Publications

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We consider the problem of placing sensors in a network to detect and identify the source of any contamination. We consider two variants of this problem: (1) sensor-constrained: we are allowed a fixed number of sensors and want to minimize contamination detection time; and (2) time-constrained: we must detect contamination within a given time limit and want to minimize the number of sensors required. Our main results are as follows. First, we give a necessary and sufficient condition for source identification. Second, we show that the sensor and time constrained versions of the problem are polynomially equivalent. Finally, we show that the sensor-constrained version of the problem is polynomially equivalent to the asymmetric k-center problem and that the time-constrained version of the problem is polynomially equivalent to the dominating set problem.

We present a model for optimizing the placement of sensors in municipal water networks to detect maliciously-injected contaminants. An optimal sensor configuration minimizes the expected fraction of the population at risk. We formulate this problem as an integer program, which can be solved with generally available IP solvers. We find optimal sensor placements for three real networks with synthetic risk and population data. Our experiments illustrate that this formulation can be solved relatively quickly, and that the predicted sensor configuration is relatively insensitive to uncertainties in the data used for prediction.

We describe COLIN, a Common Optimization Library INterface for C++. COLIN provides C++ template classes that define a generic interface for both optimization problems and optimization solvers. COLIN is specifically designed to facilitate the development of hybrid optimizers, for which one optimizer calls another to solve an optimization subproblem. We illustrate the capabilities of COLIN with an example of a memetic genetic programming solver.

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Sandia National Laboratories has developed a mesoscale hopping mobility platform (Hopper) to overcome the longstanding problems of mobility and power in small scale unmanned vehicles. The system provides mobility in situations such as negotiating tall obstacles and rough terrain that are prohibitive for other small ground base vehicles. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Administration (DARPA) provided the funding for the hopper project.

A mine dog evaluation project initiated by the Geneva International Center for Humanitarian Demining is evaluating the capability and reliability of mine detection dogs. The performance of field-operational mine detection dogs will be measured in test minefields in Afghanistan and Bosnia containing actual, but unfused landmines. Repeated performance testing over two years through various seasonal weather conditions will provide data simulating near real world conditions. Soil samples will be obtained adjacent to the buried targets repeatedly over the course of the test. Chemical analysis results from these soil samples will be used to evaluate correlations between mine dog detection performance and seasonal weather conditions. This report documents the analytical chemical methods and results from the third batch of soils received. This batch contained samples from Kharga, Afghanistan collected in October 2002.

We report on the use of a supercomputer simulation to study the performance sensitivity to systematic changes in the job parameters of run time, number of CPUs, and interarrival time. We also examine the effect of changes in share allocation and service ratio for job prioritization under a Fair Share queuing Algorithm to see the effect on facility figures of merit. We used log data from the ASCI supercomputer Blue Mountain and the ASCI simulator BIRMinator to perform this study. The key finding is that the performance of the supercomputer is quite sensitive to all the job parameters with the interarrival rate of the jobs being most sensitive at the highest rates and increasing run times the least sensitive job parameter with respect to utilization and rapid turnaround. We also find that this facility is running near its maximum practical utilization. Finally, we show the importance of the use of simulation in understanding the performance sensitivity of a supercomputer.

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Standard weak solutions to the Poisson problem on a bounded domain have square-integrable derivatives, which limits the admissible regularity of inhomogeneous data. The concept of solution may be further weakened in order to define solutions when data is rough, such as for inhomogeneous Dirichlet data that is only square-integrable over the boundary. Such very weak solutions satisfy a nonstandard variational form (u, v) = G(v). A Galerkin approximation combined with an approximation of the right-hand side G defines a finite-element approximation of the very weak solution. Applying conforming linear elements leads to a discrete solution equivalent to the text-book finite-element solution to the Poisson problem in which the boundary data is approximated by L{sub 2}-projections. The L{sub 2} convergence rate of the discrete solution is O(h{sub s}) for some s {element_of} (0,1/2) that depends on the shape of the domain, asserting a polygonal (two-dimensional) or polyhedral (three-dimensional) domain without slits and (only) square-integrable boundary data.

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This remote sensing science and exploitation work focused on exploitation algorithms and methods targeted at the analyst. SMART is a 'plug-in' to commercial remote sensing software that provides algorithms to enhance the utility of the Multispectral Thermal Imager (MTI) and other multispectral satellite data. This toolkit has been licensed to 22 government organizations.

The Cretaceous strata that fill the San Juan Basin of northwestern New Mexico and southwestern Colorado were shortened in a generally north-south to north northeast-south southwest direction during the Laramide orogeny. This shortening was the result of compression of the strata between southward indentation of the San Juan uplift at the north edge of the basin and northward to northeastward indentation of the Zuni uplift from the south. Right-lateral strike-slip motion was concentrated at the eastern and western margins of the basin to form the Hogback monocline and the Nacimiento uplift at the same time. Small amounts of shear may have occurred along pre-existing basement faults within the basin as well. Vertical extension fractures, striking north-south to north northeast-south southwest (parallel to the Laramide maximum horizontal compressive stress) with local variations, formed in both Mesaverde and Dakota sandstones under this system, and are found in outcrops and in the subsurface. The less-mature Mesaverde sandstones typically contain relatively long and irregular vertical extension fractures, whereas the underlying quartzitic Dakota sandstones contain more numerous, shorter, sub-parallel, closely spaced extension fractures. Conjugate shear fractures in several orientations are also present locally in Dakota strata.

Hadamard Transform Spectrometer (HTS) approaches share the multiplexing advantages found in Fourier transform spectrometers. Interest in Hadamard systems has been limited due to data storage/computational limitations and the inability to perform accurate high order masking in a reasonable amount of time. Advances in digital micro-mirror array (DMA) technology have opened the door to implementing an HTS for a variety of applications including fluorescent microscope imaging and Raman imaging. A Hadamard transform spectral imager (HTSI) for remote sensing offers a variety of unique capabilities in one package such as variable spectral and temporal resolution, no moving parts (other than the micro-mirrors) and vibration tolerance. Two approaches to for 2D HTS systems have been investigated in this LDRD. The first approach involves dispersing the incident light, encoding the dispersed light then recombining the light. This method is referred to as spectral encoding. The other method encodes the incident light then disperses the encoded light. The second technique is called spatial encoding. After creating optical designs for both methods the spatial encoding method was selected as the method that would be implemented because the optical design was less costly to implement.

The design, fabrication, and performance of a planar microbattery made from a silicon wafer with a bonded lid are presented. The battery is designed with two compartments, separated by four columns of micro-posts. These posts are 3 or 5 micrometers in diameter. The posts permit transport of liquid electrolyte, but stop particles of battery material from each compartment from mixing. The anode and cathode battery compartments, the posts, fill holes, and conductive vias are all made using high-aspect-ratio reactive ion (Bosch) etching. After the silicon wafer is completed, it is anodically bonded or adhesive bonded to a Pyrex{reg_sign} wafer lid. The battery materials are made from micro-disperse particles that are 3-5 micrometers in diameter. The lithium-ion chemistry is microcarbon mesobeads and lithium cobalt oxide. The battery capacity is 1.83 micro-amp-hrs/cm{sup 2} at a discharge rate of 25 microamps.

This report describes the development of a miniature mobile microrobot device and several microsystems needed to create a miniature microsensor delivery platform. This work was funded under LDRD No.10785, entitled, ''Integrated Microsensors for Autonomous Microrobots''. The approach adopted in this project was to develop a mobile platform, to which would be attached wireless RF remote control and data acquisition in addition to various microsensors. A modular approach was used to produce a versatile microrobot platform and reduce power consumption and physical size.

Impedance based, planar chemical microsensors are the easiest sensors to integrate with electronics. The goal of this work is a several order of magnitude increase in the sensitivity of this sensor type. The basic idea is to mimic biological chemical sensors that rely on changes in ion transport across very thin organic membranes (supported Bilayer Membranes: sBLMs) for the sensing. To improve the durability of bilayers we show how they can be supported on planar metal electrodes. The large increase in sensitivity over polyelectrolytes will come from molecular recognition elements like antibodies that bind the analyte molecule. The molecular recognition sites can be tied to the lipid bilayer capacitor membrane and a number of mechanisms can be used to modulate the impedance of the lipid bilayers. These include coupled ion channels, pore modification and double layer capacitance modification by the analyte molecule. The planar geometry of our electrodes allows us to create arrays of sensors on the same chip, which we are calling the ''Lipid Chip''.

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Communication networks, both data and telephone, are subject to attack by malicious individuals. One goal of the owners of communication networks is to defend the networks from attackers. For several years, firewalls have been used on data networks to help provide protection from attackers. Until recently, there was no comparable system to use with a telephone network. Several vendors have recognized the need for systems to protect telephone networks and have developed products to improve the security for telephone networks. Sandia evaluated the capabilities of commercial telephone firewall products. Based on the evaluation of the telephone firewall products, Sandia installed the SecureLogix TeleWall system at both the New Mexico and California sites. Sandia is currently in the early stages of applying the capabilities of the SecureLogix telephone network firewall system to the environment at Sandia. Any site that has invested in computer network security protection through the implementation of firewall and intrusion detection systems should also implement appropriate telephone network protection through a telephone firewall system.

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Sandia National Laboratories has developed a portfolio of programs to address the critical skills needs of the DP labs, as identified by the 1999 Chiles Commission Report. The goals are to attract and retain the best and the brightest students and transition them into Sandia--and DP Complex--employees. The US Department of Energy/Defense Programs University Partnerships funded seven laboratory critical skills development programs in FY02. This report provides a qualitative and quantitative evaluation of these programs and their status.

This paper reports the preparation of cubically ordered, self-assembled nanostructural crystals on micropatterned surfaces. Large ordered arrays of octahedral crystals were formed on substrates with triangular-shaped micropatterns that match the shape of the {111} surface morphology of the crystals. Many crystals became self-aligned in X, Y, and Z orientations through the interaction with the matching micropatterns. However, line micropatterns did not produce such well-defined crystals and crystal alignment. This work is among the first examples to show 3D crystal alignment independent of the long rodlike micellar structure that is characteristic of the hexagonal phases. Significantly, it also suggests that the geometry of the underline patterns has a large effect on the crystal morphology and orientation. We hope that these results will be helpful in developing microdevices based on self-assembled nanoscale materials.

An analytical capability is being developed that can be used to predict the effect of corrosion on the performance of electrical circuits and systems. The availability of this ''toolset'' will dramatically improve our ability to influence device and circuit design, address and remediate field occurrences, and determine real limits for circuit service life. In pursuit of this objective, we have defined and adopted an iterative, statistical-based, top-down approach that will permit very formidable and real obstacles related to both the development and use of the toolset to be resolved as effectively as possible. An important component of this approach is the direct incorporation of expert opinion. Some of the complicating factors to be addressed involve the code/model complexity, the existence of large number of possible degradation processes, and an incompatibility between the length scales associated with device dimensions and the corrosion processes. Two of the key aspects of the desired predictive toolset are (1) a direct linkage of an electrical-system performance model with mechanistic-based, deterministic corrosion models, and (2) the explicit incorporation of a computational framework to quantify the effects of non-deterministic parameters (uncertainty). The selected approach and key elements of the toolset are first described in this paper. These descriptions are followed by some examples of how this toolset development process is being implemented.

This report describes the second phase of a project entitled ''Innovative Business Cases for Energy Storage in a Restructured Electricity Marketplace''. During part one of the effort, nine ''Stretch Scenarios'' were identified. They represented innovative and potentially significant uses of electric energy storage. Based on their potential to significantly impact the overall energy marketplace, the five most compelling scenarios were identified. From these scenarios, five specific ''Storage Market Opportunities'' (SMOs) were chosen for an in-depth evaluation in this phase. The authors conclude that some combination of the Power Cost Volatility and the T&D Benefits SMOs would be the most compelling for further investigation. Specifically, a combination of benefits (energy, capacity, power quality and reliability enhancement) achievable using energy storage systems for high value T&D applications, in regions with high power cost volatility, makes storage very competitive for about 24 GW and 120 GWh during the years of 2001 and 2010.

Terrorism is a scourge common to the international community and its threat to world peace and stability is severe and imminent. This paper evaluates the campaign against terrorism and the possible modalities of constructive cooperation between China and the United States in this fight. Technical cooperation can enhance Sino-U.S. security capabilities for dealing with the terrorist threat. This paper identifies specific bilateral cooperative activities that may benefit common interests. Focusing on protecting people, facilities, and infrastructure, Sino-U.S. cooperation may introduce protective technologies and training, including means of boosting port and border security, and detecting explosives or nuclear materials. Cooperation will not only enhance the global counterterrorism campaign, but also form a sound foundation for constructive and cooperative relations between the two countries.

In the LIGA process for manufacturing microcomponents, a polymer film is exposed to an x-ray beam passed through a gold pattern. This is followed by the development stage, in which a selective solvent is used to remove the exposed polymer, reproducing the gold pattern in the polymer film. Development is essentially polymer dissolution, a physical process which is not well understood. We have used coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulation to study the early stage of polymer dissolution. In each simulation a film of non-glassy polymer was brought into contact with a layer of solvent. The mutual penetration of the two phases was tracked as a function of time. Several film thicknesses and two different chain lengths were simulated. In all cases, the penetration process conformed to ideal Fickian diffusion. We did not see the formation of a gel layer or other non-ideal effects. Variations in the Fickian diffusivities appeared to be caused primarily by differences in the bulk polymer film density.

Two lots of manufactured Type 3a zeolite samples were compared by TGA/IR analysis. The first lot, obtained from Davidson Chemical, a commercial vendor, was characterized during the previous study cycle for its water and water-plus-CO{sub 2} uptake in order to determine whether CO{sub 2} uptake prevented water adsorption by the zeolite. It was determined that CO{sub 2} did not hamper water adsorption using the Davidson zeolite. CO{sub 2} was found on the zeolite surface at dewpoints below -40 C, however it was found to be reversibly adsorbed. During the course of the previous studies, chemical analyses revealed that the Davidson 3a zeolite contained calcium in significant quantities, along with the traditional counterions potassium and sodium. Chemical analysis of a Type 3a zeolite sample retrieved from Kansas City (heretofore referred to as the ''Stores 3a'' sample) indicated that the Stores sample was a more traditional Type 3a zeolite, containing no calcium. TGA/IR studies this year focused on obtaining CO{sub 2} and water absorbance data from the Stores 3a zeolite. Within the Stores 3a sample, CO{sub 2} was found to be reversibly absorbed within the sample, but only at and below -60 C with 5% CO{sub 2} loading. The amount of CO{sub 2} observed eluting from the Stores zeolite at this condition was similar to what was observed from the Davidson zeolite sample but with a greater uncertainty in the measured value. The results of the Stores 3a studies are summarized within this report.

Multifidelity modeling, in which one component of a system is modeled at a significantly different level of fidelity than another, has several potential advantages. For example, a higher-fidelity component model can be evaluated in the context of a lower-fidelity full system model that provides more realistic boundary conditions and yet can be executed quickly enough for rapid design changes or design optimization. Developing such multifidelity models presents challenges in several areas, including coupling models with differing spatial dimensionalities. In this report we describe a multifidelity algorithm for thermal radiation problems in which a three-dimensional, finite-element model of a system component is embedded in a system of zero-dimensional (lumped-parameter) components. We tested the algorithm on a prototype system with three problems: heating to a constant temperature, cooling to a constant temperature, and a simulated fire environment. The prototype system consisted of an aeroshell enclosing three components, one of which was represented by a three-dimensional finite-element model. We tested two versions of the algorithm; one used the surface-average temperature of the three dimensional component to couple it to the system model, and the other used the volume-average temperature. Using the surface-average temperature provided somewhat better temperature predictions than using the volume-average temperature. Our results illustrate the difficulty in specifying consistency for multifidelity models. In particular, we show that two models may be consistent for one application but not for another. While the temperatures predicted by the multifidelity model were not as accurate as those predicted by a full three-dimensional model, our results show that a multifidelity system model can potentially execute much faster than a full three-dimensional finite-element model for thermal radiation problems with sufficient accuracy for some applications, while still predicting internal temperatures for the higher fidelity component. These results indicate that optimization studies with mixed-fidelity models are feasible when they may not be feasible with three-dimensional system models, if the concomitant loss in accuracy is within acceptable bounds.

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Current algorithms for the inverse calibration of hydraulic conductivity (K) fields to observed head data update the K values to achieve calibration but consider the parameters defining the spatial correlation of the K values to be fixed. Here we examine the ability of a genetic algorithm (GA) to update indicator variogram parameters defining the spatial correlation of the K field subject to minimizing differences between modeled and observed head values and also to minimizing the advective travel time across the model. The technique is presented on a test problem consisting of 83 K values randomly selected from 8649 gas-permeameter measurements made on a block of heterogeneous sandstone. Indicator variograms at the 10th, 40th, 60th and 90th percentiles of the cumulative log10 K distribution are used to describe the spatial variability of the log10 hydraulic conductivity data. For each threshold percentile, the variogram models are parameterized by the nugget, sill, anisotropic range values and the direction of principal correlation. The 83 conditioning data and the variogram models are used as input to a geostatistical indicator simulation algorithm.

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Ceramic interconnect technology has been adapted to new structures. In particular, the ability to customize processing order and material choices in Low Temperature Cofired Ceramic (LTCC) has enabled new features to be constructed, which address needs in MEMS packaging as well as other novel structures. Unique shapes in LTCC permit the simplification of complete systems, as in the case of a miniature ion mobility spectrometer (IMS). In this case, a rolled tube has been employed to provide hermetic external contacts to electrodes and structures internal to the tube. Integral windows in LTCC have been fabricated for use in both lids and circuits where either a short term need for observation or a long-term need for functionality exists. These windows are fabricated without adhesive, are fully compatible with LTCC processing, and remain optically clear. Both vented and encapsulated functional volumes have been fabricated using a sacrificial material technique. These hold promise for self-assembly of systems, as well as complex internal structures in cavities, micro fluidic and optical channels, and multilevel integration techniques. Separation of the burnout and firing cycles has permitted custom internal environments to be established. Existing commercial High Temperature Cofired Ceramic (HTCC) and LTCC systems can also be rendered to have improved properties. A rapid prototyping technique for patterned HTCC packages has permitted prototypes to be realized in a few days, and has further applications to micro fluidics, heat pipes, and MEMS, among others. Sandia is a multiprogram laboratory operated by Sandia Corporation, a Lockheed Martin Company, for the United States Department of Energy under contract DE-AC04-94AL85000.

We have designed and fabricated a polysilicon sidewall-contact motion monitor that fits in between the teeth of a MEMS gear. The monitor has a center grounded member that is moved into contact with a pad held at voltage. When observing motion, however, the monitor fails after only a few actuations. A thorough investigation of the contacting interfaces revealed that for voltages > 5 V with a current limit of 100 pA, the main conduction process is Fowler-Nordheim tunneling. After a few switch cycles, the polysilicon interfaces became insulating. This is shown to be a permanent change and the suspected mechanism is field-induced oxidation of the asperity contacts. To reduce the effects of field-induced oxidation, tests were performed at 0.5 V and no permanent insulation was observed. However, the position of the two contacting surfaces produced three types of conduction processes: Fowler-Nordheim tunneling, ohmic, and insulator, which were observed in a random order during switch cycling. The alignment of contact asperities produced this positional effect.

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The particular lead zirconate/titanate composition PZT 95/5-2Nb was identified many years ago as a promising ferroelectric ceramic for use in shock-driven pulsed power supplies. The bulk density and the corresponding porous microstructure of this material can be varied by adding different types and quantities of organic pore formers prior to bisque firing and sintering. Early studies showed that the porous microstructure could have a significant effect on power supply performance, with only a relatively narrow range of densities providing acceptable shock wave response. However, relatively few studies were performed over the years to characterize the shock response of this material, yielding few insights on how microstructural features actually influence the constitutive mechanical, electrical, and phase-transition properties. The goal of the current work was to address these issues through comparative shock wave experiments on PZT 95/5-2Nb materials having different porous microstructures. A gas-gun facility was used to generate uniaxial-strain shock waves in test materials under carefully controlled impact conditions. Reverse-impact experiments were conducted to obtain basic Hugoniot data, and transmitted-wave experiments were conducted to examine both constitutive mechanical properties and shock-driven electrical currents. The present work benefited from a recent study in which a baseline material with a particular microstructure had been examined in detail. This study identified a complex mechanical behavior governed by anomalous compressibility and incomplete phase transformation at low shock amplitudes, and by a relatively slow yielding process at high shock amplitudes. Depoling currents are reduced at low shock stresses due to the incomplete transformation, and are reduced further in the presence of a strong electrical field. At high shock stresses, depoling currents are driven by a wave structure governed by the threshold for dynamic yielding. This wave structure is insensitive to the final wave amplitude, resulting in depoling currents that do not increase with shock amplitude for stresses above the yield threshold. In the present study, experiments were conducted under matched experimental conditions to directly compare with the behavior of the baseline material. Only subtle differences were observed in the mechanical and electrical shock responses of common-density materials having different porous microstructures, but large effects were observed when initial density was varied.

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There is currently a great need for solid state lasers that emit in the infrared. Whether or not conjugated polymers that emit in the IR can be synthesized is an interesting theoretical challenge. We show that emission in the IR can be achieved in designer polymers in which the effective Coulomb correlation is smaller than that in existing systems. We also show that the structural requirement for having small effective Coulomb correlations is that there exist transverse {pi}--conjugation over a few bonds in addition to longitudinal conjugation with large conjugation lengths.

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We present a self-consistent modeling of a 3.4-THz intersubband laser device. An ensemble Monte Carlo simulation, including both carrier-carrier and carrier-phonon scattering, is used to predict current density, population inversion, gain, and electron temperature. However, these two scattering mechanisms alone appear to be insufficient to explain the observed current density. In addition, the insufficient scattering yields a gain that is slightly higher than inferred from experiments. This suggests the presence of a non-negligible scattering mechanism which is unaccounted for in the present calculations.

The capabilities of a fully microscopic approach for the calculation of optical material properties of semiconductor lasers are reviewed. Several comparisons between the results of these calculations and measured data are used to demonstrate that the approach yields excellent quantitative agreement with the experiment. It is outlined how this approach allows one to predict the optical properties of devices under high-power operating conditions based only on low-intensity photo luminescence (PL) spectra. Examples for the gain-, absorption-, PL- and linewidth enhancement factor-spectra in single and multiple quantum-well structures, superlattices, Type II quantum wells and quantum dots, and for various material systems are discussed.

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Using intense magnetic pressure, a method was developed to launch flyer plates to velocities in excess of 20 km s{sup -1}. This technique was used to perform plate-impact, shock wave experiments on cryogenic liquid deuterium (LD{sub 2}) to examine its high-pressure equation of state (EOS). Using an impedance matching method, Hugoniot measurements were obtained in the pressure range of 22--100 GPa. The results of these experiments disagree with the previously reported Hugoniot measurements of LD2 in the pressure range above {approx}40 GPa, but are in good agreement with first principles, ab initio models for hydrogen and its isotopes.

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This project is being conducted by Sandia National Laboratories in support of the DARPA Augmented Cognition program. Work commenced in April of 2002. The objective for the DARPA program is to 'extend, by an order of magnitude or more, the information management capacity of the human-computer warfighter.' Initially, emphasis has been placed on detection of an operator's cognitive state so that systems may adapt accordingly (e.g., adjust information throughput to the operator in response to workload). Work conducted by Sandia focuses on development of technologies to infer an operator's ongoing cognitive processes, with specific emphasis on detecting discrepancies between machine state and an operator's ongoing interpretation of events.

The paper presents a multiclass, multilabel implementation of least squares support vector machines (LS-SVM) for direction of arrival (DOA) estimation in a CDMA system. For any estimation or classification system, the algorithm's capabilities and performance must be evaluated. Specifically, for classification algorithms, a high confidence level must exist along with a technique to tag misclassifications automatically. The presented learning algorithm includes error control and validation steps for generating statistics on the multiclass evaluation path and the signal subspace dimension. The error statistics provide a confidence level for the classification accuracy.

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Low temperature co-fire ceramic (LTCC) materials technology offers a cost-effective and versatile approach to design and manufacture high performance and reliable advanced microelectronic packages (e.g., for wireless communications). A critical issue in manufacturing LTCC microelectronics is the need to precisely and reproducibly control shrinkage on sintering. Master Sintering Curve (MSC) theory has been evaluated and successfully applied as a tool to predict and control LTCC sintering. Dilatometer sintering experiments were designed and completed to characterize the anisotropic sintering behavior of green LTCC materials formed by tape casting. The resultant master sintering curve generated from these data provides a means to predict density as a function of sintering time and temperature. The application of MSC theory to DuPont 951 Green Tape{trademark} will be demonstrated.

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