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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 OSTI2024

Particle Accelerator Spin-Transparent Storage Rings for Beyond State-of-the-Art Science

We will describe spin-transparent storage rings that exhibit spin-coherence times of several hours and store a large number of particles and their use in novel applications. For example, these rings can be used to directly measure the electric dipole moment of the electron, relevant to CP violation and matter-antimatter asymmetry in the universe, and to search for dark energy and ultra-light dark matter*. These rings can also serve as a compelling platform for quantum computing. In this presentation, we will describe how spin-transparent rings can be used in conjunction with ion traps to enhance scalability and increase quantum coherence times of ion quantum computing.

Suleiman, R.↗
DOE OSTI2026

PV Operations Software Transparency: A PVMAC Industry Snapshot

The rapid growth of photovoltaic (PV) deployment has increased reliance on software platforms for monitoring, workflow automation, diagnostics, and performance analytics. As these tools play a central role in asset management and operations and maintenance (O&M), greater transparency in methodologies, data handling, and validation practices benefits the broader PV ecosystem. To better understand current practices and identify opportunities for improved clarity and interoperability, 24 software providers contributed detailed responses through the PV O&M Analytics Collaborative (PVMAC) initiative, the first structured questionnaire of its kind in the industry, covering onboarding, interoperability, data quality, diagnostics, AI/ML, and other operational categories. These providers represent over 1.1 TW of solar assets under management. The analysis shows broad adoption of digital twins, AI/ML, and API integrations, but also highlights challenges in onboarding processes, inconsistent definitions and methodologies, variability in key performance indicator (KPI) calculations, and limited independent validation. Greater standardization, clearer documentation, and stronger validation frameworks could improve transparency, comparability, and trust across PV operations software platforms.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2024

“Green” Fabrication of High-performance Transparent Conducting Electrodes by Blade Coating and Photonic Curing on PET for Perovskite Solar Cells

This study presents an innovative material processing approach to fabricate transparent conducting electrodes (TCEs) on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrates using blade coating and photonic curing. The hybrid TCEs consist of a multiscale Ag network, combining silver metal bus lines and nanowires, overcoated by an indium zinc oxide layer, and then photonically cured. Blade coating ensures film uniformity and thickness control over large areas. Photonic curing, a non-thermal processing method with significantly lower carbon emissions, enhances the conductivity and transparency of the coated layers. Our hybrid TCEs achieve an average transmittance of (81 ± 0.4)% referenced to air ((90 ± 0.4)% referenced to the PET substrate) in the visible range, an average sheet resistance of (11 ± 0.5) Ω sq−1, and an average surface roughness of (4.3 ± 0.4) nm. We benchmark these values against commercial PET/TCE substrates. Mechanical durability tests demonstrate <3% change in resistance after 2000 bending cycles at a 1 in radius. The scalable potential of the hybrid TCE fabrication method is demonstrated by high uniformity and excellent properties in 7 in × 8 in large-area samples and by performing the photonic curing process at 11 m min−1. Furthermore, halide perovskite solar cells fabricated on these hybrid TCEs achieve average and champion power conversion efficiencies of (10.5 ± 1.0) % and 12.2%, respectively, and significantly outperform devices made on commercial PET/TCEs. This work showcases our approach as a viable pathway for high-speed “green” manufacturing of high-performance TCEs on PET substrates for flexible optoelectronic devices.

Bonner, Justin C↗
DOE OSTI2020

Transparent soil microcosms for live-cell imaging and non-destructive stable isotope probing of soil microorganisms

Microscale processes are critically important to soil ecology and biogeochemistry yet are difficult to study due to soil’s opacity and complexity. To advance the study of soil processes, we constructed transparent soil microcosms that enable the visualization of microbes via fluorescence microscopy and the non-destructive measurement of microbial activity and carbon uptake in situ via Raman microspectroscopy. We assessed the polymer Nafion and the crystal cryolite as optically transparent soil substrates. We demonstrated that both substrates enable the growth, maintenance, and visualization of microbial cells in three dimensions over time, and are compatible with stable isotope probing using Raman. We applied this system to ascertain that after a dry-down/rewetting cycle, bacteria on and near dead fungal hyphae were more metabolically active than those far from hyphae. These data underscore the impact fungi have facilitating bacterial survival in fluctuating conditions and how these microcosms can yield insights into microscale microbial activities.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2022

Spin Transparency Method for High Precision Experiments with Polarized Beams

The spin transparency method is a technique for efficient and flexible control of the beam polarizationin a synchrotron. It can be implemented in a figure-8 collider, a racetrack with two identical Siberiansnakes, as well as in a conventional ring at an energy corresponding to an integer spin resonance.Weak-field magnetic insertions called Spin Navigators provide polarization stabilization and manip-ulation including spin flipping. By compensating the spin effects of imperfections, a real synchrotroncan be turned into an effectively ideal ring from the spin dynamics point of view thus enabling funda-mental ultra-high precision experiments such as search for Electric Dipole Moment and Dark Matter.We discuss the possibility of applying the spin transparency mode at ultra-high energies

Filatov, Yury N.↗
DOE OSTI2020

Fabrication processes for effectively transparent contacts

In conventional solar cells with metal contacts, a non-negligible fraction of the incoming solar power is immediately lost either through absorption or reflection upon interaction with the contacts. Effectively transparent contacts (“ETCs”) for solar cells can be referred to as three-dimensional contacts designed to redirect incoming light onto a photoabsorbing surface of a solar cell. In many embodiments, the ETCs have triangular cross-sections. Such ETCs can be placed on a photoabsorbing surface such that at least one of their sides forms an angle with the photoabsorbing surface. In this configuration, the ETCs can redirect incident light onto the photoabsorbing surface, mitigating or eliminating reflection loss compared to conventional solar cells. When constructed in accordance with a number of embodiments of the invention, ETCs can be effectively transparent and highly conductive.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2020

Transparency and color tunable electro-optical device using colloidal core/shell nanoparticles

According to one embodiment, a product is a mixture including a solvent and generally spherical colloidal nanoparticles, the colloidal nanoparticles each having a core and a shell surrounding the core, and an electrode. In addition, the mixture is characterized as having a transparency to light in a predetermined wavelength range, where the transparency increases as a voltage of the electrode increases.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2024

sKokkos: Enabling Kokkos with Transparent Device Selection on Heterogeneous Systems using OpenACC

This paper presents a new feature to enable Kokkos with transparent device selection. For application developers, it is not easy toidentify which device is the most appropriate to use in a heterogeneous system, since this depends on the characteristics of both the application and the hardware. In Kokkos, a backend is associated with one specific programming model/hardware. Programmers decide which backend to use at compilation time. This new feature implemented on the OpenACC backend eliminates the burden of deciding which device to use, providing a highly productive programming solution for Kokkos applications. This work includes implementation details and a performance study conducted with a set of mini-benchmarks (i.e., AXPY and dot product), kernels (Lattice-Bolzmann method), and two mini-apps (LULESH and miniFE) on two heterogeneous systems with different hardware capabilities. This new Kokkos feature provides high accelerations of up to 35× thanks to automatic and transparent device selection.

Lee, Seyong↗
DOE OSTI2024

From Design to Device: Challenges and Opportunities in Computational Discovery of p -Type Transparent Conductors

A high-performance p -type transparent conductor (TC) does not yet exist but could lead to advances in a wide range of optoelectronic applications and enable new architectures for, e.g., next-generation photovoltaic (PV) devices. High-throughput computational material screenings have been a promising approach to filter databases and identify new p -type TC candidates and some of these predictions have been experimentally validated. However, most of these predicted candidates do not have experimentally achieved properties on par with n -type TCs used in solar cells and therefore have not yet been used in commercial devices. Thus, there is still a significant divide between transforming predictions into results that are actually achievable in the laboratory and an even greater lag in scaling predicted materials into functional devices. In this perspective, we outline some of the major disconnects in this materials discovery process—from scaling computational predictions into synthesizable crystals and thin films in the laboratory to scaling laboratory-grown films into real-world solar devices—and share insights to inform future strategies for TC discovery and design. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2022

High‐Performance and Stable Semi‐Transparent Perovskite Solar Cells through Composition Engineering

Abstract Semi‐transparent perovskite solar cells (ST‐PeSCs) have tremendous potential as solar windows owing to their higher efficiency and visible transmittance. However, studies toward this application are still nascent, particularly in unraveling the interplay between how the perovskite composition impacts the achievable device performance and stability. Here, the role of A‐ and X‐site modification in APbX 3 perovskites is studied to understand their influence on these factors. Through detailed experimental and simulation work, it is found that a perovskite composition consisting of cesium (Cs) and formamidinium (FA) at the A‐site delivers the best device performance over a range of band gaps, which are tuned by changes to the X‐site anion. Using this optimized perovskite composition, power conversion efficiencies of 15.5% and 4.1% are achieved for ST‐PeSCs with average visible transmittance values between 20.7% and 52.4%, respectively. Furthermore, the CsFA‐based ST‐PeSCs show excellent long‐term stability under continuous illumination and heating. The stability of the precursor solutions across each of the studied compositions has also been considered, showing dramatic differences in the structural properties of the perovskites and their device performance for all mixed A‐site compositions possessing the archetypal methyl ammonium species, while also confirming the superior stability of the CsFA precursor solutions.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2022

Comment on “Introduction of a Novel Figure of Merit for the Assessment of Transparent Conductive Electrodes in Photovoltaics: Exact and Approximate Form”

Anand et al. introduce an implicit equation for transparent conductive electrode (TCE) merit in photovoltaics (PV) by lumping series resistance in with the diode. However, an explicit equation has been previously derived by lumping series resistance external to the diode. For TCEs of practical interest for PV, the choice of where to lump series resistance does not affect merit, so external lumping is preferred. On the other hand, monolith deadspace, metal grid shadowing, and grid resistance shift TCE merit away from the figure of merit behavior published by Anand et al.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2024

Redesigned Nylon 6 Variants with Enhanced Recyclability, Ductility, and Transparency

Geminal (gem−) disubstitution in heterocyclic monomers is an effective strategy to enhance polymer chemical recyclability by lowering their ceiling temperatures. However, the effects of specific substitution patterns on the monomer's reactivity and the resulting polymer's properties are largely unexplored. Here we show that, by systematically installing gem-dimethyl groups onto ϵ-caprolactam (monomer of nylon 6) from the α to ϵ positions, both the redesigned lactam monomer's reactivity and the resulting gem-nylon 6’s properties are highly sensitive to the substitution position, with the monomers ranging from non-polymerizable to polymerizable and the gem-nylon properties ranging from inferior to far superior to the parent nylon 6. Remarkably, the nylon 6 with the gem-dimethyls substituted at the γ position is amorphous and optically transparent, with a higher T g (by 30 °C), yield stress (by 1.5 MPa), ductility (by 3×), and lower depolymerization temperature (by 60 °C) than conventional nylon 6.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2021

Transparent silica aerogel slabs synthesized from nanoparticle colloidal suspensions at near ambient conditions on omniphobic liquid substrates

This paper presents a novel sol-gel method to synthesize large and thick silica aerogel monoliths at near ambient conditions using a commercial aqueous solution of colloidal silica nanoparticles as building blocks. To achieve slabs with high visible transmittance and low thermal conductivity, the method combines the strategies of (i) synthesizing gels on an omniphobic perfluorocarbon liquid substrate, (ii) aging at temperatures above room temperature, and (iii) performing solvent exchange with a low-surface-tension organic solvent prior to ambient drying. The omniphobic liquid substrates were used to prevent cracking and ensure an optically-smooth surface, while nanoparticle building blocks were small (<10 nm) to limit volumetric light scattering. Gels were aged at temperatures between 25 and 80 °C for up to 21 days to make them stronger and stiffer and to reduce shrinkage and cracking during ambient drying. Ambient drying was achieved by first exchanging water in the gel pores for octane, followed by drying in an octane-rich atmosphere to decrease capillary forces. The synthesized nanoparticle-based silica aerogel monoliths had thicknesses up to 5 mm, diameters up to 10 cm, porosities exceeding 80%, and thermal conductivities as low as 0.08 W m –1 K –1 . Notably, the slabs featured visible transmittance exceeding 75% even for slabs as thick as 5 mm. The as-synthesized aerogel monoliths were exposed to TMCS vapor to induce hydrophobic properties resulting in a water contact angle of 140° that prevented water infiltration into the pores and protected the aerogels from water damage. This simple synthesis route conducted at near ambient conditions produces hydrophobic aerogel monoliths with promising optically transparent and thermally insulating properties that can be adhered to glass panes for window insulation and solar-thermal energy conversion applications.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2023

High precision fundamental physics experiments using compact spin-transparent storage rings of low energy polarized electron beams

We present a new design of highly specialized small storage rings for low energy polarized electron beams. The new design is based on the transparent spin methodology that cancels the spin precession due to the magnetic dipole moment at any energy while allowing for spin precession induced by the fundamental physics of interest to accumulate. The buildup of the vertical component of beam polarization can be measured using standard Mott polarimetry that is optimal at low electron energy. These rings can be used to measure the permanent electric dipole moment of the electron, relevant to CP violation and matter-antimatter asymmetry in the universe, and to search for dark energy and ultra-light dark matter.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Flexible transparent conducting electrodes unexpectedly influence MAPbI 3 film morphology and perovskite solar cell performance

Fabricating perovskite solar cells (PSCs) on plastic substrates will enable cost-effective manufacturing of lightweight and portable energy systems. Here, we study the influence of flexible transparent conductive electrodes (TCEs) on the methylammonium lead iodide (MAPbI3) film morphology and PSC performance. Three types of TCEs on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) are compared: a custom-made AgNWs/indium zinc oxide hybrid TCE and two commercial substrates with indium tin oxide (ITO) or metal/insulator/metal (MIM) as the TCE. Using the same p-i-n architecture and hole transport layer (HTL), we find that PSCs fabricated on the hybrid TCE show better performance and stability compared to those made on commercial TCEs. The PSC performance enhancement is attributed to the superior structural and optical properties of MAPbI3 film deposited on the hybrid TCE, which is explained by the surface energy difference of the HTL. While it is anticipated that solar cell performance can be affected by TCEs’ transmittance and sheet resistance as they determine light absorption and carrier transport, respectively, our finding of TCE influencing the morphology and crystallinity of MAPbI3 film, and hence PSC performance, is unexpected.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2021

In Situ Growth and Interlayer Modulation of Layered Double Hydroxide Thin Films from a Transparent Conducting Oxide Precursor

Layered double hydroxides (LDHs) are a class of cationic-layered solids that can be synthetically designed for a variety of advanced functions. Facile thin film growth of LDHs is an important requisite for a variety of applications including functional coatings, displays, and sensing. In this work we demonstrate, for the first time, an in-situ and patternable thin film synthesis of interconnected Zn-Cr LDH particles from a transparent conducting oxide (TCO) precursor, aluminum-doped zinc oxide (AZO), at room temperature within minutes. Synthetic parameters such as chromium (III) nitrate concentration, solvent composition, and reaction time were found to significantly affect the thickness and morphology of the resulting LDH films. These LDH thin films can undergo interlayer anion exchange, which modulates the interlayer distance of the LDH sheets and surface energy of the thin film. Replacement of the interlayer anion with perfluorooctanoate increases the interlayer sheet distance from 0.9 nm to 2.8 nm and induces a super-hydrophobic thin film that is capable of adsolubilizing and retaining organic guest molecules. The synthetic method and structural analysis of the LDH thin films introduced in this work opens new avenues of application for LDH films.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2020

Fundamentals of Using Cracked Film Lithography to Pattern Transparent Conductive Metal Grids for Photovoltaics

The fundamentals of using cracked film lithography (CFL) to fabricate metal grids for transparent contacts in solar cells were studied. The underlying physics of drying-induced cracks were well-predicted by an empirical correlation relating crack spacing to capillary pressure. CFL is primarily controlled by varying the crack template thickness, which establishes a three-way tradeoff between the areal density of cracks, crack width, and spacing between cracks, which in turn determine final grid transmittance, grid sheet resistance, and the semiconductor resistance for a given solar cell. Since CFL uses a lift-off process, an additional constraint is that the metal thickness must be less than 1/3 of the crack template thickness. Furthermore, the transmittance/grid sheet resistance/wire spacing tradeoffs measured in this work were used to calculate solar cell performance: CFL-patterned grids should outperform screen-printed grids for narrow cells (0.5–2 cm wide) and/or cells with high semiconductor sheet resistance (=100 O/sq), making CFL attractive for monolithically integrated thin-film photovoltaic modules.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2022

All-atmospheric fabrication of Ag–Cu core–shell nanowire transparent electrodes with Haacke figure of merit >600 × 10–3 Ω−1

Abstract Transparent conducting electrodes (TCEs) are essential components in devices such as touch screens, smart windows, and photovoltaics. Metal nanowire networks are promising next-generation TCEs, but best-performing examples rely on expensive metal catalysts (palladium or platinum), vacuum processing, or transfer processes that cannot be scaled. This work demonstrates a metal nanowire TCE fabrication process that focuses on high performance and simple fabrication. Here we combined direct and plating metallization processes on electrospun nanowires. We first directly metallize silver nanowires using reactive silver ink. The silver catalyzes subsequent copper plating to produce Ag–Cu core–shell nanowires and eliminates nanowire junction resistances. The process allows for tunable transmission and sheet resistance properties by adjusting electrospinning and plating time. We demonstrate state-of-the-art, low-haze TCEs using an all-atmospheric process with sheet resistances of 0.33 Ω sq −1 and visible light transmittances of 86% (including the substrate), leading to a Haacke figure of merit of 652 × 10 –3 Ω −1 . The core–shell nanowire electrode also demonstrates high chemical and bending durability.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗