Impurities in cadmium sulfide (CdS) films are a concern in the fabrication of copper (indium, gallium) diselenide (CIGS) and cadmium telluride (CdTe) photovoltaic devices. Devices incorporating chemical-bath-deposited (CBD) CdS are comparable in quality to devices incorporating purer CdS films grown using vacuum deposition techniques, despite the higher impurity concentrations typically observed in the CBD CdS films. In this paper, we summarize and review the results of Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), Auger, electron microprobe, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic (XPS) analyses of the impurities in CBD CdS films. We show that these impurities differ as a function of substrate type and film deposition conditions. We also show that some of these impurities exist as 10{sup 2} micron-scale precipitates.

The profiles of the potential of mean force for the <i>Cl^- - H₃O⁺</i> pair, as predicted by two <i>ab initio</i> models, are determined by constraint molecular dynamics simulation at a near-critical condition. The corresponding association constants are then determined and compared with that from conductance measurements to test the reliability of the current simulation models for <i>HCl</i>.

The theoretical treatment of the solvation phenomenon of simple ions in aqueous solutions has been rather difficult, despite the apparent simplicity of the system. Long-range solvent-screened electrostatic interactions, coupled to the large variation (with state conditions) of the dielectric permittivity of water, give rise to a variety of rather complex solvation phenomena including dielectric saturation, electrostriction, and ion association. Notably, ion solvation in high-temperature/pressure aqueous solutions plays a leading role in hydrothermal chemistry, such as in the natural formation of ore deposits, the corrosion in boilers and reactors, and in high-temperature microbiology. Tremendous effort has been invested in the study of hydrothermal solutions to determine their thermodynamic, transport, and spectroscopic properties with the goal of elucidating the solute-solvent and solute-solute interactions over a wide range of state conditions. It is precisely at these conditions where our understanding and predictive capabilities are most precarious, in part, as a result of the coexistence of processes with two rather different length scales, i.e., short-ranged (solvation) and long-ranged (compressibility-driven) phenomena (Chialvo and Cummings 1994a). The latter feature makes hydrothermal systems extremely challenging to model, unless we are able to isolate the (compressibility-driven) propagation of the density perturbation from the (solvation-related) finite-density perturbation phenomena (Chialvo …

A review of the applicability of Pitzer's equations to the aqueous thermodynamics of actinide species in natural waters is presented. This review includes a brief historical perspective on the application of Pitzer's equations to actinides, information on the difficulties and complexities of studying and modeling the different actinide oxidation states, and a discussion of the use of chemical analogs for different actinide oxidation states. included are tables of Pitzer ion-interaction parameters and associated standard state equilibrium constants for each actinide oxidation state. These data allow the modeling of the aqueous thermodynamics of different actinide oxidation states to high ionic strength.

An algorithm known as SMAC (Synthesize Modes And Correlate), based on principles of modal filtering, has been in development for a few years. The new capabilities of the automated version are demonstrated on test data from a complex shell/payload system. Examples of extractions from impact and shaker data are shown. The automated algorithm extracts 30 to 50 modes in the bandwidth from each column of the frequency response function matrix. Examples of the synthesized Mode Indicator Functions (MIFs) compared with the actual MIFs show the accuracy of the technique. A data set for one input and 170 accelerometer outputs can typically be reduced in an hour. Application to a test with some complex modes is also demonstrated.

Silicon crystal monochromators at cryogenic temperatures have been used with great success at third-generation synchrotrons radiation sources. At the Advanced Photon Source (APS) the unique characteristics of silicon at liquid nitrogen temperatures (77 K) have been leveraged to significantly reduce the thermally induced distortions on beamline optical components. Finite element simulations of the nonlinear (temperature-dependent material properties) thermal stress problem were performed and compared with the experimental measurements. Several critical finite element modeling considerations are discussed for their role in accurately predicting the highly coupled thermal and structural response of the optical component's surface distortion to the high thermal heat flux. Depending on the estimated convection heat transfer coefficient, the final refined finite element model's predictions correlated well with the experimental measurements.

Inductive energy storage systems can have high energy density, lending to smaller, less expensive systems. The crucial element of an inductive energy storage system is the opening switch. This switch must conduct current while energy is stored in an inductor, then open quickly to transfer this energy to a load. Plasma can perform this function. The Plasma Opening Switch (POS) has been studied for more than two decades. Success with the conventional plasma opening switch has been limited. A system designed to significantly improve the performance of vacuum opening switches is described in this paper. The gap cleared of plasma is a rough figure-of-merit for vacuum opening switches. Typical opened gaps of 3 mm are reported for conventional switches. The goal for the system described in this paper is more than 3 cm. To achieve this, the command-triggered POS adds an active opening mechanism, which allows complete separation of conduction and opening. This separation is advantageous because of the widely different time scales of conduction and opening. The detrimental process of magnetic field penetration into the plasma during conduction is less important in this switch. The opening mechanism duration is much shorter than the conduction time, so penetration during opening …

Laser-plasma interactions are sensitive to both the fine-scale speckle and the larger scale envelope intensity of the beam. For some time, simulations have been done on volumes taken from part of the laser beam cross-section, and the results from multiple simulations extrapolated to predict the behavior of the entire beam. However, extrapolation could very well miss effects of the larger scale structure on the fine-scale. The only definitive method is to simulate the entire beam. These very large calculations have been infeasible until recently, but they are now possible on massively parallel computers. Whole beam simulations show the dramatic difference in the propagation and break up of smoothed and aberrated beams.

A new high-speed x-ray beam chopper using laser scanner technology has been developed and tested on the SRI-CAT sector 1 beamline at the Advanced Photon Source (APS) storage ring (1). As illustrated in figure 1, it is compact in size and has two sets of transmission windows: BK-7 glass for visible light transmission and 0.23-mm-thick Be for the transmission of x-rays. The rotor is made of aluminum and has a diameter of 50.8 mm. A 0.5-mm-wide and 2.29-mm-tall slit is cut through the center of the rotor. The circumference of the rotor has a coating of 1-mm-thick Ni, which gives an attenuation of 10{sup 8} at 30 keV. Turning at nearly 80000 RPM, this beam chopper has an opening time window of 2450 ns, corresponding to 67% of the revolution time of the APS storage ring. The primary feature in selecting laser scanner technology to develop into an x-ray beam chopper was the high level of rotational speed control of the rotor that makes up the beam chopper element (2). By using an optical feedback circuit to sample the rotational speed four times each revolution, the jitter in the position of the transmission open time window is only 3 ns …

In the past decade, several third-generation synchrotrons x-ray sources have been constructed and commissioned around the world. Many of the major problems in the development and design of the optical components capable of handling the extremely high heat loads of the generated x-ray beams have been resolved. It is expected, however, that in the next few years even more powerful x-ray beams will be produced at these facilities, for example, by increasing the particle beam current. In this paper, the design of a next generation of synchrotron x-ray mirrors is discussed. The author shows that the design of contact-cooled mirrors capable of handing x-ray beam heat fluxes in excess of 500 W/mm{sup 2} - or more than three times the present level - is well within reach, and the limiting factor is the thermal stress rather then thermally induced slope error.

The goal of this study was to develop a three-dimensional imaging method for studies of deformation in low-density materials during loading, and to implement finite element solutions of the elastic equations based on the images. Specimens of silica-reinforced polysiloxane foam pads, 15 mm in diameter by 1 mm thick, were used for this study. The nominal pore density was 50%, and the pores approximated interconnected spheres. The specimens were imaged with microtomography at {approx}16{micro}m resolution. A rotating stage with micrometer driven compression allowed imaging of the foams during deformation with precise registration of the images. A finite element mesh, generated from the image voxels, was used to calculate the mechanical properties of the structure, and the results were compared with conventional mechanical testing. The foam exhibited significant nonlinear behavior with compressive loading. The finite-element calculations from the images, which were in excellent agreement with experimental data, suggested that nonlinear behavior in the load displacement curves arises from buckling of the cell walls during compression and not from any nonlinear properties of the base elastomer. High-resolution microtomography, coupled with efficient finite-element modeling, shows promise for improving our understanding of the deformation behavior of cellular materials.

An experimental setup to perform high-resolution time-resolved X-ray scattering has been commissioned on the side station of beamline 8-ID at the Advanced Photon Source. A Peltier-cooled diode detector array covering an angle range of 20 degrees is mounted on a 4-circle goniometer and is used to temporally resolve X-ray scattering patterns with a resolution up to 10 ms. Metallic ribbon samples can be quickly heated and cooled from temperatures up to 500 C inside a furnace with controllable atmosphere and equipped with a beryllium window. A description of the setup is presented along with actual results showing time-resolved phase transitions and crystallization processes in AlYNi metallic alloys. These results demonstrate the power of this technique to investigate complex crystallization processes as well as the versatility of this time-resolved X-ray scattering spectrometer.

The collisions of ultra-relativistic nuclei provide a window on the behavior of strong interactions at asymptotically high energies. They also will allow the authors to study the bulk properties of hadronic matter at very high densities.

Simple tangent, hard site chains near a hard wall are modeled with a Density Functional (DF) theory that uses the direct correlation function, c(r), as its ''input''. Two aspects of this DF theory are focused upon: (1) the consequences of variations in c(r)'s detailed form; and (2) the correct way to introduce c(r) into the DF formalism. The most important aspect of c(r) is found to be its integrated value, {cflx c}(0). Indeed, it appears that, for fixed {cflx c}(0), all reasonable guesses of the detailed shape of c(r) result in surprisingly similar density distributions, {rho}(r). Of course, the more accurate the c(r), the better the {rho}(r). As long as the length scale introduced by c(r) is roughly the hard site diameter and as long as the solution remains liquid-like, the {rho}(r) is found to be in good agreement with simulation results. The c(r) is used in DF theory to calculate the medium-induced-potential, U{sub M}(r) from the density distribution, {rho}(r). The form of U{sub M}(r) can be chosen to be one of a number of different forms. It is found that the forms for U{sub M}(r), which yield the most accurate results for the wall problem, are also those which …

The influence of oxygenated hydrocarbons as additives to diesel fuels on ignition, NOx emissions and soot production has been examined using a detailed chemical kinetic reaction mechanism. N-heptane was used as a representative diesel fuel, and methanol, ethanol, dimethyl ether and dimethoxymethane were used as oxygenated fuel additives. It was found that addition of oxygenated hydrocarbons reduced NOx levels and reduced the production of soot precursors. When the overall oxygen content in the fuel reached approximately 25% by mass, production of soot precursors fell effectively to zero, in agreement with experimental studies. The kinetic factors responsible for these observations are discussed.

Chemical reduction of NO{sub x} can be accomplished by injection of nitrogen atoms into the diesel engine exhaust stream. The nitrogen atoms can be generated from a separate stream of pure N{sub 2} by means of plasma jets or non-thermal plasma reactors. This paper examines the effect of exhaust temperature on the NO{sub x} reduction efficiency that can be achieved by nitrogen atom injection. It is shown that to achieve a high NO{sub x} reduction efficiency at a reasonable power consumption penalty, the exhaust temperature needs to be 100 C or less.

Linearly and circularly polarized x-rays have been very successfully applied to the study of the properties of materials. Many applications can benefit from the availability of energy-turnable, high-brilliance x-ray beams with adjustable polarization properties. A helical undulator that can generate beams of variable (linear to circular) polarization has been designed and built by the Budker Institute of Nuclear Physics and the Advanced Photon Source. The first harmonic of this 12.8-cm-period device will cover the energy range from 0.4 keV to 3.5 keV. An important feature of this fully electromagnetic device is that it will allow one to generate 100% horizontally (K{sub x}=O)or vertically (K{sub y}=O) plane-polarized radiation, which will enable many experiments otherwise not technically feasible. With symmetric deflection parameters (K{sub x}=K{sub y}), the on-axis radiation will be circularly polarized, with a user-selectable handedness. The polarization can be changed at rates up to 10 Hz.

The authors have developed the world's first etched silicon grisms at LLNL in September 1999. The high optical surface quality of the grisms allows diffraction-limited spectral resolution in the IR wavelengths where silicon has good transmission. They estimated that the scattering light level is less than 4% at 2.2 {micro}m. Silicon can significantly increase the dispersive power of spectroscopic instruments for NGST due to its very large refractive index (n = 3.4). For example, a silicon grism with 40 mm clear entrance aperture and a 46 wedge angle can provide R = 10,000--100,000 in {approximately} 1--10 {micro}m. The same grating working in the immersed reflection mode can provide {approximately} three times higher spectral resolution than in the transmission mode. To achieve a desired spectral resolution for NGST, the spectrograph size and weight can be significantly reduced if silicon gratings are used instead of conventional gratings.

This paper examines the hydrocarbon (C{sub 1}/NO{sub x} ratio) and electrical energy density (ratio of power to exhaust flow rate) requirements in the plasma during plasma-assisted catalytic reduction of NO{sub x}. The requirements for treatment of NO{sub x} in heavy-duty and light-duty diesel engines are compared. It is shown that, for light-duty applications, the plasma can significantly enhance the catalytic reduction of NO{sub x} with little fuel penalty incurred in the plasma process.

Plasma reactors can be operated as a particulate trap or as a NO{sub x} converter. The soluble organic fraction (SOF) of the trapped particulates can be utilized for the oxidation of NO to NO{sub 2}. The NO{sub 2} can then be used to non-thermally oxidize the carbon fraction of the particulates. This paper examines the energy density required for oxidation of the SOF hydrocarbons and the fate of NO{sub 2} during the oxidation of the particulate carbon. The energy density required for complete oxidation of the SOF hydrocarbons is shown to be unacceptably large. The reaction of NO{sub 2} with carbon is shown to lead mainly to backconversion of NO{sub 2} to NO. These results suggest that the use of a catalyst in combination with the plasma will be required to efficiently reduce the NO{sub x} and oxidize the SOF hydrocarbons.

Solid freeform fabrication is the near-net-shape manufacturing of components by sequentially stacking thin layers of material until complicated three dimensional shapes are produced. The operation is computer controlled and requires no molds. This exciting new field of technology provides engineers with the ability to rapidly produce prototype parts directly from CAD drawings and oftentimes little or no machining is necessary after fabrication. Techniques for freeform fabrication with several types of plastics and metals are already quite advanced and maybe reviewed in references 1 and 2. Very complicated plastic models can be fabricated by stereolithography, selective laser sintering, fused deposition modeling, or three-dimensional ink jet printing. Metals may be freeformed by the LENS{trademark} technique and porous ceramic bodies by three dimensional printing into a porous powder bed. However, methods for freeform fabrication that utilize particulate slurries to build dense ceramics and composites are not as well developed. The techniques that are being developed for the freeform fabrication of dense structural ceramics primarily revolve around the sequential layering of ceramic loaded polymers or waxes. Laminated Object Manufacturing and CAM-LEM processing use controlled stacking and laser cutting of ceramic tapes [2,3]. Similar to fused deposition modeling, ceramic loaded polymer/wax filaments are being used …

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Separations chemistry is at the heart of most analytical procedures to determine the rare earth content of both man-made and naturally occurring materials. Such procedures are widely used in mineral exploration, fundamental geology and geochemistry, material science, and in the nuclear industry. Chromatographic methods that rely on aqueous solutions containing complexing agents sensitive to the lanthanide cationic radius and cation-exchange phase transfer reactions (using a variety of different solid media) have enjoyed the greatest success for these procedures. In this report, they will briefly summarize the most important methods for completing such analyses. they consider in some detail the basic aqueous (and two-phase) solution chemistry that accounts for separations that work well and offer explanations for why others are less successful.

The Single-Column Model (SCM) Working Group (WC) and the Cloud Working Group (CWG) in the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program have begun a collaboration with the GEWEX Cloud System Study (GCSS) WGs. The forcing data sets derived from the special ARM radiosonde measurements made during the SCM Intensive Observation Periods (IOPs), the wealth of cloud and related data sets collected by the ARM Program, and the ARM infrastructure support of the SCM WG are of great value to GCSS. In return, GCSS brings the efforts of an international group of cloud system modelers to bear on ARM data sets and ARM-related scientific questions. The first major activity of the ARM-GCSS collaboration is a model intercomparison study involving SCMs and cloud system models (CSMs), also known as cloud-resolving or cloud-ensemble models. The SCM methodologies developed in the ARM Program have matured to the point where an intercomparison will help identify the strengths and weaknesses of various approaches. CSM simulations will bring much additional information about clouds to evaluate cloud parameterizations used in the SCMs. CSMs and SCMs have been compared successfully in previous GCSS intercomparison studies for tropical conditions. The ARM Southern Great Plains (SGP) site offers an opportunity for GCSS …