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At least 1,531 records · Page 85
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2021

New capability for neutron transmission measurements at LANSCE: The DICER instrument

A new capability for neutron transmission measurements has been developed at the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center (LANSCE). The DICER (Device for Indirect Capture Experiments on Radionuclides) instrument is designed to tightly constrain neutron-capture cross sections for short-lived radionuclides that are beyond the reach of direct techniques, via measurement and analysis of neutron transmission resonances on these same radionuclides. The innovative DICER apparatus enables simultaneous sample-in and sample-out measurements, thus minimizing the amount of sample material needed and reducing the measurements time by half. A description of the current status of the new transmission station, along with a performance overview and results from known reactions, will be presented here.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2019

Advanced FIB-based Preparation of Cryogenically-prepared Specimens for APT Analysis

The utilization of the focused ion beam scanning electron microscope (FIB-SEM) has aided the application of Atom Probe Tomography (APT) to a continually-growing variety of materials, including soft biological materials. However, the regular application of APT to hydrated interfaces such as those found in biological and environmental materials is lacking in large part due to difficulties in specimen preparation under high and ultra-high vacuum conditions. Although a FIB-SEM based cryogenic specimen preparation approach offers a rational route to the preparation of such specimens for APT analysis, many practical aspects such as welding and limitations in the cryo stage manipulation makes it challenging for routine liftout of site-targeted specimens. In this work, we describe our recent efforts in the development of a site-specific liftout and attachment scheme for cryogenically cooled specimens involving a combination of redeposition and overcoating of organic and organometallic molecules, as shown in Fig. 1a-d for a cryogenically-frozen corroded glass sample containing a hydrated porous gel surface layer. Application of an annular milling pattern to the frozen specimens leads to a needle-shaped morphology necessary for APT analysis with the targeted water-ice filled porous corroded silicate glass region of interest near the apex. Using a custom shuttle device and environmental transfer hub at PNNL to facilitate environmentally-protected specimen transfer, APT analysis was applied to directly map, for the first time, a water/solid interface in 3D to reveal the complex nanoscale water-filled porous network of corroded glass. Application of this unique specimen preparation approach to biological specimens will also be discussed, as well as the application of a unique cryo nanomaniupulator with integrated gas injection system to enable controlled FIB-based welding under cryogenic temperatures.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2023

Long-Lived and Bright Biexcitons in Quantum Dots with Parabolic Band Potentials

Multiple exciton physics in semiconductor nanocrystals play an important role in optoelectronic devices. Here, this work investigates radially alloyed CdZnSe/CdS nanocrystals with suppressed Auger recombination due to the spatial separation of carriers, which also underpins their performance in optical gain and scintillation experiments. Due to suppressed Auger recombination, the biexciton lifetime is greater than 10 ns, much longer than most nanocrystals. The samples show optical gain, amplified spontaneous emission, and lasing at thresholds <2 excitons per particle. They also show broad gain bandwidth (>500 meV) encompassing 4 amplified spontaneous emission bands. Similarly enabled by slowed multiple exciton relaxation, the samples display strong performance in scintillating films under X-ray illumination. The CdZnSe/CdS samples have fast radioluminescence rise (<80 ps) and decay times (<5 ns), light yields up to 6700 photonsMeV -1 , and the demonstrated capacity for incorporation into large area films for scintillation imaging.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2024

ATLAS-MAP: An Automated Test Station for Gated Electronic Transport Measurements

The diversification of electronic materials in devices provides a strong incentive for methods to rapidly correlate device performance with fabrication decisions. In this work, we present a low-cost automated test station for gated electronic transport measurements of field-effect transistors. Utilizing open-source PyMeasure libraries for transparent instrument control, the “ATLAS-MAP” system serves as a customizable interface between sourcemeters and samples under test and is programmed to conduct transfer curve and van der Pauw methods with static and sweeping gate voltages. Zinc oxide transistors of variable thickness (5, 10, and 20 nm) and channel size (50 μm to 3 mm, of equal length and width) were fabricated to validate the design. Standardization of testing procedures and raw data formatting enabled automated data analysis. A detailed list of parts and code files for the system are provided.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2018

Enhanced high-harmonic generation from an all-dielectric metasurface

The recent observation of high-harmonic generation from solids creates a new possibility for engineering fundamental strong-field processes by patterning the solid target with subwavelength nanostructures. All-dielectric metasurfaces exhibit high damage thresholds and strong enhancement of the driving field, making them attractive platforms to control high harmonics and other high-field processes at the nanoscale. Here we report enhanced non-perturbative high-harmonic emission from a Fano-resonant Si metasurface that possesses a classical analogue of electromagnetically induced transparency. The harmonic emission is enhanced by more than two orders of magnitude compared to unpatterned samples. The enhanced high harmonics are highly anisotropic with respect to the excitation polarization and are selective by the excitation wavelength due to its resonant features. Furthermore, by combining nanofabrication technology and ultrafast strong-field physics, our work paves the way for the design of new compact ultrafast photonic devices that operate under high intensities and at short wavelengths.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2013

Large sensitivity enhancement in semiconducting organic field effect transistor sensors through incorporation of ultra-fine platinum nanoparticles

We report remarkable improvement in sensitivity of pentacene-based field effect transistor devices towards trace nitro-aromatic explosive vapors through the incorporation of high density, sub-2 nm platinum nanoparticles (NPs) within these structures. Exploiting the unique electronic properties of these NPs, we have demonstrated a detection limit of 56.6 parts per billion of 2,4-dinitrotoluene (DNT) vapor while control samples without any embedded NPs showed no observable sensitivity to DNT vapor. We attribute this remarkable enhancement in sensitivity to the ability of these NPs to function as discrete nodes, participating in the charge transfer with adsorbed nitro-aromatic molecules.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2014

Widely tunable room temperature semiconductor terahertz source

We present a widely tunable, monolithic terahertz source based on intracavity difference frequency generation within a mid-infrared quantum cascade laser at room temperature. A three-section ridge waveguide laser design with two sampled grating sections and a distributed-Bragg section is used to achieve the terahertz (THz) frequency tuning. Room temperature single mode THz emission with a wide tunable frequency range of 2.6–4.2 THz (∼47% of the central frequency) and THz power up to 0.1 mW is demonstrated, making such device an ideal candidate for THz spectroscopy and sensing.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2015

Beta (β) tungsten thin films: Structure, electron transport, and giant spin Hall effect

We use a simple magnetron sputtering process to fabricate beta (β) tungsten thin films, which are capable of generating giant spin Hall effect. As-deposited thin films are always in the metastable β-W phase from 3.0 to 26.7 nm. The β-W phase remains intact below a critical thickness of 22.1 nm even after magnetic thermal annealing at 280 °C, which is required to induce perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) in a layered structure of β-W/Co{sub 40}Fe{sub 40}B{sub 20}/MgO. Intensive annealing transforms the thicker films (>22.1 nm) into the stable α-W phase. We analyze the structure and grain size of both β- and α-W thin films. Electron transport in terms of resistivity and normal Hall effect is studied over a broad temperature range of 10 K to at least 300 K on all samples. Very low switching current densities are achieved in β-W/Co{sub 40}Fe{sub 40}B{sub 20}/MgO with PMA. These basic properties reveal useful behaviors in β-W thin films, making them technologically promising for spintronic magnetic random access memories and spin-logic devices.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2015

Electromagnetic resonant modes of dielectric sphere bilayers

Sphere bilayers have been proposed as promising structures for electromagnetic management in photonic crystal devices. These arrangements are made of two intertwined subsets of spheres of different size and refractive index, one subset filling the interstitial sites of the other. We present a systematic study of the electromagnetic resonant modes of the bilayers, in comparison with those of the constituent subsets of spheres. Three samples were built with glass and Teflon spheres and their transmission spectra measured in the microwave range (10–25 GHz). Simulations with finite integration time-domain method are in good agreement with experiments. Results show that the bilayer presents the same resonances as one of the subsets but modified by the presence of the other in its resonant frequencies and in the electric field distributions. As this distortion is not very large, the number of resonances in a selected spectral region is determined by the dominant subset. The degree of freedom that offers the bilayer could be useful to fine tune the resonances of the structure for different applications. A map of modes useful to guide this design is also presented. Scale invariance of Maxwell equations allows the translation of these results in the microwave range to the visible region; hence, some possible applications are discussed in this framework.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2022

Cryo-FIB for TEM Investigation of Soft Matter and Beam Sensitive Energy Materials

Primarily driven by structural biology, the rapid advances in cryogenic electron microscopy techniques are now being adopted and applied by materials scientists. Samples that inherently have electron transparency can be rapidly frozen (vitrified) in amorphous ice and imaged directly on a cryogenic transmission electron microscopy (cryo-TEM), however this is not the case for many important materials systems, which can consist of layered structures, embedded architectures, or be contained within a device. Cryogenic focused ion beam (cryo-FIB) lift-out procedures have recently been developed to extract intact regions and interfaces of interest, that can then be thinned to electron transparency and transferred to the cryo-TEM for characterization. Several detailed studies have been reported demonstrating the cryo-FIB lift-out procedure, however due to its relative infancy in materials science improvements are still required to ensure the technique becomes more accessible and routinely successful. Here, we review recent results on the preparation of cryo-TEM lamellae using cryo-FIB and show that the technique is broadly applicable to a range of soft matter and beam sensitive energy materials. We then present a tutorial that can guide the materials scientist through the cryo-FIB lift-out process, highlighting recent methodological advances that address the most common failure points of the technique, such as needle attachment, lift-out and transfer, and final thinning.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2026

Error-mitigated nonorthogonal quantum eigensolver via shadow tomography

We present a shadow-tomography-enhanced nonorthogonal quantum eigensolver (NOQE) for more efficient and accurate electronic structure calculations on near-term quantum devices. By integrating shadow tomography into the NOQE, the measurement cost scales linearly rather than quadratically with the number of reference states, while also reducing the required qubits and circuit depth by half. This approach enables extraction of all matrix elements via randomized measurements and classical postprocessing. We analyze its sample complexity and show that, for small systems, it remains constant in the high-precision regime, while for larger systems, it scales linearly with the system size. We further apply shadow-based error mitigation to suppress noise-induced bias without increasing quantum resources. Demonstrations on the hydrogen molecule in the strongly correlated regime achieve chemical accuracy under realistic noise, showing that our method is both resource-efficient and noise-resilient for practical quantum chemistry simulations in the near term.

quantum algorithms & computation↗
DOE OSTI2016

Modeling Changes in Measured Conductance of Thin Boron Carbide Semiconducting Films Under Irradiation

Semiconducting, p-type, amorphous partially dehydrogenated boron carbide films (a-B 10 C 2+x :H y ) were deposited utilizing plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) onto n-type silicon thus creating a heterojunction diode. A model was developed for the conductance of the device as a function of perturbation frequency (f) that incorporates changes of the electrical properties for both the a-B 10 C 2+x :H y film and the silicon substrate when irradiated. The virgin model has 3 independent variables (R1, C1, R3), and 1 dependent variable (f). These samples were then irradiated with 200 keV He + ions, and the conductance model was matched to the measured data. It was found that initial irradiation (0.1 displacements per atom (dpa) equivalent) resulted in a decrease in the parallel junction resistance parameter from 6032 Ω to 2705 Ω. Further irradiation drastically increased the parallel junction resistance parameter to 39000 Ω (0.2 dpa equivalent), 77440 Ω (0.3 dpa equivalent), and 190000 Ω (0.5 dpa equivalent). It is believed that the initial irradiation causes type inversion of the silicon substrate changing the original junction from a p-n to a p-p+ with a much lower barrier height leading to a lower junction resistance component between the a-B 10 C 2+x :H y and irradiated silicon. In addition, it was found that after irradiation, a second parallel resistor and capacitor component is required for the model, introducing 2 additional independent variables (R2, C2). This is interpreted as the junction between the irradiated and virgin silicon near ion end of range.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2015

Improved thermal stability and electrical properties of atomic layer deposited HfO{sub 2}/AlN high-k gate dielectric stacks on GaAs

The thermal stability and electrical properties of atomic layer deposited HfO{sub 2}/AlN high-k gate dielectric stacks on GaAs were investigated. Compared to HfO{sub 2}/Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} gate dielectric, significant improvements in interfacial quality as well as electrical characteristics after postdeposition annealing are confirmed by constructing HfO{sub 2}/AlN dielectric stacks. The chemical states were carefully explored by the x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, which indicates the AlN layers effectively prevent from the formation of defective native oxides at elevated temperatures. In addition, it is found that NH{sub 3} plasma during AlN plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition also has the self-cleaning effect as Al(CH{sub 3}){sub 3} in removing native oxides. The passivating AlN layers suppress the formation of interfacial oxide and trap charge, leading to the decrease of capacitance equivalent thickness after annealing. Moreover, HfO{sub 2}/AlN/GaAs sample has a much lower leakage current density of 2.23 × 10{sup −4} A/cm{sup 2} than HfO{sub 2}/Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}/GaAs sample of 2.58 × 10{sup −2} A/cm{sup 2}. For the HfO{sub 2}/AlN/GaAs sample annealed at 500 °C, it has a lowest interface trap density value of 2.11 × 10{sup 11} eV{sup −1} cm{sup −2}. These results indicate that adopting HfO{sub 2}/AlN dielectric stacks may be a promising approach for the realization of high quality GaAs-based transistor devices.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2014

SIMS Analyses of Aerodynamic Fallout from a Uranium-Fueled Test

Five silicate fallout glass spherules produced in a uranium-fueled, near-surface nuclear test were characterized by secondary ion mass spectrometry, electron probe microanalysis, autoradiography, scanning electron microscopy, and energy-dispersive x ray spectroscopy. Several samples display distinctive compositional heterogeneity suggestive of incomplete mixing, and exhibit heterogeneity in U isotopes with 0.02 < 235 U/ 238 U < 11.8 among all five samples and 0.02 < 235 U/ 238 U < 7.81 within a single sample. In two samples, the 235 U/ 238 U ratio is correlated with major element composition, consistent with the agglomeration of chemically and isotopically distinct molten precursors. Two samples are quasi-homogeneous with respect to composition and uranium isotopic composition, suggesting extensive mixing possibly due longer residence time in the fireball. Correlated variations between 234 U, 235 U, 236 U and 238 U abundances point to mixing of end-members corresponding to uranium derived from the device and natural U ( 238 U/ 235 U = 0.00725) found in soil.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2022

Cryo-FIB for TEM Investigation of Soft Matter and Beam Sensitive Energy Materials

Primarily driven by structural biology, the rapid advances in cryogenic electron microscopy techniques are now being adopted and applied by materials scientists. Samples that inherently have electron transparency can be rapidly frozen (vitrified) in amorphous ice and imaged directly on a cryogenic transmission electron microscopy (cryo-TEM), however this is not the case for many important materials systems, which can consist of layered structures, embedded architectures, or be contained within a device. Cryogenic focused ion beam (cryo-FIB) lift-out procedures have recently been developed to extract intact regions and interfaces of interest, that can then be thinned to electron transparency and transferred to the cryo-TEM for characterization. Several detailed studies have been reported demonstrating the cryo-FIB lift-out procedure, however due to its relative infancy in materials science improvements are still required to ensure the technique becomes more accessible and routinely successful. Here, we review recent results on the preparation of cryo-TEM lamellae using cryo-FIB and show that the technique is broadly applicable to a range of soft matter and beam sensitive energy materials. We then present a tutorial that can guide the materials scientist through the cryo-FIB lift-out process, highlighting recent methodological advances that address the most common failure points of the technique, such as needle attachment, lift-out and transfer, and final thinning.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2012

Precision Characterization of Gyrotron Window Materials

The response of dielectric material to electromagnetic waves in the millimeter wavelength range (30 to 300 GHz) has received relatively little study and the processes that give rise to absorption in this region are often poorly understood. Understanding the origin of absorption at these wavelengths has basic significance for solid state physics as well as importance for development of technology in this region of the RF spectrum. This project has provided high-quality data on the temperature dependence of the dielectric loss in high-purity, semi-insulating silicon carbide (HPSI SiC), a material that holds much promise for application, especially in devices that must operate in the high power and high frequency regime. Comparison of this experimental data with theoretical predictions for various loss processes provides convincing evidence that the loss in HPSI SiC arises almost entirely from intrinsic lattice loss (ILL) as described by Garin. Fitting the data to this model yields an accurate value for the Debye temperature that characterizes crystalline SiC. In addition, our results refute a previous study(2) which reported much higher loss, attributed to the presence of free charge. The quality of the data acquired in this project is clear evidence for the value of the experimental technique that was employed here. This technique combines the excitation of a high-quality open resonator by a phase-locked backward wave oscillator (BWO) with use of a spectrum analyzer to measure the change in the resonator response curve when the sample is inserted. This system has demonstrated consistent results for very challenging measurements and does not suffer from the artifacts that often arise when using other techniques that rely on thermal sources. The low absorption loss found in HPSI SiC, when combined with its other outstanding material properties, e.g. high thermal conductivity, high tensile strength, and high carrier mobility, should provide incentive for designers to utilize this material to solve the challenging problems that are encountered as devices are pushed to operate at higher frequencies and higher power levels. In particular, for the fusion energy program, it may provide an economical alternative to CVD diamond for certain gyrotron and beam line applications. In addition, the value obtained for the Debye temperature provides an important datum for modeling the crystalline structure of SiC. Clearly SiC is a unique material with few competitors and should see wider utilization.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2021

Ferroic phase transitions and magnetoelectric coupling in cobalt doped BaTiO 3

Magnetoelectric (ME) materials exhibit interesting physics with cross coupling between ferroelectric and magnetic order parameters and thus strong potential to be utilized in memory, spintronics and other multifunctional electronic/magnetic devices. Doping of suitable transition metals in ferroelectrics can induce magnetism and ME coupling and modify the physical properties. Here, we report the structural, electronic, magnetic and ME coupling of 3.5, 5 and 7.5 mol% cobalt doped BaTiO 3 (BTO) ceramics. X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy indicate that the samples are single phase having a tetragonal crystal structure with P4mm symmetry. The tetragonality ratio is found to decrease with increasing cobalt content. We observed a Fano-like asymmetric peak in the [A 1 (LO 1 )] Raman mode at ~173 cm -1 in all the cobalt doped BTO samples. The cobalt dopants are shown to be uniformly distributed throughout the surface of the samples. We observed a lowering of the ferroelectric transition temperature and increasing diffusivity parameter with increasing cobalt concentration. The electrical properties of all the samples have been investigated in detail by impedance spectroscopy and ac conductivity studies before and after the ferroelectric phase transitions. All the samples show hysteretic ferroelectric behavior with a clear saturation state that decreases with increasing cobalt content. The observed ferroelectricity in these samples is intrinsic in nature. The 3.5% cobalt doped BTO sample exhibits paramagnetic behavior whereas the 5 and 7.5% cobalt doped BTO samples show ferromagnetic ordering below 43 K. The 7.5% cobalt doped BTO samples show significant ME coupling.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2021

Zinc–hydrogen and zinc–iridium pairs in β-Ga 2 O 3

Zinc-doped monoclinic gallium oxide (β-Ga 2 O 3 :Zn) has semi-insulating properties that could make it a preferred material as a substrate for power devices. In this work, infrared and UV/Visible spectroscopy were used to investigate the defect properties of bulk β-Ga 2 O 3 :Zn crystals. As-grown crystals contain a single O-H stretching mode at 3486.7 cm -1 due to a neutral ZnH complex. A deuterium-annealed sample displays the corresponding O-D stretching mode at 2582.9 cm -1 , confirming the O-H assignment. A strong Ir 4+ electronic transition at 5147.6 cm -1 is also observed, along with sidebands attributed to ZnIr pairs. These sidebands show distinct differences compared with Mg-doped samples; most importantly, several peaks are attributed to Ir 4+ paired with a Zn on the tetrahedral Ga(I) site. Annealing under an oxygen atmosphere produced insulating material with a resistance above 1 TΩ.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗