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At least 811 records · Page 45
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1979

Development of silicon nitride of improved toughness

The application of reaction sintered Si2N4 energy absorbing surface layers to hot-pressed Si3N4 was investigated. The surface layer was formed by in-place nitridation of silicon powder. It was found that reaction sintered Si3N4 layers of 1 mm thickness, fabricated from either -100, +200, -200, or -325 mesh Si powder and nitrided in 96% N2/4% H2 so that approximately 20-25 vol % unnitrided Si remained in the layer, resulted in a sevenfold increase in ballistic impact resistance of a 0.64 cm thick hot-pressed SI3N4 substrate from RT 1370 C. Both NC-132 SI3N4, with MgO additive, and NCX-34 Si3N4, with Y2O3 additive, were evaluated as substrate material. The finer grain size -200 and -325 mesh nitrided Si layers were for their smoothness and relatively high density. It was found that nitriding in N2/H2 mixtures, rather than pure N2, resulted in a microstructure that did not substantially degrade the strength of the hot-pressed Si3N4 substrate. Thermal cycling tests on the RSSN/HPSN combinations from 200 C to 1370 C for 75 cycles in air did not degrade the impact resistance nor the interfacial bonding, although a large amount of internal silica formation occurred within the RSSN layer. Mach 0.8, 5 hr, hot gas erosion tests showed no surface recession of RSSN layers at 1200 C and slight surface recession at 1370 C.

Brennan, J. J.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Studies of interstellar absorption lines with IUE

The paper deals with a survey of interstellar absorption lines in the wavelength region from 1150 to 3200 A toward 25 stars. The spectra of 10 of these stars show very strong narrow absorption lines of Si IV and C IV. Lines of N V appear in eight directions. The N V lines can arise in the same gas that is responsible for the ubiquitous interstellar lines of O VI, observed previously with a Copernicus spectrometer, but the lines of Si IV and C IV must be formed in a cooler gas. The measured lines of Si IV and C IV can be produced by normal H II regions photoionized by the observed stars.

Black, J. H.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Spatial distribution of XUV emission and density in a loop prominence

The spatial distribution of XUV emission in the 14 August, 1973 loop prominence observed with the NRL spectroheliograph on Skylab is studied. The loop prominence consists of two large loops and is observed in lines from ions with temperatures ranging from 50,000 to 3,000,000 K. The loops seen in low temperature lines such as from He II, Ne VII, Mg VII, Mg VIII, and Si VIII are systematically displaced from loops seen in higher temperature lines such as from Si XII, Fe XV, and Fe XVI. The cross section of the loop, particularly in cooler lines is nearly constant along the loop. For hotter loops in Si XII, Fe XV, and Fe XVI, however, emission at the top of the loop is more intense and extended than that near the footpoints, which makes the loops appear wider at the top. The observed spatial displacement between cooler and hotter loops suggest that the 14 August loop prominence is composed of many magnetic flux tubes, each with its own temperature.

Cheng, C.-C.↗
NASA NTRS1980

IUE observations of long period eclipsing binaries - A study of accretion onto non-degenerate stars

IUE observations made in 1978-1979 recorded a whole class of interacting long-period binaries similar to beta Lyrae, which includes RX Cas, SX Cas, V 367 Cyg, W Cru, beta Lyr, and W Ser, called the W Serpentis stars. These mass-transferring binaries with relatively high mass transfer rate show two prominent features in the far ultraviolet: a continuum with a color temperature higher than the one observed in the optical region (about 12,000 K), and a strong emission line spectrum with the N V doublet at 1240 A, C IV doublet at 1550 A and lines of Si II, Si III, Si IV, C II, Fe III, AI III, etc. These phenomena are discussed on the assumption that they are due to accretion onto non-degenerate stars.

Plavec, M. J.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Novel duplex vapor-electrochemical method for silicon solar cells

A process was developed for the economic production of high purity Si from inexpensive reactants, based on the Na reduction of SiF4 gas. The products of reaction (NaF, Si) are separated by either aqueous leaching or by direct melting of the NaF-Si product mixture. Impurities known to degrade solar cell performance are all present at sufficiently low concentrations so that melt solidification (e.g., Czochralski) will provide a silicon material suitable for solar cells.

Nanis, L.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Quasi-projection-operator calculation of autoionization states of O5/+/ /O VI/ and Si11/+/ /Si XII/

A practical approach to calculating diagnostic parameters includes both scattering and statelike (autoionization) elements. The paper presents inelastic quasi-projection-operator calculations of autoionization states of the three-electron ions of oxygen and silicon for states below the n = 3 manifod of the respective two-electron parent (O VI and Si XII). Wave functions containing up to 40 configurations are calculated. The O VI calculated results agree with experimental results within the experimental error (about + or - 2 eV) while for the Si XII case, it was necessary to include relativistic effects. Where formulas are available (states for which p + q = 2), the Si XII results are also in good agreement with experimental results for 2Se, 2Po, and 2De states. Since the calculated results for some of the higher states did not agree with identifications proposed by Trabert et al. (1979), alternative identifications are suggested.

Wakid, S.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Amorphous metallizations for high-temperature semiconductor device applications

The initial results of work on a class of semiconductor metallizations which appear to hold promise as primary metallizations and diffusion barriers for high temperature device applications are presented. These metallizations consist of sputter-deposited films of high T sub g amorphous-metal alloys which (primarily because of the absence of grain boundaries) exhibit exceptionally good corrosion-resistance and low diffusion coefficients. Amorphous films of the alloys Ni-Nb, Ni-Mo, W-Si, and Mo-Si were deposited on Si, GaAs, GaP, and various insulating substrates. The films adhere extremely well to the substrates and remain amorphous during thermal cycling to at least 500 C. Rutherford backscattering and Auger electron spectroscopy measurements indicate atomic diffussivities in the 10 to the -19th power sq cm/S range at 450 C.

Wiley, J. D.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Effect of lubricant environment on saw damage in silicon wafers

The chemomechanical effect of lubricant environments on the inner diameter (ID) sawing induced surface damage in Si wafers was tested for four different lubricants: water, dielectric oil, and two commercial cutting solutions. The effects of applying different potential on Si crystals during the sawing were also tested. It is indicated that the number and depth of surface damage are sensitive to the chemical nature of the saw lubricant. It is determined that the lubricants that are good catalysts for breaking Si bonds can dampen the out of plane blade vibration more effectively and produce less surface damage. Correlations between the applied potential and the depth of damage in the dielectric oil and one of the commercial cutting solutions and possible mechanisms involved are discussed.

Kuan, T. S.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Method of protecting a surface with a silicon-slurry/aluminide coating

A low cost coating for protecting metallic base system substrates from high temperatures, high gas velocity oxidation, thermal fatigue and hot corrosion is described. The coating is particularly useful for protecting vanes and blades in aircraft and land based gas turbine engines. A lacquer slurry comprising cellulose nitrate containing high purity silicon powder is sprayed onto the superalloy substrates. The silicon layer is then aluminized to complete the coating. The Si-Al coating is less costly to produce than advanced aluminides and protects the substrate from oxidation and thermal fatigue for a much longer period of time than the conventional aluminide coatings. While more expensive Pt-Al coatings and physical vapor deposited MCrAlY coatings may last longer or provide equal protection on certain substrates, the Si-Al coating exceeded the performance of both types of coatings on certain superalloys in high gas velocity oxidation and thermal fatigue. Also, the Si-Al coating increased the resistance of certain superalloys to hot corrosion.

Deadmore, D. L.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Multigrid simulation of asymptotic curved-duct flows using a semi-implicit numerical technique

Asymptotic flows inside curved ducts of rectangular as well as polar cross section are analyzed using the Navier-Stokes equations in terms of the axial velocity and vorticity and the cross-flow stream function. Numerical solutions of the three second-order coupled elliptic partial differential equations governing this flow are obtained efficiently using the coupled alternating-direction implicit (ADI) method as well as the multigrid strongly-implicit (SI) scheme. For the flow configuration studied, the ADI method is found to be more sensitive to the time steps used than is the SI scheme. Use of the multigrid-coupled-strongly-implicit (MG-SI) scheme makes it possible to efficiently obtain fine-grid solutions for configurations having strong secondary flow. It is shown that, for this asymptotic curved-duct flow, the similarity parameter of significance is the Dean's number K rather than the Reynolds number Re. Results are obtained for curved ducts with square cross sections for K up to 900, which here corresponds to Re = 9,000 for this internal flow configuration.

Ghia, K. N.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Variation of anomalous stages of ionization with spectral type for Be stars

Results are presented of a preliminary survey of IUE spectra of Be stars covering a wide range of spectral types. For each of 25 UV spectra 23 Be stars obtained six months apart at wavelengths between 1150 and 1950 A, the presence of resonance lines of N V, C IV, and Si IV was studied. The chance of detecting these lines was quantitatively evaluated, and the presence of N V in early Be stars and of both C IV and Si IV in Be stars as cool as B8 demonstrates that at least some Be stars in almost all spectral subdivisions show anomalous stages of ionization in their UV spectra and thus require ionization sources in addition to their photospheric radiation fields. It is suggested that the absence of N V in Be stars cooler than about B2 together with the presence of C IV and Si IV in later types is a real phenomenon and reflects some dependence of the additional ionization source on basic stellar parameters. An attempt is made to determine whether the behavior at B2 and B3 reflects some dependence on v sin i.

Marlborough, J. M.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Production of large-area single-crystal wafers of cubic SiC for semiconductor devices

A reproducible process is described for growing a thick single-crystal layer of cubic SiC on a single-crystal Si wafer by chemical vapor deposition. A buffer layer, grown in situ, is used between the cubic SiC and the Si substrate to minimize the effect of lattice mismatch. Layers of up to 34 microns thick and several sq cm in area have been grown. Wafers are obtained by chemically removing the Si substrates from the grown layers. Excellent electron channeling patterns produced by these wafers indicate very good crystal quality. Preliminary electrical measurements have yielded electron mobilities up to 380 sq cm/Vs.

Nishino, S.↗
NASA NTRS1983

High-velocity iron absorption lines in supernova remnant 1006

The very strong, broad absorption lines of a sdOB star continuum shown in the International Ultraviolet Explorer spectrum of the Schweizer-Middleditch star projected near the center of supernova remnant SNR 1006 are investigated. It is found that strong Fe(+) resonance absorption lines are present whose centers show zero radial velocity while their profiles are broadened by approximately 5000-6000 km/s. Also identified are redshifted Si(+), Si(2+), and Si(3+) lines at velocities of approximately 5000 km/s. Results show that the absorptions must occur in the ejecta of the supernova. The strength and symmetric width of the Fe(+) line indicates that the bulk of the ejecta is iron, in agreement with the current theory for the origin of Type I supernova. It is suggested that the previous failure to detect strong Fe emission lines in the X-ray spectra of this and other young Type I SNRs may be a result of the ejecta not having had time to interact significantly with the ambient medium. In addition, the presence of redshifted adsorption lines due to supernova ejecta in its spectrum shows that this star is located behind the SNR and is not physically associated with it.

Wu, C.-C.↗
NASA NTRS1984

The Effect of Creep on the Residual Stresses Generated During Silicon Sheet Growth

The modeling of stresses generated during the growth of thin silicon sheets at high speeds is an important part of the EFG technique since the experimental measurement of the stresses is difficult and prohibitive. The residual stresses which arise in such a growth process lead to serious problems which make thin Si ribbons unsuitable for fabrication. The constitutive behavior is unrealistic because at high temperature (close to the melting point) Si exhibits considerable creep which significantly relaxes the residual stresses. The effect of creep on the residual stresses generated during the growth of Si sheets at high speeds was addressed and the basic qualitative effect of creep are reported.

Hutchinson, J. W.↗
NASA NTRS1984

A High-speed Characterization Technique for Solar Silicon

High-speed crystal growth techniques demand high-speed characterization techniques to allow a timely feed-back of information to the crystal growers. The unique properties of the Si electrolyte-contact (SEC) provide for an extremely fast and simple measurement of the light-induced photo-current for any piece of Si without lengthy preparation of the specimen. Electropolishing at high anodic current densities allows for insitu generation of fresh surfaces whereas preferential etching of defects in various modes is possible at low current densities. In n-type Si a simple estimation of the minority-carrier diffusion length is possible in many cases. Laser-scanning enables local probing of the photocurrent and provides data about the homogeneity of a sample. The experimental realization of the method is described in detail and examples are given and discussed.

Lehmann, V.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Model of solar cell proton damage

A short circuit current (I sub sc) degradation model for gallium arsenide (GaAs) solar cells irradiated by protons from low energy to 100 MeV was developed. This model was found to be satisfactory in predicting the I sub sc degradation of GaAs cells, but not that of silicon (Si) cells. A modification to the aforementioned model that preserves the optical wavelength dependency in the photogeneration of minority carrier pairs was described herein. Spectral Si and GaAs response and I sub sc for the Si and GaAs solar cells were discussed, and also were presented in graph form. The overall predictability of the modified model was deemed to be satisfactory.

Yaung, J. Y.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Development of GaAs/Si and GaAs/Si monolithic structures for future space solar cells

The results of heteroepitaxial growth of GaAs and GaAlAs directly on Si are presented, and applications to new cell structures are suggested. The novel feature is the elimination of a Ge lattice transition region. This feature not only reduces the cost of substrate preparation, but also makes possible the fabrication of high efficiency monolithic cascade structures. All films to be discussed were grown by organometallic chemical vapor deposition at atmospheric pressure. This process yielded reproducible, large-area films of GaAs, grown directly on Si, that are tightly adherent and smooth, and are characterized by a defect density of 5 x 10(6) power/sq cm. Preliminary studies indicate that GaAlAs can also be grown in this way. A number of promising applications are suggested. Certainly these substrates are ideal for low-weight GaAs space solar ells. For very high efficiency, the absence of Ge makes the technology attractive for GaAlAs/Si monolithic cascades, in which the Si substrates would first be provided with a suitable p/n junction. An evaluation of a three bandgap cascade consisting of appropriately designed GaAlAs/GaAs/Si layers is also presented.

Spitzer, M. B.↗
NASA NTRS1984

The application of satellite data to study the effects of latent heat release on cyclones

Generalized energetics were studied for nonlinear inviscid symmetric instability (SI). It was found that the linear theory fails to predict the stability in certain cases where the basic state is transitional between stability and instability. The initial growth of the SI perturbations can be fairly well approximated by linear theory, but the long time nonlinear evaluations will be bonded energetically if the SI region is finite. However, a further extension of the energetics to conditional symmetric instability (CSI) shows that the nonlinear evolution of circulation will energetically depend much more on the precipitation in a complicated way. By treating the latent heat as a source which is implicitly related to the motion field, the existence, uniqueness and stability of steady viscous (CSI) circulations are studied. Viscous CSI circulations are proved to be unique and asymptotically stable when the heat sources are weak and less sensitive to the motion perturbations. By considering the fact that moist updrafts are narrow and using eddy viscosity of 0(1,000 m squared/s) the stability criterion suggests that some frontal rainbands were probably dominated by the CSI mechanism even in their mature quasi-steady stage.

Clark, J. H. E.↗