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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 1,711 records · Page 95
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2013

Extracting strength from high pressure ramp-release experiments

Unloading from a plastically deformed state has long been recognized as a sensitive measure of a material's deviatoric response. In the case of a ramp compression and unload, time resolved particle velocity measurements of a sample/window interface may be used to gain insight into the sample material's strength. Unfortunately, measurements of this type are often highly perturbed by wave interactions associated with impedance mismatches. Additionally, wave attenuation, the finite pressure range over which the material elastically unloads, and rate effects further complicate the analysis. Here, we present a methodology that overcomes these shortcomings to accurately calculate a mean shear stress near peak compression for experiments of this type. A new interpretation of the self-consistent strength analysis is presented and then validated through the analysis of synthetic data sets on tantalum to 250 GPa. The synthetic analyses suggest that the calculated shear stresses are within 3% of the simulated values obtained using both rate-dependent and rate-independent constitutive models. Window effects are addressed by a new technique referred to as the transfer function approach, where numerical simulations are used to define a mapping to transform the experimental measurements to in situ velocities. The transfer function represents a robust methodology to account for complex wave interactions and a dramatic improvement over the incremental impedance matching methods traditionally used. The technique is validated using experiments performed on both lithium fluoride and tantalum ramp compressed to peak stresses of 10 and 15 GPa, respectively. In each case, various windows of different shock impedance are used to ensure consistency within the transfer function analysis. The data are found to be independent of the window used and in good agreement with previous results.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2014

Field-current phase diagrams of in-plane spin transfer torque memory cells with low effective magnetization storage layers

Field-current phase diagrams were measured on in-plane anisotropy Co{sub 60}Fe{sub 20}B{sub 20} magnetic tunnel junctions to obtain the spin transfer torque (STT) field-current switching window. These measurements were used to characterise junctions with varying free layer thicknesses from 2.5 down to 1.1 nm having a reduced effective demagnetizing field due to the perpendicular magnetic anisotropy at CoFeB/MgO interface. Diagrams were obtained with 100 ns current pulses, of either same or alternating polarity. When consecutive pulses have the same polarity, it is possible to realize the STT switching even for conditions having a low switching probability. This was evidenced in diagrams with consecutive pulses of alternating polarity, with 100% switching obtained at 4.7 MA/cm{sup 2}, compared to the lower 3.4 MA/cm{sup 2} value for same polarity pulses. Although the low level of the current density window is higher in alternating polarity diagrams, the field window in both diagrams is the same and therefore independent of the pulse polarity sequence.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2014

Influence of carbon content on the copper-telluride phase formation and on the resistive switching behavior of carbon alloyed Cu-Te conductive bridge random access memory cells

In this paper, we investigate the influence of the carbon content on the Cu-Te phase formation and on the resistive switching behavior in carbon alloyed Cu{sub 0.6}Te{sub 0.4} based conductive bridge random access memory (CBRAM) cells. Carbon alloying of copper-tellurium inhibits the crystallization, while attractive switching behavior is preserved when using the material as Cu-supply layer in CBRAM cells. The phase formation is first investigated in a combinatorial way. With increasing carbon content, an enlargement of the temperature window in which the material stays amorphous was observed. Moreover, if crystalline phases are formed, subsequent phase transformations are inhibited. The electrical switching behavior of memory cells with different carbon contents is then investigated by implementing them in 580 μm diameter dot TiN/Cu{sub 0.6}Te{sub 0.4}-C/Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}/Si memory cells. Reliable switching behavior is observed for carbon contents up to 40 at. %, with a resistive window of more than 2 orders of magnitude, whereas for 50 at. % carbon, a higher current in the off state and only a small resistive window are present after repeated cycling. This degradation can be ascribed to the higher thermal and lower drift contribution to the reset operation due to a lower Cu affinity towards the supply layer, leading cycle-after-cycle to an increasing amount of Cu in the switching layer, which contributes to the current. The thermal diffusion of Cu into Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} under annealing also gives an indication of the Cu affinity of the source layer. Time of flight secondary ion mass spectroscopy was used to investigate this migration depth in Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} before and after annealing, showing a higher Cu, Te, and C migration for high carbon contents.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2014

An ultra-high vacuum electrochemical flow cell for in situ/operando soft X-ray spectroscopy study

An in situ flow electrochemical cell has been designed and fabricated to allow better seal under UHV chamber thus to achieve a good signal to noise ratio in fluorescence yield detection of X-ray absorption spectra for spectroelectrochemical study. The cell also stabilizes the thin silicon nitride membrane window in an effective manner so that the liquid cell remains intact during X-ray absorption experiments. With the improved design of the liquid cell, electrochemical experiments such as cyclic voltammetry have been performed for 10 cycles with a good stability of sample window. Also an operando electrochemical experiment during photoelectrochemistry has been performed on n-type hematite electrode deposited on silicon nitride window. The experiment allows us to observe the formation of two extra electronic transitions before pre edge of O K-edge spectra.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2014

Long-range correlations in proton-nucleus collisions in MC model with string fusion

The study of long-range correlations between observables in two rapidity windows was proposed as a signature of the string fusion and percolation phenomenon. In the present work we calculate the correlation functions and coefficients for p–Pb collisions in the framework of the Monte Carlo string-parton model, based on the picture of elementary collisions of color dipoles. It describes pA and AA scattering without referring to the Glauber picture of independent nucleons collisions and includes effects of string fusion. Different types of correlations are considered: n–n, p{sub t}–n, p{sub t}–p{sub t} where n is the event multiplicity of charged particles in a given rapidity window and p{sub t} is their mean transverse momentum. The results, obtained in the present work for p–Pb collisions, are compared with available experimental results for p{sub t}–n correlations in one window and further predictions are made.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2014

Theoretical simulations of protective thin film Fabry-Pérot filters for integrated optical elements of diode pumped alkali lasers (DPAL)

The lifetime of Diode-Pumped Alkali Lasers (DPALs) is limited by damage initiated by reaction of the glass envelope of its gain medium with rubidium vapor. Rubidium is absorbed into the glass and the rubidium cations diffuse through the glass structure, breaking bridging Si-O bonds. A damage-resistant thin film was developed enhancing high-optical transmission at natural rubidium resonance input and output laser beam wavelengths of 780 nm and 795 nm, while protecting the optical windows of the gain cell in a DPAL. The methodology developed here can be readily modified for simulation of expected transmission performance at input pump and output laser wavelengths using different combination of thin film materials in a DPAL. High coupling efficiency of the light through the gas cell was accomplished by matching the air-glass and glass-gas interfaces at the appropriate wavelengths using a dielectric stack of high and low index of refraction materials selected to work at the laser energies and protected from the alkali metal vapor in the gain cell. Thin films as oxides of aluminum, zirconium, tantalum, and silicon were selected allowing the creation of Fabry-Perot optical filters on the optical windows achieving close to 100% laser transmission in a solid optic combination of window and highly reflective mirror. This approach allows for the development of a new whole solid optic laser.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2015

Charging/discharging behavior and mechanism of silicon quantum dots embedded in amorphous silicon carbide films

The charging/discharging behavior of Si quantum dots (QDs) embedded in amorphous silicon carbide (a-SiC{sub x}) was investigated based on the Al/insulating layer/Si QDs embedded in a-SiC{sub x}/SiO{sub 2}/p-Si (metal-insulator-quantum dots-oxide-silicon) multilayer structure by capacitance-voltage (C-V) and conductance-voltage (G-V) measurements. Transmission electron microscopy and Raman scattering spectroscopy measurements reveal the microstructure and distribution of Si QDs. The occurrence and shift of conductance peaks indicate the carrier transfer and the charging/discharging behavior of Si QDs. The multilayer structure shows a large memory window of 5.2 eV at ±8 V sweeping voltage. Analysis of the C-V and G-V results allows a quantification of the Coulomb charging energy and the trapped charge density associated with the charging/discharging behavior. It is found that the memory window is related to the size effect, and Si QDs with large size or low Coulomb charging energy can trap two or more electrons by changing the charging voltage. Meanwhile, the estimated lower potential barrier height between Si QD and a-SiC{sub x}, and the lower Coulomb charging energy of Si QDs could enhance the charging and discharging effect of Si QDs and lead to an enlarged memory window. Further studies of the charging/discharging mechanism of Si QDs embedded in a-SiC{sub x} can promote the application of Si QDs in low-power consumption semiconductor memory devices.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2015

Bias-free lateral terahertz emitters—A simulation study

The design and performance of bias-free InN-based THz emitters that exploit lateral photocurrents is studied by means of numerical simulations. We use a drift-diffusion model with adjusted carrier temperatures and mobilities. The applicability of this approach is demonstrated by a comparison with results from Monte-Carlo simulations. We consider a simple but robust lateral emitter concept using metal stripes with two different thicknesses with one of them being thin enough to be transparent for THz radiation. This arrangement can be easily multiplexed and the efficiency of this concept has already been demonstrated by experiment for GaAs substrates. In the present study, we consider InN, which is known to be an efficient photo-Dember emitter because of its superior transport properties. Our main focus is on the impact of the emitter design on the emission efficiency assuming different operation principles. Both the lateral photo-Dember (LPD) effect and built-in lateral field effects are considered. The appropriate choice of the metal stripe and window geometry as well as the impact of surface Fermi level pinning are investigated in detail, and design guidelines for efficient large area emitters using multiplexed structures are provided. We find that InN LPD emitters do not suffer from Fermi level pinning at the InN surface. The optimum emission efficiency is found for LPD emitter structures having 200 nm wide illumination windows and mask stripes. Emitter structures in which lateral electric fields are induced by the metal mask contacts can have a considerably higher efficiency than pure LPD emitters. In the best case, the THz emission of such structures is increased by one order of magnitude. Their optimum window size is 1 μm without the necessity of a partially transparent set of mask stripes.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2015

Threshold-voltage modulated phase change heterojunction for application of high density memory

Phase change random access memory is one of the most important candidates for the next generation non-volatile memory technology. However, the ability to reduce its memory size is compromised by the fundamental limitations inherent in the CMOS technology. While 0T1R configuration without any additional access transistor shows great advantages in improving the storage density, the leakage current and small operation window limit its application in large-scale arrays. In this work, phase change heterojunction based on GeTe and n-Si is fabricated to address those problems. The relationship between threshold voltage and doping concentration is investigated, and energy band diagrams and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements are provided to explain the results. The threshold voltage is modulated to provide a large operational window based on this relationship. The switching performance of the heterojunction is also tested, showing a good reverse characteristic, which could effectively decrease the leakage current. Furthermore, a reliable read-write-erase function is achieved during the tests. Phase change heterojunction is proposed for high-density memory, showing some notable advantages, such as modulated threshold voltage, large operational window, and low leakage current.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2015

Electrically programmable-erasable In-Ga-Zn-O thin-film transistor memory with atomic-layer-deposited Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}/Pt nanocrystals/Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} gate stack

Amorphous indium-gallium-zinc oxide (a-IGZO) thin-film transistor (TFT) memory is very promising for transparent and flexible system-on-panel displays; however, electrical erasability has always been a severe challenge for this memory. In this article, we demonstrated successfully an electrically programmable-erasable memory with atomic-layer-deposited Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}/Pt nanocrystals/Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} gate stack under a maximal processing temperature of 300 {sup o}C. As the programming voltage was enhanced from 14 to 19 V for a constant pulse of 0.2 ms, the threshold voltage shift increased significantly from 0.89 to 4.67 V. When the programmed device was subjected to an appropriate pulse under negative gate bias, it could return to the original state with a superior erasing efficiency. The above phenomena could be attributed to Fowler-Nordheim tunnelling of electrons from the IGZO channel to the Pt nanocrystals during programming, and inverse tunnelling of the trapped electrons during erasing. In terms of 0.2-ms programming at 16 V and 350-ms erasing at −17 V, a large memory window of 3.03 V was achieved successfully. Furthermore, the memory exhibited stable repeated programming/erasing (P/E) characteristics and good data retention, i.e., for 2-ms programming at 14 V and 250-ms erasing at −14 V, a memory window of 2.08 V was still maintained after 10{sup 3} P/E cycles, and a memory window of 1.1 V was retained after 10{sup 5} s retention time.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2016

Transmission diamond imaging detector

Many modern synchrotron techniques are trending toward use of high flux beams and/or beams which require enhanced stability and precise understanding of beam position and intensity from the front end of the beamline all the way to the sample. For high flux beams, major challenges include heat load management in optics (including the vacuum windows) and a mechanism of real-time volumetric measurement of beam properties such as flux, position, and morphology. For beam stability in these environments, feedback from such measurements directly to control systems for optical elements or to sample positioning stages would be invaluable. To address these challenges, we are developing diamond-based instrumented vacuum windows with integrated volumetric x-ray intensity, beam profile and beam-position monitoring capabilities. A 50 µm thick single crystal diamond has been lithographically patterned to produce 60 µm pixels, creating a >1kilopixel free-standing transmission imaging detector. This device, coupled with a custom, FPGA-based readout, has been used to image both white and monochromatic x-ray beams and capture the last x-ray photons at the National Synchrotron Light Source (NSLS). This technology will form the basis for the instrumented end-station window of the x-ray footprinting beamline (XFP) at NSLS-II.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2017

Results from new multi-megabar shockless compression experiments at the Z machine

Sandia’s Z Machine has been used to magnetically drive shockless compression of materials in a planar configuration to multi-megabar pressure levels, allowing accurate measurements of quasi-isentropic mechanical response at relatively low temperatures in the solid phase. This work details recent improvements to design and analysis of such experiments, including the use of new data on the mechanical and optical response of lithium fluoride windows. Comparison of windowed and free-surface data on copper to 350 GPa lends confidence to the window correction method. Preliminary results are presented on gold to 500 GPa and platinum to 450 GPa; both appear stiffer than existing models.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2018

Minimizing scatter-losses during pre-heat for magneto-inertial fusion targets

Here, the size, temporal and spatial shape, and energy content of a laser pulse for the pre-heat phase of magneto-inertial fusion affect the ability to penetrate the window of the laser-entrance-hole and to heat the fuel behind it. High laser intensities and dense targets are subject to laser-plasma-instabilities (LPI), which can lead to an effective loss of pre-heat energy or to pronounced heating of areas that should stay unexposed. While this problem has been the subject of many studies over the last decades, the investigated parameters were typically geared towards traditional laser driven Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) with densities either at 10% and above or at 1% and below the laser's critical density, electron temperatures of 3–5 keV, and laser powers near (or in excess of) 1 × 10 15 W/cm 2 . In contrast, Magnetized Liner Inertial Fusion (MagLIF) currently operates at 5% of the laser's critical density using much thicker windows (1.5–3.5 μm) than the sub-micron thick windows of traditional ICF hohlraum targets. This article describes the Pecos target area at Sandia National Laboratories using the Z-Beamlet Laser Facility as a platform to study laser induced pre-heat for magneto-inertial fusion targets, and the related progress for Sandia's MagLIF program. Forward and backward scattered light were measured and minimized at larger spatial scales with lower densities, temperatures, and powers compared to LPI studies available in literature.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2018

Soft x-ray spectroscopy of high pressure liquid

Here, we describe a new experimental technique that allows for soft x-ray spectroscopy studies (~100-1000 eV) of high pressure liquid (~100 bars). We achieve this through a liquid cell with a 100 nm-thick Si 3 N 4 membrane window, which is sandwiched by two identical O-rings for vacuum sealing. The thin Si 3 N 4 membrane allows soft x-rays to penetrate, while separating the high-pressure liquid under investigation from the vacuum required for soft x-ray transmission and detection. The burst pressure of the Si 3 N 4 membrane increases with decreasing size and more specifically is inversely proportional to the side length of the square window. It also increases proportionally with the membrane thickness. Pressures > 60 bars could be achieved for 100 nm-thick square Si 3 N 4 windows that are smaller than 65 μm. However, above a certain pressure, the failure of the Si wafer becomes the limiting factor. The failure pressure of the Si wafer is sensitive to the wafer thickness. Moreover, the deformation of the Si 3 N 4 membrane is quantified using vertical scanning interferometry. As an example of the performance of the high-pressure liquid cell optimized for total-fluorescence detected soft x-ray absorption spectroscopy (sXAS), the sXAS spectra at the Ca L edge (~350 eV) of a CaCl 2 aqueous solution are collected under different pressures up to 41 bars.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2021

Performance demonstration of vacuum microwave components critical for the operation of the ITER low-field side reflectometer

Final design studies in preparation for manufacturing have been performed for functional components of the vacuum portion of the ITER Low-Field Side Reflectometer (LFSR). These components consist of an antenna array, electron cyclotron heating (ECH) protection mirrors, phase calibration mirrors, and vacuum windows. Evaluation of these components was conducted at the LFSR test facility and DIII-D. The antenna array consists of six corrugated-waveguide antennas for simultaneous profile, fluctuation, and Doppler measurements. A diffraction grating, incorporated into the plasma-facing miter bend, provides protection of sensitive components from stray ECH at 170 GHz. For in situ phase calibration of the LFSR profile reflectometer, an embossed mirror is incorporated into the adjacent miter bend. Measurements of the radiated beam profile indicate that these components have a small, acceptable effect on mode conversion and beam quality. Baseline transmission characteristics of the dual-disk vacuum window are obtained and are used to guide ongoing developments. Preliminary simulations indicate that a surface-relief structure on the window surfaces can greatly improve transmission. The workability of real-time phase measurements was demonstrated on the DIII-D profile reflectometer. The new automated real-time analysis agrees well with the standard post-processing routine.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2021

RF sheath induced sputtering on Proto-MPEX. I. Sheath equivalent dielectric layer for modeling the RF sheath

The pulsed linear plasma device Prototype Material Plasma Exposure eXperiment (Proto-MPEX) uses a radio frequency (RF) helicon antenna with an aluminum nitride ceramic window for plasma production. The RF sheath created under the helicon antenna is sufficient to cause ion impact energies to be greater than the sputtering threshold of the AlN helicon window material and for impurities to be created. In this study, we investigate the RF sheath on the inner diameter of the helicon window and its impact on the impurity production rates in Proto-MPEX. Three models—a 3D COMSOL finite element RF model of the Proto-MPEX helicon region, a rectified DC sheath potential model, and the 3D Global Impurity TRansport code—are coupled together to study impurity production and transportation. This novel method of impurity generation and transport modeling spans length scales ranging from the sheath (millimeters or less) up to the full device (meters) and can be applied to other radio frequency sources and antennas in a wide range of plasma physics studies, including basic plasmas, low-temperature processing plasmas, plasma thrusters, and fusion plasmas.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

Measurement of Photoneutrons from Depleted Uranium and Comparison Study Using MCNPX-PoliMi

High-energy photon interrogation is a nondestructive technique that is used to detect special nuclear materials and characterize nuclear waste. The development of such systems is complex and requires Monte Carlo simulations to optimize system performance. Monte Carlo simulations rely on various scattering, absorption, and photonuclear cross-section data. While the scattering and absorption cross-section data have been extensively studied and validated with experiments, the results obtained from photonuclear simulations are often found to underpredict measured results, indicating uncertainties in the photonuclear cross sections themselves. Thus, there is a need for new measured results that can be used to quantify underpredictions in simulations using photonuclear cross-section data. In the present work, we interrogated depleted uranium with a 9-MV electron linac and detected photoneutrons with trans-stilbene organic scintillators. The measurement of photoneutrons with organic scintillators is challenging due to the presence of the intense photon flux, which causes issues such as pulse pile-up, detector saturation, and poor signal-to-background ratio. To mitigate these challenges, we used iron and polyethylene shielding of varying thicknesses around the depleted uranium target and a neural network–based digital pulse processing algorithm to recover neutron and photon information from piled-up events. Our goal was to compare the measured photoneutron count rate with the simulated rate obtained using the MCNPX-PoliMi transport code. For a light output window of 0.28 to 2.67 MeVee (1.66- to 6.85-MeV proton recoil energy), we found that the simulated count rate obtained using the ENDF/B-VII photonuclear cross-section library underpredicts the measured rate by 32.8% 3.2%. Additionally, we compared the simulated and measured photoneutron light output distributions. For the least thicknesses of shielding, the simulation was found to underpredict measurements in the 0.70- to 2.67-MeVee light output window. For the greatest thicknesses of shielding, the simulation was found to underpredict the measurement across the entire light output window of 0.28 to 2.67 MeVee.

98 NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT, SAFEGUARDS, AND PHYSICAL P↗
DOE OSTI2011

A SEARCH FOR THE TRANSIT OF HD 168443b: IMPROVED ORBITAL PARAMETERS AND PHOTOMETRY

The discovery of transiting planets around bright stars holds the potential to greatly enhance our understanding of planetary atmospheres. In this work we present the search for transits of HD 168443b, a massive planet orbiting the bright star HD 168443 (V = 6.92) with a period of 58.11 days. The high eccentricity of the planetary orbit (e = 0.53) significantly enhances the a priori transit probability beyond that expected for a circular orbit, making HD 168443 a candidate for our ongoing Transit Ephemeris Refinement and Monitoring Survey. Using additional radial velocities from Keck High Resolution Echelle Spectrometer, we refined the orbital parameters of this multi-planet system and derived a new transit ephemeris for HD 168443b. The reduced uncertainties in the transit window make a photometric transit search practicable. Photometric observations acquired during predicted transit windows were obtained on three nights. Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory 1.0 m photometry acquired on 2010 September 7 had the required precision to detect a transit but fell just outside of our final transit window. Nightly photometry from the T8 0.8 m automated photometric telescope at Fairborn Observatory, acquired over a span of 109 nights, demonstrates that HD 168443 is constant on a timescale of weeks. Higher-cadence photometry on 2011 April 28 and June 25 shows no evidence of a transit. We are able to rule out a non-grazing transit of HD 168443b.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗