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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 1,063 records · Page 59
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2023

High-bandwidth density silicon photonic resonators for energy-efficient optical interconnects

The growth of artificial intelligence applications demands ever larger and more complex deep learning models, dominating today's—and tomorrow's—data center and high-performance computing systems. While traditional electronics are failing to keep pace with application demands, silicon photonic (SiPh) interconnects have emerged as a necessary technology to support these systems. SiPh-driven wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) offers a particularly promising path toward supporting incredibly high-aggregate link bandwidth in a compact and efficient form factor. One of the basic building blocks of these integrated WDM interconnects is the SiPh resonator. Their inherent wavelength selectivity and compact footprint allow for efficient data transmission multiplexed across dozens of carrier wavelengths. Used as add-drop (AD) filters, SiPh resonators are critical to constructing integrated tunable wavelength-selective optical circuit switches as well as for demultiplexing the different carrier wavelengths toward independent wavelength-insensitive photodiodes in a dense wavelength-division multiplexing receiver. Resonators in the all-pass (AP) configuration are widespread as well, allowing for wavelength-selective modulation to drive aggregate link bandwidths far beyond the individual channel data rate. Unlike SiPh Mach–Zehnder modulators (MZM), resonant modulators can be driven using low, complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor drive voltages, allowing for tight co-integration between photonic integrated circuits, fabricated with larger process node technologies, and electronic integrated circuits, designed to exploit the advantages of the latest node. To push toward practical peta-scale interconnects, a comprehensive review of SiPh resonators is required, addressing bottlenecks and design constraints at both the architecture and device levels. We first describe the predominant integrated link architectures and identify their limits. We then discuss the device-level design considerations that can be made for both AD and AP configuration resonators to overcome the system level limits with novel resonator device designs. Analytical models and numerical simulation of resonators are validated by experimental measurement of devices fabricated in a commercial 300-mm foundry, showing a clear path toward volume manufacturing. The demonstrated resonant modulators and filters support the feasibility of increasing the aggregate bandwidth of resonator-driven SiPh interconnects into the peta-scale regime.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2024

17.2% Efficient CdSexTe1−x solar cell with (InxGa1−x)2O3 emitter on lightweight and flexible glass

High-efficiency, lightweight, and flexible solar cells are sought for a variety of applications particularly when high power density and flexible form factors are desired. Development of solar cells on flexible substrates may also offer production advantages in roll-to-roll or sheet-to-sheet processes. Here, we report device efficiencies of 17.2% and 14.6%, under AM1.5G and AM0 irradiances, respectively, for a flexible, lightweight, CdTe-based solar cell. To advance the efficiency relative to the highest previously reported AM1.5G value of 16.4%, we used an indium gallium oxide (IGO) emitter layer on a cadmium stannate (CTO) transparent conductor, which was deposited on 100-μm thick Corning® Willow® Glass. A sputtered CdSe layer was employed to incorporate Se into a CdTe absorber that was deposited by close-space sublimation, and CuSCN was used as a hole transport layer between the CdTe and the back metal electrode. The IGO and CTO layers remained intact during the high temperature film processing as seen in cross-sectional imaging and elemental mapping. This device configuration offers great promise for building-integrated photovoltaics, space applications, and higher rate manufacturing.

Physics↗
DOE OSTI2013

Toward high-energy-density, high-efficiency, and moderate-temperature chip-scale thermophotovoltaics

The challenging problem of ultra-high-energy-density, high-efficiency, and small-scale portable power generation is addressed here using a distinctive thermophotovoltaic energy conversion mechanism and chip-based system design, which we name the microthermophotovoltaic (μTPV) generator. The approach is predicted to be capable of up to 32% efficient heat-to-electricity conversion within a millimeter-scale form factor. Although considerable technological barriers need to be overcome to reach full performance, we have performed a robust experimental demonstration that validates the theoretical framework and the key system components. Even with a much-simplified μTPV system design with theoretical efficiency prediction of 2.7%, we experimentally demonstrate 2.5% efficiency. The μTPV experimental system that was built and tested comprises a silicon propane microcombustor, an integrated high-temperature photonic crystal selective thermal emitter, four 0.55-eV GaInAsSb thermophotovoltaic diodes, and an ultra-high-efficiency maximum power-point tracking power electronics converter. The system was demonstrated to operate up to 800 °C (silicon microcombustor temperature) with an input thermal power of 13.7 W, generating 344 mW of electric power over a 1-cm 2 area.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2016

Laser-assisted direct ink writing of planar and 3D metal architectures

Significance The growing demand for customized electronic devices underpins the need for 3D fabrication methods that enable form factors well beyond those that are flat and rigid. A printing method is introduced for one-step fabrication of conductive and ductile metal features in planar and complex 3D shapes that combines direct ink writing with “on-the-fly” laser annealing.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2020

Developing Separate Effects Transient Test Experiments Using an Out-of-Pile Flowing Water Loop

In 2017 the Transient Reactor Test Facility was restarted after being placed in a standby state since 1994. This Test Reactor’s restart has since enabled the progressive development of new nuclear technologies within the U.S. that were previously required to outsource to other countries. While the reactor’s restart was a large feat worthy of recognition, the experimental use of its characteristics has required the further development of in-pile experimental infrastructure sufficient to support programmatic needs. This hardware have taken the form of capsule designs (compact and elongated) as well as loop concepts representing the phenomena of interest for a subset of separate effects tests desire for each respective testing campaign. The Transient Testing Program has a large-integrated effort that aligns with the U.S. Department of Energy’s current needs. This study compliments those programmatic elements by developing, fabricating and demonstrating a full-scale flowing water loop in an out-of-pile environment. The goal of this effort is to develop a pragmatic understanding of the engineering capabilities and limitations associated with geometric form-factors, metering technology, and controls logic under representative thermal hydraulic conditions that would be experienced within the TREAT reactor during an in-pile reactivity initiated accident test. The outcomes of this study result in an evaluation of the conceptual design of a comprehensive flowing water loop including objective figures of merit (FoMs) for comparing unique instrumentation and the basis for their selection during operations. These efforts directly contribute to and are required for the further advancement of transient testing capabilities within the U.S.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Recent Developments and Findings of Heat Pipe Experiments for Microreactor Applications

Microreactor technologies are required to provide reliable carbon-free power generation in remote applications. The heat pipe–cooled microreactor concept, in particular, offers notable advantages due to the passive operation of heat pipes, enabling increased reliability and simplicity in a more compact form factor. There is a significant need for experimental work to aid and expedite the deployment of heat pipe microreactors due to their unique technological characteristics. Thus, there has been increased interest in heat pipe experiments by numerous institutions in order to support these efforts. Finally, the present work is a comprehensive review of recent heat pipe experiments from six major institutions, describing their designs, instruments, methods, and results. In addition, this paper also presents a background on heat pipe experiments along with discussions on instrumentation, accident scenarios, wick enhancement, and proposed future directions.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Simulated Performance of the Micro-Pocket Fission Detector in the Advanced Test Reactor Critical Facility

The Micro-Pocket Fission Detector (MPFD) is a small-form–factor real-time fission chamber. MPFD performance has been simulated in the Advanced Test Reactor Critical Facility (ATRC), located at Idaho National Laboratory (INL). Here, the neutron and gamma-ray flux profiles and magnitudes were simulated using Monte Carlo N-Particle (MCNP) in the near-core B-8 irradiation position. These simulations were performed at 69 discrete axial locations inside the B-8 position for three separate orientations of the nearby hafnium outer shim control cylinders and at a power level of 700 Wth. The resulting neutron and gamma-ray flux values were used to determine the MPFD response for various fissile masses and detector gas pressures. The optimal gas-operating pressure was determined to be between 30 and 60 psig. The required fissile-layer mass was determined to be between 1–2 µg of 235 U. Additionally, the gamma-ray to fission-fragment interaction rate was determined to be 4.42 × 10 -3 with average energy deposition for gamma rays and fission fragments in 30 psig argon gas to be 1 keV and 9.5 MeV, respectively.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2016

Electromagnetic structure of few-nucleon ground states

Experimental form factors of the hydrogen and helium isotopes, extracted from an up-to-date global analysis of cross sections and polarization observables measured in elastic electron scattering from these systems, are compared to predictions obtained in three different theoretical approaches: the first is based on realistic interactions and currents, including relativistic corrections (labeled as the conventional approach); the second relies on a chiral effective field theory description of the strong and electromagnetic interactions in nuclei (labeled ChiEFT); the third utilizes a fully relativistic treatment of nuclear dynamics as implemented in the covariant spectator theory (labeled CST). Furthermore, for momentum transfers below Q < 5 fm -1 there is satisfactory agreement between experimental data and theoretical results in all three approaches. Conversely, at Q > 5 fm -1 , particularly in the case of the deuteron, a relativistic treatment of the dynamics, as is done in the CST, is necessary. The experimental data on the deuteron A structure function extend to Q ~ 12 fm -1 , and the close agreement between these data and the CST results suggests that, even in this extreme kinematical regime, there is no evidence for new effects coming from quark and gluon degrees of freedom at short distances.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2017

Radiation damage free ghost diffraction with atomic resolution

The x-ray free electron lasers can enable diffractive structural determination of protein nanocrystals and single molecules that are too small and radiation-sensitive for conventional x-ray diffraction. However the electronic form factor may be modified during the ultrashort x-ray pulse due to photoionization and electron cascade caused by the intense x-ray pulse. For general x-ray imaging techniques, the minimization of the effects of radiation damage is of major concern to ensure reliable reconstruction of molecular structure. Here in this paper, we show that radiation damage free diffraction can be achieved with atomic spatial resolution by using x-ray parametric down-conversion and ghost diffraction with entangled photons of x-ray and optical frequencies. We show that the formation of the diffraction patterns satisfies a condition analogous to the Bragg equation, with a resolution that can be as fine as the crystal lattice length scale of several Ångstrom. Since the samples are illuminated by low energy optical photons, they can be free of radiation damage.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2017

Three-dimensional magnetic interactions in quasi-two-dimensional PdAs 2 O 6

Millimeter-sized PdAs 2 O 6 single crystals are grown using the vapor transport technique. The magnetic order at T N = 140 K is studied by measuring magnetic properties, specific heat, and neutron single crystal diffraction. The anisotropic magnetic susceptibility and a metamagnetic transition observed in magnetic fields above 20 kOe suggest that the magnetic moment lies in the ab plane, consistent with the magnetic structure determined by neutron single crystal diffraction. Below 140 K, Pd 2+ ions order ferromagnetically in the ab plane but antiferromagnetically along the crystallographic c axis. The ordered moment is refined to be 2.09(2) μ B /Pd 2+ using the fitted magnetic form factor of Pd 2+ . A weak λ-type anomaly around T N was observed in specific heat and the magnetic entropy change across T N is 1.72 J mol -1 K. This small entropy change and the temperature dependence of the magnetic susceptibility support the presence of short range correlations in a wide temperature range T N 2 O 6 suggests that the magnetic interactions in PdAs 2 O 6 are dominated by Pd-(O-$As\atop{As}$-O)-Pd super-superexchange and three dimensional despite the quasi-two-dimensional arrangement of magnetic ions. Finally, the comparison with NiAs 2 O 6 suggests that increasing covalency of isostructural compounds is an effective approach to design and to discover new materials with higher magnetic order temperatures in the localized regime.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2016

The case for mixed dark matter from sterile neutrinos

Sterile neutrinos are SU(2) singlets that mix with active neutrinos via a mass matrix, its diagonalization leads to mass eigenstates that couple via standard model vertices. We study the cosmological production of heavy neutrinos via standard model charged and neutral current vertices under a minimal set of assumptions: i) the mass basis contains a hierarchy of heavy neutrinos , ii) these have very small mixing angles with the active (flavor) neutrinos, iii) standard model particles, including light (active-like) neutrinos are in thermal equilibrium. If kinematically allowed, the same weak interaction processes that produce active-like neutrinos also produce the heavier species. We introduce the quantum kinetic equations that describe their production, freeze out and decay and discuss the various processes that lead to their production in a wide range of temperatures assessing their feasibility as dark matter candidates. The final distribution function at freeze-out is a mixture of the result of the various production processes. We identify processes in which finite temperature collective excitations may lead to the production of the heavy species. As a specific example, we consider the production of heavy neutrinos in the mass range M {sub h} ∼< 140 MeV from pion decay shortly after the QCD crossover including finite temperature corrections to the pion form factors and mass. We consider the different decay channels that allow for the production of heavy neutrinos showing that their frozen distribution functions exhibit effects from ''kinematic entanglement'' and argue for their viability as mixed dark matter candidates. We discuss abundance, phase space density and stability constraints and argue that heavy neutrinos with lifetime τ> 1/ H {sub 0} freeze out of local thermal equilibrium, and conjecture that those with lifetimes τ || 1/ H {sub 0} may undergo cascade decay into lighter DM candidates and/or inject non-LTE neutrinos into the cosmic neutrino background. We provide a comparison with non-resonant production via active-sterile mixing.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Symmetrically tuned large-volume conic shell-cavities for axion searches

In an earlier paper [1], a new class of thin-shell cavities were proposed to evade the steep frequency scaling of conventional axion haloscopes. In this follow-up work, we see that a generalized conic geometry enables robust frequency-tuning for these large-volume cm-wave cavities. The frequency-defining dimension of a conic shell-cavity changes symmetrically and uniformly during tuning, maintaining a high axion coupling efficiency (the "form factor") to an external solenoid field. It is further shown that such tunable geometry is not restricted to circular cones. A general prescription for arbitrary volume-filling conic shell-cavities is developed and direct solutions are obtained for the created numerical models. Additionally, the largest of the realized designs is a meandering "brain" cavity that is tunable over a frequency range of 20%. The scan rate of this cavity is three orders of magnitude larger than that of a scaled cylindrical cavity used in the current generation experiments. The prospects for such a large improvement in the scan rate should motivate R& D efforts in fabrication and other implementation techniques. If these engineering challenges can be met, cavity-based axion haloscopes can stay competitive at frequencies higher than a few GHz. We propose an experimental configuration at 20 GHz (~80 μeV) using an array of brain cavities and compare it with other proposals for similar frequencies.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Simulating MADMAX in 3D: Requirements for Dielectric Axion Haloscopes

We present 3D calculations for dielectric haloscopes such as the currently envisioned MADMAX experiment. For ideal systems with perfectly flat, parallel and isotropic dielectric disks of finite diameter, we find that a geometrical form factor reduces the emitted power by up to 30% compared to earlier 1D calculations. We derive the emitted beam shape, which is important for antenna design. We show that realistic dark matter axion velocities of 10 -3 c and inhomogeneities of the external magnetic field at the scale of 10% have negligible impact on the sensitivity of MADMAX. We investigate design requirements for which the emitted power changes by less than 20% for a benchmark boost factor with a bandwidth of 50 MHz at 22 GHz, corresponding to an axion mass of 90 μeV. We find that the maximum allowed disk tilt is 100 μm divided by the disk diameter, the required disk planarity is 20 μm (min-to-max) or better, and the maximum allowed surface roughness is 100 μm (min-to-max). We show how using tiled dielectric disks glued together from multiple smaller patches can affect the beam shape and antenna coupling.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2022

Hazma meets HERWIG4DM: precision gamma-ray, neutrino, and positron spectra for light dark matter

Herein we present a new open-source package, Hazma 2, that computes accurate spectra relevant for indirect dark matter searches for photon, neutrino, and positron production from vector-mediated dark matter annihilation and for spin-one dark matter decay. The tool bridges across the regimes of validity of two state of the art codes: Hazma 1, which provides an accurate description below hadronic resonances up to center-of-mass energies around 250 MeV, and Herwig4DM, which is based on vector meson dominance and measured form factors, and accurate well into the few GeV range. The applicability of the combined code extends to approximately 1.5 GeV, above which the number of final state hadrons off of which we individually compute the photon, neutrino, and positron yield grows exceedingly rapidly. We provide example branching ratios, particle spectra and conservative observational constraints from existing gamma-ray data for the well-motivated cases of decaying dark photon dark matter and vector-mediated fermionic dark matter annihilation. Finally, we compare our results to other existing codes at the boundaries of their respective ranges of applicability. Hazma 2 is freely available on GitHub athttps://github.com/LoganAMorrison/Hazma.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Heavy dark matter in white dwarfs: multiple-scattering capture and thermalization

We present an improved treatment for the scattering of heavy dark matter from the ion constituents of a white dwarf. In the heavy dark matter regime, multiple collisions are required for the dark matter to become gravitationally captured. Our treatment incorporates all relevant physical effects including the dark matter trajectories, nuclear form factors, and radial profiles for the white dwarf escape velocity and target number densities. Our capture rates differ by orders of magnitude from previous estimates, which have typically used approximations developed for dark matter scattering in the Earth. We also compute the time for the dark matter to thermalize in the center of the white dwarf, including in-medium effects such as phonon emission and absorption from the ionic lattice in the case where the star has a crystallized core. We find much shorter thermalization timescales than previously estimated, especially if the white dwarf core has crystallized. We illustrate the importance of our improved approach by determining the cross section required for accumulated asymmetric dark matter to self-gravitate.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2018

Plasma equilibrium with fast ion orbit width, pressure anisotropy, and toroidal flow effects

Here, we formulate the problem of tokamak plasma equilibrium including the toroidal flow and fast ion (or energetic particle, EP) pressure anisotropy and the finite drift orbit width (FOW) effects. The problem is formulated via the standard Grad-Shafranov equation (GShE) amended by the solvability condition which imposes physical constraints on allowed spacial dependencies of the anisotropic pressure. The GShE problem employs the pressure coupling scheme and includes the dominant diagonal terms and non-diagonal corrections to the standard pressure tensor. The anisotropic tensor elements are obtained via the distribution function represented in the factorized form via the constants of motion. Considered effects on the plasma equilibrium are estimated analytically, if possible, to understand their importance for GShE tokamak plasma problem.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2018

Fundamental Physics with Electroweak Probes of Nuclei

The past decade has witnessed tremendous progress in the theoretical and computational tools that produce our understanding of nuclei. A number of microscopic calculations of nuclear electroweak structure and reactions have successfully explained the available experimental data, yielding a complex picture of the way nuclei interact with electroweak probes. This achievement is of great interest from the pure nuclear-physics point of view. But it is of much broader interest too, because the level of accuracy and confidence reached by these calculations opens up the concrete possibility of using nuclei to address open questions in other sub-fields of physics, such as, understanding the fundamental properties of neutrinos, or the particle nature of dark matter. In this talk, I will review recent progress in microscopic calculations of electroweak properties of light nuclei, including electromagnetic moments, form factors and transitions in between lowlying nuclear states along with preliminary studies for single- and double-beta decay rates. As a result, I will illustrate the key dynamical features required to explain the available experimental data, and, if time permits, present a novel framework to calculate neutrino-nucleus cross sections for A > 12 nuclei.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2026

Bioproduction, bioprotection, and biocontainment in multi-kingdom microbial systems with 3D spatial control

Engineered living materials (ELMs) are a class of hybrid materials that include engineered microbes encapsulated by a polymer matrix. The biotic and abiotic components define the ELMs design space and can be altered to improve performance and function. While current synthetic materials in the field display robust biocompatibility with both native and engineered living systems, we have a limited understanding of how to leverage three-dimensional (3D) form factors to spatially organize and control microbial dynamics within the material. Motivated by this knowledge gap, we employed extrusion-based 3D printing to fabricate multi-kingdom hydrogel constructs for the encapsulation of both single and multi-kingdom microbial systems. Core–shell cubic constructs enabled the spatial organization of a constitutive multi-kingdom system of levodopa (L-DOPA)-producing E. coli and betaxanthins (BXN)-producing S. cerevisiae. This spatial organization in 3D materials can introduce precise control over bioproduction, bioprotection, and biocontainment features that are critical to the efficacy of current ELMs. The relative spatial organization of the organisms, as well as the surface area-to-volume ratio were investigated to determine how these design elements impact microbial behavior (metabolite production, growth, expression, and cell distribution) over time. We demonstrated that F127-bis-urethane methacrylate (F127-BUM) core–shell geometries enable the hierarchical 3D printing of multi-kingdom constructs, offering customizable control over bioproduction, bioprotection, and biocontainment. With the optimization of these core–shell structures for continuous bioproduction, these ELMs could be deployed as compact and sustainable bioreactors in remote environments.

additive manufacturing↗