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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 991 records · Page 55
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2016

Note: Electron energy spectroscopy mapping of surface with scanning tunneling microscope

We report a novel scanning probe electron energy spectrometer (SPEES) which combines a double toroidal analyzer with a scanning tunneling microscope to achieve both topography imaging and electron energy spectroscopy mapping of surface in situ. The spatial resolution of spectroscopy mapping is determined to be better than 0.7 ± 0.2 μm at a tip sample distance of 7 μm. Meanwhile, the size of the field emission electron beam spot on the surface is also measured, and is about 3.6 ± 0.8 μm in diameter. This unambiguously demonstrates that the spatial resolution of SPEES technique can be much better than the size of the incident electron beam.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2021

A robust high sensitivity scanning thermal probe for simultaneous microscale thermal and thermoelectric property mapping

Scanning Thermal Microscopy (SThM) provides efficient thermal property measurement with micro- or nanoscale spatial resolution. However, the sensitivity and accuracy of state-of-the-art thermal probes have been limited by excessive thermal contact resistance between the probe and sample. Introduced herein is a robust thermal microprobe that can increase the probe-sample contact force by more than two orders of magnitude, thereby reducing the probe-sample thermal contact resistance by as much as 96% and increasing measurement sensitivity by more than 240% compared to a commercial thermal probe with the same dimensions and measurement principle. The relationship between the probe-sample thermal contact resistance, thermal exchange radius, and sample thermal conductivity is determined experimentally. Simultaneous measurement of thermal conductivity and Seebeck coefficient with unprecedented sensitivity is demonstrated using the enhanced scanning thermal microprobe on samples of an extended range of thermal conductivity up to 18 W/m K, increasing the range of samples applicable to SThM when compared to the conventional commercial probe with diminished measurement sensitivity above ~10 W/m K. The probe is further demonstrated by simultaneously mapping thermal conductivity and Seebeck coefficient as a function of depth from the irradiated surface of an ion-irradiated bulk nanostructured thermoelectric material. In addition to enabling microscale thermal conductivity and Seebeck coefficient measurement of materials previously not applicable to SThM, the probe can also facilitate high-throughput characterization of combinatorial materials to aid the rapid discovery of compositions and processing conditions that yield highly desired thermal and thermoelectric properties.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2023

Deep-learning-aided extraction of optical constants in scanning near-field optical microscopy

Scanning near-field optical microscopy is one of the most effective techniques for spectroscopy of nanoscale systems. However, inferring optical constants from the measured near-field signal can be challenging because of a complicated and highly nonlinear interaction between the scanned probe and the sample. Conventional fitting methods applied to this problem often suffer from the lack of convergence or require human intervention. Here, we develop an alternative approach where the optical parameter extraction is automated by a deep learning network. The network provides an initial estimate that is subsequently refined by a traditional fitting algorithm. In conclusion, we show that this method demonstrates superior accuracy, stability against noise, and computational speed when applied to simulated near-field spectra.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2025

A scanning resonator for probing quantum coherent devices

Superconducting resonators with high quality factors are extremely sensitive detectors of the complex impedance of materials and devices coupled to them. This capability has been used to measure losses in multiple different materials and, in the case of circuit quantum electrodynamics (circuit QED), has been used to measure the coherent evolution of multiple different types of qubits. Here, we report on the implementation of a scanning resonator for probing quantum coherent devices. Our scanning setup enables tunable coherent coupling to systems of interest without the need for fabricating on-chip superconducting resonators. We measure the internal quality factor of our resonator sensor in the single-photon regime to be >104 and demonstrate capacitive imaging using our sensor with zeptoFarad sensitivity and micron spatial resolution at milliKelvin temperatures. We then use our setup to characterize the energy spectrum and coherence times of multiple transmon qubits with no on-chip readout circuitry. Our experiments introduce a new tool for using circuit QED to measure existing and proposed qubit platforms.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2016

Design and fabrication of a differential scanning nanocalorimeter

This paper describes the design, fabrication, and characterization of a differential scanning nanocalorimeter that significantly reduces the sample volume to microliters and can potentially improve the temperature sensitivity to 10 µK. The nanocalorimeter consists of a polymeric freestanding membrane, four high-sensitive low-noise thermistors based on silicon carbide (SiC), and a platinum heater and temperature sensor. With the integrated heater and sensors, temperature scanning and power compensation can be achieved for calorimetric measurement. Temperature sensing SiC film was prepared by using sintered SiC target and DC magnetron sputtering under different gas pressures and sputtering power. The SiC sensing material is characterized through the measurement of current–voltage curves and noise levels. The thermal performance of a fabricated nanocalorimeter is studied in simulation and experiment. The experiment results show the device has excellent thermal isolation to hold thermal energy. As a result, the noise test together with the simulation show the device is promising for micro 10 µK temperature sensitivity and nanowatt resolution which will lead to low-volume ultra-sensitive nanocalorimetry for biological processes, such as protein folding and ligand binding.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2023

Nanoscale imaging of quantum dot dimers using time-resolved super-resolution microscopy combined with scanning electron microscopy

Abstract Time-resolved super-resolution microscopy was used in conjunction with scanning electron microscopy to image individual colloidal CdSe/CdS semiconductor quantum dots (QD) and QD dimers. The photoluminescence (PL) lifetimes, intensities, and structural parameters were acquired with nanometer scale spatial resolution and sub-nanosecond time resolution. The combination of these two techniques was more powerful than either alone, enabling us to resolve the PL properties of individual QDs within QD dimers as they blinked on and off, measure interparticle distances, and identify QDs that may be participating in energy transfer. The localization precision of our optical imaging technique was ∼3 nm, low enough that the emission from individual QDs within the dimers could be spatially resolved. While the majority of QDs within dimers acted as independent emitters, at least one pair of QDs in our study exhibited lifetime and intensity behaviors consistent with resonance energy transfer from a shorter lifetime and lower intensity donor QD to a longer lifetime and higher intensity acceptor QD. For this case, we demonstrate how the combined super-resolution optical imaging and scanning electron microscopy data can be used to characterize the energy transfer rate.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2022

Magnetic configuration scans during divertor operation of Wendelstein 7-X

Wendelstein 7-X (W7-X) (Greifswald, Germany) is an advanced stellarator, which uses the modular coil concept to realize a magnetic configuration optimized for fusion-relevant plasma properties. The magnet system of the machine allows a variation of the rotational transform (iota) at the boundary. In the latest W7-X operational phase a dedicated configuration scan has been performed varying the rotational transform between magnetic configurations with iota = 5/4 and iota = 5/5 at the boundary. This paper presents an overview of the experiments and of the main results with respect to confinement and stability. The main observation is an increase of the plasma energy in several intermediate configurations of the scan when the 5/5-islands are close to the plasma boundary but still inside the last-closed-flux-surface. In addition, these configurations showed marked MHD-activity with a crashing behavior related to the 5/5-islands. The corresponding mode amplitude was correlated with the size of the internal 5/5 islands.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2024

Scanning probe spectroscopy of sulfur vacancies and MoS 2 monolayers in side-contacted van der Waals heterostructures

We investigate the interplay between vertical tunneling and lateral transport phenomena in electrically contacted van der Waals heterostructures made from monolayer MoS 2 , hBN, and graphene. We compare data taken by low-temperature scanning tunneling spectroscopy to results from room-temperature conductive atomic force spectroscopy on monolayer MoS 2 with sulfur vacancies and with varying hBN layers. We show that for thick hBN barrier layers, where tunneling currents into the conductive substrate are suppressed, a side-contact still enables addressing the defect states in the scanning tunneling microscopy via the lateral current flow. Few-layer hBN realizes an intermediate regime in which the competition between vertical tunneling and lateral transport needs to be considered. The latter is relevant for device structures with both a thin tunneling barrier and a side-contact to the semiconducting layers.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2019

A Purely Poisson-based Approach to Estimating Audible Scan Survey Sensitivities

Several endeavors have been made over the years to estimate the sensitivity of audible scan surveys. Some estimates involved certain factors of the background count rate, while others involved calculations utilizing parameters pulled from the normal (Gaussian) distribution, regardless of background count rate. This paper discusses the results of a purely Poisson-based calculational method for the determination of appropriate decision levels and affiliated detection limits associated with health physics audible scan surveys. Comparisons are made to the other approaches and to empirical tests, where available. Although agreement with previous estimates can be had over limited ranges of background count rate, order-of-magnitude differences are possible outside of those ranges. The previous estimates are generally conservative at the higher count rates yet quite nonconservative at the lowest count rates. Several real-life operational examples are provided that illustrate the approach.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2019

Scanning tunneling shot-noise spectroscopy in Kondo systems

Using a large- N theory in combination with the Keldysh nonequilibrium Green's function formalism, we investigate the current, differential conductance, zero-frequency shot noise, and Fano factor as measured by scanning tunneling shot-noise spectroscopy (STSNS) using a scanning tunneling microscope (STM) near single Kondo impurities and in Kondo lattices. We show that the Fano factor F exhibits a characteristic bias dependence arising from Kondo screening that is similar to the Kondo resonance observed in the differential conductance. Moreover, the line shape of F is strongly dependent on the ratio of the tunneling amplitudes for electron tunneling from the STM tip into the conduction band and electronic levels of the magnetic adatoms. We demonstrate that the Fano factor can be enhanced or suppressed due to interference effects and as such, is not only a sensitive probe for the correlation effects arising from Kondo screening, but also for quantum interference between tunneling electrons. We identify a correlation between the form of the differential conductance and the Fano factor that could be tested in future STSNS experiments.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2021

Determination of rutile transition metal oxide (110) surface terminations by scanning tunneling microscopy contrast reversal

The surfaces of rutile transition-metal oxides (TMO 2 ) are widely investigated for catalysis, photoelectrochemical solar cells, memristors, and supercapacitors, but their structures have remained controversial. Here we employ density functional theory to predict that a universal behavior of metallic TMO 2 surfaces, i.e., the stoichiometric TMO 2 surfaces, exhibit a contrast reversal in simulated scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) images at different scanning biases. The predictions are verified by experimental STM imaging of RuO 2 (110) surfaces and this feature is shown to enable accurate determinations of the TMO 2 (110) surface structures under various conditions. This research provides different insights into the electronic properties of TMO 2 (110) surfaces and offers an effective method to directly map the surface structure and point defects using bias-dependent STM.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2016

Scanning Josephson spectroscopy on the atomic scale

The Josephson effect provides a direct method to probe the strength of the pairing interaction in superconductors. By measuring the phase fluctuating Josephson current between a superconducting tip of a scanning tunneling microscope and a BCS superconductor with isolated magnetic adatoms on its surface, we demonstrate that the spatial variation of the pairing order parameter can be characterized on the atomic scale. This system provides an example where the local pairing potential suppression is not directly reflected in the spectra measured via quasiparticle tunneling. Spectroscopy with such superconducting tips also shows signatures of previously unexplored Andreev processes through individual impurity-bound Shiba states. Furthermore, the atomic resolution achieved here establishes scanning Josephson spectroscopy as a promising technique for the study of novel superconducting phases.

Andreev reflection↗
DOE OSTI2016

Simultaneous X-ray fluorescence and scanning X-ray diffraction microscopy at the Australian Synchrotron XFM beamline

Owing to its extreme sensitivity, quantitative mapping of elemental distributions via X-ray fluorescence microscopy (XFM) has become a key microanalytical technique. The recent realisation of scanning X-ray diffraction microscopy (SXDM) meanwhile provides an avenue for quantitative super-resolved ultra-structural visualization. The similarity of their experimental geometries indicates excellent prospects for simultaneous acquisition. Here, in both step- and fly-scanning modes, robust, simultaneous XFM-SXDM is demonstrated.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2018

High-speed raster-scanning synchrotron serial microcrystallography with a high-precision piezo-scanner

The Frontier Microfocus Macromolecular Crystallography (FMX) beamline at the National Synchrotron Light Source II with its 1 µm beam size and photon flux of 3 × 10 12 photons s −1 at a photon energy of 12.66 keV has reached unprecedented dose rates for a structural biology beamline. The high dose rate presents a great advantage for serial microcrystallography in cutting measurement time from hours to minutes. To provide the instrumentation basis for such measurements at the full flux of the FMX beamline, a high-speed, high-precision goniometer based on a unique XYZ piezo positioner has been designed and constructed. The piezo-based goniometer is able to achieve sub-100 nm raster-scanning precision at over 10 grid-linepairs s −1 frequency for fly scans of a 200 µm-wide raster. The performance of the scanner in both laboratory and serial crystallography measurements up to the maximum frame rate of 750 Hz of the Eiger 16M's 4M region-of-interest mode has been verified in this work. This unprecedented experimental speed significantly reduces serial-crystallography data collection time at synchrotrons, allowing utilization of the full brightness of the emerging synchrotron radiation facilities.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2024

3D imaging of magnetic domains in Nd 2 Fe 14 B using scanning hard X-ray nanotomography

Nanoscale structural and electronic heterogeneities are prevalent in condensed matter physics. Investigating these heterogeneities in 3D has become an important task for understanding material properties. To provide a tool to unravel the connection between nanoscale heterogeneity and macroscopic emergent properties in magnetic materials, scanning transmission X-ray microscopy (STXM) is combined with X-ray magnetic circular dichroism. A vector tomography algorithm has been developed to reconstruct the full 3D magnetic vector field without any prior noise assumptions or knowledge about the sample. Two tomographic scans around the vertical axis are acquired on single-crystalline Nd 2 Fe 14 B pillars tilted at two different angles, with 2D STXM projections recorded using a focused 120 nm X-ray beam with left and right circular polarization. Image alignment and iterative registration have been implemented based on the 2D STXM projections for the two tilts. Dichroic projections obtained from difference images are used for the tomographic reconstruction to obtain the 3D magnetization distribution at the nanoscale.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

Molecular beam epitaxial growth and scanning tunneling microscopy studies of the gallium rich trench line structure on N-polar w-GaN( 000 1 ¯ )

In addition to the usual set of the well-known reconstructions that have been observed on the N-polar GaN surface, namely 1×1, 3×3, 6×6, and c(6×12), an additional structure is occasionally seen at high Ga coverage, which can extend over a large area of the surface. This structure, which is referred to as trench line structure, is partially ordered and consists of parallel-running dark (trench) lines separating wide and narrow strips of atomically ordered regions. There are also randomly placed defects interrupting the ideal ordering. Reflection high energy electron diffraction and scanning tunneling microscopy in ultrahigh vacuum are applied to investigate this trench line structure on samples prepared using molecular beam epitaxy. It is found that the trench line structure results from annealing the Ga-rich c(6×12) at high temperature followed by quenching to room temperature. By careful comparison of the scanning tunneling microscopy images with those from neighboring c(6×12) regions, it is found that the trench line structure can be decomposed into subunits of the c(6×12). Using these subunits, some simple models for the trench line structure are created. It is proposed that the trench line structure is composed of two primary c(6×12) subunits consisting of first and second layer Ga adatoms and that the trench lines are regions devoid of Ga adatoms, going down to the Ga adlayer.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2025

Surface deposition of nanometer scale carbon structures on Bi 2 Sr 2 CaCu 2 O 8+δ using a low-cost scanning electron microscope

In this work, we investigate optically active nanostructures on Bi 2 Sr 2 CaCu 2 O 8+δ (BSCCO). The nanostructures are constructed from carbon nanocrystals formed using the electron beam of a scanning electron microscope to locally decompose residual hydrocarbons at the BSCCO surface. Atomic force microscopy is used to characterize the dimensions of these structures as a function of beam exposure time. This technique has been used to induce localized intercalation to form carbon nanoparticles up to tens of nanometers into a variety of 2D materials. Cross-sectional scanning transmission electron microscopy in BSCCO shows the presence of these carbon deposits on the surface, but there is no evidence they penetrate into the BSCCO substrate. Therefore, this technique is not suitable for localized intercalation in BSCCO, and it does have promise as a cost-effective approach to pattern nanometer scale etch stops.

2D materials↗
DOE OSTI2014

SU-E-T-267: Proton Pencil Beam Scanning for Mediastinal Lymphoma: 4-Dimensional Feasibility Study

Purpose: To assess the feasibility of proton pencil beam scanning (PBS) for the treatment of mediastinal lymphoma. Methods: A group of 6 patients were planned using an anterior field with PBS. Spots with ∼5 mm σ were used for all patients, while large spots (∼10 mm σ) were employed for patients with motion perpendicular to the beam (≥5 mm). We considered volumetric repainting such that, in each fraction, the same field would be delivered twice. Four-dimensional dose was calculated on initial and verification 4-dimensional computed tomography (4D-CT) scans (2—3) based on respiratory trace and beam delivery sequence. This was implemented by binning the spots into separate plans on each 4D-CT phase respectively. Four starting phases were sampled for each painting and 4 energy switching times (0.5 s, 1 s, 3 s, and 5 s) were tested, resulting in 2560 dose distributions for the cohort. Plan robustness was measured for target and critical structures in terms of the percentage difference between delivered dose and planned dose. Results: For 5 of the 6 patients, the ITV (internal target volume) D 98% was degraded by <3% (standard deviations ∼ 0.1%) when averaged over the whole course (up to 5% per fraction). Deviations of mean lung dose, heart maximum dose, and cord maximum dose were within 5% of prescribed dose. For one patient with motion perpendicular to the beam (up to 5 mm), the degradation of ITV D 98% was 9% over the whole course (12% per fraction), which was mitigated to 1% (3% per fraction) by employing large spots and repainting. No significant difference in coverage was observed for different energy switching times. Conclusion: This feasibility study demonstrates that, for mediastinal lymphoma, the PBS plan robustness can be maintained during delivery when target motion is measured and volumetric repainting and/or large spots are employed. This work was supported by Ion Beam Application.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗