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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 109 records · Page 6
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2025

Coherent Magnon–Photon Coupling in the Magnetic Semiconductor CrSBr

Magnon-based hybrid quantum systems are promising candidates for quantum interconnects and quantum sensors, and they offer a rich platform for exploring nonlinear magnonics and cavity–photon interactions. Two-dimensional (2D) van der Waals magnets provide a compact, atomically flat geometry that can be easily integrated into existing quantum circuits, such as superconducting resonators and qubits. Among various 2D magnets, the magnetic semiconductor CrSBr is particularly unique due to its strong spin–exciton, spin–lattice, and magnon–exciton interactions. In this work, we demonstrate coherent coupling between antiferromagnetic (AFM) magnons in CrSBr and microwave photons in a niobium-(Nb)-based-on-chip resonator. We tuned the magnon–photon coupling strength by changing the number of CrSBr flakes integrated into the Nb microwave photon resonators. Furthermore, this work demonstrates the first step toward integrating layered van der Waals 2D magnets into superconducting microwave circuits, with full access for microwave and optical probing.

Electromagnetic radiation↗
DOE OSTI2024

Modeling Microwave-Enhanced Chemical Vapor Infiltration Process for Preventing Premature Pore Closure

The chemical vapor infiltration (CVI) process involves infiltrating a porous preform with reacting gases that undergo chemical transformation at high temperatures to deposit the ceramic phase within the pores, ultimately leading to a dense composite. The conventional CVI process in composite manufacturing needs to follow an isothermal approach to minimize temperature differences between the external and internal surfaces of the preform, ensuring that reactive gases infiltrate internal pores before external surfaces seal. Here, this study addresses the challenge of premature pore closure in CVI processes through microwave heating. A frequency-domain microwave solver is developed in OpenFOAM to investigate volumetric heating mechanisms within the preform. Through numerical studies, we demonstrate the capability of microwave heating of creating an inside-out temperature inversion. This inversion accelerates reactions proximal to the preform center, effectively mitigating the risk of premature external pore closure and ensuring uniform densification. The results reveal a significant enhancement in temperature inversion when high-permittivity reflectors are incorporated to generate resonant waves. This microwave heating strategy is then coupled with high-fidelity direct numerical simulation (DNS) of reacting flow, enabling the analysis of resulting densification processes. The DNS includes detailed chemistry and realistic diffusion coefficients. The numerical results can be used to estimate the impact of microwave-induced temperature inversion on densification in productions.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2024

Modeling Microwave-Enhanced Chemical Vapor Infiltration Process for Preventing Premature Pore Closure

The chemical vapor infiltration (CVI) process involves infiltrating a porous preform with reacting gases that undergo chemical transformation at high temperatures to deposit the ceramic phase within the pores, ultimately leading to a dense composite. The conventional CVI process in composite manufacturing needs to follow an isothermal approach to minimize temperature differences between the external and internal surfaces of the preform, ensuring that reactive gases infiltrate internal pores before external surfaces seal. This study addresses the challenge of premature pore closure in CVI processes through microwave heating. A frequency-domain microwave solver is developed in Open-FOAM to investigate volumetric heating mechanisms within the preform. Through numerical studies, we demonstrate the capability of microwave heating of creating an inside-out temperature inversion. This inversion accelerates reactions proximal to the preform center, effectively mitigating the risk of premature external pore closure and ensuring uniform densification. The results reveal a significant enhancement in temperature inversion when high-permittivity reflectors are incorporated to generate resonant waves. This microwave heating strategy is then coupled with high-fidelity direct numerical simulation (DNS) of reacting flow, enabling the analysis of resulting densification processes. The DNS simulation includes detailed chemistry and realistic diffusion coefficients. The numerical results can be used to estimate the impact of microwave-induced temperature inversion on densification in productions.

Ge, Wenjun↗
NASA NTRS2001

Measurements of Beam Coupling in the Marshall Magnetic Mirror Device

Experimental investigations of the coupling of an electron beam into a magnetically confined plasma have been undertaken at the Marshall Space Flight Center using the Marshall Magnetic Mirror (M3) system. The M3 system is composed of the following: two magnet coils; a cylindrical vacuum vessel; microwave source; and electron beam source. The magnet coils, which form the magnetic mirror, have an inner diameter of 25.4 cm and an outer diameter of 50.8 cm. The coils are composed of 9 coil segments with 33 turns in each segment. Each coil segment is connected in series. To create the target plasma, a 2 kW microwave source (2.45 gHz) is coupled into the vacuum chamber via waveguide. The electron beam source is a hollow cathode device created by the EPL Corporation. The hollow cathode is capable of producing a 50 amp beam with a pulse length of 1 second. It is also capable of continuous operation at 5 amps. The hollow cathode is mounted on one end of the cylindrical vacuum vessel 24 cm outside of a magnet coil. A current sensor is placed in the hollow cathode keeper bias circuit to measure emission current.

Schneider, T. A.↗
NASA NTRS2006

Multichannel X-Band Dielectric-Resonator Oscillator

A multichannel dielectric-resonator oscillator (DRO), built as a prototype of a local oscillator for an X-band transmitter or receiver, is capable of being electrically tuned among and within 26 adjacent frequency channels, each 1.16 MHz wide, in a band ranging from 7,040 to 7,070 GHz. The tunability of this oscillator is what sets it apart from other DROs, making it possible to use mass-produced oscillator units of identical design in diverse X-band applications in which there are requirements to use different fixed frequencies or to switch among frequency channels. The oscillator (see figure) includes a custom-designed voltage-controlled-oscillator (VCO) monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC), a dielectric resonator disk (puck), and two varactor-coupling circuits, all laid out on a 25-mil (0.635-mm)-thick alumina substrate having a length and width of 17.8 mm. The resonator disk has a diameter of 8.89 mm and a thickness of 4.01 mm. The oscillator is mounted in an 8.9-mm-deep cavity in a metal housing. The VCO MMIC incorporates a negative- resistance oscillator amplifier along with a buffer amplifier. The resonator disk is coupled to a microstrip transmission line connected to the negative-resistance port of the VCO MMIC. The two varactor-coupling circuits include microstrip lines, laid out orthogonally to each other, for coupling with the resonator disk. Each varactor microstrip line is DC-coupled to an external port via a microwave choke. One varactor is used for coarse tuning to select a channel; the other varactor is used (1) for fine tuning across the 1.16-MHz width of each channel and (2) as a feedback port for a phase-lock loop. The resonator disk is positioned to obtain (1) the most desirable bandwidth, (2) relatively tight coupling with the microstrip connected to the coarse-tuning varactor, and (3) relatively loose coupling with the microstrip connected to the fine-tuning varactor. Measurements of performance showed that the oscillator can be switched among any of the 26 channels and can be phase-locked to a nominal frequency in any channel. The degree of nonlinearity of tuning was found not to exceed 2.5 percent. The tuning sensitivity was found to be 6.15 MHz/V at a bias offset of -2 V on the phase-lock-loop varactor. The phase noise of the oscillator in free-running operation was found to be -107 dBc/Hz (where dBc signifies decibels relative to the carrier signal) at 100 kHz away from the carrier frequency.

Mysoor, Narayan↗
NASA NTRS1991

Resonant-tunnelling diode oscillator using a slot-coupled quasioptical open resonator

A resonant-tunneling diode has oscillated at X-band frequencies in a microwave circuit consisting of a slot antenna coupled to a semiconfocal open resonator. Coupling between the open resonator and the slot oscillator improves the noise-to-carrier ratio by about 36 dB relative to that of the slot oscillator alone in the 100-200 kHz range. A circuit operating near 10 GHz has been designed as a scale model for millimeter- and submillimeter-wave applications.

Stephan, K. D.↗
NASA NTRS2020

Assembly Development for the Simons Observatory Focal Plane Readout Module

The Simons Observatory (SO) is a suite of instruments sensitive to temperature and polarization of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) to be located at Cerro Toco in the Atacama Desert in Chile. Five telescopes, one large aperture telescope and four small aperture telescopes, will host roughly 70,000 highly multiplexed transition edge sensor (TES) detectors operated at 100 mK. Each SO focal plane module (UFM) couples 1,764 TESes to microwave resonators in a microwave multiplexing (μMux) readout circuit. Before detector integration, the100 mKμMux components are packaged into multiplexing modules (UMMs), which are independently validated to ensure they meet SO performance specifications. Here we present the assembly developments of these UMM readout packages for mid frequency (90/150 GHz) and ultra high frequency (220/280 GHz) UFMs.

Aamir M. Ali↗
NASA NTRS1994

Wideband bandpass filters employing broadside-coupled microstrip lines for MIC and MMIC applications

Wideband bandpass filters employing half-wavelength broadside-coupled microstrip lines suitable for microwave and mm-wave integrated monolithic integrated circuits (MIC and MMIC) are presented. Several filters have been developed at X-band (8 to 12 GHz) with 1 dB insertion loss. Fair agreement between the measured and calculated results has been observed. The analysis of the broadside-coupled microstrip lines used in the filters, based on the quasi-static spectral domain technique, is also described.

Tran, M.↗
DOE OSTI2025

Design and Optimization of a Hybrid Design for Quantum Transduction

This study presents the mechanical design and analysis of a quantum electro-optical transducer engineered to operate at millikelvin temperatures within a dilution refrigerator. The transducer enables bidirectional microwave-optical frequency conversion through a hybrid architecture that integrates a superconducting radiofrequency (SRF) cavity with an electro-optic optical cavity. Among several design options investigated, the configuration offering the best thermal and mechanical performance was selected, yielding a robust solution with reduced sensitivity to fabrication tolerances, improved heat dissipation, as well as alignment precision. The design ensures uniform temperature distribution, enabling higher laser pump powers and, thus, increased conversion efficiency, while maintaining mechanical stresses safely below the material yield strength. Electromagnetic simulations further validate the design, demonstrating enhanced coupling between the optical and microwave modes, as well as a broader tuning range achieved with smaller tuner displacements.

quantum computing↗
NASA NTRS1983

M dependence in the analysis of NH3-He microwave double resonance experiments

New close-coupled calculations of laboratory-frame, m-dependent cross sections for rotational excitation in NH3-He collisions are used to examined the validity of using degeneracy averaged values in the analysis of four-level double resonance experiments. It is found that the proper use of m-dependent cross sections and absorption probabilities produces only minor changes in the calculated Delta I/I (the fractional change in the signal absorption intensity when pumping radiation is applied) and does not, therefore, resolve the discrepancies between theoretical and experimental values that were noted in previous studies.

Davis, S. L.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Radiative decays of massive relic particles and the submillimeter background

The interaction of the decay photons of an unstable relic particle species with the microwave background radiation is considered. The radiative decays of these particles delay recombination and serve as an energy source for the resultant plasma. Nonrelativistic Compton scattering by these electrons couples the decay photons to the microwave background, producing submillimeter distortions. If the decay products close the universe, they must decay with a radiative branching ratio larger than 2.5 x 10 to the -5th in order to produce recently observed excess submillimeter background radiation. To be consistent with measurements of the UV background, their mass m is much greater than 114 keV and their decay redshift z is much greater than 5200.

Field, George B.↗
DOE OSTI2024

Phase-resolving spin-wave microscopy using infrared strobe light

The need for sensitively and reliably probing magnetization dynamics has been increasing in various contexts such as studying novel hybrid magnonic systems, in which the spin dynamics strongly and coherently couple to other excitations, including microwave photons, light photons, or phonons. Recent advances in quantum magnonics also highlight the need for employing the magnon phase as quantum state variable, which is to be detected and mapped out with high precision in on-chip micro- and nanoscale magnonic devices. Here, in this study, we demonstrate a facile optical technique that can directly perform concurrent spectroscopic and imaging functionalities with spatial and phase resolutions, using infrared strobe light operating at 1550-nm wavelength. To showcase the methodology, we spectroscopically studied the phaseresolved spin dynamics in a bilayer of Permalloy and yttrium iron garnet Y 3 Fe 5 O 12 (YIG), and spatially imaged the backward-volume spin-wave modes of YIG in the dipolar spin-wave regime. Using the strobe light probe, the detected precessional phase contrast can be directly used to construct the map of the spin wave's wave front, in the continuous-wave regime of spin-wave propagation and in the stationary state, without needing any optical reference path. By selecting the applied field, frequency, and detection phase, the spin-wave images can be made sensitive to the precession amplitude and phase. Our results demonstrate that infrared optical strobe light can serve as a versatile platform for magneto-optical probing of magnetization dynamics, with potential implications in investigating hybrid magnonic systems.

Xiong, Yuzan [University of North Carolina, Chapel↗
DOE OSTI2026

Optical nanofiber testbeds for benchmarking membrane-waveguide photonic integrated circuit platforms toward on-chip quantum inertial sensing

Recent advances in cold atom interferometry with optical and magnetic atom guides have set the stage for quantum inertial sensors capable of operating in dynamic environments. In this work, we present three key innovations—evanescent-field (EF) atom guides, optical nanofiber testbeds, and membrane-waveguide photonic integrated circuit (PIC) platforms—to advance EF-guided atom interferometry. First, we demonstrate EF atom guides on optical nanofiber testbeds, which serve as performance benchmarks for our membrane-waveguide PIC platforms. Second, we achieve low-power (⁠ ~ 5 mW) guiding of freely moving, laser-cooled 133 Cs atoms in two-color, traveling-wave EF optical dipole traps at the novel, heat-efficient magic wavelengths of 793 and 937 nm (i.e., “793/937-nm EF atom guides”). Concurrently, we design and fabricate membrane-waveguide PIC platforms for these EF atom guides; in our prior work, we showed that these structures safely accommodate 4–6 times the required optical trap power under vacuum and enable dense cold atom generation via magneto-optical trapping in the vicinity of the optical wavguide for efficient loading. Third, we verify preserved atomic coherence via microwave fields and EF-coupled Doppler-free Raman beams; to our knowledge, this is the first report of coherence fringes driven by co-propagating EF-coupled Raman beams with only 150 nW of total optical power. By providing a direct comparison between optical nanofiber testbeds and membrane-waveguide PIC platforms, our results lay critical groundwork for the on-chip realization of EF-guided atom interferometry and the development of fully integrated, compact, lightweight, and low-power quantum accelerometers and gyroscopes.

Orozco, Adrian [Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-↗
NASA NTRS1984

LEC GaAs for integrated circuit applications

Recent developments in liquid encapsulated Czochralski techniques for the growth of semiinsulating GaAs for integrated circuit applications have resulted in significant improvements in the quality and quantity of GaAs material suitable for device processing. The emergence of high performance GaAs integrated circuit technologies has accelerated the demand for high quality, large diameter semiinsulating GaAs substrates. The new device technologies, including digital integrated circuits, monolithic microwave integrated circuits and charge coupled devices have largely adopted direct ion implantation for the formation of doped layers. Ion implantation lends itself to good uniformity and reproducibility, high yield and low cost; however, this technique also places stringent demands on the quality of the semiinsulating GaAs substrates. Although significant progress was made in developing a viable planar ion implantation technology, the variability and poor quality of GaAs substrates have hindered progress in process development.

Kirkpatrick, C. G.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Cosmic background radiation anisotropy at degree angular scales - Further results from the South Pole

We report further results from the University of California at Santa Barbara program to measure anisotropy in the cosmic background radiation at angular scales near 1 deg, an angular range corresponding to the largest scales where structure is observed. A 30 GHz high electron mobility transistor amplifier-based detector was coupled to the Advanced Cosmic Microwave Explorer, a 1 m off-axis Gregorian telescope. We present data that represent 64 of the total of 500 hr acquired with this system during the 1990-1991 season. The data have a statistical error of 13.5/micro-K/pixel. These are the smallest error bars of any data set of this type published to date. The data contain a significant signal with a maximum likelihood Delta T/T roughly 1 x 10 exp -5. The spectrum of the signal seen in slightly less than 2 sigma away from the thermal spectrum expected of primordial fluctuations in the cosmic background radiation. If the source of the fluctuations is primordial, then the data are consistent with cold dark matter scenarios when normalized to the large-scale anisotropy observed by COBE, while if the origin of the signal is foreground emission or another form of contaminant then the data are marginally inconsistent with standard cold dark matter models. In either case, the data are sufficiently sensitive to provide a crucial test of many models.

Schuster, Jeffrey↗
NASA NTRS2000

A Model for Ferroelectric Phase Shifters

Novel microwave phase shifters consisting of coupled microstrip lines on thin ferroelectric films have been demonstrated recently. A theoretical model useful for predicting the propagation characteristics (insertion phase shift, dielectric loss, impedance, and bandwidth) is presented here. The model is based on a variational solution for line capacitance and coupled strip transmission line theory.

Romanofsky, Robert R.↗
NASA NTRS2015

A Module for Assimilating Hyperspectral Infrared Retrieved Profiles into the Gridpoint Statistical Interpolation System for Unique Forecasting Applications

Hyperspectral infrared sounder radiance data are assimilated into operational modeling systems however the process is computationally expensive and only approximately 1% of available data are assimilated due to data thinning as well as the fact that radiances are restricted to cloud-free fields of view. In contrast, the number of hyperspectral infrared profiles assimilated is much higher since the retrieved profiles can be assimilated in some partly cloudy scenes due to profile coupling other data, such as microwave or neural networks, as first guesses to the retrieval process. As the operational data assimilation community attempts to assimilate cloud-affected radiances, it is possible that the use of retrieved profiles might offer an alternative methodology that is less complex and more computationally efficient to solve this problem. The NASA Short-term Prediction Research and Transition (SPoRT) Center has assimilated hyperspectral infrared retrieved profiles into Weather Research and Forecasting Model (WRF) simulations using the Gridpoint Statistical Interpolation (GSI) System. Early research at SPoRT demonstrated improved initial conditions when assimilating Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) thermodynamic profiles into WRF (using WRF-Var and assigning more appropriate error weighting to the profiles) to improve regional analysis and heavy precipitation forecasts. Successful early work has led to more recent research utilizing WRF and GSI for applications including the assimilation of AIRS profiles to improve WRF forecasts of atmospheric rivers and assimilation of AIRS, Cross-track Infrared and Microwave Sounding Suite (CrIMSS), and Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer (IASI) profiles to improve model representation of tropopause folds and associated non-convective wind events. Although more hyperspectral infrared retrieved profiles can be assimilated into model forecasts, one disadvantage is the retrieved profiles have traditionally been assigned the same error values as the rawinsonde observations when assimilated with GSI. Typically, satellitederived profile errors are larger and more difficult to quantify than traditional rawinsonde observations (especially in the boundary layer), so it is important to appropriately assign observation errors within GSI to eliminate potential spurious innovations and analysis increments that can sometimes arise when using retrieved profiles. The goal of this study is to describe modifications to the GSI source code to more appropriately assimilate hyperspectral infrared retrieved profiles and outline preliminary results that show the differences between a model simulation that assimilated the profiles as rawinsonde observations and one that assimilated the profiles in a module with the appropriate error values.

Berndt, Emily↗
NASA NTRS1994

Silicon Technologies Adjust to RF Applications

Silicon (Si), although not traditionally the material of choice for RF and microwave applications, has become a serious challenger to other semiconductor technologies for high-frequency applications. Fine-line electron- beam and photolithographic techniques are now capable of fabricating silicon gate sizes as small as 0.1 micron while commonly-available high-resistivity silicon wafers support low-loss microwave transmission lines. These advances, coupled with the recent development of silicon-germanium (SiGe), arm silicon integrated circuits (ICs) with the speed required for increasingly higher-frequency applications.

Reinecke Taub, Susan↗