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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 595 records · Page 33
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2014

Effect of growth conditions on microstructure of BiFeO{sub 3}-0.33BaTiO{sub 3} films and performance of bulk acoustic wave resonators

The effect of growth conditions on the microstructure of BiFeO{sub 3}-0.33BaTiO{sub 3} (BF-BT) films and the performance of bulk acoustic wave (BAW) resonators is analyzed using test structures with the BF-BT films grown at different positions relative to the plume axis in the pulsed laser deposition system. The BF-BT film grain size and surface roughness reveal a strong asymmetric surface distribution and decrease significantly in the film region facing the laser beam-plume interaction area. The (100) BF-BT texturing is enhanced in this film region. The variations in the BF-BT film microstructure result in corresponding variations of the BAW resonator performance. Their correlations are established using the model of the roughness induced attenuation of the reflected acoustic waves and theory of the dc field induced piezoelectric effect. The BAW resonators with the highest parameters are obtained in the BF-BT film region facing the laser beam-plume interaction area. The BAW resonators located in this film region reveal a mechanical Q-factor of 200 at 4.2 GHz, an effective electromechanical coupling coefficient of 10% and a tunability of the series resonance frequency of 4.5%.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2014

Mimicking Mars: A vacuum simulation chamber for testing environmental instrumentation for Mars exploration

We have built a Mars environmental simulation chamber, designed to test new electromechanical devices and instruments that could be used in space missions. We have developed this environmental system aiming at validating the meteorological station Rover Environment Monitoring Station of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission currently installed on Curiosity rover. The vacuum chamber has been built following a modular configuration and operates at pressures ranging from 1000 to 10{sup −6} mbars, and it is possible to control the gas composition (the atmosphere) within this pressure range. The device (or sample) under study can be irradiated by an ultraviolet source and its temperature can be controlled in the range from 108 to 423 K. As an important improvement with respect to other simulation chambers, the atmospheric gas into the experimental chamber is cooled at the walls by the use of liquid-nitrogen heat exchangers. This chamber incorporates a dust generation mechanism designed to study Martian-dust deposition while modifying the conditions of temperature, and UV irradiated.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2014

Stacking-dependent electronic structure of bilayer silicene

Bilayer silicene (BLS) is a class of material that possibly holds both topological and superconducting properties; however, its structure is not fully understood. By scanning stacking modes and lattice constants using first principles calculations, several meta-stable configurations are identified, including a slightly faulted-AA packing structure, named slide-2AA. Different from the metallic properties of conventional AA and AB stacking forms, band structure of slide-2AA bilayer presents a sizeable indirect energy gap of ∼1.16 eV. A metal-semiconductor phase transition along the sliding pathway with a small energy barrier is also observed, indicating its electronic properties can be easily tuned by applying small shear force along the BLS surface plane. Such unique quantitative relationship of structure and electronic properties has profound implications in nanoelectronics and electromechanical devices.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2014

Continuous cross-over from ferroelectric to relaxor state and piezoelectric properties of BaTiO{sub 3}-BaZrO{sub 3}-CaTiO{sub 3} single crystals

Optimal properties like piezoelectricity can be found in polarizable materials for which the structure changes sharply under small composition variations in the vicinity of their morphotropic phase boundary or the triple point in their isobaric temperature-composition phase diagram. In the latter, lead-free (Ba{sub 0.850}Ca{sub 0.150})(Ti{sub 0.900}Zr{sub 0.100})O{sub 3} ceramics exhibit outstanding piezoelectric coefficients. For the first time, we report the growth of piezoelectric lead-free single crystals in the BaTiO{sub 3}-BaZrO{sub 3}-CaTiO{sub 3} pseudo-ternary system. The stoichiometry control in the CaO-BaO-TiO{sub 2}-ZrO{sub 2} solid solution led to single crystals with various compositions ranging from (Ba{sub 0.857}Ca{sub 0.143})(Ti{sub 0.928}Zr{sub 0.072})O{sub 3} to (Ba{sub 0.953}Ca{sub 0.047})(Ti{sub 0.427}Zr{sub 0.573})O{sub 3}. We evidenced a continuous cross-over from a ferroelectric state at high titanium content to a relaxor one on increasing the zirconium content. Such a property tuning is rather seldom observed in lead-free ferroelectrics and confirms what was already reported for ceramics. Single crystal with (Ba{sub 0.838}Ca{sub 0.162})(Ti{sub 0.854}Zr{sub 0.146})O{sub 3} composition, which has been grown and oriented along [001] crystallographic direction, displayed electromechanical coefficients d{sub 31} and k{sub 31} of 93 pC.N{sup −1} and 0.18, respectively, near the room temperature (T = 305 K)

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2014

Role of point defects in bipolar fatigue behavior of Bi(Mg{sub 1/2}Ti{sub 1/2})O{sub 3} modified (Bi{sub 1/2}K{sub 1/2})TiO{sub 3}-(Bi{sub 1/2}Na{sub 1/2})TiO{sub 3} relaxor ceramics

Lead-free Bi(Mg{sub 1/2}Ti{sub 1/2})O{sub 3}-(Bi{sub 1/2}K{sub 1/2})TiO{sub 3}-(Bi{sub 1/2}Na{sub 1/2})TiO{sub 3} (BMT-BKT-BNT) ceramics have been shown to exhibit large electromechanical strains under high electric fields along with negligible fatigue under strong electric fields. To investigate the role of point defects on the fatigue characteristics, the composition 5BMT-40BKT-55BNT was doped to incorporate acceptor and donor defects on the A and B sites by adjusting the Bi/Na and Ti/Mg stoichiometries. All samples had pseudo-cubic symmetries based on x-ray diffraction, typical of relaxors. Dielectric measurements showed that the high and low temperature phase transitions were largely unaffected by doping. Acceptor doping resulted in the observation of a typical ferroelectric-like polarization with a remnant polarization and strain hysteresis loops with significant negative strain. Donor-doped compositions exhibited characteristics that were indicative of an ergodic relaxor phase. Fatigue measurements were carried out on all of the compositions. While the A-site acceptor-doped composition showed a small degradation in maximum strain after 10{sup 6} cycles, the other compositions were essentially fatigue free. Impedance measurements were used to identify the important conduction mechanisms in these compositions. As expected, the presence of defects did not strongly influence the fatigue behavior in donor-doped compositions owing to the nature of their reversible field-induced phase transformation. Even for the acceptor-doped compositions, which had stable domains in the absence of an electric field at room temperature, there was negligible degradation in the maximum strain due to fatigue. This suggests that either the defects introduced through stoichiometric variations do not play a prominent role in fatigue in these systems or it is compensated by factors like decrease in coercive field, an increase in ergodicity, symmetry change, or other factors.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2014

Towards a better understanding of dielectric barrier discharges in ferroelectrets: Paschen breakdown fields in micrometer sized voids

Charged cellular polypropylene foams (i.e., ferro- or piezoelectrets) demonstrate high piezoelectric activity upon being electrically charged. When an external electric field is applied, dielectric barrier discharges (DBDs) occur, resulting in a separation of charges which are subsequently deposited on dielectric surfaces of internal micrometer sized voids. This deposited space charge is responsible for the piezoelectric activity of the material. Previous studies have indicated charging fields larger than predicted by Townsend's model of Paschen breakdown applied to a multilayered electromechanical model; a discrepancy which prompted the present study. The actual breakdown fields for micrometer sized voids were determined by constructing single cell voids using polypropylene spacers with heights ranging from 8 to 75 μm, “sandwiched” between two polypropylene dielectric barriers and glass slides with semi-transparent electrodes. Subsequently, a bipolar triangular charging waveform with a peak voltage of 6 kV was applied to the samples. The breakdown fields were determined by monitoring the emission of light due to the onset of DBDs using an electron multiplying CCD camera. The breakdown fields at absolute pressures from 101 to 251 kPa were found to be in good agreement with the standard Paschen curves. Additionally, the magnitude of the light emission was found to scale linearly with the amount of gas, i.e., the height of the voids. Emissions were homogeneous over the observed regions of the voids for voids with heights of 25 μm or less and increasingly inhomogeneous for void heights greater than 40 μm at high electric fields.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2014

Electrostrictive and electrostatic responses in contact mode voltage modulated Scanning Probe Microscopies

Electromechanical response of solids underpins image formation mechanism of several scanning probe microscopy techniques including the piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM) and electrochemical strain microscopy (ESM). While the theory of linear piezoelectric and ionic responses are well developed, the contributions of quadratic effects including electrostriction and capacitive tip-surface forces to measured signal remain poorly understood. Here we analyze the electrostrictive and capacitive contributions to the PFM and ESM signals and discuss the implications of the dielectric tip-surface gap on these interactions.

Eliseev, E. A.↗
DOE OSTI2014

Molybdenum-rhenium superconducting suspended nanostructures

Suspended superconducting nanostructures of MoRe 50%/50% by weight are fabricated employing commonly used fabrication steps in micro- and nano-meter scale devices followed by wet-etching with Hydro-fluoric acid of a SiO{sub 2} sacrificial layer. Suspended superconducting channels as narrow as 50 nm and length 3 μm have a critical temperature of ≈6.5 K, which can increase by 0.5 K upon annealing at 400 °C. A detailed study of the dependence of the superconducting critical current and critical temperature upon annealing and in devices with different channel widths reveals that desorption of contaminants is responsible for the improved superconducting properties. These findings pave the way for the development of superconducting electromechanical devices using standard fabrication techniques.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2014

Strain tunable ferroelectric and dielectric properties of BaZrO{sub 3}

The crucial role of epitaxial (in-plane) strain on the structural, electronic, energetic, ferroelectric, and dielectric properties of BaZrO{sub 3} (BZO) is investigated using density-functional theory calculations. We demonstrate that the BZO crystal subjected to a critical compressive (or tensile) strain exhibits non-trivial spontaneous polarization that is higher than that of well-known ferroelectrics BaTiO{sub 3}, while the BZO crystal is essentially paraelectric in the absence of strain. The electronic structure and Born-effective-charge analyses elucidate that the strain-induced paraelectric-to-ferroelectric transition is driven by the orbital hybridization of d-p electrons between zirconium and oxygen. Through the strain-induced paraelectric-to-ferroelectric phase transition, the dielectric response of BZO is significantly enhanced by the in-plane strain. The tensile strain increases the in-plane dielectric constant by a factor of seven with respect to that without the strain, while the compression tends to enhance the out-of-plane dielectric response. Therefore, strain engineering makes BZO an important electromechanical material due to the diversity in ferroelectric and dielectric properties.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2014

Fs-laser processing of polydimethylsiloxane

We present an experimental analysis on surface structuring of polydimethylsiloxane films with UV (263 nm) femtosecond laser pulses, in air. Laser processed areas are analyzed by optical microscopy, SEM, and μ-Raman spectroscopy. The laser-treated sample shows the formation of a randomly nanostructured surface morphology. μ-Raman spectra, carried out at both 514 and 785 nm excitation wavelengths, prior and after laser treatment allow evidencing the changes in the sample structure. The influence of the laser fluence on the surface morphology is studied. Finally, successful electro-less metallization of the laser-processed sample is achieved, even after several months from the laser-treatment contrary to previous observation with nanosecond pulses. Our findings address the effectiveness of fs-laser treatment and chemical metallization of polydimethylsiloxane films with perspective technological interest in micro-fabrication devices for MEMS and nano-electromechanical systems.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2014

Development of graphene nanoplatelet embedded polymer microcantilever for vapour phase explosive detection applications

In this work, a graphene based strain sensor has been reported for explosive vapour detection applications by exploiting the piezoresistive property of graphene. Instead of silicon based cantilevers, a low cost polymeric micro-cantilever platform has been used to fabricate this strain sensor by embedding the graphene nanoplatelet layer inside the beam. The fabricated devices were characterized for their mechanical and electromechanical behaviour. This device shows a very high gauge factor which is around ~144. Also the resonant frequency of these cantilevers is high enough such that the measurements are not affected by environmental noise. These devices have been used in this work for reliable detection of explosive vapours such as 2,4,6-Trinitrotoluene down to parts-per-billion concentrations in ambient conditions.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2014

Saddle-like deformation in a dielectric elastomer actuator embedded with liquid-phase gallium-indium electrodes

We introduce a dielectric elastomer actuator (DEA) composed of liquid-phase Gallium-Indium (GaIn) alloy electrodes embedded between layers of poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) and examine its mechanics using a specialized elastic shell theory. Residual stresses in the dielectric and sealing layers of PDMS cause the DEA to deform into a saddle-like geometry (Gaussian curvature K<0). Applying voltage Φ to the liquid metal electrodes induces electrostatic pressure (Maxwell stress) on the dielectric and relieves some of the residual stress. This reduces the longitudinal bending curvature and corresponding angle of deflection ϑ. Treating the elastomer as an incompressible, isotropic, NeoHookean solid, we develop a theory based on the principle of minimum potential energy to predict the principal curvatures as a function of Φ. Based on this theory, we predict a dependency of ϑ on Φ that is in strong agreement with experimental measurements performed on a GaIn-PDMS composite. By accurately modeling electromechanical coupling in a soft-matter DEA, this theory can inform improvements in design and fabrication.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2014

Characterization of micro-contact resistance between a gold nanocrystalline line and a tungsten electrode probe in interconnect fatigue testing

An electromechanically-coupled micro-contact resistance measurement system is built to mimic the contact process during fatigue testing of nanoscale-thickness interconnects using multiple probe methods. The design combines an optical microscope, high-resolution electronic balance, and micromanipulator-controlled electric probe, and is coupled with electrical measurements to investigate microscale contact physics. Experimental measurements are performed to characterize the contact resistance response of the gold nanocrystalline pad of a 35-nm-thick interconnect under mechanical force applied by a tungsten electrode probe. Location of a stable region for the contact resistance and the critical contact force provides better understanding of micro-contact behavior relative to the effects of the contact force and the nature of the contact surface. Increasing contact temperature leads to reduced contact resistance, softens the pad material, and modifies the contact surface. The stability of both contact resistance and interconnect resistance is studied under increasing contact force. Major fluctuations emerge when the contact force is less than the critical contact force, which shows that temporal contact resistance will affect interconnect resistance measurement accuracy, even when using the four-wire method. This performance is demonstrated experimentally by heating the Au line locally with a laser beam. Finally, the contact resistances are calculated using the LET (Li–Etsion–Talke) model together with combined Holm and Sharvin theory under various contact forces. Good agreement between the results is obtained. This research provides a way to measure change in interconnect line resistance directly under a stable contact resistance regime with a two-wire method that will greatly reduce the experimental costs.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2014

KNN–NTK composite lead-free piezoelectric ceramic

A (K,Na)NbO₃-based lead-free piezoelectric ceramic was successfully densified. It exhibited an enhanced electromechanical coupling factor of kₚ=0.52, a piezoelectric constant d₃₃=252 pC/N, and a frequency constant Nₚ=3170 Hz m because of the incorporation of an elaborate secondary phase composed primarily of KTiNbO₅. The ceramic's nominal composition was 0.92K₀.₄₂Na₀.₄₄Ca₀.₀₄Li₀.₀₂Nb₀.₈₅O₃–0.047K₀.₈₅Ti₀.₈₅Nb₁.₁₅O₅–0.023BaZrO₃ –0.0017Co₃O₄–0.002Fe₂O₃–0.005ZnO, abbreviated herein as KNN–NTK composite. The KNN–NTK ceramic exhibited a dense microstructure with few microvoids which significantly degraded its piezoelectric properties. Elemental maps recorded using transmission electron microscopy with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (TEM–EDS) revealed regions of high concentrations of Co and Zn inside the NTK phase. In addition, X-ray diffraction patterns confirmed that a small portion of the NTK phase was converted into K₂(Ti,Nb,Co,Zn)₆O₁₃ or CoZnTiO₄ by a possible reaction between Co and Zn solutes and the NTK phase during a programmed sintering schedule. TEM studies also clarified a distortion around the KNN/NTK interfaces. Such an NTK phase filled voids between KNN particles, resulting in an improved chemical stability of the KNN ceramic. The manufacturing process was subsequently scaled to 100 kg per batch for granulated ceramic powder using a spray-drying technique. The properties of the KNN–NTK composite ceramic produced using the scaled-up method were confirmed to be identical to those of the ceramic prepared by conventional solid-state reaction sintering. Consequently, slight changes in the NTK phase composition and the distortion around the KNN/NTK interfaces affected the KNN–NTK composite ceramic's piezoelectric characteristics.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2014

Electric field induced cubic to monoclinic phase transition in multiferroic 0.65Bi(Ni{sub 1/2}Ti{sub 1/2})O{sub 3}-0.35PbTiO{sub 3} solid solution

The results of x-ray diffraction studies on 0.65Bi(Ni{sub 1/2}Ti{sub 1/2})O{sub 3}-0.35PbTiO{sub 3} solid solution poled at various electric fields are presented. After poling, significant value of planar electromechanical coupling coefficient (k{sub P}) is observed for this composition having cubic structure in unpoled state. The cubic structure of 0.65Bi(Ni{sub 1/2}Ti{sub 1/2})O{sub 3}-0.35PbTiO{sub 3} transforms to monoclinic structure with space group Pm for the poling field ≥5 kV/cm. Large c-axis microscopic lattice strain (1.6%) is achieved at 30 kV/cm poling field. The variation of the c-axis strain and unit cell volume with poling field shows a drastic jump similar to that observed for strain versus electric field curve in (1 − x)Pb(Mg{sub 1/3}Nb{sub 2/3}) O{sub 3}-xPbTiO{sub 3} and (1 − x)Pb(Zn{sub 1/3}Nb{sub 2/3})O{sub 3}-xPbTiO{sub 3}.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2014

Individual addressing of trapped {sup 171}Yb{sup +} ion qubits using a microelectromechanical systems-based beam steering system

The ability to individually manipulate the increasing number of qubits is one of the many challenges towards scalable quantum information processing with trapped ions. Using micro-mirrors fabricated with micro-electromechanical systems technology, we focus laser beams on individual ions in a linear chain and steer the focal point in two dimensions. We demonstrate sequential single qubit gates on multiple {sup 171}Yb{sup +} qubits and characterize the gate performance using quantum state tomography. Our system features negligible crosstalk to neighboring ions (<3×10{sup −4}), and switching speed comparable to typical single qubit gate times (<2 μs)

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2014

Layer thickness and period as design parameters to tailor pyroelectric properties in ferroelectric superlattices

We theoretically examine the pyroelectric properties of ferroelectric-paraelectric superlattices as a function of layer thickness and configuration using non-linear thermodynamics coupled with electrostatic and electromechanical interactions between layers. We specifically study PbZr{sub 0.3}Ti{sub 0.7}O{sub 3}/SrTiO{sub 3} superlattices. The pyroelectric properties of such constructs consisting of relatively thin repeating units are shown to exceed the pyroelectric response of monolithic PbZr{sub 0.3}Ti{sub 0.7}O{sub 3} films. This is related to periodic internal electric fields generated due to the polarization mismatch between layers that allows tailoring of the shift in the transition temperature. Our results indicate that higher and electric field sensitive pyroresponse can be achieved from layer-by-layer engineered ferroelectric heterostructures.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2014

Second harmonic detection in the electrochemical strain microscopy of Ag-ion conducting glass

The first and second harmonic electromechanical responses and their cross-correlation in Ag-ion conducting glass were investigated using band-excitation electrochemical strain microscopy (ESM). Consecutive ESM images with increasing magnitudes of the applied AC voltage allowed observation of not only reversible surface displacement but also irreversible silver nanoparticle formation above a certain threshold voltage. The second harmonic ESM response was anticorrelated with the first harmonic response in many local regions. Furthermore, the nucleation sites of silver nanoparticles were closely related to the anti-correlated regions, specifically, with low second harmonic and high first harmonic ESM responses. The possible origins of the second harmonic ESM response are discussed.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗