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At least 847 records · Page 47
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1980

Fabrication of AlGaAs/GaAs cascade solar cell by LPE

Stacking two or more photovoltaic junctions in electrical and optical series results in higher conversion efficiency since each junction can be tailored to respond more efficiently to a smaller range of photon energies. An efficiency of about 30 percent was predicted for a two junction cascade cell having the optimum bandgap values. A number of III-V materials systems were considered for use in fabricating cascade solar cells. The Al-Ga-As system is attractive from a developmental standpoint since it employs a proven materials system that is closely lattice matched throughout its compositional range. This system employs a GaAs low bandgap cell and 1.9 eV AlGaAs high bandgap cell connected by an AlGaAs tunnel junction. Although this cell does not possess the optimum bandgap values, an efficiency of 25 percent was predicted at 300 K under AMO, 1 sun illumination.

Bedair, S. M.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Contamination, Transportation or Transmutation in LENR Material Analyses

LENR experiments using various loading and triggering mechanisms rely on a variety of elemental and isotopic assays to determine LENR effects. These assays include optical microscopy, Scanning Electron Microscopy with Energy Dispersive X-Ray Analysis (SEM/EDX), X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). All of these methods observe the surface of a material. By dissolving or vaporizing the sample, Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Element Spectroscopy (ICP-OES) can determine elemental composition (ppb) or with mass spectroscopy, isotopes (ICP/MS). One can use a focused ion beam (FIB) to cut open a sample and observe the “cut” with either SEM/EDX, or Time-of-Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectroscopy (TOF-SIMS). High Purity Gamma Ray Spectroscopy (HPGe) and alpha/ beta Liquid Scintillator spectroscopy can be used. We’ve employed these assay methods in our NASA GRC research under both the Advanced Energy Conversion and Lattice Confinement Fusion Projects. However, there are limitations associated with each of these methods ranging from handling contamination, instrumental limitations including sensitivity and field of view, and sample preparation.

Low Energy Nuclear Reactions↗
DOE OSTI2025

Twisted Tin‐Chloride Perovskite Single‐Crystal Heterostructures

Self-assembly affords simpler synthetic routes to heterostructures compared with manual layer-by-layer stacking, yet controlling interlayer twist angles in a bulk solid remains an outstanding challenge. We report two new single-crystal heterostructures: (Sn 2 Cl 2 )(CYS) 2 SnCl 4 (CYS = + NH 3 (CH 2 ) 2 S – ; Sn_CYS) and (Sn 2 Cl 2 )(SeCYS) 2 SnCl 4 (SeCYS = + NH 3 (CH 2 ) 2 Se – ; Sn_SeCYS) synthesized in solution, with alternating perovskite and intergrowth layers. Notably, compared to the recently reported lead analog, (Pb 2 Cl 2 )(CYS) 2 PbCl 4 (Pb_CYS), the tin heterostructures feature a twist between the perovskite and intergrowth layers. We trace this twist to local distortions at the Sn centers, which change the interfacial lattice-matching requirements compared to those of the Pb analog. Electronic band structure calculations show that the striking differences in the relative energies of perovskite- and intergrowth-derived bands in Sn_CYS and Pb_CYS arise from structural and not compositional differences. The structural anisotropy of Sn_CYS is also reflected in a large in-plane photoluminescence linear anisotropy ratio. Interfacial strain further affords differential incorporation of Pb into the perovskite and intergrowth layers of the Sn heterostructures, resulting in redshifted optical absorption onsets. Thus, we posit that local structural distortions may be exploited to manipulate the twist angle and interfacial strain in bulk heterostructures, providing a new handle for tuning the band alignments of bulk quantum-well electronic structures.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2021

Isotopic dependence of the frequency of optical vibrations in molybdenum monohydride

We show that it is currently known that three hydrides – PdH x , MoH x , and TiH x – exhibit an inverse isotope effect in superconductivity. Namely, the phase with a heavier hydrogen isotope, deuterium, has a higher critical temperature. Hydrides and deuterides of palladium have intensively been studied both experimentally and theoretically, but the origin of the isotope effect has not been established with certainty. The commonly accepted explanation is that the effect is likely to be due to the strong anharmonicity of the optical hydrogen vibrations, which was considered to be responsible for the large deviation of the ratio of the fundamental optical frequencies ω H /ω D = 1.51 from the harmonic value $\sqrt{2}$ ≈ 1.41. In the present paper, powder samples of MoH 1.1(1) and MoD 1.07(3) were synthesized under a hydrogen / deuterium pressure of several gigapascals and studied by inelastic neutron scattering (INS) at ambient pressure and T = 10 K. The INS study demonstrated that optical vibrations of H atoms in MoH 1.1 and D atoms in MoD 1.07 are harmonic and the ratio of fundamental optical frequencies ω H /ω D = 1.44 is close to the harmonic value $\sqrt{2}$ ≈ 1.41. This shows that anharmonicity is not a necessary condition for the presence of the inverse isotope effect. The MoD 1.07 sample was additionally studied by neutron diffraction (ND) at ambient pressure and T = 100 K. In agreement with previous ND results for MoH 1.2 , the ND study of MoD 1.07 showed that deuterium atoms occupied almost all octahedral interstitial sites in its hexagonal close-packed metal lattice and formed a NiAs-type crystal structure with the composition close to MoD. The overstoichiometric composition MoD 1.07 of the deuteride is likely to result from a small fraction D/Mo ~ 0.07 of deuterium atoms partially occupying the tetrahedral interstices.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2025

Polymorphism and Phase Control in Dion–Jacobson 2D 3-(Aminomethyl)piperidinium-Based Metal Iodide Perovskites

Two-dimensional halide perovskites exhibit rich structural diversity and tunable optoelectronic properties, making them promising materials for energy, sensing, and photonic applications. In this work, we report the structural mapping of four distinct polymorphs, γ (P2 1 /c), β (P4/mbm), α (P4/mmm), and δ (Cmcm) in the two-dimensional iodoplumbate, iodostannate, and iodogermanate perovskite so-called Dion-Jacobson series (3AMP)MI4 (M = Sn, Pb, Ge), where 3AMP is 3-(aminomethyl)piperidinium. The phases exhibit systematic evolution in octahedral distortion, lattice symmetry, and metal–halide geometry, enabling structural control over optoelectronic properties. Notably, the α-phase of (3AMP)SnI 4 represents a rare, ambient-stable, high-symmetry structure for Sn-based perovskites, without a phase transition down to 100 K. Variable-temperature single-crystal diffraction, powder x-ray diffraction (PXRD), and calorimetry reveal metal- and temperature-dependent polymorph interconversions, including the emergence of long range supercell reflections in Pb-rich compositions at low temperature. Optical spectroscopy and photoelectron yield spectroscopy confirm band gap tunability and band alignment trends, highlighting symmetry-dependent shifts and anomalous band gap bowing in mixed-metal systems, verified by electronic structure calculations. Calculations additionally indicate that the higher symmetry phases have reduced electron and hole effective masses compared to the lower symmetry phases.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2025

Realizing Steady-State Microbunching with Optical Stochastic Crystallization

Optical Stochastic Cooling (OSC) is a state-of-the-art beam cooling technology first demonstrated in 2021 at the IOTA storage ring at Fermilab's FAST facility. A second phase of the research program is planned to run in 2026 and will incorporate an optical amplifier to enable significantly increased cooling rates and greater operational flexibility. In addition to beam cooling, an OSC system can be configured to enable advanced control over the phase space of the beam. An example operational mode could enable crystallization, where the particles in a bunch are locked into a self-reinforcing, regular microstructure at the OSC fundamental wavelength; we refer to this as Optical Stochastic Crystallization (OSX). OSX represents a new path toward Steady-State Microbunching (SSMB), which may enable light sources combining the high brightness of a free-electron laser with the high repetition rate of a storage ring. Such a source has applications from the terahertz to the extreme ultraviolet (EUV), including high-power EUV generation for semiconductor lithography. This contribution will discuss the integration of OSX development as part of the OSC program at IOTA. The design of an accelerator lattice to enable the mechanism and associated high fidelity simulations will be shown, and a path to realizing an experimental demonstration will be discussed.

Wallbank, Michael James [Fermilab]↗
DOE OSTI2025

Steady-State Microbunching using Optical Stochastic Cooling

Optical Stochastic Cooling (OSC) is a state-of-the-art beam cooling technology first demonstrated in 2021 at the IOTA storage ring at Fermilab's FAST facility. A second phase of the research program is planned to run in 2026 and will incorporate an optical amplifier to enable significantly increased cooling rates and greater operational flexibility. In addition to beam cooling, an OSC system can be configured to enable advanced control over the phase space of the beam. An example operational mode could enable crystallization, where the particles in a bunch are locked into a self-reinforcing, regular microstructure at the OSC fundamental wavelength; we refer to this as Optical Stochastic Crystallization (OSX). OSX represents a new path toward Steady-State Microbunching (SSMB), which may enable light sources combining the high brightness of a free-electron laser with the high repetition rate of a storage ring. Such a source has applications from the terahertz to the extreme ultraviolet (EUV), including high-power EUV generation for semiconductor lithography. This contribution will discuss the integration of OSX development as part of the OSC program at IOTA. The design of an accelerator lattice to enable the mechanism and associated high fidelity simulations demonstrating the beam dynamics will be shown, and a path to realizing an experimental demonstration will be discussed.

Wallbank, Michael James [Fermilab]↗
DOE OSTI2024

Structural and optical characterization of dilute Bi-doped GaN nanostructures grown by molecular beam epitaxy

We have carried out detailed studies on the epitaxy and characterization of dilute Bi-doped GaN nanostructures. A comprehensive investigation of Bi-doped GaN nanowires and quasi-film epitaxial growth conditions has been performed. Scanning electron microscopy studies show that lowering the GaBiN growth temperature causes gradual changes in top c-plane nanowire morphology due to the incremental incorporation of foreign Bi atoms. This trend is further substantiated by the secondary ion mass spectroscopy analysis of a multi-layer Bi-doped GaN quasi-film. However, it is also found that the amount of Bi incorporation into the GaN lattice is relatively independent of the N2 flow rate variation under the growth conditions investigated. Furthermore, room-temperature micro-Raman spectra show that there are additional peaks near 530, 650, and 729 cm−1 wave numbers in the Bi-doped GaN samples, which can primarily be attributed to Bi local vibrational modes, indicative of a small amount of Bi incorporation in the GaN lattice. Moreover, phonon calculations with density functional theory indicate that Bi replacing the N sites is the likely origin of the experimentally measured Raman modes. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements have also been obtained to deduce the electronic interaction between the Bi dopant atom and the GaN nanostructure. Such one-dimensional nanowires permit the synthesis of dislocation-free highly mismatched alloys due to strain relaxation, allowing efficient light absorption and charge carrier extraction that is relevant for solar energy harvesting and artificial photosynthesis.

Materials Science↗
DOE OSTI2022

Solving Critical Problems of the Muon Collider Higgs Factory: Optics, Magnets and their Protection, Detector Backgrounds

A low-energy medium-luminosity Muon Collider (MC) is being studied as a possible Higgs Factory (HF). Electrons from muon decays will deposit more than 300 kW in superconducting magnets of the HF collider ring. This imposes significant challenges to superconducting (SC) magnets used in the MC storage ring (SR) and interaction regions (IR). Magnet designs are proposed which provide high operating gradient and magnetic field in a large aperture to accommodate the large size of muon beams (due to low beta*), as well as a cooling system to intercept the large heat deposition from the showers induced by decay electrons. The distribution of heat deposition in the MC SR lattice elements requires large-aperture magnets in order to accommodate thick high-Z absorbers to protect the SC coils. Based on the developed MARS15 model and intensive simulations, a sophisticated radiation protection system was designed for the collider SR and IR to bring the peak power density in the superconducting coils below the quench limit and reduce the dynamic heat deposition in the cold mass by a factor of 100. The system consists of tight tungsten masks in the magnet interconnect regions and elliptical tungsten liners in the magnet aperture optimized individually for each magnet. These also reduce the background particle fluxes in the collider detector.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2020

sp 3 -Functionalization of Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes Creates Localized Spins

Chemical functionalization-introduced sp 3 quantum defects in single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) have shown compelling optical properties for their potential applications in quantum information science and bioimaging. Here, we utilize temperature- and power-dependent electron spin resonance measurements to study the fundamental spin properties of SWCNTs functionalized with well-controlled densities of sp 3 quantum defects. Signatures of isolated spins that are highly localized at the sp 3 defect sites are observed, which we further confirm with density functional theory calculations. Applying temperature-dependent line width analysis and power-saturation measurements, we estimate the spin–lattice relaxation time T 1 and spin dephasing time T 2 to be around 9 μs and 40 ns, respectively. Furthermore, these findings of the localized spin states that are associated with the sp 3 quantum defects not only deepen our understanding of the molecular structures of the quantum defects but could also have strong implications for their applications in quantum information science.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2021

Assessment of empirical interatomic potential to predict thermal conductivity in ThO 2 and UO 2

Computing vibrational properties of crystals in the presence of complex defects often necessitates the use of (semi-)empirical potentials, which are typically not well characterized for perfect crystals. In this study we explore the efficacy of a commonly used embedded-atomempirical interatomic potential for the U x Th 1- x O 2 system, to compute phonon dispersion, lifetime, and branch specific thermal conductivity. Our approach for ThO 2 involves using lattice dynamics and the linearized Boltzmann transport equation to calculate phonon transport properties based on second and third order force constants derived from the empirical potential and from first-principles calculations. For UO 2 , to circumvent the accuracy issues associated with first-principles treatments of strong electronic correlations, we compare results derived from the empirical interatomic potential to previous experimental results. It is found that the empirical potential can reasonably capture the dispersion of acoustic branches, but exhibits significant discrepancies for the optical branches, leading to overestimation of phonon lifetime and thermal conductivity. The branch specific conductivity also differs significantly with either first-principles based results (ThO 2 ) or experimental measurements (UO 2 ). These findings suggest that the empirical potential needs to be further optimized for robust prediction of thermal conductivity both in perfect crystals and in the presence of complex defects.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2021

Measurements of nonequilibrium interatomic forces using time-domain x-ray scattering

Here, we demonstrate an experimental approach to determining the excited-state interatomic forces using femtosecond x-ray pulses from an x-ray free-electron laser. We determine experimentally the excited-state interatomic forces that connect photoexcited carriers to the nonequilibrium lattice dynamics in the prototypical Peierls-distorted material, bismuth. The forces are obtained by a constrained least-squares fit of a pairwise interatomic force model to the excited-state phonon dispersion relation as measured by the time- and momentum-resolved x-ray diffuse scattering. We find that photoexcited carriers weaken predominantly the nearest-neighbor forces, which drives the measured softening of the transverse acoustic modes throughout the Brillouin zone as well as the zone-center A 1g optical mode. This demonstrates a bond-selective approach to measuring electron-phonon coupling relevant to a broad range of photoinduced phase transitions and transient light-driven states in quantum materials.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2026

Atomically Resolved Acoustic Dynamics Coupled with Magnetic Order in a Van der Waals Antiferromagnet

Magnetoelastic coupling in van der Waals (vdW) magnetic materials enables a unique interplay between the spin and lattice degrees of freedom. Characterizing the elastic responses with atomic and femtosecond resolution across the magnetic transition is essential for guiding the design of magnetically tunable actuators and strain-mediated spintronic devices. Here, ultrafast X-ray diffraction employed at a free-electron laser reveals that the atomic displacements, wave vectors, and dispersion relations of acoustic phonon modes in a vdW antiferromagnet FePS3 are coupled with the magnetic order, by tracking both in-plane and out-of-plane Bragg peaks upon optical excitation across the Néel temperature (TN). One transverse mode shows that a quasi-out-of-plane atomic displacement undergoes a significant directional change across TN. Its quasi-in-plane wave vector is derived by comparing the measured sound velocity and the first-principles calculations. The other transverse mode is an interlayer shear acoustic mode whose amplitude is strongly enhanced in the antiferromagnetic phase, exhibiting eight times stronger amplitude than the longitudinal acoustic mode below TN. The atomically resolved characterization of acoustic phonon dynamics that couple with magnetic ordering opens opportunities for harnessing unique magnetoelastic coupling in vdW magnets on ultrafast timescales.

coherent acoustic phonons↗
DOE OSTI2025

Deep learning of structural morphology imaged by scanning X-ray diffraction microscopy

Scanning X-ray nanodiffraction microscopy is a powerful technique for spatially resolving nanoscale structural morphologies by diffraction contrast. One of the critical challenges in experimental nanodiffraction data analysis is posed by the convergence angle of nanoscale focusing optics which creates simultaneous dependency of the far-field scattering data on three independent components of the local strain tensor-corresponding to dilation and two potential rigid body rotations of the unit cell. All three components are in principle resolvable through a spatially mapped sample tilt series; however, traditional data analysis is computationally expensive and prone to artifacts. In this study, we implement NanobeamNN, a convolutional neural network specifically tailored to the analysis of scanning probe X-ray microscopy data. NanobeamNN learns lattice strain and rotation angles from simulated diffraction of a focused X-ray nanobeam by an epitaxial thin film and can directly make reasonable predictions on experimental data without the need for additional fine-tuning. We demonstrate that this approach represents a significant advancement in computational speed over conventional methods, as well as a potential improvement in accuracy over the current standard.

Luo, Aileen [Cornell Univ., Ithaca, NY (United Sta↗
DOE OSTI2021

Self-assembled vertically aligned nanocomposite systems integrated on silicon substrate: Progress and future perspectives

Silicon (Si) integration is a critical step for implementing functional oxides into Si-based electronic devices, considering the advantages of low-cost and scalability of Si substrates. In the past decade, self-assembled vertically aligned nanocomposites (VANs) have attracted enormous research interest owing to their unique multifunctionalities and highly tunable physical properties as well as their one-step self-assembly process. Most of the VAN thin films have been reported to grow epitaxially on single crystalline oxide substrates, however, with limited systems reported on Si substrates due to the very large lattice mismatch between oxides and Si lattices. In this review, the current progress for self-assembled VAN systems integrated on a Si substrate is summarized. Buffer layered enabled VAN growth has been proven to be an effective approach for improving the epitaxial quality of oxide-oxide and oxide-metal VAN systems, while direct growth is preferred in nitride-metal VAN systems. Furthermore, the material versatility enables the Si-integrated VAN thin films to exhibit distinct physical properties such as ferromagnetism, ferroelectricity, magnetoresistance, as well as unique optical properties. The review also summarizes the various parameters for tuning the growth morphologies and corresponding properties for the VAN systems, including phase molar ratio, deposition frequency, buffer layers, background pressure, etc. Finally, future perspectives are discussed including new VAN system exploration, physical properties tuning, as well as design and fabrication of Si-based nanoelectronics and nanophotonic devices applications.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2021

Reinvestigation of crystal symmetry and fluctuations in La 2 CuO 4

New surprises continue to be revealed about La 2 CuO 4 , the parent compound of the original cuprate superconductor. In this study we present neutron scattering evidence that the structural symmetry is lower than commonly assumed. The static distortion results in anisotropic Cu-O bonds within the CuO 2 planes; such anisotropy is relevant to pinning charge stripes in hole-doped samples. Associated with the extra structural modulation is a soft phonon mode. If this phonon were to soften completely, the resulting change in CuO 6 octahedral tilts would lead to weak ferromagnetism. Hence, we suggest that this mode may be the “chiral” phonon inferred from recent studies of the thermal Hall effect. We also note the absence of interaction between the antiferromagnetic spin waves and low-energy optical phonons, in contrast to what is observed in hole-doped samples.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2023

Temperature-Dependent Spin-Lattice Relaxation of the Nitrogen-Vacancy Spin Triplet in Diamond

Spin-lattice relaxation within the nitrogen-vacancy (NV) center’s electronic ground-state spin triplet limits its coherence times, and thereby impacts its performance in quantum applications. We report measurements of the relaxation rates on the NV center’s $|m_s = 0 \rangle ↔ |m_s = ± 1 \rangle$ and $|m_s = -1 \rangle ↔ |m_s = + 1\rangle$ transitions as a function of temperature from 9 to 474 K in high-purity samples. We show that the temperature dependencies of the rates are reproduced by an ab initio theory of Raman scattering due to second-order spin-phonon interactions, and we discuss the applicability of the theory to other spin systems. Using a novel analytical model based on these results, we suggest that the high-temperature behavior of NV spin-lattice relaxation is dominated by interactions with two groups of quasilocalized phonons centered at 68.2(17) and 167(12) meV.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2024

Birefringent Color Filter by Layered Metal‐Organic Chalcogenides: In‐Plane Anisotropy and Odd/Even Effect

Anisotropic 2D materials are gaining interest recently as building blocks for angular‐dependent optical/electrical devices. However, the fundamental understanding of their structure‐property‐relationship is limited, which hinders further modulation of their unique characteristics via structure tailoring. Here the in‐plane structural anisotropy and the tunable optical/electrical properties of a series of radiation‐sensitive (X‐ray, e‐beam) metal‐organic chalcogenide (MOC) single crystals are comprehensively revealed with ligands of variable length/parity. Their monoclinic crystallography is determined at atomic resolution by a simple method that couples X‐ray/electron diffraction with first‐principles calculations. The in‐plane inorganic backbone of the MOCs exhibits a strong lattice anisotropy with odd/even alternations, which originates from that of the out‐of‐plane organic motifs via organic/inorganic accommodation. Such structural anisotropy is implied mechanically by the preferred orientation of crystal cleavage. It triggers a maximum ≈8 × distinction of in‐plane electrical conductivity of the semiconducting MOCs, plus a distinct birefringence (maximum Δn ≈ 0.03) with a dispersive orientation of dielectric axes, which rotate up to 25.7° from UV to visible‐light regime, inspiring an emerging pathway for color filtering via single crystal rotation. Such in‐plane optical characteristics also exhibit odd/even alternation and can be flexibly tuned by the designable out‐of‐plane ligands.

birefringence↗