112 research outputs found
Modification of electronic surface states by graphene islands on Cu(111)
We present a study of graphene/substrate interactions on UHV-grown graphene
islands with minimal surface contamination using \emph{in situ} low-temperature
scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). We compare the physical and electronic
structure of the sample surface with atomic spatial resolution on graphene
islands versus regions of bare Cu(111) substrate. We find that the Rydberg-like
series of image potential states is shifted toward lower energy over the
graphene islands relative to Cu(111), indicating a decrease in the local work
function, and the resonances have a much smaller linewidth, indicating reduced
coupling to the bulk. In addition, we show the dispersion of the occupied
Cu(111) Shockley surface state is influenced by the graphene layer, and both
the band edge and effective mass are shifted relative to bare Cu(111).Comment: 12 pages, 3 figure
Scanning tunneling microscopy studies of graphene and hydrogenated graphene on Cu
Because of the innate sensitivity of 2D material surfaces, it is increasingly important to understand and characterize surface functionalization and interactions with environmental elements, such as substrate, metallic contacts, and adatoms. We developed a method for reproducible, epitaxial growth of pristine graphene islands on Cu(111) in UHV and use scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy (STM) to study the interaction of these graphene islands with the Cu substrate. Tunneling spectroscopy measurements of the electronic surface states over the graphene islands indicate a lower local work function, decreased coupling to bulk Cu states, and a decreased electron effective mass. Additionally, we developed a novel field electron dissociation technique to form hydrogen-terminated graphene at low temperatures and in UHV. This method produced what may be the first STM images of crystalline hydrogenated graphene. The pristine graphene island is then recovered by scanning at a high tip-sample bias. The hydrogenation and its reversibility suggest writing lateral 2D devices using the STM tip. Toward this end, we are developing the capability to repeat the hydrogenation on working graphene device
Design and construction of a carbon fiber gondola for the SPIDER balloon-borne telescope
We introduce the light-weight carbon fiber and aluminum gondola designed for
the SPIDER balloon-borne telescope. SPIDER is designed to measure the
polarization of the Cosmic Microwave Background radiation with unprecedented
sensitivity and control of systematics in search of the imprint of inflation: a
period of exponential expansion in the early Universe. The requirements of this
balloon-borne instrument put tight constrains on the mass budget of the
payload. The SPIDER gondola is designed to house the experiment and guarantee
its operational and structural integrity during its balloon-borne flight, while
using less than 10% of the total mass of the payload. We present a construction
method for the gondola based on carbon fiber reinforced polymer tubes with
aluminum inserts and aluminum multi-tube joints. We describe the validation of
the model through Finite Element Analysis and mechanical tests.Comment: 16 pages, 11 figures. Presented at SPIE Ground-based and Airborne
Telescopes V, June 23, 2014. To be published in Proceedings of SPIE Volume
914
The Thermal Design, Characterization, and Performance of the SPIDER Long-Duration Balloon Cryostat
We describe the SPIDER flight cryostat, which is designed to cool six
millimeter-wavelength telescopes during an Antarctic long-duration balloon
flight. The cryostat, one of the largest to have flown on a stratospheric
payload, uses liquid helium-4 to deliver cooling power to stages at 4.2 and 1.6
K. Stainless steel capillaries facilitate a high flow impedance connection
between the main liquid helium tank and a smaller superfluid tank, allowing the
latter to operate at 1.6 K as long as there is liquid in the 4.2 K main tank.
Each telescope houses a closed cycle helium-3 adsorption refrigerator that
further cools the focal planes down to 300 mK. Liquid helium vapor from the
main tank is routed through heat exchangers that cool radiation shields,
providing negative thermal feedback. The system performed successfully during a
17 day flight in the 2014-2015 Antarctic summer. The cryostat had a total hold
time of 16.8 days, with 15.9 days occurring during flight.Comment: 15 pgs, 17 fig
Design of 280 GHz feedhorn-coupled TES arrays for the balloon-borne polarimeter SPIDER
We describe 280 GHz bolometric detector arrays that instrument the
balloon-borne polarimeter SPIDER. A primary science goal of SPIDER is to
measure the large-scale B-mode polarization of the cosmic microwave background
in search of the cosmic-inflation, gravitational-wave signature. 280 GHz
channels aid this science goal by constraining the level of B-mode
contamination from galactic dust emission. We present the focal plane unit
design, which consists of a 1616 array of conical, corrugated feedhorns
coupled to a monolithic detector array fabricated on a 150 mm diameter silicon
wafer. Detector arrays are capable of polarimetric sensing via waveguide
probe-coupling to a multiplexed array of transition-edge-sensor (TES)
bolometers. The SPIDER receiver has three focal plane units at 280 GHz, which
in total contains 765 spatial pixels and 1,530 polarization sensitive
bolometers. By fabrication and measurement of single feedhorns, we demonstrate
14.7 FHWM Gaussian-shaped beams with 1% ellipticity in a 30%
fractional bandwidth centered at 280 GHz. We present electromagnetic
simulations of the detection circuit, which show 94% band-averaged,
single-polarization coupling efficiency, 3% reflection and 3% radiative loss.
Lastly, we demonstrate a low thermal conductance bolometer, which is
well-described by a simple TES model and exhibits an electrical noise
equivalent power (NEP) = 2.6 10 W/,
consistent with the phonon noise prediction.Comment: Proceedings of SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation 201
280 GHz Focal Plane Unit Design and Characterization for the SPIDER-2 Suborbital Polarimeter
We describe the construction and characterization of the 280 GHz bolometric
focal plane units (FPUs) to be deployed on the second flight of the
balloon-borne SPIDER instrument. These FPUs are vital to SPIDER's primary
science goal of detecting or placing an upper limit on the amplitude of the
primordial gravitational wave signature in the cosmic microwave background
(CMB) by constraining the B-mode contamination in the CMB from Galactic dust
emission. Each 280 GHz focal plane contains a 16 x 16 grid of corrugated
silicon feedhorns coupled to an array of aluminum-manganese transition-edge
sensor (TES) bolometers fabricated on 150 mm diameter substrates. In total, the
three 280 GHz FPUs contain 1,530 polarization sensitive bolometers (765 spatial
pixels) optimized for the low loading environment in flight and read out by
time-division SQUID multiplexing. In this paper we describe the mechanical,
thermal, and magnetic shielding architecture of the focal planes and present
cryogenic measurements which characterize yield and the uniformity of several
bolometer parameters. The assembled FPUs have high yields, with one array as
high as 95% including defects from wiring and readout. We demonstrate high
uniformity in device parameters, finding the median saturation power for each
TES array to be ~3 pW at 300 mK with a less than 6% variation across each array
at one standard deviation. These focal planes will be deployed alongside the 95
and 150 GHz telescopes in the SPIDER-2 instrument, slated to fly from McMurdo
Station in Antarctica in December 2018
Pointing control for the SPIDER balloon-borne telescope
We present the technology and control methods developed for the pointing
system of the SPIDER experiment. SPIDER is a balloon-borne polarimeter designed
to detect the imprint of primordial gravitational waves in the polarization of
the Cosmic Microwave Background radiation. We describe the two main components
of the telescope's azimuth drive: the reaction wheel and the motorized pivot. A
13 kHz PI control loop runs on a digital signal processor, with feedback from
fibre optic rate gyroscopes. This system can control azimuthal speed with <
0.02 deg/s RMS error. To control elevation, SPIDER uses stepper-motor-driven
linear actuators to rotate the cryostat, which houses the optical instruments,
relative to the outer frame. With the velocity in each axis controlled in this
way, higher-level control loops on the onboard flight computers can implement
the pointing and scanning observation modes required for the experiment. We
have accomplished the non-trivial task of scanning a 5000 lb payload
sinusoidally in azimuth at a peak acceleration of 0.8 deg/s, and a peak
speed of 6 deg/s. We can do so while reliably achieving sub-arcminute pointing
control accuracy.Comment: 20 pages, 12 figures, Presented at SPIE Ground-based and Airborne
Telescopes V, June 23, 2014. To be published in Proceedings of SPIE Volume
914
The effectiveness of mindfulness-based interventions in the perinatal period: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Perinatal mental health difficulties are associated with adverse consequences for parents and infants. However, the potential risks associated with the use of psychotropic medication for pregnant and breastfeeding women and the preferences expressed by women for non-pharmacological interventions mean it is important to ensure that effective psychological interventions are available. It has been argued that mindfulness-based interventions may offer a novel approach to treating perinatal mental health difficulties, but relatively little is known about their effectiveness with perinatal populations. This paper therefore presents a systematic review and meta-analysis of the effectiveness of mindfulness-based interventions for reducing depression, anxiety and stress and improving mindfulness skills in the perinatal period. A systematic review identified seventeen studies of mindfulness-based interventions in the perinatal period, including both controlled trials (n = 9) and pre-post uncontrolled studies (n = 8). Eight of these studies also included qualitative data. Hedge’s g was used to assess uncontrolled and controlled effect sizes in separate meta-analyses, and a narrative synthesis of qualitative data was produced. Pre- to post-analyses showed significant reductions in depression, anxiety and stress and significant increases in mindfulness skills post intervention, each with small to medium effect sizes. Completion of the mindfulness-based interventions was reasonable with around three quarters of participants meeting study-defined criteria for engagement or completion where this was recorded. Qualitative data suggested that participants viewed mindfulness interventions positively. However, between-group analyses failed to find any significant post-intervention benefits for depression, anxiety or stress of mindfulness-based interventions in comparison to control conditions: effect sizes were negligible and it was conspicuous that intervention group participants did not appear to improve significantly more than controls in their mindfulness skills. The interventions offered often deviated from traditional mindfulness-based cognitive therapy or mindfulness-based stress reduction programmes, and there was also a tendency for studies to focus on healthy rather than clinical populations, and on antenatal rather than postnatal populations. It is argued that these and other limitations with the included studies and their interventions may have been partly responsible for the lack of significant between-group effects. The implications of the findings and recommendations for future research are discussed
A cryogenic rotation stage with a large clear aperture for the half-wave plates in the Spider instrument
We describe the cryogenic half-wave plate rotation mechanisms built for and used in Spider, a polarization-sensitive balloon-borne telescope array that observed the Cosmic Microwave Background at 95 GHz and 150 GHz during a stratospheric balloon flight from Antarctica in January 2015. The mechanisms operate at liquid helium temperature in flight. A three-point contact design keeps the mechanical bearings relatively small but allows for a large (305 mm) diameter clear aperture. A worm gear driven by a cryogenic stepper motor allows for precise positioning and prevents undesired rotation when the motors are depowered. A custom-built optical encoder system monitors the bearing angle to an absolute accuracy of +/- 0.1 degrees. The system performed well in Spider during its successful 16 day flight
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