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At least 1,081 records · Page 60
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2025

Rheology improvement for silicon nitride and resin slurries for vat photopolymerization printing and sintering

This work presents the formulation, rheological characterization, and sintering of silicon nitride (Si₃N₄) slurries for vat photopolymerization (VPP) using digital light processing (DLP). Bimodal Si₃N₄ powder was dispersed into commercial photopolymer resin using two different dispersants with opposing effects on surface charge, resulting in varied slurry stability and flow behavior. Slurries were engineered to exhibit shear-thinning behavior suitable for VPP, and their flow properties were quantified using a power-law fluid model. The formulations achieved cure depths of approximately 40 µm and enabled printing of green bodies. Post-processing included thermal debinding and liquid-phase sintering, yielding primarily β-Si₃N₄ with a minor Y-Si-Al-O-N glass phase. The sintered parts reached ~85% of theoretical density and demonstrated a flexural strength of ~330 MPa. Microstructural analysis revealed closed porosity along with some defects related to powder agglomeration and interlayer adhesion. These findings provide insights into slurry formulation strategies for additive manufacturing of high-performance non-oxide ceramics.

Aerospace engineering↗
DOE OSTI2017

Injections through skin colonized with Staphylococcus aureus biofilm introduce contamination despite standard antimicrobial preparation procedures

While surgical site preparation has been extensively studied, there is little information about resistance of skin microbiota in the biofilm form to antimicrobial decontamination, and there are no quantitative models to study how biofilm might be transferred into sterile tissue/implant materials during injections for joint spine and tendon, aspiration biopsies and dermal fillers (DF). In this work, we develop two in vitro models to simulate the process of skin preparation and DF injection using pig skin and SimSkin (silicone) materials, respectively. Using the pig skin model, we tested three of the most common skin preparation wipes (alcohol, chlorhexidine and povidone iodine) and found that during wiping they reduced the biofilm bacterial burden of S. aureus (CFU cm-2) by three logs with no statistically significant differences between wipes. Using the SimSkin model, we found that transfer of viable bacteria increased with needle diameter for 30G, 25G and 18G needles. Transfer incidence decreased as injection depth was increased from 1 mm to 3 mm. Serial puncture and linear threading injection styles had similar transfer incidence, whereas fanning significantly increased transfer incidence. The results show that contamination of DF during injection is a risk that can be reduced by modifying skin prep and injection practices.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2012

Nano-electron beam induced current and hole charge dynamics through uncapped Ge nanocrystals

Dynamics of hole storage in spherical Ge nanocrystals (NCs) formed by a two step dewetting/nucleation process on an oxide layer grown on an n-doped <001> silicon substrate is studied using a nano-electron beam induced current technique. Carrier generation is produced by an electron beam irradiation. The generated current is collected by an atomic force microscope--tip in contact mode at a fixed position away from the beam spot of about 0.5 {mu}m. This distance represents the effective diffusion length of holes. The time constants of holes charging are determined and the effect of the NC size is underlined.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2014

Uniform bipolar resistive switching properties with self-compliance effect of Pt/TiO{sub 2}/p-Si devices

We report uniform bipolar resistive switching characteristic with self-compliance effect of Pt/TiO{sub 2}/p-Si devices in which TiO{sub 2} thin films were prepared directly on p-Si substrates by chemical solution deposition method. The resistive switching parameters of the Pt/TiO{sub 2}/p-Si cell obtained, such as distribution of threshold voltages, retention time, as well as resistance variation of high resistance state (HRS) and low resistance state (LRS), were investigated, and the conduction mechanisms of HRS and LRS were analyzed. The conductive mechanism at LRS and low voltage region of HRS was dominated by Ohmic law. At the high voltage region of HRS, the conductive mechanism followed the space charge limited current theory. The resistive switching phenomenon can be explained by electron trapping and de-trapping process, in which the defects (most probably oxygen vacancies) act as electron traps. Our study suggests that using p-type silicon as bottom electrode can provide a simple method for fabricating a resistive random access memory with self-compliance function. In addition, the Pt/TiO{sub 2}/p-Si configuration is compatible with complementary metal oxide semiconductor process.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2014

Engineering of silicon/HfO{sub 2} interface by variable energy proton irradiation

Surfaces and interfaces between materials are of paramount importance for various phenomena, such as painting a house, catalyst driven chemical reactions, intricate life processes, corrosion of materials, and fabrication of various semiconductor devices. Interface of silicon or other such substrates with any of the oxides has profound effect on the performance of metal oxide field effect transistors and other similar devices. Since a surface is an abrupt termination of a periodic crystal, surface atoms will have some unsaturated valence electrons and these unsaturated bonds at the semiconductor surface make it chemically highly reactive. Other than annealing, there is not much that can be done to manage these unsaturated bonds. This study was initiated to explore the possibility of repairing these unsaturated dangling bonds that are formed at the silicon and oxide interface during the deposition of oxide layer above silicon, by the use of proton irradiation. In order to improve the interface characteristics, we present a method to modify the interface of silicon and hafnium dioxide after its fabrication, through proton irradiation. Results of the study are promising and probably this method might be used along with other methods such as annealing to modify the interface, after its fabrication.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2015

Point-contacting by localised dielectric breakdown: Characterisation of a metallisation technique for the rear surface of a solar cell

Characterisation results are presented for ohmic contacts to passivated crystalline silicon, formed using the point-contacting by localised dielectric breakdown technique. Self aligned contact is made between the metal and heavily doped surface regions through an intrinsic a-Si:H passivation layer. Local doping is provided by a laser using a standard technique identical to that for selective emitter formation. Our results for gate metals of Au, Al, and Ti show that the technique does not rely on reactivity between the dielectric and the metal, excluding metal induced crystallisation from the contacting process. Diffusion of the gate metal into the dielectric is observed in transmission electron microscope images suggesting high temperatures are present locally during the breakdown process. The technique is equally applicable to contacting of n and p-type silicon, making it a potential alternative for ohmic contacting to silicon to passivated rear surfaces.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2016

On-chip photonic system using suspended p-n junction InGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells device and multiple waveguides

We propose, fabricate, and characterize the on-chip integration of suspended p-n junction InGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells (MQWs) device and multiple waveguides on the same GaN-on-silicon platform. The integrated devices are fabricated via a wafer-level process and exhibit selectable functionalities for diverse applications. As the suspended p-n junction InGaN/GaN MQWs device operates under a light emitting diode (LED) mode, part of the light emission is confined and guided by the suspended waveguides. The in-plane propagation along the suspended waveguides is measured by a micro-transmittance setup. The on-chip data transmission is demonstrated for the proof-of-concept photonic integration. As the suspended p-n junction InGaN/GaN MQWs device operates under photodiode mode, the light is illuminated on the suspended waveguides with the aid of the micro-transmittance setup and, thus, coupled into the suspended waveguides. The guided light is finally sensed by the photodiode, and the induced photocurrent trace shows a distinct on/off switching performance. These experimental results indicate that the on-chip photonic integration is promising for the development of sophisticated integrated photonic circuits in the visible wavelength region.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2016

Sol-gel silica-based nanocomposites containing a high PEG amount: Chemical characterization and study of biological properties

The objective of the present study was to synthesize and to characterize Silica/polyethylene glycol (SiO{sub 2}/PEG) organic-inorganic hybrid materials containing a high polymer amount (60 and 70 wt%) for biomedical applications. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed that the samples are homogeneous on the nanometer scale, confirming that they are nanocomposites. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) proved that the materials are class I hybrids because the two phases (SiO{sub 2} and PEG) interact by hydrogen bonds. To evaluate the possibility of using them in the biomedical field, the bioactivity and biocompatibility of the synthesized hybrids have been ascertained. The formation of a hydroxyapatite layer was observed on the hybrid surface by SEM/EDX and FTIR after soaking in simulated body fluid (SBF). Moreover, their biocompatibility was assessed by performing WST-8 cytotoxicity assay in vitro.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2017

Effect of wheel speed on magnetic and mechanical properties of melt spun Fe-6.5 wt.% Si high silicon steel

Here, Fe-Si electric steel is the most widely used soft magnetic material in electric machines and transformers. Increasing the silicon content from 3.2 wt.% to 6.5 wt.% brings about large improvement in the magnetic and electrical properties. However, 6.5 wt.% silicon steel is inherited with brittleness owing to the formation of B2 and D0 3 ordered phase. To obtain ductility in Fe-6.5wt.% silicon steel, the ordered phase has to be bypassed with methods like rapid cooling. In present paper, the effect of cooling rate on magnetic and mechanical properties of Fe-6.5wt.% silicon steel is studied by tuning the wheel speed during melt spinning process. The cooling rate significantly alters the ordering and microstructure, and thus the mechanical and magnetic properties. X-ray diffraction data shows that D0 3 ordering was fully suppressed at high wheel speeds but starts to nucleate at 10m/s and below, which correlates with the increase of Young’s modulus towards low wheel speeds as tested by nanoindentation. The grain sizes of the ribbons on the wheel side decrease with increasing wheel speeds, ranging from ~100 μm at 1m/s to ~8 μm at 30m/s, which lead to changes in coercivity.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2011

Nondegenerate phase-conjugate wave via stored atomic coherence based on electromagnetically induced transparency in solids

A nondegenerate phase-conjugate wave was generated via stored atomic coherence in a Pr{sup 3+}:Y{sub 2}SiO{sub 5} crystal based on the electromagnetically induced transparency effect, and its capability for wave-front reconstruction of phase distortion was demonstrated experimentally. The phase-matching condition during the storage-retrieval process of the phase-conjugate wave was characterized both experimentally and theoretically in detail. Theoretical simulations fit the experimental data very well. Such a scheme of storage and retrieval of the phase-conjugate wave may have potential applications in optical signal processing and information security.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2011

RHEOLOGY OF SETTLED SOLIDS IN THE SMALL COLUMN ION EXCHANGE PROCESS

The Small Column Ion Exchange (SCIX) process is being developed to remove cesium, strontium, and actinides from Savannah River Site (SRS) Liquid Waste using an existing waste tank (i.e., Tank 41H) to house the process. This process adds monosodium titanate (MST) to a waste tank containing salt solution (and entrained sludge solids). While the process is operating, the solid particles will begin to settle at temperatures up to 45 C. Previous testing has shown that sludge-MST slurries that sit for extended periods (i.e., 1-61 days) at elevated temperatures (i.e., 23-80 C) can develop large shear strengths which could make them difficult to resuspend and remove from the tank. The authors are conducting rheological testing of mixtures containing various concentrations of sludge, MST, and crystalline silicotitanate (CST, ground and unground) that have been aged at different times (i.e., 0 to 13 weeks) and isothermally heated to 30, 45, or 60 C. Additional tests are being conducted that will allow the solid particles to settle at 45 C for 6, 12, and 24 months. The objectives of this task are to determine the impact of settling time and temperature on the shear strength, yield stress, and consistency of the slurries and to determine the impact of radiation on slurry rheology. The testing will determine the relative impact of these parameters rather than predict the shear strength, yield stress, and consistency as a function of feed and operating conditions. This document describes the rheology of slurries containing MST and simulated sludge that sat at elevated temperatures (i.e., up to 60 C) for up to 13 weeks. Rheology of CST-containing slurries, as well as results of the long term settling (6, 12, and 24 months) and irradiation tests (10 and 100 MRad), will be reported later. The conclusions from this analysis follow: (1) MST only slurries that sat at elevated temperatures had larger shear strength, yield stress, and consistency than MST plus sludge slurries that settled at elevated temperatures. (2) The addition of sludge to an MST slurry reduces the shear strength, yield stress, and consistency. (3) The impact of settling time and temperature on slurry rheology is inconclusive at this time. The authors are collecting additional data to attempt to determine the impact of settling time and temperature on slurry shear strength, yield stress, and consistency.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2016

Thin film studies toward improving the performance of accelerator electron sources

Future electron accelerators require DC high voltage photoguns to operate beyond the present state of the art to conduct new experiments that require ultra-bright electron beams with high average current and higher bunch charge. To meet these demands, the accelerators must demonstrate improvements in a number of photogun areas including vacuum, field emission elimination in high voltage electrodes, and photocathodes. This dissertation illustrates how these improvements can be achieved by the application of suitable thin-films to the photogun structure for producing ultra-bright electron beams. This work is composed of three complementary studies. First, the outgassing rates of three nominally identical 304L stainless steel vacuum chambers were studied to determine the effects of chamber coatings (silicon and titanium nitride) and heat treatments. For an uncoated stainless steel chamber, the diffusion limited outgassing was taken over by the recombination limited process as soon as a low outgassing rate of ~1.79(±0.05) x 10- 13 Torr L s -1 cm -2 was achieved. An amorphous silicon coating on the stainless steel chambers exhibited recombination limited behavior and any heat treatment became ineffective in reducing the outgassing rate. A TiN coated chamber yielded the smallest apparent outgassing rate of all the chambers: 6.44(±0.05) x 10 -13 Torr L s -1 cm -2 following an initial 90 °C bake and 2(±20) x 10 -16 Torr L s -1 cm -2 following the final bake in the series. This perceived low outgassing rate was attributed to the small pumping nature of TiN coating itself. Second, the high voltage performance of three TiN-coated aluminum electrodes, before and after gas conditioning with helium, were compared to that of bare aluminum electrodes and electrodes manufactured from titanium alloy (Ti-6Al-4V). This study suggests that aluminum electrodes, coated with TiN, could simplify the task of implementing photocathode cooling, which is required for future high current electron beam applications. The best performing TiN-coated aluminum electrode demonstrated less than 15 pA of field emission current at -- 175 kV for a 10 mm cathode/anode gap, which corresponds to a field strength of 22.5 MV/m. Third, the effect of antimony thickness on the performance of bialkali-antimonide photocathodes was studied. The high-capacity effusion source enabled us to successfully manufacture photocathodes having a maximum QE around 10% and extended low voltage 1/e lifetime (> 90 days) at 532 nm via the co-deposition method, with relatively thick layers of antimony (≥ 300 nm). We speculate that alkali co-deposition provides optimized stoichiometry for photocathodes manufactured using thick Sb layers, which could serve as a reservoir for the alkali. In summary, this research examined the effectiveness of thin films applied on photogun chamber components to achieve an extremely high vacuum, to eliminate high voltage induced field emission from electrodes, and to generate photocurrent with high quantum yield with an extended operational lifetime. Simultaneous implementation of these findings can meet the challenges of future ultra-bright photoguns.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2018

Postirradiation Examination of the ATF-1 Experiments - 2018 Status

The Advanced Fuels Campaign in collaboration with industry are working to develop enhanced accident tolerant fuels for light water reactors. The initial irradiations of these concepts were performed in the Idaho National Laboratory Advanced Test Reactor using simple drop-in style irradiations. These irradiations are collectively referred to as ATF 1. The postirradiation examination of ATF 1 has begun and some concepts have now completed initial examination. This report describes the results of examinations on ATF 1 irradiations designed to test the feasibility of enhancing UO 2 thermal conductivity with additives, ATF 1 irradiations of uranium silicide, and the current status of ATF 1 irradiations that are in process at the hot cell. Enhanced thermal conductivity uranium dioxide composites containing silicon carbide (UO 2 SiC) and diamond (UO 2 diamond) have been irradiated to low burnup. The conditions of this irradiation test and subsequent postirradiation examinations are discussed. These irradiations evaluate fuel microstructure and potential fuel cladding interaction under representative light water reactor power conditions. Both non destructive and destructive techniques have been used to evaluate fuel integrity, fission gas release, fission product distribution, burnup, fuel swelling and cladding strain. Examination of the UO 2 SiC pellets revealed enhanced cracking when compared to a UO 2 rodlet also irradiated under similar conditions. Additionally, instability of the SiC whiskers in the uranium dioxide matrix was observed in the pellet central region, where the local temperatures exceeded 1300 °C. The microstructure of the diamond added UO 2 was severely disrupted during irradiation, resulting in local migration of cesium along the fuel stack and increased fission gas release when compared with the expected release from the Vitanza curve at corresponding values of burnup and irradiation temperature. The postirradiation examination results cast doubt on the suitability of these additives to improve UO 2 fuel performance in a way that would lead to enhanced accident tolerance. Additionally, postirradiation examination data of U 3 Si 2 fuels at low burnup (i.e., < 20 GWd/tHM) for application in advanced Light Water Reactor (LWR) is presented. The U 3 Si 2 pellets show limited cracking in comparison to the expected behavior of UO 2 at same power level. In addition, gamma scanning data did not reveal migration of fission products. Minor homogeneous hardening along the pellet radius due to accumulation of fission products and radiation damage was measured by microindentation. The fission gas release and swelling remains very low. Formation of fission gas bubbles resolvable with optical microscopy occurs from the pellets center outward to approximately 60% of the fuel pellet radius. The overall data suggest a good performance of this accident tolerant fuel candidate at low burnup. Finally, the current status of postirradiation examination on other ATF 1 irradiations will be discussed. These irradiations include UO 2 clad in an FeCrAl alloy, an alternative uranium silicide compound U 3 Si 5 also clad in a FeCrAl alloy, and an interaction test between UO 2 and different FeCrAl alloys.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2017

Silicone elastomers capable of large isotropic dimensional change

Described herein is a highly effective route towards the controlled and isotropic reduction in size-scale, of complex 3D structures using silicone network polymer chemistry. In particular, a class of silicone structures were developed that once patterned and cured can `shrink` micron scale additive manufactured and lithographically patterned structures by as much as 1 order of magnitude while preserving the dimensions and integrity of these parts. This class of silicone materials is compatible with existing additive manufacture and soft lithographic fabrication processes and will allow access to a hitherto unobtainable dimensionality of fabrication.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2018

Silicone elastomers capable of large isotropic dimensional change

Described herein is a highly effective route towards the controlled and isotropic reduction in size-scale, of complex 3D structures using silicone network polymer chemistry. In particular, a class of silicone structures were developed that once patterned and cured can `shrink` micron scale additive manufactured and lithographically patterned structures by as much as 1 order of magnitude while preserving the dimensions and integrity of these parts. This class of silicone materials is compatible with existing additive manufacture and soft lithographic fabrication processes and will allow access to a hitherto unobtainable dimensionality of fabrication.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2021

Electroabsorption optical modulator

An electroabsorption modulator that operates based on electroabsorption of a surface plasmon polariton mode is improved by various structural changes and/or selection of different materials. For example, at least a portion of the waveguide may be made to be conductive, e.g., by doping. Also, layers that make up the modulator structure may be placed along sides of waveguides in addition to or instead of simply on the top thereof. High permittivity gate dielectric materials may be employed. Also, materials other than ITO may be employed as a transparent conductor. Such an improved plasmonic electroabsorption modulator can be fabricated using standard semiconductor processing techniques and may be integrated with standard photonic integrated circuits, including silicon photonics and compound semiconductor-based platforms. Advantageously, high-speed, low-voltage operation over a wide spectrum of wavelengths may be achieved.

Wood, Michael↗
DOE OSTI2015

Temperature dependence of Brillouin light scattering spectra of acoustic phonons in silicon

Electrons, optical phonons, and acoustic phonons are often driven out of local equilibrium in electronic devices or during laser-material interaction processes. The need for a better understanding of such non-equilibrium transport processes has motivated the development of Raman spectroscopy as a local temperature sensor of optical phonons and intermediate frequency acoustic phonons, whereas Brillouin light scattering (BLS) has recently been explored as a temperature sensor of low-frequency acoustic phonons. Here, we report the measured BLS spectra of silicon at different temperatures. The origins of the observed temperature dependence of the BLS peak position, linewidth, and intensity are examined in order to evaluate their potential use as temperature sensors for acoustic phonons.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2015

Simultaneous Thermoelectric Property Measurement and Incoherent Phonon Transport in Holey Silicon

Block copolymer patterned holey silicon (HS) was successfully integrated into a microdevice for simultaneous measurements of Seebeck coefficient, electrical conductivity, and thermal conductivity of the same HS microribbon. These fully integrated HS microdevices provided excellent platforms for the systematic investigation of thermoelectric transport properties tailored by the dimensions of the periodic hole array, that is, neck and pitch size, and the doping concentrations. Specifically, thermoelectric transport properties of HS with a neck size in the range of 16-34 nm and a fixed pitch size of 60 nm were characterized, and a clear neck size dependency was shown in the doping range of 3.1 × 10 18 to 6.5 × 10 19 cm -3 . At 300 K, thermal conductivity as low as 1.8 ± 0.2 W/mK was found in HS with a neck size of 16 nm, while optimized zT values were shown in HS with a neck size of 24 nm. Finally, the controllable effects of holey array dimensions and doping concentrations on HS thermoelectric performance could aid in improving the understanding of the phonon scattering process in a holey structure and also in facilitating the development of silicon-based thermoelectric devices.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗