313 research outputs found
Biomolecular imaging and electronic damage using X-ray free-electron lasers
Proposals to determine biomolecular structures from diffraction experiments
using femtosecond X-ray free-electron laser (XFEL) pulses involve a conflict
between the incident brightness required to achieve diffraction-limited atomic
resolution and the electronic and structural damage induced by the
illumination. Here we show that previous estimates of the conditions under
which biomolecular structures may be obtained in this manner are unduly
restrictive, because they are based on a coherent diffraction model that is not
appropriate to the proposed interaction conditions. A more detailed imaging
model derived from optical coherence theory and quantum electrodynamics is
shown to be far more tolerant of electronic damage. The nuclear density is
employed as the principal descriptor of molecular structure. The foundations of
the approach may also be used to characterize electrodynamical processes by
performing scattering experiments on complex molecules of known structure.Comment: 16 pages, 2 figure
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Gas Detector LCLS Engineering Specifications Document
There are two Gas Detectors, located upstream and downstream of the FEL attenuation materials, which provide a non-intrusive measure of the FEL pulse energy in the fundamental, in real-time, on a pulse-by-pulse basis. The FEL operators and the users will use this information to monitor the performance of the FEL and the Attenuator and to cross-calibrate other detectors. The Gas Detectors measure the FEL pulse energy by measuring the fluorescence induced in a small volume of N{sub 2} gas by the passage of the FEL
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Absorbed XFEL dose in the components of the LCLS X-Ray Optics
We list the materials that are anticipated to be placed into the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) x-ray free electron laser (XFEL) beam line, their positions, and the absorbed dose, and compare this dose with anticipated damage thresholds
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Extending the size-parameter range for plane-wave light scattering from infinite homogeneous circular cylinders
We have developed an algorithm that extends the possible size-parameter range for the calculation of plane-wave light scattering from infinite homogeneous circular cylinders using a Mie-type analysis. Our algorithm is based on the calculation of the ratios of Bessel functions instead of calculating the Bessel functions or their logarithmic derivatives directly. We have found that this algorithm agrees with existing methods (when those methods converge). We have also found that our algorithm converges in cases of very large size parameters, in which case other algorithms often do not
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Reflection of attosecond x-ray free electron laser pulses
In order to utilize hard x-ray free electron lasers (XFEL's) when they are extended to attosecond pulse lengths, it is necessary to choose optical elements with minimal response time. Specular grazing incidence optics made of low-Z materials are popular candidates for reflectors since they are likely to withstand x-ray damage and provide sufficiently large reflectivities. Using linear-optics reflection theory, we calculated the transient reflectivity of a delta-function electric pulse from a homogeneous semi-infinite medium as a function of angle of incidence for s- and p-polarized light. We specifically considered the pulse response of Be, diamond, silicon carbide, and silicon, all of which are of relevance to the XFEL's that are currently being built. We found that the media emit energy in a damped oscillatory way, and that the impulse-response times are shorter than 0.3 fs for normal incidence. For grazing incidence, the impulse-response time is substantially shorter, making grazing-incidence mirrors a good choice for deep-sub-femtosecond reflective optics
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Local entanglement and confinement transitions in the random transverse-field Ising model on the pyrochlore lattice
We use numerical linked cluster expansions (NLC) and exact diagonalization to study confinement transitions out of the quantum spin liquid phase in the pyrochlore-lattice Ising antiferromagnet with random transverse fields. We calculate entanglement entropies associated with local regions defined by single tetrahedron to observe these transitions. The randomness-induced confinement transition is marked by a sharp reduction in the local entanglement and a concomitant increase in Ising correlations. In NLC, it is studied through the destruction of loop resonances due to random transverse-fields. The confining phase is characterized by a distribution of local entanglement entropies, which persists to large random fields
Ultrafast self-gating Bragg diffraction of exploding nanocrystals in an X-ray laser
In structural determination of crystalline proteins using intense femtosecond X-ray lasers, damage processes lead to loss of structural coherence during the exposure. We use a nonthermal description for the damage dynamics to calculate the ultrafast ionization and the subsequent atomic displacement. These effects degrade the Bragg diffraction on femtosecond time scales and gate the ultrafast imaging. This process is intensity and resolution dependent. At high intensities the signal is gated by the ionization affecting low resolution information first. At lower intensities, atomic displacement dominates the loss of coherence affecting high-resolution information. We find that pulse length is not a limiting factor as long as there is a high enough X-ray flux to measure a diffracted signal
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Interaction of VUV-FEL radiation with B4C and SiC at 32nm wavelength
The output fluence and pulse duration of XFELs such as LCLS and TESLA will pose significant challenges to the optical components which may be damaged by the XFEL beam [1]. It is expected that low-atomic-number materials such as SiC, B{sub 4}C, and diamond exhibit weak absorption and therefore are damaged least. It has been suggested that the fundamental damage mechanism that determines the fluence damage threshold for single-shot exposures is thermal melting of the materials [2]. For multiple-shot exposures, the damage threshold is potentially lower than the melt threshold due to fatigue effects associated with mechanical stresses during to thermal cycling [3]
New methodologies for interconnect reliability assessments of integrated circuits
Thesis (Ph.D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering, 2000.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 245-251).The stringent performance and reliability demands that will accompany the development of next-generation circuits and new metallization technologies will require new and more accurate means of assessing interconnect reliability. Reliability assessments based on conventional methodologies are flawed in a number of very important ways, including the disregard of the effects of complex interconnect geometries on reliability. New models, simulations and experimental methodologies are required for the development of tools for circuit-level and process-sensitive reliability assessments. Most modeling and experimental characterization of interconnect reliability has focused on simple straight lines terminating at pads or vias. However, laid-out integrated circuits usually have many interconnects with junctions and wide-to-narrow transitions. In carrying out circuit-level reliability assessments it is important to be able to assess the reliability of these more complex shapes, generally referred to as "trees". An interconnect tree consists of continuously connected high-conductivity metal within one layer of metallization. Trees terminate at diffusion barriers at vias and contacts, and, in the general case, can have more than one terminating branch when the tree includes junctions. We have extended the understanding of "immortality" demonstrated and analyzed for straight stud-to-stud lines, to trees of arbitrary complexity. We verified the concept of immortality in interconnect trees through experiments on simple tree structures. This leads to a hierarchical approach for identifying immortal trees for specific circuit layouts and models for operation. We suggest a computationally efficient and flexible strategy for assessment of the reliability of entire integrated circuits. The proposed hierarchical reliability analysis can provide reliability assessments during the design and layout process (Reliability Computer Aided Design, RCAD). Design rules are suggested based on calculations of the electromigration-induced development of inhomogeneous steadystate mechanical stress states. Failure of interconnects by void nucleation in single-layermetallization, as well as failure by void growth in the presence of refractory metal shunt layers are taken into account. The proposed methodology identifies a large fraction of interconnect trees in a typical design as immune to electromigration-induced failure. To complete a circuit-level-reliability analysis, it is also necessary to estimate the lifetimes of the mortal trees. We have developed simulation tools that allow modeling of stress evolution and failure in arbitrarily complex trees. We have demonstrated the validity of these models and simulations through comparisons with experiments on simple trees, such as "L"- and "T"-shaped trees with different current configurations. Because analyses made using simulations are computationally intensive, simulations should be used for analysis of the least reliable trees. The reliability of the majority of the mortal trees can be assessed using a conservative default model based on nodal reliability analyses for the assessment of electromigration-limited reliability of interconnect trees. The lifetimes of the nodes are calculated by estimating the times for void nucleation, void growth to failure, and formation of extrusions. The differences between straight stud-to-stud lines and interconnect trees are studied by investigating the effects of passive and active reservoirs on electromigration. Models and simulations were validated through comparisons with experiments on simple tree structures, such as lines broken into two limbs with different currents in each limb. Models, simulations and experimental results on the reliability of interconnect trees are shown to yield mutually consistent results. Taken together, the results from this research have provided the basis for the development of the first RCAD tool capable of accurate circuit-level, processing sensitive and layout-specific reliability analyses.by Stefan P. Hau-Riege.Ph.D
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