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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 199 records · Page 11
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2023

High‐Throughput Study of Amorphous Stability and Optical Properties of Superlattice‐Like Ge–Sb–Te Thin Films

A high‐throughput ion beam sputtering system is used to synthesize compositional gradient superlattice‐like (SLL) thin film libraries of Ge–Sb–Te alloys over the entire phase diagram. Here, the optical properties and structural evolution of the Ge–Sb–Te combinatorial SLL thin film are investigated. A systematic screening over the annealing temperature, annealing time, and modulation period has elucidated the critical factors that affect the stability of the metastable phase and optical properties. It is found that amorphous stability and optical constant are highly dependent on the modulation period and chemical composition of the thin film. This data‐driven approach offers new perspectives for accelerating the development of new materials with excellent optical and amorphous stability and for exploring their mechanisms, by greatly expanding the dataset of Ge–Sb–Te alloys with SLL structures through high‐throughput experiments.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
NASA NTRS1986

Thin film growth rate effects for primary ion beam deposited diamondlike carbon films

Diamondlike carbon (DLC) films were grown by primary ion beam deposition and the growth rates were measured for various beam energies, types of hydrocarbon gases and their ratio to Ar, and substrate materials. The growth rate had a linear dependence upon hydrocarbon content in the discharge chamber, and only small dependence on other parameters. For given deposition conditions a threshold in the atomic ratio of carbon to argon gas was identified below which films did not grow on fused silica substrate, but grew on Si substrate and on existing DLC films. Ion source deposition parameters and substrate material were found to affect the deposition threshold and film growth rates.

Nir, D.↗
NASA NTRS2007

Stowable Energy-Absorbing Rocker-Bogie Suspensions

A report discusses the design of the rocker-bogie suspensions of the Mars Exploration Rover vehicles, which were landed on Mars in January 2004. Going beyond the basic requirements regarding mobility on uneven terrain, the design had to satisfy requirements (1) to enable each suspension to contort so that the rover could be stowed within limited space in a tetrahedral lander prior to deployment and (2) that the suspension be able to absorb appreciable impact loads, with limited deflection, during egress from the lander and traversal of terrain. For stowability, six joints (three on the right, three on the left) were added to the basic rocker-bogie mechanism. One of the joints on each side was a yoke-and-clevis joint at the suspension/differential interface, one was a motorized twist joint in the forward portion of the rocker, and one was a linear joint created by modifying a fixed-length bogie member into a telescoping member. For absorption of impact, the structural members were in the form of box beams made by electron-beam welding of machined, thin-walled, C-channel, titanium components. The box beams were very lightweight and could withstand high bending and torsional loads.

Harrington, Brian↗
DOE OSTI2021

Geant4 based positron beam source (GPos) v1.0

GPos is a software that was created to determine the properties of positron beams resulting from the interaction of the LBNL BELLA center PetaWatt laser-driven plasma-capillary accelerated electron beam and the atoms of a thin solid target. GPos is written in C++, easily compiled with cmake and the spack package manager, which allows for multi-thread and MPI parallel computing. Its functions expand on the Geant4 toolkit library and allow for propagation of the modelled particles through vacuum drift distances with a focusing element (thin lens approximation). Users can change beam-foil-drift-lens parameters - to adapt GPos to other particle sources and infrastructures - in a simple input file. The code particle data output format, openPMD, which is compatible, for example, with the input of the ECP WarpX project code used to explore the physics of particle acceleration in plasmas. Using GPos in conjunction to WarpX allowed us to test various configurations for designing a high-quality and high-energy positron source at BELLA -required for us to address positron acceleration challenges in the development of future linear colliders. GPos can also be advantageous when tackling the physics of muon sources for future muon colliders as well as for the investigation of positron sources in lower energy regimes for applications like annihilation spectroscopy and astrophysical gamma-ray-bursts.

Pinto de Almeida Amorim, Ligia↗
DOE OSTI2020

In situ x-ray and electron scattering studies of oxide molecular beam epitaxial growth

We perform the first in situ synchrotron X-ray ray diffraction (SXRD) / reflection high energy electron diffraction (RHEED) studies on the growth of complex oxide thin films by molecular beam epitaxy. The unique deposition chamber, located at the Advanced Photon Source, allows the preparation of complex oxide samples with monolayer precision and facilitates the formation of direct correlations between in situ X-ray studies and the more prevalent RHEED investigations. Importantly, because SXRD and RHEED probe different atomic-scale processes during thin film synthesis, their concomitant use enables the extraction of details concerning growth behavior than one cannot determine from either probe alone. We describe the results of such in situ studies on the epitaxial growth of perovskite LaNiO3on (La 0.18 Sr 0.82 )(Al 0.59 Ta 0.41 )O 3 (001). We find that during the earliest stages of growth, the RHEED and X-ray signals do not agree with each other, demonstrating that while regular RHEED oscillations may imply high quality growth, the film-substrate interface can undergo significant changes during deposition due to the occurrence of interdiffusion at the growth temperature.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
NASA NTRS1981

Ion beam deposited protective films

Sputter deposition of adherent thin films on complex geometric surfaces by ion beam sources is examined in order to evaluate three different types of protective coatings for die materials. In the first experiment, a 30 cm diameter argon ion source was used to sputter deposit adherent metallic films up to eight microns thick on H-13 steel, and a thermal fatigue test specimen sputter deposited with metallic coatings one micron thick was immersed in liquid aluminum and cooled by water for 15,000 cycles to simulate operational environments. Results show that these materials do protect the steel by reducing thermal fatigue and thereby increasing die lifetime. The second experiment generated diamond-like carbon films using a dual beam ion source system that directed an eight cm argon ion source beam at the substrates. These films are still in the process of being evaluated for crystallinity, hardness and infrared absorption. The third experiment coated a fiber glass beam shield incorporated in the eight-cm diameter mercury ion thruster with molybdenum to ensure proper electrical and thermal properties. The coating maintained its integrity even under acceleration tests.

Mirtich, M. J.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Hot Forming With Electron-Beam Welder

Hot forming to restore size and shape of thin metal parts done with electron-beam welder. Work-piece heated in scanning defocused electron beam rather than conventional heat-treating furnace. Technique proved successful in straightening some thin flanges of nickel alloy and titanium.

Dobson, R. K.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Vibration transmission through rolling element bearings. IV - Statistical energy analysis

A theoretical broadband coupling-loss factor is developed analytically for use in the statistical energy analysis (SEA) of a shaft-bearing-plate system. The procedure is based on the solution of the boundary-value problem at the plate-bearing interface and incorporates a bearing-stiffness matrix developed by the authors. Three examples are utilized to illustrate the SEA incorporating the coupling-loss factor including: (1) a shaft-bearing-plate system; (2) a plate-cantilevered beam; and (3) a circular-shaft-bearing plate. The coupling-loss factor in the case of the thin plate-cantilevered beam is found to be more accurate than that developed by Lyon and Eichler (1964). The coupling-loss factor is described for the bearing system and extended to describe the mean-square vibratory response of a rectangular plate. The proposed techniques are of interest to the study of vibration and noise in rotating machinery such as gearboxes.

Lim, T. C.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Non-isothermal elastoviscoplastic analysis of planar curved beams

The development of a general mathematical model and solution methodologies, to examine the behavior of thin structural elements such as beams, rings, and arches, subjected to large nonisothermal elastoviscoplastic deformations is presented. Thus, geometric as well as material type nonlinearities of higher order are present in the analysis. For this purpose a complete true abinito rate theory of kinematics and kinetics for thin bodies, without any restriction on the magnitude of the transformation is presented. A previously formulated elasto-thermo-viscoplastic material constitutive law is employed in the analysis. The methodology is demonstrated through three different straight and curved beams problems.

Simitses, G. J.↗
NASA NTRS1995

Flutter analysis of composite box beams

The dynamic aeroelastic instability of flutter is an important factor in the design of modern high-speed, flexible aircraft. The current trend is toward the creative use of composites to delay flutter. To obtain an optimum design, we need an accurate as well as efficient model. As a first step towards this goal, flutter analysis is carried out for an unswept composite box beam using a linear structural model and Theodorsen's unsteady aerodynamic theory. Structurally, the wing was modeled as a thin-walled box-beam of rectangular cross section. Theodorsen's theory was used to get 2-D unsteady aerodynamic forces, which were integrated over the span. A free-vibration analysis is carried out. These fundamental modes are used to get the flutter solution using the V-g method. Future work is intended to build on this foundation.

Hodges, Dewey H.↗
DOE OSTI2023

Damage-free X-ray spectroscopy characterization of oxide thin films

Thin polymer or oxide films are ubiquitous components in many devices, including membranes for filtration or electrodes in electrochemical energy storage. High energy electron or x-ray probes for microscopy and spectroscopy are useful to characterize and understand these materials. However, irreversible damage by the probe radiation remains a challenge. Here, we show that graphene serves as an x-ray and electron transparent substrate that substantially reduces radiation damage of an oxide thin film. We demonstrate this using highly focused x-ray beams, which show that compared to oxide thin films supported on a substrate, graphene-supported regions show minimal changes in the x-ray spectra as a function of x-ray dose. Further, these results pave the way for the development of experimental setups that allow for long exposure time measurements with limited sample damage and substrate-directed radiation patterning.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
NASA NTRS1992

Laboratory astrophysics under the ultraviolet, visible, and gravitational astrophysics research program: Oscillator strengths for ultraviolet atomic transitions

The conditions within astrophysical environments can be derived from observational data on atomic and molecular lines. For instance, the density and temperature of the gas are obtained from relative populations among energy levels. Information on populations comes about only when the correspondence between line strength and abundance is well determined. The conversion from line strength to abundance involves knowledge of meanlives and oscillator strengths. For many ultraviolet atomic transitions, unfortunately, the necessary data are either relatively imprecise or not available. Because of the need for more and better atomic oscillator strengths, our program was initiated. Through beam-foil spectroscopy, meanlives of ultraviolet atomic transitions are studied. In this technique, a nearly isotopically pure ion beam of the desired element is accelerated. The beam passes through a thin carbon foil (2 mg/cu cm), where neutralization, ionization, and excitation take place. The dominant process depends on the energy of the beam. Upon exiting the foil, the decay of excited states is monitored via single-photon-counting techniques. The resulting decay curve yields a meanlife. The oscillator strength is easily obtained from the meanlife when no other decay channels are presented. When other channels are present, additional measurements or theoretical calculations are performed in order to extract an oscillator strength. During the past year, three atomic systems have been studied experimentally and/or theoretically; they are Ar, I, Cl I, and N II. The results for the first two are important for studies of interstellar space, while the work on N II bears on processes occurring in planetary atmospheres.

Federman, Steven R.↗
DOE OSTI2026

Synthesis of epitaxial TaO$_2$ thin films on Al$_2$O$_3$ by suboxide molecular-beam epitaxy and thermal laser epitaxy

Tantalum dioxide (TaO2) is a metastable tantalum compound. Here, we report the epitaxial stabilization of TaO2 on Al2O3 (1-102) (r-plane sapphire) substrates using suboxide molecular-beam epitaxy (MBE) and thermal laser epitaxy (TLE), demonstrating single-oriented, monodomain growth of anisotropically strained thin films. Microstructural investigation is performed using synchrotron X-ray diffraction and scanning transmission electron microscopy. The tetravalent oxidation state of tantalum is confirmed using X-ray absorption and photoemission spectroscopy as well as electron energy-loss spectroscopy. Optical properties are investigated via spectroscopic ellipsometry and reveal a 0.3 eV Mott gap of the tantalum 5d electrons. Density-functional theory and group theoretical arguments are used to evaluate the limited stability of the rutile phase and reveal the potential to unlock a hidden metal-insulator transition concomitant with a structural phase transition to a distorted rutile phase, akin to NbO2. Our work expands the understanding of tantalum oxides and paves the way for their integration into next-generation electronic and photonic devices.

FOS: Physical sciences↗
NASA NTRS1985

Welding Many Thin Metal Layers

Electron-beam welding yields reliable, leakproof joints. Welding bands (also called "doublers") sandwiched between layers welded to increase final weld-section thickness. New technique ensures repeatable leakproof assemblies.

Hartwell, B. O.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Observations of electron beam structure in space experiments

Observations of a 100-mA, 1-keV electron beam were made with a low light level TV system and other instruments aboard the space shuttle STS 3 in March 1982. When fired at a moderate pitch angle with respect to the magnetic field, the beam electrons initially moved outward along a classical helical trajectory. Within a short distance, however, the beam electrons were deflected away from the helical trajectory into paths parallel to magnetic field lines threading the primary helix. This resulted in the formation of a thin-walled, cylindrical electron beam structure having a radius equal to the primary beam gyroradius. This structure, which is consistent with earlier laboratory vacuum chamber observations and recent two-dimensional computer electrostatic plasma simulations, has important implications for determining the extent to which pulsed electron beams can radiate electromagnetic energy in the ionosphere.

Banks, Peter M.↗
DOE OSTI2023

Parametric estimation of Poisson's ratio for thin hinged-hinged plates

Cornu's method is an elegant calculation besieged by an impractical approach to obtain accurate estimates for Poisson's ratio. Conventionally, Cornu's method requires several components, and each component can adversely affect the accuracy of the measurement. Furthermore, Cornu's conventional method requires a long beam because beams with short length-to-width ratios cause the estimate of Poisson's ratio to diverge from the true value of Poisson's ratio. We believe that, with the right modifications, Cornu's method can become an attractive approach to obtaining precise estimates for Poisson's ratio from mode shapes. Here we use finite element simulations to show how to use Cornu's method to estimate Poisson's ratio from a mode shape. Our modified Cornu's method removes knife-edges and loading components for a hinged-hinged plate under steady-state excitation. Given the true value of Poisson's ratio, as a performance specification, we show that simple parametric expressions can fit estimates for Poisson's ratio for different length-to-width ratios of thin hinged-hinged plates. Additionally, we show that estimates for Poisson's ratio from higher modes align with the results from the first mode and explain our expectation for this outcome. Furthermore, our results challenge the idea that anticlastic, monoclastic, and synclastic deformation uniquely correspond to positive, zero, and negative estimates of Poisson's ratio, respectively. With the emergence of materials-by-design, we expect that this parametric technique will be able to assist in experimental qualification of thin beam and plate structures with respect to the desired value of Poisson's ratio.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2026

Toward Tunable Magnetic Dirac Semimetals: Mn Doping of Cd 3 As 2

Magnetic impurities provide a route toward increasing functionality in electronic materials, often enabling new device concepts and architectures. In the case of topological semimetals, dilute magnetic doping presents a particularly attractive approach for inducing a Dirac to Weyl phase change via time reversal symmetry breaking. However, efforts to realize changes in the electronic structure have been limited by challenges in incorporating magnetic impurities into crystals with sufficiently high electron mobilities to detect them via transport or spectroscopic techniques. Here, we demonstrate incorporation of Mn into Cd 3 ⁢As 2 Dirac semimetal thin films grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). Using As-rich growth conditions and [001] oriented thin films, Mn compositions of >10% are achieved. Films contain uniform distributions of Mn with no evidence of secondary phases and exhibit electron mobilities greater than 10 000–30 000 cm 2 /Vs up to 5% Mn. An evolution in the magnetization behavior along with the emergence of a second quantum oscillation frequency at low Mn concentrations provide preliminary evidence of Mn-induced changes in the electronic structure that are consistent with a Weyl phase. This work demonstrates the potential of magnetically doping topological semimetal thin films and a pathway for synthesizing them.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗