The worst case bias during total dose irradiation of partially depleted SOI transistors (from SNL and from CEA/LETI) is correlated to the device architecture. Experiments and simulations are used to analyze SOI back transistor threshold voltage shift and charge trapping in the buried oxide.
The optimization of concentrated AlliedSignal GS-44 silicon nitride aqueous slurries for robocasting was investigated. The dispersion mechanisms of GS-44 Si{sub 3}N{sub 4} aqueous suspensions with and without polyacrylate were analyzed. The zero point of charge (ZPC) was at about pH 6. Well-dispersed GS-44 suspensions were obtained in the pH range from 7 to 11 by the addition of Darvan 821A. The influence of pH, amount of Darvan 821A and solids loading on the theological behavior of GS-44 aqueous suspensions was determined. A coagulant, aluminum nitrate, was used to control the yield stress and shear thinning behavior of highly loaded Si{sub 3}N{sub 4} slurries. Homogeneous and stable suspensions of 52 vol% GS-44 Si{sub 3}N{sub 4} were robocast successfully at pH 7.8 to pH 8.5. The sintering process, mechanical properties and microstructural characteristics of robocast GS-44 bars were determined.
The authors use force-probe microscopy to study the friction force and the adhesive interaction for molecular monolayer self-assembled on both Au probe tips and substrate surfaces. By systematically varying the chemical nature of the end groups on these monolayers the authors have, for the first time, delineated the mechanical and chemical origins of molecular-level friction. They use chemically inert {double_bond}CH{sub 3} groups on both interracial surfaces to establish the purely mechanical component of the friction and contrast the results with the findings for chemically active {double_bond}COOH end-groups. In addition, by using odd or even numbers of methylene groups in the alkyl backbones of the molecules they are able to determine the levels of inter-film and intra-film hydrogen bonding.
The authors use scanning probe microscopy to actuate and characterize the nanoscale mechanochromism of polydiacetylene monolayer on atomically-flat silicon oxide substrates. They find explicit evidence that the irreversible blue-to-red transformation is caused by shear forces exerted normal to the polydiacetylene polymer backbone. The anisotropic probe-induced transformation is characterized by a significant change in the tilt orientation of the side chains with respect to the surface normal. They also describe a new technique, based on shear force microscopy, that allows them to image friction anisotropy of polydiacetylene monolayer independent of scan direction. Finally, they discuss preliminary molecular mechanics modeling and electronic structure calculations that allow them to understand the correlation of mechanochromism with bond-angle changes in the conjugated polymer backbone.
Solar thermal-to-electric power plants have been tested and investigated at Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) since the late 1970s, and thermal storage has always been an area of key study because it affords an economical method of delivering solar-electricity during non-daylight hours. This paper describes the design considerations of a new, single-tank, thermal storage system and details the benefits of employing this technology in large-scale (10MW to 100MW) solar thermal power plants. Since December 1999, solar engineers at Sandia National Laboratories' National Solar Thermal Test Facility (NSTTF) have designed and are constructing a thermal storage test called the thermocline system. This technology, which employs a single thermocline tank, has the potential to replace the traditional and more expensive two-tank storage systems. The thermocline tank approach uses a mixture of silica sand and quartzite rock to displace a significant portion of the volume in the tank. Then it is filled with the heat transfer fluid, a molten nitrate salt. A thermal gradient separates the hot and cold salt. Loading the tank with the combination of sand, rock, and molten salt instead of just molten salt dramatically reduces the system cost. The typical cost of the molten nitrate salt is $800 per ton versus the cost of the sand and rock portion at $70 per ton. Construction of the thermocline system will be completed in August 2000, and testing will run for two to three months. The testing results will be used to determine the economic viability of the single-tank (thermocline) storage technology for large-scale solar thermal power plants. Also discussed in this paper are the safety issues involving molten nitrate salts and other heat transfer fluids, such as synthetic heat transfer oils, and the impact of these issues on the system design.
A figure of merit for optimization of a complete Stokes polarimeter based on its measurement matrix is described from the standpoint of singular value decomposition and analysis of variance. It is applied to optimize a system featuring a rotatable retarder and fixed polarizer, and to study the effects of non-ideal retarder properties. A retardance of 132{degree} (approximately three-eighths wave) and retarder orientation angles of {+-}51.7{degree} and {+-}15.1{degree} are favorable when four measurements are used. An achromatic, form-birefringent retarder for the 3--5 {micro}m spectral region has been fabricated and characterized. The effects of non-idealities in the form-birefringent retarder are moderate, and performance superior to that of a quarter-wave plate is expected.
The construction of inverse states in a finite field F{sub P{sub {alpha}}} enables the organization of the mass scale with fundamental octets in an eight-dimensional index space that identifies particle states with residue class designations. Conformance with both CPT invariance and the concept of supersymmetry follows as a direct consequence of this formulation. Based on two parameters (P{sub {alpha}} and g{sub {alpha}}) that are anchored on a concordance of physical data, this treatment leads to (1) a prospective mass for the muon neutrino of {approximately}27.68 meV, (2) a value of the unified strong-electroweak coupling constant {alpha}* = (34.26){sup {minus}1} that is physically defined by the ratio of the electron neutrino and muon neutrino masses, and (3) a see-saw congruence connecting the Higgs, the electron neutrino, and the muon neutrino masses. Specific evaluation of the masses of the corresponding supersymmetric Higgs pair reveals that both particles are superheavy (> 10{sup 18}GeV). No renormalization of the Higgs masses is introduced, since the calculational procedure yielding their magnitudes is intrinsically divergence-free. Further, the Higgs fulfills its conjectured role through the see-saw relation as the particle defining the origin of all particle masses, since the electron and muon neutrino systems, together with their supersymmetric partners, are the generators of the mass scale and establish the corresponding index space. Finally, since the computation of the Higgs masses is entirely determined by the modulus of the field P{sub {alpha}}, which is fully defined by the large-scale parameters of the universe through the value of the universal gravitational constant G and the requirement for perfect flatness ({Omega} = 1.0), the see-saw congruence fuses the concepts of mass and space and creates a new unified archetype.
Control objectives open an additional front in the survivability battle. A given set of control objectives is valuable if it represents good practices, it is complete (it covers all the necessary areas), and it is auditable. CobiT and BS 7799 are two examples of control objective sets.
The authors understanding of multiphase physics and the associated predictive capability for multi-phase systems are severely limited by current continuum modeling methods and experimental approaches. This research will deliver an unprecedented modeling capability to directly simulate three-dimensional multi-phase systems at the particle-scale. The model solves the fully coupled equations of motion governing the fluid phase and the individual particles comprising the solid phase using a newly discovered, highly efficient coupled numerical method based on the discrete-element method and the Lattice-Boltzmann method. A massively parallel implementation will enable the solution of large, physically realistic systems.
This summer, the author was tasked with the development of a design and prototype for a Programming Adapter (PA). This device must interface to a specialized cluster of computers at a US Air Force programming station. The PA is a command/response system capable of recognizing commands from a host Programming Computer (PC) generating a response to these commands according to design requirements. The PA must also route classified serial data between a programming station and any target devices on the PA without compromising the data. In this manner, classified data can pass through the adapter, but when data transfer is complete, the PA can be handled as an unclassified piece of hardware.
A series of inertial confinement fusion (ICF) capsule experiments were run on the Z machine at Sandia's Pulsed Power directorate. These experiments were designed specifically to implode a 2 mm diameter hollow plastic capsule filled with deuterium gas. The implosion of the capsule should raise the temperature (kinetic energy) of the deuterium gas ions, which will interact with each other and produce 2.45 MeV fusion neutrons. The author is reporting on one diagnostic technique used to measure the yield of these fusion neutrons. The technique chosen to measure the DD neutron yield is the use of lead (Pb) probe detectors. The assignment was to calibrate two detectors for the 2.50-MeV neutrons produced by the deuterium-deuterium fusion reactions on Z. The author introduces ICF, and then describes the theory, the design, and the calibration of the lead probe. Finally, she presents the results of the ICF experiments and explain the difficulties inherent in analyzing the data.
Saturn is a dual-purpose accelerator. It can be operated as a large-area flash x-ray source for simulation testing or as a Z-pinch driver especially for K-line x-ray production. In the first mode, the accelerator is fitted with three concentric-ring 2-MV electron diodes, while in the Z-pinch mode the current of all the modules is combined via a post-hole convolute arrangement and driven through a cylindrical array of very fine wires. We present here a point design for a new Saturn class driver based on a number of linear inductive voltage adders connected in parallel. A technology recently implemented at the Institute of High Current Electronics in Tomsk (Russia) is being utilized. In the present design we eliminate Marx generators and pulse-forming networks. Each inductive voltage adder cavity is directly fed by a number of fast 100-kV small-size capacitors arranged in a circular array around each accelerating gap. The number of capacitors connected in parallel to each cavity defines the total maximum current. By selecting low inductance switches, voltage pulses as short as 30-50-ns FWHM can be directly achieved. The voltage of each stage is low (100-200 kv). Many stages are required to achieve multi-megavolt accelerator output. However, since the length of each stage is very short (4-10 cm), accelerating gradients of higher than 1 MV/m can easily be obtained. The proposed new driver will be capable of delivering pulses of 15-MA, 36-TW, 1.2-MJ to the diode load, with a peak voltage of {minus}2.2 MV and FWHM of 40-ns. And although its performance will exceed the presently utilized driver, its size and cost could be much smaller ({approximately}1/3). In addition, no liquid dielectrics like oil or deionized water will be required. Even elimination of ferromagnetic material (by using air-core cavities) is a possibility.
This report describes the procedure and properties of the software upgrade for the Vibration Performance Recorder. The upgrade will check the 20 memory cards for proper read/write operation. The upgrade was successfully installed and uploaded into the Viper and the field laptop. The memory checking routine must run overnight to complete the test, although the laptop need only be connected to the Viper unit until the downloading routine is finished. The routine has limited ability to recognize incomplete or corrupt header and footer files. The routine requires 400 Megabytes of free hard disk space. There is one minor technical flaw detailed in the conclusion.
In order to exploit the information on surface wave propagation that is stored in large seismic event datasets, Sandia and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories have developed a MatSeis interface for performing phase-matched filtering of Rayleigh arrivals. MatSeis is a Matlab-based seismic processing toolkit which provides graphical tools for analyzing seismic data from a network of stations. Tools are available for spectral and polarization measurements, as well as beam forming and f-k analysis with array data, to name just a few. Additionally, one has full access to the Matlab environment and any functions available there. Previously the authors reported the development of new MatSeis tools for calculating regional discrimination measurements. The first of these performs Lg coda analysis as developed by Mayeda and coworkers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. A second tool measures regional phase amplitude ratios for an event and compares the results to ratios from known earthquakes and explosions. Release 1.5 of MatSeis includes the new interface for the analysis of surface wave arrivals. This effort involves the use of regionalized dispersion models from a repository of surface wave data and the construction of phase-matched filters to improve surface wave identification, detection, and magnitude calculation. The tool works as follows. First, a ray is traced from source to receiver through a user-defined grid containing different group velocity versus period values to determine the composite group velocity curve for the path. This curve is shown along with the upper and lower group velocity bounds for reference. Next, the curve is used to create a phase-matched filter, apply the filter, and show the resultant waveform. The application of the filter allows obscured Rayleigh arrivals to be more easily identified. Finally, after screening information outside the range of the phase-matched filter, an inverse version of the filter is applied to obtain a cleaned raw waveform which can be used for amplitude measurements. Because all the MatSeis tools have been written as Matlab functions, they can be easily modified to experiment with different processing details. The performance of the propagation models can be evaluated using any event available in the repository of surface wave events.
This is the author's third summer working at Sandia National Laboratories in organization 5712. He is a physics major at Reed College in Portland, Oregon. His work at Sandia began during his senior year at Eldorado High School, when he worked part time and received school credit for participating in the internship program. During that time and two ensuing summers he worked on a variety of projects. These experiences included testing a number of optical-electronic systems, performing such tasks as determining the spectral responsivity of photodiodes and placing optical/electronic systems in front of a variety of light-sources in order to generate calibration curves. He also contributed to the computer generation of data to model a hypothetical satellite-mounted detection system using SSGM (Synthetic Scene Generation Model) and the Khoros visual programming software Cantata on a UNIX operating system. Other experiences included pre-flight satellite testing, and work in the field deploying a suite of sensors and data collection equipment in Nevada. This summer he is involved in image analysis using the software development tools of the Khoros programming environment. He is working on a project whose goal is to identify superimposed spectra obtained from remote-sensing equipment. The spectra to be identified are those of chemical warfare agents and precursor chemicals from the industrial processes used to manufacture them. Identifying these spectra is a challenge when they are mixed with each other and with incident light from the ground and atmosphere--photons that are both reflected from the sun and emitted as blackbody radiation. In order to model this process, he is working on a Khoros program that will add noise to laboratory-obtained spectra from a variety of chemicals. This altered data will mimic what a remote sensing device is likely to record in the field. Given this example of likely field results, developing an ideal sensor and a method to identify spectra from such data will continue for a number of years.
Computers transfer data in a number of different ways. Whether through a serial port, a parallel port, over a modem, over an ethernet cable, or internally from a hard disk to memory, some data will be lost. To compensate for that loss, numerous error detection and correction algorithms have been developed. One of the most common error correction codes is the Reed-Solomon code, which is a special subset of BCH (Bose-Chaudhuri-Hocquenghem) linear cyclic block codes. In the AURA project, an unmanned aircraft sends the data it collects back to earth so it can be analyzed during flight and possible flight modifications made. To counter possible data corruption during transmission, the data is encoded using a multi-block Reed-Solomon implementation with a possibly shortened final block. In order to maximize the amount of data transmitted, it was necessary to reduce the computation time of a Reed-Solomon encoding to three percent of the processor's time. To achieve such a reduction, many code optimization techniques were employed. This paper outlines the steps taken to reduce the processing time of a Reed-Solomon encoding and the insight into modern optimization techniques gained from the experience.