A new position-sensing X-ray detector operated in integrate-readout mode has been recently designed and characterized. Due to the peculiar working principle of the new detector, the charge handling capability, that is the maximum charge that can be stored in a pixel, is related to the operating conditions of the device. In particular the amplitude of the barriers that confine the signal electrons during the integration phase depends on the applied drift field and on the field perturbation superposed to it. A detailed experimental characterization of the charge handling capability as a function of these parameters has been carried out.

Large linear silicon drift detectors have been developed and are in production for use in several experiments. Recently 15 detectors were used as a tracking device in BNL-AGS heavy ion experiment (E896). The detectors were successfully operated in a 6.2 T magnetic field. The behavior of the detectors, such as drift uniformity, resolution, and charge collection efficiency are presented. The effect of the environment on the detector performance is discussed. Some results from the experimental run are presented. The detectors performed well in an experimental environment. This is the first tracking application of these detectors.

The utilization of energy crops produced on American farms as a source of renewable fuels is a concept with great relevance to current ecological and economic issues at both national and global scales. Development of a significant national capacity to utilize perennial forage crops, such as switchgrass (Panicum virgatum, L.) as biofuels could benefit our agricultural economy by providing an important new source of income for farmers. In addition energy production from perennial cropping systems, which are compatible with conventional fining practices, would help reduce degradation of agricultural soils, lower national dependence on foreign oil supplies, and reduce emissions of greenhouse gases and toxic pollutants to the atmosphere (McLaughlin 1998). Interestingly, on-farm energy production is a very old concept, extending back to 19th century America when both transpofiation and work on the farm were powered by approximately 27 million draft animals and fueled by 34 million hectares of grasslands (Vogel 1996). Today a new form of energy production is envisioned for some of this same acreage. The method of energy production is exactly the same - solar energy captured in photosynthesis, but the subsequent modes of energy conversion are vastly different, leading to the production of electricity, transportation fuels, and …

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We present experiments in the 60 Tesla Long-Pulse magnet at the Los Alamos National High Magnetic Field Lab (NHMFL) focusing on the high-field, low temperature photoluminescence (PL) from modulation-doped ZnSe/Zn(Cd,Mn)Se single quantum wells. High-speed charge-coupled array detectors and the long (2 second) duration of the magnet pulse permit continuous acquisition of optical spectra throughout a single magnet shot. High-field PL studies of the magnetic 2D electron gases at temperatures down to 350mK reveal clear intensity oscillations corresponding to integer quantum Hall filling factors, from which we determine the density of the electron gas. At very high magnetic fields, steps in the PL energy are observed which correspond to the partial unlocking of antiferromagnetically bound pairs of Mn<sup>2+</sup> spins.