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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

Four Channel Time Multiplexed Photonic Doppler Velocimetry using an Optical Switch

Photonic Doppler Velocimetry (PDV) is a diagnostic commonly used in shock physics and dynamic compression experiments to reliably get velocity information from experiments. In PDV systems, a common method of reducing experimental cost is to use time and frequency multiplexing to increase the number of PDV probes. With time multiplexing, interference between probes is a frequent problem. In this report, we look at using a high-speed optical switch to reduce this interference, including measuring the amount of interference generated to determine if it has the potential to affect experiments and integrating a time multiplexing system into an experiment. We find that, when applied to PDV systems, there is approximately (-23.4 ± 0.9) dB of interference measured in the short time Fourier transform between switch inputs. When an optical switch based time multiplexing system was integrated into a dynamic compression experiment, the system was able to successfully combine the signals from four different PDV probes onto a single optical cable without unacceptable levels of interference in the spectrogram. An optical switch based time multiplexing system appears to be a promising method for reducing the cost of fielding larger numbers of PDV probes in an experiment.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

Frequency and time multiplexing for multiphoton state generation

One of the primary challenges with photonic quantum information processing is that single-photon states are created and heralded probabilistically, rather than being created on demand. One solution to this problem is multiplexing , which is attempting probabilistic generation of a single photon at multiple locations, times, or frequencies, and switching one successfully generated photon into an output mode. Motivated by the development of frequency-based photonic quantum information processing, we consider multiplexing using frequency and time as our options to use to get many photon generation opportunities. We devise an approach for generating multiphoton states, with photons populating multiple frequency modes in the same spatiotemporal mode. This method uses a variable-length optical delays to manipulate the temporal mode of the photons, and spaced fiber Bragg grating (FBG) reflectors to jointly manipulate the frequency and temporal modes of the photons. Experimental progress toward implementing this multiplexing scheme is proceeding along 2 fronts, each with different ways to achieve the variable-length optical delay. First, we will implement this scheme using a free-space optical quantum memory with multiple discretely adjustable free-space delays. For this implementation method, I calculate multiphoton generation rates, accounting for loss, that are realistically achievable with commercially available hardware. This work will appear in a theory paper, currently in preparation. Second, we will implement this multiplexing scheme in an integrated manner: the variable-length optical delay will happen on-chip using a long-lifetime Q-switchable Fabry-Perot cavity. The joint manipulation of the frequency and temporal modes of the photons will still happen off-chip in fiber with FBG reflectors. I report on experimental progress in constructing integrated Q-switchable Fabry-Perot cavities.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Optically multiplexed neutron time-of-flight technique for inertial confinement fusion

Neutron time-of-flight (nTOF) detectors are crucial in diagnosing the performance of inertial confinement fusion (ICF) experiments, which implode targets of deuterium–tritium fuel to achieve thermonuclear conditions. These detectors utilize the fusion neutron energy spectrum to extract key measurements, including the hotspot ion temperature and fuel areal density. Previous work [Danly et al., Rev. Sci. Instrum. 94, 043502 (2023)] has demonstrated adding 1D spatial resolution to an nTOF-like detector using a neutron aperture and streak camera to measure the ion temperature profile of an ICF implosion. By contrast, the study presented herein explores modifying the 1D detector to use a fast photomultiplier tube (PMT) to validate the design of a 2D spatially resolved instrument based on reconstruction from 1D profiles. The modification would collect time-of-flight traces from separate scintillators in an imaging array with one PMT using optical fibers of varying lengths to time-multiplex the signals. This technique has been demonstrated in ride-along experiments on the OMEGA laser with 20 fiber-coupled scintillator channels connected to a Photek PMT210. Results provide constraints on the fiber lengths and PMT gating requirements to promote pulse fidelity throughout all channels. Calibration of the detector to fixed nTOFs can provide a preliminary estimate of the instrument response function (IRF), although measurement of the IRF is currently under way. These results suggest that nTOF signals can potentially be time-multiplexed with fibers so long as the design is strategic to mitigate signal-to-noise reduction, modal dispersion, and charge build-up in the PMT, which has implications beyond ion temperature imaging.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Results and Limits of Time-Division Multiplexing for the BICEP Array High-Frequency Receivers

Time-division multiplexing is the readout architecture of choice for many ground and space experiments, as it is a very mature technology with proven outstanding low-frequency noise stability, which represents a central challenge in multiplexing. Once fully populated, each of the two BICEP Array high-frequency receivers, observing at 150 GHz and 220/270 GHz, will have 7776 TES detectors tiled on the focal plane. The constraints set by these two receivers required a redesign of the warm readout electronics. The new version of the standard multichannel electronics, developed and built at the University of British Columbia, is presented here for the first time. BICEP Array operates time-division multiplexing readout technology to the limits of its capabilities in terms of multiplexing rate, noise and cross talk, and applies them in rigorously demanding scientific application requiring extreme noise performance and systematic error control. Finally, future experiments like CMB-S4 plan to use TES bolometers with time-division/SQUID-based readout for an even larger number of detectors.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

Adaptive Time-Division Multiplexing Driving System for Solid State Lighting with Multiple Tunable Channels

Next generation solid state lighting enables unlimited control of light and serve much broader functions beyond the basic lighting for illuminance. The emerging lighting for productivity, well-being, healthcare, and growth have revolutionized the scope of lighting. To empower this unlimited controllability, a multi-channel tunable power-electronics driver is essential but has not been satisfactorily addressed so far. Existing solutions are lossy, large, and expensive, due to introduction of additional buck power conversion stages. This paper proposes a time-division multiplexing (TDM) LED driving system which eliminates those buck stages. The proposed design can directly pair with off-the-shelf pulse width modulated (PWM) controllers and since it inherits entire feature sets, it can achieve low loss at standby and at dimmed condition. The simple analog implementation avoids usage of expensive DSPs/MCU. GaN’s high switching frequency capability can push up the multiplexing frequency so a GaN-based flyback was built and proved the concept.

Xue, Lincoln↗

A Multiplexed Hybrid Velocimeter

Optical velocimetry systems play a crucial role in studying the dynamic behavior of materials under extreme conditions. Two prominent systems used at the Nevada National Security Site are the velocity interferometer system for any reflector(VISAR) and the photon Doppler velocimeter (PDV) system. Their ability to accurately measure surface motion ranging from 0 to > 20km=s without interacting with material flow enables experimenters to construct thermodynamic equations of state for materials of interest. A number of modifications to VISAR and PDV have taken place over the past five decades, leading to improved performance, increased recording capacity, and a reduction in operational burden. Prior efforts to develop a hybrid velocimeter combining the advantages of both PDV and VISAR into a single diagnostic did not take into account progress in PDV technology or new optical components that had not been developed. This thesis describes the design and implementation of a multiplexed hybrid velocimeter (MHV) based on time-multiplexing techniques, an optical hybrid, and polarization-maintaining fiber and components. Data from experiments, compared with current velocity systems, serve to demonstrate the hybrid's performance.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Multiplexed Readout for an Experiment with a Large Number of Channels Using Single-Electron Sensitivity Skipper-CCDs

This paper presents the implementation of a multiplexed analog readout electronics system that can achieve single-electron counting using Skipper-CCDs with non-destructive readout. The proposed system allows the best performance of the sensors to be maintained, with sub-electron noise-level operation, while maintaining low-bandwidth data transfer, a minimum number of analog-to-digital converters (ADC) and low disk storage requirement with zero added multiplexing time, even for the simultaneous operation of thousands of channels. These features are possible with a combination of analog charge pile-up, sample and hold circuits and analog multiplexing. The implementation also aims to use the minimum number of components in circuits to keep compatibility with high-channel-density experiments using Skipper-CCDs for low-threshold particle detection applications. Performance details and experimental results using a sensor with 16 output stages are presented along with a review of the circuit design considerations.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Scalable Skipper-CCD Analog Readout Electronics (SSCARE) for the Massive Multichannel OSCURA Experiment

We present a multiplexed analog readout electronics system for Skipper-CCDs based on the MIDNA ASIC. It allows for subelectron noise-level operation while maintaining a minimal number of acquisition channels. In addition, it requires low-disk storage and low-bandwidth data transfer with zero added multiplexing time during the simultaneous operation of thousands of channels. We describe the implementation of such a system in a new instrument composed by 16 sensors operated with a two-stage analog multiplexed readout scheme. The instrument is a part of the R&D effort of the OSCURA experiment.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Fourth Generation MPDV and MBR at DARHT

A new experimental setup for diagnosing hydrotest performance was designed, built, and implemented at DARHT. The setup consists of 128 points of fourth generation (Gen4) multiplexed photonic Doppler velocimetry (MPDV) and 128 separate points of modulation based ranging (MBR) to serve as a direct complement to the MPDV. The diagnostics were designed to overcome limitations in the third generation of the MPDV diagnostic that limited laser launch power to ~10 mW per point. As the main failure mechanism identified in the third generation MPDV system arose from stimulated Brillouin scattering, a nonlinear optical phenomenon inherent in standard single mode fiber, the fourth generation MPDV system reduced the number of time-multiplexed channels by a factor of two. This has allowed laser launch power to be increased to as much as 200 mW per channel which is a 20 times increase in the signal to noise ratio (SNR) as compared with the third generation system. This document will first discuss the previous limitations and describe the design of the system. This will be followed by the results of a simple flyer plate experiment used to demonstrate the improved SNR as well as calibrate the phase errors in the system that MBR is sensitive to.

42 ENGINEERING↗

A compact cold-atom interferometer with a high data-rate grating magneto-optical trap and a photonic-integrated-circuit-compatible laser system

Abstract The extreme miniaturization of a cold-atom interferometer accelerometer requires the development of novel technologies and architectures for the interferometer subsystems. Here, we describe several component technologies and a laser system architecture to enable a path to such miniaturization. We developed a custom, compact titanium vacuum package containing a microfabricated grating chip for a tetrahedral grating magneto-optical trap (GMOT) using a single cooling beam. In addition, we designed a multi-channel photonic-integrated-circuit-compatible laser system implemented with a single seed laser and single sideband modulators in a time-multiplexed manner, reducing the number of optical channels connected to the sensor head. In a compact sensor head containing the vacuum package, sub-Doppler cooling in the GMOT produces 15 μK temperatures, and the GMOT can operate at a 20 Hz data rate. We validated the atomic coherence with Ramsey interferometry using microwave spectroscopy, then demonstrated a light-pulse atom interferometer in a gravimeter configuration for a 10 Hz measurement data rate and T = 0–4.5 ms interrogation time, resulting in Δ g / g = 2.0 × 10 −6 . This work represents a significant step towards deployable cold-atom inertial sensors under large amplitude motional dynamics.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗

Turbo‐charging crop improvement: harnessing multiplex editing for polygenic trait engineering and beyond

Multiplex CRISPR editing has emerged as a transformative platform for plant genome engineering, enabling the simultaneous targeting of multiple genes, regulatory elements, or chromosomal regions. This approach is effective for dissecting gene family functions, addressing genetic redundancy, engineering polygenic traits, and accelerating trait stacking and de novo domestication. Its applications now extend beyond standard gene knockouts to include epigenetic and transcriptional regulation, chromosomal engineering, and transgene‐free editing. These capabilities are advancing crop improvement not only in annual species but also in more complex systems such as polyploids, undomesticated wild relatives, and species with long generation times. At the same time, multiplex editing presents technical challenges, including complex construct design and the need for robust, scalable mutation detection. We discuss current toolkits and recent innovations in vector architecture, such as promoter and scaffold engineering, that streamline workflows and enhance editing efficiency. High‐throughput sequencing technologies, including long‐read platforms, are improving the resolution of complex editing outcomes such as structural rearrangements—often missed by standard genotyping—when targeting repetitive or tandemly spaced loci. To fully realize the potential of multiplex genome engineering, there is growing demand for user‐friendly, synthetic biology‐compatible, and scalable computational workflows for gRNA design, construct assembly, and mutation analysis. Experimentally validated inducible or tissue‐specific promoters are also highly desirable for achieving spatiotemporal control. As these tools continue to evolve, multiplex CRISPR editing is poised to become a foundational technology of next‐generation crop improvement to address challenges in agriculture, sustainability, and climate resilience.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

Overview of the Langmuir probe system on the Mega Ampere Spherical Tokamak (MAST) Upgrade

A detailed description of the Langmuir probe system on Mega Ampere Spherical Tokamak Upgrade is presented. The system features 850 tile-embedded probes and 40 bespoke electronic modules that each have the capability to drive and acquire data from up to 16 probes in a time-multiplexed manner. The system provides spatiotemporal-resolved measurements (1 cm and ~1 ms, respectively) in the divertor region of ion saturation current, electron temperature, and floating potential. The standard interpretation of current-voltage (IV) characteristics is to apply a four-parameter fit, based on unmagnetized probe theory, which includes a linear model for the ion saturation region. In conclusion, to mitigate the effect of the magnetic field, analysis is restricted to the region of the IV characteristic, which is sensitive to only the tail of the electron energy distribution function.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Field test of continuous-variable quantum key distribution with a true local oscillator

A continuous-variable quantum key distribution (CV QKD) using a true local (located at the receiver) oscillator (LO) has been proposed to remove any possibility of side-channel attacks associated with transmission of the LO as well as reduce the cross-pulse contamination. Here we report an implementation of true LO-CV QKD using “off-the-shelf” components and conduct QKD experiments using the fiber optical network at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. A phase reference and quantum signal are time multiplexed and then wavelength division multiplexed with the classical communications that “coexist” with each other on a single optical network fiber. Importantly, this is the first demonstration of CV QKD with a receiver-based true LO over a deployed fiber network, a crucial step for its application in real-world situations.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Active SOC Balancing for a Multi-Chemistry Battery Pack with Reduced Number of Converters

In energy storage systems using second-life or multi-chemistry cells, an active state of charge (SOC) balancing system can prolong pack life and enhance performance by utilizing the healthier cells more than those which are heavily degraded. However, the high cost of the active balancing system, particularly in converter-based solutions, prevents their widespread usage. Considering this, existing research has proposed numerous balancing systems utilizing only one converter. However, such systems may compromise the balancing speed too much. Therefore, this work proposes two active balancing systems with a reduced number of converters for 14-16 series-connected cells. One system uses two converters for direct cell-to-cell balancing. The other uses a time-multiplexed approach to exchange energy via an auxiliary low-voltage (LV) bus using four converters. The proposed balancing systems are compared to two baseline systems, a single converter cell-to-cell balancing system, and a 14 converter balancing system with an auxiliary LV bus.

battery pack↗

Active SOC Balancing for a Multi-Chemistry Battery Pack with Reduced Number of Converters: Preprint

In energy storage systems using second-life or multi-chemistry cells, an active state of charge (SOC) balancing system can prolong pack life and enhance performance by utilizing the healthier cells more than those which are heavily degraded. However, the high cost of the active balancing system, particularly in converter-based solutions, prevents their widespread usage. Considering this, existing research has proposed numerous balancing systems utilizing only one converter. However, such systems may compromise the balancing speed too much. Therefore, this work proposes two active balancing systems with a reduced number of converters for 14-16 series-connected cells. One system uses two converters for direct cell-to-cell balancing. The other uses a time-multiplexed approach to exchange energy via an auxiliary low-voltage (LV) bus using four converters. The proposed balancing systems are compared to two baseline systems, a single converter cell-to-cell balancing system, and a 14 converter balancing system with an auxiliary LV bus.

battery pack↗

Zero-added-loss entanglement multiplexing using time-bin spectral shearing

High-quality quantum communications that enable important capabilities, such as distributed quantum computing and sensing, will require quantum repeaters for providing high-quality entanglement. To realize high-rate heralded entanglement for quantum repeaters, Chen et al . [Phys. Rev. Appl. 19 , 054029 (2023)] proposed a scheme for heralded-multiplexed generation of quasideterministic entangled photon pairs, called zero-added-loss multiplexing (ZALM). Here, we propose a design of the ZALM source using time-bin entanglement and spectral shearing. Additionally, we provide an analysis of experimentally relevant spectral-shearing parameters to optimize the spectral multiplexing. Moreover, we experimentally verify the compatibility of time-bin pulses and spectral shearing, as supported by observation of no appreciable phase shift when the same shearing is applied to both time bins. These results expand the benefits of applying a ZALM source to time-bin entanglement use cases. Moreover, more fully demonstrating time-bin and spectral shearing compatibility clears a path toward a broader use of spectral shearing that provides a deterministic frequency shift of high utility.

entanglement production↗