NASA Tech Briefs, April 2011

Topics covered include: Amperometric Solid Electrolyte Oxygen Microsensors with Easy Batch Fabrication; Two-Axis Direct Fluid Shear Stress Sensor for Aerodynamic Applications; Target Assembly to Check Boresight Alignment of Active Sensors; Virtual Sensor Test Instrumentation; Evaluation of the Reflection Coefficient of Microstrip Elements for Reflectarray Antennas; Miniaturized Ka-Band Dual-Channel Radar; Continuous-Integration Laser Energy Lidar Monitor; Miniaturized Airborne Imaging Central Server System; Radiation-Tolerant, SpaceWire-Compatible Switching Fabric; Small Microprocessor for ASIC or FPGA Implementation; Source-Coupled, N-Channel, JFET-Based Digital Logic Gate Structure Using Resistive Level Shifters; High-Voltage-Input Level Translator Using Standard CMOS; Monitoring Digital Closed-Loop Feedback Systems; MASCOT - MATLAB Stability and Control Toolbox; MIRO Continuum Calibration for Asteroid Mode; GOATS Image Projection Component; Coded Modulation in C and MATLAB; Low-Dead-Volume Inlet for Vacuum Chamber; Thermal Control Method for High-Current Wire Bundles by Injecting a Thermally Conductive Filler; Method for Selective Cleaning of Mold Release from Composite Honeycomb Surfaces; Infrared-Bolometer Arrays with Reflective Backshorts; Commercialization of LARC (trade mark) -SI Polyimide Technology; Novel Low-Density Ablators Containing Hyperbranched Poly(azomethine)s; Carbon Nanotubes on Titanium Substrates for Stray Light Suppression; Monolithic, High-Speed Fiber-Optic Switching Array for Lidar; Grid-Tied Photovoltaic Power System; Spectroelectrochemical Instrument Measures TOC; A Miniaturized Video System for Monitoring Drosophila Behavior; Hydrofocusing Bioreactor Produces Anti-Cancer Alkaloids; Creep Measurement Video Extensometer; Radius of Curvature Measurement of Large Optics Using Interferometry and Laser Tracker n-B-pi-p Superlattice Infrared Detector; Safe Onboard Guidance and Control Under Probabilistic Uncertainty; General Tool for Evaluating High-Contrast Coronagraphic Telescope Performance Error Budgets; Hidden Statistics of Schroedinger Equation; Optimal Padding for the Two-Dimensional Fast Fourier Transform; Spatial Query for Planetary Data; Higher Order Mode Coupling in Feed Waveguide of a Planar Slot Array Antenna; Evolutionary Computational Methods for Identifying Emergent Behavior in Autonomous Systems; Sampling Theorem in Terms of the Bandwidth and Sampling Interval; Meteoroid/Orbital Debris Shield Engineering Development Practice and Procedure; Self-Balancing, Optical-Center-Pivot, Fast-Steering Mirror; Wireless Orbiter Hang-Angle Inclinometer System; and Internal Electrostatic Discharge Monitor - IESDM

Efficient energy transport in an organic semiconductor mediated by transient exciton delocalization.

Efficient energy transport is desirable in organic semiconductor (OSC) devices. However, photogenerated excitons in OSC films mostly occupy highly localized states, limiting exciton diffusion coefficients to below ~10-2 cm2/s and diffusion lengths below ~50 nm. We use ultrafast optical microscopy and nonadiabatic molecular dynamics simulations to study well-ordered poly(3-hexylthiophene) nanofiber films prepared using living crystallization-driven self-assembly, and reveal a highly efficient energy transport regime: transient exciton delocalization, where energy exchange with vibrational modes allows excitons to temporarily re-access spatially extended states under equilibrium conditions. We show that this enables exciton diffusion constants up to 1.1 ± 0.1 cm2/s and diffusion lengths of 300 ± 50 nm. Our results reveal the dynamic interplay between localized and delocalized exciton configurations at equilibrium conditions, calling for a re-evaluation of exciton dynamics and suggesting design rules to engineer efficient energy transport in OSC device architectures not based on restrictive bulk heterojunctions

Ab Initio Exploration of Interface Structures and Their Properties

In this thesis, material interfaces, structures and properties are studied at the atomic scale, with an emphasis on their use in clean energy applications. Inter- faces can exhibit intriguing and unique physical phenomena not seen in periodic crystals. Oxide interfaces are the main focus due to the wealth of phenomena they can exhibit, in addition to the composite materials’ abundance, stability and relative ease of fabrication. CaCu3Ti4O12 samples have previously been shown to exhibit colossal permittivity, which has been attributed to their grain boundaries. The high permittivity of the samples is attributed to the formation of a thin dilute metal at the interface between the grain and inter-grain materials. This under- standing should allow for one to artificially engineer systems that exhibit colos- sal permittivity, which would have uses in areas such as gas sensing and elec- tric capacitors. The need to properly characterise interfaces is then discussed. The BaTiO3/SiO2 system is used as an example to highlight the need to prop- erly measure and characterise interface regions, as a new material, Ba2TiSi2O8, can form across the junction. The work then shifts to the use of interfaces di- rectly in device designs. All-oxide solar cells have great potential to be cheaper and easier to manufacture than current silicon-based solar cells. A set of ma- terials are explored to identify a potential all-oxide solar cell design. The setup of CaO/(Sn:Ca)7:1O/TiO2 is put forward as a potentially viable design for a p–i–n solar cell device. Next, oxide perovskites are investigated to identify their capa- bilities as photocatalytic materials for the purposes of water-splitting. SrSnO3 is identified as a potential candidate for water-splitting. By introducing a thin ZrO2 overlayer to the surface of SrSnO3, the photocatalytic properties of the slab can be improved. This allows allows for bifunctional water-splitting on the surface of the SrSnO3|ZrO2 overlay system. Finally, ARTEMIS, a tool to aid in interface stud- ies is discussed. This tool is designed to generate potentially viable interfaces, with a rudimentary function for predicting interface separation through bonding analysis. The results presented here should be of great use to anyone exploring energy technologies, as well as those studying the fundamentals of interfaces.Solaris Photonics Lt

Modeling and Simulation of Compositional Engineering in Sige Films Using Patterned Stress Fields

Semiconductor alloys such as silicon-germanium (SiGe) offer attractive environments for engineering quantum-confined structures that are the basis for a host of current and future optoelectronic devices. Although vertical stacking of such structures is routinely achieved via heteroepitaxy, lateral manipulation has proven much more challenging. I describe a new approach that suggests that a patterned elastic stress field generated with an array of nanoscale indenters in an initially compositionally uniform SiGe substrate will drive atomic interdiffusion, leading to compositional patterns in the near-surface region of the substrate. While this approach may offer a potentially efficient and robust pathway to producing laterally ordered arrays of quantum-confined structures, there is a large set of parameters important to the process. Thus, it is difficult to consider this approach using only costly experiments, which necessitates detailed computational analysis. First, I review computational approaches to simulating the long length and time scales required for this process, and I develop and present a mesoscopic model based on coarse-grained lattice kinetic Monte Carlo that quantitatively describes the atomic interdiffusion processes in SiGe alloy film subjected to applied stress. I show that the model provides predictions that are quantitatively consistent with experimental measurements, and I examine the impact of basic indenter geometries on the patterning process. Second, I extend the model to investigate the impact of several process parameters, such as more complicated indenter shapes and pitches. I find that certain indenter configurations produce compositional patterns that are favorable for use as lateral arrays of quantum-confined structures. Finally, I measure a set of important physical parameters, the so-called “activation volumes” that describes the impact of stress on diffusion. The values of these parameters are not well established in the literature. I make quantitative connections to the range of values found in the literature and characterize the effects of different stress states on the overall patterning process. Finally, I conclude with ideas about alternative pathways to quantum confined structure generation and possible extensions of the framework developed

Optical and Structural Studies of Shape-Controlled Semiconductor Nanocrystals and Their Self-Assembled Solids

Colloidal nanocrystals are prominent candidates to displace current electronic active layers in solid-state device technologies and offer a body of physics which diverges from those of bulk materials and discreet molecules. Realizing the potential of colloidal nanocrystals may transform the costs and performance of common technologies, but understanding of the relationship between particle size, shape, uniformity, and composition and outputs like physical properties or device performance is often incomplete. This work uses the controlled synthesis of anisotropic colloidal nanocrystals to implement characterization techniques including X-ray diffraction and simulation, which allows an ensemble-level description of particle structure, as well as polarized and time-resolved spectroscopy, which demonstrates subtle synthetic control over the properties of quantum-mechanical wavefunctions. Time- and temperature-resolved optical spectroscopy is employed to analyze the behavior of nanocrystal samples under more realistic device operating conditions and to determine the structure/property relationships that underpin improved performance. Highly-uniform samples of colloidal nanocrystals are self-assembled into large-area thin films. Discussion of self-assembly is placed within the context the fundamentals of self-assembly processes and the roadmap to high-performance devices based upon colloidal nanocrystals. X-ray diffraction and microscopic analysis are performed to analyze and qualify the structure of self-assembled films. These measurement techniques provide figures of merit for nanocrystal assemblies including the sample crystallinity and purity, surface coverage, homogeneity. Diffraction analysis is further used to measure alignment of nanocrystal assemblies with respect to a substrate and the orientation of individual particles within assemblies. Monodisperse anisotropic building blocks encode the unique optoelectronic properties of isolated nanocrystals into solid state materials with long-range structural orientation