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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 19 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1995

190-GHz radiation from a quasioptical Josephson junction array

At 190 GHz, 0.36 micro W has been detected from an 11 x 58 array of niobium Josephson junctions. The power is radiated directly into free space above the surface of the two-dimensional array of junctions. Detection is made by a commercial bolometer outside the array cryostat. The junctions in the array are closely spaced in the y-dimension, but spaced by more than one-half wavelength in the x-direction. This asymmetry results in mutual phase-locking between adjacent junctions suitable for the production of y-polarized radiation. The resonance and asymmetry also result in a reasonable impedance match between the Josephson junctions and the free-space radiation mode.

ARRAY CRYOSTAT↗
NASA NTRS1989

Cryogenic Limb Array Etalon Spectrometer (CLAES) S/N001 cryostat test results

The results of a test program designed to verify the operational and thermal performance of the Cryogenic Limb Array Etalon Spectrometer (CLAES) S/N001 Ne/CO2 cryostat, as monitored and serviced by the Data Acquisition System and Ground Support Equipment, are presented. The S/N001 model test assembly consists of the S/N001 configuration coupled with an instrument thermal mass simulator (ITMS) for simulating the thermal behavior of the instrument package. The test data for the cryostat include the rate of temperature decrease of the various parts of the cryostat/ITMS and the final equilibrium temperatures of the shields, thermal links, and tank. The test results showed that system heat rates, operating temperatures, and expected end-of-life temperature predictions all agree with predictions within estimated margins.

Horsley, W. J.↗
DOE OSTI2025

Rare multinucleon decays with the full data sets of the M AJORANA D EMONSTRATOR

The M AJORANA D EMONSTRATOR was an ultra-low-background experiment designed for neutrinoless double-beta decay (0⁢𝜈⁢𝛽⁢𝛽) investigation in 76 Ge . Located at the Sanford Underground Research Facility in Lead, South Dakota, the D EMONSTRATOR utilized modular high-purity Ge detector arrays within shielded vacuum cryostats, operating deep underground. The arrays, with a capacity of up to 40.4 kg (27.2 kg enriched to ∼88% in 76 Ge ), have accumulated the full data set, totaling 64.5 kg yr of enriched active exposure and 27.4 kg yr of exposure for natural detectors. Here, our updated search improves previously explored three-nucleon decay modes in Ge isotopes, setting new partial lifetime limits of 1.83 × 10 26 yr (90% confidence level) for 76 Ge (𝑝⁢𝑝⁢𝑝) → 73 Cu 𝑒 + ⁢𝜋 + ⁢𝜋 + and 76 Ge (𝑝⁢𝑝⁢𝑛) → 73 Zn 𝑒 + ⁢𝜋 + . The partial lifetime limit for the fully inclusive triproton decay mode of 76 Ge is found to be 2.1×10 25 yr. Furthermore, we have updated limits for corresponding multinucleon decays.

baryon & lepton number symmetries↗
NASA NTRS1991

The Precision Segmented Reflector program - On-orbit thermal behavior of the Submillimeter Imager and Line Survey telescope

The Precision Segmented Reflector program and the Submillimeter Imager and Line Survey mission are overviewed. The temperature requirements, thermal design and environment, as well as the on-orbit thermal performance of a 3.65-m-diameter passively-cooled submillimeter-wavelength telescope are discussed, and focus is placed on the geometric and thermal mathematical models employed in the study. Attention is given to an inflatable space-rigidized sunshade protecting the primary mirror thermally and the highly elliptical orbit chosen to reduce heat input from the earth. Primary-reflector temperature predictions are shown to indicate that a large spatial gradient can exist and the magnitude of the gradient is a strong function of the telescope pitch angle. It is suggested that the cryostat outer-shell temperature may be further lowered with the introduction of a rectangular shield between a solar array and the cryostat.

Tsuyuki, G.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Design and performance analysis of the CLAES Ne/CO2 cryostat

The design of the dual-stage Ne/CO2 cryostat, constructed for the Cryogenic Limb Array Etalon Spectrometer (CLAES) for the cooling, to their respective required operation temperatures, of the focal plane (to less than 15 K), spectrometer (to less than 30 K), telescope (to less than 150 K), and baffles (to less than 180 K) is described, and the cryostat's performance is analyzed. The results of this study show that the current cryostat will meet all sensor cooling requirements. The cryostat weighs 2276 lbs, of which 988 lbs are charged to the neon and 484 lbs are charged to the CO2. Schematic diagrams of the CLAES cooler/sensor and of the external plumbing are presented together with the test data.

Naes, L. G.↗
DOE OSTI2021

The Mini-CAPTAIN liquid argon time projection chamber

This manuscript describes the commissioning of the Mini-CAPTAIN liquid argon detector in a neutron beam at the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center (LANSCE), which led to a first measurement of high-energy neutron interactions in argon. The Mini-CAPTAIN detector consists of a Time Projection Chamber (TPC) with an accompanying photomultiplier tube (PMT) array sealed inside a liquid-argon-filled cryostat. The liquid argon is constantly purified and recirculated in a closed-loop cycle during operation. The specifications and assembly of the detector subsystems and an overview of their performance in a neutron beam are reported.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
NASA NTRS1989

Tests of the Rockwell Si:As Back-Illuminated Blocked-Impurity Band (BIBIB) detectors

Two arrays of Rockwell's Si:As back-illuminated blocked-impurity-band detectors were tested at the Max-Planck-Institute for Astronomy (MPIA) at low background and low temperature for possible use in the astronomical space experiment ISOPHOT. For these measurements special test equipment was put together. A cryostat was mechanically modified to accommodate the arrays and special peripheral electronics was added to a microprocessor system to drive the cold multiplexer and to acquire the output data. The first device, a 16x50 element array on a fan-out board was used to test individual pixels with a trans-impedance-amplifier at a photon background of 10(exp 8) Ph s(-1)cm(-2) and at temperatures of 2.7 to 4.4 K. The noise-equivalent-power NEP is in the range 5 - 7 x 10(exp -18) WHz(exp -1/2), the responsivity is less than or equal to 100 AW(exp -1)(f = 10 Hz). The second device was a 10x50 array including a cold readout electronics of switched FETs (SWIFET). Measurements of this array were done in a background range of 5 x 10(exp 5) to 5 x 10(exp 11) Ph s(exp-1)cm(exp-2) and at operating temperatures between 3.0 and 4.8 K. The NEP ranges from less than 10(exp -18) at the lowest background to 2 x 10(exp -16) WHz(exp -1/2) at the highest flux.

Wolf, J.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Development of an End-to-End Demonstration Readout Chain for Athena-X-IFU

The X-IFU (X-ray Integral Field Unit) of the Athena (Advanced Telescope for High-ENergy Astrophysics) telescope, scheduled for launch in the early 2030's, will provide X-ray spectroscopy data with unprecedented spectral and spatial resolution. This will be achieved by a 3 kilo-pixel array of TES (transition-edge sensor) microcalorimeters. The complete detection chain is under development by a large international collaboration. The detector array will be provided by NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, the cold TDM (time domain multiplexing) electronics by NIST, the cold amplifier by VTT, the cold focal-plane assembly by SRON, the warm front-end electronics by APC, and the DRE (digital readout electronics) by IRAP. In order to perform an end-to-end demonstration of the X-IFU readout chain, a 50 mK test bench is being developed at IRAP in collaboration with CNES. The test bench is based on a two-stage ADR cryostat from Entropy GmbH and a 1024-pixel array from Goddard associated with its cold TDM readout from NIST. The setup will initially be validated using a warm electronic chain from NIST and Goddard. We will describe the complete system being installed in the cryostat and the first results obtained with these electronics. We will also review the status of the integration of the DRE prototype in the demonstration chain and the way forward in the integration and testing of the complete X-IFU readout chain.

S Beaumont↗
DOE OSTI2021

Hyperspectral X-ray Imaging: Progress Towards Chemical Analysis in the SEM

The Hyperspectral X-ray Imaging (HXI) project will enable non-destructive chemical-state determination of nano-scale samples in the electron microscope for nuclear safeguards applications. To efficiently measure chemical state through electron-excited X-ray emission requires a combination of wide spectral bandwidth, high resolution, and high count rate capability. We are building a next-generation X-ray detector based on an array of transition edge sensors (TESs) to make these measurements possible and routine in the scanning electron microscope (SEM). Leveraging the large pixel densities afforded by microwave multiplexing readout and continuous, uninterrupted operation of a cryogen-free dilution refrigerator, this instrument will have efficiency to allow chemical species identification of nano-scale samples in hours instead of days to weeks. We describe prototype pixel designs for this HXI instrument, comprising three pixel types that will make up the hybrid TES array. Engineering design of the integrated HXI cryostat and SEM system is in progress, with full detector commissioning expected in Spring 2021 followed closely by full-scale integration with the SEM. Furthermore, we also report on the commissioning of a complementary TES-based X-ray emission spectroscopy platform for bulk samples to build a spectral library for HXI sample identification.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2024

First demonstration of 30 eVee ionization energy resolution with RICOCHET germanium cryogenic bolometers

The future RICOCHET experiment aims to search for new physics in the electroweak sector by measuring the Coherent Elastic Neutrino-Nucleus Scattering process from reactor antineutrinos with high precision down to the sub-100 eV nuclear recoil energy range. While the RICOCHET collaboration is currently building the experimental setup at the reactor site, it is also finalizing the cryogenic detector arrays that will be integrated into the cryostat at the Institut Laue Langevin in early 2024. In this paper, we report on recent progress from the Ge cryogenic detector technology, called the CryoCube. More specifically, we present the first demonstration of a 30 eVee (electron equivalent) baseline ionization resolution (RMS) achieved with an early design of the detector assembly and its dedicated High Electron Mobility Transistor (HEMT) based front-end electronics with a total input capacitance of about 40 pF. This represents an order of magnitude improvement over the best ionization resolutions obtained on similar phonon-and-ionization germanium cryogenic detectors from the EDELWEISS and SuperCDMS dark matter experiments, and a factor of three improvement compared to the first fully-cryogenic HEMT-based preamplifier coupled to a CDMS-II germanium detector with a total input capacitance of 250 pF. Additionally, we discuss the implications of these results in the context of the future RICOCHET experiment and its expected background mitigation performance.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2023

A first test of CUPID prototypal light detectors with NTD-Ge sensors in a pulse-tube cryostat

CUPID is a next-generation bolometric experiment aiming at searching for neutrinoless double-beta decay with ~250 kg of isotopic mass of 100 Mo. It will operate at ~10 mK in a cryostat currently hosting a similar-scale bolometric array for the CUORE experiment at the Gran Sasso National Laboratory (Italy). CUPID will be based on large-volume scintillating bolometers consisting of 100 Mo-enriched Li 2 MoO 4 crystals, facing thin Ge-wafer-based bolometric light detectors. In the CUPID design, the detector structure is novel and needs to be validated. In particular, the CUORE cryostat presents a high level of mechanical vibrations due to the use of pulse tubes and the effect of vibrations on the detector performance must be investigated. In this paper we report the first test of the CUPID-design bolometric light detectors with NTD-Ge sensors in a dilution refrigerator equipped with a pulse tube in an above-ground lab. Light detectors are characterized in terms of sensitivity, energy resolution, pulse time constants, and noise power spectrum. Despite the challenging noisy environment due to pulse-tube-induced vibrations, we demonstrate that all the four tested light detectors comply with the CUPID goal in terms of intrinsic energy resolution of 100 eV RMS baseline noise. Indeed, we have measured 70–90 eV RMS for the four devices, which show an excellent reproducibility. We have also obtained high energy resolutions at the 356 keV line from a 133 Ba source, as good as Ge semiconductor γ detectors in this energy range.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
NASA NTRS2011

The Detector Subsystem for the SXS Instrument on the Astro-H Observatory

The Soft X-ray Spectrometer (SXS) instrument on the Astro-H observatory is based on a 36 pixel x-ray calorimeter array cooled to 50 mK in a sophisticated spaceflight cryostat. The SXS is a true spatial-spectral instrument, where each spatially discrete pixel functions as a high-resolution spectrometer. Here we discuss the SXS detector subsystem that includes the detector array, the anticoincidence detector, the first stage amplifiers, the thermal and mechanical staging of the detector, and the cryogenic bias electronics. The design of the SXS detector subsystem has significant heritage from the Suzaku/XRS instrument but has some important modifications that increase performance margins and simplify the focal plane assembly. Notable improvements include x-ray absorbers with significantly lower heat capacity, improved load resistors, improved thermometry, and a decreased sensitivity to thermal radiation. These modifications have yielded an energy resolution of 3.5-4.0 eV FWHM at 6 keV for representative devices in the laboratory, giving considerable margin against the 7 eV instrument requirement. We expect similar performance in flight

Porter, Frederick↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Parallel Plate Capacitor Aluminum KIDs for Future Far-Infrared Space-Based Observatories

Future space-based far-infrared astrophysical observatories will require exquisitely sensitive detectors consistent with the low optical backgrounds. The PRobe far-Infrared Mission for Astrophysics (PRIMA) will deploy arrays of thousands of superconducting kinetic inductance detectors (KIDs) sensitive to radiation between 25 and 265 μm. Here, we present laboratory characterization of prototype, 25 – 80 μm wavelength, low-volume, aluminum KIDs designed for the low-background environment expected with PRIMA. A compact parallel plate capacitor is used to minimize the detector footprint and suppress TLS noise. A novel resonant absorber is designed to enhance response in the band of interest. We present noise and optical efficiency measurements of these detectors taken with a low background cryostat and a cryogenic blackbody. A microlens-hybridized KID array is found to be photon noise limited down to about 50 aW with a limiting detector NEP of about 6.5×10 −19 W/Hz 1/2 . A fit to an NEP model shows that our optical system is well characterized and understood down to 50 aW. We discuss future plans for low-volume aluminum KID array development as well as the testbeds used for these measurements.

Far-Infrared↗
NASA NTRS2003

NASA Tech Briefs, March 2003

Topics covered include: Tool for Bending a Metal Tube Precisely in a Confined Space; Multiple-Use Mechanisms for Attachment to Seat Tracks; Force-Measuring Clamps; Cellular Pressure-Actuated Joint; Block QCA Fault-Tolerant Logic Gates; Hybrid VLSI/QCA Architecture for Computing FFTs; Arrays of Carbon Nanotubes as RF Filters in Waveguides; Carbon Nanotubes as Resonators for RF Spectrum Analyzers; Software for Viewing Landsat Mosaic Images; Updated Integrated Mission Program; Software for Sharing and Management of Information; Update on Integrated Optical Design Analyzer; Optical-Quality Thin Polymer Membranes; Rollable Thin Shell Composite-Material Paraboloidal Mirrors; Folded Resonant Horns for Power Ultrasonic Applications; Touchdown Ball-Bearing System for Magnetic Bearings; Flux-Based Deadbeat Control of Induction-Motor Torque; Block Copolymers as Templates for Arrays of Carbon Nanotubes; Throttling Cryogen Boiloff To Control Cryostat Temperature; Collaborative Software Development Approach Used to Deliver the New Shuttle Telemetry Ground Station; Turbulence in Supercritical O2/H2 and C7H16/N2 Mixing Layers; and Time-Resolved Measurements in Optoelectronic Microbioanal.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS2003

NASA Tech Briefs, April 2003

Topics include: Tool for Bending a Metal Tube Precisely in a Confined Space; Multiple-Use Mechanisms for Attachment to Seat Tracks; Force-Measuring Clamps; Cellular Pressure-Actuated Joint; Block QCA Fault-Tolerant Logic Gates; Hybrid VLSI/QCA Architecture for Computing FFTs; Arrays of Carbon Nanotubes as RF Filters in Waveguides; Carbon Nanotubes as Resonators for RF Spectrum Analyzers; Software for Viewing Landsat Mosaic Images; Updated Integrated Mission Program; Software for Sharing and Management of Information; Optical-Quality Thin Polymer Membranes; Rollable Thin Shell Composite-Material Paraboloidal Mirrors; Folded Resonant Horns for Power Ultrasonic Applications; Touchdown Ball-Bearing System for Magnetic Bearings; Flux-Based Deadbeat Control of Induction-Motor Torque; Block Copolymers as Templates for Arrays of Carbon Nanotubes; Throttling Cryogen Boiloff To Control Cryostat Temperature; Collaborative Software Development Approach Used to Deliver the New Shuttle Telemetry Ground Station; Turbulence in Supercritical O2/H2 and C7H16/N2 Mixing Layers; and Time-Resolved Measurements in Optoelectronic Microbioanal.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1993

CLAES cryostat on-orbit performance versus ground test predictions

The paper describes the Cryogenic Limb Array Etalon Spectrometer (CLAES) launched on September 12, 1991 aboard the NASA Goddard's Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite the purpose of which is to measure the global concentrations of stratospheric species and their temperature, as a function of altitude. Particular attention is given to the design-level thermal predictions and their correlation to the results of ground tests, and to the on-orbit performance of CLAES. Also presented are data on the cryostat's thermal performance during ground operations, at spacecraft integration and during launch preparations. The CLAES functional block diagram and the cryostat schematic diagram are included.

Bell, Greg A.↗
NASA NTRS2004

Improved Cryostat for Cooling a Wide Panel

An improved cryostat has been developed for cooling a wide panel evenly over its surface to a temperature of -423 F (approximately equal to -253 C) by use of liquid helium. Originally, the cryostat was to be used in measuring apparent strains in wide aluminum/lithium panels as functions of temperature in order to develop data for temperature compensation of the readings of strain gauges on a tank containing liquid hydrogen. Relative to the cryostat used previously for this purpose, the improved cryostat can be prepared for a test in less time, and it loses less helium during each test. Each wide panel to be tested is instrumented with thermocouples in preparation for a test. The previous cryostat was made of two aluminum halves that, for each test, were sandwiched together and sealed around the instrumented wide panel to be tested. The panel was thus enclosed in a plenum. The cryostat and adjacent panel areas protruding from the cryostat were then coated with a thermally insulating foam. During a test, liquid helium was made to flow into the plenum through a port on the bottom. The helium vaporized and expanded, filling the plenum with cold helium gas, which eventually flowed out of the plenum through a port on the top. The nature of the flow was such that a significant portion of the helium did not come into contact with the wide panel; hence, cooling was less efficient than it might otherwise have been. After completion of each test, the foam and the cryostat were separated from the panel. The cryostat was cleaned and prepared for installation on another instrumented wide panel for the next test. It took 28 hours to install the cryostat onto the instrumented panel, apply the foam, and perform ancillary operations in preparation for a test. The volume of liquid helium consumed during each test was 750 liters. The improved cryostat (see figure) includes an upper section and a lower section, both of which include permanent housings made of a thermally insulating foam 2-in. (approximately equal to 5-cm) thick. A liquid-helium- injection manifold is attached to the inside of the top section. The bottom section includes an outlet for helium gas. The manifold contains slots that, when the cryostat is installed on the panel, are located approximately 1 in. (approximately equal to 2.5 cm) from the wide panel. The array of slots spans a substantial portion of the area of the panel. The top and bottom sections of the cryostat are sealed to the panel by use of polytetrafluoroethylene cord and aluminum tape. Liquid helium is fed into the manifold from the top. The helium leaves the manifold through the slots and thus impinges directly on the panel. Hence, all the helium entering the cryostat must come into contact with the panel before leaving the cryostat. After a test, the cryostat is removed from the panel and reinstalled onto another panel for the next test. Installation of the cryostat on an instrumented panel takes a negligible amount of time, in comparison with the 28 hours associated with the previous cryostat. The amount of liquid helium consumed during a test in the improved cryostat is 500 liters - 250 liters less than before.

Clifton, W. B.↗
NASA NTRS2007

Atmospheric Pressure Effects on Cryogenic Storage Tank Boil-Off

The Cryogenics Test Laboratory (CTL) at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) routinely utilizes cryostat test hardware to evaluate comparative and absolute thermal conductivities of a wide array of insulation systems. The test method is based on measurement of the flow rate of gas evolved due to evaporative boil-off of a cryogenic liquid. The gas flow rate typically stabilizes after a period of a couple of hours to a couple of days, depending upon the test setup. The stable flow rate value is then used to calculate the thermal conductivity for the insulation system being tested. The latest set of identical cryostats, 1,000-L spherical tanks, exhibited different behavior. On a macro level, the flow rate did stabilize after a couple of days; however the stable flow rate was oscillatory with peak to peak amplitude of up to 25 percent of the nominal value. The period of the oscillation was consistently 12 hours. The source of the oscillation has been traced to variations in atmospheric pressure due to atmospheric tides similar to oceanic tides. This paper will present analysis of this phenomenon, including a calculation that explains why other cryostats are not affected by it.

Sass, J. P.↗