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Directional Stand-off Detection of Fast Neutrons and Gammas Using Angular Scattering Distributions (open access)

Directional Stand-off Detection of Fast Neutrons and Gammas Using Angular Scattering Distributions

We have investigated the response of a DoubleScatter Neutron Spectrometer (DSNS) for sources at long distances (gr than 200 meters). We find that an alternative method for analyzing double scatter data avoids some uncertainties introduced by amplitude measurements in plastic scintillators.Time of flight is used to discriminate between gamma and neutron events, and the kinematic distributions of scattering angles are assumed to apply. Non-relativistic neutrons are most likely to scatter at 45°, while gammas with energies greater than 2 MeV are most likely to be forward scattered. The distribution of scattering angles of fission neutrons arriving from a distant point source generates a 45° cone, which can be back-projected to give the source direction. At the same time, the distribution of Compton-scattered gammas has a maximum in the forward direction, and can be made narrower by selecting events that deposit minimal energy in the first scattering event. We have further determined that the shape of spontaneous fission neutron spectra at ranges gr than 110 m is still significantly different from thecosmic ray background.
Date: October 25, 2009
Creator: Vanier, Peter E.; Dioszegi, Istvan; Salwen, Ccynthia & Forman, Leon
System: The UNT Digital Library
Photodiode-Based X-Ray Beam-Position Monitor With High Spatial-Resolution for the NSLS-II Beamlines (open access)

Photodiode-Based X-Ray Beam-Position Monitor With High Spatial-Resolution for the NSLS-II Beamlines

We developed a photodiode-based monochromatic X-ray beam-position monitor (X-BPM) with high spatial resolution for the project beamlines of the NSLS-II. A ring array of 32 Si PIN-junction photodiodes were designed for use as a position sensor, and a low-noise HERMES4 ASIC chip was integrated into the electronic readout system. A series of precision measurements to characterize electrically the Si-photodiode sensor and the ASIC chip demonstrated that the inherent noise is sufficiently below tolerance levels. Following up modeling of detector's performance, including geometrical optimization using a Gaussian beam, we fabricated and assembled a first prototype. In this paper, we describe the development of this new state-of-the-art X-ray BPM along the beamline, in particular, downstream from the monochromator.
Date: May 25, 2009
Creator: Yoon, P.S. & Siddons, D. P.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Results of Compact Stellarator Eengineering Trade Studies (open access)

Results of Compact Stellarator Eengineering Trade Studies

A number of technical requirements and performance criteria can drive stellarator costs, e.g., tight tolerances, accurate coil positioning, low aspect ratio (compactness), choice of assembly strategy, metrology, and complexity of the stellarator coil geometry. With the completion of a seven-year design and construction effort of the National Compact Stellarator Experiment (NCSX) it is useful to interject the NCSX experience along with the collective experiences of the NCSX stellarator community to improving the stellarator configuration. Can improvements in maintenance be achieved by altering the stellarator magnet configuration with changes in the coil shape or with the combination of trim coils? Can a mechanical configuration be identified that incorporates a partial set of shaped fixed stellarator coils along with some removable coil set to enhance the overall machine maintenance? Are there other approaches that will simplify the concepts, improve access for maintenance, reduce overall cost and improve the reliability of a stellarator based power plant? Using ARIES-CS and NCSX as reference cases, alternative approaches have been studied and developed to show how these modifications would favorably impact the stellarator power plant and experimental projects. The current status of the alternate stellarator configurations being developed will be described and a comparison made to …
Date: September 25, 2009
Creator: T. Brown, L. Bromberg, and M. Cole
System: The UNT Digital Library
A Supernodal Approach to Incomplete LU Factorization with Partial Pivoting (open access)

A Supernodal Approach to Incomplete LU Factorization with Partial Pivoting

We present a new supernode-based incomplete LU factorization method to construct a preconditioner for solving sparse linear systems with iterative methods. The new algorithm is primarily based on the ILUTP approach by Saad, and we incorporate a number of techniques to improve the robustness and performance of the traditional ILUTP method. These include the new dropping strategies that accommodate the use of supernodal structures in the factored matrix. We present numerical experiments to demonstrate that our new method is competitive with the other ILU approaches and is well suited for today's high performance architectures.
Date: June 25, 2009
Creator: Li, Xiaoye Sherry & Shao, Meiyue
System: The UNT Digital Library
Correlation method for the measure of mask-induced line-edge roughness in extreme ultraviolet lithography (open access)

Correlation method for the measure of mask-induced line-edge roughness in extreme ultraviolet lithography

As critical dimensions for leading-edge semiconductor devices shrink, line-edge roughness (LER) requirements are pushing well into the single digit nanometer regime. At these scales many new sources of LER must be considered. In the case of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography, modeling has shown the lithographic mask to be a source of significant concern. Here we present a correlation-based methodology for experimentally measuring the magnitude of mask contributors to printed LER. The method is applied to recent printing results from a 0.3 numerical aperture EUV microfield exposure tool. The measurements demonstrate that such effects are indeed present and of significant magnitude. The method is also used to explore the effects of illumination coherence and defocus and has been used to verify model-based predictions of mask-induced LER.
Date: May 25, 2009
Creator: Naulleau, Patrick
System: The UNT Digital Library
Design of 10 GeV laser wakefield accelerator stages with shaped laser modes (open access)

Design of 10 GeV laser wakefield accelerator stages with shaped laser modes

We present particle-in-cell simulations, using the VORPAL framework, of 10 GeV laser plasma wakefield accelerator stages. Scaling of the physical parameters with the plasma density allows us to perform these simulations at reasonable cost and to design high performance stages. In particular we show that, by choosing to operate in the quasi-linear regime, we can use higher order laser modes to tailor the focusing forces. This makes it possible to increase the matched electron beam radius and hence the total charge in the bunch while preserving the low bunch emittance required for applications.
Date: September 25, 2009
Creator: Cormier-Michel, Estelle; Esarey, E.; Geddes, C. G. R.; Geddes, C. G. R.; Leemans, W. P.; Bruhwiler, D. L. et al.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Thorough characterization of a EUV mask (open access)

Thorough characterization of a EUV mask

We reported that we were successful in our 45nm technology node device demonstration in February 2008 and 22nm node technology node device patterning in February 2009 using ASML's Alpha Demo Tool (ADT). In order to insert extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography at the 15nm technology node and beyond, we have thoroughly characterized one EUV mask, a so-called NOVACD mask. In this paper, we report on three topics, The first topic is an analysis of line edge roughness (LER) using a mask Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), an Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) and the Actinic Inspection Tool (AIT) to compare resist images printed with the ASML ADT. The results of the analysis show a good correlation between the mask AFM and the mask SEM measurements, However, the resist printing results for the isolated space patterns are slightly different. The cause ofthis discrepancy may be resist blur, image log slope and SEM image quality and so on. The second topic is an analysis of mask topography using an AFM and relative reflectivity of mirror and absorber surface using the AIT, The AFM data show 6 and 7 angstrom rms roughness for mirror and absorber, respectively. The reflectivity measurements show that the mirror reflects EUV …
Date: June 25, 2009
Creator: Mizuno, H.; McIntyre, G.; Koay, C.-W.; Burkhardt, M.; He, L.; Hartley, J. et al.
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Use of Weighting in Periodicity Searches in All-Sky Monitor Data: Applications to the GLAST LAT (open access)

The Use of Weighting in Periodicity Searches in All-Sky Monitor Data: Applications to the GLAST LAT

The light curves produced by all-sky monitors, such as the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer All-Sky Monitor and the Swift Burst Alert Telescope (BAT), generally have non-uniform error bars. In searching for periodic modulation in this type of data using power spectra it can be important to use appropriate weighting of data points to achieve the best sensitivity. It was recently demonstrated that for Swift BAT data a simple weighting scheme can actually sometimes reduce the sensitivity of the power spectrum depending on source brightness. Instead, a modified weighting scheme, based on the Cochran semi-weighted mean, gives improved results independent of source brightness. We investigate the benefits of weighting power spectra in period searches using simulated GLAST LAT observations of {gamma}-ray binaries.
Date: June 25, 2009
Creator: Corbet, Robin & Dubois, Richard
System: The UNT Digital Library
EVENT TREE ANALYSIS AT THE SAVANNAH RIVER SITE: A CASE HISTORY (open access)

EVENT TREE ANALYSIS AT THE SAVANNAH RIVER SITE: A CASE HISTORY

At the Savannah River Site (SRS), a Department of Energy (DOE) installation in west-central South Carolina there is a unique geologic stratum that exists at depth that has the potential to cause surface settlement resulting from a seismic event. In the past the particular stratum in question has been remediated via pressure grouting, however the benefits of remediation have always been debatable. Recently the SRS has attempted to frame the issue in terms of risk via an event tree or logic tree analysis. This paper describes that analysis, including the input data required.
Date: May 25, 2009
Creator: Williams, R
System: The UNT Digital Library
SAFETY AT FLUOR HANFORD (A) CASE STUDY - PREPARED BY THUNDERBIRD SCHOOL OF GLOBAL MANAGEMENT (open access)

SAFETY AT FLUOR HANFORD (A) CASE STUDY - PREPARED BY THUNDERBIRD SCHOOL OF GLOBAL MANAGEMENT

By November of 1997, Fluor Hanford (Fluor) had been the site manager of the Hanford nuclear reservation for a year. The Hanford site had been established as part of the Manhattan Project in the 1940s that gave birth to the atomic bomb. Hanford produced two thirds of U.S. plutonium during the Cold War period. The Hanford site was half the size of Rhode Island and occupied 586 square miles in southeastern Washington State. The production of plutonium for more than 40 years left a huge legacy of chemical and radiological contamination: 80 square miles of contaminated groundwater; 2,300 tons of spent nuclear fuel stored in underwater basins; 20 tons of plutonium-laced contaminated materials; and 500 contaminated facilities. The cleanup involved a challenging combination of radioactive material handling within an infrastructure constructed in the 1940s and 1950s. The cleanup that began in 1988 was expected to take 30 years or more. Improving safety at Hanford had already proven to be a significant challenge. As the new site manager at Hanford, Fluor Hanford inherited lower- and mid-level managers and thousands of unionized employees, many of whom were second or third generation Hanford employees. These employees had seen many contractors come and go …
Date: September 25, 2009
Creator: Arnold, L. D.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Improving chiral property of domain-wall fermions by reweighting method (open access)

Improving chiral property of domain-wall fermions by reweighting method

The reweighting method is applied to improve the chiral property of domain-wall fermions. One way to achieve this is to enlarge L{sub s}, the size of fifth dimension, which controls the size of the induced chiral symmetry breaking. While this is a type of reweighting method for shifting the action parameter, it seems non-trivial since this reweighting means change of the five dimensional lattice volume. In this report, we address issues in this direction of reweighting and evaluate its effectiveness.
Date: July 25, 2009
Creator: Ishikawa, T.; Aoki, Y. & Izubuchi, T.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Measurement of the angle alpha at BABAR (open access)

Measurement of the angle alpha at BABAR

The authors present recent measurements of the CKM angle {alpha} using data collected by the BABAR detector at the PEP-II asymmetric-energy e{sup +}e{sup -} collider at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, operating at the {Upsilon}(4S) resonance. They present constraints on {alpha} from B {yields} {pi}{pi}, B {yields} {rho}{rho} and B {yields} {rho}{pi} decays.
Date: June 25, 2009
Creator: Perez, A.
System: The UNT Digital Library
SAFETY AT FLUOR HANFORD (B) CASE STUDY - PREPARED BY THE THUNDERBIRD SCHOOL OF GLOBAL MANAGEMENT (open access)

SAFETY AT FLUOR HANFORD (B) CASE STUDY - PREPARED BY THE THUNDERBIRD SCHOOL OF GLOBAL MANAGEMENT

One year into the Hanford contract, Fluor had learned a number of hard lessons very quickly. Although the Hanford remediation contract was in many ways a new endeavor for Fluor and a different kind of contract, the organization moved quickly to increase communication with all employees, attack head-on what it considered unsafe and inappropriate safety practices, and strongly inject its own corporate cultural beliefs into the Hanford organization. It wasn't easy, and it didn't happen overnight. From the beginning, Fluor established processes and programs to drive down injury rates. For example, whereas the previous contractor's approach to injuries had been passive, Fluor took a much more aggressive approach to worker injuries. The previous contractor had established a practice of sending injured workers home with the basic directive 'to come back when you are well'. Instead of using outsourced medical assessment, Fluor internalized it and evaluated all claims aggressively. Legitimate claims were quickly settled, and management moved to identify 'repeat offenders' when it came to reportable safety incidents. In the first year of Fluor's management, reportable injuries dropped from 5.37 to 2.99 per 200,000 man-hours. Despite the drop in injury rates, the safety record at Fluor Hanford was not at a …
Date: September 25, 2009
Creator: LD, ARNOLD
System: The UNT Digital Library
Device-scale perpendicular alignment of colloidal nanorods (open access)

Device-scale perpendicular alignment of colloidal nanorods

The self-assembly of nanocrystals enables new classes of materials whose properties are controlled by the periodicities of the assembly, as well as by the size, shape and composition of the nanocrystals. While self-assembly of spherical nanoparticles has advanced significantly in the last decade, assembly of rod-shaped nanocrystals has seen limited progress due to the requirement of orientational order. Here, the parameters critically relevant to self-assembly are systematically quantified using a combination of diffraction and theoretical modeling; these highlight the importance of kinetics on orientational order. Through drying-mediated self-assembly we achieve unprecedented control over orientational order (up to 96percent vertically oriented rods on 1cm2 areas) on a wide range of substrates (ITO, PEDOT:PSS, Si3N4). This opens new avenues for nanocrystal-based devices competitive with thin film devices, as problems of granularity can be tackled through crystallographic orientational control over macroscopic areas.
Date: September 25, 2009
Creator: Baker, Jessica L.; Widmer-Cooper, Asaph; Toney, Michael F.; Geissler, Phillip P. & Alivisatos, A. Paul
System: The UNT Digital Library
Structural Analyses of Fuel Casks Subjected to Bolt Preload, Internal Pressure and Sequential Dynamic Impacts (open access)

Structural Analyses of Fuel Casks Subjected to Bolt Preload, Internal Pressure and Sequential Dynamic Impacts

Large fuel casks subjected to the combined loads of closure bolt tightening, internal pressure and sequential dynamic impacts present challenges when evaluating their performance in the Hypothetical Accident Conditions (HAC) specified in the Code of Federal Regulations Title 10 Part 71 (10CFR71). Testing is often limited by cost, difficulty in preparing test units and the limited availability of facilities which can carry out such tests. In the past, many casks were evaluated without testing by using simplified analytical methods. In addition, there are no realistic analyses of closure bolt stresses for HAC conditions reported in the open literature. This paper presents a numerical technique for analyzing the accumulated damages of a large fuel cask caused by the sequential loads of the closure bolt tightening and the internal pressure as well as the drop and crash dynamic loads. The bolt preload and the internal pressure are treated as quasi-static loads so that the finite element method with explicit numerical integration scheme based on the theory of wave propagation can be applied. The dynamic impacts with short durations such as the 30-foot drop and the 40-inch puncture for the hypothetical accident conditions specified in 10CFR71 are also analyzed by using the finite-element …
Date: June 25, 2009
Creator: Wu, T.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Collins Mechanism Contributions to Single Spin Asymmetry (open access)

Collins Mechanism Contributions to Single Spin Asymmetry

We present recent developments on the single transverse spin physics, in particular, the Collins mechanism contributions in various hadronic reactions, such as semi-inclusive hadron production in DIS process, azimuthal distribution of hadron in high energy jet in pp collisions. We will demonstrate that the transverse momentum dependent and collinear factorization approaches are consistent with each other in the description of the Collins effects in the semi-inclusive hadron production in DIS process.
Date: May 25, 2009
Creator: Yuan,F.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Response Predicting LTCC Firing Shrinkage: A Response Surface Analysis Study (open access)

Response Predicting LTCC Firing Shrinkage: A Response Surface Analysis Study

The Low Temperature Cofired Ceramic (LTCC) technology is used in a variety of applications including military/space electronics, wireless communication, MEMS, medical and automotive electronics. The use of LTCC is growing due to the low cost of investment, short development time, good electrical and mechanical properties, high reliability, and flexibility in design integration (3 dimensional (3D) microstructures with cavities are possible)). The dimensional accuracy of the resulting x/y shrinkage of LTCC substrates is responsible for component assembly problems with the tolerance effect that increases in relation to the substrate size. Response Surface Analysis was used to predict product shrinkage based on specific process inputs (metal loading, layer count, lamination pressure, and tape thickness) with the ultimate goal to optimize manufacturing outputs (NC files, stencils, and screens) in achieving the final product design the first time. Three (3) regression models were developed for the DuPont 951 tape system with DuPont 5734 gold metallization based on green tape thickness.
Date: February 25, 2009
Creator: Girardi, Michael; Barner, Gregg; Lopez, Cristie; Duncan, Brent & Zawicki, Larry
System: The UNT Digital Library
REVERSIBLE AND IRREVERSIBLE PASSIVATION OF A LA-NI-AL ALLOY (open access)

REVERSIBLE AND IRREVERSIBLE PASSIVATION OF A LA-NI-AL ALLOY

This paper seeks to explore some of the effects of passivating a LaNi{sub 4.25}Al{sub 0.75} sample by air oxidation under controlled conditions. Passivation of this metal hydride alloy seems to have two distinct regimes. The first occurs with air oxidation at 80 C and 20 C. It is characterized by complete reversibility upon hydrogen readsorption, although said readsorption is hindered substantially at room temperature, requiring the material to be heated to produce the reactivation. The second regime is illustrated by 130 C air oxidation and is characterized by irreversible loss of hydrogen absorption capacity. This passivation does not hinder hydrogen readsorption into the remaining hydride material.
Date: June 25, 2009
Creator: Shanahan, K. & Klein, J.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Performance of exponential coupler in the SPS with LHC type beam for transverse broadband instability analysis (open access)

Performance of exponential coupler in the SPS with LHC type beam for transverse broadband instability analysis

We present the performance and limitations of the SPS exponential coupler [1] for transverse instability measurements with LHC type beam. Data were acquired in 2008 in the SPS in the time domain with a bandwidth of up to 2.5 GHz. The data were filtered to extract the time evolution of transverse oscillations within the less than 5 ns long LHC type bunches. We describe the data filtering techniques and show the limitations of the pick-up due to propagating modes.
Date: May 25, 2009
Creator: De Maria, R.; Fox, J. D.; Hofle, W.; Kotzian, G.; Rumolo, G.; Salvant, B. et al.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Real-Time Molecular Monitoring of Chemical Environment in ObligateAnaerobes during Oxygen Adaptive Response (open access)

Real-Time Molecular Monitoring of Chemical Environment in ObligateAnaerobes during Oxygen Adaptive Response

Determining the transient chemical properties of the intracellular environment canelucidate the paths through which a biological system adapts to changes in its environment, for example, the mechanisms which enable some obligate anaerobic bacteria to survive a sudden exposure to oxygen. Here we used high-resolution Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectromicroscopy to continuously follow cellular chemistry within living obligate anaerobes by monitoring hydrogen bonding in their cellular water. We observed a sequence of wellorchestrated molecular events that correspond to changes in cellular processes in those cells that survive, but only accumulation of radicals in those that do not. We thereby can interpret the adaptive response in terms of transient intracellular chemistry and link it to oxygen stress and survival. This ability to monitor chemical changes at the molecular level can yield important insights into a wide range of adaptive responses.
Date: February 25, 2009
Creator: Holman, Hoi-Ying N.; Wozei, Eleanor; Lin, Zhang; Comolli, Luis R.; Ball, David. A.; Borglin, Sharon et al.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Thermodynamics, Optical Properties and Coordination Modes of Np(V) with Dipicolinic Acid (open access)

Thermodynamics, Optical Properties and Coordination Modes of Np(V) with Dipicolinic Acid

None
Date: October 25, 2009
Creator: Tian, Guoxin; Rao, Linfeng & Teat, Simon J.
System: The UNT Digital Library
The role of reaction affinity and secondary minerals in regulating chemical weathering rates at the Santa Cruz Soil Chronosequence, California (open access)

The role of reaction affinity and secondary minerals in regulating chemical weathering rates at the Santa Cruz Soil Chronosequence, California

In order to explore the reasons for the apparent discrepancy between laboratory and field weathering rates and to determine the extent to which weathering rates are controlled by the approach to thermodynamic equilibrium, secondary mineral precipitation and flow rates, a multicomponent reactive transport model (CrunchFlow) was used to interpret soil profile development and mineral precipitation and dissolution rates at the 226 ka marine terrace chronosequence near Santa Cruz, CA. Aqueous compositions, fluid chemistry, transport, and mineral abundances are well characterized (White et al., 2008, GCA) and were used to constrain the reaction rates for the weathering and precipitating minerals in the reactive transport modeling. When primary mineral weathering rates are calculated with either of two experimentally determined rate constants, the nonlinear, parallel rate law formulation of Hellmann and Tisser and [2006] or the aluminum inhibition model proposed by Oelkers et al. [1994], modeling results are consistent with field-scale observations when independently constrained clay precipitation rates are accounted for. Experimental and field rates, therefore, can be reconciled at the Santa Cruz site. Observed maximum clay abundances in the argillic horizons occur at the depth and time where the reaction fronts of the primary minerals overlap. The modeling indicates that the argillic …
Date: February 25, 2009
Creator: Maher, K.; Steefel, C. I.; White, A.F. & Stonestrom, D.A.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Domain-wall oscillations studies by time-resolved soft x-ray mircorscopy (open access)

Domain-wall oscillations studies by time-resolved soft x-ray mircorscopy

Fast magnetization dynamics in the micro- and nanometer regime are an interesting field of research. On these length scales magnetic structures can be designed to contain a single vortex or a single domain wall. Both size and speed of these patterns are of great interest in todays research for prospective non-volatile data storage devices. Especially the possibility to move domain-walls by spin-polarized current gained a lot of interest. Magnetic configurations can be imaged by soft X-ray magnetic microscopy with a spatial resolution down to 15 nm. By a stroboscopic pump and probe measurement scheme a temporal resolution below 100 ps is achieved. This provides the opportunity to directly image changes in magnetic domains and domain-wall motion. We image oscillations of a single domain wall in a confining potential in time steps of 200 ps by time resolved X-ray microscopy at the full-field soft X-ray transmission microscope at the Advanced Light Source in Berkeley (beamline 6.1.2). Domain walls are prepared in permalloy nanostructures with a restoring potential. The oscillation of a 180{sup o} domain wall is triggered by nanosecond current pulses. The spin-polarized current and the accompanying Oersted field can contribute to the motion of the wall. By analysis of the …
Date: March 25, 2009
Creator: Bocklage, L.; Kruger, B.; Eiselt, R.; Bolte, M.; Fischer, P. & Meier, G.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Te Inclusions in CZT Detectors: New Method for Correcting Their Adverse Effects (open access)

Te Inclusions in CZT Detectors: New Method for Correcting Their Adverse Effects

Both Te inclusions and point defects can trap the charge carriers generated by ionizing particles in CdZnTe (CZT) detectors. The amount of charge trapped by point defects is proportional to the carriers’ drift time and can be corrected electronically. In the case of Te inclusions, the charge loss depends upon their random locations with respect to the electron cloud. Consequently, inclusions introduce fluctuations in the charge signals, which cannot be easily corrected. In this paper, we describe direct measurements of the cumulative effect of Te inclusions and its influence on the response of CZT detectors of different thicknesses and different sizes and concentrations of Te inclusions. We also discuss a means of partially correcting their adverse effects.
Date: October 25, 2009
Creator: Bolotnikov, A. E.; Babalola, S.; Camarda, G. S.; Cui, Y.; Egarievwe, S. U.; Hawrami, R. et al.
System: The UNT Digital Library