Publications

Polysilicon surface micromachining is a technology for manufacturing Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) which has, as its basis, the manufacturing methods and tool sets used to manufacture the integrated electronic circuit. This paper describes a three-level mechanical-polysiiicon surface-micromachining technology and includes a discussion of the advantages of this level of process complexity along with issues which affect device fabrication and performance. Historically, the primary obstacles to multi-level polysilicon fabrication were related to the severe wafer topography generated by the repetition of film depositions and etching. The introduction of Chemical Mechanical Polishing (CMP) to surface micromachining has largely removed these issues and opened significant avenues for device complexity. Several examples of three-level devices with the benefits of CMP are presented. Of primary hindrance to the widespread use of polysilicon surface micromachining, and in particular microactuation mechanisms, are issues related to the device surfaces. The closing discussion examines the potential of several latter and postfabrication processes to circumvent or to directly alleviate the surface problems.

We apply a number of complementary characterization techniques including electron paramagnetic resonance, optical absorption, and photoluminescence spectroscopies to characterize a wide range of different ZnO phosphor powders. We generally observe a good correlation between the 510-nm green emission intensity and the density of paramagnetic isolated oxygen vacancies. In addition, both quantities are found to peak at a free-carrier concentration ne, of about 1.4×1018 cm-3. We also find that the green emission intensity can be strongly influenced by free-carrier depletion at the particle surface, especially for small particles and/or low doping. Our data suggest that the green PL in ZnO phosphors is due to the recombination of electrons in singly occupied oxygen vacancies with photoexcited holes in the valence band.

Crystal lattices are infinite periodic graphs that occur naturally in a variety of geometries and which are of fundamental importance in polymer science. Discrete models of protein folding use crystal lattices to define the space of protein conformations. Because various crystal lattices provide discretizations of the same physical phenomenon, it is reasonable to expect that there will exist "invariants" across lattices that define fundamental properties of the protein folding process; an invariant defines a property that transcends particular lattice formulations. This paper identifies two classes of invariants, defined in terms of sublattices that are related to the design of algorithms for the structure prediction problem. The first class of invariants is used to define a master approximation algorithm for which provable performance guarantees exist. This algorithm can be applied to generalizations of the hydrophobic-hydrophilic model that have lattices other than the cubic lattice, including most of the crystal lattices commonly used in protein folding lattice models. The second class of invariants applies to a related lattice model. Using these invariants, we show that for this model the structure prediction problem is intractable across a variety of threedimensional lattices. It turns out that these two classes of invariants are respectively sublattices of the two-and three-dimensional square lattice. As the square lattices are the standard lattices used in empirical protein folding studies, our results provide a rigorous confirmation of the ability of these lattices to provide insight into biological phenomenon. Our results are the first in the literature that identify algorithmic paradigms for the protein structure prediction problem that transcend particular lattice formulations.

GOMA is a two- and three-dimensional finite element program which excels in analyses of manufacturing processes, particularly those involving free or moving interfaces. Specifically, the full-Newton-coupled heat, mass, momentum, and pseudo-solid mesh motion algorithm makes GOMA ideally suited for simulating processes in which the bulk fluid transport is closely coupled to the interfacial physics. Examples include, but are not limited to, coating and polymer processing flows, soldering, crystal growth, and solid-network or solution film drying. The code is based on the premise that any boundary can be (1) moving or free, with an apriori unknown position dictated by the distinguishing physics, (2) fixed, according to a global analytical representation, or (3) moving in time and space under user-prescribed kinematics. The goal is to enable the user to predict boundary position or motion simultaneously with the physics of the problem being analyzed and to pursue geometrical design studies and fluid-structure interaction problems. The moving mesh algorithm treats the entire domain as a computational Lagrangian solid that deforms subject to the physical principles which dictate boundary position. As an added benefit, the same Lagrangian solid mechanics can be exploited to solve multi-field problems for which the solid motion and stresses interact with other transport phenomena, either within the same material phase (e.g. shrinking coating) or in neighboring material phases (e.g. flexible blade coating). Thus, analyses of many fluid-structure interaction problems and deformable porous media problems are accessible. This document serves as a user`s guide and reference for GOMA and provides a brief overview of GOMA`s capabilities, theoretical background, and classes of problems for which it is targeted.

The prediction of stresses and displacements around tunnels buried deep within the earth is an important class of geomechanics problems. The material behavior immediately surrounding the tunnel is typically nonlinear. The surrounding mass, even if it is nonlinear, can usually be characterized by a simple linear elastic model. The finite element method is best suited for modeling nonlinear materials of limited volume, while the boundary element method is well suited for modeling large volumes of linear elastic material. A computational scheme that couples the finite element and boundary element methods would seem particularly useful for geomechanics problems. A variety of coupling schemes have been proposed, but they rely on direct solution methods. Direct solution techniques have large storage requirements that become cumbersome for large-scale three-dimensional problems. An alternative to direct solution methods is iterative solution techniques. A scheme has been developed for coupling the finite element and boundary element methods that uses an iterative solution method. This report shows that this coupling scheme is valid for problems where nonlinear material behavior occurs in the finite element region.

The primary goal of the Individual Plant Examination (IPE) Program was for licensees to identify plant-unique vulnerabilities and actions to address these vulnerabilities. A review of these vulnerabilities and plant improvements that were identified in the IPEs was performed as part of the IPE Insights Program sponsored by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). The purpose of this effort was to characterize the identified vulnerabilities and the impact of suggested plant improvements. No specific definition for {open_quotes}vulnerability{close_quotes} was provided in NRC Generic Letter 88-20 or in the subsequent NRC IPE submittal guidance documented in NUREG-1335. Thus licensees were left to use their own definitions. Only 20% of the plants explicitly stated that they had vulnerabilities. However, most licensees identified other plant improvements to address issues not explicitly classified as vulnerabilities, but pertaining to areas in which overall plant safety could potentially be increased. The various definitions of {open_quotes}vulnerability{close_quotes} used by the licensees, explicitly identified vulnerabilities, proposed plant improvements to address these vulnerabilities, and other plant improvements are summarized and discussed.

In 1991, at the direction of the United Nations Security Council, UNSCOM and IAEA developed plans for On-going Monitoring and Verification (OMV) in Iraq. The plans were accepted by the Security Council and remote monitoring and atmospheric sampling equipment has been installed at selected sites in Iraq. The remote monitoring equipment consists of video cameras and sensors positioned to observe equipment or activities at sites that could be used to support the development or manufacture of weapons of mass destruction, or long-range missiles. The atmospheric sampling equipment provides unattended collection of chemical samples from sites that could be used to support the development or manufacture of chemical weapon agents. To support OMV in Iraq, UNSCOM has established the Baghdad Monitoring and Verification Centre. Imagery from the remote monitoring cameras can be accessed in near-real time from the Centre through RIF communication links with the monitored sites. The OMV program in Iraq has implications for international cooperative monitoring in both global and regional contexts. However, monitoring systems such as those used in Iraq are not sufficient, in and of themselves, to guarantee the absence of prohibited activities. Such systems cannot replace on-site inspections by competent, trained inspectors. However, monitoring similar to that used in Iraq can contribute to openness and confidence building, to the development of mutual trust, and to the improvement of regional stability.

Extensive work has been conducted by industry to develop lead-free solders for electronics applications. The driving force behind this effort is pressure to ban or tax the use of lead-bearing solders. There has been further interest to reduce the use of hazardous chemical cleaners. Lead-free soldering and low-residue, ``no clean`` assembly processing are being considered as solutions to these environmental issues. Most of the work has been directed toward commercial and military printed wiring board (PWB) technology, although similar problems confront the hybrid microcircuit (HMC) industry, where the development of lead-free HMC solders is generally lagging. Sandia National Laboratories is responsible for designing a variety of critical, high reliability hybrid components for radars. Sandia has consequently initiated a project, as part of its Environmentally Conscious Manufacturing program, to develop low-residue, lead-free soldering for HMCs. This paper discusses the progress of that work.

Breccia pipes in southeastern New Mexico are local dissolution-collapse features that formed over the Capitan reef more than 500,000 years ago. During early site studies for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP), the threat to isolation by these features was undetermined. Geophysical techniques, drilling, and field mapping were used beginning in 1976 to study breccia pipes. None were found at the WIPP site, and they are considered unlikely to be a significant threat even if undetected. WIPP documents related to breccia pipe studies were assembled, inspected, and analyzed, partly to present a history of these studies. The main objective is to assess how well the record reflects the purposes, results, and conclusions of the studies from concept to decision-making. The main record source was the Sandia WIPP Central File (SWCF). Early records (about 1975 to 1977) are very limited, however, about details of objectives and plans predating any investigation. Drilling programs from about 1977 were covered by a broadly standardized statement of work, field operations plan, drilling history, and basic data report. Generally standardized procedures for peer, management, and quality assurance review were developed during this time. Agencies such as the USGS conducted projects according to internal standards. Records of detailed actions for individual programs may not be available, though a variety of such records were found in the SWCF. A complete written record cannot be reconstructed. With persistence, a professional geologist can follow individual programs, relate data to objectives (even if implied), and determine how conclusions were used in decision-making. 83 refs.

The objective of this study is to determine how the jet fuel contained in aircraft wing tanks disperses on impact with a soft terrain, i.e., soils, at high impact velocities. The approach used in this study is to combine experimental and numerical methods. Tests were conducted with an approximately 1/42 linear-scale mass-model of a 1/4 span section of a C-141 wing impacting a sand/clay mixture. The test results showed that within the uncertainty of the data, the percentage of incident liquid mass remaining in the crater is the same as that qualitatively described in earlier napalm bomb development studies. Namely, the percentage of fuel in the crater ranges from near zero for grazing impacts to 25%--50% for high angles of impact. To support a weapons system safety assessment (WSSA), the data from the current study have been reduced to correlations. The numerical model used in the current study is a unique coupling of a Smooth Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) method with the transient dynamics finite element code PRONTO. Qualitatively, the splash, erosion, and soil compression phenomena are all numerically predicted. Quantitatively, the numerical method predicted a smaller crater cross section than was observed in the tests.

The BostoMatic 300 (BM300) machining center is an integral part of an ongoing Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) project at Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) titled ``Intelligent Tools for On-Machine Acceptance of Precision Machined Components``. On-Machine Acceptance (OMA) is a new agile manufacturing concept being developed for machine tools at SNL. The concept behind OMA is the integration of product design, fabrication, and qualification processes. To achieve the OMA integration of design, fabrication and qualification processes, the BM300 will function as a fabrication and inspection tool. The BM300 performance evaluation took place in July and August of 1994. Tests were conducted in the Advanced Manufacturing Process Laboratory (AMPL), Bldg 878, SNL/NM using a BM300 serial number MM-590. All testing was in accordance with ANSI/ASME B5.54-1992 ``Performance Evaluation of Numerically Controlled Machining Centers``, unless otherwise noted. The results of all tests were compiled and documented in Section 4.0. The ANSI B5.54 testing of the BM300 was divided into six areas. Those areas are linear displacement accuracy, angular displacement accuracy, axis of rotation (spindle), geometric accuracy, volumetric performance, and machine performance as a measuring tool. Details regarding the six tests and test equipment are documented in Section 4.0. As of August 1994 testing of the BM300 in the area of ``Machine Performance as a Measuring Tool`` had not been completed. Future testing in this area may incorporate the LDRD test part along with the appropriate ANSI B5.54 specification in determining the BM300 accuracy.

Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico, has adopted strategic, standards-based telecommunication technologies to deliver high-speed communication services to its research and development community. The architecture to provide these services specifies a cabling system capable of carrying high-bandwidth signals to each desktop. While the facilities infrastructure of Sandia has been expanding and evolving over the past four decades to meet the needs of this premier research and development community, the communications infrastructure has remained essentially stagnant. The need to improve Sandia`s telecommunication cable infrastructure gave rise to the Intra-building Recabling Project (IRP). The IRP directed Sandia`s efforts to modernize and standardize the communications infrastructure throughout its New Mexico campus. This report focuses on the development and implementation of the project`s design considerations, concepts, and standards, as well as the adopted transmission media and supporting delivery subsystems.

Switch tubes are used in nuclear weapon firing sets and are required to be reliable and impervious to gas permeation for many years. To accomplish this, a gold plated coating of approximately 25 microns is required over all metal surfaces on the tube exterior. The gold has historically been plated using gold cyanide plating chemistry. In this work we proposed to replace the cyanide plating bath with an environmentally friendlier sulfite gold plating bath. Low and high pH sulfite plating chemistries were investigated as possible replacements for the cyanide gold plating chemistry. The low pH plating chemistry demonstrated a gold plated coating which met the high purity, grain size, and hardness requirements for switch tubes. The high pH chemistry was rejected primarily because the hardness of the gold plated coatings was too high and exceeded switch tube coating requirements. A problem with nodule formation on the gold plated surface using the low pH chemistry had to be resolved during this evaluation. The nodule formation was postulated to be produced by generation of SO{sub 2} in the low pH bath causing gold to be precipitated out when the sulfite concentration falls below a minimum level. The problem was resolved by maintaining a higher sulfite concentration and providing an active filtration system during plating. In this initial study, there were no major obstacles found when using a sulfite gold bath for switch tube plating, however, further work is needed on bath control and bath life before adopting it as the primary plating chemistry.

The US nuclear weapon stockpile is entering a different era. Continuous introduction of new weapons into the stockpile, a large production capacity, and underground nuclear testing played important roles in how the nuclear weapons stockpile was managed in the past. These are no longer elements of the nuclear weapons program. Adjustments need to be made to compensate for the loss of these elements. The history of the stockpile indicates that problems have been found in both nuclear and nonnuclear components through a variety of methods including the Stockpile Evaluation Program, stockpile management activities, underground nuclear tests, and research activities. Changes have been made to the stockpile when necessary to assure safety, performance, and reliability. There have been problems found in each of the weapon types expected to be in the stockpile in the year 2000. It is reasonable to expect problems will continue to arise in the stockpile as it ages beyond the original design expectations.

Natural fractures and in situ stresses commonly dictate subsurface reservoir permeability and permeability anisotropy, as well as the effectiveness of stimulation techniques in low-permeability, natural gas reservoirs. This paper offers an initial prediction for the orientations of the fracture and stress systems in the tight gas reservoirs of the Frontier Formation, in the Green River basin of southwestern Wyoming. It builds on a previous report that addressed fractures and stresses in the western part of the basin and on ideas developed for the rest of the basin, using the principle that thrust faults are capable of affecting the stress magnitudes and orientations in little-deformed strata several hundreds of kilometers in front of a thrust. The prediction of subsurface stresses and natural fracture orientations is an undertaking that requires the willingness to revise models as definitive data are acquired during drilling. The predictions made in this paper are offered with the caveat that geology in the subsurface is always full of surprises.

Probabilistic safety analyses (PSAs) frequently depend on fault tree and event tree models, using probabilities of `events` for inputs. Uncertainty or variability is sometimes included by assuming that the input probabilities vary independently and according to an assumed stochastic probability distribution modes. Evidence is accumulating that this methodology does not apply well to some situations, most significantly when the inputs contain a degree of subjectivity or are dependent. This report documents the current status of an investigation into methods for effectively incorporating subjectivity and dependence in PSAs and into the possibility of incorporating inputs that are partly subjective and partly stochastic. One important byproduct of this investigation was a computer routine that combines conventional PSA techniques with newly developed subjective techniques in a `hybrid` (subjective and conventional PSA) program. This program (PHASER) and a user`s manual are now available for beta use.

Stereolithography is a rapid prototyping method that is becoming an important product realization and concurrent engineering tool, with applications in advanced and agile manufacturing. During the build process, material behavior plays a significant role in the mechanics leading to internal stresses and, potentially, to distortion (curling) of parts. The goal of the ``Stereolithography Manufacturing Process Modeling and Optimization`` LDRD program was to develop engineering tools for improving overall part accuracy during the stereolithography build process. These tools include phenomenological material models of solidifying stereolithography photocurable resins and a 3D finite element architecture that incorporates time varying material behavior, laser path dependence, and structural linkage. This SAND report discusses the in situ measurement of shrinkage and force relaxation behavior of two photocurable resins, and the measurement of curl in simple cantilever beams. These studies directly supported the development of phenomenological material models for solidifying resins and provided experimental curl data to compare to model predictions.

A technique called ripple fire used in quarry blasts produces modulations in the spectra of these events. The Deployable Seismic Verification System (DSVS) was installed at the Pinedale Seismic Research Facility in Wyoming, an area with a lot of mining activity. DSVS records at frequencies up to 50 Hz and these data provides us with a unique opportunity to determine how well we can discriminate quarry blasts and if there are operational benefits from using high frequency (>20 Hz) data. We have collected a database of 646 events consisting of known earthquakes, known quarry blasts and unknown signals. We have started to calculate preliminary spectrograms if we get the time-independent banding from the quarry blasts, and at what frequencies the banning occurs. We also detail what we hope to accomplish in FY 1996.

A gridless method has been developed for the simulation of coupled fluid/structural interactions over arbitrary bodies. This method uses Eulerian-based points arbitrarily distributed over the computational domain with no formal connectivity as typically required for a traditional grid. Comparisons are made with known exact solutions for simple two-dimensional model problems. Methods of improving the accuracy of the current implementation by using higher order approximations have been implemented. Accuracy improvement by using point adaption has been investigated. Plane strain and axisymmetric shells have been added to the code structural code PRONTO2D for future fluid/structural calculations. To date, coupled fluid/structure calculations have not been made.

This paper presents a high-efficiency, dielectric, subwavelength surface relief ``blazed grating`` and reports recent results on a subwavelength ``anti-reflection`` surface. These structures were designed for use at 975 nm, probably the shortest wavelength for which semiconductor structures of these types have been successfully demonstrated. They were fabricated in GaAs substrates.

Tools and techniques developed to measure stresses and motions on underground nuclear and high explosive tests in the tuff geologies at the Nevada Test Site are described in this document. The thrust of the measurements was to understand containment phenomenology. The authors concentrate on the fluid-coupled ytterbium gage; it was fielded to measure dynamic stress in the 0.2 to 20 kilobar range and the subsequent, low amplitude residual stress. Also described are accelerometer packages; their traces were integrated to obtain particle motion. Various cable survival techniques were investigated with field measurements for they wished to extend the measurements to late-time. Field measurements were also made to address the gage inclusion problem. Work to date suggests that the problem is a minimum when the stress level is above the yield strength of the host rock and grout. Below the yield level stress amplitudes in the grouted hole can range from 60 to 200% of the stress in the host rock.

Intense magnetic fields exist in the immediate vicinity of a lightning strike (and near power lines). Conducting barriers increase the rise time (and thus decrease the rise rate) interior to the barrier, but typically do not prevent penetration of the magnetic field, since the lightning current fall time may be larger than the barrier diffusion time. Thus, substantial energy is present in the interior field, although the degradation of rise rate makes it more difficult to couple into electrical circuits. This report assesses the threat posed by the diffusive magnetic field to interior components and wire loops (where voltages are induced). Analytical and numerical bounding analyses are carried out on a pill box shaped conducting barrier to develop estimates for the worst case magnetic field threats inside the system. Worst case induced voltages and energies are estimated and compared with threshold charge voltages and energies on the output capacitor of the system. Variability of these quantities with respect to design parameters are indicated. The interior magnetic field and induced voltage estimates given in this report can be used as excitations for more detailed interior and component models.

The Charpy-V (C{sub V}) notch ductility and tension test properties of three reactor pressure vessel (RPV) steel materials were determined for the 288{degree}C (550{degree}F) irradiated (I), 288{degree}C (550{degree}F) irradiated + 454{degree}C (850{degree}F)-168 h postirradiation annealed (IA), and 288{degree}C (550{degree}F) reirradiated (IAR) conditions. Total fluences of the I condition and the IAR condition were, respectively, 3.33 {times} 10{sup 19} n/cm{sup 2} and 4.18 {times} 10{sup 19} n/cm{sup 2}, E > 1 MeV. The irradiation portion of the IAR condition represents an incremental fluence increase of 1. 05 {times} 10{sup 19} n/cm{sup 2}, E > 1 MeV, over the I-condition fluence. The materials (specimens) were supplied by the Yankee Atomic Electric Company and represented high and low nickel content plates and a high nickel, high copper content weld deposit prototypical of the Yankee-Rowe reactor vessel. The promise of the IAR method for extending the fluence tolerance of radiation-sensitive steels and welds is clearly shown by the results. The annealing treatment produced full C{sub V} upper shelf recovery and full or nearly full recovery in the C{sub V} 41 J (30 ft-lb) transition temperature. The C{sub V} transition temperature increases produced by the reirradiation exposure were 22% to 43% of the increase produced by the first cycle irradiation exposure. A somewhat greater radiation embrittlement sensitivity and a somewhat greater reirradiation embrittlement sensitivity was exhibited by the low nickel content plate than the high nickel content plate. Its high phosphorus content is believed to be responsible. The IAR-condition properties of the surface vs. interior regions of the low nickel content plate are also compared.

This report is a part of the Test Information Program (TIP) at Sandia National Laboratories. It is an interim report, written primarily as an instruction document to aid in current work on the project. It addresses some found in storing and retrieving data from nuclear field tests conducted over the past five decades, primarily instrumentation data recorded from tests at the Nevada Test Site. First, the TIP data unit for storing and transporting TIP data is described. The data in the TIP data unit is typically recorded in a universal medium such as the portable optical or magnetic disk, or the tape cassette. Each TIP data unit is portable, and is also self-contained in the sense that it includes a set of related test data files, along with complete instructions and software for retrieval of the data by an unknown user, possibly on an unknown platform. Secondly, we describe the use of current software for compressing and waveform data, for authenticating and checking for errors in data processing files to be used on foreign platforms.

China`s central political authorities have constructed a system which is designed to enable them to exert their personal influence and control over each level of every organization in the country -- both civil and military. The Communist Party of China (CPC) is represented at all levels of each and every organization, including the People`s Liberation Army (PLA). These Party entities are intended to both provide oversight and to ensure that Party policies, directives and orders are obeyed. This penchant for political control, which may have its roots in China`s imperial past, appears to have been reinforced by the early developmental path chosen by the Party`s leadership. Current attempts aimed at maintaining political control of its resources, especially the military, are embodied in the formal system of {open_quotes}Political Work.{close_quotes} In the PLA, this system of political control results in the involvement of political organs in day-to-day military matters to an extent unheard of in the West. Further work is needed in order to understand, more fully, both the system of {open_quotes}Political Work{close_quotes} and its contributions to the overall military (and civil) command and control philosophic of the Communist Party of China.