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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 541 records · Page 30
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2013

Conduction mechanisms in thin atomic layer deposited Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} layers

Thin Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} layers of 2–135 nm thickness deposited by thermal atomic layer deposition at 80 °C were characterized regarding the current limiting mechanisms by increasing voltage ramp stress. By analyzing the j(U)-characteristics regarding ohmic injection, space charge limited current (SCLC), Schottky-emission, Fowler-Nordheim-tunneling, and Poole-Frenkel-emission, the limiting mechanisms were identified. This was performed by rearranging and plotting the data in a linear scale, such as Schottky-plot, Poole-Frenkel-plot, and Fowler-Nordheim-plot. Linear regression then was applied to the data to extract the values of relative permittivity from Schottky-plot slope and Poole-Frenkel-plot slope. From Fowler-Nordheim-plot slope, the Fowler-Nordheim-energy-barrier was extracted. Example measurements in addition to a statistical overview of the results of all investigated samples are provided. Linear regression was applied to the region of the data that matches the realistic values most. It is concluded that ohmic injection and therefore SCLC only occurs at thicknesses below 12 nm and that the Poole-Frenkel-effect is no significant current limiting process. The extracted Fowler-Nordheim-barriers vary in the range of up to approximately 4 eV but do not show a specific trend. It is discussed whether the negative slope in the Fowler-Nordheim-plot could in some cases be a misinterpreted trap filled limit in the case of space charge limited current.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2013

Fabricating metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors on a polyethylene terephthalate substrate by applying low-temperature layer transfer of a single-crystalline silicon layer by meniscus force

A low-temperature local-layer technique for transferring a single-crystalline silicon (c-Si) film by using a meniscus force was proposed, and an n-channel metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) was fabricated on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrate. It was demonstrated that it is possible to transfer and form c-Si films in the required shape at the required position on PET substrates at extremely low temperatures by utilizing a meniscus force. The proposed technique for layer transfer was applied for fabricating high-performance c-Si MOSFETs on a PET substrate. The fabricated MOSFET showed a high on/off ratio of more than 10{sup 8} and a high field-effect mobility of 609 cm{sup 2} V{sup −1} s{sup −1}.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2013

Controlled fabrication of Si nanocrystal delta-layers in thin SiO{sub 2} layers by plasma immersion ion implantation for nonvolatile memories

Plasma Immersion Ion Implantation (PIII) is a promising alternative to beam line implantation to produce a single layer of nanocrystals (NCs) in the gate insulator of metal-oxide semiconductor devices. We report herein the fabrication of two-dimensional Si-NCs arrays in thin SiO{sub 2} films using PIII and rapid thermal annealing. The effect of plasma and implantation conditions on the structural properties of the NC layers is examined by transmission electron microscopy. A fine tuning of the NCs characteristics is possible by optimizing the oxide thickness, implantation energy, and dose. Electrical characterization revealed that the PIII-produced-Si NC structures are appealing for nonvolatile memories.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2014

Magnetic properties and microstructure of Sm-Co/α-Fe nanocomposite thick film-magnets composed of multi-layers over 700 layers

We synthesized Sm-Co/α-Fe nanocomposite film-magnets, approximately 10 μm in thickness, composed of 780 layers by the pulse laser deposition method. Transmission electron microscopic observations revealed that the synthesized film is composed of Sm-Co and α-Fe layers with the well-controlled α-Fe thickness of approximately 10–20 nm, which is suitable one predicted by the micromagnetic simulation. In spite of the enhanced interlayer diffusion of Fe and Co by annealing for crystallization, the (BH){sub max} value of 100 kJ/m{sup 3} was obtained at the averaged compositions of Sm/(Sm + Co) = 0.16 and Fe/(Sm + Co + Fe) = 0.47. The α-Fe fraction for obtaining the highest (BH){sub max} value was smaller than that expected from the micromagnetic simulation. Although the annealing for crystallization lay the easy direction of magnetization in the plane, the film is not expected to have strong crystallographic texture.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2014

Strong electroluminescence from SiO{sub 2}-Tb{sub 2}O{sub 3}-Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} mixed layers fabricated by atomic layer deposition

We report on the bright green electroluminescence (EL) with power efficiencies up to 0.15% of SiO{sub 2}-Tb{sub 2}O{sub 3}-mixed layers fabricated by atomic layer deposition and partly co-doped with Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}. The electrical, EL, and breakdown behavior is investigated as a function of the Tb and the Al concentration. Special attention has been paid to the beneficial role of Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} co-doping which improves important device parameters. In detail, it increases the maximum EL power efficiency and EL decay time, it nearly doubles the fraction of excitable Tb{sup 3+} ions, it shifts the region of high EL power efficiencies to higher injection currents, and it reduces the EL quenching over the device lifetime by an approximate factor of two. It is assumed that the presence of Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} interferes the formation of Tb clusters and related defects. Therefore, the system SiO{sub 2}-Tb{sub 2}O{sub 3}-Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} represents a promising alternative for integrated, Si-based light emitters.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2014

Atomic layer deposition of Al-incorporated Zn(O,S) thin films with tunable electrical properties

Zinc oxysulfide, Zn(O,S), films grown by atomic layer deposition were incorporated with aluminum to adjust the carrier concentration. The electron carrier concentration increased up to one order of magnitude from 10{sup 19} to 10{sup 20} cm{sup −3} with aluminum incorporation and sulfur content in the range of 0 ≤ S/(Zn+Al) ≤ 0.16. However, the carrier concentration decreased by five orders of magnitude from 10{sup 19} to 10{sup 14} cm{sup −3} for S/(Zn+Al) = 0.34 and decreased even further when S/(Zn+Al) > 0.34. Such tunable electrical properties are potentially useful for graded buffer layers in thin-film photovoltaic applications.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2014

Effects of heating power on divertor in-out asymmetry and scrape-off layer flow in reversed field on Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak

The dependence of divertor asymmetry and scrape-off layer (SOL) flow on heating power has been investigated in the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST). Divertor plasma exhibits an outboard-enhanced in-out asymmetry in heat flux in lower single null configuration for in reversed (ion ∇B drift direction toward the upper X-point) field directions. Upper single null exhibits an inboard-favored asymmetry in low heating power condition, while exhibits an outboard-favored asymmetry when increasing the heating power. Double null has the strongest in-out asymmetry in heat flux, favoring the outer divertor. The in-out asymmetry ratios of q{sub t,out}/q{sub t,in} and P{sub out}/P{sub total} increase with the power across the separatrix P{sub loss}, which is probably induced by the enhanced radial particle transport due to a large pressure gradient. The characteristics of the measured SOL parallel flow under various discharge conditions are consistent with the Pfirsch-Schlüter (PS) flow with the parallel Mach number M{sub ∥} decreasing with the line averaged density but increasing with P{sub loss}, in the same direction as the PS flow. The contributions of both poloidal E×B drift and parallel flow on poloidal particle transport in SOL on EAST are also assessed.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2015

A gyrokinetic one-dimensional scrape-off layer model of an edge-localized mode heat pulse

An electrostatic gyrokinetic-based model is applied to simulate parallel plasma transport in the scrape-off layer to a divertor plate. The authors focus on a test problem that has been studied previously, using parameters chosen to model a heat pulse driven by an edge-localized mode in JET. Previous work has used direct particle-in-cell equations with full dynamics, or Vlasov or fluid equations with only parallel dynamics. With the use of the gyrokinetic quasineutrality equation and logical sheath boundary conditions, spatial and temporal resolution requirements are no longer set by the electron Debye length and plasma frequency, respectively. This test problem also helps illustrate some of the physics contained in the Hamiltonian form of the gyrokinetic equations and some of the numerical challenges in developing an edge gyrokinetic code.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2015

Using atomic layer deposited tungsten to increase thermal conductivity of a packed bed

This study investigated the effective thermal conductivity (k{sub eff}) of packed-beds that contained porous particles with nanoscale tungsten (W) films of different thicknesses formed by atomic layer deposition (ALD). A continuous film on the particles is vital towards increasing k{sub eff} of the packed beds. For example, the k{sub eff} of an alumina packed bed was increased by three times after an ∼8-nm continuous W film with 20 cycles of W ALD, whereas k{sub eff} was decreased on a polymer packed bed with discontinuous, evenly dispersed W-islands due to nanoparticle scattering of phonons. For catalysts, understanding the thermal properties of these packed beds is essential for developing thermally conductive supports as alternatives to structured supports.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2015

Turbulent transport regimes and the scrape-off layer heat flux width

Understanding the responsible mechanisms and resulting scaling of the scrape-off layer (SOL) heat flux width is important for predicting viable operating regimes in future tokamaks, and for seeking possible mitigation schemes. Here in this paper, we present a qualitative and conceptual framework for understanding various regimes of edge/SOL turbulence and the role of turbulent transport as the mechanism for establishing the SOL heat flux width. Relevant considerations include the type and spectral characteristics of underlying instabilities, the location of the gradient drive relative to the SOL, the nonlinear saturation mechanism, and the parallel heat transport regime. We find a heat flux width scaling with major radius R that is generally positive, consistent with previous findings [J. W. Connor et al., Nucl. Fusion 39, 169 (1999)]. The possible relationship of turbulence mechanisms to the neoclassical orbit width or heuristic drift mechanism in low (L) -mode and high (H) -mode plasmas is considered, together with implications for future experiments.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2015

Atomic-layer deposited thulium oxide as a passivation layer on germanium

A comprehensive study of atomic-layer deposited thulium oxide (Tm{sub 2}O{sub 3}) on germanium has been conducted using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), vacuum ultra-violet variable angle spectroscopic ellipsometry, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), and electron energy-loss spectroscopy. The valence band offset is found to be 3.05 ± 0.2 eV for Tm{sub 2}O{sub 3}/p-Ge from the Tm 4d centroid and Ge 3p{sub 3/2} charge-corrected XPS core-level spectra taken at different sputtering times of a single bulk thulium oxide sample. A negligible downward band bending of ∼0.12 eV is observed during progressive differential charging of Tm 4d peaks. The optical band gap is estimated from the absorption edge and found to be 5.77 eV with an apparent Urbach tail signifying band gap tailing at ∼5.3 eV. The latter has been correlated to HRTEM and electron diffraction results corroborating the polycrystalline nature of the Tm{sub 2}O{sub 3} films. The Tm{sub 2}O{sub 3}/Ge interface is found to be rather atomically abrupt with sub-nanometer thickness. In addition, the band line-up of reference GeO{sub 2}/n-Ge stacks obtained by thermal oxidation has been discussed and derived. The observed low reactivity of thulium oxide on germanium as well as the high effective barriers for holes (∼3 eV) and electrons (∼2 eV) identify Tm{sub 2}O{sub 3} as a strong contender for interfacial layer engineering in future generations of scaled high-κ gate stacks on Ge.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2015

Effect of the scrape-off layer in AORSA full wave simulations of fast wave minority, mid/high harmonic, and helicon heating regimes

Several experiments on different machines and in different fast wave (FW) heating regimes, such as hydrogen minority heating and high harmonic fast waves, have found strong interactions between radio-frequency (RF) waves and the scrape-off layer (SOL) region. This paper examines the propagation and the power loss in the SOL by using the full wave code AORSA, in which the edge plasma beyond the last closed flux surface (LCFS) is included in the solution domain and a collisional damping parameter is used as a proxy to represent the real, and most likely nonlinear, damping processes. 3D AORSA results for the National Spherical Torus eXperiment (NSTX), where a full antenna spectrum is reconstructed, are shown, confirming the same behavior found for a single toroidal mode results in Bertelli et al, Nucl. Fusion, 54 083004, 2014, namely, a strong transition to higher SOL power losses (driven by the RF field) when the FW cut-off is moved away from in front of the antenna by increasing the edge density. Additionally, full wave simulations have been extended to “conventional” tokamaks with higher aspect ratios, such as the DIII-D, Alcator C-Mod, and EAST devices. DIII-D results show similar behavior found in NSTX and NSTX-U, consistent with previous DIII-D experimental observations. In contrast, a different behavior has been found for Alcator C-Mod and EAST, which operate in the minority heating regime unlike NSTX/NSTX-U and DIII-D, which operate in the mid/high harmonic regime. A substantial discussion of some of the main aspects, such as (i) the pitch angle of the magnetic field; (ii) minority heating vs. mid/high harmonic regimes is presented showing the different behavior of the RF field in the SOL region for NSTX-U scenarios with different plasma current. Finally, the preliminary results of the impact of the SOL region on the evaluation of the helicon current drive efficiency in DIII-D is presented for the first time and briefly compared with the different regimes mentioned above.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2016

Measurements of the parallel wavenumber of lower hybrid waves in the scrape-off layer of a high-density tokamak

In lower hybrid current drive (LHCD) experiments on tokamaks, the parallel wavenumber of lower hybrid waves is an important physics parameter that governs the wave propagation and absorption physics. However, this parameter has not been experimentally well-characterized in the present-day high density tokamaks, despite the advances in the wave physics modeling. In this paper, we present the first measurement of the dominant parallel wavenumber of lower hybrid waves in the scrape-off layer (SOL) of the Alcator C-Mod tokamak with an array of magnetic loop probes. The electric field strength measured with the probe in typical C-Mod plasmas is about one-fifth of that of the electric field at the mouth of the grill antenna. The amplitude and phase responses of the measured signals on the applied power spectrum are consistent with the expected wave energy propagation. At higher density, the observed k{sub ||} increases for the fixed launched k{sub ||}, and the wave amplitude decreases rapidly. This decrease is correlated with the loss of LHCD efficiency at high density, suggesting the presence of loss mechanisms. Evidence of the spectral broadening mechanisms is observed in the frequency spectra. However, no clear modifications in the dominant k{sub ||} are observed in the spectrally broadened wave components, as compared to the measured k{sub ||} at the applied frequency. It could be due to (1) the probe being in the SOL and (2) the limited k{sub ||} resolution of the diagnostic. Future experiments are planned to investigate the roles of the observed spectral broadening mechanisms on the LH density limit problem in the strong single pass damping regime.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2016

Wavelet analysis methods for radiography of multidimensional growth of planar mixing layers

The counter-propagating shear campaign is examining instability growth and its transition to turbulence in the high-energy-density physics regime using a laser-driven counter-propagating flow platform. In these experiments, we observe consistent complex break-up of and structure growth in a tracer layer placed at the shear flow interface during the instability growth phase. We present a wavelet-transform based analysis technique capable of characterizing the scale- and directionality-resolved average intensity perturbations in static radiographs of the experiment. This technique uses the complete spatial information available in each radiograph to describe the structure evolution. We designed this analysis technique to generate a two-dimensional power spectrum for each radiograph from which we can recover information about structure widths, amplitudes, and orientations. The evolution of the distribution of power in the spectra for an experimental series is a potential metric for quantifying the structure size evolution as well as a system’s evolution towards isotropy.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2019

Atomic layer deposition of energy band tunable tin germanium oxide electron transport layer for the SnS-based solar cells with 400 mV open-circuit voltage

Tin germanium oxide, (Sn,Ge)O 2 , films were prepared using atomic layer deposition and tailored to a SnS absorber layer by incorporating various amounts of germanium into tin oxide to adjust band alignments at the interfaces of SnS/(Sn,Ge)O 2 photovoltaic devices. Carrier concentrations of (Sn,Ge)O 2 were suppressed from 10 20 to 10 18 cm -3 with germanium incorporation, with nitrogen doping further reducing carrier concentrations by another order of magnitude. Excellent tunability of both band energy levels and carrier concentrations of (Sn,Ge)O 2 allowed optimizing SnS-based solar cells. SnS/(Sn,Ge)O 2 :N devices were demonstrated, with an open-circuit voltage as high as 400 mV, due to the effective mitigation of interfacial recombination of photogenerated carriers at the SnS/(Sn,Ge)O 2 :N absorber-buffer heterojunction interface.

Sulfur compounds↗
DOE OSTI2014

Focusing of dipole radiation by a negative index chiral layer. 2. A thin layer as compared with the wavelength

Using the quasi-static approximation we have found exact analytical solutions to the problem of the field of a point electromagnetic source in the presence of a layer of a bi-isotropic (chiral) metamaterial. At some parameters of the problem, the resulting solution can be represented as a set of several point sources (electric and magnetic), which are images of the original source. If the original source is located near the layer, these images become real sources of the field. This paradoxical solution is then generalised to the case taking into account the retardation effects, which allows one to physically interpret the obtained solutions as a set of sources and 'sinks' of circularly polarised waves. (metamaterials)

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2020

Large-Eddy Simulations of Idealized Atmospheric Boundary Layers Using Nalu-Wind

Accurate prediction of wind-plant performance relies, in part, on properly characterizing the turbulent atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) flow in which wind turbines operate. Large-eddy simulation (LES) is a powerful tool for simulating ABLs because it resolves the largest, most energetic scales of three-dimensional turbulent motions. Yet LES predictions are well known to depend on modeling choices such as grid resolution, numerical discretization schemes, and closures for unresolved scales of turbulence. Here, we evaluate how these choices influence predictions of ABL winds using Nalu-Wind, a wind-specific fork of the open-source, generalized, unstructured, massively parallel flow solver NaluCFD/Nalu.

17 WIND ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2013

Damaged silicon contact layer removal using atomic layer etching for deep-nanoscale semiconductor devices

Silicon atomic layer etching (ALET) using Cl{sub 2} is applied to remove the damaged layer on a 30 nm contact silicon surface formed by high-energy reactive ions during high aspect ratio contact etching, and its effects on the damage removal characteristics are investigated. Compared to a conventional damage removal method, such as the low-power CF{sub 4} plasma treatment technique, ALET produces less secondary damage to the substrate and gives exact etch depth control and extremely high etch selectivity to the contact SiO{sub 2} insulating pattern mold. When ALET is applied after a conventional damage removal technique, the sheet resistance of the damaged contact silicon surface is improved to a level close to that of a clean silicon surface, while exact atomic-scale depth control is maintained without changes in the pattern mold profile.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗