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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 667 records · Page 37

Grazing-Incidence Texture Tomography and Diffuse Reflectivity Tomography of an Organic Semiconductor Device Array

The use of grazing-incidence scattering methods for the characterization of 2D patterned organic thin films is limited due to the elongated 1D footprint of the X-ray beam on the sample. However, this characteristic feature can be turned into an advantage, when combined with tomographic reconstruction. In this pilot study we show, how the use of a chosen texture reflection and a diffuse reflectivity signal can each provide 2D images of the deposits, simultaneously revealing the organic film's crystal orientation and the location of the metal electrodes in a field-effect transistor structure from a single sequence of diffraction images.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Generation of high power pulsed terahertz radiation using a plasmonic photoconductive emitter array with logarithmic spiral antennas

An array of 3 × 3 plasmonic photoconductive terahertz emitters with logarithmic spiral antennas is fabricated on a low temperature (LT) grown GaAs substrate and characterized in response to a 200 fs optical pump from a Ti:sapphire mode-locked laser at 800 nm wavelength. A microlens array is used to split and focus the optical pump beam onto the active area of each plasmonic photoconductive emitter element. Pulsed terahertz radiation with record high power levels up to 1.9 mW in the 0.1–2 THz frequency range is measured at an optical pump power of 320 mW. The record high power pulsed terahertz radiation is enabled by the use of plasmonic contact electrodes, enhancing the photoconductor quantum efficiencies, and by increasing the overall device active area, mitigating the carrier screening effect and thermal breakdown at high optical pump power levels.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

High Density Faraday Cup Array or Other Open Trench Structures and Method of Manufacture Thereof

A detector array and method for making the detector array. The detector array includes a substrate including a plurality of trenches formed therein, and a plurality of collectors electrically isolated from each other, formed on the walls of the trenches, and configured to collect charged particles incident on respective ones of the collectors and to output from the collectors signals indicative of charged particle collection. In the detector array, adjacent ones of the plurality of trenches are disposed in a staggered configuration relative to one another. The method forms in a substrate a plurality of trenches across a surface of the substrate such that adjacent ones of the trenches are in a staggered sequence relative to one another, forms in the plurality of trenches a plurality of collectors, and connects a plurality of electrodes respectively to the collectors.

Bower, Christopher A.↗

Gigahertz Electromagnetic Structures via Direct Ink Writing for Radio-Frequency Oscillator and Transmitter Applications

Radio–frequency (RF) electronics, which combine passive electromagnetic devices and active transistors to generate and process gigahertz (GHz) signals, provide a critical basis of ever–pervasive wireless networks. While transistors are best realized by top–down fabrication, relatively larger electromagnetic passives are within the reach of printing techniques. Here, direct writing of viscoelastic silver–nanoparticle inks is used to produce a broad array of RF passives operating up to 45 GHz. These include lumped devices such as inductors and capacitors, and wave–based devices such as transmission lines, their resonant networks, and antennas. Moreover, to demonstrate the utility of these printed RF passive structures in active RF electronic circuits, they are combined with discrete transistors to fabricate GHz self–sustained oscillators and synchronized oscillator arrays that provide RF references, and wireless transmitters clocked by the oscillators. Furthermore, this work demonstrates the synergy of direct ink writing and RF electronics for wireless applications.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Vertically stacked photovoltaic and thermal solar cell

According to some embodiments, the present invention provides a novel photovoltaic solar cell system from photovoltaic modules that are vertically arrayed in a stack format using thin film semiconductors selected from among organic and inorganic thin film semiconductors. The stack cells may be cells that are produced in a planar manner, then vertically oriented in an angular form, also termed herein tilted, to maximize the light capturing aspects. The use of a stack configuration system as described herein allows for the use of a variety of electrode materials, such as transparent materials or semitransparent metals. Light concentration can be achieved by using fresnel lens, parabolic mirrors or derivatives of such structures. The light capturing can be controlled by being reflected back and forth in the photovoltaic system until significant quantities of the resonant light is absorbed. Light that passes to the very end and can be reflected back through the device by beveling or capping the end of the device with a different refractive index material, or alternatively using a reflective surface. The contacting between stacked cells can be done in series or parallel. According to some embodiments, the present invention uses a concentrator architecture where the light is channeled into the cells that contain thermal fluid channels (using a transparent fluid such as water) to absorb and hence reduce the thermal energy generation.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

Vertically stacked photovoltaic and thermal solar cell

According to some embodiments, the present invention provides a novel photovoltaic solar cell system from photovoltaic modules that are vertically arrayed in a stack format using thin film semiconductors selected from among organic and inorganic thin film semiconductors. The stack cells may be cells that are produced in a planar manner, then vertically oriented in an angular form, also termed herein tilted, to maximize the light capturing aspects. The use of a stack configuration system as described herein allows for the use of a variety of electrode materials, such as transparent materials or semitransparent metals. Light concentration can be achieved by using fresnel lens, parabolic mirrors or derivatives of such structures. The light capturing can be controlled by being reflected back and forth in the photovoltaic system until significant quantities of the resonant light is absorbed. Light that passes to the very end and can be reflected back through the device by beveling or capping the end of the device with a different refractive index material, or alternatively using a reflective surface. The contacting between stacked cells can be done in series or parallel. According to some embodiments, the present invention uses a concentrator architecture where the light is channeled into the cells that contain thermal fluid channels (using a transparent fluid such as water) to absorb and hence reduce the thermal energy generation.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

Architecture and Design of Molecule Logic Gates and Atom Circuits: Modeling and Simulation of Electron Transport at the Nanoscale: Illustrations in Low-Dimensional Carbon Nanostructures, Chapter 9.

This chapter showcases selected illustrations of various manifestations of nanoscale and molecular electronic effects as investigated by quantum mechanical methods. The examples include results demonstrating (1) how graphitic nanoribbons can be assembled into multiterminal networks and the influence on electron transport; (2) how the position of a single embedded molecule can be modified to change the overall conduction state of a nanowire; (3) how carbon nanotubes can be assembled into complex covalent arrays and how these can be obtained experimentally; (4) how quantum interference can be understood as emerging from the presence of multiple levels of confinements in carbon nanorings; (5) how new functionality emerges at the nanoscale due to the interplay of magnetic, electronic, and structural properties of individual graphitic nanoribbons assembled into wiggle-like structures; and (6) how quantum chemical modeling can lead to the design of electrodes with enhanced interfaces for molecular coupling.

Electronic Molecular State↗

Method of construction of a multi-cell solar array

The method of constructing a high voltage, low power, multicell solar array is described. A solar cell base region is formed in a substrate such as but not limited to silicon or sapphire. A protective coating is applied on the base and a patterned etching of the coating and base forms discrete base regions. A semiconductive junction and upper active region are formed in each base region, and defined by photolithography. Thus, discrete cells which are interconnected by metallic electrodes are formed.

Routh, D. E.↗

Process Produces Low-Secondary-Electron-Emission Surfaces

Textured carbon layer applied to copper by sputtering. Carbon surface characterized by dense, random array of needle-like spires or peaks that extend perpendicularly from local copper surface. Spires approximately 7 micrometers in height and spaced approximately 3 micrometers apart, on average. Copper substrate essentially completely covered by carbon layer, is tenacious and not damaged by vibration loadings representative of multistage depressed collector (MDC) applications. Process developed primarily to provide extremely low-secondary-electron-emission surface for copper for use as highefficiency electrodes in MDC's for microwave amplifier traveling-wave tubes (TWT's). Tubes widely used in space communications, aircraft, and terrestrial applications.

Curren, A. N.↗

Cryogenic light detectors with thermal signal amplification for 0 νββ search experiments

As a step towards the realization of cryogenic-detector experiments to search for neutrinoless double-beta decay (such as CROSS, BINGO, and CUPID), we investigated a batch of 10 Ge light detectors (LDs) assisted by Neganov-Trofimov-Luke (NTL) signal amplification. Each LD was assembled with a large cubic light-emitting crystal (45 mm side) using the recently developed CROSS mechanical structure. The detector array was operated at milli-Kelvin temperatures in a pulse-tube cryostat at the Canfranc underground laboratory in Spain. We achieved good performance with scintillating bolometers from CROSS, made of Li 2 100 MoO 4 crystals and used as reference detectors of the setup, and with all LDs tested (except for a single device that encountered an electronics issue). No leakage current was observed for 8 LDs with an electrode bias up to 100 V. Operating the LDs at an 80 V electrode bias applied in parallel, we obtained a gain of around 9 in the signal-to-noise ratio of these devices, allowing us to achieve a baseline noise RMS of O(10 eV). Thanks to the strong current polarization of the temperature sensors, the time response of the devices was reduced to around half a millisecond in rise time. The achieved performance of the LDs was extrapolated via simulations of pile-up rejection capability for several configurations of the CUPID detector structure. Despite the sub-optimal noise conditions of the LDs (particularly at high frequencies), we demonstrated that the NTL technology provides a viable solution for background reduction in CUPID.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

Pt-Ni/WC Alloy Nanorods Arrays as ORR Catalyst for PEM Fuel Cells

Polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) among the other types of fuel cell technology are attractive power sources, especially for electric vehicle applications. While significant progress and plausible prospects of PEMFCs have been achieved, there are still some challenges related to the performance, durability, and cost that need to be overcome to make them economically viable for widespread commercialization. Our strategy is to develop thin films of high-active and stable catalyst coated on vertically aligned nanorod arrays of conductive and stable support. In this work, we fabricated tungsten carbide (WC) nanorods as support and coated them with a platinum-nickel (Pt-Ni) alloy shell denoted as Pt-Ni/WC catalysts. The Pt- Ni/WC nanorods were deposited on glassy carbon disks as well as on silicon substrates for evaluation of their electrocatalytic oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) activity and physical properties. Cyclic voltammetry experiments using rotating disk electrode were performed in perchloric acid (0.1 M HClO4) electrolyte at room temperature to characterize the ORR activity and stability of Pt-Ni/WC nanorods catalysts. Scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction techniques were utilized to study the morphology and crystallographic properties, respectively.

Begum, Mahbuba↗

Host-Directed, Bioelectronic Immunomodulation for Protection Against Emerging Pathogens

Acute care of patients with severe infections often relies on systemic administration of pharmaceuticals and monitoring of complex physiological symptoms to identify immune system dysfunction, which can lead to increased mortality. Furthermore, determining disease-specific treatment plans often leads to a delay in patient care. To address this, we proposed an immune modulation system that electrically detects and responds to a patient’s immune system status, creating an agnostic means of treating illness and infection. Two pieces of hardware were developed for this task: a minimally-invasive sensor and a vagus nerve stimulator. Stimulation of the vagus nerve is known to modulate the immune system. The sensor is a microfabricated, silicon-based microneedle array capable of interfacing with interstitial fluid to detect small molecules such as inflammatory proteins (cytokines) and pharmaceuticals (vancomycin). Process optimization to manufacture the needles refined the silicon etch process, creating needle patches long enough to penetrate skin and reach interstitial fluid. The needles were tested for mechanical strength and stability, and did not shatter when inserted into skin models. The needles are coated with a thin film metal, turning them into electrodes for electrochemical sensing of our target molecules. We hybridized aptamers to the surface of the electrode to act as the sensing layer and were able to detect changes in the conformation of the aptamer electrochemically in the presence of the target molecule. The stimulator was a cuff electrode that encircled the vagus nerve. Rodent studies were conducted in which rodents were exposed to an inflammatory event and vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) was applied. It was demonstrated that optimized electrical stimulation of the vagus nerve created measurably different levels of cytokines in blood samples, and certain cytokines released during the inflammatory event were either upregulated or downregulated. In sum, this project successfully developed new platforms and technologies that can, with further development, enable better temporal insight into biomarker changes in the body, letting healthcare providers know of possible immune system dysfunction before they are detected physiologically. We also demonstrated the value of VNS and its possible use in treating immune system response to inflammation and illness.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

New detection system and signal processing for the tokamak ISTTOK heavy ion beam diagnostic

The tokamak ISTTOK heavy ion beam diagnostic (HIBD) operates with a multiple cell array detector (MCAD) that allows for the plasma density and the plasma density fluctuations measurements simultaneously at different sampling volumes across the plasma. To improve the capability of the plasma density fluctuations investigations, a new detection system and new signal conditioning amplifier have been designed and tested. The improvements in MCAD design are presented which allow for nearly complete suppression of the spurious plasma background signal by applying a biasing potential onto special electrodes incorporated into MCAD. The new low cost and small size transimpedance amplifiers are described with the parameters of 400 kHz, 10{sup 7} V/A, 0.4 nA of RMS noise, adequate for the plasma density fluctuations measurements.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Demonstration of waferscale voltage amplifier and electrostatic quadrupole focusing array for compact linear accelerators

Compact linear accelerators, with beam energies in the kiloelectron volt to megaelectron volt range, have applications in medicine, neutron/X-ray generation, surface modifications, etc. The size, weight, and power of existing accelerators preclude them from mass availability in portable formats. This paper presents a specific implementation of an ion accelerator architecture based on planar wafers with accelerating and focusing sections. Our low cost approach allows the control of the final ion beam energy with potential applications, for example, for accelerator-based ion implantation. In this paper, we demonstrate two important waferscale modules required to build a linear particle accelerator; these include (1) on-wafer voltage amplification for beam acceleration using Inductor-Capacitor (LC) resonators and (2) waferscale electrostatic quadrupole arrays (ESQA) to refocus the ion beams during transport. On-board LC resonators were developed using Printed Circuit Board fabrication processes to implement an LC element resonant at ~ 16.6 MHz with a quality factor of 25. An energy gain of ~ 250 eV was observed using a two wafer acceleration unit with an argon ion beam with 6.5 keV initial energy. A 3 × 3 ESQA was fabricated on a glass wafer with metal electrodes formed by depositing copper metal around the beam apertures. The ESQA was used to focus and defocus an argon ion beam, demonstrating a field gradient of ~ 500 V over a gap of ~ 250 μm.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

High speed CMOS imager with motion artifact supression and anti-blooming

An image sensor includes pixels formed on a semiconductor substrate. Each pixel includes a photoactive region in the semiconductor substrate, a sense node, and a power supply node. A first electrode is disposed near a surface of the semiconductor substrate. A bias signal on the first electrode sets a potential in a region of the semiconductor substrate between the photoactive region and the sense node. A second electrode is disposed near the surface of the semiconductor substrate. A bias signal on the second electrode sets a potential in a region of the semiconductor substrate between the photoactive region and the power supply node. The image sensor includes a controller that causes bias signals to be provided to the electrodes so that photocharges generated in the photoactive region are accumulated in the photoactive region during a pixel integration period, the accumulated photocharges are transferred to the sense node during a charge transfer period, and photocharges generated in the photoactive region are transferred to the power supply node during a third period without passing through the sense node. The imager can operate at high shutter speeds with simultaneous integration of pixels in the array. High quality images can be produced free from motion artifacts. High quantum efficiency, good blooming control, low dark current, low noise and low image lag can be obtained.

Pain, Bedabrata↗

Image sensor with motion artifact supression and anti-blooming

An image sensor includes pixels formed on a semiconductor substrate. Each pixel includes a photoactive region in the semiconductor substrate, a sense node, and a power supply node. A first electrode is disposed near a surface of the semiconductor substrate. A bias signal on the first electrode sets a potential in a region of the semiconductor substrate between the photoactive region and the sense node. A second electrode is disposed near the surface of the semiconductor substrate. A bias signal on the second electrode sets a potential in a region of the semiconductor substrate between the photoactive region and the power supply node. The image sensor includes a controller that causes bias signals to be provided to the electrodes so that photocharges generated in the photoactive region are accumulated in the photoactive region during a pixel integration period, the accumulated photocharges are transferred to the sense node during a charge transfer period, and photocharges generated in the photoactive region are transferred to the power supply node during a third period without passing through the sense node. The imager can operate at high shutter speeds with simultaneous integration of pixels in the array. High quality images can be produced free from motion artifacts. High quantum efficiency, good blooming control, low dark current, low noise and low image lag can be obtained.

Pain, Bedabrata↗

Near-field radiative thermal transfer between a nanostructured periodic material and a planar substrate

This paper provides a method based on rigorous coupled wave analysis for the calculation of the radiative thermal conductance between a layer that is patterned with arbitrary, periodically repeating features and a planar substrate. This method is applied to study the transfer from an array of beams with a rectangular cross section. Herein the impact of the structure size and spacing on the thermal conductance are investigated. These calculations are compared to an effective medium theory, which becomes increasingly accurate as the structure sizes fall well below the relevant resonance wavelengths of materials and structures. Moreover, comparisons are made with a modified proximity approximation and the far-field approximation, which become valid for small and large spacings, respectively. Results show that new levels of control over the magnitude and spectral contributions to thermal conductance can be achieved with corrugated structures relative to planar ones. Specifically, we show for SiC arrays with rectangular cross sections and with the same filling fraction, that the use of a smaller periodicity leads to a lowered far-field thermal transfer and an increased near-field thermal transfer.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗