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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 1,351 records · Page 75
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2024

Protective Catalyst Systems on III-V and Si-based Semiconductors for Efficient, Durable Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting Devices

The overall goal of this project was to develop unassisted water splitting devices based on III-V materials, creating pathways to improve performance in terms of efficiency, improve durability, and cost. One major objective is to develop pathways to systems that can ultimately achieve > 20% solar-to-hydrogen (STH) efficiency. Another objective was to develop pathways to high efficiency systems that can operate on-sun for at least 2 weeks. With respect to cost, this research provide new approaches to tandem photoelectrode design and fabrication that one day may allow for costs to reach $200/m 2 . Two distinct water splitting schemes were explored: Scheme 1 aims to develop high efficiency devices with tandem III-V photoabsorbers (e.g. GaInP 2 /GaInAs) with Scheme 2 targeting cost reduction while maintaining high efficiency by growing InGaN on crystalline Si (InGaN/Si). Both schemes were employed to couple with thin film, semi-transparent, catalytic/protection layers containing reduced or zero precious metal content that can enhance durability while maintaining high efficiency and enabling low material costs. Overall the project greatly advanced the technology to developing high performance systems with increased durability, as demonstrated by true on-sun testing through partnership with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).

08 HYDROGEN↗
DOE OSTI2024

Aryl ether-free polymer electrolytes for electrochemical and energy devices

Anion exchange polymers (AEPs) play a crucial role in green hydrogen production through anion exchange membrane water electrolysis. The chemical stability of AEPs is paramount for stable system operation in electrolysers and other electrochemical devices. Given the instability of aryl ethercontaining AEPs under high pH conditions, recent research has focused on quaternized aryl ether-free variants. The primary goal of this review is to provide a greater depth of knowledge on the synthesis of aryl ether-free AEPs targeted for electrochemical devices. Synthetic pathways that yield polyaromatic AEPs include acid-catalysed polyhydroxyalkylation, metal-promoted coupling reactions, ionene synthesis via nucleophilic substitution, alkylation of polybenzimidazole, and Diels–Alder polymerization. Polyolefinic AEPs are prepared through addition polymerization, ring-opening metathesis, radiation grafting reactions, and anionic polymerization. Discussions cover structure–property–performance relationships of AEPs in fuel cells, redox flow batteries, and water and CO 2 electrolysers, along with the current status of scale-up synthesis and commercialization.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2024

Design and Analysis of 10” Parallel Plate Relief Device

All Cryomodule (CM) and Cryogenic Distribution System (CDS) relieving into Helium Low Pressure (LP) return header, which is connected to compressor suction so, helium can be preserved during small flow relieving event and recirculated to system. However, during worst case scenario, Helium LP header requires a parallel plate relief device to relieve excess pressure from header. To complete the CDS Warm piping header, a new design for a 10 parallel plate relief device is necessary to relieve outside of the tunnel into atmosphere.

Chicas, Kelly↗
DOE OSTI2024

Heterogeneous Integration Technologies for High-temperature, High-density, Low-profile Power Modules of Wide Bandgap Devices in Electric Drive Applications (Final Technical Report)

The goal of this project is to develop packaging technologies for making high-temperature, high-density, and low-profile wide-bandgap (WBG) power electronics modules for electric drives. These modules are aimed at enabling the DOE’s University Consortium to reach its 2025 inverter targets of ≥ 100 kW/L and ≤ 2.7 $/kW. The specific objectives are to: design and fabricate SiC half-bridge power modules with double-sided cooling and parasitic inductances < 5 nH, heat flux density > 400 W/cm 2 , and working junction temperature of 200 o C; design, fabricate, and deliver a gate driver with double-sided cooled modules for the construction of a 100 kW/L inverter at Oak Ridge National Lab; and design and prototype intelligent gate drivers with integrated current sensor and a low-profile DC-DC power supply with air-core transformer for testing power modules at 200 o C junction temperature. We followed an iterative technical approach of design, simulation, fabrication, and testing of various versions of modules, current sensors, and power supply. The state-of-the-art silicon carbide devices rated at 1.2 kV and 149 A were packaged by sintered-silver bonding on an aluminum nitride direct-bond-copper substrate for high thermal conductivity, high working temperature, and high joint reliability. Porous silver posts were used to interconnect the device’s source pads to the other direct-bond-copper substrate for low mechanical stresses, ease of manufacturing, and double-sided cooling. A current sensor based on package parasitic inductance was developed to measure switching current. A dynamic feedback scheme was developed to compensate the effect of parasitic resistance and temperature variation. A constant-current class-E dc-dc converter with air-core transformer was developed. Air-core transformer was used due to the unavailability of magnetic core at high temperatures. Gate driver and power supply were integrated with the double-side cooled, high temperature SiC power modules for testing the modules at 200 o C junction temperature. Double-pulse and continuous testing of the integrated technologies validated the design and fabrication of the three component technologies. Throughout the project, we overcame the challenge for design verification caused by low prototyping yield, which then helped train the graduate students, the future workforce, to learn the engineering know-how for low-cost manufacturing of reliable products. Below is a summary of the major accomplishments of this project: development of a prototyping process for fabricating double-side cooled (1200 V, 149 A) SiC phase-leg modules capable of working to 200 o C Tj; simulation and experimental verification of the improvement of thermo-mechanical reliability of the double-side cooled SiC phase-leg module by using rigid encapsulant; design and experimental validation of a current sensor based on package parasitic inductance and a compensation solution for eliminating the effect of parasitic resistance; design and experimental validation of a low-profile power supply with six-output air-core transformer for gate driver; functional demonstration of a SiC phase-leg module integrated with its gate driver, current sensor, and an air-core power supply at 200 o C Tj in a double-pulse switching test setup and Buck converter continuous test setup; successful completion of six PhD and two MS students who are or will work at Apple Inc., Tesla Inc., Wolfspeed Inc., Microchip Inc., Monolithic Power Systems Inc., and LG Magna Inc.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2024

2024 OES-Environmental 2024 State of the Science Report, Chapter 9: Beyond Single Marine Renewable Energy Devices: A System-wide Effects Approach

Global expansion of renewable energy, including marine renewable energy (MRE) technology development is necessary to mitigate the effects of climate change, facilitate a sustainable transition from carbon-based energy sources, and satisfy national energy security needs using locally produced electricity (European Commission 2022; IPCC 2023; IRENA 2020). As MRE engineering and research continue to focus on designing devices for deployment in nearshore and offshore waters around the world, researchers are also examining potential environmental effects on marine animals, habitats, and ecosystem processes. To date, the focus has been on interactions between small numbers of MRE devices (1-6) and the environment, such as collisions between animals and turbine blades, the effects of underwater noise and electromagnetic field (EMF) emissions, changes in habitats and oceanographic processes, risk of entanglement of animals, and displacement of animals (Boehlert & Gill 2010; Copping & Hemery 2020) (see Chapter 3).

16 TIDAL AND WAVE POWER↗
DOE OSTI2024

Laboratory Testing of the Temperature Sensor Qualification Device

The Temperature sensor Qualification Device (TQD) has been developed and tested under laboratory conditions to evaluate its thermal performance and the reliability of its retractable sensor system. The TQD is designed to provide an isothermal environment for temperature sensors in both test and reference zones during irradiation experiments. Initial testing revealed minimal radial and azimuthal temperature variations but identified a significant axial gradient. To address this, design modifications were implemented, including enhanced insulation and the addition of a small heater at the device's top. These changes are expected to produce a more uniform axial temperature profile, though further testing is recommended prior to irradiation. The retractable sensor mechanism was rigorously tested, achieving 1,350 cycles at room temperature and 332 cycles at 400°C before failure. The primary failure mechanism was the thermocouple becoming stuck in the wire guide or capillary tube. Based on these results, design improvements were proposed, such as incorporating a load cell for force monitoring and a stepper motor for precise sensor positioning.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2024

Simulating Superconducting Devices in Novel Materials Using the G4CMP Simulation Toolkit

Understanding the kinematics of phonons and charge propagation in superconducting devices is crucial for conducting low-threshold dark matter searches and minimizing correlated errors in superconducting qubits. For nearly a decade, the Geant4 Condensed Matter Physics (G4CMP) package, originally developed for the Cryogenic Dark Matter Search (CDMS) experiment, has been limited to simulating charge and phonon transport in silicon and germanium materials. In this work, we have expanded the capabilities of G4CMP to include novel substrate materials such as sapphire (Al2O3), Gallium Arsenide (GaAs), Lithium Fluoride (LiF), Calcium Tungstate (CaWO4), and Calcium Fluoride (CaF2). We demonstrate the use of this toolkit in generating phonon transport properties for these materials and compare the results with experimentally determined values where available. Additionally, we explore the performance of superconducting devices utilizing these materials.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Atoms-to-devices models for post-irradiation annealing kinetics in III-V semiconductors

Understanding atomic displacement damage and propagating this understanding into validated defect-aware radiation damage models is a critical step toward achieving predictive, atoms-to-systems assessment of radiation vulnerabilities of microelectronics. These models are essential for evaluating the performance and reliability of nuclear stockpile components or space-based electronics (satellites). The goal of this project was to bridge a fundamental science gap between defect spectroscopies and atomistic modeling of radiation-induced defects on the one hand, and simulations of device response on the other hand, to develop predictive defect-aware damage models for high-fidelity device simulations of radiation-damaged III-V semiconductors.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2025

Optimize the Autonomous Sensor Fish Device for Understanding Interactions of Aquatic Animals with Marine and Hydrokinetic and Hydro Systems (CRADA 476) Final Report

This project at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) enhances our understanding of how aquatic life interacts with marine renewable energy (MRE) and hydropower systems through the development and testing of advanced sensor technology. The Marine Sensor Fish (MSF) and its smaller variants, the Sensor Fish Mini (SF Mini) and Flexible Sensor Fish (FSF), measure critical environmental stressors, such as shear forces, pressure changes, and strike impacts, that are essential for assessing the risks posed by energy devices, including tidal turbines, hydropower installations, and other MRE infrastructure. Rigorous field testing has shown that these tools are effective in capturing detailed data on turbulence, pressure variations, strike impacts, and other stressors near these devices, providing valuable insights into the conditions faced by aquatic species. Economically, these tools offer renewable energy developers a practical solution for streamlining environmental assessments and ensuring regulatory compliance, ultimately reducing costs associated with evaluating and mitigating ecological impacts. This research also benefits the public by promoting the growth of renewable energy sources that protect aquatic ecosystems, advancing both sustainable energy production and environmental stewardship.

13 HYDRO ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2026

Sapphire Substrate Trenching to Advance Superconducting High-Coherence Quantum Devices

Achieving longer coherence times in superconducting qubits is essential for advancing quantum information processing and enabling scalable quantum computing. This work presents an innovative fabrication strategy focused on sapphire trenching of the substrate of superconducting high-coherence quantum devices, developed by the SQMS Nanofabrication Taskforce in collaboration with the materials characterization team. In this talk, we present a method to efficiently and consistently trench into the sapphire substrate, without compromising the surface roughness or profile of the etched sapphire. In the literature, trenching in the substrate has been shown to decrease losses, unwanted coupling and thermal stress. Sapphire’s strong covalent bonds make it harder to etch compared to silicon, yet it is more favorable for high-coherence quantum devices due to its lower dielectric losses. This innovative technique opens new possibilities for superconducting qubit fabrication: we fabricated high coherence qubit chips on sapphire substrates with trenching, to demonstrate that it will help pushing towards higher coherence times. By integrating this work with ongoing junction process optimization, design innovation, materials characterization and exploration, we outline a clear pathway toward transmon coherence times reaching millisecond scales and beyond.

Garattoni, S. [Fermilab]↗
DOE OSTI2026

Sapphire Substrate Trenching to Advance Superconducting High-Coherence Quantum Devices

Achieving longer coherence times in superconducting qubits is essential for advancing quantum information processing and enabling scalable quantum computing. This work presents an innovative fabrication strategy focused on sapphire trenching of the substrate of superconducting high-coherence quantum devices, developed by the SQMS Nanofabrication Taskforce in collaboration with the materials characterization team. In this talk, we present a method to efficiently and consistently trench into the sapphire substrate, without compromising the surface roughness or profile of the etched sapphire. In the literature, trenching in the substrate has been shown to decrease losses, unwanted coupling and thermal stress. Sapphire’s strong covalent bonds make it harder to etch compared to silicon, yet it is more favorable for high-coherence quantum devices due to its lower dielectric losses. This innovative technique opens new possibilities for superconducting qubit fabrication: we fabricated high coherence qubit chips on sapphire substrates with trenching, to demonstrate that it will help pushing towards higher coherence times. By integrating this work with ongoing junction process optimization, design innovation, materials characterization and exploration, we outline a clear pathway toward transmon coherence times reaching millisecond scales and beyond.

Garattoni, S. [Fermilab]↗
DOE OSTI2026

Beamline Device Designators

LAMP is to replace the front-end of LANSCE. Therefore, the device designators for LAMP needs approval from LANSCE. This document defines the agreed upon device designator names to be used in LAMP and in the prototype beamline LAMP in ADEF Tunnel (LAT).

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2026

PLC Integration for the Horn A Magnetic Field Mapping Device

This presentation summarizes the integration of a programmable logic controller (PLC) into the Horn A magnetic field mapping device for the Long-Baseline Neutrino Facility (LBNF). The device is used to position magnetic field probes along the centerline of the Horn A inner conductor to verify that the magnetic field within this region is approximately zero. The presentation covers the PLC hardware and electrical integration, stepper motor and encoder control, ladder logic development, mechanical integration, and system testing. Results include successful bidirectional motion and encoder feedback for the translation and rotation axes, as well as characterization of translational motion for repeatable probe positioning.

Bitakis, Kayla [Unlisted, US, IL]↗
DOE OSTI2025

Evaluation of fluxon synapse device based on superconducting loops for energy efficient neuromorphic computing

With Moore’s law nearing its end due to the physical scaling limitations of CMOS technology, alternative computing approaches have gained considerable attention as ways to improve computing performance. Here, we evaluate performance prospects of a new approach based on disordered superconducting loops with Josephson-junctions for energy efficient neuromorphic computing. Synaptic weights can be stored as internal trapped fluxon states of three superconducting loops connected with multiple Josephson-junctions (JJ) and modulated by input signals applied in the form of discrete fluxons (quantized flux) in a controlled manner. The stable trapped fluxon state directs the incoming flux through different pathways with the flow statistics representing different synaptic weights. We explore implementation of matrix–vector-multiplication (MVM) operations using arrays of these fluxon synapse devices. We investigate the energy efficiency of online-learning of MNIST dataset. Our results suggest that the fluxon synapse array can provide ~100× reduction in energy consumption compared to other state-of-the-art synaptic devices. This work presents a proof-of-concept that will pave the way for development of high-speed and highly energy efficient neuromorphic computing systems based on superconducting materials.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2022

First Results from the Thomson Scattering Diagnostic on the Large Plasma Device

We present the first Thomson scattering measurements of electron density and temperature in the Large Plasma Device (LAPD), a 22 m long magnetized linear plasma device at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA). The diagnostic spectrally resolves the Doppler shift imparted on light from a frequency-doubled Nd:YAG laser when scattered by plasma electrons. A fiber array coupled to a triple-grating spectrometer is used to obtain high stray light rejection and discriminate the faint scattering signal from a much larger background. In the center of the plasma column, the measured electron density and temperature are about ne≈1.5×1013 cm−3 and Te≈ 3 eV, respectively, depending on the discharge parameters and in good agreement with Langmuir probe data. Optical design considerations to maximize photon count while minimizing alignment sensitivity are discussed in detail and compared to numerical calculations. Raman scattering off of a quartz crystal probe is used for an absolute irradiance calibration of the system.

Kaloyan, Marietta (ORCID:0000000182593038)↗
DOE OSTI2022

Seismic Waveform Inversion Capability on Resource-Constrained Edge Devices

Seismic full wave inversion (FWI) is a widely used non-linear seismic imaging method used to reconstruct subsurface velocity images, however it is time consuming, has high computational cost and depend heavily on human interaction. Recently, deep learning has accelerated it’s use in several data-driven techniques, however most deep learning techniques suffer from overfitting and stability issues. In this work, we propose an edge computing-based data-driven inversion technique based on supervised deep convolutional neural network to accurately reconstruct the subsurface velocities. Deep learning based data-driven technique depends mostly on bulk data training. In this work, we train our deep convolutional neural network (DCN) (UNet and InversionNet) on the raw seismic data and their corresponding velocity models during the training phase to learn the non-linear mapping between the seismic data and velocity models. The trained network is then used to estimate the velocity models from new input seismic data during the prediction phase. The prediction phase is performed on a resource-constrained edge device such as Raspberry Pi. Raspberry Pi provides real-time and on-device computational power to execute the inference process. In addition, we demonstrate robustness of our models to perform inversion in the presence on noise by performing both noise-aware and no-noise training and feeding the resulting trained models with noise at different signal-to-noise (SNR) ratio values. We make great efforts to achieve very feasible inference times on the Raspberry Pi for both models. Specifically, the inference times per prediction for UNet and InversionNet models on Raspberry Pi were 22 and 4 s respectively whilst inference times for both models on the GPU were 2 and 18 s which are very comparable. Finally, we have designed a user-friendly interactive graphical user interface (GUI) to automate the model execution and inversion process on the Raspberry Pi.

Manu, Daniel (ORCID:0000000154982677)↗
DOE OSTI2020

Flexible Magnetic Polymer Composite Substrate with Ba 1.5 Sr 1.5 Z Hexaferrite Particles of VHF/Low UHF Patch Antennas for UAVs and Medical Implant Devices

Our goal is to fabricate flexible magnetic polymer composites as antenna substrates for very high frequency (VHF)/low ultra high frequency (UHF) antennas for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and medical devices. Magnetodielectric materials, which have permeability (μ) similar to permittivity (ε), have attracted great attention, because they facilitate miniaturization of microwave devices while keeping or enhancing electromagnetic characteristics. Mechanically millled Ba 1.5 Sr 1.5 Co 2 Fe 24 O 41 (Ba 1.5 Sr 1.5 Z) hexaferrite particles were used to increase permeability in the interesting frequency band. The microwave properties of Ba 1.5 Sr 1.5 Z composites were predicted and measured. Hansen’s zero-order analysis of antenna bandwidth and electromagnetic field simulation showed that the hexaferrite-based flexible composite could enhance a bandwidth and achieve the miniaturization of antennas as well. The magnetic antenna substrates can be a good solution to integrate antennas into the UAVs whose dimensions are comparable to or larger than communication wavelength.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗