The Base Engine for Solar Stirling Power

A new concept in Stirling engine technology is embodied in the base engine now being developed at Stirling Thermal Motors, Inc. This is a versatile energy conversion unit suitable for many different applications and heat sources. The base engine, rated 40 kW at 2800 RPM, is a four-cylinder, double-acting variable displacement Stirling engine with pressurized crankcase and rotating shaft seal. Remote-heating technology is incorporated with a stacked-heat-exchanger configuration and a liquid metal heat pipe connected to a distinctly separate combustor or other heat source. High efficiency over a wide range of operating conditions, long life, low manufacturing cost and low material cost are specifically emphasized. The base engine, its design philosophy and approach, its projected performance, and some of its more attractive applications are described

Competition between Spin-Orbit Interaction and Zeeman Coupling in Rashba 2DEGs

We investigate systematically how the interplay between Rashba spin-orbit interaction and Zeeman coupling affects the electron transport and the spin dynamics in InGaAs-based 2D electron gases. From the quantitative analysis of the magnetoconductance, measured in the presence of an in-plane magnetic field, we conclude that this interplay results in a spin-induced breaking of time reversal symmetry and in an enhancement of the spin relaxation time. Both effects, due to a partial alignment of the electron spin along the applied magnetic field, are found to be in excellent agreement with recent theoretical predictions.Comment: 4 figures and 4 page

Coexistence of bulk and surface states probed by Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations in Bi2_2Se3_3 with high charge-carrier density

Topological insulators are ideally represented as having an insulating bulk with topologically protected, spin-textured surface states. However, it is increasingly becoming clear that these surface transport channels can be accompanied by a finite conducting bulk, as well as additional topologically trivial surface states. To investigate these parallel conduction transport channels, we studied Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations in Bi$_2$Se$_3$ thin films, in high magnetic fields up to 30 T so as to access channels with a lower mobility. We identify a clear Zeeman-split bulk contribution to the oscillations from a comparison between the charge-carrier densities extracted from the magnetoresistance and the oscillations. Furthermore, our analyses indicate the presence of a two-dimensional state and signatures of additional states the origin of which cannot be conclusively determined. Our findings underpin the necessity of theoretical studies on the origin of and the interplay between these parallel conduction channels for a careful analysis of the material's performance.Comment: Manuscript including supplemental materia

Probing molecular dynamics at the nanoscale via an individual paramagnetic center

Understanding the dynamics of molecules adsorbed to surfaces or confined to small volumes is a matter of increasing scientific and technological importance. Here, we demonstrate a pulse protocol using individual paramagnetic nitrogen vacancy (NV) centers in diamond to observe the time evolution of 1H spins from organic molecules located a few nanometers from the diamond surface. The protocol records temporal correlations among the interacting 1H spins, and thus is sensitive to the local system dynamics via its impact on the nuclear spin relaxation and interaction with the NV. We are able to gather information on the nanoscale rotational and translational diffusion dynamics by carefully analyzing the time dependence of the NMR signal. Applying this technique to various liquid and solid samples, we find evidence that liquid samples form a semi-solid layer of 1.5 nm thickness on the surface of diamond, where translational diffusion is suppressed while rotational diffusion remains present. Extensions of the present technique could be adapted to highlight the chemical composition of molecules tethered to the diamond surface or to investigate thermally or chemically activated dynamical processes such as molecular folding

Magnetic imaging with an ensemble of Nitrogen Vacancy centers in diamond

The nitrogen-vacancy (NV) color center in diamond is an atom-like system in the solid-state which specific spin properties can be efficiently used as a sensitive magnetic sensor. An external magnetic field induces Zeeman shifts of the NV center levels which can be measured using Optically Detected Magnetic Resonance (ODMR). In this work, we exploit the ODMR signal of an ensemble of NV centers in order to quantitatively map the vectorial structure of a magnetic field produced by a sample close to the surface of a CVD diamond hosting a thin layer of NV centers. The reconstruction of the magnetic field is based on a maximum-likelihood technique which exploits the response of the four intrinsic orientations of the NV center inside the diamond lattice. The sensitivity associated to a 1 {\mu}m^2 area of the doped layer, equivalent to a sensor consisting of approximately 10^4 NV centers, is of the order of 2 {\mu}T/sqrt{Hz}. The spatial resolution of the imaging device is 400 nm, limited by the numerical aperture of the optical microscope which is used to collect the photoluminescence of the NV layer. The versatility of the sensor is illustrated by the accurate reconstruction of the magnetic field created by a DC current inside a copper wire deposited on the diamond sample.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figures, figure 4 added, results unchange

Loading Stark-decelerated molecules into electrostatic quadrupole traps

Beams of neutral polar molecules in a low-field seeking quantum state can be slowed down using a Stark decelerator, and can subsequently be loaded and confined in electrostatic quadrupole traps. The efficiency of the trap loading process is determined by the ability to couple the decelerated packet of molecules into the trap without loss of molecules and without heating. We discuss the inherent difficulties to obtain ideal trap loading, and describe and compare different trap loading strategies. A new "split-endcap" quadrupole trap design is presented that enables improved trap loading efficiencies. This is experimentally verified by comparing the trapping of OH radicals using the conventional and the new quadrupole trap designs

Fabrication and electrical transport properties of embedded graphite microwires in a diamond matrix

Micrometer width and nanometer thick wires with different shapes were produced \approx 3~\upmum below the surface of a diamond crystal using a microbeam of He$^+$ ions with 1.8~MeV energy. Initial samples are amorphous and after annealing at $T\approx 1475$~K, the wires crystallized into a graphite-like structures, according to confocal Raman spectroscopy measurements. The electrical resistivity at room temperature is only one order of magnitude larger than the in-plane resistivity of highly oriented pyrolytic bulk graphite and shows a small resistivity ratio($\rho(2{\rm K})/\rho(315{\rm K}) \approx 1.275$). A small negative magnetoresistance below $T=200$~K was measured and can be well understood taking spin-dependent scattering processes into account. The used method provides the means to design and produce millimeter to micrometer sized conducting circuits with arbitrary shape embedded in a diamond matrix.Comment: 12 pages, 5 figures, to be published in Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics (Feb. 2017