We present a new preliminary measurement of the parity-violation parameter A{sub b} using a self-calibrating vertex-charge technique. In the SLD experiment we observe hadronic decays of Z{sup 0} bosons produced in collisions between longitudinally polarized electrons and unpolarized positrons at the SLAC Linear Collider. A sample of b{bar b} events is selected using the topologically reconstructed mass of B hadrons. From our 1996-1998 data sample of approximately 400,000 hadronic Z{sup 0} decays, we obtain A{sub b} = 0.897 {+-} 0.027(stat){sub -0.034}{sup +0.036}(syst).

The inclusive jet cross section was measured by CDF at center of mass energies of 1800 and 630 GeV. At {radical}s =1800 GeV, the inclusive jet cross section is compared with NLO QCD predictions (with different sets of parton distribution functions) and with measurement by D0 Collaboration. Strong coupling constant is extracted (as a consistency check) from 1800 GeV inclusive jet data. The ratio of scaled inclusive jet cross sections measured at two values of {radical}s is compared with NLO QCD predictions. Comparison with D0 result is also shown.

The thermal oxidation of pentacontane (C{sub 50}H{sub 102}), and of the homopolymer polyisoprene, has been investigated using {sup 17}O NMR spectroscopy. By performing the oxidation using {sup 17}O labeled O{sub 2} gas, it is possible to easily identify degradation products, even at relatively low concentrations. It is demonstrated that details of the degradation mechanism can be obtained from analysis of the {sup 17}O NMR spectra as a function of total oxidation. Pentacontane reveals the widest variety of reaction products, and exhibits changes in the relative product distributions with increasing O{sub 2} consumption. At low levels of oxygen incorporation, peroxides are the major oxidation product, while at later stages of degradation these species are replaced by increasing concentrations of ketones, alcohols, carboxylic acids and esters. Analyzing the product distribution can help in identification of the different free-radical decomposition pathways of hydroperoxides, including recombination, proton abstraction and chain scission, as well as secondary reactions. The {sup 17}O NMR spectra of thermally oxidized polyisoprene reveal fewer degradation functionalities, but exhibit an increased complexity in the type of observed degradation species due to structural features such as unsaturation and methyl branching. Alcohols and ethers formed from hydrogen abstraction and free radical termination.

Results of experiments with the laser guide star adaptive optics system on the 3-meter Shane telescope at Lick Observatory have demonstrated a factor of 4 performance improvement over previous results. Stellar images recorded at a wavelength of 2 {micro}m were corrected to over 40% of the theoretical diffraction-limited peak intensity. For the previous two years, this sodium-layer laser guide star system has corrected stellar images at this wavelength to {approx}10% of the theoretical peak intensity limit. After a campaign to improve the beam quality of the laser system, and to improve calibration accuracy and stability of the adaptive optics system using new techniques for phase retrieval and phase-shifting diffraction interferometry, the system performance has been substantially increased. The next step will be to use the Lick system for astronomical science observations, and to demonstrate this level of performance with the new system being installed on the 10-meter Keck II telescope.

The Accident Response Mobile Manipulator System (ARMMS) is a teleoperated emergency response vehicle that deploys two hydraulic manipulators, five cameras, and an array of sensors to the scene of an incident. It is operated from a remote base station that can be situated up to four kilometers away from the site. Recently, a modular telerobot control architecture called SMART (Sandia's Modular Architecture for Robotic and Teleoperation) was applied to ARMMS to improve the precision, safety, and operability of the manipulators on board. Using SMART, a prototype manipulator control system was developed in a couple of days, and an integrated working system was demonstrated within a couple of months. New capabilities such as camera teleoperation, autonomous tool changeout and dual manipulator control have been incorporated. The final system incorporates twenty-two separate modules and implements eight different behavior modes. This paper describes the integration of SMART into the ARMMS system.

In this paper, we introduce a new approach for altering the properties of bridged polysilsesquioxane xerogels using post-processing mobilization of the polymeric network. The bridging organic group contains latent functionalities that can be liberated thermally, photochemically, or by chemical means after the gel has been processed to a xerogel. These modifications can produce changes in density, volubility, porosity, and or chemical properties of the material. Since every monomer possesses two latent functional groups, the technique allows for the introduction of high levels of functionality in hybrid organic-inorganic materials. Dialkylenecarbonate-bridged polysilsesquioxane gels were prepared by the sol-gel polymerization of bis(triethoxysilylpropyl)carbonate (1) and bis(triethoxysilylisobutyl)-carbonate (2). Thermal treatment of the resulting non-porous xerogels and aerogels at 300-350 C resulted in quantitative decarboxylation of the dialkylenecarbonate bridging groups to give new hydroxyalkyl and olefinic substituted polysilsesquioxane monolithic xerogels and aerogels that can not be directly prepared through direct sol-gel polymerization of organotrialkoxysilanes.

Electronic sputtering in the interaction of slow (v<v{sub Bohr}), highly charged ions (SHCI) with solid surfaces have been subject of controversial discussions for almost 20 years. We review results from recent studies of total sputtering yields and discuss distinct microscopic mechanisms (such as defect mediated desorption, Coulomb explosions and effects of intense electronic excitation) in the response of insulators and semiconductors to the impact of SHCI. We then describe an application of ions like Xe{sup 44+} and Au{sup 69+} as projectiles in time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry for surface characterization of semiconductors.

TBA (tert-butylarsine, H{sub 2}AsC(CH{sub 3}){sub 3}) has been demonstrated to be an effective arsenic precursor for the deposition of compound semiconductors such as GaAs by MOCVD (metal organic chemical vapor deposition). TBA is used as a liquid (bubbler) source in MOCVD and is a less toxic alternative to the more commonly used gaseous arsine (AsH{sub 3}). Materials and device performance using TBA have in many cases equaled or surpassed those using arsine. This includes the first observation of fractional quantum Hall behavior in a two dimensional electron gas structure grown by MOCVD. Despite the beneficial characteristics, the use of TBA in our laboratories has revealed some inconsistent behavior. Small pressure rises have been observed in the TBA bubbler sources when left unused over a period of many days. Measurements of the TBA partial pressure using UV absorption revealed that new absorption peaks could be observed after storage. The features of the absorption profile were insufficient to ascribe to a specific chemical species. Attempts to remove the gaseous impurities with liquid nitrogen freeze-pump-thaw techniques had limited success. Unfortunately, there is no published information on the room temperature decomposition of TBA. In this paper, we present a series of GCMS (gas chromatography-mass …

Liquid crystal spatial light modulator technology appropriate for high-resolution wavefront control has recently become commercially available. Some of these devices have several hundred thousand controllable degrees of freedom, more than two orders of magnitude greater than the largest conventional deformable mirror. We will present results of experiments to characterize the optical properties of these devices and to utilize them to correct aberrations in an optical system. We will also present application scenarios for these devices in high-power laser systems.

Weekly newspaper from Harper, Texas that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

The rapidity distributions of W and Z bosons produced in proton anti-proton collisions at CDF are presented. The rapidity distribution of Z bosons, measured for the first time over the entire kinematic range, is better described by NLO QCD (and also by QCD with gluon resummation) than by leading order QCD. The W charge asymmetry data as a function of rapidity strongly constrain the ratio of d and u quark momentum distributions in the proton over the x range of 0.006 to 0.34. The W data are used to rule out recently proposed models for charge and flavor symmetry violation of the sea quark distributions in the nucleon.

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Surface texturing of Si to enhance absorption particularly in the IR spectral region has been extensively investigated. Previous research chiefly examined approaches based on geometrical optics. These surface textures typically consist of pyramids with dimensions much larger than optical wavelengths. We have investigated a physical optics approach that relies on surface texture features comparable to, or smaller than, the optical wavelengths inside the semiconductor material. Light interaction at this are strongly dependent on incident polarization and surface profile. Nanoscale textures can be tuned for either narrow band, or broad band absorptive behavior. Lowest broadband reflection has been observed for triangular profiles with linewidths significantly less than 100 nm. Si nanostructures have been integrated into large ({approximately}42 cm{sup 2}) area solar cells, Internal quantum efficiency measurements in comparison with polished and conventionally textured cells show lower efficiency in the UV-visible (350-680 mu), but significantly higher IR (700-1200 nm) efficiency.

The safe, secure and reliable application of Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS) devices requires knowledge about the distribution in material and mechanical properties of the small-scale structures. A new testing program at Sandia is quantifying the strength distribution using polysilicon samples that reflect the dimensions of critical MEMS components. The strength of polysilicon fabricated at Sandia's Microelectronic Development Laboratory was successfully measured using samples 2.5 microns thick, 1.7 microns wide with lengths between 15 and 25 microns. These tensile specimens have a freely moving hub on one end that anchors the sample to the silicon die and allows free rotation. Each sample is loaded in uniaxial tension by pulling laterally with a flat tipped diamond in a computer-controlled Nanoindenter. The stress-strain curve is calculated using the specimen cross section and gage length dimensions verified by measuring against a standard in the SEM.

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Automatic assembly sequencing and visualization tools are valuable in determining the best assembly sequences, but without Human Factors and Figure Models (HFFMs) it is difficult to evaluate or visualize human interaction. In industry, accelerating technological advances and shorter market windows have forced companies to turn to an agile manufacturing paradigm. This trend has promoted computerized automation of product design and manufacturing processes, such as automated assembly planning. However, all automated assembly planning software tools assume that the individual components fly into their assembled configuration and generate what appear to be perfectly valid operations, but in reality some operations cannot physically be carried out by a human. For example, the use of a ratchet may be reasoned feasible for an assembly operation; however, when a hand is placed on the tool the operation is no longer feasible, perhaps because of inaccessibility, insufficient strength or human interference with assembly components. Similarly, human figure modeling algorithms may indicate that assembly operations are not feasible and consequently force design modifications, however, if they had the capability to quickly generate alternative assembly sequences, they might have identified a feasible solution. To solve this problem, HFFMs must be integrated with automated assembly planning which allows engineers …

This paper presents a practical approach for integrating automatically designed fixtures with automated assembly planning. Product assembly problems vary widely; here the focus is on assemblies that are characterized by a single base part to which a number of smaller parts and subassemblies are attached. This method starts with three-dimension at CAD descriptions of an assembly whose assembly tasks require a fixture to hold the base part. It then combines algorithms that automatically design assembly pallets to hold the base part with algorithms that automatically generate assembly sequences. The designed fixtures rigidly constrain and locate the part, obey task constraints, are robust to part shape variations, are easy to load, and are economical to produce. The algorithm is guaranteed to find the global optimum solution that satisfies these and other pragmatic conditions. The assembly planner consists of four main elements: a user interface, a constraint system, a search engine, and an animation module. The planner expresses all constraints at a sequencing level, specifying orders and conditions on part mating operations in a number of ways. Fast replanning enables an interactive plan-view-constrain-replan cycle that aids in constrain discovery and documentation. The combined algorithms guarantee that the fixture will hold the base …

Chemically sensitive polymers coated on delay lines utilizing shear horizontal surface acoustic wave (SH-SAW) sensors are investigated for the detection of organic analytes in liquid environments. The SH-SAW sensor platform was designed and fabricated on 36{degree} rotated Y-cut LiTaO{sub 3}. By depositing a SiO{sub 2} dielectric layer over the entire device prior to applying the polymer film, partial electrical passivation of the interdigital transducers (IDT) is obtained while increasing the mass sensitivity of the device. Changes in the mechanical properties of the chemically sensitive polymer materials were clearly detectable through a frequency shift at least one order of magnitude larger than that of a coated-quartz crystal resonator (QCR) in a similar experiment.

This paper describes preliminary results in the development of an acoustic wave (SAW) microsensor array. The array is based on a novel configuration that allows for three sensors and a phase reference. Two configurations of the integrated array are discussed: a hybrid multichip-module based on a quartz SAW sensor with GaAs microelectronics and a fully monolithic GaAs-based SAW. Preliminary data are also presented for the use of the integrated SAW array in a gas-phase chemical micro system that incorporates microfabricated sample collectors and concentrators along with gas chromatography (GC) columns.

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Electrical resistance tomography (ERT) using multiple electrodes installed in boreholes has been shown to be useful for both site characterization and process monitoring. In some cases, however, installing multiple downhole electrodes is too costly (e.g., deep targets) or risky (e.g., contaminated sites). For these cases we have examined the possibility of using the steel casings of existing boreholes as electrodes. Several possibilities can be considered. The first case we investigated uses an array of steel casings as electrodes. This results in very few data and thus requires additional constraints to limit the domain of possible inverse solutions. Simulations indicate that the spatial resolution and sensitivity are understandably low but it is possible to coarsely map the lateral extent of subsurface processes such as steam floods. The second case uses an array of traditional point borehole electrodes combined with long-conductor electrodes (steel casings). Although this arrangement provides more data, in many cases it results in poor reconstructions of test targets. Results indicate that this method may hold promise for low resolution imaging where steel casings can be used as electrodes but the merits depend strongly on details of each application. Field tests using these configurations are currently being conducted.

Multiple-energy (30-325 keV) O{sup +} implantation into GaN field-effect transistor structures (n {approximately} 10{sup 18} cm{sup {minus}3}, 3000 {angstrom} thick) can produce as-implanted sheet resistances of 4 x 10{sup 12} {Omega}/{open_square}, provided care is taken to ensure compensation of the region up to the projected range of the lowest energy implant. The sheet resistance remains above 10{sup 7} {Omega}/{open_square} to annealing temperatures of {approximately} 650 C and displays an activation energy of 0.29 eV. No diffusion of the implanted oxygen was observed for anneals up to 800 C.

Sandia National Laboratories has demonstrated significant performance gains in crystalline silicon solar cell technology through the use of plasma-processing for the deposition of silicon nitride by Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition (PECVD), plasma-hydrogenation of the nitride layer, and reactive-ion etching of the silicon surface prior to the deposition to decrease the reflectivity of the surface. One of the major problems of implementing plasma processing into a cell production line is the batch configuration and/or low throughput of the systems currently available. This report describes the concept of a new in-line plasma processing system that could meet the industrial requirements for a high-throughput and cost effective solution for mass production of solar cells.