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At least 1,261 records · Page 70
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2014

High color rendering index white light emitting diodes fabricated from a combination of carbon dots and zinc copper indium sulfide quantum dots

In a line with most recent trends in developing non-toxic fluorescent nanomaterials, we combined blue emissive carbon dots with green and red emissive zinc copper indium sulfide (ZCIS) core/shell quantum dots (QDs) to achieve white light-emitting diodes (WLEDs) with a high color rendering index of 93. This indicates that ZCIS QDs, with their broad emission bands, can be employed to effectively make up the emission of carbon dots in the yellow and red regions to produce WLEDs in the wide region of color temperature by tuning the volume ratio of these constituting luminophores. Their electroluminescence characteristics including color rendering index, Commission Internationale de l'Eclairage (CIE) color coordinates, and color temperatures were evaluated as a function of forward current. The CIE-1931 chromaticity coordinates of the as-prepared WLEDs, exhibiting good stability, were slightly shifted from (0.321, 0.312) at 10 mA to (0.351, 0.322) at 30 mA, which was mainly caused by the different thermal quenching coefficients of carbon dots and ZCIS QDs.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2014

Neutral atomic jet generation by laser ablation of copper targets

This work aimed the obtainment of a neutral atomic jet departing from a plume generated by laser ablation of copper targets. A pair of electrodes together with a transducer pressure sensor was used to study the ablated plume charge composition and also to measure the ion extraction from the plasma plume. The neutral beam was produced with this setup and the relative abundance of neutrals in the plasma was measured, it decreases from 30% to 8% when the laser fluence is varied from 20 J/cm{sup 2} to 32 J/cm{sup 2}. The necessary voltage to completely remove the ions from the plume varied from 10 V to 230 V in the same fluence range. TOF analysis resulted in center of mass velocities between 3.4 and 4.6 km/s, longitudinal temperature in the range from 1 × 10{sup 4} K to 2.4 × 10{sup 4} K and a Mach number of M = 2.36, calculated using purely hydrodynamic expansion approximation.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2014

First experimental evidence of hydrodynamic tunneling of ultra–relativistic protons in extended solid copper target at the CERN HiRadMat facility

A novel experiment has been performed at the CERN HiRadMat test facility to study the impact of the 440 GeV proton beam generated by the Super Proton Synchrotron on extended solid copper cylindrical targets. Substantial hydrodynamic tunneling of the protons in the target material has been observed that leads to significant lengthening of the projectile range, which confirms our previous theoretical predictions [N. A. Tahir et al., Phys. Rev. Spec. Top.-Accel. Beams 15, 051003 (2012)]. Simulation results show very good agreement with the experimental measurements. These results have very important implications on the machine protection design for powerful machines like the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the future High Luminosity LHC, and the proposed huge 80 km circumference Future Circular Collider, which is currently being discussed at CERN. Another very interesting outcome of this work is that one may also study the field of High Energy Density Physics at this test facility.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2014

Grain boundary and triple junction diffusion in nanocrystalline copper

Grain boundary and triple junction diffusion in nanocrystalline Cu samples with grain sizes, 〈d〉, of ∼35 and ∼44 nm produced by spark plasma sintering were investigated by the radiotracer method using the {sup 63}Ni isotope. The measured diffusivities, D{sub eff}, are comparable with those determined previously for Ni grain boundary diffusion in well-annealed, high purity, coarse grained, polycrystalline copper, substantiating the absence of a grain size effect on the kinetic properties of grain boundaries in a nanocrystalline material at grain sizes d ≥ 35 nm. Simultaneously, the analysis predicts that if triple junction diffusion of Ni in Cu is enhanced with respect to the corresponding grain boundary diffusion rate, it is still less than 500⋅D{sub gb} within the temperature interval from 420 K to 470 K.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2014

Charge carrier transport and collection enhancement of copper indium diselenide photoactive nanoparticle-ink by laser crystallization

There has been increasing needs for cost-effective and high performance thin film deposition techniques for photovoltaics. Among all deposition techniques, roll-to-roll printing of nanomaterials has been a promising method. However, the printed thin film contains many internal imperfections, which reduce the charge-collection performance. Here, direct pulse laser crystallization (DPLC) of photoactive nanoparticles-inks is studied to meet this challenge. In this study, copper indium selenite (CIS) nanoparticle-inks is applied as an example. Enhanced crystallinity, densified structure in the thin film is resulted after DLPC under optimal conditions. It is found that the decreased film internal imperfections after DPLC results in reducing scattering and multi-trapping effects. Both of them contribute to better charge-collection performance of CIS absorber material by increasing extended state mobility and carrier lifetime, when carrier transport and kinetics are coupled. Charge carrier transport was characterized after DPLC, showing mobility increased by 2 orders of magnitude. Photocurrent under AM1.5 illumination was measured and shown 10 times enhancement of integrated power density after DPLC, which may lead to higher efficiency in photo-electric energy conversion.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2014

New experimental methodology, setup and LabView program for accurate absolute thermoelectric power and electrical resistivity measurements between 25 and 1600 K: Application to pure copper, platinum, tungsten, and nickel at very high temperatures

In this paper we describe an experimental setup designed to measure simultaneously and very accurately the resistivity and the absolute thermoelectric power, also called absolute thermopower or absolute Seebeck coefficient, of solid and liquid conductors/semiconductors over a wide range of temperatures (room temperature to 1600 K in present work). A careful analysis of the existing experimental data allowed us to extend the absolute thermoelectric power scale of platinum to the range 0-1800 K with two new polynomial expressions. The experimental device is controlled by a LabView program. A detailed description of the accurate dynamic measurement methodology is given in this paper. We measure the absolute thermoelectric power and the electrical resistivity and deduce with a good accuracy the thermal conductivity using the relations between the three electronic transport coefficients, going beyond the classical Wiedemann-Franz law. We use this experimental setup and methodology to give new very accurate results for pure copper, platinum, and nickel especially at very high temperatures. But resistivity and absolute thermopower measurement can be more than an objective in itself. Resistivity characterizes the bulk of a material while absolute thermoelectric power characterizes the material at the point where the electrical contact is established with a couple of metallic elements (forming a thermocouple). In a forthcoming paper we will show that the measurement of resistivity and absolute thermoelectric power characterizes advantageously the (change of) phase, probably as well as DSC (if not better), since the change of phases can be easily followed during several hours/days at constant temperature.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2014

Direct femtosecond laser ablation of copper with an optical vortex beam

Laser surface structuring of copper is induced by laser ablation with a femtosecond optical vortex beam generated via spin-to-orbital conversion of the angular momentum of light by using a q-plate. The variation of the produced surface structures is studied as a function of the number of pulses, N, and laser fluence, F. After the first laser pulse (N=1), the irradiated surface presents an annular region characterized by a corrugated morphology made by a rather complex network of nanometer-scale ridges, wrinkles, pores, and cavities. Increasing the number of pulses (2 1000) and a deep crater is formed. The nanostructure variation with the laser fluence, F, also evidences an interesting dependence, with a coarsening of the structure morphology as F increases. Our experimental findings demonstrate that direct femtosecond laser ablation with optical vortex beams produces interesting patterns not achievable by the more standard beams with a Gaussian intensity profile. They also suggest that appropriate tuning of the experimental conditions (F, N) can allow generating micro- and/or nano-structured surface for any specific application.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2014

Mineralization and optical characterization of copper oxide nanoparticles using a high aspect ratio bio-template

Organized chains of copper oxide nanoparticles were synthesized, without palladium (Pd) activation, using the M13 filamentous virus as a biological template. The interaction of Cu precursor ions with the negatively charged viral coat proteins were studied with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy. Discrete nanoparticles with an average diameter of 4.5 nm and narrow size distribution were closely spaced along the length of the high aspect ratio templates. The synthesized material was identified as a mixture of cubic Cu₂O and monoclinic CuO. UV/Vis absorption measurements were completed and a direct optical band gap of 2.87 eV was determined using Tauc's method. This value was slightly larger than bulk, signaling quantum confinement effects within the templated materials.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2014

Plastic strain arrangement in copper single crystals in sliding

Deformation of tribologically loaded contact zone is one of the wear mechanisms in spite of the fact that no mass loss may occur during this process. Generation of optimal crystallographic orientations of the grains in a polycrystalline materials (texturing) may cause hardening and reducing the deformation wear. To reveal the orientation dependence of an individual gain and simplify the task we use copper single crystals with the orientations of the compression axis along [111] and [110]. The plastic deformation was investigated by means of optical, scanning electron microscopy and EBSD techniques. It was established that at least four different zones were generated in the course of sliding test, such as non-deformed base metal, plastic deformation layer sliding, crystalline lattice reorientation layer and subsurface grain structure layer. The maximum plastic strain penetration depth was observed on [110]-single crystals. The minimum stability of [111]-crystals with respect to rotation deformation mode as well as activation of shear in the sliding contact plane provide for rotation deformation localization below the worn surface. The high-rate accumulation of misorientations and less strain penetration depth was observed on [111]-crystals as compared to those of [110]-oriented ones.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2014

Influence of crystallographic orientation on the response of copper crystallites to nanoindentation

Molecular dynamics simulation was performed to study the features of nucleation and development of plastic deformation in copper crystallites in nanoindentation with different crystallographic orientations of their loaded surface: (011), (001), and (111). Atomic interaction was described by a potential constructed in terms of the embedded atom method. It is shown that behavior of the crystallite reaction force correlates well with a change in the fraction of atoms involved in local structural rearrangements. The generation of local structural changes decreases the slope of the crystallite reaction force curve or results in an extremum due to internal stress relaxation. Analysis of structural changes in the material being indented demonstrates that the orientation of its loaded surface greatly affects the features of nucleation and development of plastic deformation.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2014

Copper intercalation at the interface of graphene and Ir(111) studied by scanning tunneling microscopy

We report on the intercalation of a submonolayer of copper at 775 K underneath graphene epitaxially grown on Ir(111) studied by means of low energy electron diffraction (LEED) and scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) at 77 K. Nucleation and growth dynamics of Cu below graphene have been investigated, and, most importantly, the intercalation mechanism has been identified. First, LEED patterns reveal the pseudomorphic growth of Cu on Ir under the topmost graphene layer resulting in a large Cu in-plane lattice parameter expansion of about 6% compared to Cu(111). Second, large-scale STM topographs as a function of Cu coverage show that Cu diffusion on Ir below graphene exhibits a low energy barrier resulting in Cu accumulation at Ir step edges. As a result, the graphene sheet undergoes a strong edges reshaping. Finally, atomically-resolved STM images reveal a damaged graphene sheet at the atomic scale after metal intercalation. Point defects in graphene were shown to be carbon vacancies. According to these results, a Cu penetration path beneath graphene is proposed to occur via metal aided defect formation with no or poor self healing of the graphene sheet. This work illustrates the fact that Cu intercalation is harmful for graphene grown on Ir(111) at the atomic scale.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2014

Improving the efficiency of copper indium gallium (Di-)selenide (CIGS) solar cells through integration of a moth-eye textured resist with a refractive index similar to aluminum doped zinc oxide

Textured transparent conductors are widely used in thin-film silicon solar cells. They lower the reflectivity at interfaces between different layers in the cell and/or cause an increase in the path length of photons in the Si absorber layer, which both result in an increase in the number of absorbed photons and, consequently, an increase in short-circuit current density (J{sub sc}) and cell efficiency. Through optical simulations, we recently obtained strong indications that texturing of the transparent conductor in copper indium gallium (di-)selenide (CIGS) solar cells is also optically advantageous. Here, we experimentally demonstrate that the J{sub sc} and efficiency of CIGS solar cells with an absorber layer thickness (d{sub CIGS}) of 0.85 μm, 1.00 μm and 2.00 μm increase through application of a moth-eye textured resist with a refractive index that is sufficiently similar to AZO (n{sub resist} = 1.792 vs. n{sub AZO} = 1.913 at 633 nm) to avoid large optical losses at the resist-AZO interface. On average, J{sub sc} increases by 7.2%, which matches the average reduction in reflection of 7.0%. The average relative increase in efficiency is slightly lower (6.0%). No trend towards a larger relative increase in J{sub sc} with decreasing d{sub CIGS} was observed. Ergo, the increase in J{sub sc} can be fully explained by the reduction in reflection, and we did not observe any increase in J{sub sc} based on an increased photon path length.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2015

Effects of vacuum-ultraviolet irradiation on copper penetration into low-k dielectrics under bias-temperature stress

The effects of vacuum-ultraviolet (VUV) irradiation on copper penetration into non-porous low-k dielectrics under bias-temperature stress (BTS) were investigated. By employing x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy depth-profile measurements on both as-deposited and VUV-irradiated SiCOH/Cu stacks, it was found that under the same BTS conditions, the diffusion depth of Cu into the VUV-irradiated SiCOH is higher than that of as-deposited SiCOH. On the other hand, under the same temperature-annealing stress (TS) without electric bias, the Cu distribution profiles in the VUV-irradiated SiCOH were same with that for the as-deposited SiCOH. The experiments suggest that in as-deposited SiCOH, the diffused Cu exists primarily in the atomic state, while in VUV-irradiated SiCOH, the diffused Cu is oxidized by the hydroxyl ions (OH{sup −}) generated from VUV irradiation and exists in the ionic state. The mechanisms for metal diffusion and ion injection in VUV irradiated low-k dielectrics are discussed.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2015

Chemical sensing of copper phthalocyanine sol-gel glass through organic vapors

The sensitivities of metallophthalocyanine to vapor phase electron donors has gained significance in many areas and disciplines due to their sensing properties and ease of operation. In the present study the interaction mechanism of organic vapors in Copper Phthalocyanine (CuPc) sol-gel glass has been studied. The interaction mechanism is affected by many factors like morphology, electrical or optical properties of film. CuPc sol-gel glass has been synthesized using chemical route sol-gel method. Its structural characterization was conducted using XRD and the amorphous nature of the silicate glass was observed with characteristic α polymorph phase of CuPc at around 6.64° with 13.30Å interplanar spacing. The size of the particle as determined using Debbye Scherre’s formula comes out around 15.5 nm. The presence of α phase of CuPc was confirmed using FTIR with the appearance of crystal parameter marker band at 787 cm-1. Apart from this A2u and Eu symmetry bands of CuPc have also been observed. The UV absorption spectrum of CuPc exhibits absorption peaks owing to π→ π* and n→ π* transitions. A blue shift in the prepared CuPc glass has been observed as compared to the dopant CuPc salt indicating increase of band gap. A split in B (Soret) band and Q band appears as observed with the help of Lorentzian fitting. CuPc sol gel glass has been exposed with chemical vapors of Methanol, Benzene and Bromine individually and the electrical measurements have been carried out. These measurements show the variation in conductivity and the interaction mechanism has been analyzed.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2015

Pseudo capacitive performance of copper oxide thin films grown by RF sputtering

Thin films of Copper Oxide were prepared by radio frequency magnetron sputtering on steel substrates maintained at 250°C under different RF powers ranging from 150W to 250W by keeping the sputtering pressure at 5.7×10{sup −3} mbar and O{sub 2}:Ar ratio of 1:7. The influence of RF power on the pseudo capacitive performance of thin films was studied. The X-ray diffraction studies and Raman studies indicates that all the thin films exhibits CuO phase. The electrochemical studies was done by using three electrode configuration with platinum as reference electrode. From the cyclic voltammetry studies a high rate pseudocapacitance of 227 mFcm{sup −2} at 0.5 mVs{sup −1} and 77% of capacity retention after 1000 cycles was obtained for the CuO thin films prepared at an RF power of 220W.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2015

Copper dimer interactions on a thermomechanical superfluid {sup 4}He fountain

Laser induced fluorescence imaging and frequency domain excitation spectroscopy of the copper dimer (B{sup 1}Σ{sub g}{sup +}←X{sup 1}Σ{sub u}{sup +}) in thermomechanical helium fountain at 1.7 K are demonstrated. The dimers penetrate into the fountain provided that their average propagation velocity is ca. 15 m/s. This energy threshold is interpreted in terms of an imperfect fountain liquid-gas interface, which acts as a trap for low velocity dimers. Orsay-Trento density functional theory calculations for superfluid {sup 4}He are used to characterize the dynamics of the dimer solvation process into the fountain. The dimers first accelerate towards the fountain surface and once the surface layer is crossed, they penetrate into the liquid and further slow down to Landau critical velocity by creating a vortex ring. Theoretical lineshape calculations support the assignment of the experimentally observed bands to Cu{sub 2} solvated in the bulk liquid. The vibronic progressions are decomposed of a zero-phonon line and two types of phonon bands, which correlate with solvent cavity interface compression (t < 200 fs) and expansion (200 < t < 500 fs) driven by the electronic excitation. The presented experimental method allows to perform molecular spectroscopy in bulk superfluid helium where the temperature and pressure can be varied.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2015

Copper thiocyanate: An attractive hole transport/extraction layer for use in organic photovoltaic cells

We report the advantageous properties of the inorganic molecular semiconductor copper(I) thiocyanate (CuSCN) for use as a hole collection/transport layer (HTL) in organic photovoltaic (OPV) cells. CuSCN possesses desirable HTL energy levels [i.e., valence band at −5.35 eV, 0.35 eV deeper than poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):polystyrenesulfonate (PEDOT:PSS)], which produces a 17% increase in power conversion efficiency (PCE) relative to PEDOT:PSS-based devices. In addition, a two-fold increase in shunt resistance for the solar cells measured in dark conditions is achieved. Ultimately, CuSCN enables polymer:fullerene based OPV cells to achieve PCE > 8%. CuSCN continues to offer promise as a chemically stable and straightforward replacement for the commonly used PEDOT:PSS.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2015

Copper ESEEM and HYSCORE through ultra-wideband chirp EPR spectroscopy

The main limitation of pulse electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy is its narrow excitation bandwidth. Ultra-wideband (UWB) excitation with frequency-swept chirp pulses over several hundreds of megahertz overcomes this drawback. This allows to excite electron spin echo envelope modulation (ESEEM) from paramagnetic copper centers in crystals, whereas up to now, only ESEEM of ligand nuclei like protons or nitrogens at lower frequencies could be detected. ESEEM spectra are recorded as two-dimensional correlation experiments, since the full digitization of the electron spin echo provides an additional Fourier transform EPR dimension. Thus, UWB hyperfine-sublevel correlation experiments generate a novel three-dimensional EPR-correlated nuclear modulation spectrum.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗