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At least 811 records · Page 45

Coupled Langmuir oscillations in 2-dimensional quantum plasmas

In this work, we present a hydrodynamic model to study the coupled quantum electron plasma oscillations (QEPO) for two dimensional (2D) degenerate plasmas, which incorporates all the essential quantum ingredients such as the statistical degeneracy pressure, electron-exchange, and electron quantum diffraction effect. Effects of diverse physical aspects like the electronic band-dispersion effect, the electron exchange-correlations and the quantum Bohm-potential as well as other important plasma parameters such as the coupling parameter (plasma separation) and the plasma electron number-densities on the linear response of the coupled system are investigated. By studying three different 2D plasma coupling types, namely, graphene-graphene, graphene-metalfilm, and metalfilm-metalfilm coupling configurations, it is remarked that the collective quantum effects can influence the coupled modes quite differently, depending on the type of the plasma configuration. It is also found that the slow and fast QEPO frequency modes respond very differently to the change in plasma parameters. Current findings can help in understanding of the coupled density oscillations in multilayer graphene, graphene-based heterojunctions, or nanofabricated integrated circuits.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Strong photonic crystal behavior in regular arrays of core-shell and quantum disc InGaN/GaN nanorod light-emitting diodes

We show that arrays of emissive nanorod structures can exhibit strong photonic crystal behavior, via observations of the far-field luminescence from core-shell and quantum disc InGaN/GaN nanorods. The conditions needed for the formation of directional Bloch modes characteristic of strong photonic behavior are found to depend critically upon the vertical shape of the nanorod sidewalls. Index guiding by a region of lower volume-averaged refractive index near the base of the nanorods creates a quasi-suspended photonic crystal slab at the top of the nanorods which supports Bloch modes. Only diffractive behavior could be observed without this region. Slab waveguide modelling of the vertical structure shows that the behavioral regime of the emissive nanorod arrays depends strongly upon the optical coupling between the nanorod region and the planar layers below. The controlled crossover between the two regimes of photonic crystal operation enables the design of photonic nanorod structures formed on planar substrates that exploit either behavior depending on device requirements.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Extracting information from X-ray diffraction patterns containing Laue oscillations

The presence of Laue oscillations in a film grown on a solid surface is broadly taken as indicating a high quality, crystallographically aligned film of the targeted compound. In this paper we briefly review the origins of both Laue oscillations and Kiessig fringes and show how they can be used together to determine if extra thickness exists above or below the coherently diffracting domains. The differences between experimental and “ideal” films are discussed and the effect of structural features (roughness, different thickness coherently diffracting domains and thickness in addition to the coherently diffracting domains) are illustrated with experimental and simulated data for metal and mixed-metal chalcogenide films of titanium, bismuth, vanadium/iron, and bismuth/molybdenum. Examples are given showing how quantitative information can be extracted from experimental diffraction patterns.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Texture development during rolling of α+β dual-phase ZrNb alloys - 2016-0070

The texture evolution during high-temperature rolling (800 deg. C) of two model zirconium-niobium alloys was studied using electron backscatter diffraction. The aim was to decouple the relative importance of deformation and phase transformation on the final texture in an effort to elucidate the origin of the strong α-transverse basal texture commonly found in the hot-rolled product. The analysis uses a reconstruction software based on the Burgers relation to reconstruct the high-temperature β orientations, with the indexed α as input. In the low niobium content alloy, the texture evolution of the {11 2-bar 0}<10 1-bar 0> component was consistent with deformation in both α and β phases, along with a variant selection mechanism that occurred during the β → α phase transformation. Variant selection was observed to depend on the orientation of the deformed prior β grains. In the high niobium content alloy, a lower α volume fraction during hot rolling gave rise to different β textures and promoted the formation of a Goss component. This contributed to the {11 2-bar 0} <10 1-bar 0> component upon cooling, with variant selection enhanced by anisotropic grain breakup. (authors)

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Plume RF interference calculations for space shuttle

During a static ground test of a full-scale SRM, measurements of attenuation of the UHF 416.5 MHz Range Safety Signal, the VHF voice link (230 MHz), and of S-band (c. 2.2. GHz) communications links were undertaken. Analyses of these results indicate that measurable attenuation did occur at all test frequencies. The measured attenuation levels are compared with a simple model in which the received signal is identified as that diffracted about the edge of the highly absorbing plume and the signal level in the shadow zone is evaluated using the formula for diffraction at a straight edge. The comparison is satisfactory at VHF and UHF frequencies, and slightly less so at S-band. Reasons for the discrepancies found at higher frequencies are discussed. A revised procedure which appears to relieve the accuracy problem was developed. This procedure is discussed along with applications to high altitude SRM plume attenuation.

Boynton, F. P.↗

Calculating Effects of Reflector-Antenna Distortions

Mathematical numerical model accurately predicts effects of systematic distortions on radiation pattern of reflector antenna. Techniques for predicting radiation patterns developed previously for reflectors with perfect surfaces and surfaces with random deviations from perfection. New model treats reflectors distorted by thermal, gravitational, and dynamic effects. Diffraction analysis of reflector antenna depends on interpolation of surface description for farfield radiation integral. Local interpolation scheme uses bicubic or higher order polynomial approximation of surface to express desired surface point in terms of nearby known surface points.

Rahmat-Samii, Y.↗

RF Exposure Analysis for Multiple Wi-Fi Devices In Enclosed Environment

Wi-Fi devices operated inside a metallic enclosure have been investigation in the recent years. A motivation for this study is to investigate wave propagation inside an enclosed environment such as elevator, car, aircraft, and spacecraft. There are performances and safety concerned that when the RF transmitters are used in the metallic enclosed environments. In this paper, the field distributions inside a confined room were investigated with multiple portable Wi-Fi devices. Computer simulations were performed using the rigorous computational electromagnetics (CEM). The method of moments (MoM) was used to model the mutual coupling among antennas. The geometrical theory of diffraction (GTD) was applied for the multiple reflections off the ground and walls. The prediction of the field distribution inside such environment is useful for the planning and deployment of a wireless radio and sensor system. Factors that affect the field strengths and distributions of radio waves in confined space were analyzed. The results could be used to evaluate the RF exposure safety in confined environment. By comparing the field distributions for various scenarios, it was observed that the Wi-Fi device counts, spacing and relative locations in the room are important factors in such environments. The RF Keep Out Zone (KOZ), where the electric field strengths exceed the permissible RF exposure limit, could be used to assess the RF human exposure compliance. As shown in this study, it s possible to maximize or minimize field intensity in specific area by arranging the Wi-Fi devices as a function of the relative location and spacing in a calculated manner.

Hwu, Shian U.↗

Structure of amorphous GeSe{sub 9} by neutron diffraction and first-principles molecular dynamics: Impact of trajectory sampling and size effects

The structure of glassy GeSe{sub 9} was investigated by combining neutron diffraction with density-functional-theory-based first-principles molecular dynamics. In the simulations, three different models of N = 260 atoms were prepared by sampling three independent temporal trajectories, and the glass structures were found to be substantially different from those obtained for models in which smaller numbers of atoms or more rapid quench rates were employed. In particular, the overall network structure is based on Se{sub n} chains that are cross-linked by Ge(Se{sub 4}){sub 1/2} tetrahedra, where the latter are predominantly corner as opposed to edge sharing. The occurrence of a substantial proportion of Ge–Se–Se connections does not support a model in which the material is phase separated into Se-rich and GeSe{sub 2}-rich domains. The appearance of a first-sharp diffraction peak in the Bhatia-Thornton concentration-concentration partial structure factor does, however, indicate a non-uniform distribution of the Ge-centered structural motifs on an intermediate length scale.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

AlphaFold -assisted structure determination of a bacterial protein of unknown function using X-ray and electron crystallography

Macromolecular crystallography generally requires the recovery of missing phase information from diffraction data to reconstruct an electron-density map of the crystallized molecule. Most recent structures have been solved using molecular replacement as a phasing method, requiring an a priori structure that is closely related to the target protein to serve as a search model; when no such search model exists, molecular replacement is not possible. New advances in computational machine-learning methods, however, have resulted in major advances in protein structure predictions from sequence information. Methods that generate predicted structural models of sufficient accuracy provide a powerful approach to molecular replacement. Taking advantage of these advances, AlphaFold predictions were applied to enable structure determination of a bacterial protein of unknown function (UniProtKB Q63NT7, NCBI locus BPSS0212) based on diffraction data that had evaded phasing attempts using MIR and anomalous scattering methods. Using both X-ray and micro-electron (microED) diffraction data, it was possible to solve the structure of the main fragment of the protein using a predicted model of that domain as a starting point. The use of predicted structural models importantly expands the promise of electron diffraction, where structure determination relies critically on molecular replacement.

molecular replacement↗

TEM study of the (SbS){sub 1+δ}(NbS{sub 2}){sub n}, (n=1, 2, 3; δ~1.14, 1.20) misfit layer phases

In the Sb–Nb–S system four new misfit layer phases have been found and carefully investigated via Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). Their structures are of composite modulated structure type with stoichiometries that can be formulated as (SbS){sub 1+δ}(NbS{sub 2}){sub n}; for n=1, δ~1.14 and 1.19; for n=2, δ~1.18 and for n=3, δ~1.19. Selected Area Electron Diffraction (SAED) patterns show an almost commensurate fit between the pseudo-tetragonal (SbS) and the pseudo-orthohexagonal (NbS{sub 2}){sub n} subcells along the misfit direction a, with 3(SbS)≈5(NbS{sub 2}), being b the same for both sub-lattices and c the stacking direction. For n=1, a commensurate phase with 4a{sub SbS}=7a{sub NbS2} has also been observed. In addition to the characteristic misfit and associated modulation of the two sub-structures, a second modulation is also present which appears to be primarily associated with the (SbS) sub-structure of both the n=1 and n=2 phases. High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy (HRTEM) images show ordered stacking sequences between the (SbS) and (NbS{sub 2}){sub n} lamellae for each of the four phases, however, disordered intergrowths were also occasionally found. Most of the crystals showed different kinds of twinning defects on quite a fine scale. Many crystals showed curled up edges. In some cases the lamellar crystals were entirely folded giving rise to similar diffraction patterns as found for cylindrical crystals. - Graphical abstract: Idealized structure models of the first three members of the homologous series (SbS){sub 1+δ}(NbS{sub 2}){sub n}. - Highlights: • Transmission Electron Microscopy study of misfit layer sulfides (SbS){sub 1+δ}(NbS{sub 2}){sub n}. • The structures consist of a (SbS) layer interleaved between n (NbS{sub 2}) layers. • Two different members n=1, one n=2 and one n=3 have been studied. • Twinning, intergrowths and different modulations in the (SbS) substructure.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Disentangling multiple scattering with deep learning: application to strain mapping from electron diffraction patterns

Abstract A fast, robust pipeline for strain mapping of crystalline materials is important for many technological applications. Scanning electron nanodiffraction allows us to calculate strain maps with high accuracy and spatial resolutions, but this technique is limited when the electron beam undergoes multiple scattering. Deep-learning methods have the potential to invert these complex signals, but require a large number of training examples. We implement a Fourier space, complex-valued deep-neural network, FCU-Net, to invert highly nonlinear electron diffraction patterns into the corresponding quantitative structure factor images. FCU-Net was trained using over 200,000 unique simulated dynamical diffraction patterns from different combinations of crystal structures, orientations, thicknesses, and microscope parameters, which are augmented with experimental artifacts. We evaluated FCU-Net against simulated and experimental datasets, where it substantially outperforms conventional analysis methods. Our code, models, and training library are open-source and may be adapted to different diffraction measurement problems.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Highly anisotropic conductivity of tablets pressed from polyaniline-montmorillonite nanocomposite

Highlights: • Montmorillonite (MMT) can be intercalated with polyaniline (PANI) chains. • Tablets pressed from PANI/MMT exhibit high anisotropy in electrical conductivity. • Pressure 28MPa is sufficient to reach the anisotropy. • Tablets pressed from pure PANI also exhibit anisotropy in electrical conductivity. - Abstract: Polyaniline-montmorillonite nanocomposite was prepared from anilinium sulfate (precursor) and ammonium peroxodisulfate (oxidizing agent) using simple one-step method. The resulting nanocomposite obtained in powder form has been pressed into tablets using various compression pressures (28–400 MPa). Electrical conductivities of tablets in two perpendicular directions, i.e. direction parallel with the main surface of tablet (σ=) and in orthogonal direction (σ⊥), and corresponding anisotropy factors (i.e., the ratio σ=/σ⊥) have been studied in dependence on compression pressure used during the preparation. Polyaniline-montmorillonite nanocomposite was characterized using X-ray diffraction analysis, raman spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, thermogravimetric analysis and molecular modeling which led to the understanding of the internal structure. Measurement of hardness performed on pressed tablets has been also involved. Taking into account the highest value of anisotropy factor reached (σ=/σ⊥ = 490), present study shows a chance to design conductors with nearly two-dimensional conductivity.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Spatio-temporal modeling and optimization of a deformable-grating compressor for short high-energy laser pulses

Monolithic large-scale diffraction gratings are desired to improve the performance of high-energy laser systems and scale them to higher energy, but the surface deformation of these diffraction gratings induce spatio-temporal coupling that is detrimental to the focusability and compressibility of the output pulse. A new deformable-grating-based pulse compressor architecture with optimized actuator positions has been designed to correct the spatial and temporal aberrations induced by grating wavefront errors. An integrated optical model has been built to analyze the effect of grating wavefront errors on the spatio-temporal performance of a compressor based on four deformable gratings. Moreover, a 1.5-meter deformable grating has been optimized using an integrated finite-element-analysis and genetic-optimization model, leading to spatio-temporal performance similar to the baseline design with ideal gratings.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Engineering tertiary chirality in helical biopolymers

Tertiary chirality describes the handedness of supramolecular assemblies and relies not only on the primary and secondary structures of the building blocks but also on topological driving forces that have been sparsely characterized. Helical biopolymers, especially DNA, have been extensively investigated as they possess intrinsic chirality that determines the optical, mechanical, and physical properties of the ensuing material. Here, we employ the DNA tensegrity triangle as a model system to locate the tipping points in chirality inversion at the tertiary level by X-ray diffraction. We engineer tensegrity triangle crystals with incremental rotational steps between immobile junctions from 3 to 28 base pairs (bp). We construct a mathematical model that accurately predicts and explains the molecular configurations in both this work and previous studies. Our design framework is extendable to other supramolecular assemblies of helical biopolymers and can be used in the design of chiral nanomaterials, optically active molecules, and mesoporous frameworks, all of which are of interest to physical, biological, and chemical nanoscience.

Science & Technology - Other Topics↗

Multimodal Analysis of Spatially Heterogeneous Microstructural Refinement and Softening Mechanisms in Three-Pass Friction Stir Processed Al4Si Alloy

Multiple thermally and thermomechanically induced microstructural refinement mechanisms can be activated in metallic alloys when subjected to solid phase processing methods such as friction stir processing (FSP). In this work, we provide detailed descriptions of the relationship between region-specific microstructural refinement mechanisms and the variation in microhardness, through a systematic and multimodal microstructural characterization of an FSP-processed 75% cold-rolled Al-4 at.% Si model binary alloy. Spatially resolved high-energy synchrotron X-ray diffraction, electron backscattered diffraction, and scanning transmission electron microscopy were used to understand the spatially heterogeneous microstructural evolution due to FSP. Results provide insights into how mechanisms such as static recovery, static recrystallization, dynamic recovery and recrystallization, geometric and continuous dynamic recrystallization, and particle-stimulated static or dynamic grain nucleation may occur heterogeneously in the microstructure as a function of the distance from the stir zone in processed alloys, directly influencing the degree of softening. The systematic analysis of microstructures and hardness in the FSP-processed model binary alloy given in this work highlights the rich microstructural domains that can be uniquely harnessed through solid phase processing of metallic alloys.

Al4Si, Friction Stir Processing, Geometric Dynamic↗

Calculations of single crystal elastic constants for yttria partially stabilised zirconia from powder diffraction data

Yttria Stabilised Zirconia (YSZ) is a tough, phase-transforming ceramic that finds use in a wide range of commercial applications from dental prostheses to thermal barrier coatings. Micromechanical modelling of phase transformation can deliver reliable predictions in terms of the influence of temperature and stress. However, models must rely on the accurate knowledge of single crystal elastic stiffness constants. Some techniques for elastic stiffness determination are well-established. The most popular of these involve exploiting frequency shifts and phase velocities of acoustic waves. However, the application of these techniques to YSZ can be problematic due to the micro-twinning observed in larger crystals. Here, we propose an alternative approach based on selective elastic strain sampling (e.g., by diffraction) of grain ensembles sharing certain orientation, and the prediction of the same quantities by polycrystalline modelling, for example, the Reuss or Voigt average. The inverse problem arises consisting of adjusting the single crystal stiffness matrix to match the polycrystal predictions to observations. In the present model-matching study, we sought to determine the single crystal stiffness matrix of tetragonal YSZ using the results of time-of-flight neutron diffraction obtained from an in situ compression experiment and Finite Element modelling of the deformation of polycrystalline tetragonal YSZ. The best match between the model predictions and observations was obtained for the optimized stiffness values of C11 = 451, C33 = 302, C44 = 39, C66 = 82, C12 = 240, and C13 = 50 (units: GPa). Considering the significant amount of scatter in the published literature data, our result appears reasonably consistent.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Tuning ferroic states in La doped BiFeO{sub 3}-PbTiO{sub 3} displacive multiferroic compounds

In this manuscript, X-ray and high-resolution neutron powder diffraction investigations, associated with Rietveld refinements, magnetic hysteresis curves and a modeling of electron-density distributions around the ions, are used to describe the driving forces responsible for tuning the ferroic states in La doped (0.6)BiFeO{sub 3}-(0.4)PbTiO{sub 3} compositions. The intrinsic relations between the ferroic orders and the structural arrangements (angles, distances and electron-density distributions around the ions) are revealed, helping in the understanding of some aspects comprising the ferroic properties of perovskite-based displacive multiferroic compounds.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

High-Performance Accelerator Modeling: Toward Improving Controls and Diagnostics for High-Brightness Beams in Experiment

One of the main charges of beam physics is to improve the overall beam quality delivered to experiments and applications, which is generally quantified by the beam brightness. High brightness beams have numerous applications, including x-ray free electron lasers and ultrafast electron diffraction (UED). To these ends, this thesis details efforts to use high-performance models --- high-fidelity models that execute quickly --- for controls and diagnostics. To demonstrate the generality of these techniques, this thesis focuses on three of the most successful photoinjector designs currently used worldwide: the UCLA/SLAC/BNL-type high-gradient S-band gun, the continuous-wave high-repetition rate VHF APEX gun and the L-band DESY-PITZ-type gun. Work will be shown from Pegasus (UCLA), HiRES (LBNL) and FAST (FNAL).Specifically, data-driven models for online virtual diagnostics are presented, in this case, in the context of UED at HiRES, leading to a temporal resolution improvement. Methods for improving the fidelity of physics-based models are discussed, with examples at HiRES, Pegasus and FAST. Markov-chain Monte Carlo analysis is applied to match simulations, in the context of photocathode studies at HiRES and Pegasus. Lastly, the augmentation of online model-based predictions with model-independent optimization is explored in a fluctuating environment at Pegasus and HiRES. A central theme of this dissertation is working with parameter fluctuations when modeling an accelerator beamline. Long-term drifts and shot-to-shot jitter exist in every accelerator to a varying degree and therefore play an important role in every chapter of this dissertation. This thesis attempts to address the issues associated with these fluctuations when trying to develop faithful model representations of the system.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗