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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 433 records · Page 24
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1974

Solid state polymerization and crystallography of polyimide precursors

Although the production of crystallinity in a polymeric system has historically led to commerically useful properties, the polyimides, prized for their high temperature characteristics, as customarily synthesized by melt or solution casting, are amorphous. It is shown that polymide containing residual crystallinity can be synthesized by isothermal annealing of crystals of the salt of the diisopropyl ester of pyromellitic acid and phenylene diamine. The reaction is topochemical in that the geometry of the polymer product is dependent upon that of the crystalline precursor. Infrared spectroscopy reveals the presence of imide absorption in the polymer, while powder diffractometry suggests residual crystallinity. Single crystal X-ray analysis of the monomer yields a structure of chains of alternating acid and base suggesting that the monomer is amenable to polymerization with a minimum of geometrical disruption.

Wakelyn, N. T.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Studies of volatiles in Apollo 17 samples and their implication to vapor transport processes

Flameless atomic absorption (FLAA), X-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS) and grain size separation techniques were adopted to analyze Pb, Cd, Zn and S in orange and black droplets from Apollo 17 samples. The FLAA and XPS investigations show volatile trace metal enrichment in smaller grain fractions (broken droplets); thus a part of the volatiles was probably deposited after break-up of the droplets. In addition, redistribution of the volatiles by a cratering event is indicated by continuous decreases in Pb and Cd with core depth. Studies of Zn on individual regolith grains are also reported.

Cirlin, E. H.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Compensation mechanism in liquid encapsulated Czochralski GaAs Importance of melt stoichiometry

It is shown that the key to reproducible growth of undoped semi-insulating GaAs by the liquid encapsulated Czochralski (LEC) technique is the control over the melt stoichiometry. Twelve crystals were grown from stoichiometric and nonstoichiometric melts. The material was characterized by secondary ion mass spectrometry, localized vibrational mode far infrared spectroscopy, Hall-effect measurements, optical absorption, and photoluminescence. A quantitative model for the compensation mechanism in the semi-insulating material was developed based on these measurements. The free carrier concentration is controlled by the balance between EL2 deep donors and carbon acceptors; furthermore, the incorporation of EL2 is controlled by the melt stoichiometry, increasing as the As atom fraction in the melt increases. As a result, semi-insulating material can be grown only from melts above a critical As composition. The practical significance of these results is discussed in terms of achieving high yield and reproducibility in the crystal growth process.

Holmes, D. E.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Iron impurities in Si3N4 processing

The atomic environment of iron impurities is investigated during the processing cycle of reaction-bonding silicon nitride (RBSN). Several analysis techniques are utilized, including X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS), and electron spin resonance (ESR), to examine iron impurities in the starting silicon powder, in sintered silicon compacts, and in RBSN materials. Results indicate that iron impurities in as-received metallurgical grade silicon powder are incorporated in the silicon bulk as a highly distorted FeSi2 compound. No surface iron or iron-based particulate is observed in the starting material. Upon sintering, the iron environment becomes an ordered FeSi2 structure. In the RBNS material, the FeSi2 structure is again distorted, as observed by both EXAFS and ESR.

Bouldin, C. E.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Optical and interfacial electronic properties of diamond-like carbon films

Hard, semitransparent carbon films were prepared on oriented polished crystal wafers of silicon, indium phosphide and gallium arsenide, as well as on KBr and quartz. Properties of the films were determined using IR and visible absorption spectrocopy, ellipsometry, conductance-capacitance spectroscopy and alpha particle-proton recoil spectroscopy. Preparation techniques include RF plasma decomposition of methane (and other hydrocarbons), ion beam sputtering, and dual-ion-beam sputter deposition. Optical energy band gaps as large as 2.7 eV and extinction coefficients lower than 0.1 at long wavelengths are found. Electronic state densities at the interface with silicon as low as 10 to the 10th states/eV sq cm per were found.

Woollam, J. A.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Alkoxysilane adsorption on metal oxide substrates

Reflection-absorption infrared and inelastic electron tunneling spectroscopies have been used to study adsorption of liquid phase mono-, di-, and trialkoxysilanes on evaporated Al and Cu substrates. Spectral evidence shows that substrate properties influence the chemical and physical nature of trialkoxysilane films and that silane functionality plays a role in molecular orientation. Results show that dialkoxysilane films contain structural gradients, with adsorption at the monomolecular level influenced by surface morphology, and with organofunctionality and dosing procedure affecting the formation of thicker films. Evidence is presented that monoalkoxysilanes react with alumina surfaces, and a broad, multipeaked band from 1600 to 1900/cm has been interpreted as characteristic of the silylated AlO(x)Pb interface.

Ramsier, R. D.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Stellar kinematics in the galactic centre

The observations of the stellar kinematics in the central 8 pc of the Galaxy are presented. It is shown that the spectroscopy of the 2.3 microns CO absorption feature, in late type stars, yields the stellar velocity dispersion and the average stellar radial velocity as a function of galactocentric distance. A sample spectra that illustrates the observed velocity shifrs and velocity dispersion is given. The analysis shows that the velocity dispersion of the stars is large, and that it dominates the stellar kinematics. The use of these kinematic data, to probe the mass distribution in the Galactic center, is considered.

Mcginn, M. T.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Effects of atomic oxygen and ultraviolet radiation on candidate elastomeric materials for long duration missions. Test series no.1

Research was conducted at MSFC on the behavior of elastomeric materials after exposure to simulated space environment. Silicone S383 and Viton V747 samples were exposed to thermal vacuum, ultraviolet radiation, and atomic oxygen and then evaluated for changes in material properties. Characterization of the elastomeric materials included weight, hardness, optical inspection under normal and black light, spectrofluorescence, solar absorptance and emittance, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and permeability. These results indicate a degree of sensitivity to exposure and provided some evidence of UV and atomic oxygen synergism.

Linton, R. C.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Two-sample discrimination of Poisson means

This paper presents a statistical test for detecting significant differences between two random count accumulations. The null hypothesis is that the two samples share a common random arrival process with a mean count proportional to each sample's exposure. The model represents the partition of N total events into two counts, A and B, as a sequence of N independent Bernoulli trials whose partition fraction, f, is determined by the ratio of the exposures of A and B. The detection of a significant difference is claimed when the background (null) hypothesis is rejected, which occurs when the observed sample falls in a critical region of (A, B) space. The critical region depends on f and the desired significance level, alpha. The model correctly takes into account the fluctuations in both the signals and the background data, including the important case of small numbers of counts in the signal, the background, or both. The significance can be exactly determined from the cumulative binomial distribution, which in turn can be inverted to determine the critical A(B) or B(A) contour. This paper gives efficient implementations of these tests, based on lookup tables. Applications include the detection of clustering of astronomical objects, the detection of faint emission or absorption lines in photon-limited spectroscopy, the detection of faint emitters or absorbers in photon-limited imaging, and dosimetry.

Lampton, M.↗
NASA NTRS1998

In situ CF3 Detection in Low Pressure Inductive Discharges by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy

The detection of CF(x) (x=1-3) radicals in low pressure discharges using source gases such as CF4 and CHF3 is of importance to the understanding of their chemical structure and relevance in plasma based etching processes. These radicals are known to contribute to the formation of fluorocarbon polymer films, which affect the selectivity and anisotropy of etching. In this study, we present preliminary results of the quantitative measurement of trifluoromethyl radicals, CF3, in low pressure discharges. The discharge studied here is an inductively (transformer) coupled plasma (ICP) source in the GEC reference cell, operating on pure CF4 at pressures ranging from 10 - 100 mTorr, This plasma source generates higher electron number densities at lower operating pressures than obtainable with the parallel-plate capacitively coupled version of the GEC reference cell. Also, this expanded operating regime is more relevant to new generations of industrial plasma reactors being used by the microelectronics industry. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy is employed to observe the absorption band of CF3 radicals in the electronic ground state X2Al in the region of 1233-1270/cm. The spectrometer is equipped with a high sensitivity HgCdTe (MCT) detector and has a fixed resolution of 0.125/cm. The CF3 concentrations are measured for a range of operating pressures and discharge power levels.

Kim, J. S.↗
NASA NTRS2004

Evidence for Terrestrial Organic Contamination of the Tagish Lake Meteorite

The Tagish Lake meteorite is a rare discovery in the meteorite world. Tentatively classified as an ungrouped type 2 carbonaceous chondrite, it is the first known CI2 meteorite [1, 2, 3]. Tagish Lake is the first meteorite to exhibit a reflectance spectrum showing the red color characteristic of the D- and P-type asteroids that populate the outer main-belt [2], although many interplanetary dust particles collected from the Earth s stratosphere exhibit a similar spectrum [4]. Several large pieces of the Tagish Lake meteorite were recovered on Jan. 18, 2000. We obtained two samples of the Tagish Lake meteorite, both collected on April 24, 2000, designated MG02 and MG03, from A. Hildebrand (Univ. of Calgary) and P. Brown (Univ. of Western Ontario). Smaller fragments collected in May 2000 were purchased from the The Meteorite Market (samples designated "MM"). We have reported preliminary results from infrared and X-ray Absorption Near-edge Structure (XANES) spectroscopy on the MM samples [5]. We report evidence to suggest that there was terrestrial contamination of the meteorite, even in fragments in contact with the lake ice for only a few months .

Wirick, S.↗
NASA NTRS2010

Comparison of the Organic Composition of Cometary Samples with Residues Formed from the UV Irradiation of Astrophysical Ice Analogs

The NASA Stardust mission successfully collected material from Comet 81P/Wild 2 [1], including authentic cometary grains [2]. X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) spectroscopy analysis of these samples indicates the presence of oxygen-rich and nitrogen-rich organic materials, which contain a broad variety of functional groups (carbonyls, C=C bonds, aliphatic chains, amines, arnides, etc.) [3]. One component of these organics appears to contain very little aromatic carbon and bears some similarity to the organic residues produced by the irradiation of ices of interstellar/cometary composition, Stardust samples were also recently shown to contain glycine, the smallest biological amino acid [4]. Organic residues produced froth the UV irradiation of astrophysical ice analogs are already known to contain a large suite of organic molecules including amino acids [5-7], amphiphilic compounds (fatty acids) [8], and other complex species. This work presents a comparison between XANES spectra measured from organic residues formed in the laboratory with similar data of cometary samples collected by the Stardust mission

Milam, S. N.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

The oxidation state of sulfur in lunar apatites in meteorites versus Apollo rocks

Sulfur can be present in apatite mineral grains as S6+ [1], S2- [2], or a mixture of the two [3, 4]. The proportion of S6+ to S2- present in the apatite is thought to be predominantly controlled by the prevailing oxygen fugacity (fO2) conditions during crystallization (along with temperature, pressure, and major element composition; [2-4]). Measurements of apatites and proximal residual glass in the lunar basalts 12039 and 10044 by X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) spectroscopy show that sulfur occurs as S2- in both the mesostasis glass and apatite when measurements are performed far from cracks or pits in the thin section [2], consistent with other mineralogical indications of low fO2 (∆IW-1) during petrogenesis. However, analyses of apatite grains in both samples that were acquired near cracks or pits in the thin section sometimes revealed minor but nonnegligible spectral evidence for the presence of S6+ (e.g., S6+/ΣS > 0.03; [2]). This evidence was interpreted as either primary S2- altered to S6+ in the thin section, or S6+ of secondary origin, deposited in the fractures of the samples [2, 5]. It is unknown whether this alteration is lunar or terrestrial in origin, with implications for lunar petrogenesis if lunar [e.g., 5], or sample handling and curation if terrestrial [e.g., 6]. Note: Extended abstract on document.

M. Brounce↗
NASA NTRS2022

The Titan Haze Simulation (THS) Experiment on COSmIC. Part III. XANES Study of Laboratory Analogs of Titan Tholins

We have used the Titan Haze Simulation (THS) experimental set-up at NASA Ames’ COSmIC 19 facility to produce four laboratory analogs of Titan’s aerosols, or tholins. These tholin samples 20 were produced from four gas mixtures, representative of Titan’s atmosphere, of initial 21 compositions N2:CH4 (90:10 and 95:5) and N2:CH4:C2H2 (89.5:10:0.5 and 94.5:5:0.5) at 150 K, 22 using a plasma discharge in the stream of a jet-cooled gas expansion. Here we present an ex-situ 23 X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) spectroscopy analysis of these four tholin 24 samples. The C- and N-XANES spectra show the presence of various functional groups 25 (aromatic carbon, imines, nitriles, etc.) whose abundances are correlated with (i) the relative 26 proportions between N2 and CH4, and (ii) the presence or absence of C2H2 in the initial mixtures. 27 In particular, mixtures containing C2H2 result in the formation of tholins consisting of more 28 aromatic structures and displaying larger relative amounts of imines and nitriles, but lower 29 overall nitrogen content. XANES spectroscopy also allowed for the determination of the 30 elemental C/N ratios for the four tholins, which were all found to be low (< 2.5) and consistent 31 with those measured for tholins produced in other, independent experimental set-ups. The C/N 32 ratios of tholins produced from gas mixtures that contained C2H2 (2.2–2.4) were found to be 33 about twice as large as those of tholins produced from gas mixtures that did not contain C2H234 (0.9–1.3). These new experimental results from the COSmIC/THS experiment demonstrate the 35 impact initial precursors have on the nitrogen chemistry during the formation of tholins, which 36 may help in the interpretation of observations and the development of models of Titan’s 37 atmosphere.

Titan↗