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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 307 records · Page 17

Microscopic subsurface characterization of layered magnetic materials using magnetic resonance force microscopy

This project resulted in the following accomplishments: 1) The invention of scanned probe ferromagnetic resonance microscopy. Upon implementation and refinement this approach was used to measure static and dynamic magnetic resonance properties of ferromagnets with an unprecedented combination of spectral and spatial resolution. 2) Demonstration and study of spin pumping in a pristine ferromagnet across a boundary defined entirely by a magnetic field gradient, and so free of materials discontinuities. 3) First demonstrated highly efficient dynamic spin injection from Y 3 Fe 5 O 12 (YIG) into NiO, an antiferromagnetic (AF) insulator and robust spin propagation in AF NiO over distances up to 100-nm thickness; both spin injection and spin transport are mediated by the AF spin correlations. 4) Demonstration of exceptionally high efficiency conversion of spin current to charge current achieved in spin pumping from the dynamic magnetization of a ferromagnetic insulator into a variety of adjacent metal films. 5) Seminal study of the nature of spin-orbit coupling in d-electron metals that revealed the dominant sensitivity of the d-orbital moment to the d-electron count and revealing the important roles of both d-electron configuration and atomic number in the physics of the spin Hall effect. 6) Demonstration of observation of FMR by means of optically-detected NV diamond relaxometry that provided a highly sensitive, spatially resolved FMR detection method and revealed spin pumping across 100-nm length scales by means of dipolar coupling. 7) Using magnetic field localization, developed for FMR imaging, demonstrated a novel approach to discretizing spin wave modes to improve the characteristics of auto-oscillators driven by pure spin currents produced by the spin Hall effect. 8) We demonstrated large spin pumping signals from propagating high wavevector spinwaves in thin film YIG find that the spin pumping efficiency was insensitive to wavevector thus emphasizing the promise of thin YIG films for spinwave-based spintronics by allowing for predictable down-scaling of device dimensions and enabling a broad range of operational frequencies.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Using Raman scattering to study reacting gas flow over a catalyst

l present a series of computational methods for analyzing and correcting Raman scattering from a reacting gas flow. My work focused on the laser diagnostic measurements of formaldehyde production over a silver catalyst, specifically the Raman spectroscopy component. This technique offers a non-intrusive, in situ way to measure the coupling between the gas phase and surface activity of a catalytic reaction at relevant industrial conditions. This report outlines the steps followed for correcting the non-idealities in the data due to both the detection optics and scattering mechanics. By implementing such refinement steps, l can generate an accurate 2D spatial map of the temperature profile, number densities for major species, and relative consumption of reactants throughout the reactor cell.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Drone Video Platform—Collision Avoidance, Situational Awareness, and Communications

Small unmanned aerial systems are ideal for delivering sensors into areas that are inaccessible or too dangerous for human entry or manned aircraft over-flights. The systems can fly low and slow for enhanced sensitivity and in tight spaces where ordinary aircraft could never fit. We have configured and flown sensor payloads for radiation, chemical, and optical detection on small fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft. All the sensor packages provide telemetry, GPS coordinates, LIDAR distance ranging, and absolute time of day to microsecond accuracy. Payload weights range from less than 1 kg up to 5.5 kg. Currently, communications are over 2.4 GHz and 915 MHz radios, as well as over 4G LTE cellular data links. Real-time data feeds from the sensor payloads to web browser clients anywhere in the world are possible via a virtual EC2 server on the Amazon AWS cloud. In FY 2019, the Nevada National Security Site teamed with Virginia Tech, H3D Corp., and Unmanned Systems, Inc. to accomplish the four flight missions described in this report. A large part of this year’s mission goals were to demonstrate the ability to fly beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS).

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Functionalization of nitrogen vacancy-containing nanodiamonds with a metal-organic framework for quantum sensing applications

Nitrogen vacancy (NV)-containing nanodiamonds (NDs) are an important material in applications such as biological imaging, catalysis, and, in particular, quantum sensing. Careful manipulation of the surface coating on NV NDs is essential for both enhancing quantum sensor performance and for tuning selectivity towards specific sensing targets. Here, we demonstrate a simple synthetic approach for functionalizing NV NDs with the zeolitic imidazole framework-8 (ZIF-8) metal–organic framework (MOF), providing a well-ordered, porous scaffold for immobilizing target analytes near the NV ND surface. The composites were structurally characterized by x-ray diffraction, electron microscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and these results were all consistent with NV NDs fully encapsulated by ZIF-8. Critically, the luminescent properties of the NV NDs, which are vital for quantum sensing experiments such as optically detected magnetic resonance (ODMR), are unchanged by the MOF coating. Moreover, spin relaxometry experiments indicate that the ZIF-8 coating significantly enhances the NV ND spin longitudinal relaxation time T1, a critical quantum parameter for sensing applications. Given the tremendous structural diversity of MOFs, the NV ND@MOF composites are an exciting material class with exciting implications for the development of high-performance quantum sensors.

Crawford, Scott↗

Nitrogen Vacancy Center in Diamond for the Stress and Field Sensing Applications

The nitrogen-vacancy (NV) center in a nanodiamond (ND) crystal is a promising material for quantum information processing, sensing, and computing applications. It is one of the best candidate materials for quantum sensing and metrology expected to work at elevated temperatures and pressures conditions. We computationally show the effect of strain on the defect band edges and band gaps in the NV center diamond. A low energy Hamiltonian is developed for the ±1 spin manifold at the ground state. We show the quantum sensing device is a few orders of magnitude superior in sensing than the traditional optical sensing devices. We also discuss experimental results from the optically detected magnetic resonance (ODMR) and the spin relaxometry for the field sensing applications. The presentation concludes by providing a model for free spins detection of the rare earth ions.

field sensing applications↗

Synthesis of nanodiamonds encapsulated by zeolitic imidazole framework-8 for quantum sensing applications

Nitrogen vacancy (NV)-containing nanodiamonds are widely used in quantum sensing applications due to their high sensitivity to magnetic fields, relatively low cost, and ability to be initialized, manipulated, and read out at room temperature. Quantum sensing techniques such as optically detected magnetic resonance (ODMR) and spin relaxometry have exploited the sensitivity of the NV nanodiamonds to magnetic fields to detect a range of analytes, such as pH, metal ions, and biomolecules. However, diversifying the sensing targets accessible by NV diamond quantum sensors typically requires careful engineering of the diamond surface chemistry with stimuli-responsive functional groups. Here, a simple protocol for coating NV nanodiamonds with the zeolitic imidazole framework 8 (ZIF-8), a widely used metal-organic framework, is presented. ZIF-8 is a highly porous material that has been used as a selective sensor for gasses, metal ions, and other analytes. The material is well-characterized by x-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and luminescence spectroscopy. Encapsulation of NV nanodiamonds with a porous scaffold such as ZIF-8 provides a promising method for improving the selectivity for the quantum sensing of various analytes. Importantly, the ZIF-8 coating does not impact the luminescence properties of the NV diamond, which is a key readout in ODMR and spin relaxometry sensing approaches. Indeed, the ODMR spectra with and without the ZIF-8 shell is nearly identical. Moreover, the ZIF-8 coating increases the longitudinal spin relaxation time of the NV nanodiamond by a factor of 4 relative to aggregated diamond, a desirable outcome for spin relaxation-based quantum sensing. Metal-organic framework composites with nanodiamonds thus are an exciting strategy for enhancing NV nanodiamond performance in applications such as quantum sensing and quantum-enhanced nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy.

nitrogen vacancy nanodiamond↗

Portable Waveguide-Based Optical Biosensor

Rapid, on-site diagnostics allow for timely intervention and response for warfighter support, environmental monitoring, and global health needs. Portable optical biosensors are being widely pursued as a means of achieving fieldable biosensing due to the potential speed and accuracy of optical detection. We recently developed the portable engineered analytic sensor with automated sampling (PEGASUS) with the goal of developing a fieldable, generalizable biosensing platform. Here, we detail the development of PEGASUS’s sensing hardware and use a test-bed system of identical sensing hardware and software to demonstrate detection of a fluorescent conjugate at 1 nM through biotin-streptavidin chemistry.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

Assessment of Hydroxyl Radical Reactivity in Sulfur-Containing Amino Acid Models Under Acidic pH

Methionine residues in proteins and peptides are frequently oxidized by losing one electron. The presence of nearby amide groups is crucial for this process, enabling methionine to participate in long-range electron transfer. Hydroxyl radical (HO•) plays an important role being generated in aerobic organisms by cellular metabolisms as well as by exogenous sources such as ionizing radiations. The reaction of HO• with methionine mainly affords the one-electron oxidation of the thioether moiety through two consecutive steps (HO• addition to the sulfur followed by HO− elimination). We recently investigated the reaction of HO• with model peptides mimicking methionine and its cysteine-methylated counterpart, i.e., CH3C(O)NHCHXC(O)NHCH3, where X = CH2CH2SCH3 or CH2SCH3 at pH 7. The reaction mechanism varied depending on the distance between the sulfur atom and the peptide backbone, but, for a better understanding of various suggested equilibria, the analysis of the flux of protons is required. We extended the previous study to the present work at pH 4 using pulse radiolysis techniques with conductivity and optical detection of transient species, as well as analysis of final products by LC-MS and high-resolution MS/MS following γ-radiolysis. Comparing all the data provided a better understanding of how the presence of nearby amide groups influences the one-electron oxidation mechanism.

Biochemistry & Molecular Biology↗

SDSS J1058+5443: A Blue Quasar without Optical/NUV Broad Emission Lines

In this paper, the blue quasar SDSS J105816.19+544310.2 (=SDSS J1058+5443) at redshift 0.479 has been reported as the best true type 2 quasar candidate with the disappearance of central broad-line regions. There are no definite conclusions on the very existence of true type 2 active galactic nuclei (AGN), mainly due to detected optical broad emission lines in high-quality spectra of some previously classified true type 2 AGN candidates. Here, unlike previously reported true type 2 AGN candidates among narrow emission-line galaxies with weak AGN activities but strong stellar lights, the definitely blue quasar SDSS J1058+5443 can be well confirmed as a true type 2 quasar due to apparent quasar-shape blue continuum emissions but an apparent loss of both the optical broad Balmer emission lines and the near-UV (NUV) broad Mg II emission line. Based on different model functions and the F-test statistical technique, after considering blueshifted optical and UV Fe II emissions, there are no apparent broad optical Balmer emission lines and/or broad NUV Mg II lines, and the confidence level is smaller than 1σ in support of broad optical and NUV emission lines. Moreover, assuming the virialization assumption to broad-line emission clouds, the reconstructed broad emission lines strongly indicate that the probable intrinsic broad emission lines, if they exist, cannot be hidden or overwhelmed in the noise of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey spectrum of SDSS J1058+5443. Therefore, SDSS J1058+5443 is so far the best and most robust true type 2 quasar candidate, leading to the clear conclusion of the very existence of true type 2 AGN.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

MOSAiC-Colorado State University Ice Spectrometer

This data set contains atmospheric ice nucleating particle (INP) measurements, using Colorado State University&rsquo;s (CSU) Ice Spectrometer (IS), of filter collections taken at the U.S. DOE ARM AMF2 site onboard the R/V Polarstern P-deck during the Multidisciplinary Drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate (MOSAiC) field campaign. Samples were collected from October 27, 2019 to September 24, 2020. A filter sampler was mounted approximately 15 m above ground level on a railing in proximity to (and approximately 3 m below) the Aerosol Observation System (AOS) inlet. Single-use filter units open to the atmosphere were pre-cleaned and pre-loaded with 47-mm diameter Nuclepore polycarbonate (0.2 &micro;m pore-diameter) filters. Filters were typically drawn for a three-day period, with an average volume of air filtered of 87,000 standard liters. Total volumes were calculated through recorded daily flow rates using a mass flow meter (TSI). After collection, filters were stored and transported frozen until analysis using CSU&rsquo;s IS instrument (McCluskey et al., 2018). Aerosol particles were first re-suspended in 8 mL of 0.1 &micro;m-filtered deionized (DI) water. Aliquots of each suspension, and corresponding 11-fold dilutions, were dispensed into polymerase chain reaction (PCR) trays and placed into the aluminum blocks of the IS. Samples were cooled at approximately 0.33 &deg;C min -1 and freezing detected optically with corresponding temperatures recorded. Cumulative INP concentrations were determined through calculating the number of INPs per mL of suspension (Vali, 1971) and converting to concentration per standard L of air by accounting for the proportion of liquid used and volume of air collected. All samples were corrected for the number of INPs on the average of four field blanks (cleaned, handled, transported, and analyzed in the same way without air flow). Two-tailed, 95% confidence intervals for binomial sampling are provided (Agresti and Coull, 1998). Select samples were also heat treated (95 &deg;C for 20 min) to denature and deactivate biological INPs present and digested in 10% H 2 O 2 at 95 &deg;C under UV-B for 20 min to remove any organic carbon INPs. Agresti, A, and BA Coull. 1998. "Approximate is better than &ldquo;exact&rdquo; for interval estimation of binomial proportions." American Statistics 52: 119&ndash;126. https://doi.org/10.2307/2685469 McCluskey, CS, J Ovadnevaite, M Rinaldi, J Atkinson, F Belosi, D Ceburnis, &hellip; and PJ DeMott. 2018. "Marine and Terrestrial Organic Ice-Nucleating Particles in Pristine Marine to Continentally Influenced Northeast Atlantic Air Masses." Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres 123 (11): 6196&ndash;6212, https://doi.org/10.1029/2017JD028033 Vali, G. 1971. "Quantitative Evaluation of Experimental Results and the Heterogeneous Freezing Nucleation of Supercooled Liquids." Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences 28: 402-209. https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0469(1971)028<0402:QEOERA>2.0.CO;2

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Ice nucleating particle concentrations measured by the PNNL-CFDC during the AGINSGP field experiment

Real-time, immersion mode ambient ice nucleating particle (INP) concentrations were measured at ARM&rsquo;s Southern Great Plains (SGP) site during the AGINSGP field experiment using a continuous flow diffusion chamber (CFDC) from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). The PNNL-CFDC is an ice-thermal gradient diffusion chamber that optically detects the freezing of single aerosol particles (Kulkarni et al. 2020). The instrument was located in the guest instrument facility (GIF) and measured INP concentrations from April 8th to April 29th. Air was drawn into the GIF through custom aluminum stack inlets (6&rdquo; inner diameter) attached vertically to the outer GIF wall and the GIF outside platform. A blower pulled air through the stacks at a velocity of 1 m/s. Aerosol instruments subsampled via wall ports, through either 3/8&rdquo; or 1/4" copper lines, depending on sample flow of the instrument. Kulkarni, G., Hiranuma, N., M&ouml;hler, O., H&ouml;hler, K., China, S., Cziczo, D. J., & DeMott, P. J. (2020). A new method for operating a continuous-flow diffusion chamber to investigate immersion freezing: Assessment and performance study. Atmospheric Measurement Techniques, 13(12), 6631&ndash;6643. https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-6631-2020.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Ice nucleating particle concentrations measured by the CSU-CFDC during the AGINSGP field experiment

Real-time, immersion mode ambient ice nucleating particle (INP) concentrations were measured at ARM&rsquo;s Southern Great Plains (SGP) site during the AGINSGP field experiment using a continuous flow diffusion chamber (CFDC) from Colorado State University (CSU). The CSU-CFDC is an ice-thermal gradient diffusion chamber that optically detects the freezing of single aerosol particles (Rogers 1988; Rogers et al. 2001; and Eidhammer et al. 2010). The instrument was located in the guest instrument facility (GIF) and measured INP concentrations from April 8th to April 29th. Air was drawn into the GIF through custom aluminum stack inlets (6&rdquo; inner diameter) attached vertically to the outer GIF wall and the GIF outside platform. A blower pulled air through the stacks at a velocity of 1 m/s. Aerosol instruments subsampled via wall ports, through either 3/8&rdquo; or 1/4" copper lines, depending on sample flow of the instrument. Rogers, D. C., Development of a continuous flow thermal gradient diffusion chamber for ice nucleation studies, Atmospheric Research, 22(2), 149-181, doi:10.1016/0169-8095(88)90005-1, 1988. Rogers, D. C., P. J. DeMott, S. M. Kreidenweis and Y. Chen, A continuous flow diffusion chamber for airborne measurements of ice nuclei, J. Atmos. Oceanic Technol., 18, 725-741, doi:10.1175/1520-0426(2001)018<0725:ACFDCF>2.0.CO;2, 2001. Eidhammer, T., DeMott, P. J., Prenni, A. J., Petters, M. D., Twohy, C. H., Rogers, D. C., Stith, J., Heymsfield, A., Wang, Z., Haimov, S., French, J., Pratt, K., Prather, K., Murphy, S., Seinfeld, J., Subramanian, R., and Kreidenweis, S. M., Ice initiation by aerosol particles: Measured and predicted ice nuclei concentrations versus measured ice crystal concentrations in an orographic wave cloud, J. Atmos. Sci., 67, 2417-2436, doi:10.1175/2010JAS3266.1, 2010

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

High energy-resolution studies of electron impact optical excitation functions. I - The second positive system of N2.

The relative emission cross section for the N2 second positive system (0,0) and (1,0) bands excited by electron impact was measured for incident electron energies from threshold to 17 eV. The use of a high energy-resolution electron spectrometer coupled to an optical detection system made it possible to obtain the measurements with an incident electron beam having an energy half width of 50 meV. Calibration of the incident electron energy was provided by observing the scattering resonances in nitrogen and helium. The maximum of the (0,0) and (1,0) bands were found to be at approximately 14.02 and 14.3 eV, respectively. A small structural feature that was pressure-independent appeared only in the (0,0) band emission cross section. Another such feature was pressure-dependent and appeared more strongly in the (1,0) band cross section.

Finn, T. G.↗

A search for molecular hydrogen fluorescence near 100 km

The fluorescence of H2 in the Lyman band system, excited by solar extreme ultraviolet radiation, provides a means for the optical detection of H2 in the upper atmosphere. In particular, the Ly beta line of hydrogen is nearly degenerate with the (6,0) P1 transition, and absorption in this line produces fluorescence in the v-prime = 6 progression, principally at 1265, 1366, 1462 and 1608 A. Absorption by O2 rapidly attenuates the Ly beta from an overhead sun below 100 km and also significantly attenuates the fluorescent radiation. Far-ultraviolet dayglow spectra from 1130 to 1510 A obtained from an Aerobee rocket experiment on 11 December 1972 give an upper limit for any H2 emission which is a factor of 5 higher than expected according to recent hydrogen models.

Feldman, P. D.↗

Recent measurements concerning uranium hexafluoride-electron collision processes

Scattering of electrons by UF6 molecules was studied at impact energies ranging from 5 to 100 eV and momentum transfer, elastic and inelastic scattering cross sections were determined. The measurements also yielded spectroscopic information which made possible to extend the optical absorption cross sections from 2000 angstroms to 435 angstroms. It was found that UF6 is a very strong absorber in the vacuum UV region. No transitions were found to lie below the onset of the optically detected 3.0 eV feature.

Trajmar, S.↗

Instrumentation for propulsion systems development

Various types of instrumentation for the development of propulsion systems are discussed. For the steady-state measurement of local temperature, pressure and flow velocity in gases the devices include: a multielement probe, calibrated thermocouple probes, thermocouple probes designed for low gas velocities, pressure measuring devices for high-speed rotors, and instruments for data pickup from rotating members. For the dynamic measurements of the same factors attention is given to 2-mm diameter pressure transducers, flush-diaphragm transducers, resistance thermometers or thermocouples, and miniature transducers for velocity measurements. Instruments for compressor and turbine-blade instrumentation are described with reference to a pyrometer for mapping turbine-blade surface temperature, a capacitance method for making rotor clearance measurements, and optical detection procedures for blade vibration amplitude.

Warshawsky, I.↗

Characteristics of trough region auroral patches and detached arcs observed by Isis 2

All of the data presented in this paper were obtained from the Isis 2 satellite, which was launched into a 1400-km near-circular polar orbit in April 1971. Instruments used in this study include the topside sounder for providing vertical profiles of the electron density, the Langmuir probe for measuring electron temperature and concentration, and the auroral scanning photometer for detecting optical emissions at 5577 A and 3914 A. Two distinct types of auroras (east-west-aligned oval-shaped 'patches', and isolated east-west 'detached arcs') are observed in the trough region (almost exclusively in the Northern Hemisphere) equatorward of the diffuse auroral boundary. Attention is given to comparison of patches and detached arcs, relation to magnetic indices, and relation to detached plasma and ELF hiss.

Moshupi, M. C.↗