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At least 1,153 records · Page 64
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2014

Space Launch System Ascent Flight Control Design

A robust and flexible autopilot architecture for NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) family of launch vehicles is presented. The SLS configurations represent a potentially significant increase in complexity and performance capability when compared with other manned launch vehicles. It was recognized early in the program that a new, generalized autopilot design should be formulated to fulfill the needs of this new space launch architecture. The present design concept is intended to leverage existing NASA and industry launch vehicle design experience and maintain the extensibility and modularity necessary to accommodate multiple vehicle configurations while relying on proven and flight-tested control design principles for large boost vehicles. The SLS flight control architecture combines a digital three-axis autopilot with traditional bending filters to support robust active or passive stabilization of the vehicle's bending and sloshing dynamics using optimally blended measurements from multiple rate gyros on the vehicle structure. The algorithm also relies on a pseudo-optimal control allocation scheme to maximize the performance capability of multiple vectored engines while accommodating throttling and engine failure contingencies in real time with negligible impact to stability characteristics. The architecture supports active in-flight disturbance compensation through the use of nonlinear observers driven by acceleration measurements. Envelope expansion and robustness enhancement is obtained through the use of a multiplicative forward gain modulation law based upon a simple model reference adaptive control scheme.

Orr, Jeb S.↗
NASA NTRS2018

State of the Art: Small Spacecraft Technology

This report provides an overview of the current state-of-the-art of small spacecraft technology, with particular emphasis placed on the state-of-the-art of CubeSat-related technology. It was first commissioned by NASA’s Small Spacecraft Technology Program (SSTP) in mid-2013 in response to the rapid growth in interest in using small spacecraft for many types of missions in Earth orbit and beyond, and was revised in mid-2015 and 2018. This work was funded by the Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD). For the sake of this assessment, small spacecraft are defined to be spacecraft with a mass less than 180 kg. This report provides a summary of the state-of-the-art for each of the following small spacecraft technology domains: Complete Spacecraft, Power, Propulsion, Guidance Navigation and Control, Structures, Materials and Mechanisms, Thermal Control, Command and Data Handling, Communications, Integration, Launch and Deployment, Ground Data Systems and Operations, and Passive Deorbit Devices.

Weston, Sasha↗
DOE OSTI2012

Current Status of the Advanced High Temperature Reactor

The Advanced High Temperature Reactor (AHTR) is a design concept for a central station type [1500 MW(e)] Fluoride salt-cooled High-temperature Reactor (FHR) that is currently under development by Oak Ridge National Laboratory for the U. S. Department of Energy, Office of Nuclear Energy's Advanced Reactor Concepts program. FHRs, by definition, feature low-pressure liquid fluoride salt cooling, coated-particle fuel, a high-temperature power cycle, and fully passive decay heat rejection. The overall goal of the AHTR development program is to demonstrate the technical feasibility of FHRs as low-cost, large-size power producers while maintaining full passive safety. The AHTR design option exploration is a multidisciplinary design effort that combines core neutronic and fuel configuration evaluation with structural, thermal, and hydraulic analysis to produce a reactor and vessel concept and place it within a power generation station. The AHTR design remains at the notional level of maturity, as key technologies require further development and a logically complete integrated design has not been finalized. The present design space exploration, however, indicates that reasonable options exist for the AHTR core, primary heat transport path, and fuel cycle provided that materials and systems technologies develop as anticipated.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Enabling Earth-Abundant Pyrite (FeS2) Semiconductor Nanostructures for High Performance Photovoltaic Devices

This project seeks to develop nanostructures of iron pyrite, an earth-abundant semiconductor, to enable their applications in high-performance photovoltaic (PV) devices. Growth of high purity iron pyrite nanostructures (nanowires, nanorods, and nanoplates), as well as iron pyrite thin films and single crystals, has been developed and their structures characterized. These structures have been fundamentally investigated to understand the origin of the low solar energy conversion efficiency of iron pyrite and various passivation strategies and doping approaches have been explored in order to improve it. By taking advantage of the high surface-to-bulk ratio in nanostructures and effective electrolyte gating, we fully characterized both the surface inversion and bulk electrical transport properties for the first time through electrolyte-gated Hall measurements of pyrite nanoplate devices and show that pyrite is n-type in the bulk and p-type near the surface due to strong inversion, which has important consequences to using nanocrystalline pyrite for efficient solar energy conversion. Furthermore, through a comprehensive investigation on n-type iron pyrite single crystals, we found the ionization of high-density bulk deep donor states, likely resulting from bulk sulfur vacancies, creates a non-constant charge distribution and a very narrow surface space charge region that limits the total barrier height, thus satisfactorily explains the limited photovoltage and poor photoconversion efficiency of iron pyrite single crystals. These findings suggest new ideas on how to improve single crystal pyrite and nanocrystalline or polycrystalline pyrite films to enable them for high performance solar applications.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2012

Current status of the advanced high temperature reactor

The Advanced High Temperature Reactor (AHTR) is a design concept for a central station type [1500 MW(e)] Fluoride salt-cooled High-temperature Reactor (FHR) that is currently under development by Oak Ridge National Laboratory for the U. S. Dept. of Energy, Office of Nuclear Energy's Advanced Reactor Concepts program. FHRs, by definition, feature low-pressure liquid fluoride salt cooling, coated-particle fuel, a high-temperature power cycle, and fully passive decay heat rejection. The overall goal of the AHTR development program is to demonstrate the technical feasibility of FHRs as low-cost, large-size power producers while maintaining full passive safety. The AHTR design option exploration is a multidisciplinary design effort that combines core neutronic and fuel configuration evaluation with structural, thermal, and hydraulic analysis to produce a reactor and vessel concept and place it within a power generation station. The AHTR design remains at the notional level of maturity, as key technologies require further development and a logically complete integrated design has not been finalized. The present design space exploration, however, indicates that reasonable options exist for the AHTR core, primary heat transport path, and fuel cycle provided that materials and systems technologies develop as anticipated. (authors)

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗
NASA NTRS1998

Summary of Research Report

Ten papers, published in various publications, on buckling, and the effects of imperfections on various structures are presented. These papers are: (1) Buckling mode localization in elastic plates due to misplacement in the stiffner location; (2) On vibrational imperfection sensitivity on Augusti's model structure in the vicinity of a non-linear static state; (3) Imperfection sensitivity due to elastic moduli in the Roorda Koiter frame; (4) Buckling mode localization in a multi-span periodic structure with a disorder in a single span; (5) Prediction of natural frequency and buckling load variability due to uncertainty in material properties by convex modeling; (6) Derivation of multi-dimensional ellipsoidal convex model for experimental data; (7) Passive control of buckling deformation via Anderson localization phenomenon; (8)Effect of the thickness and initial im perfection on buckling on composite cylindrical shells: asymptotic analysis and numerical results by BOSOR4 and PANDA2; (9) Worst case estimation of homology design by convex analysis; (10) Buckling of structures with uncertain imperfections - Personal perspective.

Elishakoff, Isaac↗
DOE OSTI2019

Passivation, conductivity, and selectivity in solar cell contacts: Concepts and simulations based on a unified partial-resistances framework

Passivation, conductivity, and selectivity are often acknowledged as the three requirements for optimal contacts to photovoltaic solar cells. Although there are generally accepted definitions and metrics for passivation and conductivity, a common understanding of the concept of selectivity is emerging only now. In this contribution, we present a generalized model of solar cell contacts based on the distinct lumped resistances encountered by electrons and holes traversing a contact, which we refer to as partial specific contact resistances. The relations between electron and hole partial current densities, quasi-Fermi level separation, and external voltage are derived from these partial specific contact resistances, leading to simple metrics for the aforementioned contact properties: the sum of the electron and hole resistances is a metric for passivation, their ratio is a metric for selectivity, and the majority-carrier resistance is a metric for conductivity. Using PC1D, we validate our model by simulating 10 500 cases of homojunction contacts to crystalline silicon solar cells, although our framework is material agnostic and can be equally applied to any other type of absorber. In these simulations, the hole contact and absorber are assumed to be ideal, whereas we vary the partial specific contact resistances in the electron contact by orders of magnitude by adjusting the electron and hole mobilities, their densities (through variations of the donor doping density), and the contact thickness. The simulations confirm the finding of the model that, when the contact fraction cannot be adjusted—as is the case with full-area contacts—combined passivation and conductivity are necessary and sufficient for optimal solar cell performance, and they imply selectivity. However, the reciprocal is not true: contacts can be selective but lack conductivity—causing a deleterious drop in fill factor—or can be selective but provide poor passivation—leading to a reduction in implied open-circuit voltage and, hence, actual open-circuit voltage. Furthermore, selectivity is a meaningful metric in the sole case of partial-area contacts, where the contact fraction can be adjusted arbitrarily.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2013

GALAXY EVOLUTION IN OVERDENSE ENVIRONMENTS AT HIGH REDSHIFT: PASSIVE EARLY-TYPE GALAXIES IN A CLUSTER AT z {approx} 2

We present a study of galaxy populations in the central region of the IRAC-selected, X-ray-detected galaxy cluster Cl J1449+0856 at z = 2. Based on a sample of spectroscopic and photometric cluster members, we investigate stellar populations and the morphological structure of cluster galaxies over an area of {approx}0.7 Mpc{sup 2} around the cluster core. The cluster stands out as a clear overdensity both in redshift space and in the spatial distribution of galaxies close to the center of the extended X-ray emission. The cluster core region (r < 200 kpc) shows a clearly enhanced passive fraction with respect to field levels. However, together with a population of massive, passive galaxies mostly with early-type morphologies, the cluster core also hosts massive, actively star-forming, often highly dust reddened sources. Close to the cluster center, a multi-component system of passive and star-forming galaxies could represent the future brightest cluster galaxy still forming. We observe a clear correlation between passive stellar populations and an early-type morphology, in agreement with field studies at similar redshift. Passive early-type galaxies in this cluster are typically a factor of 2-3 smaller than similarly massive early types at z {approx} 0. On the other hand, these same objects are on average larger by a factor of {approx}2 than field early-types at similar redshift, lending support to recent claims of an accelerated structural evolution in high-redshift dense environments. These results point toward the early formation of a population of massive galaxies, already evolved both in their structure and stellar populations, coexisting with still actively forming massive galaxies in the central regions of young clusters 10 billion years ago.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2012

Condensation in horizontal heat exchanger tubes

Many innovative reactor concepts for Generation III nuclear power plants use passive safety equipment for residual heat removal. These systems use two phase natural circulation. Heat transfer to the coolant results in a density difference providing the driving head for the required mass flow. By balancing the pressure drop the system finds its operational mode. Therefore the systems depend on a strong link between heat transfer and pressure drop determining the mass flow through the system. In order to be able to analyze these kind of systems with the help of state of the art computer codes the implemented numerical models for heat transfer, pressure drop or two phase flow structure must be able to predict the system performance in a wide parameter range. Goal of the program is to optimize the numerical models and therefore the performance of computer codes analyzing passive systems. Within the project the heat transfer capacity of a heat exchanger tube will be investigated. Therefore the tube will be equipped with detectors, both temperature and pressure, in several directions perpendicular to the tube axis to be able to resolve the angular heat transfer. In parallel the flow structure of a two phase flow inside and along the tube will be detected with the help of x-ray tomography. The water cooling outside of the tube will be realized by forced convection. It will be possible to combine the flow structure measurement with an angular resolved heat transfer for a wide parameter range. The test rig is set up at the TOPLFOW facility at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR), so that it will be possible to vary the pressure between 5 and 70 bar. The steam mass content will be varied between 0 and 100 percent. The results will be compared to the large scaled Emergency Condenser Tests performed at the INKA test facility in Karlstein (Germany). The paper will explain the test setup and the status of the project will be presented. (authors)

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Tunable gaps and enhanced mobilities in strain-engineered silicane

The recent demonstration of single-atom thick, sp{sup 3}-hybridized group 14 analogues of graphene enables the creation of materials with electronic structures that are manipulated by the nature of the covalently bound substituents above and below the sheet. These analogues can be electronically derived from isolated (111) layers of the bulk diamond lattice. Here, we perform systematic Density Functional Theory calculations to understand how the band dispersions, effective masses, and band gaps change as the bulk silicon (111) layers are continuously separated from each other until they are electronically isolated, and then passivated with hydrogen. High-level calculations based on HSE06 hybrid functionals were performed on each endpoint to compare directly with experimental values. We find that the change in the electronic structure due to variations in the Si-H bond length, Si-Si-Si bond angle, and most significantly the Si-Si bond length can tune the nature of the band gap from indirect to direct with dramatic effects on the transport properties. First-principles calculations of the phonon-limited electron mobility predict a value of 464 cm{sup 2}/Vs for relaxed indirect band gap Si-H monolayers at room temperature. However, for 1.6% tensile strain, the band gap becomes direct, which increases the mobility significantly (8 551 cm{sup 2}/Vs at 4% tensile strain). In total, this analysis of Si-based monolayers suggests that strain can change the nature of the band gap from indirect to direct and increase the electron mobility more than 18-fold.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2024

Tailoring Interfaces for Enhanced Methanol Production from Photoelectrochemical CO 2 Reduction

Efficient and stable photoelectrochemical reduction of CO 2 into highly reduced liquid fuels remains a formidable challenge, which requires an innovative semiconductor/catalyst interface to tackle. In this study, we introduce a strategy involving the fabrication of a silicon micropillar array structure coated with a superhydrophobic fluorinated carbon layer for the photoelectrochemical conversion of CO 2 into methanol. The pillars increase the electrode surface area, improve catalyst loading and adhesion without compromising light absorption, and help confine gaseous intermediates near the catalyst surface. The superhydrophobic coating passivates parasitic side reactions and further enhances local accumulation of reaction intermediates. Upon one-electron reduction of the molecular catalyst, the semiconductor–catalyst interface changes from adaptive to buried junctions, providing a sufficient thermodynamic driving force for CO 2 reduction. These structures together create a unique microenvironment for effective reduction of CO 2 to methanol, leading to a remarkable Faradaic efficiency reaching 20% together with a partial current density of 3.4 mA cm –2 , surpassing the previous record based on planar silicon photoelectrodes by a notable factor of 17. Furthermore, this work demonstrates a new pathway for enhancing photoelectrocatalytic CO 2 reduction through meticulous interface and microenvironment tailoring and sets a benchmark for both Faradaic efficiency and current density in solar liquid fuel production.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
NASA NTRS2001

Structure and Characteristics of Precipitation Systems Observed by TRMM

Multi-sensor measurements of total lightning (in-cloud plus cloud-to-ground) from the Lightning Imaging Sensor (LIS) aboard the TRMM satellite has been combined with passive microwave ice scattering and precipitation radar reflectivity profile information previously cataloged for precipitation features observed by TRMM. These precipitation features are defined by their surface rainfall or ice scattering signatures, with horizontal scales approx. 100 - 10000 sq km. Additionally, convective scale (approx. 100 sq km) storms are defined by the lightning data. Over the U.S. the national cloud-to-ground lightning observations are used to also determine the ratio of in-cloud to cloud-to-ground lightning, where it is hypothesized these ratios are related to the vertical profile of reflectivity and concentration of precipitation-sized ice. Combining the LIS, TRMM Microwave Imager (TMI), and Precipitation Radar (PR) for these storms allows investigation of the convective structures and convective regimes leading to observed lightning, scattering, and reflectivity signatures. Application of this approach to a global, multi-year data set (1998-2000) furthers our understanding of convective processes in different climatological regimes. The figure shows the distribution of high flash rate storms.

Goodman, Steve↗
DOE OSTI2015

Photochemical Outcomes of Adsorbed Oxygen: Desorption, Dissociation and Passivation by Coadsorbed Water

A mixed Fe+Cr oxide surface was used to explore the photochemical fate of adsorbed O2 under ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) conditions. This mixed oxide surface possessed a magnetite-like (111) structure based on low energy electron diffraction (LEED), with its chemical behavior resembling that of Fe3O4(111). Oxygen adsorption at 40 K resulted in two chemisorption states, a strongly bound form that desorbed in temperature programmed desorption (TPD) at 230 K and a weakly bound form that evolved at 100 K. The former was assigned to charge transfer adsorption at Fe2+ sites and the latter to electrostatic binding at Fe3+ sites. A minority state of O2 was also detected in TPD at ~160 K, and tentatively assigned to adsorption at Cr3+ sites. The 230 K O2 state was the focus of photochemical studies employing four wavelengths of light from the red to the UV. Irrespective of wavelength, O2 molecules in the 230 K state preferentially photodesorbed when irradiated, with comparable rates across the visible and an order of magnitude greater in the UV. Also, approximately 10% of adsorbed O2 irreversibly photodissociated, irrespective of wavelength, with the resulting fragments blocking access to cation sites for subsequent O2 adsorption. Preadsorbed water also blocked O2 adsorption, but post-adsorbed water stabilized O2 at Fe2+ sites in TPD to 285 K. However, water-stabilized O2 molecules were insensitive to photodesorption. O2 photodissociation and photo-passivation both represent potentially adverse outcomes in the release of O2 during the heterogeneous water photooxidation reaction. The author thanks Drs. Sara Chamberlin and Scott Chambers for supplying the film used in this work. This work was supported by the US Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Division of Chemical Sciences, Geosciences & Biosciences. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) is a multiprogram national laboratory operated for DOE by Battelle. The research reported here was performed using EMSL, a national scientific user facility sponsored by the Department of Energy's Office of Biological and Environmental Research and located at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.

mixed oxide, photodesorption, oxygen, temperature ↗
DOE OSTI2023

Engineering In Situ Catalytic Cleaning Membrane Via Prebiotic-Chemistry-Inspired Mineralization

Pressure-driven membrane separation promises a sustainable energy-water nexus but is hindered by ubiquitous fouling. Natural systems evolved from prebiotic chemistry offer a glimpse of creative solutions. Herein, a prebiotic-chemistry-inspired aminomalononitrile (AMN)/Mn 2+ -mediated mineralization method is reported for universally engineering a superhydrophilic hierarchical MnO 2 nanocoating to endow hydrophobic polymeric membranes with exceptional catalytic cleaning ability. Green hydrogen peroxide catalytically triggered in-situ cleaning of the mineralized membrane and enabled operando flux recovery to reach 99.8%. The mineralized membrane exhibited a 9-fold higher recovery compared to the unmineralized membrane, which is attributed to active catalytic antifouling coupled with passive hydration antifouling. Electron density differences derived from the precursor interaction during mediated mineralization unveiled an electron-rich bell-like structure with an inner electron-deficient Mn core. This work paves the way to construct multifunctional engineered materials for energy-efficient water treatment as well as for diverse promising applications in catalysis, solar steam generation, biomedicine, and beyond.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2018

Probing Surface Defects of InP Quantum Dots Using Phosphorus Kα and Kβ X-ray Emission Spectroscopy

Synthetic efforts to prepare indium phosphide (InP) quantum dots (QDs) have historically generated emissive materials with lower than unity quantum yields. This property has been attributed to structural and electronic defects associated with the InP core as well as the chemistry of the shell materials used to overcoat and passivate the InP surface. Consequently, the uniformity of the core–shell interface plays a critical role. Using X-ray emission spectroscopy (XES) performed with a recently developed benchtop spectrometer, we studied the evolution of oxidized phosphorus species arising across a series of common, but chemically distinct, synthetic methods for InP QD particle growth and subsequent ZnE (E = S or Se) shell deposition. XES afforded us the ability to measure the speciation of phosphorus reliably, quantitatively, and more efficiently (with respect to both the quantity of material required and the speed of the measurement) than with traditional techniques, i.e., X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and magic angle spinning solid state nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. In conclusion, our findings indicate that even with deliberate care to prevent phosphorus oxidation during InP core synthesis, typical shelling approaches unintentionally introduce oxidative defects at the core–shell interface, limiting the attainable photoluminescence quantum yields.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2024

Observing Chemical and Morphological Changes in a Cu@TiO x Core@Shell Catalyst: Impact of Reversible Metal-Oxide Interactions on CO 2 Activation and Hydrogenation

A combination of several in-situ techniques (XRD, XAS, AP-XPS, E-TEM) was used to explore links between the structural and chemical properties of a Cu@TiO x catalyst under CO 2 hydrogenation conditions. The active phase of the catalyst involved an inverse oxide/metal configuration, but the initial core@shell motif was disrupted during the pre-treatment in H 2 . As a consequence of strong metal-support interactions, the titania shell cracked and Cu particles migrated from the core to on top of the oxide with the simultaneous formation of a Cu-Ti-O x phase. The generated Cu particles had a diameter of 20-40 nm and were decorated by small clusters of TiO x (< 5 nm in size). Results of in-situ XAS and XRD and images of E-TEM showed a very dynamic system, where the inverse oxide/metal configuration promoted the reactivity of the system towards CO 2 and H 2 . At room temperature, CO 2 oxidized the Cu nanoparticles (CO 2,gas → CO gas + O oxide ) inducing a redistribution of the TiO x clusters and big modifications in catalyst surface morphology. The generated oxide overlayer disappeared at elevated temperatures (> 180 °C) upon exposure to H 2 , producing a transient surface that was very active for the reverse water-gas shift reaction (CO 2 + H 2 → CO + H 2 O) but was not stable at 250 °C. When oxidation and reduction occurred at the same time, under a mixture of CO 2 and H 2 , the surface structure evolved toward a dynamic equilibrium that strongly depended on the temperature. Neither CO 2 nor H 2 can be considered as passive reactants. In the Cu@TiO x system, morphological changes were linked to variations in the composition of metal-oxide interfaces which were reversible with temperature or chemical environment and affected the catalytic activity of the system. Finally, the present study illustrates the dynamic nature of phenomena associated with the trapping and conversion of CO 2 .

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2014

Organo-sulfur molecules enable iron-based battery electrodes to meet the challenges of large-scale electrical energy storage

Rechargeable iron-air and nickel-iron batteries are attractive as sustainable and inexpensive solutions for large-scale electrical energy storage because of the global abundance and eco-friendliness of iron, and the robustness of iron-based batteries to extended cycling. Despite these advantages, the commercial use of iron-based batteries has been limited by their low charging efficiency. This limitation arises from the iron electrodes evolving hydrogen extensively during charging. The total suppression of hydrogen evolution has been a significant challenge. We have found that organo-sulfur compounds with various structural motifs (linear and cyclic thiols, dithiols, thioethers and aromatic thiols) when added in milli-molar concentration to the aqueous alkaline electrolyte, reduce the hydrogen evolution rate by 90%. These organo-sulfur compounds form strongly adsorbed layers on the iron electrode and block the electrochemical process of hydrogen evolution. The charge-transfer resistance and double-layer capacitance of the iron/electrolyte interface confirm that the extent of suppression of hydrogen evolution depends on the degree of surface coverage and the molecular structure of the organo-sulfur compound. An unanticipated electrochemical effect of the adsorption of organo-sulfur molecules is "de-passivation" that allows the iron electrode to be discharged at high current values. The strongly adsorbed organo-sulfur compounds were also found to resist electro-oxidation even at the positive electrode potentials at which oxygen evolution can occur. Through testing on practical rechargeable battery electrodes we have verified the substantial improvements to the efficiency during charging and the increased capability to discharge at high rates. We expect these performance advances to enable the design of efficient, inexpensive and eco-friendly iron-based batteries for large-scale electrical energy storage.

Yang, B↗
DOE OSTI2014

The origin of white luminescence from silicon oxycarbide thin films

Silicon oxycarbide (SiC{sub x}O{sub y}) is a promising material for achieving strong room-temperature white luminescence. The present work investigated the mechanisms for light emission in the visible/ultraviolet range (1.5–4.0 eV) from chemical vapor deposited amorphous SiC{sub x}O{sub y} thin films, using a combination of optical characterizations and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) measurements. Photoluminescence (PL) and EPR studies of samples, with and without post-deposition passivation in an oxygen and forming gas (H{sub 2} 5 at. % and N{sub 2} 95 at. %) ambient, ruled out typical structural defects in oxides, e.g., Si-related neutral oxygen vacancies or non-bridging oxygen hole centers, as the dominant mechanism for white luminescence from SiC{sub x}O{sub y}. The observed intense white luminescence (red, green, and blue emission) is believed to arise from the generation of photo-carriers by optical absorption through C-Si-O related electronic transitions, and the recombination of such carriers between bands and/or at band tail states. This assertion is based on the realization that the PL intensity dramatically increased at an excitation energy coinciding with the E{sub 04} band gaps of the material, as well as by the observed correlation between the Si-O-C bond density and the PL intensity. An additional mechanism for the existence of a blue component of the white emission is also discussed.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗