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At least 757 records · Page 42
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2015

Thermal and epithermal neutron fluence rate gradient measurements by PADC detectors in LINAC radiotherapy treatments-field

LINAC VARIAN 2100 is where energetic electrons produce Bremsstrahlung radiation, with energies above the nucleon binding energy (E≈5.5MeV). This radiation induce (γ,n) and (e,e’n) reactions mainly in the natural tungsten target material (its total photoneutron cross section is about 4000 mb in a energy range from 9-17 MeV). These reactions may occur also in other components of the system (e.g. multi leaf collimator). During radiation treatment the human body may receive an additional dose inside and outside the treated volume produced by the mentioned nuclear reactions. We measured the neutron density at the treatment table using nuclear track detectors (PADC-NTD). These covered by a boron-converter are employed, including a cadmium filter, to determine the ratio between two groups of neutron energy, i.e. thermal and epithermal. The PADC-NTD detectors were exposed to the radiation field at the iso-center during regular operation of the accelerator. Neutron are determined indirectly by the converting reaction {sup 10}B(n,α){sup 7}Li the emerging charged particle leave their kinetic energy in the PADC forming a latent nuclear track, enlarged by chemical etching (6N, NaOH, 70°C). Track density provides information on the neutron density through calibration coefficient (∼1.6 10{sup 4} neutrons /track) obtained by a californium source. We report the estimation of the thermal and epithermal neutron field and its gradient for photoneutrons produced in radiotherapy treatments with 18 MV linear accelerators. It was obsered that photoneutron production have higher rate at the iso-center.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

Controlled-motion of floating macro-objects induced by light

Photons energy can be conventionally converted to mechanical work through a series of energy-expensive steps such as for example delivery and storage. However, these steps can be bypassed obtaining a straightforward conversion of photons energy to mechanical work. As an example, in literature, high power near infrared light is used to move small objects floating on fluid surfaces, exploiting the Marangoni effect. In this work we use a low power non-collimated visible laser-light to induce thermal surface tension gradients, resulting in the movement of objects floating on fluid surfaces. By real time tracking of the object trajectories, we evaluate the average applied driving force caused by the light irradiation. In addition we show how transparent objects can be moved by light when the supporting fluids are properly doped.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2015

Refractive-index determination of solids from first- and second-order critical diffraction angles of periodic surface patterns

We present two approaches for measuring the refractive index of transparent solids in the visible spectral range based on diffraction gratings. Both require a small spot with a periodic pattern on the surface of the solid, collimated monochromatic light, and a rotation stage. We demonstrate the methods on a polydimethylsiloxane film (Sylgard{sup ®} 184) and compare our data to those obtained with a standard Abbe refractometer at several wavelengths between 489 and 688 nm. The results of our approaches show good agreement with the refractometer data. Possible error sources are analyzed and discussed in detail; they include mainly the linewidth of the laser and/or the angular resolution of the rotation stage. With narrow-band light sources, an angular accuracy of ±0.025{sup ∘} results in an error of the refractive index of typically ±5 ⋅ 10{sup −4}. Information on the sample thickness is not required.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2015

Laser-driven γ-ray, positron, and neutron source from ultra-intense laser-matter interactions

In ultra-intense laser-matter interactions, γ-rays are effectively generated via the radiation reaction effect. Since a significant fraction of the laser energy is converted into γ-rays, understanding of the energy transport inside of the target is important. We have developed a Particle-in-Cell code which includes generation of the γ-rays, their energy transport, and photo-nuclear reactions. Using the code, we have investigated the characteristics of the quantum beams generated by the transport of the laser-driven γ-rays. It is shown that collimated, mono-energetic positron beams with hundreds of MeV are generated by using thick targets. Neutron beams are also effectively generated by using beryllium targets via photo-nuclear reactions. These lead to the proposal of quantum beam sources of γ-rays, positrons, and neutrons with distinctive characters, which are selectively generated by choosing target conditions.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2015

A Compton scattering technique to determine wood density and locating defects in it

A Compton scattering technique is presented to determine density and void location in the given wooden samples. The technique uses a well collimated gamma ray beam from {sup 137}Cs along with the NaI(Tl) scintillation detector. First, a linear relationship is established between Compton scattered intensity and known density of chemical compounds, and then density of the wood is determined from this linear relation. In another experiment, the ability of penetration of gamma rays is explored to detect voids in wooden (low Z) sample. The sudden reduction in the Compton scattered intensities agrees well with the position and size of voids in the wooden sample. It is concluded that wood density and the voids of size ∼ 4 mm and more can be detected easily by this method.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2015

Spectral network based on component cells under the SOPHIA European project

In the frame of the European project SOPHIA, a spectral network based on component (also called isotypes) cells has been created. Among the members of this project, several spectral sensors based on component cells and collimating tubes, so-called spectroheliometers, were installed in the last years, allowing the collection of minute-resolution spectral data useful for CPV systems characterization across Europe. The use of spectroheliometers has been proved useful to establish the necessary spectral conditions to perform power rating of CPV modules and systems. If enough data in a given period of time is collected, ideally a year, it is possible to characterize spectrally the place where measurements are taken, in the same way that hours of annual irradiation can be estimated using a pyrheliometer.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2015

Enhanced electron yield from laser-driven wakefield acceleration in high-Z gas jets

An investigation of the electron beam yield (charge) form helium, nitrogen, and neon gas jet plasmas in a typical laser-plasma wakefield acceleration experiment is carried out. The charge measurement is made by imaging the electron beam intensity profile on a fluorescent screen into a charge coupled device which was cross-calibrated with an integrated current transformer. The dependence of electron beam charge on the laser and plasma conditions for the aforementioned gases are studied. We found that laser-driven wakefield acceleration in low Z-gas jet targets usually generates high-quality and well-collimated electron beams with modest yields at the level of 10-100 pC. On the other hand, filamentary electron beams which are observed from high-Z gases at higher densities reached much higher yields. Evidences for cluster formation were clearly observed in the nitrogen gas jet target, where we received the highest electron beam charge of ∼1.7 nC. Those intense electron beams will be beneficial for the applications on the generation of bright X-rays, gamma rays radiations, and energetic positrons via the bremsstrahlung or inverse-scattering processes.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2015

Efficient frequency conversion by stimulated Raman scattering in a sodium nitrate aqueous solution

Frequency conversion of laser beams, based on stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) is an appealing technique for generating radiation at new wavelengths. Here, we investigated experimentally the SRS due to a single pass of a collimated frequency-doubled Nd:YAG laser beam (532 nm) through a saturated aqueous solution of sodium nitrate (NaNO{sub 3}), filling a 50 cm long cell. These experiments resulted in simultaneous generation of 1st (564 nm) and 2nd (599 nm) Stokes beams, corresponding to the symmetric stretching mode of the nitrate ion, ν{sub 1}(NO{sub 3}{sup −}), with 40 and 12 mJ/pulse maximal converted energies, equivalent to 12% and 4% efficiencies, respectively, for a 340 mJ/pulse pump energy. The results indicate that the pump and SRS beams were thermally defocused and that four-wave mixing was responsible for the second order Stokes process onset.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2015

Second-harmonic generation in shear wave beams with different polarizations

A coupled pair of nonlinear parabolic equations was derived by Zabolotskaya [1] that model the transverse components of the particle motion in a collimated shear wave beam propagating in an isotropic elastic solid. Like the KZK equation, the parabolic equation for shear wave beams accounts consistently for the leading order effects of diffraction, viscosity and nonlinearity. The nonlinearity includes a cubic nonlinear term that is equivalent to that present in plane shear waves, as well as a quadratic nonlinear term that is unique to diffracting beams. The work by Wochner et al. [2] considered shear wave beams with translational polarizations (linear, circular and elliptical), wherein second-order nonlinear effects vanish and the leading order nonlinear effect is third-harmonic generation by the cubic nonlinearity. The purpose of the current work is to investigate the quadratic nonlinear term present in the parabolic equation for shear wave beams by considering second-harmonic generation in Gaussian beams as a second-order nonlinear effect using standard perturbation theory. In order for second-order nonlinear effects to be present, a broader class of source polarizations must be considered that includes not only the familiar translational polarizations, but also polarizations accounting for stretching, shearing and rotation of the source plane. It is found that the polarization of the second harmonic generated by the quadratic nonlinearity is not necessarily the same as the polarization of the source-frequency beam, and we are able to derive a general analytic solution for second-harmonic generation from a Gaussian source condition that gives explicitly the relationship between the polarization of the source-frequency beam and the polarization of the second harmonic.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2016

Development of Wien filter for small ion gun of surface analysis

The gas cluster ion beam (GCIB) and liquid metal ion beam have been studied in the context of ion beam usage for analytical equipment in applications such as X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS). In particular, small ion sources are used for the secondary ion generation and ion etching. To set the context to this study, the SIMS project has been launched to develop ion-gun based analytical equipment for the Korea Basic Science Institute. The objective of the first stage of the project is the generation of argon beams with a GCIB system [A. Kirkpatrick, Nucl. Instrum. Methods Phys. Res., Sect. B 206, 830–837 (2003)] that consists of a nozzle, skimmer, ionizer, acceleration tube, separation system, transport system, and target. The Wien filter directs the selected cluster beam to the target system by exploiting the velocity difference of the generated particles from GCIB. In this paper, we present the theoretical modeling and three-dimensional electromagnetic analysis of the Wien filter, which can separate Ar{sup +}{sub 2500} clusters from Ar{sup +}{sub 2400} to Ar{sup +}{sub 2600} clusters with a 1-mm collimator.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2016

One dimensional focusing with high numerical aperture multilayer Laue lens

Multilayer Laue lenses (MLLs) capitalize on the developments in multilayer deposition technologies for fabricating reflective coatings, specifically undertaken for EUV lithography, where layer thicknesses of several nanometers can be achieved. MLLs are deposited layer by layer, with their thicknesses following the zone plate law, and then pieces are sliced and extracted for use in focusing. Rays are reflected in the Laue geometry. The efficiency of a MLL can be very high, and is maximized by making the slice equal to about a half Pendellosung period so that most energy is transferred from the undiffracted to the diffracted beam, and by ensuring that the Bragg condition is met at each point in the zone plate. This latter condition requires that the layers are tilted to the beam by an amount that varies with layer position; e.g. for focusing a collimated beam, the layers should be normal to a cylinder of radius of twice the focal length. We have fabricated such tilted-zone MLLs and find that they exhibit improved efficiency across their entire pupil as compared with parallel-zone MLLs. This leads to a higher effective NA of the optic and hence higher resolution.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2015

Generation of valley-polarized electron beam in bilayer graphene

We propose a method to produce valley-polarized electron beams using a bilayer graphene npn junction. By analyzing the transmission properties of electrons through the junction with zigzag interface in the presence of trigonal warping, we observe that there exist a range of incident energies and barrier heights in which transmitted electrons are well polarized and collimated. From this observation and by performing numerical simulations, it is demonstrated that valley-dependent electronic currents with nearly perfect polarization can be generated. We also show that the peak-to-peak separation angle between the polarized currents is tunable either by incident energy or by barrier height each of which is controlled by using top and back gate voltages. The results can be used for constructing an electron beam splitter to produce valley-polarized currents.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2016

Electron cyclotron resonance ion source plasma characterization by X-ray spectroscopy and X-ray imaging

An experimental campaign aiming to investigate electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) plasma X-ray emission has been recently carried out at the ECRISs—Electron Cyclotron Resonance Ion Sources laboratory of Atomki based on a collaboration between the Debrecen and Catania ECR teams. In a first series, the X-ray spectroscopy was performed through silicon drift detectors and high purity germanium detectors, characterizing the volumetric plasma emission. The on-purpose developed collimation system was suitable for direct plasma density evaluation, performed “on-line” during beam extraction and charge state distribution characterization. A campaign for correlating the plasma density and temperature with the output charge states and the beam intensity for different pumping wave frequencies, different magnetic field profiles, and single-gas/gas-mixing configurations was carried out. The results reveal a surprisingly very good agreement between warm-electron density fluctuations, output beam currents, and the calculated electromagnetic modal density of the plasma chamber. A charge-coupled device camera coupled to a small pin-hole allowing X-ray imaging was installed and numerous X-ray photos were taken in order to study the peculiarities of the ECRIS plasma structure.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2016

Image computing techniques to extrapolate data for dust tracking in case of an experimental accident simulation in a nuclear fusion plant

In this paper, a preliminary shadowgraph-based analysis of dust particles re-suspension due to loss of vacuum accident (LOVA) in ITER-like nuclear fusion reactors has been presented. Dust particles are produced through different mechanisms in nuclear fusion devices, one of the main issues is that dust particles are capable of being re-suspended in case of events such as LOVA. Shadowgraph is based on an expanded collimated beam of light emitted by a laser or a lamp that emits light transversely compared to the flow field direction. In the STARDUST facility, the dust moves in the flow, and it causes variations of refractive index that can be detected by using a CCD camera. The STARDUST fast camera setup allows to detect and to track dust particles moving in the vessel and then to obtain information about the velocity field of dust mobilized. In particular, the acquired images are processed such that per each frame the moving dust particles are detected by applying a background subtraction technique based on the mixture of Gaussian algorithm. The obtained foreground masks are eventually filtered with morphological operations. Finally, a multi-object tracking algorithm is used to track the detected particles along the experiment. For each particle, a Kalman filter-based tracker is applied; the particles dynamic is described by taking into account position, velocity, and acceleration as state variable. The results demonstrate that it is possible to obtain dust particles’ velocity field during LOVA by automatically processing the data obtained with the shadowgraph approach.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2016

A step-wise steerable source of illumination for low-noise “Violin-Mode” shadow sensors, intended for use in interferometric gravitational wave detectors

A steerable low-noise source of illumination is described for shadow-sensors having a displacement sensitivity of ∼100 pm (rms)/√Hz, at 500 Hz, over a measuring span of at least ±0.5 mm. These sensors were designed to detect lateral “Violin-Mode” resonances in the highly tensioned fused-silica suspension fibres of the test-masses/mirrors for the Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory gravitational wave detectors. The shadow sensors—one intended for each of the four fibres in a suspension—comprised a source of Near InfraRed (NIR) radiation (emitter) and a differential shadow-displacement sensor (detector), these bracketing the fibre under test. The suspension fibres themselves were approximately 600 mm long by 0.4 mm in diameter, and when illuminated from the side, they cast narrow, vertical, shadows onto their respective detectors—these being located at an effective distance of 50 fibre diameters behind the axes of the fibres themselves. The emitter described here was designed to compensate for a significant degree of mechanical drift or creep over time in the mean position of its suspension fibre. This was achieved by employing five adjacent columns of 8 × miniature NIR LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes, λ = 890 nm), with one column being activated at a time. When used in conjunction with a “reverse Galilean” telescope, the LED sources allowed the collimated beam from the emitter to be steered azimuthally in fine angular increments (0.65°), causing the fibre’s shadow to move laterally, in a step-wise manner, across the plane of its facing detector. Each step in shadow position was approximately 0.23 mm in size, and this allowed the fibre’s shadow to be re-centred, so as to bridge once again both elements of its photodiode detector—even if the fibre was off-centred by as much as ±0.5 mm. Re-centring allowed Violin-Mode vibrations of the fibre to be sensed once again as differential AC photocurrents, these flowing in anti-phase in the two elements of the “split-photodiode” detector.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2016

Ion and electron dynamics generating the Hall current in the exhaust far downstream of the reconnection x-line

We have investigated the ion and electron dynamics generating the Hall current in the reconnection exhaust far downstream of the x-line where the exhaust width is much larger than the ion gyro-radius. A large-scale particle-in-cell simulation shows that most ions are accelerated through the Speiser-type motion in the current sheet formed at the center of the exhaust. The transition layers formed at the exhaust boundary are not identified as slow mode shocks. (The layers satisfy mostly the Rankine-Hugoniot conditions for a slow mode shock, but the energy conversion hardly occurs there.) We find that the ion drift velocity is modified around the layer due to a finite Larmor radius effect. As a result, the ions are accumulated in the downstream side of the layer, so that collimated ion jets are generated. The electrons experience two steps of acceleration in the exhaust. The first is a parallel acceleration due to the out-of-plane electric field E{sub y} which has a parallel component in most area of the exhaust. The second is a perpendicular acceleration due to E{sub y} at the center of the current sheet and the motion is converted to the parallel direction. Because of the second acceleration, the electron outflow velocity becomes almost uniform over the exhaust. The difference in the outflow profile between the ions and electrons results in the Hall current in large area of the exhaust. The present study demonstrates the importance of the kinetic treatments for collisionless magnetic reconnection even far downstream from the x-line.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2016

Asymmetric valley-resolved beam splitting and incident modes in slanted graphene junctions

Electron injection into a graphene sheet through a slanted armchair graphene nanoribbon (AGNR) is investigated. An incident mode, or subband, in the AGNR is valley-unpolarized. Our attention is on the valley-resolved nature of the injected electron beams and its connection to the incident mode. It is known for a normal injection that an incident mode will split symmetrically into two valley-resolved beams of equal intensity. We show, in contrast, that slanted injections result in asymmetric valley-resolved beam splitting. The most asymmetric beam splitting cases, when one of the valley-resolved beams has basically disappeared, are found and the condition derived. This is shown not due to trigonal warping because it holds even in the low incident energy regime, as long as collimation allows. These most asymmetric beam splitting cases occur at energies within an energy interval near and include the subband edge of an incident mode. The physical picture is best illustrated by a projection of the slanted AGNR subband states onto that of the 2D graphene sheet. It follows that the disappearing of a valley-resolved beam coincides with the situation that the group velocities of the projected states in the corresponding valley are in backward directions.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2016

Acceleration of on-axis and ring-shaped electron beams in wakefields driven by Laguerre-Gaussian pulses

The acceleration of electron beams with multiple transverse structures in wakefields driven by Laguerre-Gaussian pulses has been studied through three-dimensional (3D) particle-in-cell simulations. Under different laser-plasma conditions, the wakefield shows different transverse structures. In general cases, the wakefield shows a donut-like structure and it accelerates the ring-shaped hollow electron beam. When a lower plasma density or a smaller laser spot size is used, besides the donut-like wakefield, a central bell-like wakefield can also be excited. The wake sets in the center of the donut-like wake. In this case, both a central on-axis electron beam and a ring-shaped electron beam are simultaneously accelerated. Further, reducing the plasma density or laser spot size leads to an on-axis electron beam acceleration only. The research is beneficial for some potential applications requiring special pulse beam structures, such as positron acceleration and collimation.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗