Fiber Optic based Borehole Multi Sensor & Source System for Characterization and Monitoring of Carbon Storage Sites
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY↗
SEARCH · Search NASA
Results for “Temperature sensing”
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.
Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.
Overview of Quantum Sensing Materials and Techniques for Energy Sector Applications
The energy sector has become increasingly dependent upon highly sensitive sensing devices for a wide range of applications. Variables such as temperature, pH, electromagnetic fields, ions, and pressure must be measured with high precision, often in harsh conditions (e.g. highly corrosive environments due to high temperature, pressure and humidity). These sensors are deployed in infrastructure such as transformers, pipelines, mines, nuclear power plants, and other areas to ensure safe operating conditions and uninterrupted, optimized service. Moreover, new opportunities for sensors have emerged due to the expansion of smart grids/meters, driverless vehicles, and the discovery of new oil, gas, and critical mineral deposits. The continued maturation of quantum sensing technologies offers exciting opportunities for quantum-enhanced measurements within the energy sector that may provide significant improvements in sensitivity beyond the classical limit. Here, an overview of established and emerging quantum materials for sensing applications will be provided, from trapped ions to color centers in diamond and silicon carbide. Associated quantum sensing methods for these materials will be discussed, with an emphasis on platforms that are nearing commercial viability. Specific application opportunities within the energy sector for quantum sensors will then be analyzed, including oil/gas discovery, greenhouse gas emission monitoring, pH and ion sensing, current measurement in electric vehicle batteries, and quantum-enhanced spectroscopy. Remaining barriers, such as quantum sensor platform miniaturization and ruggedization, will also be analyzed. A specific project at the National Energy Technology Laboratory involving the functionalization of qubits using metal-organic frameworks for enhanced quantum sensing will also be highlighted. Here, nitrogen vacancy centers (NV) in nanodiamonds, a commercially available qubit with long coherence times and utilizable quantum properties at room temperature, are encapsulated in a controlled way using the metal-organic framework ZIF-8. The ZIF-8 provides a well-defined, porous scaffold that can be controlled to promote the selective uptake of specific target analytes, such as gas molecules or ions. The quantum sensing performance of this composite material is either preserved or enhanced following ZIF-8 encapsulation; the optically detected magnetic resonance response of the NV nanodiamonds with and without the ZIF-8 coating are identical, while the ZIF-8 coating increases the longitudinal spin relaxation lifetime (T1) of the NV centers, an important parameter for spin relaxometry-based quantum sensing experiments. Taken together, these results demonstrate the importance of qubit functionalization as a crucial step for rationally designing high performance quantum sensors.
Crawford, Scott↗
Overview of Quantum Sensing Materials and Techniques for Energy Sector Applications
The energy sector is dependent upon highly sensitive sensing devices for a wide range of applications. Variables such as temperature, pH, electromagnetic fields, and pressure must be measured with high precision, often in harsh conditions (e.g. high temperature, pressure and humidity). These sensors are deployed in infrastructure such as transformers, pipelines, mines, nuclear power plants, and other areas to ensure safe operating conditions and uninterrupted, optimized service. Moreover, new opportunities for sensors have emerged due to the expansion of smart grids/meters, driverless vehicles, and the discovery of new oil/gas deposits. The continued maturation of quantum sensors offers exciting opportunities for quantum-enhanced measurements to improve sensitivity beyond the classical limit. Here, an overview of established and emerging quantum materials and methods for sensing applications will be provided. Opportunities within the energy sector for quantum sensors will then be analyzed, including oil/gas discovery, greenhouse gas emission monitoring, pH and ion sensing, current measurements, and quantum-enhanced spectroscopy, along with barriers such as quantum sensor platform miniaturization and ruggedization. A specific project at the National Energy Technology Laboratory involving the functionalization of qubits using metal-organic frameworks for enhanced quantum sensing will then be highlighted. Here, nitrogen vacancy centers (NV) in nanodiamonds, a commercially available qubit with long coherence times and utilizable quantum properties at room temperature, are encapsulated using the metal-organic framework ZIF-8. Significantly, the ZIF-8 coating increases the longitudinal spin relaxation lifetime of the NV centers, an important parameter for spin relaxometry-based quantum sensing experiments. These results demonstrate the importance of qubit functionalization as a crucial step for rationally designing high performance quantum sensors.
Crawford, Scott↗
Quantum Efficiency Gain in 2D Perovskite Photo and X‐Ray Detectors
Abstract The perovskite polycrystalline thin film detector fabricated by solution method is a promising low‐cost, scalable technology for radiation imaging, but its thin volume limits the sensing efficiency for high‐energy X‐ray photons. This work reports 2D perovskite thin film photo‐diodes with a detection gain when sensing visible and X‐ray photons. Detailed power and temperature‐dependent device characterizations reveal a charge multiplication effect to be responsible for the observed high gain. This is caused by a disparity in electron and hole transport, where electron transport is retarded by a trap/de‐trap process via shallow trap states, whereas the hole transport is fast enough to produce a photoconductive gain in satisfying the charge neutrality. The 2D perovskite made with butylamine spacers is also found to exhibit a larger efficiency gain than those made with phenylethylamines because of the higher likelihood of forming shallow traps in the former. The thin film diodes feature a high temporal response over 1 MHz due to the fast charge collection across a thin volume, and the discovery provides device physics mechanisms in connection to material structure‐function relationship for future optoelectronics design that can boost the efficiency of X‐ray sensing and dim light detection.
2D perovskites↗
Quantum sensing of paramagnetic analytes by nanodiamonds in levitated microdroplets and aqueous solutions
Nanodiamonds (ND) hosting negatively charged nitrogen-vacancy (NV-) color centers have received attention for applications in magnetic field, electric field, chemical, and bio-sensing. The versatility of these probes is their excellent room-temperature optical and spin properties, along with their small size, functionalized surfaces and resistance to bleaching, making them ideal as nanoscopic sensors in picoliter volumes (e.g. single cells, but also microcompartments and aerosols). For quantitative ND-NV- sensing of paramagnetic analytes in such contexts, however, there remains an incomplete understanding of how factors related to the aqueous phase environment control detection efficiency. To address this, optically detected magnetic resonance (ODMR) is measured in bulk macroscale solutions and single levitated microdroplets as a function of Gd+3 concentration (340 nM to 1.5 mM), nanodiamond size, pH, competitor ions, and ligands. The ODMR response to [Gd+3] is found to be nonlinear, and pH, ND and sample volume dependent; indicating the detection of Gd+3 requires efficient adsorption of the analyte to the diamond surface. Langmuir adsorption isotherms embedded in a quantitative photophysical model links the ODMR response to adsorption thermodynamics of Gd+3. The equilibrium constant for Gd+3 adsorption to a carboxylated ND surface is determined to be (1 ± 0.5) x 105 M-1 corresponding to a free energy of adsorption of (-28 ± 1) kJ mol-1. These results provide general insight into how complex aqueous and microscale environments impact nanodiamond based quantum sensing modalities, and portend their application as quantitative chemical sensors in microenvironments.
Brown, Emily K↗
Acoustic Tomography of the Atmosphere: A Large-Eddy Simulation Sensitivity Study
Accurate measurement of atmospheric turbulent fluctuations is critical for understanding environmental dynamics and improving models in applications such as wind energy. Advanced remote sensing technologies are essential for capturing instantaneous velocity and temperature fluctuations. Acoustic tomography (AT) offers a promising approach that utilizes sound travel times between an array of transducers to reconstruct turbulence fields. This study presents a systematic evaluation of the time-dependent stochastic inversion (TDSI) algorithm for AT using synthetic travel-time measurements derived from large-eddy simulation (LES) fields under both neutral and convective atmospheric boundary-layer conditions. Unlike prior work that relied on field observations or idealized fields, the LES framework provides a ground-truth atmospheric state, enabling quantitative assessment of TDSI retrieval reliability, sensitivity to travel-time measurement noise, and dependence on covariance model parameters and temporal data integration. A detailed sensitivity analysis was conducted to determine the best-fit model parameters, identify the tolerance thresholds for parameter mismatch, and establish a maximum spatial resolution. The TDSI algorithm successfully reconstructed large-scale velocity and temperature fluctuations with root mean square errors ( RMSE s) below 0.35 m/s and 0.12 K, respectively. Spectral analysis established a maximum spatial resolution of approximately 1.4 m, and reconstructions remained robust for travel-time measurement uncertainties up to 0.002 s. These findings provide critical insights into the operational limits of TDSI and inform future applications of AT for atmospheric turbulence characterization and system design.
17 WIND ENERGY↗
Enhanced ZIF-8-enabled colorimetric CO 2 sensing through dye-precursor synthesis
The accumulation of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) within enclosed spaces, along with volatile organic compounds, under certain humidity, temperature, and ventilation conditions is associated with detrimental human health symptoms such as fatigue. Color-based chemical sensing is a promising approach to detect CO 2 levels relevant to indoor air quality through producing fast, quantifiable output visible to the naked eye. In a prior work, a colorimetric gas sensor was fabricated through synthesizing the metal-organic framework, ZIF-8, as the adsorbent, followed by post-synthetic mixing with a dye, phenol red (PSP), and primary amine, ethylenediamine (ED). While this sensor (termed PSP-ED/ZIF-8) maintained its structural integrity in atmospheric conditions and exhibited an increasing fuchsia-to-yellow color change with increasing CO 2 levels in dry environment, the colorimetric response greatly suffered in the presence of humid CO 2 . Here in this work, a significantly improved colorimetric CO 2 sensor (referred to as ED/PSP:ZIF-8) is accomplished through directly incorporating phenol red in the ZIF-8 metal and linker precursor solutions and then blending with ethylenediamine. MATLAB-generated color distributions and in-situ ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopic studies quantitatively demonstrate an enhanced colorimetric gas response of ED/PSP:ZIF-8 compared to that of PSP-ED/ZIF-8 across an important range of CO 2 for indoor air quality monitoring (500 – 3500 ppm) and across a range of humidity. The new sensor also exhibits high selectivity to CO 2 compared to select volatile organic compounds, such as acetone and ethanol, which contribute to human health symptoms experienced indoors. The enhanced performance is attributed to the proposed incorporation of phenol red within ZIF-8, while maintaining the chemical stability of the MOF.
37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
Near-wall model for compressible turbulent boundary layers based on an inverse velocity transformation
In this work, a near-wall model, which couples the inverse of a recently developed compressible velocity transformation (Griffin et al., Proc. Natl Acad. Sci., vol. 118, 2021, p. 34) and an algebraic temperature–velocity relation, is developed for high-speed turbulent boundary layers. As input, the model requires the mean flow state at one wall-normal height in the inner layer of the boundary layer and at the boundary-layer edge. As output, the model can predict mean temperature and velocity profiles across the entire inner layer, as well as the wall shear stress and heat flux. The model is tested in an a priori sense using a wide database of direct numerical simulation high-Mach-number turbulent channel flows, pipe flows and boundary layers (48 cases, with edge Mach numbers in the range 0.77–11, and semi-local friction Reynolds numbers in the range 170–5700). The present model is significantly more accurate than the classical ordinary differential equation (ODE) model for all cases tested. The model is deployed as a wall model for large-eddy simulations in channel flows with bulk Mach numbers in the range 0.7–4 and friction Reynolds numbers in the range 320–1800. When compared to the classical framework, in the a posteriori sense, the present method greatly improves the predicted heat flux, wall stress, and temperature and velocity profiles, especially in cases with strong heat transfer. In addition, the present model solves one ODE instead of two, and has a computational cost and implementation complexity similar to that of the commonly used ODE model.
42 ENGINEERING↗
Global mapping of urban thermal anisotropy reveals substantial potential biases for remotely sensed urban climates
Urban thermal anisotropy (UTA) drastically biases satellite-derived urban surface temperatures and fluxes, and consequently inhibits a more comprehensive understanding of global urban climates. However, UTA patterns and associated biases in observed urban climate variables have not been investigated across an adequate number of global cities with diverse contexts; nor is it known whether there are globally measurable factors that are closely related to the UTA intensity (UTAI, quantified as the maximum difference between the nadir and off-nadir urban thermal radiation). Here we investigate the UTAI over more than 5500 cities worldwide using the moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) multi-angle land surface temperature (LST) observations from 2003 to 2021. The results show that the global mean UTAI can reach 5.1, 2.7, 2.4, and 1.7 K during summer daytime, winter daytime, summer nighttime, and winter nighttime, respectively. Using nadir LST observations as a reference, our analysis reveals that UTA can lead to an underestimation of satellite-based urban surface sensible heat fluxes ( H ) by 45.4% and surface urban heat island intensity ( I s ) by 43.0% when using LST observations obtained from sensor viewing zenith angles (VZAs) of ±60°. However, practitioners can limit the biases of H and I s within ±10% by using LSTs from sensor VZAs within ±30°. We find that UTAI is closely related to urban impervious surface percentage and surface air temperature across global cities. In conclusion, these findings have implications for angular normalization of satellite-retrieved instantaneous LST observations across cities worldwide.
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
Approximation of ice phenology of Maine lakes using Aqua MODIS surface temperature data
Studies of lake ice phenology have historically relied on limited in situ data. Relatively few observations exist for ice out and fewer still for ice in, both of which are necessary to determine the temporal extent of ice cover. Satellite data provide an opportunity to better document patterns of ice phenology across landscapes and relate them to the climatological drivers behind changing ice phenology. We developed a model, the Cumulative Sum Method (CSM), that uses daytime and nighttime surface temperature observations from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensor on board the Earth-observing Aqua satellite to approximate ice in (the onset of ice cover) and ice out from training datasets of 13 and 58 Maine lakes, respectively, during the 2002/2003 through 2017/2018 ice seasons. Ice in was signaled by reaching a threshold of cumulative negative degrees following the first day of the season below 0°C. Ice out was signaled by reaching a threshold of cumulative positive degrees following the first day of the year above 0°C. The comparison of observed and remotely sensed ice-in dates showed relative agreement with a correlation coefficient of 0.71 and a mean absolute error (MAE) of 9.8 days. Ice-out approximations had a correlation coefficient of 0.67 and an MAE of 8.8 days. Lakes smaller in surface area and nearer the Atlantic coast had the greatest error in approximation. Application of the CSM to 20 additional lakes in Maine produced a comparable ice-out MAE of 8.9 days. Ice-out model performance was weaker for the warmest years; there was a larger MAE of 12.0 days when the model was applied to the years 2019–2023 for the original 58 lakes. The development of this model, which utilizes daily satellite data, demonstrates the promise of remote sensing for quantifying ice phenology over short, temporal scales, and wider geographic regions than can be observed in situ, and allows exploration of the influence of surface temperature patterns on the process and timing of ice in and ice out.
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
Robust Heat-Flux Sensors for Coal-Fired Boiler Extreme Environments
In this project, robust heat-flux measurement systems were developed. The heat-flux sensors utilize thermoelectric effects to directly transduce the heat-flux inputs to analog electrical voltage signals. They were constructed from dedicated materials that can withstand temperatures of at least 1000°C and maintain adequate performance at these conditions for prolonged periods of time. The proposed approaches took into account numerous considerations, including system cost, sensor head resilience, sensor footprint, data accuracy, response time, and maintenance requirements. Through modern thermoelectric materials design, methodical materials selection and rigorous testing in materials characterization labs and medium-scale fire research facilities, we have demonstrated functioning laboratory prototypes, upon which one could base industrial heat-flux sensing platforms capable of operating in the challenging high-temperature, corrosive environments of the boilers of coal-fired power plants. A distributed sensor array for heat-flux measurements throughout the furnace water-wall, the superheater area and the economizer coils can provide critical data for the power plant control systems to increase efficiency, improve safety and reduce down times. For example, the combined heat-flux sensor/control systems can contribute to the optimization of burner and boiler operations under flexible loads, the optimization of heat-exchange conditions and overall reduction of heat rate and emissions, the prediction of imminent overheating conditions, and the optimization of the soot-blowing protocols.
20 FOSSIL-FUELED POWER PLANTS↗
Detecting rare earth elements via optically detected magnetic resonance (ODMR) and spin-relaxometry using nitrogen vacancy centers in nanodiamonds
Nanodiamonds embedded with nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers are emerging as powerful tools in quantum sensing due to their remarkable sensitivity to local variations in electromagnetic fields, temperature, and pressure. These point defects in the diamond lattice can be probed using optically detected magnetic resonance (ODMR) and spin relaxometry techniques, allowing for the detection and characterization of magnetic nanoparticles and ions. The sensing mechanism relies on laser-induced excitation of the NV center's non-degenerate triplet ground state, which promotes electrons to an excited state. Subsequent photoluminescence (PL) emission, which is spin-state dependent, is then measured. These spin states are highly responsive to magnetic perturbations in the surrounding environment. By analyzing changes in the ODMR spectra and spin relaxation times, we can effectively monitor how magnetic species influence the NV center's spin dynamics, thus enabling sensitive and selective characterization of nanoscale magnetic materials. These techniques have been applied for the characterization of transition metals and rare earth elements which shows natural ferromagnetic properties.
magnetic nanopartgicles and ions↗
What lies beneath: Vertical temperature heterogeneity in a Mediterranean woodland savanna
As the availability of satellite and airborne thermal infrared remote sensing (TIR-RS) data increases and their spatial, temporal, and spectral resolutions improve, researchers are finding diverse applications for TIR-RS measurements. TIR-RS is now commonly applied in regional- and continental-scale analyses, such as those focused on fire and surface energy balance. However, its application lags in plant physiology and ecology, for which a finer-scale understanding of plant canopy temperatures would be useful to elucidate plant water dynamics, for example. In particular, while methods to disaggregate TIR-RS pixels in horizontal space have advanced, possible vertical stratification of plant canopy temperature and its implications for understanding the correspondence between TIR-RS and finer-scale, field-based thermal measurements (e.g. made with a thermal camera) remain unexplored. Here, we use data from a thermal camera deployed concurrently with the recent ECOSTRESS mission to quantify vertical temperature gradients within tree canopies and temperatures of over- vs. under-story plants in a Mediterranean woodland savanna. We then leverage diverse ancillary data to maximize the geometric comparability of ECOSTRESS and thermal camera measurements, in order to assess the extent to which the two forms of thermal measurements correspond. Specifically, we ask: (1) What are the patterns of intra-canopy and over- vs. under-story vertical temperature in a Mediterranean woodland savanna?, and (2) How can vertically-resolved, but spatially-limited field-based temperature measurements be reconciled with spatially-extensive, but surface-only, temperature measurements of a space-borne remote sensor? Further, we found consistent patterns of vertical thermal heterogeneity both within tree canopies and between ecosystem over- and under-stories. The daytime difference between the top and bottom thirds of blue oak canopies was, on average, 0.48 ° C – and sometimes several times larger. Notably, canopy tops are cooler, likely associated with the under-story grass reaching daytime temperatures often exceeding over-story temperatures by 10° C. Given the consistency of the intra-canopy temperature gradients, we expected the ECOSTRESS sensor would be in better agreement with camera measurements of canopy tops than bulk canopies or canopy bottoms. However, within-canopy gradients were overwhelmed by other sources of disagreement between the measurements, in part associated with upscaling camera measurements across space. Overall, thermal camera and ECOSTRESS measurements were largely in agreement at night (pixel RMSE = 1.1°C), but they were more divergent during times of low (but >0 W/m2) and high incoming solar radiation (daytime pixel RMSE = 3.5°C).
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
Detection of high energy ionizing radiation using deeply depleted graphene–oxide–semiconductor junctions
Graphene’s linear band structure and two-dimensional density of states provide an implicit advantage for sensing charge. Here, these advantages are leveraged in a deeply depleted graphene–oxide–semiconductor (D2GOS) junction detector architecture to sense carriers created by ionizing radiation. Specifically, the room temperature response of a silicon-based D2GOS junction is analyzed during irradiation with 20 MeV Si4+ ions. Detection was demonstrated for doses ranging from 12 to 1200 ions with device functionality maintained with no substantive degradation. To understand the device response, D2GOS pixels were characterized post-irradiation via a combination of electrical characterization, Raman spectroscopy, and photocurrent mapping. This combined characterization methodology underscores the lack of discernible damage caused by irradiation to the graphene while highlighting the nature of interactions between the incident ions and the silicon absorber.
Ruiz, Isaac↗
Environmental controls on the light use efficiency of terrestrial gross primary production
Abstract Gross primary production (GPP) by terrestrial ecosystems is a key quantity in the global carbon cycle. The instantaneous controls of leaf‐level photosynthesis are well established, but there is still no consensus on the mechanisms by which canopy‐level GPP depends on spatial and temporal variation in the environment. The standard model of photosynthesis provides a robust mechanistic representation for C 3 species; however, additional assumptions are required to “scale up” from leaf to canopy. As a consequence, competing models make inconsistent predictions about how GPP will respond to continuing environmental change. This problem is addressed here by means of an empirical analysis of the light use efficiency (LUE) of GPP inferred from eddy covariance carbon dioxide flux measurements, in situ measurements of photosynthetically active radiation (PAR), and remotely sensed estimates of the fraction of PAR (fAPAR) absorbed by the vegetation canopy. Focusing on LUE allows potential drivers of GPP to be separated from its overriding dependence on light. GPP data from over 100 sites, collated over 20 years and located in a range of biomes and climate zones, were extracted from the FLUXNET2015 database and combined with remotely sensed fAPAR data to estimate daily LUE. Daytime air temperature, vapor pressure deficit, diffuse fraction of solar radiation, and soil moisture were shown to be salient predictors of LUE in a generalized linear mixed‐effects model. The same model design was fitted to site‐based LUE estimates generated by 16 terrestrial ecosystem models. The published models showed wide variation in the shape, the strength, and even the sign of the environmental effects on modeled LUE. These findings highlight important model deficiencies and suggest a need to progress beyond simple “goodness of fit” comparisons of inferred and predicted carbon fluxes toward an approach focused on the functional responses of the underlying dependencies.
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
Relative Contributions of Surface Parcel and Atmospheric Environment to Convective Potential during Interstorm Periods
Convective instability is affected by both surface heat fluxes into near-surface air parcels and the atmospheric profile encountered as these air parcels are lifted aloft. In this study, we investigate the evolution of buoyancy experienced by surface-based parcels, taking interstorm soil moisture drydowns as fundamental time periods. We use profile observations of atmospheric temperature and humidity from ground-based passive remote sensing and in situ observations available at the U.S. Department of Energy Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Southern Great Plains site in Oklahoma, United States, and examine drydown events during the warm seasons from 2017 to 2022. Results reveal new insights on the emergence and growth of convective available potential energy (CAPE) during drydowns. We observe that the peak convective potential appears in the afternoon and grows in the midtroposphere (68% of 66 drydown events), with the largest CAPE values toward the end of the drydown event. We also find that the near-surface parcel contributes more to the evolution of CAPE than the atmospheric environment (86% of drydown events). These findings highlight the importance of surface heat fluxes and moisture availability from surface-based parcels in modulating the evolution of atmospheric conditions favorable for convection, underscoring the interplay between surface processes and atmospheric dynamics in driving convective instability.
Atmosphere-land interaction↗
Height-resolved emission spectroscopy and high-speed imaging of the TiAl6V4 vapor plume under laser powder bed fusion conditions
Optical emission spectroscopy is increasingly used as an in situ monitoring technique during laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) because plume emission holds elemental information not found in other in situ sensing techniques. This work explores the shape, stability, and temperature of the emission plume above the melt pool of Ti6Al4 V undergoing laser scans under LPBF-like processing conditions, using high-speed video and height-resolved spectroscopy to study the details of plume dynamics. Optical emission spectroscopy is conducted in the 480 nm to 525 nm region, where Ti emission is strong, with 0.3 mm vertical resolution above the baseplate. The Boltzmann plot method is used to determine temperature at each probed elevation, which indicates that the hottest location of the plume is occasionally elevated 0.3 mm to 0.6 mm above the scanning surface. The results show that the plume shape, stability, temperature, and spectra are highly dependent on the processing conditions. We highlight some of the complexities of optical emission spectroscopy and discuss potential challenges for implementing optical emission spectroscopy across an entire build.
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
The Roadrunner Trap: A QSCOUT Device
The Roadrunner ion trap is a micro-fabricated surface-electrode ion trap based on silicon technology. This trap has one long linear section and a junction to allow for chain storage and reconfiguration. It uses a symmetric rf-rail design with segmented inner and outer control electrodes and independent control in the junction arms. The trap is fabricated on Sandia’s High Optical Access (HOA) platform to provide good optical access for tightly focused laser beams skimming the trap surface. It is packaged on our custom Bowtie-102 ceramic pin or land grid array packages using a 2.54 mm pitch for backside pins or pads. This trap also includes an rf sensing capacitive divider and tungsten wires for heating or temperature monitoring. The Roadrunner builds on the knowledge gained from previous surface traps fabricated at Sandia while improving ion control capabilities.
42 ENGINEERING↗