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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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We demonstrate the growth of small-rotation-angle TaSe 2 moiré structures on a Au(111) substrate, providing important insights on the direct synthesis of small-angle twisted two-dimensional layers for future twistronics.
A kinetic formalism of lower hybrid wave instability, driven by mono-energy {alpha}-particles with finite pitch angle spread, is developed. The instability arises through cyclotron resonance interaction with high cyclotron harmonics of {alpha}-particles. The {alpha}-particles produced in D-T fusion reactions have huge Larmor radii ({approx}10 cm) as compared to the wavelength of the lower hybrid wave, whereas their speed is an order of magnitude smaller than the speed of light in vacuum. As a result, large parallel phase velocity lower hybrid waves, suitable for current drive in tokamak, are driven unstable via coupling to high cyclotron harmonics. The growth rate decreases with increase in pitch angle spread of the beam. At typical electron density of {approx}10{sup 19} m{sup -3}, magnetic field {approx}4 Tesla and {alpha}-particle concentration {approx}0.1%, the large parallel phase velocity lower hybrid wave grows on the time scale of 20 ion cyclotron periods. The growth rate decreases with plasma density.
Linear mode conversion (LMC) is the linear transfer of energy from one wave mode to another in an inhomogeneous plasma. It is relevant to laboratory plasmas and multiple solar system radio emissions, such as continuum radiation from planetary magnetospheres and type II and III radio bursts from the solar corona and solar wind. This paper simulates LMC of waves defined by warm, magnetized fluid theory, specifically the conversion of Langmuir/z-mode waves to electromagnetic (EM) radiation. The primary focus is the calculation of the energy and power conversion efficiencies for LMC as functions of the angle of incidence {theta} of the Langmuir/z-mode wave, temperature {beta}=T{sub e}/m{sub e}c{sup 2}, adiabatic index {gamma}, and orientation angle {phi} between the ambient density gradient {nabla}N{sub 0} and ambient magnetic field B{sub 0} in a warm, unmagnetized plasma. The ratio of these efficiencies is found to agree well as a function of {theta}, {gamma}, and {beta} with an analytical relation that depends on the group speeds of the Langmuir/z and EM wave modes. The results demonstrate that the energy conversion efficiency {epsilon} is strongly dependent on {gamma}{beta}, {phi} and {theta}, with {epsilon}{proportional_to}({gamma}{beta}){sup 1/2} and {theta}{proportional_to}({gamma}{beta}){sup 1/2}. The power conversion efficiency {epsilon}{sub p}, on the other hand, is independent of {gamma}{beta} but does vary significantly with {theta} and {phi}. The efficiencies are shown to be maximum for approximately perpendicular density gradients ({phi} Almost-Equal-To 90 Degree-Sign ) and minimal for parallel orientation ({phi}=0 Degree-Sign ) and both the energy and power conversion efficiencies peak at the same {theta}.
A method for controlling the pretilt angles of liquid crystals (LC) was developed. Hexamethyldisiloxane polymer films were first deposited on indium tin oxide coated glass plates using a linear atmospheric pressure plasma source. The films were subsequently treated with the rubbing method for LC alignment. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements were used to characterize the film composition, which could be varied to control the surface energy by adjusting the monomer feed rate and input power. The results of LC alignment experiments showed that the pretilt angle continuously increased from 0 Degree-Sign to 90 Degree-Sign with decreasing film surface energy.
Beam splitting target reflector based compensation for the angular drift of laser beam in laser autocollimation is proposed in this article to improve the measurement accuracy and stability of small angle deviations. A beam splitting target reflector is used to replace the plane mirror in laser autocollimation to generate a reference beam when returning the measurement beam. The reference beam and measurement beam have the same angular drift, but have different sensitivities to the rotation angle of the reflector due to the unique characteristics of the reflector. Thus, the angular drift of laser beam in laser autocollimation can be compensated in real time by using the drift of reference beam. Experimental results indicate that an output stability of 0.085 arc sec in 2 h can be achieved after compensation. And a measurement accuracy of {+-}0.032 arc sec can be obtained over the range of {+-}1190 arc sec with an effective resolution of 0.006 arc sec. It is confirmed that the compensation method for the angular drift of laser beam is necessary for improving the measurement accuracy and stability in laser autocollimation.
A new wide-angle endoscope for visible light observation on the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) has been recently developed. The head section of the optical system is based on a mirror reflection design that is similar to the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor-like wide-angle observation diagnostic on the Joint European Torus. However, the optical system design has been simplified and improved. As a result, the global transmittance of the system is as high as 79.6% in the wavelength range from 380 to 780 nm, and the spatial resolution is <5 mm for the full depth of field (4000 mm). The optical system also has a large relative aperture (1:2.4) and can be applied in high-speed camera diagnostics. As an important diagnostic tool, the optical system has been installed on the HT-7 (Hefei Tokamak-7) for its final experimental campaign, and the experiments confirmed that it can be applied to the investigation of transient processes in plasma, such as ELMy eruptions in H-mode, on EAST.
In inertial confinement fusion, the implosion process is important in forming a high-density plasma core. In the case of a fast ignition scheme using a cone-guided target, the fuel target is imploded with a cone inserted. This scheme is advantageous for efficiently heating the imploded fuel core; however, asymmetric implosion is essentially inevitable. Moreover, the effect of cone position and opening angle on implosion also becomes critical. Focusing on these problems, the effect of the asymmetric implosion, the initial position, and the opening angle on the compression rate of the fuel is investigated using a three-dimensional pure hydrodynamic code.
The P2 experiment at the future accelerator facility MESA in Mainz aims for a precise determination of the weak charge of the proton at low momentum transfer. The experimental method is a measurement of the parity violating asymmetry in elastic electron-proton scattering at forward angle. This asymmetry is dominated by the weak charge, but also the proton structure plays a role. Here we consider a back angle measurement, which is more sensitive to the proton structure, and present its possible implications on the main P2 measurement.
The resolution of neutron backscattering spectrometers deteriorates at small scattering angles where analyzers deviate from exact backscattering. By reducing the azimuth angle range of the analyzers, the resolution can be improved with little loss of peak intensity. Measurements at the spectrometer SPHERES are in excellent agreement with simulations, which proves the dominance of geometric effects.
We report here measured angle- and polarization-dependent reflection properties in two-dimensional photonic crystal broadband membrane reflectors. Polarization independent reflection was obtained at surface normal direction. High reflection can also be obtained for one transverse electric (TE) polarization state over a wide range of incident angles. With the target of 1550 nm spectral band, the measured spectral bandwidths for TE polarization with reflectivity greater than 90% are 180 nm and 56 nm at surface normal and oblique incidence of 45°, respectively. The experimental spectrum approximates the theoretical spectral response of this membrane reflector.
The single twin boundary with crystallographic orientation relationship (1{sup ¯}1{sup ¯}1{sup ¯})//(111) [01{sup ¯}1]//[011{sup ¯}] was created by wafer bonding. Electron diffraction patterns and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy images demonstrated the well control of the rotation angle between the bonded pair. At the twin boundary, one unit of wurtzite structure was found between two zinc-blende matrices. High-angle annular dark-field scanning transmission electron microscopy images showed Cd- and Te-terminated for the two bonded portions, respectively. The I-V curve across the twin boundary showed increasingly nonlinear behavior, indicating a potential barrier at the bonded twin boundary.
We present the experimental study of the spin Hall angle (SHA) and spin diffusion length of Pd with the spin pumping and microwave photoresistance effects. The Py/Pd bilayer stripes are excited with an out-of-plane microwave magnetic field. The pure spin current is thus pumped and transforms into charge current via the inverse spin Hall effect (ISHE) in Pd layer, yielding an ISHE voltage. The ISHE voltage can be distinguished from the unwanted signal caused by the anisotropic magnetoresistance according to their different symmetries. Together with Pd thickness dependent measurements of in and out-of-plane precessing angles and effective spin mixing conductance, the SHA and spin-diffusion length of Pd are quantified as 0.0056 ± 0.0007 and 7.3 ± 0.7 nm, respectively.
We have theoretically and experimentally demonstrated the anomalous negative reflection at the boundary of a well-designed two-dimensional phononic crystal. This exotic phenomenon is attributed to the selective enhancement of −1st order diffraction mode with the zero-order diffraction mode being dramatically suppressed. After material and structural optimization, the negative reflection can be maintained in a broadband of frequencies and for a wide incident angle range. Our system can be employed to design Littrow configuration to realize perfect broadband and wide-angle blazing. The study gives a possibility to achieve greater flexibility and stronger effects in manipulating reflected acoustic waves, which has potential applications in underwater communication, medical ultrasonics, etc.
We report on the density-functional calculations that provide microscopic mechanism of the facet formation on the SiC (0001) surface. We first identify atom-scale structures of single-, double-, and quad-bilayer steps and find that the single-bilayer (SB) step has the lowest formation energy. We then find that the SB steps are bunched to form a nanofacet with a particular angle relative to the (0001) plane (magic facet angle) and with a discretized height along the (0001) direction (height quantization). We also clarify a microscopic reason for the self-organization of the nanofacet observed experimentally.
In this paper we present an efficient implementation of an algorithm for reconstructing a 3D volume from limited angle projection data, based on statistical inversion theory. We demonstrate the strength of the method for detecting structural defects in large composite aerospace components, whose dimensions prevent acquiring measurements over the full circle. In comparison with a number of other tomographic reconstruction methods that can be applied to the limited angle case, such as tomosynthesis or simultaneous algebraic reconstruction technique (SART), we achieve superior depth resolution with reduced noise and artifacts.
The influence of substrate miscut on Al{sub 0.5}Ga{sub 0.5} N layers was investigated using cathodoluminescence (CL) hyperspectral imaging and secondary electron imaging in an environmental scanning electron microscope. The samples were also characterized using atomic force microscopy and high resolution X-ray diffraction. It was found that small changes in substrate miscut have a strong influence on the morphology and luminescence properties of the AlGaN layers. Two different types are resolved. For low miscut angle, a crack-free morphology consisting of randomly sized domains is observed, between which there are notable shifts in the AlGaN near band edge emission energy. For high miscut angle, a morphology with step bunches and compositional inhomogeneities along the step bunches, evidenced by an additional CL peak along the step bunches, are observed.
We have studied angle dependent magnetoresistance of Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3} thin film with field up to 9 T over 2–20 K temperatures. The perpendicular field magnetoresistance has been explained by the Hikami-Larkin-Nagaoka theory alone in a system with strong spin-orbit coupling, from which we have estimated the mean free path, the phase coherence length, and the spin-orbit relaxation time. We have obtained the out-of-plane spin-orbit relaxation time to be small and the in-plane spin-orbit relaxation time to be comparable to the momentum relaxation time. The estimation of these charge and spin transport parameters are useful for spintronics applications. For parallel field magnetoresistance, we have confirmed the presence of Zeeman effect which is otherwise suppressed in perpendicular field magnetoresistance due to strong spin-orbit coupling. The parallel field data have been explained using both the contributions from the Maekawa-Fukuyama localization theory for non-interacting electrons and Lee-Ramakrishnan theory of electron-electron interactions. The estimated Zeeman g-factor and the strength of Coulomb screening parameter agree well with the theory. Finally, the anisotropy in magnetoresistance with respect to angle has been described by the Hikami-Larkin-Nagaoka theory. This anisotropy can be used in anisotropic magnetic sensor applications.
Typically, short range potential only depends on neighbouring atoms and its parameters function can be categorized into bond stretching, angle bending and bond rotation potential. In this paper, we present our work called Angle Bending (AB) potential, whereas AB potential is the extension of our previous work namely Bond Stretching (BS) potential. Basically, potential will tend to zero after truncated region, potential in specific region can be represented by different piecewise polynomial. We proposed the AB piecewise potential which is possible to solve a system involving three atoms. AB potential able to handle the potential of covalent bonds for three atoms as well as two atoms cases due to its degeneracy properties. Continuity for the piecewise polynomial has been enforced by coupling with penalty methods. There are still plenty of improvement spaces for this AB potential. The improvement for three atoms AB potential will be studied and further modified into torsional potential which are the ongoing current research.