolton, Summer↗
DOE OSTI2024

Imprinted Micelle Integration into a Commercial Platform (Progress Report)

PNNL has successfully integrated a commercial aerosol detector and the imprinted micelle technology. The integrated systems have been shown to have a limit of detection between 33-47 particles with several options for data analysis presented that vary on computational requirements. It is possible to integrate these systems and receive response data on the second time scale. While more work is needed, these technologies are compatible, which opens up a large field of air sampling looking for specific contaminates.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2026

Leveraging Quantum Sensors for Dark Matter Detection

Recent measurements have demonstrated that superconducting qubit decoherence is affected by radiation. As a result, many groups around the world are working to better understand the relationship between different types of radiation and qubit response. This crucial to quantum error correction because radiation can cause correlated loss of information across multiple qubits on a chip, defeating error correction algorithms. Additionally, the fundamental energy scale at which superconducting qubits operate may enable their development as meV-scale detectors for HEP applications, such as the direct detection of dark matter. At Fermilab, we have two world-class underground facilities which are already being used to study this problem: NEXUS and QUIET. I will present on results from operating superconducting qubits in each of these facilities, and the potential implications towards utilizing qubits as sensors for a novel dark matter detector.

Baxter, Daniel [Texas U., Arlington]↗
DOE OSTI2026

Leveraging Quantum Sensors for Dark Matter Detection

Recent measurements have demonstrated that superconducting qubit decoherence is affected by radiation. As a result, many groups around the world are working to better understand the relationship between different types of radiation and qubit response. This crucial to quantum error correction because radiation can cause correlated loss of information across multiple qubits on a chip, defeating error correction algorithms. Additionally, the fundamental energy scale at which superconducting qubits operate may enable their development as meV-scale detectors for HEP applications, such as the direct detection of dark matter. At Fermilab, we have two world-class underground facilities which are already being used to study this problem: NEXUS and QUIET. I will present on results from operating superconducting qubits in each of these facilities, and the potential implications towards utilizing qubits as sensors for a novel dark matter detector.

Baxter, Daniel [Texas U., Arlington]↗
DOE OSTI2025

Analysis of temperature effects on self-powered neutron detectors in a gamma field

Self-powered neutron detectors (SPND) are small, robust, in-core radiation sensors that have the potential to operate in high temperature environments (above 600°C). However, previous experiments indicated temperature related effects in the form of displacement currents. Given the recent irradiation at The Ohio State University Research Reactor using a delayed-response rhodium-based SPND alongside a prompt-response tantalum-based SPND, it was concluded that only low-energy electrons from gamma interactions were the cause of these temperature effects. A series of heated gamma irradiations with temperatures up to 750°C of SPNDs were performed at the Advanced Test Reactor Gamma Facility in order to better characterize these displacement currents. The results from the experiments demonstrated a strong relation between the displacement currents that occurred during temperature ramps to thermoluminescence (TL) glow peaks—the SPND with Al2O3 insulation has one glow peak within 750°C and the SPND with MgO has three. A demonstration was performed to calculate the trap energy levels of the displacement currents through TL glow peak analysis. Unfortunately, the methods employed provided inconsistent results, requiring an updated model based on ongoing irradiation instead of post-irradiation measurements.

46 - INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AN↗
DOE OSTI2021

An 802pW 93% Peak Efficiency Buck Converter with 5.5×10 6 Dynamic Range Featuring Fast DVFS and Asynchronous Load-Transient Control

Here this paper presents a buck converter with sub-nW quiescent power, high efficiency, and a wide dynamic range for ultra-low-power (ULP) IoT SoCs. To optimize the SoC power consumption, the buck converter supports fast dynamic voltage and frequency scaling (DVFS) and enables fast load-transient response (FLTR) through asynchronous control. In addition, the buck converter is fully self-contained with all features integrated on chip including a proposed adaptive deadtime controller. Fabricated in 65nm CMOS, measurement results show the buck converter has an 802pW quiescent power at 1.5V input voltage and a 93% peak efficiency. The measured dynamic range is from 0.5nW to 2.75mW, which is over 6 orders of magnitude. The measured voltage droop is 54mV for a 45nA-to-1mA load current step thanks to the asynchronous load-transient detector. The buck converter achieves the highest efficiency and widest dynamic range among all the state-of-the-art sub-nW switching voltage regulators, which makes it well suited for power management in ULP SoCs.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2024

Earth-catalyzed detection of magnetic inelastic dark matter with photons in large underground detectors

Inelastic dark matter with moderate splittings, $\mathcal{O}$ (few to 150) keV, can upscatter to an excited state in the Earth, with the excited state subsequently decaying, leaving a distinctive monoenergetic photon signal in large underground detectors. The photon signal can exhibit sidereal-daily modulation, providing excellent separation from backgrounds. Using a detailed numerical simulation, we examine this process as a search strategy for magnetic inelastic dark matter with the dark matter mass near the weak scale, where the upscatter to the excited state and decay proceed through the same magnetic dipole transition operator. At lower inelastic splittings, the scattering is dominated by moderate mass elements in the Earth with high spin, especially 27 Al, while at larger splittings, 56 Fe becomes the dominant target. We show that the proposed large volume gaseous detector CYGNUS will have excellent sensitivity to this signal. Xenon detectors also provide excellent sensitivity through the inelastic nuclear recoil signal, and if a future signal is seen, we show that the synergy among both types of detection can provide strong evidence for magnetic inelastic dark matter. In the course we have calculated nuclear response functions for elements relevant for scattering in the Earth, which are publicly available on GitHub.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Visualization of shocked material instabilities using a fast-framing camera and XFEL four-pulse train

Many questions regarding dynamic materials could be answered by using time-resolved ultra-fast imaging techniques to characterize the physical and chemical behavior of materials in extreme conditions and their evolution on the nanosecond scale. In this work, we perform multi-frame phase-contrast imaging (PCI) of micro-voids in low density polymers under laser-driven shock compression. At the Matter in Extreme Conditions (MEC) Instrument at the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS), we used a train of four x-ray free electron laser (XFEL) pulses to probe the evolution of the samples. To visualize the void and shock wave interaction, here, we deployed the Icarus V2 detector to record up to four XFEL pulses, separated by 1-3 nanoseconds. In this work, we image elastic waves interacting with the micro-voids at a pressure of several GPa. Monitoring how the material’s heterogeneities, like micro-voids, dictate its response to a compressive wave is important for benchmarking the performances of inertial confinement fusion energy materials. For the first time in a single sample, we have combined an ultrafast x-ray framing camera and four XFEL pulse train to create an ultrafast movie of micro-void evolution under laser-driven shock compression. Eventually, we hope this technique will resolve the material density as it evolves dynamically under laser shock compression.

fusion↗
DOE OSTI2020

Replacing photomultiplier tubes with silicon photomultipliers for nuclear safeguards applications

Photomultiplier tubes (PMTs) have been used for decades as the default light detection technology for scintillator-based radiation monitors. PMTs come with a handful of disadvantages, however, including large volume usage, fragility, high-voltage requirements, and susceptibility to magnetic fields. Arrays of silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) are a possible alternative to PMTs providing similar performance while offering improvements in the areas listed. We focus on straightforward “drop-in replacement” evaluations by imposing a single channel output of the SiPM signal and a backend electronics data acquisition and analysis routine identical to that used for PMTs. In the realm of nuclear safeguards, the primary performance metric for gamma spectroscopy is detector resolution, and for neutron detection it is pulse shape discrimination (PSD) to separate neutron and gamma signals. In this work we present the results of replacing a PMT with a 2” x 2” SiPM array mounted, in turn, to the same 2” x 2” cylindrical sodium iodide (NaI) crystal. The ultimate comparison for this gamma spectrometry is confirmation of uranium enrichment standards, ranging from depleted uranium to 93% highly enriched uranium (HEU), by analyzing the resulting spectra with both a simple integral scaling in key energy regions of the spectrum, as well as with the NaIGEM software package. In addition to the gamma spectroscopy work, we will present the latest results on comparing the PSD capabilities of a 4” x 4” SiPM array to a 5” PMT. As with the gamma spectroscopy evaluations, the light detectors are mounted in turn to the same liter-scale organic scintillators. This neutron-focused work includes evaluation of prototype SiPM readout boards with a single output signal summed over 256 individual SiPM pixels, and evident tradeoffs between PSD capability and fast response.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2020

Replacing photomultiplier tubes with silicon photomultipliers for nuclear safeguards applications

Photomultiplier tubes (PMTs) have been used for decades as the default light detection technology for scintillator-based radiation monitors. PMTs come with a handful of disadvantages, however, including large volume usage, fragility, high-voltage requirements, and susceptibility to magnetic fields. Arrays of silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) are a possible alternative to PMTs providing similar performance while offering improvements in the areas listed. We focus on straightforward “drop-in replacement” evaluations by imposing a single channel output of the SiPM signal and a backend electronics data acquisition and analysis routine identical to that used for PMTs. In the realm of nuclear safeguards, the primary performance metric for gamma spectroscopy is detector resolution, and for neutron detection it is pulse shape discrimination (PSD) to separate neutron and gamma signals. In this work we present the results of replacing a PMT with a 2” x 2” SiPM array mounted, in turn, to the same 2” x 2” cylindrical sodium iodide (NaI) crystal. The ultimate comparison for this gamma spectrometry is confirmation of uranium enrichment standards, ranging from depleted uranium to 93% highly enriched uranium (HEU), by analyzing the resulting spectra with both a simple integral scaling in key energy regions of the spectrum, as well as with the NaIGEM software package. In addition to the gamma spectroscopy work, we will present the latest results on comparing the PSD capabilities of a 4” x 4” SiPM array to a 5” PMT. As with the gamma spectroscopy evaluations, the light detectors are mounted in turn to the same liter-scale organic scintillators. This neutron-focused work includes evaluation of prototype SiPM readout boards with a single output signal summed over 256 individual SiPM pixels, and evident tradeoffs between PSD capability and fast response.

Engineering - Instrumentation related to nuclear s↗
DOE OSTI2020

Improved modeling of β electronic recoils in liquid xenon using LUX calibration data

We report here methods and techniques for creating and improving a model that reproduces the scintillation and ionization response of a dual-phase liquid and gaseous xenon time-projection chamber. Starting with the recent release of the Noble Element Simulation Technique (NEST v2.0), electronic recoil data from the $\beta$ decays of ${}^3$H and ${}^{14}$C in the Large Underground Xenon (LUX) detector were used to tune the model, in addition to external data sets that allow for extrapolation beyond the LUX data-taking conditions. This paper also presents techniques used for modeling complicated temporal and spatial detector pathologies that can adversely affect data using a simplified model framework. The methods outlined in this report show an example of the robust applications possible with NEST v2.0, while also providing the final electronic recoil model and detector parameters that will used in the new analysis package, the LUX Legacy Analysis Monte Carlo Application (LLAMA), for accurate reproduction of the LUX data. As accurate background reproduction is crucial for the success of rare-event searches, such as dark matter direct detection experiments, the techniques outlined here can be used in other single-phase and dual-phase xenon detectors to assist with accurate ER background reproduction.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2025

Electromagnetic modeling and science reach of DMRadio-m 3

DMRadio-m 3 is an experimental search for dark matter axions. It uses a solenoidal dc magnetic field to convert an axion dark-matter signal to an ac electromagnetic response in a coaxial copper pickup. The current induced by this axion signal is measured by dc SQUIDs. DMRadio-m 3 is designed to be sensitive to Kim-Shifman-Vainshtein-Zakharov (KSVZ) and Dine-Fischler-Srednicki-Zhitnisky (DFSZ) QCD axion models in the 10–200 MHz (41 neV/𝑐 2 –0.83 μ⁢eV/𝑐 2 ) range, and to axions with 𝑔 𝑎⁢𝛾⁢𝛾 =𝑔 𝑎⁢𝛾⁢𝛾,DFSZ ⁡(30 MHz) =1.87 ×10 −17 GeV −1 over 5–30 MHz as an extended goal. In this work, we present the electromagnetic modeling of the response of the experiment to an axion signal over the full frequency range of DMRadio-m 3 , which extends from the low-frequency, lumped-element limit to a regime where the axion Compton wavelength is only a factor of 2 larger than the detector size. With these results, we determine the live time and sensitivity of the experiment. The primary science goal of sensitivity to DFSZ axions across 30–200 MHz can be achieved with a 3⁢𝜎 live scan time of 2.9 years.

Dark matter direct detection↗
DOE OSTI2020

Structural and electronic switching of a single crystal 2D metal-organic framework prepared by chemical vapor deposition

The incorporation of metal-organic frameworks into advanced devices remains a desirable goal, but progress is hindered by difficulties in preparing large crystalline metal-organic framework films with suitable electronic performance. We demonstrate the direct growth of large-area, high quality, and phase pure single metal-organic framework crystals through chemical vapor deposition of a dimolybdenum paddlewheel precursor, Mo 2 (INA) 4 . These exceptionally uniform, high quality crystals cover areas up to 8600 µm 2 and can be grown down to thicknesses of 30 nm. Moreover, scanning tunneling microscopy indicates that the Mo 2 (INA) 4 clusters assemble into a two-dimensional, single-layer framework. Devices are readily fabricated from single vapor-phase grown crystals and exhibit reversible 8-fold changes in conductivity upon illumination at modest powers. Moreover, we identify vapor-induced single crystal transitions that are reversible and responsible for 30-fold changes in conductivity of the metal-organic framework as monitored by in situ device measurements. Gas-phase methods, including chemical vapor deposition, show broader promise for the preparation of high-quality molecular frameworks, and may enable their integration into devices, including detectors and actuators.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗