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Results for “Methods in superconductivity”

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 523 records · Page 29
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1991

The effects of space radiation on thin films of YBa2Cu3O(7-x)

This investigation had two objectives: (1) to determine the effects of space radiation on superconductor parameters that are most important in space applications; and (2) to determine whether this effect can be simulated with Co-60 gamma rays, the standard test method for space materials. Thin films of yttrium barium copper oxide (YBCO) were formed by coevaporation of Y, BaF2, and Cu and post-annealing in wet oxygen at 850 C for 3.5 h. The substrate used was (100) silicon with an evaporated zirconia buffer layer. The samples were characterized by four point probe electrical measurements as a function of temperature. The parameters measured were the zero resistance transition temperature T(sub c) and the room temperature resistance. The samples were then exposed to Co-60 gamma-rays in air and in pure nitrogen, and to 780 keV electrons, in air. The parameters were then remeasured. The results are summarized. The results indicate little or no degradation in the parameters measured for samples exposed up to 10 Mrads of gamma-rays in nitrogen. However, complete degradation is preliminarily attributed to the high level of ozone generated in the chamber by the gamma-ray interaction with air. It can be concluded that: (1) the electron component of space radiation does not degrade the critical temperature of the YBCO films described, at least for energies around 800 keV and doses similar to those received by surface materials on spacecraft in typical remote sensing missions; and (2) for qualifying this and other superconducting materials against the space-radiation threat the standard test method used in the aerospace industry, namely, exposure to Co-60 gamma-rays in air, may require some further investigation. As a minimum, the sample must be either in vacuum or in positive nitrogen pressure.

Herschitz, R.↗
DOE OSTI2023

Superconducting bilayers of two-dimensional materials with integrated Josephson junctions

Josephson junctions (JJ) based on bilayers of azimuthally misaligned two-dimensional materials having superconducting states are provided. Also provided are electronic devices and circuits incorporating the JJs as active components and methods of using the electronic devices and circuits. The JJs are formed from bilayers composed of azimuthally misaligned two-dimensional materials having a first superconducting segment and a second superconducting segment separated by a weak-link region that is integrated into the bilayer.

Lagally, Max G.↗
DOE OSTI2019

Shallow Embedded Strain Measurements and Analysis for a NbTi Superconducting Sextupole Coil During Cooling, Excitation, and Quench

The present study deals with strain measurements and their numerical analysis for a niobium titanium wire wounded superconducting sextupole coil in a multi-field operation environment, including cooling down, excitation, and quench. Four low-temperature resistance strain gauges with designed compensation circuits were affixed directly on the surface of the superconducting wires but within glass fiber cloth. Before the sextuple coil’s test was carried out, for the purpose of reliability, based on the designed compensation circuit, some basic experiments were carried out during cooling down, excitation, and quench. The experimental results showed that the shallow embedded low-temperature resistance strain gauges were still highly reproducible with an error of 1% for a variable magnetic field and an error of 5% for a variable thermal field by executing various modes. It shows multi-stage strain monitoring is feasible for the superconducting sextupole. In addition, a numerical multiphysics model for the sextuple coil is also built from Maxwell’s equations and the equilibrium equations for mechanical and thermal deformation. A self-tested elastic modulus of NbTi/Cu stack with epoxy, which is cut from a NbTi/Cu sextupole prototype, at low temperature is used in this simulation. The numerical results have reasonable agreement with the experimental observations and show the multiphysics model with self-tested elastic modulus can be applied to analysis strain behaviors under complicated fields before superconducting magnet assembly. The present results will also provide some strain-measuring technology and multiphysics numerical analysis on an LTS/HTS superconducting magnet developed at the Institute of Modern Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (IMP, CAS).

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
NASA NTRS1995

Josephson frequency meter for millimeter and submillimeter wavelengths

Frequency measurements of electromagnetic oscillations of millimeter and submillimeter wavebands with frequency growth due to a number of reasons become more and more difficult. First, these frequencies are considered to be cutoffs for semiconductor converting devices and one has to use optical measurement methods instead of traditional ones with frequency transfer. Second, resonance measurement methods are characterized by using relatively narrow bands and optical ones are limited in frequency and time resolution due to the limited range and velocity of movement of their mechanical elements as well as the efficiency of these optical techniques decrease with the increase of wavelength due to diffraction losses. That requires a priori information on the radiation frequency band of the source involved. Method of measuring frequency of harmonic microwave signals in millimeter and submillimeter wavebands based on the ac Josephson effect in superconducting contacts is devoid of all the above drawbacks. This approach offers a number of major advantages over the more traditional measurement methods, that is one based on frequency conversion, resonance and interferometric techniques. It can be characterized by high potential accuracy, wide range of frequencies measured, prompt measurement and the opportunity to obtain a panoramic display of the results as well as full automation of the measuring process.

Anischenko, S. E.↗
DOE OSTI2019

Synthesizing radioisotopes using an energy recovery linac

An apparatus and method for the production of radioisotopes utilizing an energy recovery linac. The ERL system is composed of an electron beam source, multiple superconducting radio frequency cavities operating at 4.5 K, a thin radiator, a target material, and a beam dump. The accompanying method discloses the use of the ERL system to generate desired radioisotopes via target interaction with bremsstrahlung photons while allowing recovery of a substantial portion of the electron beam energy before the beam is extracted to the beam dump.

Areti, Hari↗
NASA NTRS1990

The effects of space radiation on thin films of YBa2Cu3O(sub 7-x)

This investigation had two objectives: (1) to determine the effects of space radiation on superconductor parameters that are most important in space applications; and (2) to determine whether this effect can be simulated with Co-60 gamma rays, the standard test method for space materials. Thin films of yttrium barium copper oxide (YBCO) were formed by coevaporation of Y, BaF2, and Cu and post-annealing in wet oxygen at 850 C for 3.5 h. The substrate used was (100) silicon with an evaporated zirconia buffer layer. The samples were characterized by four point probe electrical measurements as a function of temperature. The parameters measured were the zero resistance transition temperature (T sub c) and the room temperature resistance. The samples were then exposed to Co-60 gamma-rays in air and in pure nitrogen, and to 780 keV electrons, in air. The parameters were then remeasured. The results are summarized. The results indicate little or no degradation in the parameters measured for samples exposed up to 10 Mrads of gamma-rays in nitrogen. However, complete degradation of samples exposed to 10-Mrad in air was observed. This degradation is preliminarily attributed to the high level of ozone generated in the chamber by the gamma-ray interaction with air. It can be concluded that: (1) the electron component of space radiation does not degrade the critical temperature of the YBCO films described, at least for energies around 800 keV and doses similar to those received by surface materials on spacecraft in typical remote sensing missions; and (2) for qualifying this and other superconducting materials against the space-radiation threat the standard test method in the aerospace industry, namely, exposure to Co-60 gamma-rays in air, may require some further investigation. As a minimum, the sample must be either in vacuum or in positive nitrogen pressure.

Herschitz, R.↗
DOE OSTI2021

Fidelity and entanglement entropy for infinite-order phase transitions

Here, we study the fidelity and the entanglement entropy for the ground states of quantum systems that have infinite-order quantum phase transitions. In particular, we consider the quantum O(2) model with a spin-S truncation, where there is an infinite-order Gaussian (IOG) transition for S = 1 and there are Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless (BKT) transitions for S ≥ 2. We show that the height of the peak in the fidelity susceptibility (χ F ) converges to a finite thermodynamic value as a power law of 1 / L for the IOG transition and as 1 / ln (L) for BKT transitions. The peak position of χ F resides inside the gapped phase for both the IOG transition and BKT transitions. On the other hand, the derivative of the block entanglement entropy with respect to the coupling constant $S^{'}_{vN}$ has a peak height that diverges as ln 2 (L) for S = 1 and ln 3 (L) for S ≥ 2 and can be used to locate both kinds of transitions accurately. We include higher-order corrections for finite-size scalings and obtain the value of the central charge consistent with c = 1 predicted by conformal field theory. The crossing point of χ F between different system sizes is at the IOG point for S = 1 but is inside the gapped phase for S ≥ 2, while those of $S^{'}_{vN}$ are at the phase-transition points for all S truncations. Our work elaborates on how to use the finite-size scaling of χ F or $S^{'}_{vN}$ to detect infinite-order quantum phase transitions and discusses the efficiency and accuracy of the two methods.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2019

Intersublattice magnetocrystalline anisotropy using a realistic tight-binding method based on maximally localized Wannier functions

Using a realistic tight-binding Hamiltonian based on maximally localized Wannier functions, we investigate the two-ion magnetocrystalline anisotropy energy (MAE) in L 1 0 transition metal compounds. MAE contributions from throughout the Brillouin zone are obtained using magnetic force theorem calculations with and without perturbation theory. The results from both methods agree with each other, and both reflect features of the Fermi surface. The intrasublattice and intersublattice contributions to MAE are evaluated using a Green's function method. We find that the sign of the intersublattice contribution varies among compounds, and that its amplitude may be significant, suggesting MAE can not be resolved accurately in a single-ion manner. The results are further validated by scaling spin-orbit-coupling strength in density functional theory. Altogether, this realistic tight-binding method provides an effective approach to evaluate and analyze MAE while retaining the accuracy of corresponding first-principles methods.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
NASA NTRS1975

Study on processing immiscible materials in zero gravity

An experimental investigation was conducted to evaluate mixing immiscible metal combinations under several process conditions. Under one-gravity, these included thermal processing, thermal plus electromagnetic mixing, and thermal plus acoustic mixing. The same process methods were applied during free fall on the MSFC drop tower facility. The design is included of drop tower apparatus to provide the electromagnetic and acoustic mixing equipment, and a thermal model was prepared to design the specimen and cooling procedure. Materials systems studied were Ca-La, Cd-Ga and Al-Bi; evaluation of the processed samples included the morphology and electronic property measurements. The morphology was developed using optical and scanning electron microscopy and microprobe analyses. Electronic property characterization of the superconducting transition temperatures were made using an impedance change-tuned coil method.

Reger, J. L.↗
DOE OSTI2018

Stable dielectric, elastic, and piezoelectric properties of Yb3+:CNGS crystals at high temperature

Highlights: • Single crystals Yb:CNGS with high quality have been successfully grown using the Czochralski method. • The dielectric, elastic and piezoelectric coefficients are measured and calculated according to the impedance method. • Piezoelectricity and dielectric properties at room temperature and elevated temperature are investigated for the first time. • The doped crystals show good temperature stability at elevated temperature condition. - Abstract: In this study, Yb{sup 3+}:Ca{sub 3}NbGa{sub 3}Si{sub 2}O{sub 14} (Yb{sup 3+}:CNGS) single crystals with different doping concentrations (2 and 5 at%) were grown using the Czochralski method. The dielectric, elastic, and piezoelectric coefficients at room temperature and elevated temperature were measured and calculated according to the impedance method for the first time. Crystals show excellent piezoelectricity and exhibit favorable temperature stability from room temperature to 800 °C. The transmittance spectrum of the Yb{sup 3+}:CNGS crystals is also recorded, and the results prove the high optical quality of these crystals.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2023

Out-of-equilibrium Majorana zero modes in interacting Kitaev chains

Here, we employ a time-dependent real-space local density-of-states method to study the movement and fusion of Majorana zero modes in the one-dimensional interacting Kitaev model, based on the time evolution of many-body states. We analyze the dynamics and both fusion channels of Majoranas using time-dependent potentials, either creating walls or wells. For fast moving Majoranas, we unveil nonequilibrium signatures of the “strong-zero-mode” operator (quasiparity degeneracy in the full spectrum) and its breakdown in the presence of repulsive Coulomb interactions. Focusing on forming a full electron after fusion, we also discuss the upper and lower limits on the Majorana speed needed to reduce nonadiabatic effects and to avoid poisoning due to decoherence.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2016

Theoretical investigations on the structure and properties of p-n-alkoxy benzoic acid based liquid crystals

The present study focused on the structural conformations, alkoxy chain lengths and mesogenic properties of two mole of alkoxy benzoic acid(nOBA) and one mole of suberic acid (SA) hydrogen bonded (nOBASA) complexes (n=8 to 10) by density functional theory (DFT) calculations and the Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) spectrum. The intermolecular hydrogen bond formation was confirmed by the optimized geometric bond lengths and bond angles obtained by computation. Using the natural bond orbital (NBO) analysis, the stability of the molecule arising from hyper conjugative interactions and charge delocalization has been analyzed. Results obtained shows that the charge in electron density (ED) in σ*and π* antibonding orbital and second order delocalization energies E(2) authorizes the occurrence of intermolecular charge transfer. The molecular electrostatic potential (MEP) surface map is plotted over the optimized geometry of the molecule to obtain the chemical reactivity of the molecule. From the local charge distributions, the mesomorphic behavior and the nematic phase stabilities for each of the molecule have been predicted. Finally the calculated result is applied to simulated infrared spectra of 8OBASA mesogens which shows good agreement with the observed spectra. The comparison of the theoretical results obtained with the experimental ones shows the reliability of this DFT method.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2016

Thermodynamical and thermoelectric properties of boron doped YPd{sub 3} and YRh{sub 3}

The structural, electronic, thermal, and optical properties of borides of cubic non-magnetic YX{sub 3} (X=Rh, Pd) compounds and their borides which crystallize in the AuCu{sub 3} structure have been studied using the density functional theory (DFT). The flat bands in the vicinity of E{sub F} which are associated with superconductivity appear in YPd{sub 3} and YRh{sub 3} band structures. However, the B s-states enhance the flat band only in YRh{sub 3}B. The optical properties clearly show that boron insertion modifies the absorption and transmittance. The YX{sub 3} alloys and their borides exhibit valuable changes in the thermopower and ZT. It is observed that the properties of the Y-X intermetallics change significantly for the Y-Rh and Y-Pd alloys and the presence of single boron atom modifies the properties to a great extent.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
NASA NTRS2018

Integration of Multilevel Superconducting Buried Wiring Layers with Transition-Edge Sensor Detectors for Large Scale Arrays

Lynx, one of the four mission concepts under consideration for the next Astrophysics DecadalReview, will include a microcalorimeter array consisting of more than 100,000 pixels in a compact arrangement with absorber pitch as small as 25 microns. In order to realize the desired array scale, fine-pitch multi-level superconducting wiring with high yield, compatible with rapid expansion of our hydra absorber designs, is essential. We have demonstrated a method of integrating transition edge sensor (TES) microcalorimeters with suitable multilevel buried wiring, fabricated at MIT Lincoln Laboratory using advanced tools dedicated to superconducting circuit fabrication. The TES Mo/Au bilayer is deposited on a high-quality oxide surface created by chemical-mechanical polishing, allowing tight specifications on the TES superconducting transition and link conductivity to be achieved even though the process order has been inverted. The TESs contact the top-level niobium wiring through vias etched through silicon dioxide down to the topmost wiring layer. The article discusses the overall fabrication process, as wellas the behavior of sensors with different via designs, proximity structures, and lateral sizes. An initial iteration of the integrated fabrication process indicates that microcalorimeters fabricated in this way should meet mission specifications using a Mo/Au bilayer with a reasonable critical temperature below 100 mK.

Detector↗
DOE OSTI2022

Cumulant methods for electron-phonon problems. II. The self-consistent cumulant expansion

Here in this paper we present a self-consistent cumulant expansion (SC-CE) and investigate its accuracy for the one-dimensional Holstein model with and without phonon dispersion. We show that for finite lattice sizes, the numerical integration of the SC-CE equations becomes unstable at long times. This defect is partially ameliorated when studying systems in the thermodynamic limit, enabling the demonstration that the SC-CE corrects many deficits of the standard perturbative CE in the (nondispersive) Holstein model. The natural phonon damping that arises in the more realistic dispersed Holstein model renders the SC-CE stable, allowing for a complete assessment of the method. Here, we find that self-consistency dramatically corrects many of the failures found in the perturbative CE, but also introduces some unphysical features. Finally, we comment on the potential use of SC-CE as a tool for calculating Green's functions in generic many-body problems.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2017

Non-Fermi-liquid superconductivity: Eliashberg approach versus the renormalization group

Here, we address the problem of superconductivity for non-Fermi liquids using two commonly adopted, yet apparently distinct, methods: (1) the renormalization group (RG) and (2) Eliashberg theory. The extent to which both methods yield consistent solutions for the low-energy behavior of quantum metals has remained unclear. We show that the perturbative RG beta function for the 4-Fermi coupling can be explicitly derived from the linearized Eliashberg equations, under the assumption that quantum corrections are approximately local across energy scales. We apply our analysis to the test case of phonon-mediated superconductivity and show the consistency of both the Eliashberg and RG treatments. We next study superconductivity near a class of quantum critical points and find a transition between superconductivity and a “naked” metallic quantum critical point with finite , critical BCS couplings. We speculate on the applications of our theory to the phenomenology of unconventional metals.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2018

In situ Magnetization Measurement of Superconducting Transition in PdH 0.82 and PdD 0.79 Prepared by Low-Temperature Absorption

Here, we studied the superconducting properties of Pd hydride and deuteride prepared by a low temperature absorption method using in situ magnetization measurements down to T = 0.5 K. The absorption was performed under hydrogen (H 2 ) or deuterium (D 2 ) gas atmosphere at T = 200 K, where the gas pressure and magnetization were monitored simultaneously. From the pressure change caused by the absorption of H (D) in Pd sample, the H (D) content was determined to be 0.82 (0.79). The superconducting state was observed below T ~ 1.3 K for the both systems. This state was investigated through precise magnetization measurements. The results suggest that H or D atoms are absorbed uniformly over the whole sample.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2016

A graph-theoretical representation of multiphoton resonance processes in superconducting quantum circuits

We propose a graph-theoretical formalism to study generic circuit quantum electrodynamics systems consisting of a two level qubit coupled with a single-mode resonator in arbitrary coupling strength regimes beyond rotating-wave approximation. We define colored-weighted graphs, and introduce different products between them to investigate the dynamics of superconducting qubits in transverse, longitudinal, and bidirectional coupling schemes. In conclusion, the intuitive and predictive picture provided by this method, and the simplicity of the mathematical construction, are demonstrated with some numerical studies of the multiphoton resonance processes and quantum interference phenomena for the superconducting qubit systems driven by intense ac fields.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗