Publications

The electrical conductivities of boron carbides, B{sub 12+x}C{sub 3{minus}x} with 0.1 < x < 1.7, between 300 and 1200K suggest the hopping of a nearly temperature-independent density of small (bi)polarons. The activation energies of the nobilities are low, {approx} 0.16 eV, and are nearly independent of the composition. At lower temperatures, conductivities have non-Arrhenius temperature dependencies and strong sensitivity to carbon concentration. Percolative aspects of low-temperature hopping are evident in this sensitivity to composition. Boron carbides' Seebeck coefficients are anomalous in that (1) they are much larger than expected from boron carbides' large carrier densities and (2) they depend only weakly on the carrier density. Carrier-induced softening of local vibrations gives contributions to the Seebeck coefficient that mirror the magnitudes and temperature dependencies found in boron carbides.

A technological break through for supporting rotating shafts is the active magnetic bearing (AMB). Active magnetic bearings offer some important advantages over conventional ball, roller or journal bearings such as reduced frictional drag, no physical contact in the bearing, no need for lubricants, compatibility with high vacuum and ultra-clean environments, and ability to control shaft position within the bearing. The disadvantages of the AMB system are the increased cost and complexity, reduced bearing stiffness and the need for a controller. Still, there are certain applications, such as high speed machining, biomedical devices, and gyroscopes, where the additional cost of an AMB system can be justified. The inherent actuator capabilities of the AMB offer the potential for active balancing of spindles and micro-shaping capabilities for machine tools, The work presented in this paper concentrates on an AMB test program that utilizes the actuator capability to dynamically balance a spindle. In this study, an unbalanced AMB spindle system was enhanced with an LMS (Least Mean Squares) algorithm combined with an existing PID (proportional, integral, differential) control. This enhanced controller significantly improved the concentricity of an intentionally unbalanced shaft. The study included dynamic system analysis, test validation, control design and simulation, as well as experimental implementation using a digital LMS controller.

Mention the words ''stress voiding'', and everyone from technology engineer to manager to customer is likely to cringe. This IC failure mechanism elicits fear because it is insidious, capricious, and difficult to identify and arrest. There are reasons to believe that a damascene-copper future might be void-free. Nevertheless, engineers who continue to produce ICs with Al-alloy interconnects, or who assess the reliability of legacy ICs with long service life, need up-to-date insights and techniques to deal with stress voiding problems. Stress voiding need not be fearful. Not always predictable, neither is it inevitable. On the contrary, stress voids are caused by specific, avoidable processing errors. Analytical work, though often painful, can identify these errors when stress voiding occurs, and vigilance in monitoring the improved process can keep it from recurring. In this article, they show that a methodical, forensics approach to failure analysis can solve suspected cases of stress voiding. This approach uses new techniques, and patiently applies familiar ones, to develop evidence meeting strict standards of proof.

The electrical properties were investigated for ruthenium oxide based devitrifiable resistors embedded within low temperature co-fired ceramics. Special attention was given to the processing conditions and their affects on resistance and temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR). Results indicate that the conductance for these buried resistors is limited by tunneling of charge carriers through the thin glass layer between ruthenium oxide particles. A modified version of the tunneling barrier model is proposed to more accurately account for the microstructure ripening observed during thermal processing. The model parameters determined from curve fitting show that charging energy (i.e., the energy required for a charge carrier to tunnel through the glass barrier) is strongly dependent on particle size and particle-particle separation between ruthenium oxide grains. Initial coarsening of ruthenium oxide grains was found to reduce the charging energy and lower the resistance. However, when extended ripening occurs, the increase in particle-particle separation increases the charging energy, reduces the tunneling probability and gives rise to a higher resistance. The trade-off between these two effects results an optimum microstructure with a minimum resistance and TCR. Furthermore, the TCR of these resistors has been shown to be governed by the magnitude of the charging energy. Model parameters determined by our analysis appear to provide quantitative physical interpretations to the microstructural change in the resistor, which in turn, are controlled by the processing conditions.

A number of fluoro-carbonate solvents were evaluated as electrolytes for Li-ion cells. These solvents are fluorine analogs of the conventional electrolyte solvents such as dimethyl carbonate, ethylene carbonate, diethyl carbonate in Li-ion cells. Conductivity of single and mixed fluoro carbonate electrolytes containing 1 M LiPF{sub 6} was measured at different temperatures. These electrolytes did not freeze at -40 C. We are evaluating currently, the irreversible 1st cycle capacity loss in carbon anode in these electrolytes and the capacity loss will be compared to that in the conventional electrolytes. Voltage stability windows of the electrolytes were measured at room temperature and compared with that of the conventional electrolytes. The fluoro-carbon electrolytes appear to be more stable than the conventional electrolytes near Li voltage. Few preliminary electrochemical data of the fluoro-carbonate solvents in full cells are reported in the literature. For example, some of the fluorocarbonate solvents appear to have a wider voltage window than the conventional electrolyte solvents. For example, methyl 2,2,2 trifluoro ethyl carbonate containing 1 M LiPF{sub 6} electrolyte has a decomposition voltage exceeding 6 V vs. Li compared to <5 V for conventional electrolytes. The solvent also appears to be stable in contact with lithium at room temperature.

The thermal stability of Li-ion cells with intercalating carbon anodes and metal oxide cathodes was measured as a function of state of charge and temperature for two advanced cell chemistries. Cells of the 18650 design with Li{sub x}CoO{sub 2} cathodes (commercial SONY cells) and Li{sub x}Ni{sub 0.8}Co{sub 0.2}O{sub 2} cathodes were measured for thermal reactivity in the open circuit cell condition. Accelerating rate calorimetry (ARC) was used to measure cell thermal runaway as a function of state of charge (SOC). Microcalorimetry was used to measure the time dependence of heat generating side reactions also as a function of SOC. Components of cells were measured using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) to study the thermal reactivity of the individual electrodes to determine the temperature regimes and conditions of the major thermal reactions. Thermal decomposition of the SEI layer at the anodes was identified as the initiating source for thermal runaway. The cells with Li{sub x}CoO{sub 2} cathodes showed greater sensitivity to SOC and higher accelerating heating rates than seen for the cells with Li{sub x}Ni{sub 0.8}Co{sub 0.2}O{sub 2}cathodes. Lower temperature reactions starting as low as 40 C were also observed that were SOC dependent but not accelerating. These reactions were also measured in the microcalorimeter and observed to decay over time with a power-law dependence and are believed to result in irreversible capacity loss in the cells.

Thermal modeling and simulations were used to analyze the thermal profiles of a polysilicon-metal test structure generated by thermally-induced voltage alteration (TIVA), a new laser-based failure analysis technique to localize shorted interconnects. The results show that variations in TIVA thermal profiles are due mainly to preferential laser absorption in various locations in the test structure. Differences in oxide thickness also affect the local heat conduction and temperature distribution. Modeling results also show that local variation in heat conduction is less important than the absorbed laser power in determining the local temperatures since our test structure has feature sizes that are small compared to the length over which heat spreads.

The spatial arrangement of sodium cations for a series of sodium phosphate glasses, xNa{sub 2}O(100-x)P{sub 2}O{sub 5} (x<55), were investigated using {sup 23}Na spin-echo NMR spectroscopy. The spin-echo decay rate is a function of the Na-Na homonuclear dipolar coupling and is related to the spatial proximity of neighboring Na nuclei. The spin-echo decay rate in these sodium phosphate glasses increases non-linearly with higher sodium number density, and thus provides a measure of the Na-Na extended range order. The results of these {sup 23}Na NMR experiments are discussed within the context of several structural models, including a decimated crystal lattice model, cubic dilation lattice model, a hard sphere (HS) random distribution model and a pair-wise cluster hard sphere model. While the experimental {sup 23}Na spin-echo M{sub 2} are described adequately by both the decimated lattice and the random HS model, it is demonstrated that the slight non-linear behavior of M{sub 2} as a function of sodium number density is more correctly described by the random distribution in the HS model. At low sodium number densities the experimental M{sub 2} is inconsistent with models incorporating Na-Na clustering. The ability to distinguish between Na-Na clusters and non-clustered distributions becomes more difficult at higher sodium concentrations.

We report the operation of an electrically injected monolithic coupled resonator vertical cavity laser which consists of an active cavity containing In{sub x}Ga{sub 1{minus}x}As quantum wells optically coupled to a passive GaAs cavity. This device demonstrates novel modulation characteristics arising from dynamic changes in the coupling between the active and passive cavities. A composite mode theory is used to model the output modulation of the coupled resonator vertical cavity laser. It is shown that the laser intensity can be modulated by either forward or reverse biasing the passive cavity. Under forward biasing, the modulation is due to carrier induced changes in the refractive index, while for reverse bias operation the modulation is caused by field dependent cavity enhanced absorption.

We compare 2 angular regimes for the measurement of changes in the real refractive index of bulk fluid analytes. The measurements are based on the use of the Kretschmann-Raether configuration to sense a change in reflectivity with index. Specifically, we numerically simulate the relative sensitivities of the total internal reflection (TIR) and surface-plasmon resonance (SPR) regimes. For a fixed-angle apparatus, the method which gives the greatest change in reflectivity varies with metal film thickness. For films thicker than the skin depth, the SPR regime is the most sensitive to index changes. For thinner films, however, the TIR angle is then dominant, with increases in sensitivity on the order of 75% for 10 nm gold or silver media.

We derive a lumped-element, equivalent-circuit model for the thickness shear mode (TSM) resonator with a viscoelastic film. This modified Butterworth-Van Dyke model includes in the motional branch a series LCR resonator, representing the quartz resonance, and a parallel LCR resonator, representing the film resonance. This model is valid in the vicinity of film resonance, which occurs when the acoustic phase shift across the film is an odd multiple of {pi}/2 radians. This model predicts accurately the frequency changes and damping that arise at resonance and is a reasonable approximation away from resonance. The elements of the model are explicitly related to film properties and can be interpreted in terms of elastic energy storage and viscous power dissipation. The model leads to a simple graphical interpretation of the coupling between the quartz and film resonances and facilitates understanding of the resulting responses. These responses are compared with predictions from the transmission-line and the Sauerbrey models.

We are developing a method of constructing compact, three-dimensional photonics systems consisting of optical elements, e.g., lenses and mirrors, photo-detectors, and light sources, e.g., VCSELS or circular-grating lasers. These optical components, both active and passive, are mounted on a lithographically prepared silicon substrate. We refer to the substrate as a micro-optical table (MOT) in analogy with the macroscopic version routinely used in optics laboratories. The MOT is a zero-alignment, microscopic optical-system concept. The position of each optical element relative to other optical elements on the MOT is determined in the layout of the MOT photomask. Each optical element fits into a slot etched in the silicon MOT. The slots are etched using a high-aspect-ratio silicon etching (HARSE) process. Additional positioning features in each slot's cross-section and complementary features on each optical element permit accurate placement of that element's aperture relative to the MOT substrate. In this paper we present the results of the first fabrication and micro-assembly experiments of a silicon-wafer based MOT. Based on these experiments, estimates of position accuracy are reported. We also report on progress in fabrication of lens elements in a hybrid sol-gel material (HSGM). Diffractive optical elements have been patterned in a 13-micron thick HSGM layer on a 150-micron thick soda-lime glass substrate. The measured ms surface roughness was 20 nm. Finally, we describe modeling of MOT systems using non-sequential ray tracing (NSRT).

The authors describe the design and microfabrication of an extremely compact optical system as a key element in an integrated capillary-channel electrochromatograph with laser induced fluorescence detection. The optical design uses substrate-mode propagation within the fused silica substrate. The optical system includes a vertical cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) array, two high performance microlenses and a commercial photodetector. The microlenses are multilevel diffractive optics patterned by electron beam lithography and etched by reactive ion etching in fused silica. Two generations of optical subsystems are described. The first generation design is integrated directly onto the capillary channel-containing substrate with a 6 mm separation between the VCSEL and photodetector. The second generation design separates the optical system onto its own module and the source to detector length is further compressed to 3.5 mm. The systems are designed for indirect fluorescence detection using infrared dyes. The first generation design has been tested with a 750 nm VCSEL exciting a 10{sup -4} M solution of CY-7 dye. The observed signal-to-noise ratio of better than 100:1 demonstrates that the background signal from scattered pump light is low despite the compact size of the optical system and meets the system sensitivity requirements.

A portable, autonomous, hand-held chemical laboratory ({micro}ChemLab{trademark}) is being developed for trace detection (ppb) of chemical warfare (CW) agents and explosives in real-world environments containing high concentrations of interfering compounds. Microfabrication is utilized to provide miniature, low-power components that are characterized by rapid, sensitive and selective response. Sensitivity and selectivity are enhanced using two parallel analysis channels, each containing the sequential connection of a front-end sample collector/concentrator, a gas chromatographic (GC) separator, and a surface acoustic wave (SAW) detector. Component design and fabrication and system performance are described.

InGaAsN alloys are a promising material for increasing the efficiency of multi-junction solar cells now used for satellite power systems. However, the growth of these dilute N containing alloys has been challenging with further improvements in material quality needed before the solar cell higher efficiencies are realized. Nitrogen/V ratios exceeding 0.981 resulted in lower N incorporation and poor surface morphologies. The growth rate was found to depend on not only the total group III transport for a fixed N/V ratio but also on the N/V ratio. Carbon tetrachloride and dimethylzinc were effective for p-type doping. Disilane was not an effective n-type dopant while SiCl4 did result in n-type material but only a narrow range of electron concentrations (2-5e17cm{sup -3}) were achieved.

High expansion aqueous foam is an aggregation of bubbles that has the appearance of soap suds and is used to isolate individuals both visually and acoustically. It was developed in the 1920's in England to fight coal mine fires and has been widely used since for fire fighting and dust suppression. It was developed at Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) in the 1970's for nuclear safeguards and security applications. In the mid-1990s, the National Institute of Justice (NIJ), the research arm of the Department of Justice, began a project with SNL to determine the applicability of high expansion aqueous foam for correctional applications. NIJ funded the project as part of its search for new and better less-than-lethal weapons for responding to violent and dangerous individuals, where other means of force could lead to serious injuries. The phase one objectives of the project were to select a low-to-no toxicity foam concentrate (foaming agent) with physical characteristics suited for use in a single cell or large prison disturbances, and to determine if the selected foam concentrate could serve as a carrier for Oleoresin Capsicum (OC) irritant. The phase two objectives were to conduct an extensive toxicology review of the selected foam concentrate and OC irritant, and to conduct respiration simulation experiments in the selected high expansion aqueous foam. The phase three objectives were to build a prototype individual cell aqueous foam system and to study the feasibility of aqueous foams for large prison facility disturbances. The phase four and five objectives were to use the prototype system to do large scale foam physical characteristics testing of the selected foam concentrate, and to have the prototype single cell system further evaluated by correctional representatives. Prison rather than street scenarios were evaluated as the first and most likely place for using the aqueous foam since prisons have recurrent incidents where officers and inmates might be seriously injured during violent confrontations. The very low density of the high expansion foam also makes it more suitable for indoor use. This paper summarizes the results of the project.

Previous work showed the possible existence of a total-dose latch effect in fully-depleted SOI transistors that could severely limit the radiation hardness of SOI devices. Other work showed that worst-case bias configuration during irradiation was the transmission gate bias configuration. In this work we further explore the effects of total-dose ionizing irradiation on fully-depleted SOI transistors. Closed-geometry and standard transistors fabricated in two fully-depleted processes were irradiated with 10-keV x rays. Our results show no evidence for a total-dose latch effect as proposed by others. Instead, in absence of parasitic trench sidewall leakage, our data suggests that the increase in radiation-induced leakage current is caused by positive charge trapping in the buried oxide inverting the back-channel interface. At moderate levels of trapped charge, the back-channel interface is slightly inverted causing a small leakage current to flow. This leakage current is amplified to considerably higher levels by impact ionization. Because the back-channel interface is in weak inversion, the top-gate bias can modulate the back-channel interface and turn the leakage current off at large, negative voltage levels. At high levels of trapped charge, the back-channel interface is fully inverted and the gate bias has little effect on leakage current. However, it is likely that this current also is amplified by impact ionization. For these transistors, the worst-case bias configuration was determined to be the ''ON'' bias configuration. These results have important implication on hardness assurance.

The role of the national laboratories, particularly the defense program laboratories, since the end of the cold war, has been a topic of continuing debate. The relationship of national laboratories to industry spurred debate which ranged from designating the labs as instrumental to maintaining U.S. economic competitiveness to concern over the perception of corporate welfare to questions regarding the industrial globalization and the possibility of U.S. taxpayer dollars supporting foreign entities. Less debated, but equally important, has been the national laboratories' potential competition with academia for federal research dollars and discussions detailing the role of each in the national research enterprise.

Starting from the microscopic light-matter interaction in form of the minimal coupling Hamiltonian, the multipole approximation for the optical response of localized electrons in atomic systems is extended to delocalized electrons in solids. A spatial averaging procedure is used to derive the electromagnetic sources for macroscopic Maxwell's equations as well as the corresponding many particle Hamiltonian on a coarse grained length scale. The results are illustrated for semiconductor bulk material up to quadruple moments for the interband transitions, where gauge invariant equations of motion for the optical response are obtained.

Simulation of chemical vapor deposition (CVD) in submicron features typical of semiconductor devices has been facilitated by extending the EVOLVE thin film etch and deposition simulation code to use thermal reaction mechanisms expressed in the Chemkin format. This allows consistent coupling between EVOLVE and reactor simulation codes that use Chemkin. In an application of a reactor-scale simulation code providing surface fluxes to a feature-scale simulation code, a proposed reaction mechanism for TEOS pyrolysis to deposit SiO{sub 2}, which had been applied successfully to reactor-scale simulation, is seen not to predict the low step coverage over trenches observed under short reactor residence time conditions. An apparent discrepancy between the mechanism and profile-evolution observations is a reduced degree of sensitivity of the deposition rate to the presence of reaction products, i.e., the byproduct inhibition effect is underpredicted. The cause of the proposed mechanism's insensitivity to byproduct inhibition is investigated with the combined reactor and topography simulators first by manipulating the surface to volume ratio of a simulated reactor and second by calibrating parameters in the proposed mechanism such as the calculated free energies of surface molecules. The conclusion is that the byproduct inhibition can not be enhanced to fit profile evolution data without comprising agreement with reactor scale data by simply adjusting mechanism parameters. Thus, additional surface reaction channels seem to be required to reproduce simultaneously experimental reactor-scale growth rates and experimental step coverages.

This study is devoted to providing a mechanistic rationale of coarsening induced failure in solder alloys during thermomechanical fatigue. Micromechanical modeling of cyclic deformation of eutectic tin-lead alloy was undertaken using the finite element method. The models consist of regularly arranged tin-rich and lead-rich phases, simulating the lamellar array and colony structure in a typical eutectic system. A fine structure and a coarse structure, bearing the same phase fraction but different in the aspect ratio of each lead-rich layer and in the number of lead-rich layers in each colony, are utilized for representing the microstructure before and after coarsening, respectively. Both phases are treated as elastic-plastic solids with their respective properties. For simplicity the creep effect is ignored without compromising the main objective of this study. Cyclic loading under pure shear and uniaxial conditions is modeled. It is found that both the fine and coarse structures exhibit essentially the same macroscopic stress-strain response. The coarse structure, however, shows a greater maximum effective plastic strain on a local scale throughout the deformation. The numerical result implies that, in a solder joint, a locally coarsened region may not be mechanically weaker than its surrounding, but it is subject to early damage initiation due to accumulated plasticity. Other implications regarding solder alloy failure and micromechanical modeling of two-phase materials are discussed.

The importance of interfacial processes in materials joining has a long history. A significant amount of work has suggested that processes collateral to wetting can affect the extent of wetting and moderate or retard wetting rate. Even very small additions of a constituent, known to react with the substrate, cause pronounced improvement in wetting and are exploited in braze alloys, especially those used for joining to ceramics. The wide diversity of processes, such as diffusion, chemical reaction, and fluxing, and their possible combinations suggest that various rate laws should be expected for wetting kinetics depending on the controlling processes. These rate laws are expected to differ crucially from the standard fluid controlled wetting models found in the literature. Voitovitch et al. and Mortensen et al. have shown data that suggests diffusion control for some systems and reaction control for others. They also presented a model of wetting kinetics controlled by the diffusion of a constituent contained by the wetting fluid. In the following a model will be constructed for the wetting kinetics of a small droplet of metal containing a constituent that diffuses to the wetting line and chemically reacts with a flat, smooth substrate. The model is similar to that of Voitovitch et al. and Mortensen et al. but incorporates chemical reaction kinetics such that the result contains both diffusion and reaction kinetics. The model is constructed in the circular cylinder coordinate system, satisfies the diffusion equation under conditions of slow flow, and considers diffusion and reaction at the wetting line to be processes in series. This is done by solving the diffusion equation with proper initial and boundary conditions, computing the diffusive flux at the wetting line and equating this to both the convective flux and reaction flux. This procedure is similar to equating the current flowing in components of a series circuit. The wetting rate will be computed versus time for a variety of diffusion and reaction conditions. A transition is observed from nonlinear (diffusive) to linear (reactive) behavior as the control parameters (such as the diffusion coefficient) are modified. This is in agreement with experimental observations. The adequacy of the slow flow condition, used in this type of analysis, is discussed and an amended procedure is suggested.

Making information available and easy to find is the objective of designing a good web site. A company's Intranet typically provides a great deal of information to its employees in an effort to help them better perform their jobs. If the information is available but is difficult to locate, the usefulness of this information is diminished. Sandia National Laboratories performed a redesign of its home page and has obtained a successful design which enables its employees to locate information quickly and efficiently. Three phases of usability testing were conducted to develop and optimize the home page. This paper will discuss the redesign of the Intranet home page and describe how usability studies were used to help ensure a usable design.

Wind turbine blades are often fabricated with composite materials. These composite blades are frequently attached to a metallic structure with an adhesive bond. For the baseline composite-to-steel joint considered in this study, failure typically occurs when the adhesive debonds from the steel adherend. Previous efforts established that the adhesive peel stresses strongly influence the strength of these joints for both single-cycle and fatigue loading. This study focused on reducing the adhesive peel stresses present in these joints by tapering the steel adherends. Several different tapers were evaluated using finite element analysis before arriving at a final design. To confirm that the selected taper was an improvement to the existing design, the baseline joint and the modified joint were tested in both compression and tension. In these axial tests, the compressive strengths of the joints with tapered adherends were greater than those of the baseline joints for both single-cycle and low-cycle fatigue. In addition, only a minor reduction in tensile strength was observed for the joints with tapered adherends when compared to the baseline joints. Thus, the modification would be expected to enhance the overall performance of this joint.

Within the framework of thermodynamic theory of plasticity and specific structural-variables (associated with individual dislocations), a transition has been made to an expression containing one internal variable of the averaging type--the density of glissile dislocations, N{sub g}. This expression should be considered a tensorial generalization of the well-known Orowan's equation and relates it directly to the simplest possible case of normal flow in metallic materials. Since most metals display deviations from normality in the flow rule{sup 7} it also clearly indicates that more rigorous assessment of the relation between plastic strain rate and dislocation populations is required especially for materials displaying plastic instabilities in the form of dislocation patterning, strain-softening and strain-rate softening phenomena. The obtained result could be a useful starting point in establishing such rigorous macroscopic relations from microscopic considerations associated with individual dislocations and to find useful applications in dislocation density-related constitutive modeling of plastic deformation.

Fiberglass tape and borosilicate filter discs impregnated with molten LiCl-KCl eutectic were examined for potential use as separators for high-temperature LiSi/LiCl-KCl/FeS{sub 2} thermal batteries. Test discs were punched from these materials and evaluated at 400 C in single cells at a steady-state current of 63 mA/cm{sup 2}. The performance generally improved with electrolyte loading for most of the materials. Better results were obtained with the filter discs than with the tape. The best overall results were obtained with Whatman GF/A discs. Active lives for cells with these separators were about 85% of the standard cells with pressed-powder separators. More work with other materials and electrolytes over a wider temperature range is underway, along with 5-cell-battery tests.

Thin-film electrodes of a plasma-sprayed Li-Si alloy were evaluated for use as anodes in high-temperature thermally activated (thermal) batteries. These anodes were prepared using 44% Li/56% Si (w/w) material as feed material in a special plasma-spray apparatus under helium or hydrogen, to protect this air- and moisture-sensitive material during deposition. Anodes were tested in single cells using conventional pressed-powder separators and lithiated pyrite cathodes at temperatures of 400 to 550 C at several different current densities. A limited number of 5-cell battery tests were also conducted. The data for the plasma-sprayed anodes was compared to that for conventional pressed-powder anodes. The performance of the plasma-sprayed anodes was inferior to that of conventional pressed-powder anodes, in that the cell emfs were lower (due to the lack of formation of the desired alloy phases) and the small porosity of these materials severely limited their rate capability. Consequently, plasma-sprayed Li-Si anodes would not be practical for use in thermal batteries.

High temperature XRD has been employed to monitor the devitrification of Dupont 951 low temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC) and Dupont E84005 resistor ink. The LTCC underwent devitrification to an anorthite phase in the range of 835-875 C with activation energy of 180 kJ/mol as calculated from kinetic data. The resistor paste underwent devitrification in the 835-875 C range forming monoclinic and hexagonal celcian phases plus a phase believed to be a zinc-silicate. RuO{sub 2} appeared to be stable within this devitrified resistor matrix. X-ray radiography of a co-fired circuit indicated good structural/chemical compatibility between the resistor and LTCC.

We have discovered that small polyols are reasonably effective at stabilizing colloidal silica against aggregation, even under the conditions of high pH and salt concentration. Both quasielastic and elastic light scattering were used to show that these polyols dramatically decrease the aggregation rate of the suspension, changing the growth kinetics from diffusion-limited cluster-cluster aggregation to reaction-limited cluster-cluster aggregation. These polyols maybe useful in the treatment of tank wastes at the Hanford site.

This paper presents a new technique for automatically detecting interval constraints for swept volumes with holes. The technique finds true volume constraints that are not necessarily imposed by the surfaces of the volume. A graphing algorithm finds independent, parallel paths of edges from source surfaces to target surfaces. The number of intervals on two paths between a given source and target surface must be equal; in general, the collection of paths determine a set of linear constraints. Linear programming techniques solve the interval assignment problem for the surface and volume constraints simultaneously.

Abstract not provided.

The model parameters for the normalized 1054V1 material were compared to parameters previously generated for 1026 steel, and the transformation behavior was relatively consistent. Validation of the model predictions by heating into the austenite plus undissolved ferrite phase field and rapidly quenching resulted in reasonable predictions when compared to the measured volume fractions from optical metallography. The hot rolled 1054V1 material, which had a much coarser grain size and a non-equilibrium volume fraction of pearlite, had significantly different model parameters and the on heating transformation behavior of this material was less predictable with the established model. The differences in behavior is consistent with conventional wisdom that normalized micro-structure produce a more consistent response to processing, and it reinforces the need for additional work in this area.

We present a microelectronics fabrication compatible process that comprises photolithography and a key room temperature SiON thin film plasma deposition to define and seal a fluidic microduct network. Our single wafer process is independent of thermo-mechanical material properties, particulate cleaning, global flatness, assembly alignment, and glue medium application, which are crucial for wafer fusion bonding or sealing techniques using a glue medium. From our preliminary experiments, we have identified a processing window to fabricate channels on silicon, glass and quartz substrates. Channels with a radius of curvature between 8 and 50 {micro}m, are uniform along channel lengths of several inches and repeatable across the wafer surfaces. To further develop this technology, we have begun characterizing the SiON film properties such as elastic modulus using nanoindentation, and chemical bonding compatibility with other microelectronic materials.

In 1975 Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) was asked by the predecessor to the Department of Energy to assume responsibility for the scientific programs necessary to assure the safe and satisfactory development of a geologic repository in the salt beds of southeast New Mexico. Sandia has continued in the role of Science Advisor to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) to the present time. This paper will share the perspectives developed over the past 25 years as the project was brought to fruition with successful certification by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on May 13, 1998 and commencement of operations on April 26, 1999.

The Federal Aviation Administration's Airworthiness Assurance NDI Validation Center (AANC) is currently conducting experiments with Level 4, Method B penetrant on low cycle fatigue specimens. The main focus of these experiments is to document the affect on penetrant brightness readings by varying inspection parameters. This paper discusses the results of changing drying temperature, drying time, and dwell time of both penetrant and emulsifier on low cycle fatigue specimens.

Frequency-domain shot-record migration can produce higher quality images than Kirchhoff migration but typically at a greater cost. The computational cost of shot-record migration is the product of the number of shots in the survey and the expense of each individual migration. Many attempts to reduce this cost have focused on the speed of the individual migrations, trying to achieve a better trade-off between accuracy and speed. Another approach is to reduce the number of migrations. We investigate the simultaneous migration of shot records using frequency-domain shot-record migration algorithms. The difficulty with this approach is the production of so-called cross terms between unrelated shot and receiver wavefields, which generate unwanted artifacts or noise in the final image. To reduce these artifacts and obtain an image comparable in quality to the single-shot-per-migration result, we have introduced a process called phase encoding which shifts or disperses these cross terms. The process of phase encoding thus allows one to trade signal-to-noise ratio for the speed of migrating the entire survey. Several encoding functions and two application strategies have been tested. The first strategy, combining multiple shots per migration and using each shot only once, provides a reduction in computation directly related to the number of shots combined. The second strategy, performing multiple migrations of all the shots in the survey, provides a means to reduce the cross-term noise through stacking the resulting images. The additional noise in both strategies may be tolerated if it is no stronger than the inherent seismic noise in the migrated image, and if the final image is achieved with less cost.

Uranium fragments from the Sandia Sled Track were studied as analogues for weapons components and depleted uranium buried at the Greater Confinement Disposal (GCD) site in Nevada. The Sled Track uranium fragments originated as weapons mockups and counterweights impacted on concrete and soil barriers, and experienced heating and fragmentation similar to processes thought to affect the Nuclear Weapons Accident Residues (NWAR) at GCD. Furthermore, the Sandia uranium was buried in unsaturated desert soils for 10 to 40 years, and has undergone weathering processes expected to affect the GCD wastes. Scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and microprobe analyses of the fragments show rapid alteration from metals to dominantly VI-valent oxy-hydroxides. Leaching studies of the samples give results consistent with published U-oxide dissolution rates, and suggest longer experimental periods (ca. 1 year) would be required to reach equilibrium solution concentrations. Thermochemical modeling with the EQ3/6 code indicates that the uranium concentrations in solutions saturated with becquerelite could increase as the pore waters evaporate, due to changes in carbonate equilibria and increased ionic strength.

This Sandia National Laboratories/New Mexico Environmental Information Document (EID) compiles information on the existing environment, or environmental baseline, for SNUNM. Much of the information is drawn from existing reports and databases supplemented by new research and data. The SNL/NM EID, together with the Sandia National Laboratories/New Mexico Facilities and Safety Information Document, provide a basis for assessing the environment, safety, and health aspects of operating selected facilities at SNL/NM. The environmental baseline provides a record of the existing physical, biological, and socioeconomic environment at SNL/NLM prior to being altered (beneficially or adversely) by proposed programs or projects. More specifically, the EID provides information on the following topics: Geology; Land Use; Hydrology and Water Resources; Air Quality and Meteorology; Ecology; Noise and Vibration; Cultural Resources; Visual Resources; Socioeconomic and Community Services; Transportation; Material Management; Waste Management; and Regulatory Requirements.

Sandia National Laboratories/New Mexico (SNL/NM) is operated in support of the US Department of Energy (DOE) mission to provide weapon component technology and hardware for national security needs. SNL/NM also conducts fundamental research and development to advance technology in energy research, computer science, waste management, microelectronics, materials science, and transportation safety for hazardous and nuclear components. In support of SNL's mission, the Environment, Safety and Health (ES&H) Center and the Environmental Restoration (ER) Project at SNL/NM have established extensive environmental programs to assist SNL's line organizations in meeting all applicable local, State, and Federal environmental regulations and DOE requirements. This annual report for calendar year 1998 (CY98) summarizes the compliance status of environmental regulations applicable to SNL site operations. Environmental program activities include terrestrial surveillance; ambient air and meteorological monitoring hazardous, radioactive, and solid waste management; pollution prevention and waste minimization; environmental remediation; oil and chemical spill prevention; and National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) activities. This report has been prepared in compliance with DOE Order 5400.1, General Environmental Protection Program (DOE 1990).

Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) operates the Tonopah Test Range (TTR) for the Department of Energy (DOE) Weapons Ordnance Program. This annual report (calendar year 1998) summarizes the compliance status to environmental regulations applicable at the site including those statutes that govern air and water quality, waste management cleanup of contaminated areas, control of toxic substances, and adherence to requirements as related to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). In compliance with DOE orders, SNL also conducts environmental surveillance for radiological and nonradiological contaminants. SNL's responsibility for environmental surveillance at TTR extends only to those areas where SNL activities are carried out. Annual radiological and nonradiological routine releases and unplanned releases (occurrences) are also summarized. This report has been prepared in accordance with DOE Order 5400.1, General Environmental Protection Program (DOE 1990a).

Use of Gulf Coast salt domes for construction of very large storage caverns by solution mining has grown significantly in the last several decades. In fact, among the largest developers of storage caverns along the Gulf Coast is the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) which has purchased or constructed 62 crude oil storage caverns in four storage sites (domes). Although SPR and commercial caverns have been operated economically for many years, the caverns still exhibit some relatively poorly understood behaviors, especially involving creep closure volume loss and hanging string damage from salt falls. Since it is possible to postulate that some of these behaviors stem from geomechanical or reformational aspects of the salt, a method of correlating the cavern response to mechanical creep behavior as determined in the laboratory could be of considerable value. Recently, detailed study of the creep response of domal salts has cast some insight into the influence of different salt origins on cavern behavior. The study used a simple graphical analysis of limited non-steady state data to establish an approach or bound to steady state, as an estimate of the steady state behavior of a given salt. This permitted analysis of sparse creep databases for domal salts. It appears that a shortcoming of this steady state analysis method is that it obscures some critical differences of the salt material behavior. In an attempt to overcome the steady state analysis shortcomings, a method was developed based on integration of the Multimechanism-Deformation (M-D) creep constitutive model to obtain fits to the transient response. This integration process permits definition of all the material sensitive parameters of the model, while those parameters that are constants or material insensitive parameters are fixed independently. The transient analysis method has proven more sensitive to differences in the creep characteristics and has provided a way of defining different behaviors within a given dome. Characteristics defined by the transient analysis are related quantitatively to the volume loss creep rate of the SPR caverns. This increase in understanding of the domal material creep response already has pointed to the possibility y of delineating the existence of material spines within a specific dome. Further definition of the domal geology and structure seems possible only through expansion of the creep databases for domal salts.

The Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) installed a distributed battery energy storage system in 1994 at a substation near San Juan, Puerto Rico. It was patterned after two other large energy storage systems operated by electric utilities in California and Germany. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Energy Storage Systems Program at Sandia National Laboratories has followed the progress of all stages of the project since its inception. It directly supported the critical battery room cooling system design by conducting laboratory thermal testing of a scale model of the battery under simulated operating conditions. The Puerto Rico facility is at present the largest operating battery storage system in the world and is successfully providing frequency control, voltage regulation, and spinning reserve to the Caribbean island. The system further proved its usefulness to the PREPA network in the fall of 1998 in the aftermath of Hurricane Georges. The owner-operator, PREPA, and the architect/engineer, vendors, and contractors learned many valuable lessons during all phases of project development and operation. In documenting these lessons, this report will help PREPA and other utilities in planning to build large energy storage systems.

In order to understand the hindered rotational and vibrational dynamics of methane trapped in C{sub 60} interstices and to determine the structure around the interstitial site, they have carried out inelastic neutron scattering studies of the methane/C{sub 60} system. At temperatures of 20K and below, they observe inelastic peaks from rotational transitions of the CH{sub 4}. These transitions allow unambiguous assignment of the hindered rotational energy levels and a determination of the interaction potential. The appearance of two peaks for one of the J = 0{r_arrow}3 transitions implies the existence of two distinct kinds of interstitial sites and the measured transition energies suggest a rotational barrier of about 26 and 16 meV for these sites. Time-dependent changes in peak heights indicate slow t{sub 1/2} ({approx} 2.6 hrs) triplet{r_arrow}quintet nuclear spin conversion that necessarily accompanies the J = 1{r_arrow}0 rotational relaxation. They also have observed a sharp inelastic peak at 9.3 meV, which corresponds to a local vibrational mode of CH{sub 4} rattling in its cage at {approximately} 2.2 THz. Other peaks involving higher-energy vibrational excitations in CD{sub 4}/C{sub 60} correspond in energy to assigned peaks in the inelastic neutron scattering spectra of C{sub 60}, albeit sometimes with different intensities.

The methodology in this report improves on some of the limitations of many conventional safety assessment and decision analysis methods. A top-down mathematical approach is developed for decomposing systems and for expressing imprecise individual metrics as possibilistic or fuzzy numbers. A ''Markov-like'' model is developed that facilitates combining (aggregating) inputs into overall metrics and decision aids, also portraying the inherent uncertainty. A major goal of Markov modeling is to help convey the top-down system perspective. One of the constituent methodologies allows metrics to be weighted according to significance of the attribute and aggregated nonlinearly as to contribution. This aggregation is performed using exponential combination of the metrics, since the accumulating effect of such factors responds less and less to additional factors. This is termed ''soft'' mathematical aggregation. Dependence among the contributing factors is accounted for by incorporating subjective metrics on ''overlap'' of the factors as well as by correspondingly reducing the overall contribution of these combinations to the overall aggregation. Decisions corresponding to the meaningfulness of the results are facilitated in several ways. First, the results are compared to a soft threshold provided by a sigmoid function. Second, information is provided on input ''Importance'' and ''Sensitivity,'' in order to know where to place emphasis on considering new controls that may be necessary. Third, trends in inputs and outputs are tracked in order to obtain significant information% including cyclic information for the decision process. A practical example from the air transportation industry is used to demonstrate application of the methodology. Illustrations are given for developing a structure (along with recommended inputs and weights) for air transportation oversight at three different levels, for developing and using cycle information, for developing Importance and Sensitivity measures for soil aggregation, for developing dependence methodology, for constructing early alert logic, for tracking trends, for relating the Markov model to other (e.g., Reason) models, for developing and demonstrating rudimentary laptop software, and for developing an input/output display methodology.

Mechanical and hydrological properties of rock salt provide excellent bases for geological isolation of hazardous materials. Regulatory compliance determinations for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) stand as testament to the widely held conclusion that salt provides excellent isolation properties. The WIPP saga began in the 1950s when the U.S. National Academy of Sciences (NAS) recommended a salt vault as a promising solution to the national problem of nuclear waste disposal. For over 20 years, the Scientific basis for the NAS recommendation has been fortified by Sandia National Laboratories through a series of large scale field tests and laboratory investigations of salt properties. These scientific investigations helped develop a comprehensive understanding of salt's 4 reformational behavior over an applicable range of stresses and temperatures. Sophisticated constitutive modeling, validated through underground testing, provides the computational ability to model long-term behavior of repository configurations. In concert with advancement of the mechanical models, fluid flow measurements showed not only that the evaporite lithology was essentially impermeable but that the WIPP setting was hydrologically inactive. Favorable mechanical properties ensure isolation of materials placed in a salt geological setting. Key areas of the geomechanics investigations leading to the certification of WIPP are in situ experiments, laboratory tests, and shaft seal design.

An evaluation was performed which examined the aging of surface mount solder joints assembled with 91.84Sn-3.33Ag-4.83Bi solder. Defect analysis of the as-fabricated test vehicles revealed excellent solderability, good package alignment, and a minimum number of voids. Continuous DC electrical monitoring of the solder joints did not reveal opens during as many as 10,000 thermal cycles (0 C, 100 C). The solder joints exhibited no significant degradation through 2500 cycles, based upon an absence of microstructural damage and sustained shear and pull strengths of chip capacitors and J-leaded solder joints, respectively. Thermal cycles of 5000 and 10,000 resulted in some surface cracking of the solder fillets and coatings. In a few cases, deeper cracks were observed in the thinner reaches of several solder fillets. There was no deformation or cracking in the solder located in the gap between the package I/O and the circuit board pad nor in the interior of the fillets, both locations that would raise concerns of joint mechanical integrity. A drop in the chip capacitor shear strength was attributed to crack growth near the top of the fillet.

The Z Accelerator is a fast pulse power facility capable of performing high-pressure studies of the dynamic response of materials under loading conditions unachievable with other methods. A variety of advanced laser diagnostics have been implemented on the facility for shock physics experiments. These include multipoint laser velocity interferometry,line and full field velocity interferometry, time-resolved optical and uv spectroscopy, and both active and passive shock breakout.

Shock-induced depoling of the ferroelectric ceramic PZT 95/5 is utilized in a number of pulsed power devices. Several experimental and theoretical efforts are in progress in order to improve numerical simulations of these devices. In this study we have examined the shock response of normally poled PZT 95/5 under uniaxial strain conditions. On each experiment the current produced in an external circuit and the transmitted waveform at a window interface were recorded. The peak electrical field generated within the PZT sample was varied through the choice of external circuit resistance. Shock pressures were varied from 0.6 to 4.6 GPa, and peak electrical fields were varied from 0.2 to 37 kV/cm. For a 2.4 GPa shock and the lowest peak field, a nearly constant current governed simply by the remanent polarization and the shock velocity was recorded. Both decreasing the shock pressure and increasing the electrical field resulted in reduced current generation, indicating a retardation of the depoling kinetics.

A method for finding a global optimum to the on-off minimum-time control problem with limited fuel usage is presented. Each control can take on only three possible values: maximum, zero, or minimum. The simplex method for linear systems naturally yields such a solution for the re-formulation presented herein because it always produces an extreme point solution to the linear program. Numerical examples for the benchmark linear flexible system are presented.

This work is an experimental investigation of the ability of a real three-link direct-drive arm to track model-based minimum-time trajectories that have been found off-line. Sufficiently large velocity gains in the computed torque control law were not achievable with the velocity sensors described herein. This indicates the critical importance of the velocity sensing when attempting to track trajectories that push the envelope of the system's torque capabilities.

Relatively straightforward changes in the optical design of a conventional optically recording velocity interferometer system (ORVIS) can be used to produce a line-imaging velocity interferometer wherein both temporal and spatial resolution can be adjusted over a wide range. As a result line-imaging ORVIS can be tailored to a variety of specific applications involving dynamic deformation of heterogeneous materials as required by the characteristic length scale of these materials (ranging from a few {micro}m for ferroelectric ceramics to a few mm for concrete). A line-imaging ORVIS has been successfully interfaced to the target chamber of a compressed gas gun driver and fielded on numerous tests in combination with simultaneous measurements using a dual delay-leg, ''push-pull'' VISAR system. These tests include shock loading of glass-reinforced polyester composites, foam reverberation experiments (measurements at the free surface of a thin aluminum plate impacted by foam), and measurements of dispersive velocity in a shock-loaded explosive simulant (sugar). Comparison of detailed spatially-resolved material response to the spatially averaged VISAR measurements will be discussed.

The microrheology of liquid foams is discussed for two different regimes: static equilibrium where the capillary number Ca is zero, and the viscous regime where viscosity and surface tension are important and Ca is finite. The Surface Evolver is used to calculate the equilibrium structure of wet Kelvin foams and dry soap froths with random structure, i.e., topological disorder. The distributions of polyhedra and faces are compared with the experimental data of Matzke. Simple shearing flow of a random foam under quasistatic conditions is also described. Viscous phenomena are explored in the context of uniform expansion of 2D and 3D foams at low Reynolds number. Boundary integral methods are used to calculate the influence of Ca on the evolution of foam microstructure, which includes bubble shape and the distribution of liquid between films, Plateau borders, and (in 3D) the nodes where Plateau borders meet. The micromechanical point of view guides the development of structure-property-processing relationships for foams.

The Baer-Nunziato multiphase reactive theory for a granulated bed of energetic material is extended to allow for dynamic damage processes, that generate new surfaces as well as porosity. The Second Law of Thermodynamics is employed to constrain the constitutive forms of the mass, momentum, and energy exchange functions as well as those for the mechanical damage model ensuring that the models will be dissipative. The focus here is on the constitutive forms of the exchange functions. The mechanical constitutive modeling is discussed in a companion paper. The mechanical damage model provides dynamic surface area and porosity information needed by the exchange functions to compute combustion rates and interphase momentum and energy exchange rates. The models are implemented in the CTH shock physics code and used to simulate delayed detonations due to impacts in a bed of granulated energetic material and an undamaged cylindrical sample.

This report defines and defends the basic framework, methodology, and associated input parameters for modeling plant uptake of radionuclides for use in Performance Assessment (PA) activities of Radioactive Waste Management Sites (RWMS) at the Nevada Test Site (NTS). PAs are used to help determine whether waste disposal configurations meet applicable regulatory standards for the protection of human health, the environment, or both. Plants adapted to the arid climate of the NTS are able to rapidly capture infiltrating moisture. In addition to capturing soil moisture, plant roots absorb nutrients, minerals, and heavy metals, transporting them within the plant to the above-ground biomass. In this fashion, plant uptake affects the movement of radionuclides. The plant uptake model presented reflects rooting characteristics important to plant uptake, biomass turnover rates, and the ability of plants to uptake radionuclides from the soil. Parameters are provided for modeling plant uptake and estimating surface contaminant flux due to plant uptake under both current and potential future climate conditions with increased effective soil moisture. The term ''effective moisture'' is used throughout this report to indicate the soil moisture that is available to plants and is intended to be inclusive of all the variables that control soil moisture at a site (e.g., precipitation, temperature, soil texture, and soil chemistry). Effective moisture is a concept used to simplify a number of complex, interrelated soil processes for which there are too little data to model actual plant available moisture. The PA simulates both the flux of radionuclides across the land surface and the potential dose to humans from that flux. Surface flux is modeled here as the amount of soil contamination that is transferred from the soil by roots and incorporated into aboveground biomass. Movement of contaminants to the surface is the only transport mechanism evaluated with the model presented here. Parameters necessary for estimating surface contaminant flux due to native plants expected to inhabit the NTS RWMSS are developed in this report. The model is specific to the plant communities found at the NTS and is designed for both short-term (<1,000 years) and long-term (>1,000 years) modeling efforts. While the model has been crafted for general applicability to any NTS PA, the key radionuclides considered are limited to the transuranic (TRU) wastes disposed of at the NTS.

Abstract not provided.

Most HLW programs in the world recognize that any estimate of long-term radiological performance must be couched in terms of the uncertainties derived from natural variation, changes through time and lack of knowledge about the essential processes. The Japan Nuclear Cycle Development Institute followed a relatively standard procedure to address two major categories of uncertainty. First, a FEatures, Events and Processes (FEPs) listing, screening and grouping activity was pursued in order to define the range of uncertainty in system processes as well as possible variations in engineering design. A reference and many alternative cases representing various groups of FEPs were defined and individual numerical simulations performed for each to quantify the range of conceptual uncertainty. Second, parameter distributions were developed for the reference case to represent the uncertainty in the strength of these processes, the sequencing of activities and geometric variations. Both point estimates using high and low values for individual parameters as well as a probabilistic analysis were performed to estimate parameter uncertainty. A brief description of the conceptual model uncertainty analysis is presented. This paper focuses on presenting the details of the probabilistic parameter uncertainty assessment.

Dose calculations were performed using the MELCOR Accident Consequence Code System (MACCS) to support safety analyses for the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center (LANSCE) facility. The LANSCE facility is operated and maintained at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) and will be used to conduct experiments for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to investigate the use of accelerators to produce tritium. This paper focuses on tbe methodology adopted in tbe evaluation of doses from potential accidental releases of radioactive material from the LANSCE facility. Some results of the dose calculations are presented. Also discussed are the important features of an isotope screening process developed for this application to limit the number of consequence calculations.

Alumina (94 and 99.8% grade compositions) was brazed directly to itself with gold-based active brazing alloys (ABA's) containing vanadium additions of 1,2 and 3 weight percent. The effects of brazing conditions on the joint properties were investigated. Wetting behavior, interfacial reactions, microstructure, hermeticity and tensile strength were determined. Wetting was fair to good for the ABA and base material combinations. Microanalysis identified a discontinuous Al-V-O spinel reaction product at the alumina-braze interface. Tensile strength results for 94% alumina were uniformly good and generally not sensitive to the vanadium concentration, with tensile values of 85-105 MPa. There was more variability in the 99.8% alumina strength results, with values ranging from 25-95 MPa. The highest vanadium concentration (3 wt. %) yielded the highest joint strength for the brazed 99.8% alumina. Failures in the 99.8% alumina samples occurred at the braze-alumina interface, while the 94% alumina specimens exhibited fracture of the ceramic substrate.

This paper presents a viscoplasticity model taking into account the effects of change in grain or phase size and damage on the characterization of creep damage in 60Sn-40Pb solder. Based on the theory of damage mechanics, a two-scalar damage model is developed for isotropic materials by introducing the free energy equivalence principle. The damage evolution equations are derived in terms of the damage energy release rates. In addition, a failure criterion is developed based on the postulation that a material element is said to have ruptured when the total damage accumulated in the element reaches a critical value. The damage coupled viscoplasticity model is discretized and coded in a general-purpose finite element program known as ABAQUS through its user-defined material subroutine UMAT. To illustrate the application of the model, several example cases are introduced to analyze, both numerically and experimentally, the tensile creep behaviors of the material at three stress levels. The model is then applied to predict the deformation of a notched specimen under monotonic tension at room temperature (22 C). The results demonstrate that the proposed model can successfully predict the viscoplastic behavior of the solder material.

The US Department of Energy and its national laboratories are a major employer of scientists and engineers and consequently have a strong interest in the development and training of a qualified pool of employment candidates. For many years the DOE and its national laboratories have supported education activities devoted to increasing the number and quality of science and engineering graduates. This is part of the DOE mission because of the critical national need for scientists and engineers and the recognized deficiencies in the education system for science and mathematics training. Though funding support for such activities has waxed and waned, strong education programs have survived in spite of budget pressures. This paper reviews a few of the education programs presently supported at Sandia by the Science and Technology Outreach Department. The US DOE Defense Programs Office and Sandia National Laboratories provide financial support for these education activities.

The US DOE, with technical assistance from Sandia National Laboratories, has successfully received EPA certification and opened the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP), a nuclear waste disposal facility located approximately 42 km east of Carlsbad, New Mexico. Performance assessment analyses indicate that human intrusions by inadvertent, intermittent drilling for resources provide the only credible mechanisms for releases of radionuclides from the disposal system. In modeling long-term brine releases, subsequent to a drilling event, potential migration pathways through the permeable layers of rock above the Salado formation were analyzed. Major emphasis is placed on the Culebra Member of the Rustler Formation because this is the most transmissive geologic layer overlying the WIPP site. In order to help quantify parameters for the calculated releases, radionuclide transport experiments have been earned out using intact-core columns obtained from the Culebra dolomite member of the Rustler Formation within the WIPP site. This paper deals primarily with results of analyses for {sup 241}Pu and {sup 241}Am distributions developed during transport experiments in one of these cores. Transport experiments were done using a synthetic brine that simulates Culebra brine at the core recovery location (the WIPP air-intake shaft--AIS). Hydraulic characteristics (i.e., apparent porosity and apparent dispersion coefficient) for intact-core columns were obtained via experiments using the conservative tracer {sup 22}Na. Elution experiments carried out over periods of a few days with tracers {sup 232}U and {sup 239}Np indicated that these tracers were weakly retarded as indicated by delayed elution of the species. Elution experiments with tracers {sup 241}Pu and {sup 241}Am were attempted, but no elution of either species has been observed to date, including experiments of many months' duration. In order to quantify retardation of the non-eluted species {sup 241}Pu and {sup 241}Am after a period of brine flow, non-destructive and destructive analyses of one intact-core column were carried out to determine distribution of these actinides in the rock. Analytical results indicate that the majority of the {sup 241}Am remained very near the injection surface of the core (possibly as a precipitate), and that the majority of the {sup 241}Pu was dispersed with a very high apparent retardation value. The {sup 241}Pu distribution is interpreted using a single-porosity advection-dispersion model, and an approximate retardation value is reported.

This paper presents an open-loop control method for suppressing payload oscillation or swing caused by operator commanded maneuvers in rotary boom cranes and the method is experimentally verified on a one-sixteenth scale model of a Hagglunds shipboard crane. The crane configuration consists of a payload mass that swings like a spherical pendulum on the end of a lift-line which is attached to a boom capable of hub rotation (slewing) and elevation (luffing). Positioning of the payload is accomplished through the hub and boom angles and the load-line length. Since the configuration of the crane affects the excitation and response of the payload, the swing control scheme must account for the varying geometry of the system. Adaptive forward path command filters are employed to remove components of the command signal which induce payload swing.

Atom-by-atom and concerted hopping of ad-dimers on the open (100) surface of fcc metals are studied by means of density-functional calculations. The adatom interaction is relatively short-ranged, and beyond next-nearest neighbors ad-dimers are effectively dissociated. Diffusion takes place by a simple shearing process, favored because it maximizes adatom coordination at the transition state This holds for Al, Au, and Rh, and is likely a general result because geometrical arguments dominate over details of the electronic structure.

We demonstrate high critical current density superconducting films of YBa{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub 7{minus}{delta}} (YBCO) and Tl{sub 2}Ba{sub 2}CaCu{sub 2}O{sub 8{minus}{delta}} (Tl-2212) using LaNiO{sub 3} (LNO) buffer layers. YBCO films grown on an LNO buffer layer have only a slightly lower J{sub c} (5K, H=0) than films grown directly on a bare LaAlO{sub 3} substrate. It is noteworthy that YBCO films grown on LNO buffer layers exhibit minor microstructural disorder and enhanced flux pinning. LNO-buffered Tl-2212 samples show large reductions in J{sub c} at all temperatures and fields compared to those grown on bare LaAlO{sub 3}, correlating to both a-axis grain and nonsuperconducting phase formation. With additional optimization, LNO could be a promising buffer layer for both YBCO and Tl-based superconducting films, perhaps ideally suited for coated conductor applications.

The set of laws developed and presented here is by no means exhaustive. Techniques have been present to aid in the development of additional scaling laws and to combine these and other laws to produce additional useful relationships. Some of the relationships produced here have yielded perhaps surprising results. Examples include the fifth order scaling law for electromagnetic motor torque and the zero order scaling law for capacitive motor power. These laws demonstrate important facts about actuators in small-scale systems. The primary intent of this introduction into scaling law analysis is to provide needed tools to examine possible areas of the research in small-scale systems and direct research toward more fruitful areas. Numerous examples have been included to show the validity of developing scaling laws based on first principles and how real world systems tend to obey these laws even when many other variables may potentially come into play. Development of further laws may well serve to provide important high-level direction to the continued development of small-scale systems.

By studying model polymeric networks which only differ in their connectivity, the connectivity is shown to strongly control the stress-strain response and failure modes. The sequence of molecular structural deformations that lead to failure are strongly dependent upon the network connectivity. A set of ideal, ordered networks are constructed to manipulate the deformation sequence to achieve a variety of adhesive qualities. Compared to random, dynamically formed networks, these ideal networks can be made to have either much larger or smaller failure stresses and strains. Unlike the random networks, the failure stress of an ideal network can be made close to the ideal stress equal to breaking all bonds to the substrate. By varying the number of bonds to the surface, the failure mode can be controlled to be either adhesive or cohesive.

The mission of international cooperation is defined in the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT). Ways and means of implementation were the subject of discussion during the International Cooperation Workshop held in Vienna in November 1998, and during the Regional Workshop for CTBTO International Cooperation held in Cairo, Egypt in June 1999. In particular, a database of ''Scientific and Technical Meetings Directly or Indirectly Related to CTBT Verification-Related Technologies'' was developed by the CTBTO PrepCom/PTS/International Cooperation section and integrated into the organization's various web sites in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Energy CTBT Research and Development Program. This database, the structure and use of which is described in this paper/presentation is meant to assist the CTBT-related scientific community in identifying worldwide expertise in the CTBT verification-related technologies and should help experts, particularly those of less technologically advanced States Signatories, to strengthen contacts and to pursue international cooperation under the Tredy regime. Specific opportunities for international cooperation, in particular those provided by active participation in the use and further development of this database, are presented in this paper and/or presentation.

A novel type of glass made with a double ion exchange process is more reliable and fractures in a unique manner compared to glass currently available in the market. The novel glass is unique because it disintegrates into a powder instead of fracturing into shards and splinters, and it fails over a very narrow range of stresses. Potential applications for this glass include using it in removable valves because the powdered glass does not produce obstructions when it breaks, and in other applications that require safety glass. A 20,000-psi MTS pressure system was used to determine the possible techniques for pressure testing the strength of a collection of disk-shaped glass samples. Ordinary (i.e., not ion exchanged) glass samples, 0.962 inches in diameter and 0.07 inches thick, were fractured with linearly increasing pressures to determine the best methods. The best method for testing novel glass samples, with the same size and shape as the ordinary glass, will be implemented. The final results of this ongoing project will be used to ascertain if the novel glass is suitable for potential applications.

There is a growing interest in understanding the potential consequences of malevolent acts against shipments of nuclear waste and/or material. Recently, Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) conducted a study' to evaluate the potential source terms available for release in a sabotage event for spent fuel shipments. Using these source terms, we developed an approach to assess the potential radiological consequences of the hypothesized events and to compare them to consequences of transportation accidents involving the same types of shipments. Our analysis showed that there could be orders of magnitude differences in consequence for urban, suburban, and rural events. Sabotage consequences could be orders of magnitude higher than those of transportation accidents with a probability of 10{sup {minus}12} or higher and be similar to events with a probability less than 10{sup {minus}12}. Also, explosive-induced buoyancy would disperse the source further out than a non-buoyant release in a transportation accident, which, therefore, would have a higher dose near the release point.

Abstract not provided.

Polymerization of organotrialkoxysilanes is a convenient method for introducing organic functionality into hybrid organic-inorganic materials. However, not much is known about the effects of the organic substituent on the porosity of the resulting xerogels. In this study, we prepared a series of polysilsesquioxane xerogels from organotrialkoxysilanes, RSi(OR{sup 1}){sub 3}, with different organic groups (R = H, Me, Et dodecyl, hexadecyl, octadecyl, vinyl, chloromethyl, (p-chloromethyl) phenyl, cyanoethyl). Polymerizations of the monomers were carried out under a variety of conditions, varying monomer concentration, type of catalyst, and alkoxide substituent. The effect of the organic substituent on the sol-gel process was often dramatic. In many cases, gels were formed only at very high monomer concentration and/or with only one type of catalyst. All of the gels were processed as xerogels and characterized by scanning electron microscopy and nitrogen sorption porosimetry to evaluate their pore structure.

A new test methodology is described which allows access to loading rates that lie between split Hopkinson bar and shock-loading techniques. Gas gun experiments combined with velocity interferometry techniques have been used to experimentally determine the intermediate strain-rate loading behavior of Coors AD995 alumina and Cercom silicon-carbide rods. Graded-density materials have been used as impactors; thereby eliminating the tension states generated by the radial stress components during the loading phase. Results of these experiments demonstrate that the time-dependent stress pulse generated during impact allows an efficient transition from the initial uniaxial strain loading to a uniaxial stress state as the stress pulse propagates through the rod. This allows access to intermediate loading rates over 5 x 10{sup 3}/s to a few times 10{sup 4}/s.

Use of Gulf Coast salt domes for construction of very large storage caverns by solution mining has grown significantly in the last several decades. In fact, a nationally important Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) storage occurs in large cavern arrays in some of these domes. Although caverns have been operated economically for these many years, these caverns have a range of relatively poorly understood behaviors, involving creep closure fluid loss and damage from salt falls. It is certainly possible to postulate that many of these behaviors stem from geomechanical or deformational aspects of the salt response. As a result, a method of correlating the cavern response to mechanical creep behavior as determined in the laboratory could be of considerable importance. Recently, detailed study of the creep response of domal salts has cast some insight into the influence of different salt origins on cavern behavior. The study used a simple graphical analysis of the limited non-steady state data to give a bound, or an approach to steady state, as an estimate of the steady state behavior of a given domal salt. This permitted the analysis of sparse creep databases for domal salts. It appears that a shortcoming of the steady state analysis was in masking some of the salt material differences. In an attempt to overcome the steady state analysis shortcomings, a method was developed based on the integration of the Multimechanism-Deformation (M-D) creep constitutive model to fit the transient response. This integration process essentially permits definition of the material sensitive parameters of the model, while those parameters that are either constants or material insensitive parameters are fixed independently. The transient analysis method has proven more sensitive to differences in the creep characteristics and has provided a way of defining different behaviors within a given dome. Creep characteristics, as defined by the transient analysis of the creep rate, are related quantitatively to the volume loss creep rate of the caverns. This type of understanding of the domal material creep response already has pointed to the possibility of establishing various distinct material spines within a given dome. Furthermore, if the creep databases for domal salts can be expanded, one could expect additional definition of domal geology and structure.

Statistical concepts, methods, and tools are often used in the implementation of statistical thinking. Unfortunately, statistical tools are all too often misused by not applying them in the context of statistical thinking that focuses on processes, variation, and data. The consequences of this misuse may be ''data torturing'' or going beyond reasonable interpretation of the facts due to a misunderstanding of the processes creating the data or the misinterpretation of variability in the data. In the hope of averting future misuse and data torturing, examples are provided where the application of common statistical tools, in the absence of statistical thinking, provides deceptive results by not adequately representing the underlying process and variability. For each of the examples, a discussion is provided on how applying the concepts of statistical thinking may have prevented the data torturing. The lessons learned from these examples will provide an increased awareness of the potential for many statistical methods to mislead and a better understanding of how statistical thinking broadens and increases the effectiveness of statistical tools.

This article summarizes our investigations of tethered chain systems using Langmuir monolayer of polydimethysiloxane-poly styrene (PDMS-PS) diblock copolymers on organic liquids. In this system, the PDMS block adsorbs to the air surface while the PS block dangles into the subphase liquid. The air surface can be made either repulsive or attractive for the tethered PS chain segments by choosing a subphase liquid which has a surface tension lower or greater than that of PS, respectively. The segment profile of the PS block is determined by neutron reflection as a function of the surface density, the molecular weights of the PS and PDMS blocks, and the solution conditions. We cover the range of reduced surface density (SIGMA) characteristic of the large body of data in the literature for systems of chains tethered onto solid surfaces from dilute solution in good or theta solvent conditions (SIGMA < 12). We emphasize quantitative comparisons with analytical profile forms and scaling predictions. We find that the strong-stretching limit invoked in analytical SCF and scaling theories is not valid over this Z range. On the other hand, over a large portion of this range (SIGMA < 5) tethered layers are well described by a renormalization group theory addressing weakly interacting or noninteracting chains. Simultaneous with the study of the profile form, the free energy of the chains is examined through the surface tension. A strong increase in the surface pressure is observed with increasing surface density which determines the maximum surface density which can be achieved. This apparently nonequilibrium effect is attributed to steric interactions and limited lateral interpenetration. This effect may explain several outstanding discrepancies regarding the adsorption of end-functionalized chains and diblock copolymers onto solid surfaces.

The Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) installed a battery energy storage system in 1994 at a substation near San Juan, Puerto Rico. It was patterned after two other large energy storage systems operated by electric utilities in California and Germany. The Puerto Rico facility is presently the largest operating battery storage system in the world and has successfully provided frequency control, voltage regulation, and spinning reseme to the Caribbean island. The system further proved its usefulness to the PREPA network in the fall of 1998 in the aftermath of Hurricane Georges. However, the facility has suffered accelerated cell failures in the past year and PREPA is committed to restoring the plant to full capacity. This represents the first repowering of a large utility battery facility. PREPA and its vendors and contractors learned many valuable lessons during all phases of project development and operation, which are summarized in this paper.

Recycling of the spent rinse water discharged from the wet benches commonly used in semiconductor processing is one tactic for responding to the targets for water usage published in the 1997 National Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (NTRS). Not only does the NTRS list a target that dramatically reduces total water usage/unit area of silicon manufactured by the industry in the future but for the years 2003 and beyond, the NTRS actually touts goals which would have semiconductor manufacturers drawing less water from a regional water supply per unit area of silicon manufactured than the quantity of ultrapure water (UPW) used in the production of that same silicon. Achieving this latter NTRS target strongly implies more widespread recycling of spent rinse waters at semiconductor manufacturing sites. In spite of the fact that, by most metrics, spent rinse waters are of much higher purity than incoming municipal waters, recycling of these spent rinse waters back into the UPW production plant is not a simple, straightforward task. The rub is that certain of the chemicals used in semiconductor manufacturing, and thus potentially present in trace concentrations (or more) in spent rinse waters, are not found in municipal water supplies and are not necessarily removed by the conventional UPW production sequence used by semiconductor manufacturers. Some of these contaminants, unique to spent rinse waters, may actually foul the resins and membranes of the UPW system, posing a threat to UPW production and potentially even causing a shutdown.

Two and three electrode impedance measurements were made on 18650 Li-ion cells at different QB temperatures ranging from 35 C to {minus}40 C. The ohmic resistance of the cell is nearly constant the temperature range studied although the total cell impedance increases by an order of magnitude in the same temperature range. In contrast to what is commonly believed, we show from our three-electrode impedance results that, the increase in cell impedance comes mostly from the cathode and not from the anode. Further, the anode and cathode contribute to both the impedance loops (in the NyQuist plot).

XPS studies have been carried out on sputter deposited copper on a substantially hydroxylated {alpha}-Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}(0001) (sapphire) surface under ultra-high vacuum (UHV) conditions. XPS-derived Cu uptake curves show a sharp change in slope at a coverage of 0.35 monolayer (on a Cu/O atomic basis), indicative of initial layer-by-layer growth. CU(LMM) lineshape data indicate that, prior to the first break in the curve, Cu is oxidized to Cu(I). At higher coverages, metallic CU(0) is. observed. These data agree with first principles theoretical calculations, indicating that the presence of ad-hydroxyl groups greatly enhances the binding of Cu to bulk sapphire surfaces, stabilizing Cu(I) adatoms over two-dimensional metallic islands. In the absence of hydroxylation, calculations indicate significantly weaker Cu binding to the bulk sapphire substrate and non-wetting. Calculations also predict that at Cu coverages above 1/3 monolayer (ML), Cu-Cu interactions predominate, leading to Cu(0) formation. These results are in excellent agreement with experiment. The ability of surface hydroxyl groups to enhance binding to alumina substrates suggests a reason for contradictory experimental results reported in the literature for Cu wetting of alumina.

Quartz crystal microbalance techniques and in situ spectroscopic ellipsometry are used to probe the structure-dependent intrinsic viscoelastic properties of self-assembled CH{sub 3}(CH{sub 2}){sub 8}SH alkanethiol monolayer adsorbed from the gas phase onto Au(111)-textured substrates. Physisorbed molecules, mixed chemisorbed-fluid/solid phases and solid-phase domain boundaries make sequentially dominant contributions to the measured energy dissipation in the growing monolayer. Deviations from Langmuir adsorption kinetics reveal a precursor-mediated adsorption channel. These studies reveal the impact of structural heterogeneity in tribological studies of monolayer lubricants.

This letter reports the experimental characterization of a z-pinch-driven vacuum hohlraum. We have measured soft x-ray fluxes of 5 × 1012 W/cm2 radiating from the walls of hohlraums which are 2.4-2.5 cm in diameter by 1 cm tall. The x-ray source used to drive these hohlraums was a z pinch consisting of a 300 wire tungsten array driven by a 20 MA, 100 ns current pulse. In this hohlraum geometry, the z-pinch x-ray source can produce energies in excess of 800 kJ and powers in excess of 100 TW to drive these hohlraums. The x rays released in these hohlraums represent greater than a factor of 25 in energy and more than a factor of 3 in x-ray power over previous laboratory-driven hohlraums. © 1999 American Institute of Physics.

In this paper, we include for discussion three topics of current interest in metal oxide surface science. Using first principles density functional theory (DFT) [1] calculations, we have investigated: (1) the atomic-scale structure of experimentally-relevant ultrathin alumina films, (2) the role of common point defects in metal island nucleation on oxide terraces, and (3) the growth and morphology of metals on oxide surfaces which have high concentrations of a common impurity.

Pressure studies have provided new insights into the physics of compositionally-disordered ABO{sub 3} oxide relaxors. Specifically results are presented and discussed on a pressure-induced ferroelectric-to-relaxor crossover phenomenon, the continuous evolution of the energetics and dynamics of the relaxation process, and the interplay between pressure and electric field in determining the dielectric response.

We report propane dehydrogenation behavior of catalysts prepared using two novel synthesis strategies that combine inverse micelle Pt nanocluster technology with silica and alumina sol-gel processing. Unlike some other sol-gel catalyst preparations. Pt particles in these catalysts are not encapsulated in the support structure and the entire Pt particle surface is accessible for reaction. Turnover frequencies (TOF) for these catalysts are comparable to those obtained over Pt catalysts prepared by traditional techniques such as impregnation, yet the resistance to deactivation by carbon poisoning is much greater in our catalysts. The deactivation behavior is more typical of traditionally prepared PtSn catalysts than of pure Pt catalysts.

The effect of higher-order corrections to the Born approximation is studied for the previously obtained giant conductance enhancement in tunnel-coupled double quantum wires in a parallel magnetic field. The relative correction is found to be significant and depends on various effects such as the magnetic field, electron and impurity densities, impurity positions, symmetric and asymmetric doping profiles, and center barrier thickness.

Fluids adsorbed near surfaces, macromolecules, and in porous materials are inhomogeneous, inhibiting spatially varying density distributions. This inhomogeneity in the fluid plays an important role in controlling a wide variety of complex physical phenomena including wetting, self-assembly, corrosion, and molecular recognition. One of the key methods for studying the properties of inhomogeneous fluids in simple geometries has been density functional theory (DFT). However, there has been a conspicuous lack of calculations in complex 2D and 3D geometries. The computational difficulty arises from the need to perform nested integrals that are due to nonlocal terms in the free energy functional These integral equations are expensive both in evaluation time and in memory requirements; however, the expense can be mitigated by intelligent algorithms and the use of parallel computers. This paper details our efforts to develop efficient numerical algorithms so that no local DFT calculations in complex geometries that require two or three dimensions can be performed. The success of this implementation will enable the study of solvation effects at heterogeneous surfaces, in zeolites, in solvated (bio)polymers, and in colloidal suspensions.

In a previous companion paper, we presented the details of our algorithms for performing nonlocal density functional theory (DFT) calculations in complex 2D and 3D geometries. We discussed scaling and parallelization, but did not discuss other issues of performance. In this paper, we detail the precision of our methods with respect to changes in the mesh spacing. This is a complex issue because given a Cartesian mesh, changes in mesh spacing will result in changes in surface geometry. We discuss these issue using a series of rigid solvated polymer models including square rod polymers, cylindrical polymers, and bead-chain polymers. By comparing the results of the various models, it becomes clear that surface curvature or roughness plays an important role in determining the strength of structural solvation forces between interacting solvated polymers. The results in this paper serve as benchmarks for future application of these algorithms to complex fluid systems.

This paper summarizes the results of the studies of the irradiation-induced formation of nanostructures, where the injected interstitials from the source of irradiation are not major components of the nanophase. This phenomena has been observed by in situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM) in a number of intermetallic compounds and ceramics during high-energy electron or ion irradiations when the ions completely penetrate through the specimen. Beginning with single crystals, electron or ion irradiation in a certain temperature range may result in nanostructures composed of amorphous domains and nanocrystals with either the original composition and crystal structure or new nanophases formed by decomposition of the target material. The phenomenon has also been observed in natural materials which have suffered irradiation from the decay of constituent radioactive elements and in nuclear reactor fuels which have been irradiated by fission neutrons and other fission products. The mechanisms involved in the process of this nanophase formation are discussed in terms of the evolution of displacement cascades, radiation-induced defect accumulation, radiation-induced segregation and phase decomposition, as well as the competition between irradiation-induced amorphization and recrystallization.

A new air-stable electronic surface passivation for GaAs and other III-V compound semiconductors that employs sulfur and a suitable metal ion, e.g., Zn, and that is robust towards plasma dielectric deposition has been developed. Initial improvements in photoluminescence are twice that of S-only treatments and have been preserved for >11 months with SiO{sub x}N{sub y} dielectric encapsulation. Photoluminescence and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopies indicate that the passivation consists of two major components with one being stable for >2 years in air. This process improves heterojunction bipolar transistor current gain for both large and small area devices.

Geothermal research study at Sandia National Laboratories has conducted a program in slimhole drilling research since 1992. Although our original interest focused on slim holes as an exploration method, it has also become apparent that they have substantial potential for driving small-scale, off-grid power plants. This paper summarizes Sandia's slim-hole research program, describes technology used in a ''typical'' slimhole drilling project, presents an evaluation of using slim holes for small power plants, and lists some of the research topics that deserve further investigation.

Low temperature electrical performance characteristics of A and T, Moli, and Panasonic 18650 Li-ion cells are described. Ragone plots of energy and power data of the cells for different temperatures from 25 C to {minus}40 C are compared. Although the electrical performance of these cells at and around room temperature is respectable, at temperatures below 0 C the performance is poor. For example, the delivered power and energy densities of the Panasonic cells at 25 C are {approximately}800 W/l and {approximately}100 Wh/l respectively and those at {minus}40 C are <10 W/l and {approximately}5 Wh/l. In order to identify the source for this poor performance at subambient temperatures, both 2- and 3-electrode impedance studies were made on these cells. The 2-electrode impedance data suggests that the cell ohmic resistance remains nearly constant from 25 C to {minus}20 C but increases modestly at {minus}40 C while the overall cell impedance increases by an order of magnitude over the same temperature range. The 3-electrode impedance data of the A and T cells show that the increase in cell resistance comes mostly from the cathode electrolyte interface and very little either from the anode electrolyte interface or from the ohmic resistance of the cell. This suggests that the poor performance of the cells comes mainly from the high cathode/electrolyte interfacial impedance.

The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) is the first nuclear waste repository certified by the United States Environmental Protection Agency. Success in regulatory compliance resulted from an excellent natural setting for such a repository, a facility with multiple, redundant safety systems, and from a rigorous, transparent scientific and technical evaluation. The WIPP story, which has evolved over the past 25 years, has generated a library of publications and analyses. Details of the multifaceted program are contained in the cited references. Selected geotechnical highlights prove the eminent suitability of the WIPP to serve its congressionally mandated purpose.

The purpose of this panel is to present different perspectives and opinions regarding the issues surrounding why software should or shouldn't be entrusted with critical (high consequence) functionality.

Measurements of dielectric breakdown during high-field electrical stress are typically performed at or near room temperature via constant voltage or current stress methods. In this summary they explore whether useful information might also be obtained by performing current measurements during a temperature ramp at high electric field.

High gain photoconductive semiconductor switches (PCSS) are being used to produce high power electromagnetic pulses foc (1) compact, repetitive accelerators, (2) ultra-wide band impulse sources, (3) precision gas switch triggers, (4) optically-activated firesets, and (5) high power optical pulse generation and control. High power, sub-nanosecond optical pulses are used for active optical sensors such as compact optical radars and range-gated hallistic imaging systems. Following a brief introduction to high gain PCSS and its general applications, this paper will focus on PCSS for optical pulse generation and control. PCSS technology can be employed in three distinct approaches to optical pulse generation and control: (1) short pulse carrier injection to induce gain-switching in semiconductor lasers, (2) electro-optical Q-switching, and (3) optically activated Q-switching. The most significant PCSS issues for these applications are switch rise time, jitter, and longevity. This paper will describe both the requirements of these applications and the most recent results from PCSS technology. Experiments to understand and expand the limitations of high gain PCSS will also be described.

We gain-switch flared waveguide lasers to obtain 14.5 W peak powers and 0.5 nJ pulse energies with laser structures compatible with the generation of diffraction-limited beams. The results are in excellent agreement with a microscopic laser model.

The longevity of high gain GaAs photoconductive semiconductor switches (PCSS) has been extended to over 50 million pulses. This was achieved by improving the ohmic contacts through the incorporation of a doped layer beneath the PCSS contacts which is very effective in the suppression of filament formation and alleviating current crowding to improve the longevity of PCSS. Virtually indefinite, damage-free operation is now possible at much higher current levels than before. The inherent damage-free current capacity of the switch depends on the thickness of the doped layers and is at least 100A for a dopant diffusion depth of 4pm. The contact metal has a different damage mechanism and the threshold for damage ({approximately}40A) is not further improved beyond a dopant diffusion depth of about 2{micro}m. In a diffusion-doped contact switch, the switching performance is not degraded when contact metal erosion occurs. This paper will compare thermal diffusion and epitaxial growth as approaches to doping the contacts. These techniques will be contrasted in terms of the fabrication issues and device characteristics.

Organically modified alkoxy silanes play an important role in tailoring different properties of silica produced by the sol-gel method. Changes in the size and functionality of the organic group allows control of both physical and chemical properties of the resulting gel, with the kinetics of the polymerization process playing an important role in the design of new siloxane materials. High resolution {sup 29}Si NMR has proven to be valuable tool for monitoring the polymerization reaction, and has been used to investigate a variety of organically modified alkoxy silane systems.

This paper will focus on the required growth conditions for self-doping metals and the various lifetime issues. Recent results for a novel self-doping metal system will be discussed briefly.

Back contact solar cells hold significant promise for increased performance in photovoltaics for the near future. Two major advantages which these cells possess are a lack of grid shading loss and coplanar interconnection. Front contacted cells can have up to 10% shading loss when using screen printed metal grids. A front contact cell must also use solder connections which run from the front of one cell to the back of the next for series interconnection. This procedure is more difficult to automate than the case of co-planar contacts. The back contact cell design is not a recent concept. The earliest silicon solar cell developed by Bell Labs was a back contact device. There have been many design modifications to the basic concept over the years. To name a few, there is the Interdigitated Back Contact (IBC) cell, the Stanford Point contact solar cell, the Emitter Wrap Through (EWT), and its many variations. A number of these design concepts have demonstrated high efficiency. The SunPower back contact solar cell holds the efficiency record for silicon concentrator cells. The challenge is to produce a high efficiency cell at low cost using high throughput techniques. This has yet to be achieved with a back contact cell design. The focus of this paper will be to review the relevant features of back contact cells and progress made toward the goal of a low cost version of this device.