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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 163 records · Page 9
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2013

Elemental content of enamel and dentin after bleaching of teeth (a comparative study between laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy)

The elemental content of the superficial and inner enamel as well as that of dentin was analyzed using laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) of bleached and unbleached tooth specimens. It is thus clear from the spectral analysis using both the LIBS and XPS technique that elemental changes (though insignificant within the scopes of this study) of variable intensities do occur on the surface of the enamel and extend deeper to reach dentin. The results of the LIBS revealed a slight reduction in the calcium levels in the bleached compared to the control specimens in all the different bleaching groups and in both enamel and dentin. The good correlation found between the LIBS and XPS results demonstrates the possibility of LIBS technique for detection of minor loss in calcium and phosphorus in enamel and dentin.

62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE↗
DOE OSTI2014

Tunneling spectroscopy of superconducting MoN and NbTiN grown by atomic layer deposition

A tunneling spectroscopy study is presented of superconducting MoN and Nb{sub 0.8}Ti{sub 0.2}N thin films grown by atomic layer deposition (ALD). The films exhibited a superconducting gap of 2 meV and 2.4 meV, respectively, with a corresponding critical temperature of 11.5 K and 13.4 K, among the highest reported T{sub c} values achieved by the ALD technique. Tunnel junctions were obtained using a mechanical contact method with a Au tip. While the native oxides of these films provided poor tunnel barriers, high quality tunnel junctions with low zero bias conductance (below ∼10%) were obtained using an artificial tunnel barrier of Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} on the film's surface grown ex situ by ALD. We find a large critical current density on the order of 4 × 10{sup 6} A/cm{sup 2} at T = 0.8T{sub c} for a 60 nm MoN film and demonstrate conformal coating capabilities of ALD onto high aspect ratio geometries. These results suggest that the ALD technique offers significant promise for thin film superconducting device applications.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2014

Investigations on optoelectronic transition mechanisms of silicon nanoporous pillar array by using surface photovoltage spectroscopy and photoluminescence spectroscopy

We report the electronic transition mechanisms for hydrothermally prepared silicon nanoporous pillar array (Si-NPA), investigated by surface photovoltage (SPV) spectroscopy and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. By comparing the SPV spectra of single crystal silicon (sc-Si) with that of Si-NPA, the silicon nano-crystallites (nc-Si)/SiO{sub x} nanostructure in the Si-NPA could produce SPV in the wavelength range of 300–580 nm. And 580 nm (∼2.14 eV) was considered as the absorption edge of the nc-Si/SiO{sub x} nanostructure. After the sample was annealed and oxidized in air at different temperatures, both the SPV in the wavelength range of 300–580 nm and the PL emission band around 690 nm from the nc-Si/SiO{sub x} nanostructure weakened and disappeared as the annealing temperature increased from 100 to 500 °C. But both the red-infrared PL band (>710 nm) and the violet-blue PL band were enhanced by increasing the annealing temperature. After 2 years of natural oxidation in air, the SPV features for sc-Si disappeared completely, and the SPV characteristics of the nc-Si/SiO{sub x} nanostructure could be clearly observed. After analysis, the Si–O structure related localized states at the nc-Si/SiO{sub x} interface dominated the electronic transitions during the red PL emission and the SPV for the nc-Si/SiO{sub x} nanostructure in Si-NPA, the red–infrared PL was due to the Si=O structure related electronic transitions, and the violet-blue PL emission could attribute to the oxygen-related defect related recombination of the photo induced carriers.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2014

Self-corrected Sensors Based On Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy For Atom Flux Measurements In Molecular Beam Epitaxy

A high sensitivity atom flux sensor based on atomic absorption spectroscopy has been designed and implemented to control electron beam evaporators and effusion cells in a molecular beam epitaxy system. Using a high-resolution spectrometer and a two-dimensional charge coupled device (CCD) detector in a double-beam configuration, we employ a non-resonant line or a resonant line with lower absorbance from the same hollow cathode lamp as the reference for nearly perfect background correction and baseline drift removal. This setup also significantly shortens the warm-up time needed compared to other sensor technologies and drastically reduces the noise coming from the surrounding environment. In addition, the high-resolution spectrometer allows the most sensitive resonant line to be isolated and used to provide excellent signal-to-noise ratio.

Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory↗
DOE OSTI2014

Development of the charge exchange recombination spectroscopy and the beam emission spectroscopy on the EAST tokamak

Charge eXchange Recombination Spectroscopy (CXRS) and Beam Emission Spectroscopy (BES) diagnostics based on a heating neutral beam have recently been installed on EAST to provide local measurements of ion temperature, velocity, and density. The system design features common light collection optics for CXRS and BES, background channels for the toroidal views, multi-chord viewing sightlines, and high throughput lens-based spectrometers with good signal to noise ratio for high time resolution measurements. Additionally, two spectrometers each has a tunable grating to observe any wavelength of interest are used for the CXRS and one utilizes a fixed-wavelength grating to achieve higher diffraction efficiency for the BES system. A real-time wavelength correction is implemented to achieve a high-accuracy wavelength calibration. Alignment and calibration are performed. Initial performance test results are presented.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2014

Gas cell for in situ soft X-ray transmission-absorption spectroscopy of materials

A simple gas cell design, constructed primarily from commercially available components, enables in situ soft X-ray transmission-absorption spectroscopy of materials in contact with gas at ambient temperature. The cell has a minimum X-ray path length of 1 mm and can hold gas pressures up to ~300 Torr, and could support higher pressures with simple modifications. The design enables cycling between vacuum and gas environments without interrupting the X-ray beam, and can be fully sealed to allow for measurements of air-sensitive samples. The cell can attach to the downstream port of any appropriate synchrotron beamline, and offers a robust and versatile method for in situ measurements of certain materials. The construction and operation of the cell are discussed, as well as sample preparation and proper spectral analysis, illustrated by examples of spectral measurements. Potential areas for improvement and modification for specialized applications are also mentioned.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2014

Tomographic inversion techniques incorporating physical constraints for line integrated spectroscopy in stellarators and tokamaks

Accurate tomographic inversion is important for diagnostic systems on stellarators and tokamaks which rely on measurements of line integrated emission spectra. A tomographic inversion technique based on spline optimization with enforcement of constraints is described that can produce unique and physically relevant inversions even in situations with noisy or incomplete input data. This inversion technique is routinely used in the analysis of data from the x-ray imaging crystal spectrometer (XICS) installed at the Large Helical Device. The XICS diagnostic records a 1D image of line integrated emission spectra from impurities in the plasma. Through the use of Doppler spectroscopy and tomographic inversion, XICS can provide profile measurements of the local emissivity, temperature, and plasma flow. Tomographic inversion requires the assumption that these measured quantities are flux surface functions, and that a known plasma equilibrium reconstruction is available. In the case of low signal levels or partial spatial coverage of the plasma cross-section, standard inversion techniques utilizing matrix inversion and linear-regularization often cannot produce unique and physically relevant solutions. The addition of physical constraints, such as parameter ranges, derivative directions, and boundary conditions, allow for unique solutions to be reliably found. The constrained inversion technique described here utilizes a modified Levenberg-Marquardt optimization scheme, which introduces a condition avoidance mechanism by selective reduction of search directions. The constrained inversion technique also allows for the addition of more complicated parameter dependencies, for example, geometrical dependence of the emissivity due to asymmetries in the plasma density arising from fast rotation. The accuracy of this constrained inversion technique is discussed, with an emphasis on its applicability to systems with limited plasma coverage.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2014

Exploring two-dimensional electron gases with two-dimensional Fourier transform spectroscopy

The dephasing of the Fermi edge singularity excitations in two modulation doped single quantum wells of 12 nm and 18 nm thickness and in-well carrier concentration of ∼4 × 10{sup 11} cm{sup −2} was carefully measured using spectrally resolved four-wave mixing (FWM) and two-dimensional Fourier transform (2DFT) spectroscopy. Although the absorption at the Fermi edge is broad at this doping level, the spectrally resolved FWM shows narrow resonances. Two peaks are observed separated by the heavy hole/light hole energy splitting. Temperature dependent “rephasing” (S{sub 1}) 2DFT spectra show a rapid linear increase of the homogeneous linewidth with temperature. The dephasing rate increases faster with temperature in the narrower 12 nm quantum well, likely due to an increased carrier-phonon scattering rate. The S{sub 1} 2DFT spectra were measured using co-linear, cross-linear, and co-circular polarizations. Distinct 2DFT lineshapes were observed for co-linear and cross-linear polarizations, suggesting the existence of polarization dependent contributions. The “two-quantum coherence” (S{sub 3}) 2DFT spectra for the 12 nm quantum well show a single peak for both co-linear and co-circular polarizations.

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

Effect of multipole excitations in electron energy-loss spectroscopy of surface plasmon modes in silver nanowires

We have characterized the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) in silver nanowires using spatially resolved electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) in the scanning transmission electron microscope. Non-symmetric EELS spectra due to high-k SPR propagation along the nanowire and spectral shifts due to higher-order mode excitation are observed when the beam is positioned near the tip of the nanowire. When the beam is far from the tip region and on the side of nanowire, no spectral shifts are observed as the beam is scanned in the radial direction of the nanowire. The experimental spectra are compared with three different theoretical approaches: direct numerical calculation of the energy loss, analytical models for energy loss, and numerical simulations using an optical model. All three models reproduce the spectral shifts as the electron beam approaches the cap of the nanowire. The analytical model reveals the origin of the shifts in high-order plasmon mode excitation.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2015

Quantum process tomography by 2D fluorescence spectroscopy

Reconstruction of the dynamics (quantum process tomography) of the single-exciton manifold in energy transfer systems is proposed here on the basis of two-dimensional fluorescence spectroscopy (2D-FS) with phase-modulation. The quantum-process-tomography protocol introduced here benefits from, e.g., the sensitivity enhancement ascribed to 2D-FS. Although the isotropically averaged spectroscopic signals depend on the quantum yield parameter Γ of the doubly excited-exciton manifold, it is shown that the reconstruction of the dynamics is insensitive to this parameter. Applications to foundational and applied problems, as well as further extensions, are discussed.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2015

Perspective: Electrospray photoelectron spectroscopy: From multiply-charged anions to ultracold anions

Electrospray ionization (ESI) has become an essential tool in chemical physics and physical chemistry for the production of novel molecular ions from solution samples for a variety of spectroscopic experiments. ESI was used to produce free multiply-charged anions (MCAs) for photoelectron spectroscopy (PES) in the late 1990 s, allowing many interesting properties of this class of exotic species to be investigated. Free MCAs are characterized by strong intramolecular Coulomb repulsions, which create a repulsive Coulomb barrier (RCB) for electron emission. The RCB endows many fascinating properties to MCAs, giving rise to meta-stable anions with negative electron binding energies. Recent development in the PES of MCAs includes photoelectron imaging to examine the influence of the RCB on the electron emission dynamics, pump-probe experiments to examine electron tunneling through the RCB, and isomer-specific experiments by coupling PES with ion mobility for biological MCAs. The development of a cryogenically cooled Paul trap has led to much better resolved PE spectra for MCAs by creating vibrationally cold anions from the room temperature ESI source. Recent advances in coupling the cryogenic Paul trap with PE imaging have allowed high-resolution PE spectra to be obtained for singly charged anions produced by ESI. In particular, the observation of dipole-bound excited states has made it possible to conduct vibrational autodetachment spectroscopy and resonant PES, which yield much richer vibrational spectroscopic information for dipolar free radicals than traditional PES.

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

Point contact tunneling spectroscopy apparatus for large scale mapping of surface superconducting properties

In this paper, we describe the design and testing of a point contact tunneling spectroscopy device that can measure material surface superconducting properties (i.e., the superconducting gap Δ and the critical temperature T C ) and density of states over large surface areas with size up to mm 2 . The tip lateral (X,Y) motion, mounted on a (X,Y,Z) piezo-stage, was calibrated on a patterned substrate consisting of Nb lines sputtered on a gold film using both normal (Al) and superconducting (PbSn) tips at 1.5 K. The tip vertical (Z) motion control enables some adjustment of the tip-sample junction resistance that can be measured over 7 orders of magnitudes from a quasi-ohmic regime (few hundred Ω) to the tunnel regime (from tens of kΩ up to few GΩ). The low noise electronic and LabVIEW program interface are also presented. Finally, the point contact regime and the large-scale motion capabilities are of particular interest for mapping and testing the superconducting properties of macroscopic scale superconductor-based devices.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2015

Vibrational dynamics of aqueous hydroxide solutions probed using broadband 2DIR spectroscopy

We employed ultrafast transient absorption and broadband 2DIR spectroscopy to study the vibrational dynamics of aqueous hydroxide solutions by exciting the O–H stretch vibrations of the strongly hydrogen-bonded hydroxide solvation shell water and probing the continuum absorption of the solvated ion between 1500 and 3800 cm{sup −1}. We observe rapid vibrational relaxation processes on 150–250 fs time scales across the entire probed spectral region as well as slower vibrational dynamics on 1–2 ps time scales. Furthermore, the O–H stretch excitation loses its frequency memory in 180 fs, and vibrational energy exchange between bulk-like water vibrations and hydroxide-associated water vibrations occurs in ∼200 fs. The fast dynamics in this system originate in strong nonlinear coupling between intra- and intermolecular vibrations and are explained in terms of non-adiabatic vibrational relaxation. These measurements indicate that the vibrational dynamics of the aqueous hydroxide complex are faster than the time scales reported for long-range transport of protons in aqueous hydroxide solutions.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2016

Deep levels in as-grown and electron-irradiated n-type GaN studied by deep level transient spectroscopy and minority carrier transient spectroscopy

Development of high performance GaN-based devices is strongly dependent on the possibility to control and understand defects in material. Important information about deep level defects is obtained by deep level transient spectroscopy and minority carrier transient spectroscopy on as-grown and electron irradiated n-type bulk GaN with low threading dislocation density produced by halide vapor phase epitaxy. One hole trap labelled H1 (E{sub V} + 0.34 eV) has been detected on as-grown GaN sample. After 2 MeV electron irradiation, the concentration of H1 increases and at fluences higher than 5 × 10{sup 14 }cm{sup −2}, a second hole trap labelled H2 is observed. Simultaneously, the concentration of two electron traps, labelled T1 (E{sub C} – 0.12 eV) and T2 (E{sub C} – 0.23 eV), increases. By studying the increase of the defect concentration versus electron irradiation fluence, the introduction rate of T1 and T2 using 2 MeV- electrons was determined to be 7 × 10{sup −3 }cm{sup −1} and 0.9 cm{sup −1}, respectively. Due to the low introduction rate of T1, it is suggested that the defect is associated with a complex. The high introduction rate of trap H1 and T2 suggests that the defects are associated with primary intrinsic defects or complexes. Some deep levels previously observed in irradiated GaN layers with higher threading dislocation densities are not detected in present investigation. It is therefore suggested that the absent traps may be related to primary defects segregated around dislocations.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2016

Isotopic studies of trans- and cis-HOCO using rotational spectroscopy: Formation, chemical bonding, and molecular structures

HOCO is an important intermediate in combustion and atmospheric processes because the OH + CO → H + CO{sub 2} reaction represents the final step for the production of CO{sub 2} in hydrocarbon oxidation, and theoretical studies predict that this reaction proceeds via various intermediates, the most important being this radical. Isotopic investigations of trans- and cis-HOCO have been undertaken using Fourier transform microwave spectroscopy and millimeter-wave double resonance techniques in combination with a supersonic molecular beam discharge source to better understand the formation, chemical bonding, and molecular structures of this radical pair. We find that trans-HOCO can be produced almost equally well from either OH + CO or H + CO{sub 2} in our discharge source, but cis-HOCO appears to be roughly two times more abundant when starting from H + CO{sub 2}. Using isotopically labelled precursors, the OH + C{sup 18}O reaction predominately yields HOC{sup 18}O for both isomers, but H{sup 18}OCO is observed as well, typically at the level of 10%-20% that of HOC{sup 18}O; the opposite propensity is found for the {sup 18}OH + CO reaction. DO + C{sup 18}O yields similar ratios between DOC{sup 18}O and D{sup 18}OCO as those found for OH + C{sup 18}O, suggesting that some fraction of HOCO (or DOCO) may be formed from the back-reaction H + CO{sub 2}, which, at the high pressure of our gas expansion, can readily occur. The large {sup 13}C Fermi-contact term (a{sub F}) for trans- and cis-HO{sup 13}CO implicates significant unpaired electronic density in a σ-type orbital at the carbon atom, in good agreement with theoretical predictions. By correcting the experimental rotational constants for zero-point vibration motion calculated theoretically using second-order vibrational perturbation theory, precise geometrical structures have been derived for both isomers.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2016

Two-center three-electron bonding in ClNH{sub 3} revealed via helium droplet infrared laser Stark spectroscopy: Entrance channel complex along the Cl + NH{sub 3} → ClNH{sub 2} + H reaction

Pyrolytic dissociation of Cl{sub 2} is employed to dope helium droplets with single Cl atoms. Sequential addition of NH{sub 3} to Cl-doped droplets leads to the formation of a complex residing in the entry valley to the substitution reaction Cl + NH{sub 3} → ClNH{sub 2} + H. Infrared Stark spectroscopy in the NH stretching region reveals symmetric and antisymmetric vibrations of a C{sub 3v} symmetric top. Frequency shifts from NH{sub 3} and dipole moment measurements are consistent with a ClNH{sub 3} complex containing a relatively strong two-center three-electron (2c–3e) bond. The nature of the 2c–3e bonding in ClNH{sub 3} is explored computationally and found to be consistent with the complexation-induced blue shifts observed experimentally. Computations of interconversion pathways reveal nearly barrierless routes to the formation of this complex, consistent with the absence in experimental spectra of two other complexes, NH{sub 3}Cl and Cl–HNH{sub 2}, which are predicted in the entry valley to the hydrogen abstraction reaction Cl + NH{sub 3} → HCl + NH{sub 2}.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2016

Photoelectron yield spectroscopy and inverse photoemission spectroscopy evaluations of p-type amorphous silicon carbide films prepared using liquid materials

Phosphorus-doped amorphous silicon carbide films were prepared using a polymeric precursor solution. Unlike conventional polymeric precursors, this polymer requires neither catalysts nor oxidation for its synthesis and cross-linkage, providing semiconducting properties in the films. The valence and conduction states of resultant films were determined directly through the combination of inverse photoemission spectroscopy and photoelectron yield spectroscopy. The incorporated carbon widened energy gap and optical gap comparably in the films with lower carbon concentrations. In contrast, a large deviation between the energy gap and the optical gap was observed at higher carbon contents because of exponential widening of the band tail.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2016

Design and construction of a point-contact spectroscopy rig with lateral scanning capability

The design and realization of a cryogenic rig for point-contact spectroscopy measurements in the needle-anvil configuration is presented. Thanks to the use of two piezoelectric nano-positioners, the tip can move along the vertical (z) and horizontal (x) direction and thus the rig is suitable to probe different regions of a sample in situ. Moreover, it can also form double point-contacts on different facets of a single crystal for achieving, e.g., an interferometer configuration for phase-sensitive measurements. For the later purpose, the sample holder can also host a Helmholtz coil for applying a small transverse magnetic field to the junction. A semi-rigid coaxial cable can be easily added for studying the behavior of Josephson junctions under microwave irradiation. The rig can be detached from the probe and thus used with different cryostats. The performance of this new probe has been tested in a Quantum Design PPMS system by conducting point-contact Andreev reflection measurements on Nb thin films over large areas as a function of temperature and magnetic field.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗