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At least 973 records · Page 54

A study of atmosphere-ionosphere-magnetosphere coupling

The properties of low energy plasma in the magnetosphere were predicted. The effects of wave particle interactions involving the concept of plasmons are studied, and quantum mechanical formulations are used for the processes occurring and bulk energization of the low energy plasma are investigated through the concept of the energy momentum tensor for the plasma and its electromagnetic environment.

Raitt, W. J.↗

A study of the initial oxidation of evaporated thin films of aluminum by AES, ELS, and ESD

The room temperature, low pressure, oxidation of evaporated aluminum thin films has been studied by AES, ELS, and ESD. ESD was the most sensitive of the three methods to characterize a clean aluminum surface. Two oxidation stages were distinguished in the 0-3000 L oxygen exposure range. Between 0 and 50 L, the chemisorption of oxygen atoms was characterized by a fast decrease of the 67 eV AES Al peak and the 10 eV surface plasmon peak, and by a simultaneous increase of the oxygen AES and ESD signals. After 50 L, a change in slope in all AES and ESD signal variations was attributed to the slow growth of a thin layer of aluminum oxide, which after 3000 L was still only a few angstroms thick.

Bujor, M.↗

Wave scattering and guidance by dielectric waveguides with periodic surfaces

The extended-boundary-condition method is used to solve the wave scattering and guidance by a stratified medium with a periodic surface. First, the transition matrix for two sets of Flocquet waves incident from above and below a periodic surface separating the two media is derived. The results are applied to the diffraction of an incident plane wave by a multilayered medium having a periodic surface. The theoretical results can easily be applied to the guidance problem for which the complex guiding constant of the periodic structure is obtained. Numerical results for both the scattering and the guidance problems are obtained. The theory is compared with experiment for metallic gratings with surface-plasmon excitations. The calculated guiding constants of a thin film with a periodic sinusoidal surface are also compared with other numerical methods.

Chuang, S. L.↗

Interactions between volume and surface EM waves in layered structures

Using light scattering spectroscopy, the interaction of Surface Plasmon Polariton SPP in silver films on a glass substrate is with the incident radiation and with optical phonons of an external medium in contact with the film. The mean free path and the field strength of SPP are determined. The same SPP plays an important role in light emitting tunnel junctions (LETJ) in which an electrical current is converted into Volume Electromagnetic Wave VEW. The efficiency of light emission from LETJ through a prism coupler rather than through surface roughness is discussed. The coupling between phonon surface polaritons (PhSP) and optical guided waves (OGW) in thin films of GaP is also examined.

Ushioda, S.↗

The NASA photovoltaic technology program

The NASA Office of Aeronautical and Space Technology OAST Program in space photovoltaics is reviewed. From the perspective of national landmark mission requirements and five year and 25-year long range plans, the texture of the program is revealed. Planar silicon and concentrator GaAs array technology advances are discussed. Advances in lightweight (50 micro cell) arrays and radiation tolerance research are presented. Recent progress in cascade cells and ultralightweight GaAs planar cells is noted. Progress in raising silicon cell voltage to its theoretical maximum is detailed. Advanced concepts such as plasmon converters and the Long Duration Exposure Facility LDEF flight experiments pertaining to solar cell and array technology are also shown.

Mullin, J. P.↗

Rings and wiggles in Hercules A

The first results from extensive observations of Her A, the fourth brightest extragalactic radio source in the sky at low frequencies, made with the Very Large Array of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory are reported. It is found that Her A possesses an unusual jet-dominated morphology instead of the Cygnus-A-like morphology expected for such a powerful radio source. Its two jets are quite different in appearance; one appears to be a continuous twisting jet, while the other suggests repeated ejection of individual plasmons by the central object. The questions raised by the presence of such different morphologies in the same source concerning the generation and evolution of extended extragalactic radio sources are discussed. Variations in the central engine provide the simplest interpretation for some of the features of this object; the role of environmental effects is less clear.

Dreher, J. W.↗

High efficiency solar cell research for space applications

A review is given of NASA photovoltaic research with emphasis on the activities of the Lewis Research Center. High efficiency solar cell research is discussed, as well as solar arrays, multi-junction cell bandgaps, and plasmon coupling.

Flood, D. J.↗

Sum rules and static local-field corrections of electron liquids in two and three dimensions

The dielectric functions of electron liquids which take into account short-range electron-electron correlations via the static local-field corrections are examined in the light of the frequency-moment sum rules. The formation is given for degenerate as well as classical electron liquids in arbitrary (d) spatial dimensions, which is suitable for comparison between the two- and three-dimensional cases. By using the virial equations of state it is shown that such dielectric functions cannot satisfy the compressibility sum rule and the third-frequency-moment sum rule simultaneously. In the degenerate case, the plasmon, single-pair, and multipair contributions to the sum rules are analyzed, and the reason for this incompatibility is discussed.

Iwamoto, N.↗

Prism-coupled light emission from tunnel junctions

Completely p-polarized light emission has been observed from smooth Al-AlO(x)-Au tunnel junctions placed on a prism coupler. The angle and polarization dependence demonstrate unambiguously that the emitted light is radiated by the fast-mode surface plasmon polariton. The emission spectra suggest that the dominant process for the excitation of the fast mode is through conversion of the slow mode to the fast mode mediated by residual roughness on the junction surface.

Ushioda, S.↗

The NASA photovoltaic technology program

The NASA Office of Aeronautical and Space Technology OAST Program in space photovoltaics is reviewed. From the perspective of national landmark mission requirements and five year and 25-year long range plans, the texture of the program is revealed. Planar silicon and concentrator GaAs array technology advances are discussed. Advances in lightweight (50 micro cell) arrays and radiation tolerance research are presented. Recent progress in cascade cells and ultralightweight GaAs planar cells is noted. Progress in raising silicon cell voltage to its theoretical maximum is detailed. Advanced concepts such as plasmon converters and the Long Duration Exposure Facility LDEF flight experiments pertaining to solar cell and array technology are also shown.

Mullin, J. P.↗

Surface characterization in composite and titanium bonding: Carbon fiber surface treatments for improved adhesion to thermoplastic polymers

The effect of anodization in NaOH, H2SO4, and amine salts on the surface chemistry of carbon fibers was examined by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The surfaces of carbon fibers after anodization in NaOH and H2SO4 were examined by scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM), angular dependent XPS, UV absorption spectroscopy of the anodization bath, secondary ion mass spectrometry, and polar/dispersive surface energy analysis. Hercules AS-4, Dexter Hysol XAS, and Union Carbide T-300 fibers were examined by STEM, angular dependent XPS, and breaking strength measurement before and after commercial surface treatment. Oxygen and nitrogen were added to the fiber surfaces by anodization in amine salts. Analysis of the plasmon peak in the carbon 1s signal indicated that H2SO4 anodization affected the morphological structure of the carbon fiber surface. The work of adhesion of carbon fibers to thermoplastic resins was calculated using the geometric mean relationship. A correlation was observed between the dispersive component of the work of adhesion and the interfacial adhesion.

Devilbiss, T. A.↗

Optical response at 10.6 microns in tungsten silicide Schottky barrier diodes

Optical response to radiation at a wavelength of 10.6 microns in tungsten silicide-silicon Schottky barrier diodes has been observed. Incident photons excite electrons by means of junction plasmon assisted inelastic electron tunneling. At 78 K, a peak in the second derivative of current versus junction bias voltage was observed at a voltage corresponding to the energy of photons having a wavelength of 10.6 microns. This peak increased with increasing incident laser power, saturating at the highest laser powers investigated.

Kumar, Sandeep↗

Novel optoelectronic devices; Proceedings of the Meeting, The Hague, Netherlands, Mar. 31-Apr. 2, 1987

The present conference on novel optoelectronics discusses topics in the state-of-the-art in this field in the Netherlands, quantum wells, integrated optics, nonlinear optical devices and fiber-optic-based devices, ultrafast optics, and nonlinear optics and optical bistability. Attention is given to the production of fiber-optics for telecommunications by means of PCVD, lifetime broadening in quantum wells, nonlinear multiple quantum well waveguide devices, tunable single-wavelength lasers, an Si integrated waveguiding polarimeter, and an electrooptic light modulator using long-range surface plasmons. Also discussed are backward-wave couplers and reflectors, a wavelength-selective all-fiber switching matrix, the impact of ultrafast optics in high-speed electronics, the physics of low energy optical switching, and all-optical logical elements for optical processing.

Adams, Michael J.↗

An explanation for the rise in T(sub c) in the Tl- and Bi-based high temperature superconductors

Using the plasmon exchange model for the high T(sub c) superconductor, it is shown that the T(sub c) rises with an increase in the number of CuO layers per unit cell, which is in agreement with recent observations in the Tl- and Bi-based compounds. The calculation also suggests that the sample will become superconducting in successive stages and that there is a saturation effect, i.e., that T(sub c) cannot be raised indefinitely by increasing the number of CuO layers.

Bose, S. M.↗

The 2175-A feature from irradiated graphitic particles

In diffuse clouds, a subpopulation of the carbon grains is graphitized by UV starlight during cloud lifetimes of roughly 100 Myr. Graphitic dust created in this way will behave like monosize Rayleigh particles and produce a 2175-A absorption band showing a Lorentzian profile. A physical model is outlined in which the strength and width of the band correlate with the dust grain environment, but the central wavelength is fixed by the Froehlich frequency for surface plasmons in a homogeneous sphere. On this model, the band appears strong and narrow only in dust clouds where the flux of UV starlight is high and the H atom gas density is low. The width of the band increases from diffuse to dense clouds mainly as a result of gas-phase H atoms accreted on to the grain surface. It is shown that hydrogenation weakens the band in dense clouds, and thus explains the anticorrelation between band strength and high carbon depletion. The model as a whole uses only 30 percent of the cosmic carbon and gives good agreement with observations of the 2175-A feature and the average interstellar extinction law.

Sorrell, Wilfred H.↗

Characterization of hydrogen interactions with the surface of alpha-2 titanium aluminide alloys

The interaction of hydrogen at the surface of alpha-2 titanium aluminide alloys with Nb additions has been investigated with Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) and reflected electron energy loss (REELS) spectroscopy. The hydrogen was either adsorbed onto the alloy surface from the gas phase or it was pre-charged into the alloy forming an alpha-2 hydride. No effect of either adsorbed or absorbed hydrogen was observed in the Auger spectra. A shift in the bulk plasmon loss energy (observed with REELS) was measured for both conditions. The potential significance of these results in relation to hydrogen interactions in this alloy is discussed.

Shanabarger, Mickey R.↗

An explanation for the rise in Tc in the Tl- and Bi-based high temperature superconductors

Using the plasmon exchange model for the high T(sub c) superconductor, it is shown that the T(sub c) rises with an increase in the number of CuO layers per unit cell, which is in agreement with recent observations in the Tl- and Bi-based compounds. The calculation also suggests that the sample will become superconducting in successive stages and that there is a saturation effect, i.e., that T(sub c) cannot be raised indefinitely by increasing the number of CuO layers.

Bose, S. M.↗

Correlation of normal and superconducting properties and unified approach to the description of high Tc oxides

We present a unified approach based on the Fermi liquid picture which allows us to describe the normal as well as the superconducting properties of the doped cuprates. The theory that is presented is for the doped compounds which are metallic. One can distinguish two interrelated, but nevertheless, different directions in the physics of high T(sub c): one involving the problem of carrier doping and the transition to the metallic state, and the second being the description of the metallic state. It is important that this metallic phase undergoes the transition into the superconducting state; as a result, our analysis is directly related to the origin of high T(sub c). We are using a quasi-2D Fermi liquid model to estimate the fundamental parameters of these very interesting materials. We find that this description is able to describe these materials and also that phonons and plasmons play a major role in the mechanism of high T(sub c).

Kresin, V. Z.↗