This case study describes a success in technology transfer out of Sandia National Laboratories that resulted in commercialization supporting both the laboratories' national security mission and economic development. This case exemplifies how the process of technology innovation stretches from national legislation to laboratory management to entrepreneurs, and then out into the community where the technology must be developed and commercialized if innovation is to occur. Two things emerged from the research for this case study that have implications for technology transfer and commercialization from other national laboratories and may also be relevant to technology commercialization out of other federal laboratories and universities. The first is the very clear theme that partnerships were critical to the ultimate successful commercialization of the technology--partnerships between public and private research groups as well as between business development groups. The second involves identifiable factors that played a role in moving the process forward to successful commercialization. All of the factors, with two significant exceptions, focused on technology and business development directly related to creating research and business partnerships. The two exceptions, a technology with significant market applications, and entrepreneurs willing and able to take the risks and accomplish the hard work of technology innovation, were initiating requirements for the process.
The Sandia Photovoltaic Program conducted research in crystalline-silicon solar cells between 1986 and 2000 for the U.S. Department of Energy. This period saw rapid improvements in the fundamental understanding of c-Si materials and devices, improvements in c-Si PV manufacturing and control, and a rapid expansion of c-Si PV manufacturing capacity. Crystalline-silicon technology has provided the basis for PV to emerge as a serious option for global energy needs. The c-Si cell research at Sandia examined c-Si materials, devices, processing, and process integration. This report summarizes research conducted in this program over the past 15 years.
Despite the end of the Cold War, the US and Russia continue to maintain their ICBMs and many SLBMs in a highly alerted state--they are technically prepared to launch the missiles within minutes of a command decision to do so. Some analysts argue that, particularly in light of the distressed condition of the Russian military, these high alert conditions are tantamount to standing on the edge of a nuclear cliff from which we should now step back. They have proposed various bilateral ''de-alerting'' measures, to be taken prior to and outside the context of the formal strategic arms reduction treaty (START) process. This paper identifies several criteria for a stable de-alerting regime, but fails to find de-alerting measures that convincingly satisfy the criteria. However, some de-alerting measures have promise as de-activation measures for systems due for elimination under the START II and prospective START III treaties. Moreover, once these systems are deactivated, a considerable part of the perceived need to keep nuclear forces on high alert as a survivability hedge will be reduced. At the same time, the U.S. and Russia could consider building on their earlier cooperative actions to reduce the risk of inadvertent nuclear war by enhancing their communications links and possibly joining in efforts to improve early warning systems.
The authors have developed novel metal-assisted texturing processes that have led to optically favorable surfaces for solar cells. Large area ({approximately} 200 cm{sup 2}) uniform texturing has been achieved. The physical dimensions of the chamber limited texturing of even larger wafers. Surface contamination and residual RIE-induced damage were removed by incorporation of a complete RCA clean process followed by wet-chemical etching treatments. RIE-textured solar cells with optimized profiles providing performance comparable to the random, wet-chemically etched cells have been demonstrated. A majority of the texture profiles exhibit an enhanced IQE response in the near IR region.using scanning electron microscope measurements, they carried out a detailed analysis of the microstructure of random RIE-textured surfaces. The random microstructure represents a superposition of sub-{micro}m grating structures with a wide distribution of periods, depths, and profiles as determined by the SEM measurements. These structures were modeled using GSOLVER{trademark} software for periodic patterns. The enhanced IR response from random, RIE-textured surfaces is attributed to enhanced coupling of light into the transmitted diffraction orders. These obliquely propagating diffraction orders generate electron-hole pairs closer to the surface, thus, reducing bulk recombination losses relative to a non-scattering, planar surface with identical hemispherical reflection. The optimized texture and damage removal processes have been applied to large area (100--132 cm{sup 2}) multi-crystalline wafers. initial results have demonstrated improved performance relative to planar, control wafers. However, the texture and solar cell fabrication processes require further optimization in the RCA clean, DRE treatments, and emitter formation in order to fully realize the benefits of the low-reflection ({approximately}1-2%) textured surfaces.
We have used selective AlGaAs oxidation, dry-etching, and high-gain semiconductor laser simulation to create new in-plane lasers with interconnecting passive waveguides for use in high-density photonic circuits and future integration of photonics with electronics. Selective oxidation and doping of semiconductor heterostructures have made vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSELs) into the world's most efficient low-power lasers. We apply oxidation technology to improve edge-emitting lasers and photonic-crystal waveguides, making them suitable for monolithic integrated microsystems. Two types of lasers are investigated: (1) a ridge laser with resonant coupling to an output waveguide; (2) a selectively-oxidized laser with a low active volume and potentially sub-milliAmp threshold current. Emphasis is on development of high-performance lasers suited for monolithic integration with photonic circuit elements.
Ion implantation of O and Al were used to form nanometer-size precipitates of NiO or Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} in the near-surface of Ni. The yield strengths of the treated layers were determined by nanoindentation testing in conjunction with finite-element modeling. The strengths range up to {approximately}5 GPa, substantially above values for hard bearing steels. These results agree quantitatively with predictions of dispersion-hardening theory based on the precipitate microstructures observed by transmission electron microscopy. Such surface hardening by ion implantation may be beneficial for Ni components in micro-electromechanical systems.
An effort is underway at Sandia National Laboratories to develop a library of algorithms to search for potential interactions between surfaces represented by analytic and discretized topological entities. This effort is also developing algorithms to determine forces due to these interactions for transient dynamics applications. This document describes the Application Programming Interface (API) for the ACME (Algorithms for Contact in a Multiphysics Environment) library.
The type of polymeric material used in the manufacturing of tubing determines its strength, elasticity, and durability. Tubing made of polymeric material is commonly used for analytical work because it is readily available, inexpensive and can be relatively inert. Polymeric tubing is used in many sampling applications for explosive compounds. A major concern is the uptake of the explosive compounds into or onto the tubing during sampling. Because of the reactive nature of explosives, it is important that as little of the detectable explosive as possible is lost by tubing uptake. It is also important that nothing leaches out of the tubing to interfere with the detection of explosives. High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) is commonly used for the analysis of trace levels of explosive compounds in the range of parts per billion (ppb) to parts per million (ppm). This study attempts to determine which types of polymers are most conducive to sampling applications where large volumes of dilute explosive solutions are collected through a length of tubing for analysis. This was determined by analyzing the amount of explosive lost from solution per cm{sup 2} of tubing in solution. It was determined that tubing made of polyethylene, teflon, polypropylene, or KYNAR{reg_sign} is recommended for dilute trinitrotoluene (TNT) solution analyses. Tubing made of polypropylene, PHARMED{reg_sign}, KYNAR{reg_sign}, or polyethylene is recommended for analyses involving dilute explosive solutions of RDX. Tubing made from polyurethane, TYGON{reg_sign}, nylon, vinyl, gum rubber, or reinforced PVC are not recommended because they leach contaminants into solution that may interfere with HPLC analysis of explosive peaks.
The next major performance plateau for high-speed, long-haul networks is at 10 Gbps. Data visualization, high performance network storage, and Massively Parallel Processing (MPP) demand these (and higher) communication rates. MPP-to-MPP distributed processing applications and MPP-to-Network File Store applications already require single conversation communication rates in the range of 10 to 100 Gbps. MPP-to-Visualization Station applications can already utilize communication rates in the 1 to 10 Gbps range. This LDRD project examined some of the building blocks necessary for developing a 10 to 100 Gbps computer network architecture. These included technology areas such as, OS Bypass, Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM), IP switching and routing, Optical Amplifiers, Inverse Multiplexing of ATM, data encryption, and data compression; standards bodies activities in the ATM Forum and the Optical Internetworking Forum (OIF); and proof-of-principle laboratory prototypes. This work has not only advanced the body of knowledge in the aforementioned areas, but has generally facilitated the rapid maturation of high-speed networking and communication technology by: (1) participating in the development of pertinent standards, and (2) by promoting informal (and formal) collaboration with industrial developers of high speed communication equipment.
The NEWPEP thermochemical code is a computer program that has been developed to help predict the performance of a user generated propellant system. Sandia has used the program to model the use of different oxidizer/fuel combinations. The program has been adapted to fit Sandia's need by expanding the programs combustion species database and the ingredient list. This paper provides the user with a thorough set of operating instructions.
Several years ago Sandia National Laboratories developed a prototype interior robot [1] that could navigate autonomously inside a large complex building to aid and test interior intrusion detection systems. Recently the Department of Energy Office of Safeguards and Security has supported the development of a vehicle that will perform limited security functions autonomously in a structured exterior environment. The goal of the first phase of this project was to demonstrate the feasibility of an exterior robotic vehicle for security applications by using converted interior robot technology, if applicable. An existing teleoperational test bed vehicle with remote driving controls was modified and integrated with a newly developed command driving station and navigation system hardware and software to form the Robotic Security Vehicle (RSV) system. The RSV, also called the Sandia Mobile Autonomous Navigator (SANDMAN), has been successfully used to demonstrate that teleoperated security vehicles which can perform limited autonomous functions are viable and have the potential to decrease security manpower requirements and improve system capabilities.
This report provides a brief summary of the characteristics of contemporary high-power microwave sources. The focus is on their physical and operational characteristics and regions of application rather than their theory of operation. Magnetrons, linear beam tubes, split-cavity oscillators, virtual cathode oscillators, gyrotrons, free-electron lasers, and orbitron microwave masers are described. Power supply requirements and engineering issues of the application of HPM devices are addressed.
In support of the Cassini Mission Final Safety Analysis Report (FSAR), Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) was requested by Lockheed Martin Corporation (LMC) to investigate for various scenarios, the distribution of aerosol and particulate mass in a stabilized buoyant plume created as a result of a fireball explosion. The information obtained from these calculations is to provide background information for the radiological consequence analysis of the FSAR. Specifically, the information is used to investigate the mass distribution within the ''cap and stem'' portions of the initial fireball plume, a modeling feature included in the SATRAP module in the LMC SPARRC code. The investigation includes variation of the plume energy and the application of several meteorological conditions for a total of seven sensitivity case studies. For each of the case studies, the calculations were performed for two configurations of particle mass in the plume (total mass and plutonium mass).
The DAKOTA (Design Analysis Kit for Optimization and Terascale Applications) toolkit provides a flexible and extensible interface between simulation codes and iterative analysis methods. DAKOTA contains algorithms for optimization with gradient and nongradient-based methods; uncertainty quantification with sampling, analytic reliability, and stochastic finite element methods; parameter estimation with nonlinear least squares methods; and sensitivity analysis with design of experiments and parameter study methods. These capabilities may be used on their own or as components within advanced strategies such as surrogate-based optimization, mixed integer nonlinear programming, or optimization under uncertainty. By employing object-oriented design to implement abstractions of the key components required for iterative systems analyses, the DAKOTA toolkit provides a flexible and extensible problem-solving environment for design and performance analysis of computational models on high performance computers. This report serves as a reference manual for the commands specification for the DAKOTA software, providing input overviews, option descriptions, and example specifications.
Steady and oscillatory shear 3-D simulations of electro- and magnetorheology in uniaxial and biaxial fields are presented, and compared to the predictions of the chain model. These large scale simulations are three dimensional, and include the effect of Brownian motion. In the absence of thermal fluctuations, the expected shear thinning viscosity is observed in steady shear, and a striped phase is seen to rapidly form in a uniaxial field, with a shear slip zone in each sheet. However, as the influence of Brownian motion increases, the fluid stress decreases, especially at lower Mason numbers, and the striped phase eventually disappears, even when the fluid stress is still high. In a biaxial field, an opposite trend is seen, where Brownian motion decreases the stress most significantly at higher Mason numbers. To account for the uniaxial steady shear data we propose a microscopic chain model of the role played by thermal fluctuations on the rheology of ER and MR fluids that delineates the regimes where an applied field can impact the fluid viscosity, and gives an analytical prediction for the thermal effect. In oscillatory shear, a striped phase again appears in a uniaxial field, at strain amplitudes greater than ∼0.15, and the presence of a shear slip zone creates strong stress nonlinearities at low strain amplitudes. In a biaxial field, a shear slip zone is not created, and so the stress nonlinearities develop only at expected strain amplitudes. The nonlinear dynamics of these systems is shown to be in good agreement with the Kinetic Chain Model.