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Pearson, J.

Publications and source records attributed to Pearson, J..

At least 37 records · Page 2
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2018

Tuning SPT-3G Transition-Edge-Sensor Electrical Properties with a Four-Layer Ti–Au–Ti–Au Thin-Film Stack

We have developed superconducting Ti transition-edge sensors with Au protection layers on the top and bottom for the South Pole Telescope’s third-generation receiver (a cosmic microwave background polarimeter, due to be upgraded this austral summer of 2017/2018). The base Au layer (deposited on a thin Ti glue layer) isolates the Ti from any substrate effects; the top Au layer protects the Ti from oxidation during processing and subsequent use of the sensors. We control the transition temperature and normal resistance of the sensors by varying the sensor width and the relative thicknesses of the Ti and Au layers. The transition temperature is roughly six times more sensitive to the thickness of the base Au layer than to that of the top Au layer. The normal resistance is inversely proportional to sensor width for any given film configuration. For widths greater than five micrometers, the critical temperature is independent of width.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2017

Thick Bi{sub 2}Sr{sub 2}CaCu{sub 2}O{sub 8+{delta}} Films Grown by Liquid-Phase Epitaxy for Josephson THz Applications.

Theoretical and experimental studies of intrinsic Josephson junctions that naturally occur in high-Tc superconducting Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+δ (Bi-2212) have demonstrated their potential for novel types of compact devices for the generation and sensing of electromagnetic radiation in the THz range. Here, we show that the THz-on-a-chip concept may be realized in liquid phase epitaxial-grown (LPE) thick Bi-2212 films. We have grown μm-thick Bi-2212 LPE films on MgO substrates. These films display excellent c-axis alignment and single crystal grains of about 650 × 150 μm2 in size. A branched current-voltage characteristic was clearly observed in c-axis transport, which is a clear signature of underdamped intrinsic Josephson junctions, and a prerequisite for THz-generation. We discuss LPE growth conditions allowing improvement of the structural quality and superconducting properties of Bi-2212 films for THz applications.

Bi-2212 high-Tc superconducting films↗
DOE OSTI2017

Vortex dynamics and frequency splitting in vertically coupled nanomagnets

Here, we explored the dynamic response of a vortex core in a circular nanomagnet by manipulating its dipole-dipole interaction with another vortex core confined locally on top of the nanomagnet. A clear frequency splitting is observed corresponding to the gyrofrequencies of the two vortex cores. The peak positions of the two resonance frequencies can be engineered by controlling the magnitude and direction of the external magnetic field. Both experimental and micromagnetic simulations show that the frequency spectra for the combined system is significantly dependent on the chirality of the circular nanomagnet and is asymmetric with respect to the external bias field. We attribute this result to the strong dynamic dipole-dipole interaction between the two vortex cores, which varies with the distance between them. The possibility of having multiple states in a single nanomagnet with vertical coupling could be of interest for magnetoresistive memories.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2017

Modeling Iridium-Based Trilayer and Bilayer Transition-Edge Sensors

Here, we report a model that can be used to calculate superconducting transition temperature of a transition-edge sensor (TES), which is either a normal metal-superconductor-normal metal trilayer or a normal metal-superconductor bilayer. The model allows the T C estimation of a trilayer when the normal metals at the bottom and at the top are different. Furthermore, the model includes the spin flip time of the normal metals. We also use the T C calculations from this model for selected Ir-based trilayers and bilayers to help understand potential designs of low T C TESs. A Au/Ir/Au trilayer can have a low T C because the superconducting order parameter is reduced with normal metals at both sides. On the other hand, an Ir/Pt bilayer can have a low T C because the much larger electron density of states of Pt reduces the superconducting order parameter more effectively. Moreover, the spin flip scattering of paramagnetic Pt also contributes to the T C reduction.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2016

Optimization of Transition Edge Sensor Arrays for Cosmic Microwave Background Observations With the South Pole Telescope

In this paper, we describe the optimization of transition-edge-sensor (TES) detector arrays for the third-generation camera for the South PoleTelescope. The camera, which contains similar to 16 000 detectors, will make high-angular-resolution maps of the temperature and polarization of the cosmic microwave background. Our key results are scatter in the transition temperature of Ti/Au TESs is reduced by fabricating the TESs on a thin Ti(5 nm)/Au(5 nm) buffer layer and the thermal conductivity of the legs that support our detector islands is dominated by the SiOx dielectric in the microstrip transmission lines that run along the legs.

Ding, Junjia↗
DOE OSTI2015

Fabrication of large dual-polarized multichroic TES bolometer arrays for CMB measurements with the SPT-3G camera

This paper presents the procedures used by Argonne National Laboratory to fabricate large arrays of multichroic transition-edge sensor (TES) bolometers for cosmic microwave background (CMB) measurements. These detectors will be assembled into the focal plane for the SPT-3G camera, the third generation CMB camera to be installed in the South Pole Telescope. The complete SPT-3G camera will have approximately 2690 pixels, for a total of 16,140 TES bolometric detectors. Each pixel is comprised of a broad-band sinuous antenna coupled to a Nb microstrip line. In-line filters are used to define the different band-passes before the millimeter-wavelength signal is fed to the respective Ti/Au TES bolometers. There are six TES bolometer detectors per pixel, which allow for measurements of three band-passes (95 GHz, 150 GHz and 220 GHz) and two polarizations. The steps involved in the monolithic fabrication of these detector arrays are presented here in detail. Patterns are defined using a combination of stepper and contact lithography. The misalignment between layers is kept below 200 nm. The overall fabrication involves a total of 16 processes, including reactive and magnetron sputtering, reactive ion etching, inductively coupled plasma etching and chemical etching.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2015

Self-healing patterns in ferromagnetic-superconducting hybrids

We study magnetic flux dynamic effects in a superconducting bridge with thin soft magnetic stripes placed either on top or under the bridge. Voltage-current (VI) measurements reveal that the edges of magnetic stripes oriented transvers or along the bridge introduce channels or barriers for vortex motion, resulting in the decrease or increase of the critical current, respectively. We demonstrate a remarkable self-healing effect whereby the magnetic pinning strength for the longitudinal stripes increases with current. The self-field of the current polarizes the magnetic stripes along their width, which enhances the stray fields at their edges and creates a dynamic vortex pinning landscape to impede vortex flow. Our results highlight new strategies to engineer adaptive pinning topologies in superconducting-ferromagnetic hybrids.

Vlasko-Vlasov, V. K.↗
DOE OSTI2014

DISCOVERY OF TIME VARIATION OF THE INTENSITY OF MOLECULAR LINES IN IRC+10216 IN THE SUBMILLIMETER AND FAR-INFRARED DOMAINS

We report on the discovery of strong intensity variations in the high rotational lines of abundant molecular species toward the archetypical circumstellar envelope of IRC+10216. The observations have been carried out with the Heterodyne Instrument for the Far-Infrared (HIFI) instrument on board Herschel and with the IRAM30 m telescope. They cover several observing periods spreading over three years. The line intensity variations for molecules produced in the external layers of the envelope most likely result from time variations in the infrared pumping rates. We analyze the main implications this discovery has on the interpretation of molecular line emission in the envelopes of Mira-type stars. Radiative transfer calculations must take into account both the time variability of infrared pumping and the possible variation of the dust and gas temperatures with stellar phase in order to reproduce the observation of molecular lines at different epochs. The effect of gas temperature variations with stellar phase could be particularly important for lines produced in the innermost regions of the envelope. Each layer of the circumstellar envelope sees the stellar light radiation with a different lag time (phase). Our results show that this effect must be included in the models. The submillimeter and far infrared lines of asymptotic giant branch stars can no longer be considered as safe intensity calibrators.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Low Loss Superconducting Microstrip Development at Argonne National Lab

Low loss superconducting microstrip is an essential component in realizing 100 kilo-pixel multichroic cosmic microwave background detector arrays. In this paper, we have been developing a low loss microstrip by understanding and controlling the loss mechanisms. We present the fabrication of the superconducting microstrip, the loss measurements at a few GHz frequencies using half-wavelength resonators, and the loss measurements at 220 GHz frequencies with the superconducting microstrip coupled to slot antennas at one end and to TES detectors at the other end. Finally, the measured loss tangent of the microstrip made of sputtered Nb and SiOx is 1-2e-3.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
NASA NTRS2014

A High Speed, Radiation Hard X-Ray Imaging Spectroscometer for Planetary Investigations

X-ray observations provide a unique window into fundamental processes in planetary physics, and one that is complementary to observations obtained at other wavelengths. We propose to develop an X-ray imaging spectrometer (0.1-10 keV band) that, on orbital planetary missions, would measure the elemental composition, density, and temperature of the hot plasma in gas giant magnetospheres, the interaction of the Solar wind with the upper atmospheres of terrestrial planets, and map the elemental composition of the surfaces of the Galilean moons and rocky or icy airless systems on spatial scales as small as a few meters. The X-ray emission from gas giants, terrestrial planets and moons with atmospheres, displays diverse characteristics that depend on the Solar wind's interaction with their upper atmospheres and/or magnetospheres. Our imaging spectrometer, as part of a dedicated mission to a gas giant, will be a paradigm changing technology. On a mission to the Jovian system, our baseline instrument would map the elemental composition of the rocky and icy surfaces of the Galilean moons via particle-induced X-ray fluorescence. This instrument would also measure the temperature, density and elemental abundance of the thermal plasma in the magnetosphere and in the Io plasma torus (IPT), explore the interaction of the Solar wind with the magnetosphere, and characterize the spectrum, flux, and temporal variability of X-ray emission from the polar auroras. We will constrain both the mode of energy transport and the effective transport coefficients in the IPT and throughout the Jovian magnetosphere by comparing temporal and spatial variations of the X-ray emitting plasma with those seen from the cooler but energetically dominant 5 eV plasma.

Kraft, R. P.↗
DOE OSTI2014

Visualizing domain wall and reverse domain superconductivity

In magnetically coupled, planar ferromagnet-superconductor (F/S) hybrid structures, magnetic domain walls can be used to spatially confine the superconductivity. In contrast to a superconductor in a uniform applied magnetic field, the nucleation of the superconducting order parameter in F/S structures is governed by the inhomogeneous magnetic field distribution. The interplay between the superconductivity localized at the domain walls and far from the walls leads to effects such as re-entrant superconductivity and reverse domain superconductivity with the critical temperature depending upon the location. Here we use scanning tunnelling spectroscopy to directly image the nucleation of superconductivity at the domain wall in F/S structures realized with Co-Pd multilayers and Pb thin films. Our results demonstrate that such F/S structures are attractive model systems that offer the possibility to control the strength and the location of the superconducting nucleus by applying an external magnetic field, potentially useful to guide vortices for computing application.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2014

Radiolysis of Tributyl Phosphate by Particles of High Linear Energy Transfer

Tributyl Phosphate (TBP), used in chemical separation processes for used nuclear fuel, is susceptible to radiolysis causing losses in process performance. Here, we have studied its degradation by exposing dry 1M TBP/n-dodecane solutions to gamma radiation from a cesium-137 source and in a mix of low and high linear energy transfer (LET) radiation by irradiating samples in the UC Irvine TRIGA® reactor and utilizing the 10 B(n,α) 7 Li reaction. In a 1 M solution of TBP in n-dodecane the degradation of TBP (G - TBP ) was found to be 0.36 and 0.14 μmol/J for low and high LET radiation, respectively. The formation of dibutyl phosphoric acid, DBP, (G + DBP ) in this solution was found to be 0.18 and 0.047 μmol/J for low and high LET radiation, respectively. In samples exposed to low LET as well as a mix of low and high LET a variety of TBP degradation products containing phosphorus were observed indicating that other degradation products than DBP and the monobutyl diacid (MBP) were formed. Our results for both low and high LET radiation compare well with previous studies on these systems indicating that high LET degrades TBP to a lesser extent than gamma radiation. Available data for high LET is not as abundant as for low LET making such comparisons challenging. Nevertheless, our method yields a value for G + DBP that agrees well with previous alpha radiolysis studies indicating that our method shows promise for studying high LET radiolysis in liquid-liquid extraction systems.

10B(n,α)7Li reaction↗
DOE OSTI2013

Alternative methods for degradation studies by alpha radiolysis: tributyl phosphate and CMPO

Solvent extraction separation processes used in the recycling of used nuclear fuel are susceptible to radiolytic damage from radioactive isotopes present in used fuel. Studying the respective effects on matter of both low linear energy transfer (LET) radiation such as gamma radiation and high LET such as alpha radiation will allow for accurate prediction and modeling of process performance losses with respect to dose. The effects of gamma radiation on solvent extraction ligands have been more extensively studied than the effects of alpha radiation due to the inherent difficulty in producing a sufficient and confluent dose of alpha particles within a sample without leaving the sample contaminated with long lived radioactive isotopes. We have developed a method for studying the effects of high LET radiation in situ via {sup 10}B activation and the high LET particles that result from the {sup 10}B(n,a){sup 7}Li reaction which follows. In this study we applied this method to organic solutions of tributyl phosphate (TBP) and CMPO (compound octylphenyl-N, N-diisobutyl-carbamoyl methyl phosphine oxide) representing the PUREX and TRUEX processes respectively. Rates of degradation of TBP and CMPO and their respective degradation products in the presence of both high and low LET radiation are presented and compared to values reported in the literature. Preliminary data appears to show decreased degradation of CMPO in the presence of an aqueous acidic phase, which agrees with other studies performed on TBP solutions. (authors)

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2013

Development of a method for high LET irradiation of liquid systems

A variety of processes, from material sterilization and cancer treatment to used nuclear fuel recycling, benefit from quantifying the sensitivity of the system to radiation. Determining the effects of alpha irradiation on a system may be of complementary interest to the effects of gamma irradiation, as alpha radiation has higher linear energy transfer (LET) and will likely result in different chemical damage effects. This becomes important in advanced nuclear fuel cycle processes where the radioactive materials to be handled in solutions contain significant amounts of alpha emitters. In this work, we describe a method for studying high LET radiation in a liquid system using a TRIGA® reactor and the 10 B(n,α) 7 Li reaction. By fitting a model based on neutron diffusion and absorption to experimentally obtained Fricke dosimetry data, the high LET dose to a sample was predictable over the full range of reactor power available and varying 10 B concentration. This method may be applied to study the effects of high LET radiation on any liquid system as long as a suitable molecule containing boron is used and appropriate neutron diffusion coefficients are known. A wide range of high LET dose rates from <10 Gy/h to >1,000 kGy/h may be obtained with this method.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
NASA NTRS2006

Dynamics Simulation Model for Space Tethers

This document describes the development of an accurate model for the dynamics of the Momentum Exchange Electrodynamic Reboost (MXER) system. The MXER is a rotating tether about 100-km long in elliptical Earth orbit designed to catch payloads in low Earth orbit and throw them to geosynchronous orbit or to Earth escape. To ensure successful rendezvous between the MXER tip catcher and a payload, a high-fidelity model of the system dynamics is required. The model developed here quantifies the major environmental perturbations, and can predict the MXER tip position to within meters over one orbit.

Levin, E. M.↗
NASA NTRS2002

THz frequency multiplier chains base on planar Schottky diodes

The Herschel Space Observatory (HSO), an ESA cornerstone mission with NASA contribution, will enable a comprehensive study of the galactic as well as the extra galactic universe. At the heart of this exploration are ultra sensitive coherent detectors that can allow for high-resolution spectroscopy. Successful operation of these receivers is predicated on providing a sufficiently powerful local oscillator (LO) source. Historically, a versatile space qualified LO source for frequencies beyond 500 GHz has been difficult if not impossible. This paper will focus on the effort under way to develop, build, characterize and qualify a LO chain to 1200 GHz (Band 5 on HSO) that is based on planar GaAs diodes mounted in waveguide circuits. State-of-the-art performance has been obtained from a three-stage ( x2 x 2 x 3 ) multiplier chain that can provide a peak output power of 120 uW (1178 GHz) at room temperature and a peak output power of 190 uW at 1183 GHz when cooled to 113 K. Implementation of this LO source for the Heterodyne Instrument for Far Infrared (HIFI) on HSO will be discussed in detail.

oscillator spectroscopy↗