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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 145 records · Page 8
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2013

Observation of spin-glass behavior in nickel adsorbed few layer graphene

Nickel-adsorbed graphene was prepared by first synthesizing graphite oxide (GO) by modified Hummers' method and then reducing a solution containing both GO and Ni{sup 2+}. Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy analysis showed 31 at. % nickel was present. Magnetization measurements under both dc and ac magnetic fields were carried out in the temperature range 2 K to 300 K. The zero field cooled and field cooled magnetization data showed a pronounced irreversibility at a temperature around 20 K. The analysis of the ac susceptibility data was carried out by both Vogel-Fulcher as well as power law. From dynamic scaling analysis, the microscopic flipping time {tau}{sub 0}{approx}10{sup -13}s and critical exponent z{nu}=5.9{+-}0.1 were found, indicating the presence of conventional spin glass in the system. The spin glass transition temperature was estimated as 19.5 K. Decay of thermoremanent magnetization was explained by stretched exponential function with a value of the exponent as 0.6. From the results, it is concluded that nickel adsorbed graphene behaves like a spin-glass.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2014

A novel mathematical model for controllable near-field electrospinning

Near-field electrospinning (NFES) had better controllability than conventional electrospinning. However, due to the lack of guidance of theoretical model, precise deposition of micro/nano fibers could only accomplished by experience. To analyze the behavior of charged jet in NFES using mathematical model, the momentum balance equation was simplified and a new expression between jet cross-sectional radius and axial position was derived. Using this new expression and mass conservation equation, expressions for jet cross-sectional radius and velocity were derived in terms of axial position and initial jet acceleration in the form of exponential functions. Based on Slender-body theory and Giesekus model, a quadratic equation for initial jet acceleration was acquired. With the proposed model, it was able to accurately predict the diameter and velocity of polymer fibers in NFES, and mathematical analysis rather than experimental methods could be applied to study the effects of the process parameters in NFES. Moreover, the movement velocity of the collector stage can be regulated by mathematical model rather than experience. Therefore, the model proposed in this paper had important guiding significance to precise deposition of polymer fibers.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2014

Physical properties and analytical models of band-to-band tunneling in low-bandgap semiconductors

Low-bandgap semiconductors, such as InAs and InSb, are widely considered to be ideal for use in tunnel field-effect transistors to ensure sufficient on-current boosting at low voltages. This work elucidates the physical and mathematical considerations of applying conventional band-to-band tunneling models in low-bandgap semiconductors, and presents a new analytical alternative for practical use. The high-bandgap tunneling generates most at maximum field region with shortest tunnel path, whereas the low-bandgap generations occur dispersedly because of narrow tunnel barrier. The local electrical field associated with tunneling-electron numbers dominates in low-bandgap materials. This work proposes decoupled electric-field terms in the pre-exponential factor and exponential function of generation-rate expressions. Without fitting, the analytical results and approximated forms exhibit great agreements with the sophisticated forms both in high- and low-bandgap semiconductors. Neither nonlocal nor local field is appropriate to be used in numerical simulations for predicting the tunneling generations in a variety of low- and high-bandgap semiconductors.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2014

Current leakage relaxation and charge trapping in ultra-porous low-k materials

Time dependent dielectric failure has become a pivotal aspect of interconnect design as industry pursues integration of sub-22 nm process-technology nodes. Literature has provided key information about the role played by individual species such as electrons, holes, ions, and neutral impurity atoms. However, no mechanism has been shown to describe how such species interact and influence failure. Current leakage relaxation in low-k dielectrics was studied using bipolar field experiments to gain insight into how charge carrier flow becomes impeded by defects within the dielectric matrix. Leakage current decay was correlated to injection and trapping of electrons. We show that current relaxation upon inversion of the applied field can be described by the stretched exponential function. The kinetics of charge trapping events are consistent with a time-dependent reaction rate constant, k=k{sub 0}⋅(t+1){sup β−1}, where 0 < β < 1. Such dynamics have previously been observed in studies of charge trapping reactions in amorphous solids by W. H. Hamill and K. Funabashi, Phys. Rev. B 16, 5523–5527 (1977). We explain the relaxation process in charge trapping events by introducing a nonlinear charge trapping model. This model provides a description on the manner in which the transport of mobile defects affects the long-tail current relaxation processes in low-k films.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2014

Ferromagnetic superexchange interaction and spin glass behaviour in Sm{sub 2}CoMnO{sub 6} nanoparticles

Sm{sub 2}CoMnO{sub 6} samples with particle sizes ∼70 nm were synthesized by a sol-gel technique. Field cooled magnetization study exhibited a ferromagnetic transition with a Curie temperature at ∼139K. This was attributed to ferromagnetic Co{sup 2+}−O−Mn{sup 4+} superexchange interaction. The results of magnetic relaxation measurements could be fitted to a stretched exponential function indicating the presence of both ferromagnetic and spin glass components in the system.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2014

Luminescence thermometry below room temperature via up-conversion emission of Y{sub 2}O{sub 3}:Yb{sup 3+},Er{sup 3+} nanophosphors

This study explores potential of Er{sup 3+}-Yb{sup 3+} doped phosphors for up-conversion luminescence thermometry in the temperature range from 10 K to 300 K. Yttrium oxide nanopowder doped with trivalent ytterbium and erbium ions (Y{sub 1.97}Yb{sub 0.02}Er{sub 0.01}O{sub 3}) was prepared by hydrothermal synthesis as an example. The intensity ratios of up-conversion emissions from thermally coupled {sup 2}H{sub 11/2} and {sup 4}S{sub 3/2} levels of Er{sup 3+} show strong temperature dependence (in the range 150 K–300 K) with much higher relative sensitivity than those reported for thermometry above room temperature with Er{sup 3+}-Yb{sup 3+} based up-conversion materials. The maximal value of relative sensitivity is 5.28%K{sup −1} at 150 K, with temperature resolution ranging from 0.81 K to 0.06 K. In addition, the intensity ratios of emission from thermally non-coupled Er{sup 3+} levels ({sup 2}H{sub 9/2} and {sup 4}F{sub 9/2}) and from {sup 4}S{sub 3/2} also show temperature dependence that can be approximated with an exponential function. With these up-conversion emission ratios, it is possible measure temperature in the range of 10 K to 300 K with excellent sensitivity and resolution.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2014

Constriction model of actomyosin ring for cytokinesis by fission yeast using a two-state sliding filament mechanism

We developed a model describing the structure and contractile mechanism of the actomyosin ring in fission yeast, Schizosaccharomyces pombe. The proposed ring includes actin, myosin, and α-actinin, and is organized into a structure similar to that of muscle sarcomeres. This structure justifies the use of the sliding-filament mechanism developed by Huxley and Hill, but it is probably less organized relative to that of muscle sarcomeres. Ring contraction tension was generated via the same fundamental mechanism used to generate muscle tension, but some physicochemical parameters were adjusted to be consistent with the proposed ring structure. Simulations allowed an estimate of ring constriction tension that reproduced the observed ring constriction velocity using a physiologically possible, self-consistent set of parameters. Proposed molecular-level properties responsible for the thousand-fold slower constriction velocity of the ring relative to that of muscle sarcomeres include fewer myosin molecules involved, a less organized contractile configuration, a low α-actinin concentration, and a high resistance membrane tension. Ring constriction velocity is demonstrated as an exponential function of time despite a near linear appearance. We proposed a hypothesis to explain why excess myosin heads inhibit constriction velocity rather than enhance it. The model revealed how myosin concentration and elastic resistance tension are balanced during cytokinesis in S. pombe.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2014

Modelling of illuminated current–voltage characteristics to evaluate leakage currents in long wavelength infrared mercury cadmium telluride photovoltaic detectors

The current–voltage characteristics of long wavelength mercury cadmium telluride infrared detectors have been studied using a recently suggested method for modelling of illuminated photovoltaic detectors. Diodes fabricated on in-house grown arsenic and vacancy doped epitaxial layers were evaluated for their leakage currents. The thermal diffusion, generation–recombination (g-r), and ohmic currents were found as principal components of diode current besides a component of photocurrent due to illumination. In addition, both types of diodes exhibited an excess current component whose growth with the applied bias voltage did not match the expected growth of trap-assisted-tunnelling current. Instead, it was found to be the best described by an exponential function of the type, I{sub excess} = I{sub r0} + K{sub 1} exp (K{sub 2} V), where I{sub r0}, K{sub 1}, and K{sub 2} are fitting parameters and V is the applied bias voltage. A study of the temperature dependence of the diode current components and the excess current provided the useful clues about the source of origin of excess current. It was found that the excess current in diodes fabricated on arsenic doped epitaxial layers has its origin in the source of ohmic shunt currents. Whereas, the source of excess current in diodes fabricated on vacancy doped epitaxial layers appeared to be the avalanche multiplication of photocurrent. The difference in the behaviour of two types of diodes has been attributed to the difference in the quality of epitaxial layers.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2015

An investigation of resonances in e{sup +}-H scattering embedded in Debye plasma

We carry out calculations for S-wave and P-wave resonances in e{sup +}-H scattering in weakly coupled Debye plasma in which the interaction between two charged particles is represented by a screened Coulomb potential. We employ the complex-scaling method with Hylleraas-type basis set to take correlation effects into account. In the complex-scaling treatment of the screened Coulomb potential, we first perform a Taylor series expansion for the exponential function that contains the distance r between two particles into a polynomial with various powers r{sup n}. We then make the complex scaling transformation of r→r e{sup iθ} in the expansion. The complex resonant eigenvalues are obtained by searching for stabilized points in the complex energy plane with respect to the changes of rotational angle θ and other parameters in the basis set.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2015

Effective binary theory of multi-component nucleation

Classical theory of multi-component nucleation [O. Hirschfelder, J. Chem. Phys. 61, 2690 (1974)] belongs to the class of the so-called intractable problems: it requires computational time which is an exponential function of the number of components N. For a number of systems of practical interest with N > 10, the brute-force use of the classical theory becomes virtually impossible and one has to resort to an effective medium approach. We present an effective binary model which captures important physics of multi-component nucleation. The distinction between two effective species is based on the observation that while all N components contribute to the cluster thermodynamic properties, there is only a part of them which trigger the nucleation process. The proposed 2D-theory takes into account adsorption by means of the Gibbs dividing surface formalism and uses statistical mechanical considerations for the treatment of small clusters. Theoretical predictions for binary-, ternary-, and 14-component mixtures are compared with available experimental data and other models.

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

Detection efficiency of microchannel plates for e{sup −} and π{sup −} in the momentum range from 17.5 to 345 MeV/c

High-energy e{sup –} and π{sup –} were measured by the multichannel plate (MCP) detector at the PiM1 beam line of the High Intensity Proton Accelerator Facilities located at the Paul Scherrer Institute, Villigen, Switzerland. The measurements provide the absolute detection efficiencies for these particles: 5.8% ± 0.5% for electrons in the beam momenta range 17.5–300 MeV/c and 6.0% ± 1.3% for pions in the beam momenta range 172–345 MeV/c. The pulse height distribution determined from the measurements is close to an exponential function with negative exponent, indicating that the particles penetrated the MCP material before producing the signal somewhere inside the channel. Low charge extraction and nominal gains of the MCP detector observed in this study are consistent with the proposed mechanism of the signal formation by penetrating radiation. A very similar MCP ion detector will be used in the Neutral Ion Mass (NIM) spectrometer designed for the JUICE mission of European Space Agency (ESA) to the Jupiter system, to perform measurements of the chemical composition of the Galilean moon exospheres. The detection efficiency for penetrating radiation determined in the present studies is important for the optimisation of the radiation shielding of the NIM detector against the high-rate and high-energy electrons trapped in Jupiter’s magnetic field. Furthermore, the current studies indicate that MCP detectors can be useful to measure high-energy particle beams at high temporal resolution.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2016

Abnormal positive bias stress instability of In–Ga–Zn–O thin-film transistors with low-temperature Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} gate dielectric

Low-temperature atomic layer deposition (ALD) was employed to deposit Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} as a gate dielectric in amorphous In–Ga–Zn–O thin-film transistors fabricated at temperatures below 120 °C. The devices exhibited a negligible threshold voltage shift (ΔV{sub T}) during negative bias stress, but a more pronounced ΔV{sub T} under positive bias stress with a characteristic turnaround behavior from a positive ΔV{sub T} to a negative ΔV{sub T}. This abnormal positive bias instability is explained using a two-process model, including both electron trapping and hydrogen release and migration. Electron trapping induces the initial positive ΔV{sub T}, which can be fitted using the stretched exponential function. The breakage of residual AlO-H bonds in low-temperature ALD Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} is triggered by the energetic channel electrons. The hydrogen atoms then diffuse toward the In–Ga–Zn–O channel and induce the negative ΔV{sub T} through electron doping with power-law time dependence. A rapid partial recovery of the negative ΔV{sub T} after stress is also observed during relaxation.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2016

Modeling of well drilling heating on crude oil using microwave

As the world’s oil reserves are dwindling, some researchers have been prompted to make a breakthrough to further improve the efficiency of exploration and production. One of the technologies used is heating the crude oil. This paper presents the modeling results of heat treatment on crude oil using microwave energy. Modeling is conducted by assuming that the diameter of the well is 11,16 cm, the heat source is applied on the surface of the well, and the cut-off frequency in the air and on crude oil are 1,56 GHz. and 0.91 GHz, respectively. The energy generated by the microwave radiation is converted into heat energy which is absorbed by the crude oil. Consequently, this energy increases the temperature of crude oil through a heat transfer mechanism. The results obtained showed that the temperature of crude oil is about 200°C at a depth of 62.5cm, and at a distance of 3 cm from the center of the well. Temperature along the well follows an exponential function, which is from the center of the well in the direction radially outward from the cylinder axis. It has been observed that the temperature decreases as measured from the well surface along the cylinder.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2016

Exchange bias training relaxation in spin glass/ferromagnet bilayers

A canonical spin glass (SG) FeAu layer is fabricated to couple to a soft ferromagnet (FM) FeNi layer. Below the SG freezing temperature, exchange bias (EB) and training are observed. Training in SG/FM bilayers is insensitive to cooling field and may suppress the EB or change the sign of the EB field from negative to positive at specific temperatures, violating from the simple power-law or the single exponential function derived from the antiferromagnet based systems. In view of the SG nature, we employ a double decay model to distinguish the contributions from the SG bulk and the SG/FM interface to training. Dynamical properties during training under different cooling fields and at different temperatures are discussed, and the nonzero shifting coefficient in the time index as a signature of slowing-down decay for SG based systems is interpreted by means of a modified Monte Carlo Metropolis algorithm.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2016

Molecular dynamics investigation of hexagonal boron nitride sputtering and sputtered particle characteristics

The sputtering of hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) by impacts of energetic xenon ions is investigated using a molecular dynamics (MD) model. The model is implemented within an open-source MD framework that utilizes graphics processing units to accelerate its calculations, allowing the sputtering process to be studied in much greater detail than has been feasible in the past. Integrated sputter yields are computed over a range of ion energies from 20 eV to 300 eV, and incidence angles from 0° to 75°. Sputtering of boron is shown to occur at energies as low as 40 eV at normal incidence, and sputtering of nitrogen at as low as 30 eV at normal incidence, suggesting a threshold energy between 20 eV and 40 eV. The sputter yields at 0° incidence are compared to existing experimental data and are shown to agree well over the range of ion energies investigated. The semi-empirical Bohdansky curve and an empirical exponential function are fit to the data at normal incidence, and the threshold energy for sputtering is calculated from the Bohdansky curve fit as 35 ± 2 eV. These results are shown to compare well with experimental observations that the threshold energy lies between 20 eV and 40 eV. It is demonstrated that h-BN sputters predominantly as atomic boron and diatomic nitrogen, and the velocity distribution function (VDF) of sputtered boron atoms is investigated. The calculated VDFs are found to reproduce the Sigmund-Thompson distribution predicted by Sigmund's linear cascade theory of sputtering. The average surface binding energy computed from Sigmund-Thompson curve fits is found to be 4.5 eV for ion energies of 100 eV and greater. This compares well to the value of 4.8 eV determined from independent experiments.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2016

A separation of antiferromagnetic spin motion modes in the training effect of exchange biased Co/CoO film with in-plane anisotropy

The motion of antiferromagnetic interfacial spins is investigated through the temperature evolution of training effect in a Co/CoO film with in-plane biaxial anisotropy. Significant differences in the training effect and its temperature dependence are observed in the magnetic easy axis and hard axis (HA) and ascribed to the different motion modes of antiferromagnetic interfacial spins, the collective spin cluster rotation (CSR) and the single spin reversal (SSR), caused by different magnetization reversal modes of ferromagnetic layer. These motion modes of antiferromagnetic spins are successfully separated using a combination of an exponential function and a classic n{sup −1/2} function. A larger CSR to SSR ratio and a shorter lifetime of CSR found in the HA indicates that the domain rotation in the ferromagnetic layer tends to activate and accelerate a CSR mode in the antiferromagnetic spins.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2016

Activation energy of negative fixed charges in thermal ALD Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}

A study of the thermally activated negative fixed charges Q{sub tot} and the interface trap densities D{sub it} at the interface between Si and thermal atomic-layer-deposited amorphous Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} layers is presented. The thermal activation of Q{sub tot} and D{sub it} was conducted at annealing temperatures between 220 °C and 500 °C for durations between 3 s and 38 h. The temperature-induced differences in Q{sub tot} and D{sub it} were measured using the characterization method called corona oxide characterization of semiconductors. Their time dependency were fitted using stretched exponential functions, yielding activation energies of E{sub A} = (2.2 ± 0.2) eV and E{sub A} = (2.3 ± 0.7) eV for Q{sub tot} and D{sub it}, respectively. For annealing temperatures from 350 °C to 500 °C, the changes in Q{sub tot} and D{sub it} were similar for both p- and n-type doped Si samples. In contrast, at 220 °C the charging process was enhanced for p-type samples. Based on the observations described in this contribution, a charging model leading to Q{sub tot} based on an electron hopping process between the silicon and Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} through defects is proposed.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2018

Non-equilibrium phenomena and kinetic pathways in self-assembled polyelectrolyte complexes

Polyelectrolyte complexation has been conventionally focused on the thermodynamic states, where assemblies have equilibrated in solutions. Far less attention has been given to complex systems that are kinetically trapped at non-equilibrium states. A combination of time-resolved dynamic light scattering, small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), and cryogenic transmission electron microscopy (Cryo-TEM) was employed here to investigate the internal structures and morphological evolution of non-equilibrium aggregates forming from a pair of two strong block polyelectrolytes over wide time and length scales. The role of formation pathways of electrostatically driven aggregates was assessed using two processing protocols: direct dissolution and salt annealing. The former led to thermodynamically stable products, while the latter resulted in kinetically trapped transient structures. After adding salt, the metastable structures gradually transformed into stable products. Cryo-TEM images showed the interconnected irregular morphologies of the aggregates, and SAXS data revealed the presence of fuzzy globular complexes with R-g similar to 10 nm within them. A two-step process in the time-dependent structural transformation was found and characterized by a fast breakdown of interconnected transient aggregates followed by a slow redistribution of the incipient individual electrostatic assemblies. Furthermore, the prolonged aggregate disintegration process fitting to a stretched exponential function unveiled the broad relaxation distribution and significant structural heterogeneity in these polyelectrolyte complex nanoaggregates. This work brings new insight into the comprehension of non-equilibrium phenomena in self-assembled electrostatic assemblies and represents a first step toward constructing far-from-equilibrium polyelectrolyte complexes de novo for future applications.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗