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At least 1,531 records · Page 85
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2014

Angle-specific transparent conducting electrodes with metallic gratings

Transparent conducting electrodes, which are not made from indium tin oxide, and which display a strong angular dependence are useful for various technologies. Here, we introduce a tilted silver grating that combines a large conductance with a strong and angle-specific transmittance. When the light incidence angle matches the tilt angle of the grating, transmittance is close to the maximum along a very broadband range. We explain the behavior through simulations that show in detail the plasmonic and interference effects at play.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2014

Realizing one-dimensional quantum and high-frequency transport features in aligned single-walled carbon nanotube ropes

The superiority of the electronic transport properties of single-walled carbon nanotube (SWNT) ropes over SWNT mats is verified from low temperature and frequency-dependent transport. The overall change of resistance versus in nanotube mats shows that 3D variable range hopping is the dominant conduction mechanism within the 2–300 K range. The magneto-resistance (MR) is found to be predominantly negative with a parabolic nature, which can also be described by the hopping model. Although the positive upturn of the MR at low temperatures establishes the contribution from quantum interference, the inherent quantum transport in individual tubes is suppressed at elevated temperatures. Therefore, to minimize multi-channel effects from inter-tube interactions and other defects, two-terminal devices were fabricated from aligned SWNT (extracted from a mat) for low temperature transport as well as high-frequency measurements. In contrast to the mat, the aligned ropes exhibit step-like features in the differential conductance within the 80–300 K temperature range. The effects of plasmon propagation, unique to one dimension, were identified in electronic transport as a non-universal power-law dependence of the differential conductance on temperature and source-drain voltage. The complex impedance showed high power transmission capabilities up to 65 GHz as well as oscillations in the frequency range up to 30 GHz. The measurements suggest that aligned SWNT ropes have a realistic potential for high-speed device applications.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2014

Spin-dependent delay time in ferromagnet/insulator/ferromagnet heterostructures

We study theoretically spin-dependent group delay and dwell time in ferromagnet/insulator/ferromagnet (FM/I/FM) heterostructure. The results indicate that, when the electrons with different spin orientations tunnel through the FM/I/FM junction, the spin-up process and the spin-down process are separated on the time scales. As the self-interference delay has the spin-dependent features, the variations of spin-dependent dwell-time and spin-dependent group-delay time with the structure parameters appear different features, especially, in low incident energy range. These different features show up as that the group delay times for the spin-up electrons are always longer than those for spin-down electrons when the barrier height or incident energy increase. In contrast, the dwell times for the spin-up electrons are longer (shorter) than those for spin-down electrons when the barrier heights (the incident energy) are under a certain value. When the barrier heights (the incident energy) exceed a certain value, the dwell times for the spin-up electrons turn out to be shorter (longer) than those for spin-down electrons. In addition, the group delay time and the dwell time for spin-up and down electrons also relies on the comparative direction of magnetization in two FM layers and tends to saturation with the thickness of the barrier.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2014

Insulating state to quantum Hall-like state transition in a spin-orbit-coupled two-dimensional electron system

We study interference and interactions in an InAs/InAsSb two-dimensional electron system. In such a system, spin-orbit interactions are shown to be strong, which result in weak antilocalization (WAL) and thereby positive magnetoresistance around zero magnetic field. After suppressing WAL by the magnetic field, we demonstrate that classical positive magnetoresistance due to spin-orbit coupling plays a role. With further increasing the magnetic field, the system undergoes a direct insulator-quantum Hall transition. By analyzing the magnetotransport behavior in different field regions, we show that both electron-electron interactions and spin-related effects are essential in understanding the observed direct transition.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2014

Measurement of spatial and temporal behavior of H{sub α} emission from Aditya tokamak using a diagnostic based on a photomultiplier tube array

A photo multiplier tube (PMT) array based spectroscopic diagnostic with fast time response of 10 μs and spatial resolution ∼3 cm has been developed and installed on Aditya tokamak to study the spatial and temporal behavior of H{sub α} emissions from typical discharges. Collimated light has been collected from the plasma along 16 lines of sight passing through entire plasma poloidal cross section of Aditya and detected by two 8 channels PMT arrays after selecting H{sub α} emission using interference filter. The studies are carried out during plasma formation phase of Aditya by changing vertical field and its delay with respect to loop voltage. It is observed that plasma initiated in the high field side in typical discharges of Aditya. The plasma formation position is matched with null field location estimated through simulation.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2014

First measurement of time evolution of electron temperature profiles with Nd:YAG Thomson scattering system on Heliotron J

A Nd:YAG Thomson scattering system has been developed for Heliotron J. The system consists of two 550 mJ 50 Hz lasers, large collection optics, and 25 radial channel (∼1 cm spatial resolution) interference polychromators. This measurement system achieves a S/N ratio of ∼50 for low-density plasma (n{sub e} ∼ 0.5 × 10{sup 19} m{sup −3}). A time evolution of electron temperature profiles was measured with this system for a high-intensity gas-puff (HIGP) fueling neutral-beam-injection plasma. The peripheral temperature of the higher-density phase after HIGP recovers to the low-density pre-HIGP level, suggesting that improving particle transport in the HIGP plasma may be possible.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2014

A polarization-independent broadband terahertz absorber

A highly efficient broadband terahertz absorber is designed, fabricated, and experimentally as well as theoretically evaluated. The absorber comprises a heavily doped silicon substrate and a well-designed two-dimensional grating. Due to the destructive interference of waves and diffraction, the absorber can achieve over 95% absorption in a broad frequency range from 1 to 2 THz and for angles of incidence from 0° to 60°. Such a terahertz absorber is also polarization-independent due to its symmetrical structure. This omnidirectional and broadband absorber have potential applications in anti-reflection coatings, imaging systems, and so on.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2014

Highly stable polarization independent Mach-Zehnder interferometer

We experimentally demonstrate optical Mach-Zehnder interferometer utilizing displaced Sagnac configuration to enhance its phase stability. The interferometer with footprint of 27×40 cm offers individually accessible paths and shows phase deviation less than 0.4° during a 250 s long measurement. The phase drift, evaluated by means of Allan deviation, stays below 3° or 7 nm for 1.5 h without any active stabilization. The polarization insensitive design is verified by measuring interference visibility as a function of input polarization. For both interferometer's output ports and all tested polarization states the visibility stays above 93%. The discrepancy in visibility for horizontal and vertical polarization about 3.5% is caused mainly by undesired polarization dependence of splitting ratio of the beam splitter used. The presented interferometer device is suitable for quantum-information and other sensitive applications where active stabilization is complicated and common-mode interferometer is not an option as both the interferometer arms have to be accessible individually.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2014

Thomson scattering diagnostic system design for the Compact Toroidal Hybrid experiment

A new Thomson scattering system using standard commercially available components has been designed for the non-axisymmetric plasmas of the Compact Toroidal Hybrid (CTH). The beam, generated by a frequency doubled Continuum PL DLS 2 J Nd:YAG laser, is passed vertically through an entrance Brewster window and an aperturing baffle system to minimize the stray laser light that could enter the collection optics. The beam line has been designed with an 8 m propagation distance to the mid-plane of the CTH device with the beam diameter kept less than 3 mm inside the plasma volume. The beam exits the vacuum system through another Brewster window and enters a beam dump, again to minimize the stray light in the vacuum chamber. Light collection, spectral processing, and signal detection are accomplished with an f/#∼ 1 aspheric lens, a commercially available Holospec f/1.8 spectrometer, and an Andor iStar DH740-18U-C3 image intensified camera. Spectral rejection of stray laser light, if needed, can be performed with the use of an optional interference filter at the spectrometer input. The system has been developed for initial single point measurements of plasmas with core electron temperatures of approximately 20–300 eV and densities of 5 × 10{sup 18} to 5 × 10{sup 19} m{sup −3} dependent upon operational scenario.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2014

Optical generation of a spatially variant two-dimensional lattice structure by using a phase only spatial light modulator

We propose a simple and straightforward method to generate spatially variant lattice structures by optical interference lithography method. Using this method, it is possible to independently vary the orientation and period of the two-dimensional lattice. The method consists of two steps which are: numerical synthesis of corresponding phase mask by employing a two-dimensional integrated gradient calculations and experimental implementation of synthesized phase mask by making use of a phase only spatial light modulator in an optical 4f Fourier filtering setup. As a working example, we provide the experimental fabrication of a spatially variant square lattice structure which has the possibility to guide a Gaussian beam through a 90° bend by photonic crystal self-collimation phenomena. The method is digitally reconfigurable, is completely scalable, and could be extended to other kind of lattices as well.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2014

Resonant electronic transport through a triple quantum-dot with Λ-type level structure under dual radiation fields

Due to quantum interference, light can transmit through dense atomic media, a phenomenon known as electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT). We propose that EIT is not limited to light transmission and there is an electronic analog where resonant transparency in charge transport in an opaque structure can be induced by electromagnetic radiation. A triple-quantum-dots system with Λ-type level structure is generally opaque due to the level in the center dot being significantly higher and therefore hopping from the left dot to the center dot is almost forbidden. We demonstrate that an electromagnetically induced electron transparency (EIET) in charge of transport can indeed occur in the Λ-type system. The direct evidence of EIET is that an electron can travel from the left dot to the right dot, while the center dot apparently becomes invisible. We analyze EIET and the related shot noise in both the zero and strong Coulomb blockade regimes. It is found that the EIET (position, height, and symmetry) can be tuned by several controllable parameters of the radiation fields, such as the Rabi frequencies and detuning frequencies. The result offers a transparency/opaque tuning technique in charge transport using interfering radiation fields.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2014

Shot noise in systems with semi-Dirac points

We calculate the ballistic conductance and shot noise of electrons through a two-dimensional stripe system (width W ≫ length L) with semi-Dirac band-touching points. We find that the ratio between zero-temperature noise power and mean current (the Fano factor) is highly anisotropic. When the transport is along the linear-dispersion direction and the Fermi energy is fixed at the semi-Dirac point, the Fano factor has a universal value F = 0.179 while a minimum conductivity exists and scales with L{sup 1∕2}. Along the parabolic dispersion direction, the Fano factor at the semi-Dirac point has a contact-independent limit exceeding 0.9, which varies weakly with L due to the common-path interference of evanescent waves. Our findings suggest a way to discern the type of band-touching points.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2014

Point matching: A new electronic method for homogenizing the phase characteristics of giant magnetoimpedance sensors

Recently, our research group at PUC-Rio discovered that magnetic transducers based on the impedance phase characteristics of GMI sensors have the potential to multiply by one hundred the sensitivity values when compared to magnitude-based GMI transducers. Those GMI sensors can be employed in the measurement of ultra-weak magnetic fields, which intensities are even lower than the environmental magnetic noise. A traditional solution for cancelling the electromagnetic noise and interference makes use of gradiometric configurations, but the performance is strongly tied to the homogeneity of the sensing elements. This paper presents a new method that uses electronic circuits to modify the equivalent impedance of the GMI samples, aiming at homogenizing their phase characteristics and, consequently, improving the performance of gradiometric configurations based on GMI samples. It is also shown a performance comparison between this new method and another homogenization method previously developed.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2014

Proximity nanovalve with large phase-tunable thermal conductance

We propose a phase-controlled heat-flux quantum valve based on the proximity effect driven by a superconducting quantum interference proximity transistor (SQUIPT). Its operation relies on the phase-dependent quasiparticle density of states in the Josephson weak-link of the SQUIPT which controls thermal transport across the device. In a realistic Al/Cu-based setup the structure can provide efficient control of thermal current inducing temperature swings exceeding ∼100 mK, and flux-to-temperature transfer coefficients up to ∼500 mK/Φ{sub 0} below 100 mK. The nanovalve performances improve by lowering the bath temperature, making the proposed structure a promising building-block for the implementation of coherent caloritronic devices operating below 1 K.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2014

Localized states in a semiconductor quantum ring with a tangent wire

We extend a special kind of localized state trapped at the intersection due to the geometric confinement, first proposed in a three-terminal-opening T-shaped structure [L. A. Openov, Europhys. Lett. 55, 539 (2001)], into a ring geometry with a tangent connection to the wire. In this ring geometry, there exists one localized state trapped at the intersection with energy lying inside the lowest subband. We systematically study this localized state and the resulting Fano-type interference due to the coupling between this localized state and the continuum ones. It is found that the increase of inner radius of the ring weakens the coupling to the continuum ones and the asymmetric Fano dip fades away. A wide energy gap in transmission appears due to the interplay of two types of antiresonances: the Fano-type antiresonance and the structure antiresonance. The size of this antiresonance gap can be modulated by adjusting the magnetic flux. Moreover, a large transmission amplitude can be obtained in the same gap area. The strong robustness of the antiresonance gap is demonstrated and shows the feasibility of the proposed geometry for a real application.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2014

Graphene-based terahertz tunable plasmonic directional coupler

We propose and numerically analyze a terahertz tunable plasmonic directional coupler which is composed of a thin metal film with a nanoscale slit, dielectric grating, a graphene sheet, and a dielectric substrate. The slit is employed to generate surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs), and the metal-dielectric grating-graphene-dielectric constructs a Bragg reflector, whose bandgap can be tuned over a wide frequency range by a small change in the Fermi energy level of graphene. As a graphene-based Bragg reflector is formed on one side of the slit, the structure enables SPP waves to be unidirectionally excited on the other side of the slit due to SPP interference, and the SPP waves in the Bragg reflector can be efficiently switched on and off by tuning the graphene's Fermi energy level. By introducing two optimized graphene-based Bragg reflectors into opposite sides of the slit, SPP waves can be guided to different Bragg reflectors at different Fermi energy levels, thus achieving a tunable bidirectional coupler.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2014

Effect of recording condition on the diffraction efficiency of magnetic hologram with magnetic garnet films

A holographic memory has been attracting attention as recording media with high recording density and high data transfer rate. We have studied the magnetic garnets as a rewritable and long life media for magnetic holography. However, since the signal intensity of reconstructed image was relatively low, the effects of recording conditions on the diffraction efficiency of magnetic hologram were investigated with experiments and the numerical simulation using COMSOL multi-physics. The diffraction efficiency tends to decrease as increasing the spatial frequency, and the use of short pulse laser with the pulse width of 50 ps was found to be effective to achieve high diffraction efficiency. This suggests that the formation of clear magnetic fringe similar to interference pattern can be obtained by the use of short pulse laser since undesirable heat diffusion during radiation does not occur. On the other hand, the diffraction efficiency increased as increasing the film thickness up to 3.1 μm but was saturated in the garnet film thicker than 3.1 μm in the case of spatial frequency of 1500 line pair/mm. The numerical simulation showed that the effective depth of magnetic fringe was limited about 1.8 μm irrespective of the garnet film thickness because the fringes were connected by thermal diffusion near the surface of the film, and the effective depth is limited due to this connection of the magnetic fringe. Avoiding this fringe connection, much higher diffraction efficiency will be achieved.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2014

Lattice and electronic contributions to the refractive index of CuWO₄

We report an investigation of the refractive index dispersion and anisotropy in CuWO₄ by means of interference measurements in two extinction directions from mid infrared to the visible region of the energy spectrum. The analysis of the refractive index dispersion yields ϵ(∞)=4.5(1) for light polarization parallel to the c-axis and ϵ(∞)=5.3(1) with respect to the other extinction axis. In addition, we report reflectance measurements carried out from the far infrared to the near ultraviolet to study the lattice and electronic contributions to the refractive index of CuWO₄. We have determined the wavenumbers of nine infrared active lattice modes and compared them with previous ab initio calculations. The value of the Penn gap, 7eV, as well as the origin of a structure observed at 4.4 eV in the reflectance spectrum, is discussed in the context of the CuWO₄ electronic structure.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗