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NASA NTRS2000

Research Activities at Plasma Research Laboratory at NASA Ames Research Center

In order to meet NASA's requirements for the rapid development and validation of future generation electronic devices as well as associated materials and processes, enabling technologies are being developed at NASA-Ames Research Center using a multi-discipline approach. The first step is to understand the basic physics of the chemical reactions in the area of plasma reactors and processes. Low pressure glow discharges are indispensable in the fabrication of microelectronic circuits. These plasmas are used to deposit materials and also etch fine features in device fabrication. However, many plasma-based processes suffer from stability and reliability problems leading to a compromise in performance and a potentially increased cost for the semiconductor manufacturing industry. Although a great deal of laboratory-scale research has been performed on many of these processing plasmas, little is known about the gas-phase and surface chemical reactions that are critical in many etch and deposition processes, and how these reactions are influenced by the variation in operating conditions. Such a lack of understanding has hindered the development of process models that can aid in the scaling and improvement of plasma etch and deposition systems. Our present research involves the study of such plasmas. An inductively-coupled plasma (ICP) source in place of the standard upper electrode assembly of the Gaseous Electronics Conference (GEC) radio-frequency (RF) Reference Cell is used to investigate the discharge characteristics. This ICP source generates plasmas with higher electron densities and lower operating pressures than obtainable with the original parallel-plate version of the GEC Cell. This expanded operating regime is more relevant to new generations of industrial plasma systems being used by the microelectronics industry. The research goal is to develop an understanding of the physical phenomena involved in plasma processing and to measure much needed fundamental parameters, such as gas phase and surface reaction rates, species concentration, temperature, ion energy distribution, and electron number density.

Sharma, S. P.↗

NASA NTRS1999

Diagnostic for Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition and Etch Systems

In order to meet NASA's requirements for the rapid development and validation of future generation electronic devices as well as associated materials and processes, enabling technologies ion the processing of semiconductor materials arising from understanding etch chemistries are being developed through a research collaboration between Stanford University and NASA-Ames Research Center, Although a great deal of laboratory-scale research has been performed on many of materials processing plasmas, little is known about the gas-phase and surface chemical reactions that are critical in many etch and deposition processes, and how these reactions are influenced by the variation in operating conditions. In addition, many plasma-based processes suffer from stability and reliability problems leading to a compromise in performance and a potentially increased cost for the semiconductor manufacturing industry. Such a lack of understanding has hindered the development of process models that can aid in the scaling and improvement of plasma etch and deposition systems. The research described involves the study of plasmas used in semiconductor processes. An inductively coupled plasma (ICP) source in place of the standard upper electrode assembly of the Gaseous Electronics Conference (GEC) radio-frequency (RF) Reference Cell is used to investigate the discharge characteristics and chemistries. This ICP source generates plasmas with higher electron densities (approximately 10(exp 12)/cu cm) and lower operating pressures (approximately 7 mTorr) than obtainable with the original parallel-plate version of the GEC Cell. This expanded operating regime is more relevant to new generations of industrial plasma systems being used by the microelectronics industry. The motivation for this study is to develop an understanding of the physical phenomena involved in plasma processing and to measure much needed fundamental parameters, such as gas-phase and surface reaction rates. species concentration, temperature, ion energy distribution, and electron number density. A wide variety of diagnostic techniques are under development through this consortium grant to measure these parameters. including molecular beam mass spectrometry (MBMS). Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, broadband ultraviolet (UV) absorption spectroscopy, a compensated Langmuir probe. Additional diagnostics. Such as microwave interferometry and microwave absorption for measurements of plasma density and radical concentrations are also planned.

Cappelli, Mark A.↗

NASA NTRS1988

Radiometric calibrations of portable sources in the vacuum ultraviolet

The primary UV radiometric calibration standards of the Atomic and Plasma Radiation Division of the NBS are the hydrogen arc and the blackbody line arc. The secondary standards are the argon mini- and maxiarcs, and the deuterium arc lamp. Calibration methods involving both spectral radiance and irradiance, as well as the evaluation of their uncertainties, are discussed. Attention is given to the establishment of an irradiance scale, and the absolute spectral irradiance, measured as a function of wavelength, at a 50-cm distance from the field aperture for five different continuum sources.

Klose, Jules Z.↗

NASA NTRS1990

X-ray spectral signatures of photoionized plasmas

Plasma emission codes have become a standard tool for the analysis of spectroscopic data from cosmic X-ray sources. However, the assumption of collisional equilibrium, typically invoked in these codes, renders them inapplicable to many important astrophysical situations, particularly those involving X-ray photoionized nebulae. This point is illustrated by comparing model spectra which have been calculated under conditions appropriate to both coronal plasmas and X-ray photoionized plasmas. It is shown that the (3s-2p)/(3d-2p) line ratios in the Fe L-shell spectrum can be used to effectively discriminate between these two cases. This diagnostic will be especially useful for data analysis associated with AXAF and XMM, which will carry spectroscopic instrumentation with sufficient sensitivity and resolution to identify X-ray photoionized nebulae in a wide range of astrophysical environments.

Liedahl, Duane A.↗

NASA NTRS1977

Interplanetary medium data book, appendix

Computer generated listings of hourly average interplanetary plasma and magnetic field parameters are given. Parameters include proton temperature, proton density, bulk speed, an identifier of the source of the plasma data for the hour, average magnetic field magnitude and cartesian components of the magnetic field. Also included are longitude and latitude angles of the vector made up of the average field components, a vector standard deviation, and an identifier of the source of magnetic field data.

King, J. H.↗

NASA NTRS1979

Investigation of Proposed Process Sequence for the Array Automated Assembly Task, Phase 2

The technological readiness of the proposed process sequence was reviewed. Process steps evaluated include: (1) plasma etching to establish a standard surface; (2) forming junctions by diffusion from an N-type polymeric spray-on source; (3) forming a p+ back contact by firing a screen printed aluminum paste; (4) forming screen printed front contacts after cleaning the back aluminum and removing the diffusion oxide; (5) cleaning the junction by a laser scribe operation; (6) forming an antireflection coating by baking a polymeric spray-on film; (7) ultrasonically tin padding the cells; and (8) assembling cell strings into solar circuits using ethylene vinyl acetate as an encapsulant and laminating medium.

Mardesich, N.↗

NASA NTRS1994

Neutral cloud theory of the Jovian nebula: Anomalous ionization effect of superthermal electrons

The standard model of the Jovian nebula postulates that its particle source is the extended cloud of neutral sulfur and oxygen atoms that escape from the satellite Io and become ionized through electron impact from the corotating plasma. Its energy source is the gyroenergy acquired by newly formed pickup ions as they are swept up to corotation velocity by the planetary magnetic field. Elastic collisions between plasma ions and electrons cool the ions and heat the electrons, while inelastic collisions cool the electrons and excite the ions to radiate intense line emission, which is the primary energy-loss mechanism for the plasma. This neutral cloud theory of the Io plasma torus, as it has come to be known, has been the subject of recent critcism which asserts that the theory cannot account for the observed charge state of the plasma which features O(+) and S(2+) as the dominant ions. It is shown in this work that the inclusion of a small population of super-thermal electrons is required to achieve the correct ion partitioning among various charge states. It is also argued that the anomalous ionization effect of the superthermal electrons is responsible for the overall spatial bifurcation of the nebula into a hot multiply charged plasma region outside of 5.7 Jovian radii and a cool singly ionized plasma inside this distance.

Barbosa, D. D.↗

NASA NTRS1995

Can we understand the turbulent solar wind via turbulent simulations?

We attempt to assess the present understanding of the turbulent solar wind using numerical simulations. The solar wind may be considered as a kind of wind tunnel with peculiar properties: the tunnel is spherical; the source of the wind is rotating; and the medium is a plasma containing a large-scale magnetic field. These constraints lead to anisotropic dynamics of the fluctuations on the one hand, and to non-standard (turbulent?) transport properties of the global plasma on the other hand. How much of this rich physics can we approach today via numerical simulations?

Grappin, R.↗

NASA NTRS1996

Investigation of ion-beam machining methods for replicated x-ray optics

The final figuring step in the fabrication of an optical component involves imparting a specified contour onto the surface. This can be expensive and time consuming step. The recent development of ion beam figuring provides a method for performing the figuring process with advantages over standard mechanical methods. Ion figuring has proven effective in figuring large optical components. The process of ion beam figuring removes material by transferring kinetic energy from impinging neutral particles. The process utilizes a Kaufman type ion source, where a plasma is generated in a discharge chamber by controlled electric potentials. Charged grids extract and accelerate ions from the chamber. The accelerated ions form a directional beam. A neutralizer outside the accelerator grids supplies electrons to the positive ion beam. It is necessary to neutralize the beam to prevent charging workpieces and to avoid bending the beam with extraneous electro-magnetic fields. When the directed beam strikes the workpiece, material sputters in a predicable manner. The amount and distribution of material sputtered is a function of the energy of the beam, material of the component, distance from the workpiece, and angle of incidence of the beam. The figuring method described here assumes a constant beam removal, so that the process can be represented by a convolution operation. A fixed beam energy maintains a constant sputtering rate. This temporally and spatially stable beam is held perpendicular to the workpiece at a fixed distance. For non-constant removal, corrections would be required to model the process as a convolution operation. Specific figures (contours) are achieved by rastering the beam over the workpiece at varying velocities. A unique deconvolution is performed, using series-derivative solution developed for the system, to determine these velocities.

Drueding, Thomas W.↗

NASA NTRS1981

Radiometry using synchrotron radiation

It is possible to use synchrotron radiation from electron synchrotrons and electron storage rings as an absolute source, especially in the VUV and soft X-ray regions where other standards are difficult to find. At the NBS, an electron storage ring (SURF-II) has been used to calibrate spectrometers and photometers utilized in solar and aeronomy research and in fusion plasma diagnostics. The radiation incident on these spectrometers can be calculated to uncertainties of 3%, and a technique to exactly determine the number of electrons orbiting in the ring is currently being developed to reduce this uncertainty. Detector calibrations between 5 and 55 nm are routinely performed at SURF-II and transfer standard detectors with 6-10% uncertainties over the range 5-254 nm are supplied.

Saloman, E. B.↗

NASA NTRS1998

A Study of Ion Velocities Observed by TIDE and How It Relates to Magnetospheric Circulation

The high-latitude ion velocities measured by the Thermal Ion Dynamics Experiment (TIDE) instrument on the Polar spacecraft will be examined in relation to magnetospheric circulation. TIDE derives ion velocities from moments of measured distribution functions. Hydrogen and oxygen ions are E X B drifting in the polar cap and cleft regions with a speed of about 5-20 km/s at apogee (approximately 9 Re) and a speed of 1-2 km/s at perigee (approximately 1.8 Re). At perigee 0+ is typically seen flowing down in the polar cap and outflowing from the cleft. At the transition from downflowing to upflowing there is also seen a reversal in the ion convection. The convection at perigee is consistent with standard ionospheric convection models for given Interplanetary Magnetic Field (IMF) conditions. Convection at high altitude (approximately 8.9 Re) polar regions has not been studied very much since there have not been many satellites in this region. Unlike previous missions to this region TIDE in conjunction the Plasma Source Instrument (PSI) can measure ions with as low an energy as several electron Volts. The outflowing ions observed by TIDE at apogee are believed to be important to the overall circulation of the magnetosphere. The convection of these outflowing ions at apogee will be related to the IMF. This study tries to answer the question of how the IMF response of the convection influences the overall circulation of the magnetosphere.

Elliott, H. A.↗

NASA NTRS1987

Radio studies of large scale structures of the Sun's corona and transient activity

The use of meter-decimeter wavelength imaging observations for four different kinds of studies of solar coronal activity is discussed. (1) Large scale structure of the upper corona; daily imaging observations permit comparison of radio images with white light images from space and ground observation, generation of synoptic charts similar to white light coronagraph synoptic charts, and comparison of radio brightness enhancements and deficiencies with bright coronal streamers and coronal holes. (2) Relative positions of type III burst sources and coronal streamers as observed by Solwind experiment on the P-78-1 satellite and by the HAO C/P experiment aboard the SMM; infer the paths of type III emitting electrons in dense coronal streamers, and from multifrequency observations derive electron density distributions above active regions near the limb. (3) Non-flare associated type II/type IV bursts associated with coronal streamer disruption events; such type IV sources have a rather slow velocity (approx = to or less than 100 km/s) CMEs. (4) Meter-decimeter microbursts; these are short duration (2-10 sec) weak-type III-like bursts, produced at the fundamental plasma frequency by plasma radiation processes which have important differences from the standard mechanisms used to explain the strong type III bursts.

Kundu, Mukul R.↗

NASA NTRS2000

Atomic Data in X-Ray Astrophysics

With the launches of the Chandra X-ray Observatory (CXO) and the X-ray Multimirror Mission (XMM) and the upcoming launch of the Japanese mission ASTRO-E, high resolution X-ray spectroscopy of cosmic sources has begun. Early, deep observations of three stellar coronal sources will provide not only invaluable calibration data, but will also give us benchmarks for the atomic data under collisional equilibrium conditions. Analysis of the Chandra X-ray Observatory data, and data from other telescopes taken simultaneously, for these stars is ongoing as part of the Emission Line Project. Goals of the Emission Line Project are: (1) to determine and verify accurate and robust diagnostics and (2) to identify and prioritize issues in fundamental spectroscopy which will require further theoretical and/or laboratory work. The Astrophysical Plasma Emission Database will be described in some detail, as it is introducing standardization and flexibility into X-ray spectral modeling. Spectral models of X-ray astrophysical plasmas can be generally classified as dominated by either collisional ionization or by X-ray photoionization. While the atomic data needs for spectral models under these two types of ionization are significantly different, there axe overlapping data needs, as I will describe. Early results from the Emission Line Project benchmarks are providing an invaluable starting place, but continuing work to improve the accuracy and completeness of atomic data is needed. Additionally, we consider the possibility that some sources will require that both collisional ionization and photoionization be taken into account, or that time-dependent ionization be considered. Thus plasma spectral models of general use need to be computed over a wide range of physical conditions.

Brickhouse, N. S.↗

NASA NTRS1980

Upper limits on X-ray line emission from the Crab Nebula

X-ray emission lines from the Crab Nebula and the surrounding region have been searched with the Focal Plane Crystal Spectrometer (FPCS) on the Einstein Observatory. A 3 x 30 arcmin and a 6 arcmin diameter circular aperture were pointed at several positions centered on, and immediately to the north and south of, the nebula. Stringent upper limits are obtained for emission in lines of N-6 (0.43 keV), O-8 (0.65 keV), Fe-17 (0.83 keV), and others - most of which are prominent in the spectra of other supernova remnants and of the sun. The observed upper limits and standard models for the emission from a thermal plasma lead to upper limits on the quantity of hot plasma within or around the Crab. In particular, previously reported emission from a 7 arcmin diameter region surrounding the Crab is probably due to scattering of X-rays from the central source by interstellar dust in the line of sight and is certainly not due to emission from a thermal plasma.

Schattenburg, M. L.↗

NASA NTRS2015

Performance of a Discrete Wavelet Transform for Compressing Plasma Count Data and its Application to the Fast Plasma Investigation on NASA's Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission

Plasma measurements in space are becoming increasingly faster, higher resolution, and distributed over multiple instruments. As raw data generation rates can exceed available data transfer bandwidth, data compression is becoming a critical design component. Data compression has been a staple of imaging instruments for years, but only recently have plasma measurement designers become interested in high performance data compression. Missions will often use a simple lossless compression technique yielding compression ratios of approximately 2:1, however future missions may require compression ratios upwards of 10:1. This study aims to explore how a Discrete Wavelet Transform combined with a Bit Plane Encoder (DWT/BPE), implemented via a CCSDS standard, can be used effectively to compress count information common to plasma measurements to high compression ratios while maintaining little or no compression error. The compression ASIC used for the Fast Plasma Investigation (FPI) on board the Magnetospheric Multiscale mission (MMS) is used for this study. Plasma count data from multiple sources is examined: resampled data from previous missions, randomly generated data from distribution functions, and simulations of expected regimes. These are run through the compression routines with various parameters to yield the greatest possible compression ratio while maintaining little or no error, the latter indicates that fully lossless compression is obtained. Finally, recommendations are made for future missions as to what can be achieved when compressing plasma count data and how best to do so.

Particles↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

BEAST: Expanding Sustainable Data Infrastructure for High-Enthalpy Facilities

Reproducible, data-driven thermal protection system (TPS) research requires that experimental records from high-enthalpy testing be consistently structured, traceable, and accessible across campaigns and institutions. In practice, however, arcjet and plasma facilities data remain largely fragmented: raw diagnostics are stored in ad hoc formats, material sample histories are disconnected from test conditions, and metadata standards are absent, precluding systematic cross-campaign analysis and long-term reuse. BEAST (Backend for Experiment Analysis, Storage, and Traceability) is an open-source, web-based platform that addresses these limitations by providing a unified, queryable infrastructure for high-enthalpy ground-test data [1]. First presented at the 15th Ablation Workshop [2], BEAST has since undergone significant development. The platform ingests and structures multi-channel time-series diagnostics, facility configurations, and material property records within a common provenance model, ensuring end-to-end traceability from raw sensor acquisition to reduced experimental quantities. A versioned material library links specimen identity and processing history to the specific runs in which each sample was tested. An integrated modeling workbench enables training and evaluation of regression models directly on archived experimental data, supporting condition interpolation and the construction of empirical material response databases. Beyond its original deployment at NASA Ames Research Center, BEAST has been designed to be facility-agnostic, with ongoing efforts to extend its adoption to other facilities. Its modular architecture accommodates heterogeneous diagnostic setups and facility types, and its future open-source distribution allows institutions to build on a common data standard rather than maintaining isolated, bespoke solutions. BEAST is further integrated within a broader ecosystem of companion tools: arcjetCV [3] extracts recession rates and shock standoff distances from high-speed video using computer vision, and miniSTARscan [4] provides sub-minute, portable photogrammetric surface reconstruction of test articles before and after exposure. All tools share a common data schema, enabling seamless ingestion of surface geometry, imagery, and time-series data into a single, coherent experimental record.

Database↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

BEAST: Expanding Sustainable Data Infrastructure for High-Enthalpy Facilities

Database↗

NASA NTRS2010

Modeling of Photoionized Plasmas

In this paper I review the motivation and current status of modeling of plasmas exposed to strong radiation fields, as it applies to the study of cosmic X-ray sources. This includes some of the astrophysical issues which can be addressed, the ingredients for the models, the current computational tools, the limitations imposed by currently available atomic data, and the validity of some of the standard assumptions. I will also discuss ideas for the future: challenges associated with future missions, opportunities presented by improved computers, and goals for atomic data collection.

Kallman, Timothy R.↗