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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 19 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2001

Long-Term Reliability of SiGe/Si HBTs From Accelerated Lifetime Testing

Accelerated lifetime tests were performed on double-mesa structure Si(0.7)Ge(0.3)/Si npn heterojunction bipolar transistors, grown by molecular beam epitaxy, in the temperature range of 175 C-275 C. The transistors (with 5x20 sq micron emitter area) have DC current gains approx. 40-50 and f(sub T) and f(sub max) of up to 22 GHz and 25 GHz, respectively. It is found that a gradual degradation in these devices is caused by the recombination enhanced impurity diffusion (REID) of boron atoms from the p-type base region and the associated formation of parasitic energy barriers to electron transport from the emitter to collector layers. This REED has been quantitatively modeled and explained, to the first order of approximation, and the agreement with the measured data is good. The mean time to failure (MTTF) of these devices at room temperature under 1.35 x 10(exp 4) A/sq cm current density operation is estimated from the extrapolation of the Arrhenius plots of device lifetime versus reciprocal temperature. The results of the reliability tests offer valuable feedback for SiGe heterostructure design in order to improve the long-term reliability of the devices and circuits made with them. Hot electron induced degradation of the base-emitter junction was also observed during the accelerated lifetime testing. In order to improve the HBT reliability endangered by the hot electrons, deuterium sintered techniques have been proposed. The preliminary results from this study show that a deuterium-sintered HBT is, indeed, more resistant to hot-electron induced base-emitter junction degradation.

Bhattacharya, Pallab↗
NASA NTRS1993

Analytical and experimental investigation of the feasibility of accelerated lifetime testing of materials exposed to an atomic oxygen beam

The interaction of atomic particles with surfaces is of both scientific and technological interest. Past work emphasizes the measurement of high-energy sputtering yields. Very little work utilized low-energy beams for which chemical and electronic effects can be important. Even less work has been carried out using well-defined low-energy projectiles. The use of low-energy, reactive projectiles permits one to investigate surface processes that have not been well characterized. As the energy of the projectile decreases, the collisional cascades and spikes, that are common for high-energy projectiles, become less important, and chemical and electronic effects can play a significant role. Aspects of particle-surface interactions are of concern in several areas of technology. For example, the erosion, desorption, and glow of surfaces of spacecraft in orbit are important in the arena of space technology. The materials studied under this contract are of possible use on the exterior portions of the power generation system of Space Station Freedom. Under the original designs, Space Station Freedom's power generation system would generate potential differences on the surface as high as 200 volts. Ions in the plasma that often surround orbiting vehicles would be accelerated by these potentials leading to bombardment and erosion of the exposed surfaces. The major constituent of the atmosphere, approximately 90 percent, in the low earth orbit region is atomic oxygen. Since atomic oxygen is extremely reactive with most materials, chemical effects can arise in addition to the physical sputtering caused by the acceleration of the oxygen ions. Furthermore, the incident oxygen ions can remain embedded in the exposed surfaces, altering the chemical composition of the surfaces. Since the effective binding energy of a chemically altered surface can be quite different from that of the pure substrate, the sputtering yield of a chemically altered surface is usually different also. The low-energy O+ sputtering yield measurements, reported here, will help quantify the erosion rates for materials exposed to the low-earth orbit environment. These measurements are of technological importance in another respect. In most surface analysis techniques, a surface is bombarded with ions, electrons or photons. Information concerning the structure of the surface and near-surface bulk, abundance of impurities and defects, as well as other surface properties are obtained either from the desorbed species or from the scattered projectiles. Because of their low penetration depth, low-energy ions provide an advantage over other techniques because they provide information that is more indicative of conditions on the surface rather than integrated effects arising from deeper in the bulk. A better understanding of the microscopic processes involved in these interactions is not only of basic scientific interest, but will also aid the scientific community by increasing the accuracy and usefulness of these surface analysis techniques.

Albridge, Royal↗
NASA NTRS2003

Long-Term Reliability of High Speed SiGe/Si Heterojunction Bipolar Transistors

Accelerated lifetime tests were performed on double-mesa structure Si/Si0.7Ge0.3/Si npn heterojunction bipolar transistors, grown by molecular beam epitaxy, in the temperature range of 175C-275C. Both single- and multiple finger transistors were tested. The single-finger transistors (with 5x20 micron sq m emitter area) have DC current gains approximately 40-50 and f(sub T) and f(sub MAX) of up to 22 GHz and 25 GHz, respectively. The multiple finger transistors (1.4 micron finger width, 9 emitter fingers with total emitter area of 403 micron sq m) have similar DC current gain but f(sub T) of 50 GHz. It is found that a gradual degradation in these devices is caused by the recombination enhanced impurity diffusion (REID) of boron atoms from the p-type base region and the associated formation of parasitic energy barriers to electron transport from the emitter to collector layers. This REID has been quantitatively modeled and explained, to the first order of approximation, and the agreement with the measured data is good. The mean time to failure (MTTF) of the devices at room temperature is estimated from the extrapolation of the Arrhenius plots of device lifetime versus reciprocal temperature. The results of the reliability tests offer valuable feedback for SiGe heterostructure design in order to improve the long-term reliability of the devices and circuits made with them. Hot electron induced degradation of the base-emitter junction was also observed during the accelerated lifetime testing. In order to improve the HBT reliability endangered by the hot electrons, deuterium sintered techniques have been proposed. The preliminary results from this study show that a deuterium-sintered HBT is, indeed, more resistant to hot-electron induced base-emitter junction degradation. SiGe/Si based amplifier circuits were also subjected to lifetime testing and we extrapolate MTTF is approximately 1.1_10(exp 6) hours at 125iC junction temperature from the circuit lifetime data.

Ponchak, George E.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Long life communication satellites: Electric power supply during the eclipse period

The electric batteries, essentially nickel-cadmium for French satellites such as D1 A, D1 C, D1 D, D2 B, D5 A, D5 B, etc. and the batteries for such satellites as Symphonie, ANS, INTASAT, ESRO 4, and COS-B are discussed. The experience obtained led to the development of long lifetime batteries for communication satellites. Real simulation tests showed a lifetime of four years and accelerated lifetime tests of twelve years. These batteries will be applied in OTS, METEOSAT, and Marots. At the same time, new batteries are being developed, based on nickel-hydrogen or on silver-hydrogen, which should provide longer lifetime and better reliability.

Font, S.↗
DOE OSTI2024

Increasing Multilayer Ceramic Capacitor Lifetime With Bipolar Voltage Cycling

Enhancing the lifetime of multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs) is critical in many aerospace, naval, or electrical grid applications, where device failure could lead to catastrophic consequences. The migration of oxygen vacancies from the ceramic to the electrode interface under constant bias is known to reduce the lifetime of oxide-based MLCCs. Bias cycling presents an opportunity to enhance MLCC lifetime by reducing oxygen vacancy migration. The ideal frequency range is expected to lie between frequencies low enough to avoid self-heating but high enough to avoid interfacial defect formation. However, the impact of low-frequency bipolar voltage cycling (BVC) on MLCC degradation mechanisms has not been well studied. This work investigates the impact of periodic BVC on the degradation of MLCCs through highly accelerated lifetime testing (HALT) on X7R capacitors. HALT tests were conducted at 255 °C and 60 V using different switching frequencies: 0 (dc), 0.1, 2.5, and 10 Hz. BVC was found to improve the lifetime of MLCCs compared to dc test conditions. MLCCs tested at 10-Hz BVC showed a 311% increase in average time to failure compared to the dc case. Impedance spectroscopy shows that BVC decreases the rate of resistance degradation within MLCCs, indicating that oxygen vacancy migration to the electrodes is mitigated. The impedance spectra taken on BVC samples highlight how grain boundaries play a vital role in trapping oxygen vacancies. Periodic cycling causes oxygen vacancies to become trapped at grain boundaries, resulting in oxygen vacancies taking longer to reach the electrode interface and thus increasing MLCC lifetime. This work highlights not only how BVC can be used to increase MLCC lifetime but also how periodically cycling MLCCs could increase lifetime in extreme environments, such as at elevated temperatures and electric fields.

Chuong, Kayla Y.↗
DOE OSTI2024

Ultra-High Efficiency and Stable All-Perovskite Tandem Solar Cells

In the project period, the research team has fabricated more than 6,000 single-junction wide-bandgap (wide-E g ) and low-bandgap (low-E g ) perovskite solar cells (PSCs) and more than 2,000 all-perovskite tandem solar cells (APTSCs). The best-performing wide-E g and low-E g PSCs and APTSCs showed PCEs greater than 19%, 23%, and 30%, respectively. The average PCEs for wide-E g and low-E g PSCs and APTSCs fabricated by the benchmark processes are (18.5 ± 0.4)%, (21.9 ± 0.8)%, and (26.8 ± 2.1)%, respectively. We have demonstrated APTSCs with T 80 lifetime of more than 1,000 h, which were measured by maximum power point tracking (MPPT) under one sun operation in the air. The team has also utilized various advanced characterization techniques to study the optical and electrical properties of wide-E g and low-E g perovskite materials and devices, developing a better understanding of the unique working principle and degradation mechanism of APTSCs. The team has met most GNG decision criteria except for the stability goal of APTSCs under 85 °C/85 RH accelerated lifetime test (ALT). The shortfall of the device ALT stability is mainly limited by the intrinsic instability of Sn-Pb perovskites under illumination at elevated temperatures. The team discussed with stakeholders in the PV academic and industry about these durability concerns and concluded that this is the major technical barrier preventing the market entry of APTSCs. Future fundamental study and R&D work are needed to advance this promising technology.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2025

Experience of developing highly reliable Tuner components (piezo actuators and cold stepper motor actuators) for SRF Linac

The resonance control team at FNAL has led the design of the LCLS-II SRF Linac SRF cavity tuner subsystem. The Linac is expected to operate for over 30 years, and the longevity of the tuner is crucial to the overall reliability of the Linac. When the tuner's design was started, there were no active actuators (stepper and piezo) that could meet the longevity requirements of the Linac. The FNAL resonance control team, in collaboration with industrial partners (Phytron and PI), has developed actuators that have been shown to withstand a cryogenic and insulating vacuum environment for over 100 years in accelerated lifetime tests. Details of actuators design and longevity testing will be presented. Now, practically all (small and large) SRF systems that are under construction around the world are using actuators developed at FNAL. A review of possible actuators improvement will be presented.

Pischalnikov, Yuriy [Fermilab]↗
DOE OSTI2025

Characterization of Fine-Pitch Interconnects for Long-Lifetime HI Applications

This conference talk discusses optimizing gold-gold and gold-ENIG fine-pitch interconnections for Heterogeneous Integration applications, with a focus on longevity. We first look at electrical data from gold-gold bumps subjected to highly accelerated lifetime testing. Then, we discuss using chemical and physical data as a predictor for ENIG bump flip-chip success.

Humphrey, Nicholas James [Sandia National Laborato↗
DOE OSTI2026

Extending Component Lifetime And Improving Inverter Reliability (ECLAIIR)

Inverter reliability remains one of the most persistent challenges limiting the performance, availability, and economic viability of utility‑scale photovoltaic (PV) plants. Industry data consistently show that inverters account for the highest share of corrective maintenance events and unplanned outages across PV fleets. These failures result in energy losses, increased O&M costs, and reduced confidence in long‑term solar asset performance. Motivated by these challenges, this project—Extending Component Lifetime and Improving Inverter Reliability (ECLAIIR)—was undertaken to systematically investigate inverter degradation and failure mechanisms, develop predictive maintenance capabilities, and establish data‑driven pathways to improve service life and reduce the Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) for large‑scale PV systems. The primary goal of the project was to identify pre‑failure signatures in string inverters using both lab‑based accelerated lifetime testing and field‑based data and to develop predictive maintenance algorithms that can anticipate inverter faults before they occur. Through collaboration with inverter testing laboratory, solar PV plant owner, and failure‑analysis experts, the project advanced the technical understanding of inverter reliability. By instrumenting inverters with thermistors, humidity sensors, power‑quality meters, and acoustic sensors, the research established how multiple sensing modalities can reliably detect deviations from normal behavior hours to days before failure. These findings substantially enhance scientific understanding of inverter failure kinetics and provide the PV industry with the most comprehensive cross‑OEM characterization of early‑stage failure indicators reported to date. Technically, the project demonstrated the effectiveness of predictive maintenance by developing and validating the PreDICT (Predictive Diagnostics of PV Inverters Using Condition Monitoring and Trend Analysis) framework—a multi‑layer diagnostic architecture combining peer‑to‑peer analytics, historical trend modeling, and advanced machine‑learning techniques such as the Sequential Conditional Variational Autoencoder (SCVAE). This predictive model achieved more than 90% accuracy in detecting pre‑failure conditions and provided up to four days of lead time before inverter failure in field scenarios. Economically, the project’s LCOE analysis showed that predictive maintenance can reduce lifetime energy losses and minimize corrective maintenance interventions. Modeling indicated that, depending on inverter failure rates and replacement timelines, predictive maintenance can significantly reduce LCOE impacts associated with inverter downtime: from as high as 19.4% under conventional maintenance strategies to 0.1%–10.17% when predictive analytics are adopted. These results confirm that predictive maintenance is both technically feasible and economically advantageous for utilities and plant operators. The project’s findings also have broad public benefit. By improving inverter reliability and reducing downtime, predictive maintenance directly increases electricity generation from existing PV assets. Enhanced reliability lowers operational costs for utilities, which can translate over time into lower energy costs for consumers. Furthermore, the project’s technical publications, conference presentations, and industry workshops ensure that knowledge gained is shared broadly across the solar industry, supporting workforce development and enabling utilities of all sizes to adopt modern asset‑health monitoring practices. The retrofitting case study and service‑life prediction framework further support informed decision‑making for aging PV fleets, helping operators extend system life and reduce electronic waste. In summary, the ECLAIIR project significantly advanced the state of knowledge on inverter degradation, demonstrated the technical and economic value of predictive maintenance, and delivered actionable tools and insights that support more reliable, cost‑effective, and sustainable PV plant operation. The outcomes of this project will continue to inform utility practices, guide inverter design improvements, and strengthen the long‑term performance of solar assets nationwide.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2026

Research and Development Related to the Commercialization of Perovskite Radiation Detectors (CRADA Final Report)

This work will focus on the development of perovskite radiation detectors fabricated with nanocrystal, thick polycrystalline films, or single crystal materials. This will harness NREL’s instrumentation and expertise in a variety of research areas including but not limited to metal halide perovskites, device characterization, device packaging, accelerated lifetime testing, and ink chemistry development.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2024

Coatings for CSP Lifetime

The feasibility and performance of tower-technology-based concentrated solar power (CSP) is highly dependent on the efficiency of the energy transformation from sun to heat at the receiver. The higher the solar absorptivity of the receiver coating, the higher the efficiency of the plant as a whole. BrightSource Energy (BSE) has developed a series of High-Performance Coating (HPC) systems in order to achieve high absorptivity over the plant lifetime (25-35 years). This requires stable coatings that are easily applicable on the large receiver surface and will maintain their optical properties under intense solar flux and thousands of heating and cooling cycles in desert conditions. Different coating formulations are required according to the differing plant conditions: receiver materials, operating conditions (temperatures, daily cycles, etc.), and environmental conditions. BSE also developed a coating for the next generation of CSP receivers, such as those being under DOE’s CSP Gen3 program, which will be operated with high temperature heat transfer fluids at temperatures of up to 800°C, which is significantly hotter than the operating temperature of current systems. Once the coating is formulated, the next challenge is evaluating its lifetime properties. BSE has found several independent failure modes that impact HPC absorptivity degradation: • Decrease in HPC optical properties due to oxidation in the receiver tubes surface below the HPC; • HPC film deterioration due to cycling of temperatures and humidity due to daily operation startup and shutdown as well as changing ambient conditions; • Mechanical degradation due to erosion by sand and wind. Existing test methods examine various aspects independently, but do not provide a combined accelerated lifetime result. Creating such a combined test suite, with a way to interpret the results to predict the coating’s projected lifetime, was the ultimate goal of this project. The project was divided into three major workstreams: lab testing (individual failure mode tests and combined failure mode tests); developing a theoretical model for aging; and validation of the test apparatus via on-sun testing in near real-world conditions at CIEMAT-PSA. Developing a test apparatus that accurately controlled the temperature while also introducing the desired solar flux proved more challenging than expected. While in the end we did succeed in creating a test apparatus that can control temperature, solar flux, and humidity, the results did not appear to accelerate the lifetime of the samples as desired. We suspect that to properly accelerate the samples we must also subject the samples to increased amounts of oxygen. Similarly, while we successfully created a combined model that is publicly available, we were unable to validate it sufficiently to feel comfortable recommending it as a general guideline.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
NASA NTRS1977

Lifetimes of fiber composites under sustained tensile loading

A description is presented of the test techniques which have been used to apply sustained uniaxial tensile loading to fiber/epoxy composites. The fiber types used include S-glass, aramid, graphite, and beryllium wire. The applied load vs lifetime data for four composite materials are presented in graphs. Attention is given to a statistical analysis of data, a performance comparison of various composites, the age effect on the strength of composites, the applicability of the lifetime data to complex composites, and aspects of accelerated test method development. It is found that the lifetime of a composite under a sustained load varies widely. Depending on the composite system, the minimum life typically differs from the maximum life by a factor of 100 to 1000. It is in this connection recommended that a use of average life data should be avoided in serious design calculations.

Chiao, T. T.↗
DOE OSTI2026

Reliability Assessment of Cooling Fans for PV Inverters: Testing, Modeling, and Case Studies

The reliability of photovoltaic (PV) inverters is critical for long-term solar system performance, with cooling fan failures frequently leading to costly downtime. While much research exists on general cooling fan reliability, little attention has been given to fans operating within PV inverters and their unique environmental challenges. Here, this article proposes a comprehensive methodology to address this gap. First, a failure mode and effects analysis is performed on fans to identify the key failure mechanisms in PV applications, their corresponding stressors, and the models necessary for lifetime prediction. Second, an accelerated life test is designed and conducted to collect valuable experimental data for PV inverter fans in a reasonable amount of time. Third, a mathematical conversion of dynamic mission profiles into effective constant stress levels is derived. Fourth, case studies are given, showcasing lifetime estimates that account for geographic variations in mission profile data. The results demonstrate that this integrated approach leads to an accurate reliability assessment for PV inverter cooling fans.

accelerated life testing (ALT)↗
NASA NTRS1993

Erosion rate diagnostics in ion thrusters using laser-induced fluorescence

We have used laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) to monitor the charge-exchange ion erosion of the molybdenum accelerator electrode in ion thrusters. This real-time, nonintrusive method was implemented by operating a 30cm-diam ring-cusp thruster using xenon propellant. With the thruster operating at a total power of 5 kW, laser radiation at a wavelength of 390 nm (corresponding to a ground state atomic transition of molybdenum) was directed through the extracted ion beam adjacent to the downstream surface of the molybdenum accelerator electrode. Molybdenum atoms, sputtered from this surface as a result of charge-exchange ion erosion, were excited by the laser radiation. The intensity of the laser-induced fluorescence radiation, which is proportional to the sputter rate of the molybdenum atoms, was measured and correlated with variations in thruster operating conditions such as accelerator electrode voltage, accelerator electrode current, and test facility background pressure. We also demonstrated that the LIF technique has sufficient sensitivity and spatial resolution to evaluate accelerator electrode lifetime in ground-based test facilities.

Gaeta, C. J.↗
NASA NTRS2014

Development Status of Adjustable Grazing Incidence Optics for 0.5 Arcsecond X-Ray Imaging

We describe progress in the development of adjustable grazing incidence X-ray optics for 0.5 arcsec resolution cosmic X-ray imaging. To date, no optics technology is available to blend high resolution imaging like the Chandra X-ray Observatory, with square meter collecting area. Our approach to achieve these goals simultaneously is to directly deposit thin film piezoelectric actuators on the back surface of thin, lightweight Wolter-I or Wolter- Schwarschild mirror segments. The actuators are used to correct mirror figure errors due to fabrication, mounting and alignment, using calibration and a one-time figure adjustment on the ground. If necessary, it will also be possible to correct for residual gravity release and thermal effects on-orbit. In this paper we discuss our most recent results measuring influence functions of the piezoelectric actuators using a Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor. We describe accelerated and real-time lifetime testing of the piezoelectric material, and we also discuss changes to, and recent results of, our simulations of mirror correction.

Reid, Paul B.↗
DOE OSTI2026

Relief Zones Enhance the Durability of Ultrathin Membranes in Electrochemical Conversion Devices

Premature failures in electrochemical conversion systems often result when membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs) use ultrathin (≤15 μm-thick) polymer electrolyte membranes, susceptible to mechanical degradation from stress concentrations arising from device-level integration. Herein, relief zones were developed to mitigate mechanical degradation by alleviating excess and nonuniform compression across active areas. Relief zones, created through ablation of carbonaceous diffusion media, enable seamless adaptation across MEA dimensions without need for hardware modifications. Demonstrated using fuel cells as a case study, accelerated stress tests revealed a 6-fold lifetime improvement (∼1500 h) compared to conventional edge-protected MEAs, decoupling device-level engineering effects from material limitations.

accelerated stress test↗