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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 1,243 records · Page 69
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2015

Epitaxial ferromagnetic Fe{sub 3}Si on GaAs(111)A with atomically smooth surface and interface

Single crystal ferromagnetic Fe{sub 3}Si(111) films were grown epitaxially on GaAs(111)A by molecular beam epitaxy. These hetero-structures possess extremely low surface roughness of 1.3 Å and interfacial roughness of 1.9 Å, measured by in-situ scanning tunneling microscope and X-ray reflectivity analyses, respectively, showing superior film quality, comparing to those attained on GaAs(001) in previous publications. The atomically smooth interface was revealed by the atomic-resolution Z (atomic number)-contrast scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) images using the correction of spherical aberration (Cs)-corrected electron probe. Excellent crystallinity and perfect lattice match were both confirmed by high resolution x-ray diffraction. Measurements of magnetic property for the Fe{sub 3}Si/GaAs(111) yielded a saturation moment of 990 emu/cm{sup 3} with a small coercive field ≤1 Oe at room temperature.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2015

Solid immersion lenses for enhancing the optical resolution of thermal and electroluminescence mapping of GaN-on-SiC transistors

Solid immersion lenses (SILs) are shown to greatly enhance optical spatial resolution when measuring AlGaN/GaN High Electron Mobility Transistors (HEMTs), taking advantage of the high refractive index of the SiC substrates commonly used for these devices. Solid immersion lenses can be applied to techniques such as electroluminescence emission microscopy and Raman thermography, aiding the development device physics models. Focused ion beam milling is used to fabricate solid immersion lenses in SiC substrates with a numerical aperture of 1.3. A lateral spatial resolution of 300 nm is demonstrated at an emission wavelength of 700 nm, and an axial spatial resolution of 1.7 ± 0.3 μm at a laser wavelength of 532 nm is demonstrated; this is an improvement of 2.5× and 5×, respectively, when compared with a conventional 0.5 numerical aperture objective lens without a SIL. These results highlight the benefit of applying the solid immersion lenses technique to the optical characterization of GaN HEMTs. Further improvements may be gained through aberration compensation and increasing the SIL numerical aperture.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2015

Position-sensitive change in the transition metal L-edge fine structures

Studying the structure and composition of solid-state materials on the atomic scale has become nearly routine in transmission electron microscopy with the development of novel electron optics and electron sources. In particular, with spatial resolutions better than 0.1 nm and energy resolution smaller than 100 meV, the stoichiometry, bonding, and coordination can now be examined on similar scales. Aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy and electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS) have played a crucial role in identifying charge ordering, valence, and as spin state transitions in transition metal perovskite oxides. In this letter, we investigate the effects of ever-decreasing electron-probe sizes on the measured near-edge fine-structure of the transition metal core-loss edge using EELS. We find that for certain transition metal perovskites, the position of the electron probe with respect to the atomic column is crucial in determining the correct valence state. Several reasons for the observed position-sensitive EELS fine-structure are discussed.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2015

Three dimensional full-wave nonlinear acoustic simulations: Applications to ultrasound imaging

Characterization of acoustic waves that propagate nonlinearly in an inhomogeneous medium has significant applications to diagnostic and therapeutic ultrasound. The generation of an ultrasound image of human tissue is based on the complex physics of acoustic wave propagation: diffraction, reflection, scattering, frequency dependent attenuation, and nonlinearity. The nonlinearity of wave propagation is used to the advantage of diagnostic scanners that use the harmonic components of the ultrasonic signal to improve the resolution and penetration of clinical scanners. One approach to simulating ultrasound images is to make approximations that can reduce the physics to systems that have a low computational cost. Here a maximalist approach is taken and the full three dimensional wave physics is simulated with finite differences. This paper demonstrates how finite difference simulations for the nonlinear acoustic wave equation can be used to generate physically realistic two and three dimensional ultrasound images anywhere in the body. A specific intercostal liver imaging scenario for two cases: with the ribs in place, and with the ribs removed. This configuration provides an imaging scenario that cannot be performed in vivo but that can test the influence of the ribs on image quality. Several imaging properties are studied, in particular the beamplots, the spatial coherence at the transducer surface, the distributed phase aberration, and the lesion detectability for imaging at the fundamental and harmonic frequencies. The results indicate, counterintuitively, that at the fundamental frequency the beamplot improves due to the apodization effect of the ribs but at the same time there is more degradation from reverberation clutter. At the harmonic frequency there is significantly less improvement in the beamplot and also significantly less degradation from reverberation. It is shown that even though simulating the full propagation physics is computationally challenging it is necessary to quantify ultrasound image quality and its sources of degradation.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2015

Plasma lenses for ultrashort multi-petawatt laser pulses

An ideal plasma lens can provide the focusing power of a small f-number, solid-state focusing optic at a fraction of the diameter. An ideal plasma lens, however, relies on a steady-state, linear laser pulse-plasma interaction. Ultrashort multi-petawatt (MPW) pulses possess broad bandwidths and extreme intensities, and, as a result, their interaction with the plasma lens is neither steady state nor linear. Here, we examine nonlinear and time-dependent modifications to plasma lens focusing, and show that these result in chromatic and phase aberrations and amplitude distortion. We find that a plasma lens can provide enhanced focusing for 30 fs pulses with peak power up to ∼1 PW. The performance degrades through the MPW regime, until finally a focusing penalty is incurred at ∼10 PW.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2015

The effect of atomic structure on interface spin-polarization of half-metallic spin valves: Co{sub 2}MnSi/Ag epitaxial interfaces

Using density functional theory calculations motivated by aberration-corrected electron microscopy, we show how the atomic structure of a fully epitaxial Co{sub 2}MnSi/Ag interfaces controls the local spin-polarization. The calculations show clear difference in spin-polarization at Fermi level between the two main types: bulk-like terminated Co/Ag and Mn-Si/Ag interfaces. Co/Ag interface spin-polarization switches sign from positive to negative, while in the case of Mn-Si/Ag, it is still positive but reduced. Cross-sectional atomic structure analysis of Co{sub 2}MnSi/Ag interface, part of a spin-valve device, shows that the interface is determined by an additional layer of either Co or Mn. The presence of an additional Mn layer induces weak inverse spin-polarisation (−7%), while additional Co layer makes the interface region strongly inversely spin-polarized (−73%). In addition, we show that Ag diffusion from the spacer into the Co{sub 2}MnSi electrode does not have a significant effect on the overall Co{sub 2}MnSi /Ag performance.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2015

Dislocation core structures in Si-doped GaN

Aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy was used to investigate the core structures of threading dislocations in plan-view geometry of GaN films with a range of Si-doping levels and dislocation densities ranging between (5 ± 1) × 10{sup 8} and (10 ± 1) × 10{sup 9} cm{sup −2}. All a-type (edge) dislocation core structures in all samples formed 5/7-atom ring core structures, whereas all (a + c)-type (mixed) dislocations formed either double 5/6-atom, dissociated 7/4/8/4/9-atom, or dissociated 7/4/8/4/8/4/9-atom core structures. This shows that Si-doping does not affect threading dislocation core structures in GaN. However, electron beam damage at 300 keV produces 4-atom ring structures for (a + c)-type cores in Si-doped GaN.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2015

Correlation between magnetism and “dark stripes” in strained La{sub 1−x}Sr{sub x}CoO{sub 3} epitaxial films (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.1)

Using the technique of aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy, we performed a systematic analysis for the atomic lattice of the strained La{sub 1−x}Sr{sub x}CoO{sub 3} (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.1) epitaxial films, which have drawn a great attention in recent years because of their anomalous magnetism. Superstructures characterized by dark stripes are observed in the lattice image, evolving with combined Sr-doping and lattice strains. Fascinatingly, we found a close relation between the proportion of the Co ions in dark stripes and the saturation magnetization of the film: the latter grows linearly with the former. This result implies that the magnetism could be exclusively ascribed to the Co ions in dark stripes.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2015

Note: Spectrometer with multichannel photon-counting detector for beam emission spectroscopy in magnetic fusion devices

A spectrometer based on a linear array photomultiplier tube (PMT) has been developed and calibrated. A 0.635 m focal length Czerny-Turner monochromator combined with a coupling optics provides an image of a narrow 0.5 nm spectral range with a resolution of 0.015 nm/channel on a 32-anode PMT. The system aims at spectroscopy of D{sub α} or H{sub α} lines emitted by a diagnostic atomic beam in a plasma (primarily a motional Stark effect diagnostics). To record a low photon flux of ∼10{sup 6} s{sup −1} per channel with the time resolution of 100 μs, a pulse counting approach has been used. Wideband amplifiers scale single-electron pulses and transmit them to a digital data processing core hardwired in a programmable logic matrix. Calibrations have shown that the aberration-limited instrument function fits to a single detector channel of 1 mm width. Pilot results of passive measurements of D{sub α} light emission from the plasma confined in a magnetic trap are presented.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2015

Note: A large open ratio, time, and position sensitive detector for time of flight measurements in UHV

We report on the construction of an UHV compatible 40 mm active diameter detector based on micro channel plates and assembled directly on the feed-throughs of a DN63CF flange. It is based on the charge division technique and uses a standard 2 inch Si wafer as a collector. The front end electronic is placed directly on the air side of the flange allowing excellent immunity to noise and a very good timing signal with reduced ringing. The important aberrations are corrected empirically providing an absolute positioning accuracy of 500 μm while a 150 μm resolution is measured in the center.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2016

Resolution enhancement in transmission electron microscopy with 60-kV monochromated electron source

Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) at low accelerating voltages is useful to obtain images with low irradiation damage. For a low accelerating voltage, linear information transfer, which determines the resolution for observation of single-layered materials, is largely limited by defocus spread, which improves when a narrow energy spread is used in the electron source. In this study, we have evaluated the resolution of images obtained at 60 kV by TEM performed with a monochromated electron source. The defocus spread has been evaluated by comparing diffractogram tableaux from TEM images obtained under nonmonochromated and monochromated illumination. The information limits for different energy spreads were precisely measured by using diffractograms with a large beam tilt. The result shows that the information limit reaches 0.1 nm with an energy width of 0.10 eV. With this monochromated source and a higher-order aberration corrector, we have obtained images of single carbon atoms in a graphene sheet by TEM at 60 kV.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2016

Direct observation of atomic-level nucleation and growth processes from an ultrathin metallic glass films

Till date, there have been no direct atomic-level experimental observations of the earliest stages of the nucleation and growth processes of nanocrystals formed by thermally induced crystallization in ultrathin metallic glasses (MGs). Here, we present a study of the crystallization process in atomically thin and highly stable MG films using double spherical aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy (Cs-TEM). Taking advantage of the stability of MG films with a slow crystallization process and the atomic-level high resolution of Cs-TEM, we observe the formation of the nucleus precursor of nanocrystals formed by atom aggregation followed by concomitant coalescence and stepwise evolution of the shape of the nanocrystals with a monodispersed and separated bimodal size distribution. Molecular dynamics simulation of the atomic motion in the glass film on a rigid amorphous substrate confirms the stepwise evolution processes of atom aggregation, cluster formation, cluster movement on the substrate, and cluster coalescence into larger crystalline particles. Our results might provide a better fundamental understanding of the nucleation and growth processes of nanocrystals in thin MG films.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2016

Elemental intermixing within an ultrathin SrRuO{sub 3} electrode layer in epitaxial heterostructure BaTiO{sub 3}/SrRuO{sub 3}/SrTiO{sub 3}

Aberration corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy is used to directly observe atom columns in an epitaxial BaTiO{sub 3} thin film deposited on a 3.6 nm-thick SrRuO{sub 3} electrode layer above an SrTiO{sub 3} (001) substrate. Compositional gradients across the heterointerfaces were examined using electron energy-loss spectroscopy techniques. It was found that a small amount of Ba and Ti had diffused into the SrRuO{sub 3} layer, and that this layer contained a non-negligible concentration of oxygen vacancies. Such point defects are expected to degrade the electrode’s electronic conductivity drastically, resulting in a much longer screening length. This may explain the discrepancy between experimental measurements and theoretical estimates of the ferroelectric critical thickness of a BaTiO{sub 3} ferroelectric barrier sandwiched between metallic SrRuO{sub 3} electrodes, since theoretical calculations generally assume ideal (stoichiometric) perovskite SrRuO{sub 3}.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2016

Dislocation core structures in (0001) InGaN

Threading dislocation core structures in c-plane GaN and In{sub x}Ga{sub 1−x}N (0.057 ≤ x ≤ 0.20) films were investigated by aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy. a-type dislocations are unaffected by alloying with indium and have a 5/7-atom ring core structure in both GaN and In{sub x}Ga{sub 1−x}N. In contrast, the dissociation lengths of (a + c)-type dislocations are reduced, and new 7/4/9-atom ring and 7/4/8/5-atom ring core structures were observed for the dissociated (a + c)-type dislocations in In{sub x}Ga{sub 1−x}N, which is associated with the segregation of indium near (a + c)-type and c-type dislocation cores in In{sub x}Ga{sub 1−x}N, consistent with predictions from atomistic Monte Carlo simulations.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2016

Tunable hard X-ray spectrometer utilizing asymmetric planes of a quartz transmission crystal

A Cauchois type hard x-ray spectrometer was developed that utilizes the (301) diffraction planes at an asymmetric angle of 23.51° to the normal to the surface of a cylindrically curved quartz transmission crystal. The energy coverage is tunable by rotating the crystal and the detector arm, and spectra were recorded in the 8 keV to 20 keV range with greater than 2000 resolving power. The high resolution results from low aberrations enabled by the nearly perpendicular angle of the diffracted rays with the back surface of the crystal. By using other asymmetric planes of the same crystal and rotating to selected angles, the spectrometer can operate with high resolution up to 50 keV.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2016

Localised polymer networks in chiral nematic liquid crystals for high speed photonic switching

Self-assembled periodic structures based upon chiral liquid crystalline materials have significant potential in the field of photonics ranging from fast-switching optoelectronic devices to low-threshold lasers. The flexoelectro-optic effect, which is observed in chiral nematic liquid crystals (LCs) when an electric field is applied perpendicular to the helical axis, has significant potential as it exhibits analogue switching in 10–100 μs. However, the major technological barrier that prohibits the commercial realisation of this electro-optic effect is the requirement of a uniform, in-plane alignment of the helix axis between glass substrates. Here, it is shown that periodic polymer structures engineered in the nematic phase of a chiral nematic LC device using direct laser writing can result in the spontaneous formation of the necessary uniform lying helix (ULH) state. Specifically, two-photon polymerization is used in conjunction with a spatial light modulator so as to correct for aberrations introduced by the bounding glass substrates enabling the polymer structures to be fabricated directly into the device. The ULH state appears to be stable in the absence of an externally applied electric field, and the optimum contrast between the bright and dark states is obtained using polymer structures that have periodicities of the order of the device thickness.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2016

Stitching interferometry for ellipsoidal x-ray mirrors

Ellipsoidal mirrors, which can efficiently produce a two-dimensional focusing beam with a single mirror, are superior x-ray focusing optics, especially when compared to elliptical-cylinder mirrors in the Kirkpatrick–Baez geometry. However, nano-focusing ellipsoidal mirrors are not commonly used for x-ray optics because achieving the accuracy required for the surface metrology of nano-focusing ellipsoidal mirrors is difficult due to their small radius of curvature along the short ellipsoidal axis. Here, we developed a surface metrology system for nano-focusing ellipsoidal mirrors using stitching interferometric techniques. The developed system simultaneously measures sub-aperture shapes with a microscopic interferometer and the tilt angles of the sub-aperture shapes with a large Fizeau interferometer. After correcting the systematic errors included in the sub-aperture shapes, the entire mirror shape is calculated by stitching the sub-aperture shapes based on the obtained relative angles between partially overlapped sub-apertures. In this study, we developed correction methods for systematic errors in sub-aperture shapes that originated from off-axis aberrations produced in the optics of the microscopic interferometer. The systematic errors on an ellipsoidal mirror were estimated by measuring a series of tilted plane substrates and the ellipsoidal substrate. From measurements of an ellipsoidal mirror with a 3.6-mm radius of curvature at the mirror center, we obtained a measurement repeatability of 0.51 nm (root-mean-square) in an assessment area of 0.5 mm × 99.18 mm. This value satisfies the requirements for surface metrology of nano-focusing x-ray mirrors. Thus, the developed metrology system should be applicable for fabricating nano-focusing ellipsoidal mirrors.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2016

Structure and chemistry of passivated SiC/SiO{sub 2} interfaces

Here, we report on the chemistry and structure of 4H-SiC/SiO{sub 2} interfaces passivated either by nitric oxide annealing or Ba deposition. Using aberration corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy and spectroscopy, we find that Ba and N remain localized at SiC/SiO{sub 2} interface after processing. Further, we find that the passivating species can introduce significant changes to the near-interface atomic structure of SiC. Specifically, we quantify significant strain for nitric oxide annealed sample where Si dangling bonds are capped by N. In contrast, strain is not observed at the interface of the Ba treated samples. Finally, we place these results in the context of field effect mobility.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗