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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 1,783 records · Page 99
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2019

Autogenous healing of Engineered Cementitious Composites (ECC) based on MgO-fly ash binary system activated by carbonation curing

Developing self-healing of concrete cracks represents a critical approach for extending material longevity. If demonstrated on concretes with CO 2 stored through carbonation curing, self-healing can further mitigate infrastructure lifecycle emissions. In this study, the self-healing process is investigated on novel Engineered Cementitious Composites (ECC) based on binary blends of reactive MgO cement and siliceous fly ash activated by carbonation. The self-healing was observed under cyclic wetting and drying exposures and was characterized by measurements of resonance frequency, optical microscopy and X-ray computed microtomography (XCT). Thermogravimetric analysis, X-ray powder diffraction and scanning electron microscopy were employed to assist in identifying healing products and mechanisms. It was found that micro-cracks could be autogenously filled in 7 wet-dry cycles, as evidenced by over 95% recovery of resonance frequency and healed crack appearance under optical microscopic observation. Nevertheless, the composite mechanical performance, particularly tensile strength and ductility, did not fully recover with respect to the uncracked specimens. The inadequate post-healing mechanical properties were consistent with XCT observations that indicated low material densities in the cracked area. Based on the chemical and microstructural characterizations, it was determined that nesquehonite crystallites were responsible for the crack filling. Although the nesquehonite filled cracks will be less permeable to invasion of reactive fluids, novel strategies are needed to establish more robust healing capability to completely restore the crack bridging and composite tensile performance.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2022

Optical Design of $\mathrm{DEI/ABI}$ System at the $\mathrm{HEX}$ Beamline at the $\mathrm{NSLS-II}$

Diffraction Enhanced Imaging (DEI) or Analyzer Based Imaging (ABI) uses a perfect crystal monochromator and matching analyzer to achieve sensitivity to x-ray refraction and ultra small-angle scattering on the order of 0.01 micro-radians. As such, a thermal bump caused by heat-load in the order of 1 W is detrimental. The heat load at the HEX (High Energy Engineering X-ray) super-conducting wiggler (SCW) beamline, under construction at the NSLS-II, is on the order of 1 kW. How to reconcile the three orders of magnitude difference between the HEX source power and the DEI/ABI requirements? The solution involves using a double-crystal bent-Laue monochromator as pre-monochromator to prepare a beam with a large divergence and bandwidth that is matched to a flat crystal post-monochromator. We show through phase-space (x-ray energy vs. angle as viewed by a flat crystal) analysis and Dumond diagrams that there is indeed a unique bending radius that matches the double-crystal bent-Laue monochromator in phase space to the flat Bragg crystal. The matched system has a desirable feature that the phase space of the bent crystal’s output beam is much larger than that of the flat crystal, making the combined system stable. Based on these considerations, here we present our optical design for performing DEI/ABI at the HEX beamline

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2015

Structural and optical properties of oxygen irradiated Zn{sub 1-x}Mg{sub x}O (x = 0, 0.2) thin films

In the present study we report the effect of oxygen ion beam irradiation on the structural and optical properties of pure and 20% Mg doped ZnO thin films. These films were grown on Si substrate using RF sputtering technique. X-ray diffraction study confirms the formation of hexagonal wurtzite phase and the lattice parameter is found to reduce by Mg incorporation which further decreases after irradiation. The optical properties of the thin films using UV-Vis spectroscopy technique indicate an increment in the optical band gap with Mg incorporation as well as after irradiation.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2016

Mössbauer and Kerr microscopy investigation of crystallization in FeCoB ribbons

The present work reports the crystallization study of amorphous FeCoB ribbons using x-ray diffraction, {sup 57}Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy in transmission mode and magneto-optical Kerr (MOKE) microscopy. Annealing at 673 K is found to result in crystallization. From the Mossbauer measurements it is observed that the Fe magnetic moments are in the plane of sample for as-cast ribbon; α-FeCo, (Fe{sub 0.5}Co{sub 0.5}){sub 2}B and Fe{sub 2}B phases are formed after crystallization. MOKE microscopy revealed that wide 180° domain walls & narrow fingerprint domains are observed before crystallization and fine domains are observed after crystallization. The results are explained in terms of the presence of internal stresses and their annealing with thermal heat treatment.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2016

Nm-scale spatial resolution x-ray imaging with MLL nanofocusing optics: instrumentational requirements and challenges

The Hard X-ray Nanoprobe (HXN) beamline at NSLS-II has been designed and constructed to enable imaging experiments with unprecedented spatial resolution and detection sensitivity. The HXN X-ray Microscope is a key instrument for the beamline, providing a suite of experimental capabilities which includes scanning fluorescence, diffraction, differential phase contrast and ptychography utilizing Multilayer Laue Lenses (MLL) and zoneplate (ZP) as nanofocusing optics. In this paper, we present technical requirements for the MLL-based scanning microscope, outline the development concept and present first ~15 x 15 nm 2 spatial resolution x-ray fluorescence images.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2024

Evaluating Optical Techniques to Characterize Solid State Samples for the Pu-238 Supply Program

This report documents steps that have been taken to establish advanced characterization capabilities for solid-state samples to support the 238 Pu Supply Program. The program has already invested significantly in spectroscopy and online monitoring development for liquid processes. Many of the data, analytical methods, and equipment could also be leveraged for the analysis of Np/Pu oxides and Np pellets to help classify material properties and link them to operations. The techniques described in this work include diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), Raman spectroscopy, and laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS). Each technique is sensitive to various chemical and/or elemental species and can provide complimentary information to more standard methods such as powder x-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. These options are remotely deployable via fiber-optic cables. DRS and Raman spectroscopy are already approved for glove box and hot cell work, but LIBS requires US Department of Energy approval for incorporation. Raman spectroscopy does require laser shielding, which means that DRS is the easiest method to implement. However, each technique provides complimentary data, and the most robust sample characterization could be achieved when all three, among other methods, are harnessed together. This report documents some of the progress made testing these capabilities, some of the challenges, and next steps to optimize the technology and integration strategies.

07 ISOTOPE AND RADIATION SOURCES↗
DOE OSTI2015

Vector optical activity in the Weyl semimetal TaAs

Here, it is shown that the Weyl semimetal TaAs can have a significant polar vector contribution to its optical activity. This is quantified by ab initio calculations of the resonant x-ray diffraction at the Ta L 1 edge. For the Bragg vector (400), this polar vector contribution to the circular intensity differential between left and right polarized x-rays is predicted to be comparable to that arising from linear dichroism. Implications this result has in regards to optical effects predicted for topological Weyl semimetals are discussed.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2016

Structural and optical studies of hydrothermally synthesized MoS{sub 2} nanostructures

Transition-metal dichalcogenides like molybdenum disulphide have intrigued intensive interest as two-dimensional (2D) materials beyond extensively studied graphene due to their unique electronic and optical properties. Here we report the hydrothermal synthesis of MoS{sub 2} nanostructures without the addition of any surfactants. The structural and optical properties of the synthesized samples were characterized by various techniques, including X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV-Vis absorption, photoluminescence (PL), and Raman analysis. XRD and Raman spectroscopic studies confirm the formation of hexagonal phase and well ordered stacking of S-Mo-S layers. The increased lattice parameters of MoS{sub 2} samples are due to the stress or strain induced bending and folding of the layers. The synthesized MoS{sub 2} nanostructures shows a large optical absorption in 300-700 nm region and strong luminescence at 640 nm. In addition, the optical results demonstrates the quantum confinement in layered d-electron material MoS{sub 2} that can lead to engineer its various properties for electronic and optoelectronic applications.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2018

Stimulated Emission and Optical Properties of Solid Solutions of Cu(In,Ga)Se{sub 2} Direct Band Gap Semiconductors

Stimulated emission, optical properties, and structural characteristics of non-irradiated and proton-irradiated Cu(In,Ga)Se{sub 2} thin films deposited on soda lime glass substrates using co-evaporation of elements in a multistage process were investigated. X-ray diffraction analysis, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray spectral analysis with energy dispersion, low-temperature photoluminescence, optical transmittance and reflectance were used to study the films. Stimulated emission at low temperatures of ~20 K was found in non-irradiated and proton-irradiated Cu(In,Ga)Se{sub 2} thin films upon excitation by laser pulses of nanosecond duration with a threshold power density of ~20 kW/cm{sup 2}. It was shown that the appearance and parameters of the stimulated emission depend strongly on the concentration of ion-induced defects in Cu(In,Ga)Se{sub 2} thin films.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2020

AI-enabled high-resolution scanning coherent diffraction imaging

Ptychographic imaging is a powerful means of imaging beyond the resolution limits of typical x-ray optics. Capturing recovered images from raw ptychographic data, however, requires the solution of an inverse problem, namely, phase retrieval. Phase retrieval algorithms are computationally expensive, which precludes real-time imaging. In this work, we propose PtychoNN, an approach to solve the ptychography data inversion problem based on a deep convolutional neural network. We demonstrate how the proposed method can be used to predict real-space structure and phase at each scan point solely from the corresponding far-field diffraction data. Our results demonstrate the practical application of machine learning to recover high fidelity amplitude and phase contrast images of a real sample hundreds of times faster than current ptychography reconstruction packages. Furthermore, by overcoming the constraints of iterative model-based methods, we can significantly relax sampling constraints on data acquisition while still producing an excellent image of the sample. Besides drastically accelerating acquisition and analysis, this capability has profound implications for the imaging of dose sensitive, dynamic, and extremely voluminous samples.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2021

Super-Resolution Photothermal Patterning in Conductive Polymers Enabled by Thermally Activated Solubility

Doping induced solubility control (DISC) patterning is a recently developed technique which uses the change in polymer solubility upon doping, along with an optical dedoping process, to achieve high resolution optical patterning. DISC patterning is remarkable because the process resolution exceeds the linear Abbe’s diffraction limit, however, no mechanism has been proposed to explain such high resolution. Here, we use diffraction to spatially modulate the light intensity and determine the dissolution rate, revealing a superlinear dependence on light intensity, which yields features that are sharper than the profile of the writing photomask. This rate law is independent of wavelength, indicating that patterning resolution is not dominated by an optical dedoping reaction, as was previously proposed. Instead we show here that the optical patterning mechanism is primarily controlled by the thermal profile generated by the laser. To quantify this effect, the thermal profile and dissolution rate are modeled using a finite-element model and compared against patterned line cross sections as a function of wavelength, laser intensity, and dwell time. Our model reveals that although the laser-generated thermal profile is broadened considerably beyond the lasers resolution, the highly temperature dependent dissolution rate results in selective dissolution near the peak of the thermal profile. Therefore, the key factor in achieving super-resolution patterning is a strongly temperature dependent dissolution rate|a common feature of many polymers. In addition to suggesting several routes to improved resolution, our model also demonstrates that doping is not required for optical patterning of conjugated polymers, as was previously believed. Instead, we demonstrate that superlinear resolution optical patterning is attainable in any conjugated polymer simply by tuning the solvent quality during patterning, thus extending the applicability of our method to a wide class of materials. Here, we demonstrate the generality of photothermal patterning by writing sub-400 nm features into undoped Pff-BT4T-2OD.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2013

ZnO thin film deposition using colliding plasma plumes and single plasma plume: Structural and optical properties

We report the comparative study on synthesis of thin films of ZnO on glass substrates using IR laser ablated colliding plasma plumes and conventional pulsed laser deposition using 355 nm in oxygen ambient. The optical properties of deposited films are characterized using optical transmission in the UV-visible range of spectrum and photoluminescence measurements. X-ray diffraction and atomic force microscopy are used to investigate the surface morphology of synthesized ZnO films. The films synthesized using colliding plumes created with 1064 nm are non-polar a-plane ZnO with transmission in UV-visible (300–800 nm) region ∼60% compared to polycrystalline thin film deposited using single plume which has chunk deposition and poor optical response. However, deposition with 355 nm single plume shows polar c-axis oriented thin film with average roughness (∼thickness) of ∼86 nm (∼850 nm) compared to ∼2 nm (∼3 μm) for 1064 nm colliding plumes. These observed differences in the quality and properties of thin films are attributed to the flux of mono-energetic plasma species with almost uniform kinetic energy and higher thermal velocity reaching the substrate from interaction/stagnation zone of colliding plasma plumes.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2018

Optical Signatures of Transiently Disordered Semiconductor Nanocrystals

The remarkable optoelectronic properties of semiconductor nanocrystals (NCs) have led to efforts to integrate them as the active material in light-emitting diodes, solid-state-lighting, and lasers. Understanding related high carrier injection conditions is therefore critical as resultant thermal effects can impact optical properties. The physical integrity of the NC is indeed questionable as recent transient X-ray diffraction studies have suggested that NCs reversibly lose crystalline order, or melt, under high fluence photoexcitation. Informed by such studies, here, we examine CdSe NCs under elevated fluences to determine the impact of disordering on optical properties. To this end, we implement intensity-dependent transient absorption using both one- and two-pump methods where the latter effectively subtracts out the NC optical signatures associated with lower fluence photoexcitation, especially band-edge features. At elevated fluences, we observe a long-lived induced absorption to the red of the bandgap across a wide range of sizes that follows power dependent trends and kinetics consistent with the prior transient X-ray measurements. NC photoluminescence studies provide further evidence that melting influences optical properties. These methods of characterizing bandgap narrowing caused by NC disordering could facilitate improved optical amplification and band-edge emission at high excitation density.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗
NASA NTRS1993

Test results from LAGEOS-2 optical characterization using pulsed lasers

The Laser Geodynamic Satellite-2 (LAGEOS-2) has undergone extensive optical testing at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center during 1989. The techniques included measuring the far field diffraction pattern using cw and pulsed lasers. In the pulsed measurement technique, response of the satellite was studied by measuring the far-field diffraction pattern (FFDP) as a function of pulsewidth, wavelength, polarization, position in the FFDP, detector/processing techniques, and satellite orientation. The purpose of the pulsed laser testing was two-fold: (1) to characterize the satellite optical response with the detector and signal processing electronics currently used in most SLR stations using the portable laser ranging standard, and (2) to characterize the satellite response for various conditions using the highest bandwidth optical detector (streak camera) available for the next generation of satellite laser ranging (SLR) technology. The portable ranging standard employed multiple measurement devices and an optical calibration scheme to eliminate range-dependent and amplitude-dependent systematics. These precautions were taken to eliminate/minimize instrumental errors and provide maximum accuracy. For LAGEOS orbit (6000 Km), ground stations are located 34 to 38 Mu radians off the axis of the return signal from the satellite; therefore, an optical mask was used to restrict the field of view (FOV) of detection to this annular region of the FFDP. The two measurement techniques were implemented using an aperture sharing scheme and complemented each other by providing mutual verification.

Varghese, Thomas K.↗
DOE OSTI2013

Tunable upconversion emission in Ba{sub 2}YF{sub 7}:Yb{sup 3+}/Er{sup 3+} nanocrystals with different Yb{sup 3+} concentration

Graphical abstract: The emission intensity at 520 nm and 540 nm can be tuned by Yb{sup 3+} concentration. - Highlights: • High concentration of Yb{sup 3+} can be doped into Ba{sub 2}YF{sub 7} without a phase change. • The emission intensity at 520 nm and 540 nm can be tuned by Yb{sup 3+} concentration. • The long lifetime of {sup 4}F{sub 9/2} level makes its populating effective. - Abstract: Ba{sub 2}YF{sub 7}:xYb{sup 3+},0.02Er{sup 3+} nanocrystals with different Yb{sup 3+} concentration (x = 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, 0.98) were synthesized via a solvothermal method. Their X-ray diffraction patterns reveal that all the samples are cubic phase without phase change at arbitrary Yb{sup 3+} concentration. Upon excitation of 980 nm laser, these nanocrystals display upconversion emission in the green and red spectral regions. The relative emission intensity at these two regions can be tuned by Yb{sup 3+} concentration. To investigate the effect of Yb{sup 3+} ion, the decay times of 650 nm emission were measured and analyzed. Ba{sub 2}YF{sub 7}:0.6Yb{sup 3+},0.02Er{sup 3+} nanocrystals have the longest lifetime and highest emission intensity among all the samples. We concluded the lifetime of {sup 4}F{sub 9/2} level has an effect on its own population and intensity ratio of red and green emission. Our results show Yb{sup 3+} ion can tune the upconversion emission and improve upconverison emission intensity.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2023

In situ high-harmonic microscopy of a nanostructured solid

Nanostructured optical surfaces allow exquisite control over linear and nonlinear light interactions, where the surface actively creates new frequencies up to high-order harmonics of an intense infrared driving laser field. The function and performance of these surfaces depend sensitively on the distribution of the high-harmonic fields in and between the nanostructured elements, as the high-harmonic wavelength becomes comparable to the nanoscale features of the surface. Imaging the nonlinear response at the active surface with nanometer resolution would greatly benefit the optimization of the metasurface's function. Here we demonstrate an approach to lensless imaging of extreme ultraviolet high harmonics that resolves the amplitude and phase of nonlinear polarization at the active nanostructured surface of an MgO crystal. Imaging the near-field distribution of high harmonics is the gateway to optimized functional high-harmonic metasurfaces and the integration of high harmonics on a chip.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
NASA NTRS1992

Designing A Beam Waveguide For Multiple Frequencies

Paper addresses defocusing and diffraction effects important in design of beam waveguide. Phase center of beam waveguide at lower frequency differs from focal point of geometric optics. If antenna system optimized for higher frequency, shift in phase center causes defocusing, with loss of signal at lower frequency. Defocusing caused by diffraction at lower frequencies reduced by shaping input pattern.

Galindo, Victor↗
NASA NTRS1993

Self-Amplified Optical Pattern Recognizer

Self-amplified optical pattern recognizers developed for use in recognition of patterns, in optical computing, and in optoelectronic neural networks. In recognizer, photorefractive crystal serves as medium in which one holographically records diffraction-grating filter representing pattern with which recognition sought. Apparatus "self-amplified" because signal amplified within filter to many orders of magnitude greater than in prior optical pattern recognizers. Basic principle of operation applicable to many types of correlation filters, including (but not limited to) Vander Lugt matched filters, joint-transform filters, and phase-only filters.

Liu, Hua-Kuang↗