Study of the Mechanisms of Flux Pinning in Type 2 Superconductors

Flux pinning mechanisms in type-2 semiconductors and specific heat measurements on annealed and deformed pure niobium sample

Cryogenic magnetometer development Final report, 1 Jul. 1964 - 7 Mar. 1967

Magnetometers for measuring stable magnetic fields produced by low field superconducting shield

Interfacial Effects in Multilayers

Interfacial structure and the atomic interactions between atoms at interfaces in multilayers or nano-laminates have significant impact on the physical properties of these materials. A technique for the experimental evaluation of interfacial structure and interfacial structure effects is presented and compared to experiment. In this paper the impact of interfacial structure on the performance of x-ray, soft x-ray and extreme ultra-violet multilayer optic structures is emphasized. The paper is concluded with summary of these results and an assessment of their implications relative to multilayer development and the study of buried interfaces in solids in general

Interfacial Electronic Charge Transfer and Density of States in Short Period Cu/Cr Multilayers

Nanometer period metallic multilayers are ideal structures to investigate electronic phenomena at interfaces between metal films since interfacial atoms comprise a large atomic fraction of the samples. The Cu/Cr binary pair is especially suited to study the interfaces in metals since these elements are mutually insoluble, thus eliminating mixing effects and compound formation and the lattice mismatch is very small. This allows the fabrication of high structural quality Cu/Cr multilayers that have a structure which can be approximated in calculations based on idealized atomic arrangements. The electronic structure of the Cu and the Cr layers in several samples of thin Cu/Cr multilayers were studied using x-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS). Total electron yield was measured and used to study the white lines at the Cu L{sub 2} and L{sub 3} absorption edges. The white lines at the Cu absorption edges are strongly related to the unoccupied d-orbitals and are used to calculate the amount of charge transfer between the Cr and Cu atoms in interfaces. Analysis of the Cu white lines show a charge transfer of 0.026 electrons/interfacial Cu atom to the interfacial Cr atoms. In the Cu XAS spectra we also observe a van Hove singularity between the L{sub 2} and L{sub 3} absorption edges as expected from the structural analysis. The absorption spectra are compared to partial density of states obtained from a full-potential linear muffin-tin orbital calculation. The calculations support the presence of charge transfer and indicate that it is localized to the first two interfacial layers in both Cu and Cr

Mechanical Properties of Cu/Ta Multilayers Prepared by Magnetron Sputtering

The microstructure and mechanical properties of sputtered Cu/Ta multilayers were studied. X- ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy characterization indicate that both the Ta and Cu in the 2 nm period multilayer are predominantly amorphous, while in longer period samples, the layers are crystalline, with the metastable tetragonal {beta}-Ta observed. No observable microstructure changes upon annealing at 300{degrees}C were found. An average Vickers micro- hardness value of about 5.5 GPa was measured, which increases about 5% upon annealing at 300{degrees}C. Residual stress in the multilayers and its dependence on thermal annealing are reported. The relationships between microstructure and mechanical properties in the multilayers are discussed

Nanostructure Multilayer Materials for Capacitor Energy Storage for Eh Vehicles

Acceleration and regenerative breaking for electric and hybrid vehicles require high power capacitors to complement energy sources. Large, flat nanostructure multilayer capacitors (NMCS) can provide load balancing capacitance in EHVs of the future. Additional uses include snubber capacitors for power electronics such as motor drives, energy discharge capacitors for lasers, and numerous industrial and military electronics applications [1]. In the present work, we demonstrate the effectiveness of LLNL`s multilayer materials technology by fabricating NMC test films with high energy and power density

High Energy Density Capacitors for Power Electronic Applications Using Nano-Structure Multilayer Technology

Power electronics applications are currently limited by capacitor size and performance. Only incremental improvements are anticipated in existing capacitor technologies, while significant performance advances are required in energy density and overall performance to meet the technical needs of the applications which are important for U.S. economic competitiveness. One application, the Power Electronic Building Block (PEBB), promises a second electronics revolution in power electronic design. High energy density capacitors with excellent electrical thermal and mechanical performance represent an enabling technology in the PEBB concept. We propose a continuing program to research and develop LLNL`s nano-structure multilayer technologies for making high voltage, high energy density capacitors. Our controlled deposition techniques are capable of synthesizing extraordinarily smooth sub-micron thick layers of dielectric and conductor materials. We have demonstrated that, with this technology, high voltage capacitors with an order of magnitude improvement in energy density are achievable

Theory of the equation of state of hot dense matter

Ab initio molecular dynamics calculations are adapted to treat dense plasmas for temperatures exceeding the electronic Fermi temperature. Extended electronic states are obtained in a plane wave basis by using pseudopotentials for the ion cores in the local density approximation to density functional theory. The method reduces to conventional first principles molecular dynamics at low temperatures with the expected high level of accuracy. The occurrence of thermally excited ion cores at high temperatures is treated by means of final state pseudopotentials. The method is applied to the shock compression Hugoniot equation of state for aluminum. Good agreement with experiment is found for temperatures ranging from zero through 105K

Techniques for in Situ HVEM Mechanical Deformation of Nanostructural Materials

We have developed two in-situ HVEM techniques which allow us to begin fundamental investigations into the mechanisms of deformation and fracture in nonstructured materials. A procedure for the observation of tensile deformation and failure in multilayers materials in cross-section is given and also the development of an in-situ HVEM nanoindentor of surfaces and films on surfaces in cross-section

A novel method to synthesize high purity, nanostructured copper

Nanostructured high purity (99.999%) copper foils, 10 cm in diameter and 22-25 microns thick were produced using nanoscale multilayer technology. The foils were produced using five different layer thicknesses ranging from 1.25 to 43.6 nm (18,000 to 520 layers). This process delivers the ability to produce multiple large-scale samples during a single deposition run with very small residual stresses. Tensile and indentation tests demonstrate that the material produced is a high strength copper ({sigma}{sub y} {approx} 540-690 MPa)