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At least 1,711 records · Page 95
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2017

Reinstated JET ICRF ILA: Overview and Results

The works undertaken to reinstate the JET ICRF ILA are reviewed. The vacuum matching capacitors were replaced, an extensive calibration of all the measurements in the RF circuit was carried out, new simulation tools were created and new control algorithms were implemented for the – toroidal and poloidal – phase control of the array as well as for the matching of the second stage. A review of the contribution of the reinstated ILA to the JET programme during the last campaigns is given showing namely that the new controls allowed extending the range of the operation to lower (29MHz) and higher (51MHz) frequencies than previously achieved and allowed more flexible and reliable operation. Operation with coupled power levels up to 2.8MW and voltages up to 40kV was achieved. ILA results on plasma are discussed and emphasis is given to the features of interest for ITER.

Dumortier, Pierre↗
DOE OSTI2012

Developing small vacuum spark as an x-ray source for calibration of an x-ray focusing crystal spectrometer

A new technique of x-ray focusing crystal spectrometers' calibration is the desired result. For this purpose the spectrometer is designed to register radiated copper K{alpha} and K{beta} lines by using a flat {alpha}-quartz crystal. This experiment uses pre-breakdown x-ray emissions in low vacuum of about 2.5-3 mbar. At this pressure the pinch will not form so the plasma will not radiate. The anode material is copper and the capacity of the capacitor bank is 22.6 nF. This experiment designed and mounted a repetitive triggering system to save the operator time making hundreds of shots. This emission amount is good for calibration and geometrical adjustment of an optical crystal x-ray focusing spectrometer.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2012

Contamination effects on fixed-bias Langmuir probes

Langmuir probes are standard instruments for plasma density measurements on many sounding rockets. These probes can be operated in swept-bias as well as in fixed-bias modes. In swept-bias Langmuir probes, contamination effects are frequently visible as a hysteresis between consecutive up and down voltage ramps. This hysteresis, if not corrected, leads to poorly determined plasma densities and temperatures. With a properly chosen sweep function, the contamination parameters can be determined from the measurements and correct plasma parameters can then be determined. In this paper, we study the contamination effects on fixed-bias Langmuir probes, where no hysteresis type effect is seen in the data. Even though the contamination is not evident from the measurements, it does affect the plasma density fluctuation spectrum as measured by the fixed-bias Langmuir probe. We model the contamination as a simple resistor-capacitor circuit between the probe surface and the plasma. We find that measurements of small scale plasma fluctuations (meter to sub-meter scale) along a rocket trajectory are not affected, but the measured amplitude of large scale plasma density variation (tens of meters or larger) is attenuated. From the model calculations, we determine amplitude and cross-over frequency of the contamination effect on fixed-bias probes for different contamination parameters. The model results also show that a fixed bias probe operating in the ion-saturation region is affected less by contamination as compared to a fixed bias probe operating in the electron saturation region.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2012

Monoenergetic acceleration of a target foil by circularly polarized laser pulse in RPA regime without thermal heating

A kinetic model of the monoenergetic acceleration of a target foil irradiated by the circularly polarized laser pulse is developed. The target moves without thermal heating with constant acceleration which is provided by chirping the frequency of the laser pulse and correspondingly increasing its intensity. In the accelerated reference frame, bulk plasma in the target is neutral and its parameters are stationary: cold ions are immobile while nonrelativistic electrons bounce back and forth inside the potential well formed by ponderomotive and electrostatic potentials. It is shown that a positive charge left behind of the moving target in the ion tail and a negative charge in front of the target in the electron sheath form a capacitor whose constant electric field accelerates the ions of the target. The charge separation is maintained by the radiation pressure pushing electrons forward. The scalings of the target thickness and electromagnetic radiation with the electron temperature are found.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2013

Experimental study of self magnetic pinch diode as flash radiography source at 4 megavolt

The Self Magnetic Pinch (SMP) diode is a potential high-brightness X-ray source for high voltage generators (2–10 MV) that has shown good reliability for flash radiography applications [D. D. Hinchelwood et al., “High power self-pinch diode experiments for radiographic applications” IEEE Trans. Plasma Sci. 35(3), 565–572 (2007)]. We have studied this diode at about 4 MV, driven by the ASTERIX generator operated at the CEA/GRAMAT [G. Raboisson et al., “ASTERIX, a high intensity X-ray generator,” in Proceedings of the 7th IEEE Pulsed Power Conference (1989), pp. 567–570]. This generator, made up of a capacitor bank and a Blumlein line, was initially designed to test the behavior of electronic devices under irradiation. In our experiments, the vacuum diode is modified in order to set up flash radiographic diodes. A previous set of radiographic experiments was carried out on ASTERIX with a Negative Polarity Rod Pinch (NPRP) diode [B. Etchessahar et al., “Study and optimization of negative polarity rod pinch diode as flash radiography source at 4.5 MV,” Phys. Plasmas 19(9), 093104 (2012)]. The SMP diode which is examined in the present study provides an alternative operating point on the same generator and a different radiographic performance: 142 ± 11 rad at 1 m dose (Al) for a 3.46 ± 0.42 mm spot size (1.4× FWHM of the LSF). This performance is obtained in a reproducible and robust nominal configuration. However, several parametric variations were also tested, such as cathode diameter and anode/cathode gap. They showed that an even better performance is accessible after optimization, in particular, a smaller spot size (<3 mm). Numbers of electrical, optical, and X-ray diagnostics have been implemented in order to gain more insight in the diode physics and to optimize it further. For the first time in France, visible and laser imaging of the SMP diode has been realized, from a radial point of view, thus, providing key information on the electrode plasmas evolution, responsible for the gap closure.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2013

Ab initio study of phase transition of boron nitride between zinc-blende and rhombohedral structures

Boron nitride has polymorphs such as zinc-blende (c-BN), wurtzite (w-BN), rhombohedral (r-BN), and graphite-like (h-BN) forms. We simulate the direct conversion of r-BN to c-BN through electronic excitation. In our calculation, the conversion is made possible by increasing the hole concentration to over 0.06/atom. This conversion should be experimentally possible by hole-doping via an electric double layer transistor (EDLT) or capacitor.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2013

Transparently wrap-gated semiconductor nanowire arrays for studies of gate-controlled photoluminescence

We present a technique to measure gate-controlled photoluminescence (PL) on arrays of semiconductor nanowire (NW) capacitors using a transparent film of Indium-Tin-Oxide (ITO) wrapping around the nanowires as the gate electrode. By tuning the wrap-gate voltage, it is possible to increase the PL peak intensity of an array of undoped InP NWs by more than an order of magnitude. The fine structure of the PL spectrum reveals three subpeaks whose relative peak intensities change with gate voltage. We interpret this as gate-controlled state-filling of luminescing quantum dot segments formed by zincblende stacking faults in the mainly wurtzite NW crystal structure.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2014

Smooth cubic commensurate oxides on gallium nitride

Smooth, commensurate alloys of 〈111〉-oriented Mg{sub 0.52}Ca{sub 0.48}O (MCO) thin films are demonstrated on Ga-polar, c+ [0001]-oriented GaN by surfactant-assisted molecular beam epitaxy and pulsed laser deposition. These are unique examples of coherent cubic oxide|nitride interfaces with structural and morphological perfection. Metal-insulator-semiconductor capacitor structures were fabricated on n-type GaN. A comparison of leakage current density for conventional and surfactant-assisted growth reveals a nearly 100× reduction in leakage current density for the surfactant-assisted samples. HAADF-STEM images of the MCO|GaN interface show commensurate alignment of atomic planes with minimal defects due to lattice mismatch. STEM and DFT calculations show that GaN c/2 steps create incoherent boundaries in MCO over layers which manifest as two in-plane rotations and determine consequently the density of structural defects in otherwise coherent MCO. This new understanding of interfacial steps between HCP and FCC crystals identifies the steps needed to create globally defect-free heterostructures.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2015

Status of transmission line and matching network design and testing for the ITER ion cyclotron heating and current drive system

The ITER Ion Cyclotron Heating and Current Drive System is required to deliver 20 MW of RF Power in the frequency range 40-55 MHz to ITER plasmas for pulse lengths up to 3600 s. Components used in the transmission line and matching system include 305 mm diameter, Z0 = 50 Ω components with gas cooled inner conductors, and 330 mm diameter, Z0 = 20 Ω components with water-cooled inner conductors. All operate at pulse lengths up to 3600 s. Components used include transmission line sections, gas barriers, hybrid power splitters, stubs, hybrid phase shifters, coaxial 4-port switches, and vacuum capacitors. The system uses pre-matching near the antenna and a matching network ~20 m away, including decouplers that compensate for the mutual inductance between antenna array elements. Some 50 Ω component test articles have been fabricated and will be shown. High power RF test fixtures have been constructed including a resonant ring that produces 6 MW of circulating power with 340 kW input power and VSWR as low as 1.15. It has been used to investigate the dependence of inner conductor temperature on gas velocity at power levels up to ~6 MW for pulse lengths up to 1 hour.

Goulding, Richard↗
DOE OSTI2014

An unattended device for high-voltage sampling and passive measurement of thoron decay products

An integrating measurement device for the concentration of airborne thoron decay products was designed and calibrated. It is suitable for unattended use over up to several months also in inhabited dwellings. The device consists of a hemispheric capacitor with a wire mesh as the outer electrode on ground potential and the sampling substrates as the inner electrode on +7.0 kV. Negatively charged and neutral thoron decay products are accelerated to and deposited on the sampling substrates. As sampling substrates, CR39 solid-state nuclear track detectors are used in order to record the alpha decay of the sampled decay products. Nuclide discrimination is achieved by covering the detectors with aluminum foil of different thickness, which are penetrated only by alpha particles with sufficient energy. Devices of this type were calibrated against working level monitors in a thoron experimental house. The sensitivity was measured as 9.2 tracks per Bq/m{sup 3} × d of thoron decay products. The devices were used over 8 weeks in several houses built of earthen material in southern Germany, where equilibrium equivalent concentrations of 1.4–9.9 Bq/m{sup 3} of thoron decay products were measured.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2014

A differential dielectric spectroscopy setup to measure the electric dipole moment and net charge of colloidal quantum dots

A sensitive dielectric spectroscopy setup is built to measure the response of nanoparticles dispersed in a liquid to an alternating electric field over a frequency range from 10{sup −2} to 10{sup 7} Hz. The measured complex permittivity spectrum records both the rotational dynamics due to a permanent electric dipole moment and the translational dynamics due to net charges. The setup consists of a half-transparent capacitor connected in a bridge circuit, which is balanced on pure solvent only, using a software-controlled compensating voltage. In this way, the measured signal is dominated by the contributions of the nanoparticles rather than by the solvent. We demonstrate the performance of the setup with measurements on a dispersion of colloidal CdSe quantum dots in the apolar liquid decalin.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2014

SiO{sub 2}/SiC structures annealed in D{sub 2}{sup 18}O: Compositional and electrical effects

Effects of water vapor annealing on SiO{sub 2}/4H-SiC structures formed following different routes were investigated using water isotopically enriched in {sup 18}O and {sup 2}H (D). Isotopic exchange between oxygen from the water vapor and oxygen from SiO{sub 2} films deposited on 4H-SiC was observed in the whole depth of the films, differently from the behavior of SiO{sub 2} films thermally grown on 4H-SiC. The highest amount of D was obtained in the sample with the highest negative fixed charge concentration, suggesting that the D incorporation occurs in defects in the structure that exist prior to the annealing. As a consequence of the water annealing, a significant reduction in the negative effective charge in metal-oxide-semiconductor capacitors and the removal of the SiO{sub 2}/SiC interfacial region was observed, attributed to the reduction of the amount of SiO{sub x}C{sub y} compounds in the interfacial region.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2014

Dual harmonic Kelvin probe force microscopy at the graphene–liquid interface

Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM) is a powerful technique for the determination of the contact potential difference (CPD) between an atomic force microscope tip and a sample under ambient and vacuum conditions. However, for many energy storage and conversion systems, including graphene-based electrochemical capacitors, understanding electrochemical phenomena at the solid–liquid interface is paramount. Despite the vast potential to provide fundamental insight for energy storage materials at the nanoscale, KPFM has found limited applicability in liquid environments to date. Here, using dual harmonic (DH)-KPFM, we demonstrate CPD imaging of graphene in liquid. We find good agreement with measurements performed in air, highlighting the potential of DH-KPFM to probe electrochemistry at the graphene–liquid interface.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2014

Large enhanced dielectric permittivity in polyaniline passivated core-shell nano magnetic iron oxide by plasma polymerization

Commercial samples of Magnetite with size ranging from 25–30 nm were coated with polyaniline by using radio frequency plasma polymerization to achieve a core shell structure of magnetic nanoparticle (core)–Polyaniline (shell). High resolution transmission electron microscopy images confirm the core shell architecture of polyaniline coated iron oxide. The dielectric properties of the material were studied before and after plasma treatment. The polymer coated magnetite particles exhibited a large dielectric permittivity with respect to uncoated samples. The dielectric behavior was modeled using a Maxwell–Wagner capacitor model. A plausible mechanism for the enhancement of dielectric permittivity is proposed.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2014

L{sub g} = 100 nm In{sub 0.7}Ga{sub 0.3}As quantum well metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistors with atomic layer deposited beryllium oxide as interfacial layer

In this study, we have fabricated nanometer-scale channel length quantum-well (QW) metal-oxide-semiconductor field effect transistors (MOSFETs) incorporating beryllium oxide (BeO) as an interfacial layer. BeO has high thermal stability, excellent electrical insulating characteristics, and a large band-gap, which make it an attractive candidate for use as a gate dielectric in making MOSFETs. BeO can also act as a good diffusion barrier to oxygen owing to its small atomic bonding length. In this work, we have fabricated In{sub 0.53}Ga{sub 0.47}As MOS capacitors with BeO and Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} and compared their electrical characteristics. As interface passivation layer, BeO/HfO{sub 2} bilayer gate stack presented effective oxide thickness less 1 nm. Furthermore, we have demonstrated In{sub 0.7}Ga{sub 0.3}As QW MOSFETs with a BeO/HfO{sub 2} dielectric, showing a sub-threshold slope of 100 mV/dec, and a transconductance (g{sub m,max}) of 1.1 mS/μm, while displaying low values of gate leakage current. These results highlight the potential of atomic layer deposited BeO for use as a gate dielectric or interface passivation layer for III–V MOSFETs at the 7 nm technology node and/or beyond.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2014

Effect of low energy oxygen ion beam irradiation on ionic conductivity of solid polymer electrolyte

Over the past three decades, solid polymer electrolytes (SPEs) have drawn significant attention of researchers due to their prospective commercial applications in high energy-density batteries, electrochemical sensors and super-capacitors. The optimum conductivity required for such applications is about 10{sup −2} – 10{sup −4} S/cm, which is hard to achieve in these systems. It is known that the increase in the concentration of salt in the host polymer results in a continuous increase in the ionic conductivity. However, there is a critical concentration of the salt beyond which the conductivity decreases due to formation of ion pairs with no net charge. In the present study, an attempt is made to identify the concentration at which ion pair formation occurs in PEO: RbBr. We have attempted to modify microstructure of the host polymer matrix by low energy ion (Oxygen ion, O{sup +1} with energy 100 keV) irradiation. Ionic conductivity measurements in these systems were carried out using Impedance Spectroscopy before and after irradiation to different fluencies of the oxygen ion. It is observed that the conductivity increases by one order in magnitude. The increase in ionic conductivity may be attributed to the enhanced segmental motion of the polymer chains. The study reveals the importance of ion irradiation as an effective tool to enhance conductivity in SPEs.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2014

Phase-field modeling of switchable diode-like current-voltage characteristics in ferroelectric BaTiO{sub 3}

A self-consistent model has been proposed to study the switchable current-voltage (I-V) characteristics in Cu/BaTiO{sub 3}/Cu sandwiched structure combining the phase-field model of ferroelectric domains and diffusion equations for ionic/electronic transport. The electrochemical transport equations and Ginzburg-Landau equations are solved using the Chebyshev collocation algorithm. We considered a single parallel plate capacitor configuration which consists of a single layer BaTiO{sub 3} containing a single tetragonal domain orientated normal to the plate electrodes (Cu) and is subject to a sweep of ac bias from −1.0 to 1.0 V at 25 °C. Our simulation clearly shows rectifying I-V response with rectification ratios amount to 10{sup 2}. The diode characteristics are switchable with an even larger rectification ratio after the polarization direction is flipped. The effects of interfacial polarization charge, dopant concentration, and dielectric constant on current responses were investigated. The switchable I-V behavior is attributed to the polarization bound charges that modulate the bulk conduction.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2014

Chemical solution deposition of ferroelectric yttrium-doped hafnium oxide films on platinum electrodes

Ferroelectric hafnium oxide films were fabricated by chemical solution deposition with a remnant polarization of >13 μC/cm{sup 2}. The samples were prepared with 5.2 mol. % yttrium-doping and the thickness varied from 18 nm to 70 nm. The hafnium oxide layer was integrated into a metal-insulator-metal capacitor using platinum electrodes. Due to the processing procedure, no thickness dependence of the ferroelectric properties was observed. To confirm the ferroelectric nature of the deposited samples, polarization, capacitance, and piezoelectric displacement measurements were performed. However, no evidence of the orthorhombic phase was found which has been proposed to be the non-centrosymmetric, ferroelectric phase in HfO{sub 2}.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗