Optical nonlinearities and quantum coherences have the potential to enable efficient, high-temperature generation of coherent THz radiation. This LDRD proposal involves the exploration of the underlying physics using intersubband transitions in a quantum cascade structure. Success in the device physics aspect will give Sandia the state-of-the-art technology for high-temperature THz quantum cascade lasers. These lasers are useful for imaging and spectroscopy in medicine and national defense. Success may have other far-reaching consequences. Results from the in-depth study of coherences, dephasing and dynamics will eventually impact the fields of quantum computing, optical communication and cryptology, especially if we are successful in demonstrating entangled photons or slow light. An even farther reaching development is if we can show that the QC nanostructure, with its discrete atom-like intersubband resonances, can replace the atom in quantum optics experiments. Having such an 'artificial atom' will greatly improve flexibility and preciseness in experiments, thereby enhancing the discovery of new physics. This is because we will no longer be constrained by what natural can provide. Rather, one will be able to tailor transition energies and optical matrix elements to enhance the physics of interest. This report summarizes a 3-year LDRD program at Sandia National Laboratories exploring optical …

This report documents the final status of buildings after the completion of D4 activities at the 100 Area of the U.S. Department of Energy Hanford Site from December 1, 2008, to December 31, 2009.

An illumination grade warm white (WW) LED, having correlated color temperature (CCT) between 2800 K and 3500K and capable of producing 800 lm output at 100 lm/W, has been developed in this program. The high power WW LED is an ideal source for use as replacement for incandescent, and Halogen reflector and general purpose lamps of similar lumen value. Over the two year period, we have made following accomplishments: developed a high power warm white LED product and made over 50% improvements in light output and efficacy. The new high power WW LED product is a die on ceramic surface mountable LED package. It has four 1x1 mm{sup 2} InGaN pump dice flip chip attached to a ceramic submount in 2x2 array, covered by warm white phosphor ceramic platelets called Lumiramic™ and an overmolded silicone lens encapsulating the LED array. The performance goal was achieved through breakthroughs in following key areas: (1) High efficiency pump LED development through pump LED active region design and epi growth quality improvement (funded by internal programs). (2) Increase in injection efficiency (IE) represented by reduction in forward voltage (V{sub f}) through the improvement of the silver-based p-contact and a reduction in spreading resistance. The …

The analysis presented in this document provides the basis for categorizing the facility as less than Hazard Category 3.

This report discusses requirements to maintain 501(c)(4) status, potential tax consequences, and reporting requirements to file with the Internal Revenue Service.

According to the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), the U.S. economy was in a recession for 18 months from December 2007 to June 2009. It was the longest and deepest recession of the post-World War II era. This report provides information on the patterns found across past recessions since World War II to gauge whether and how this recession might be different.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) commitment to assuring the health and safety of its workers includes the conduct of epidemiologic surveillance activities that provide an early warning system for health problems among workers. The Illness and Injury Surveillance Program monitors illnesses and health conditions that result in an absence of workdays, occupational injuries and illnesses, and disabilities and deaths among current workers.

Analysis of specific missions shows that combining Trip Optimization techniques with Hybrid Energy Storage increases energy savings.

This report discusses the accelerated vehicle retirement (AVR) programs initiated in 2009 by the United States, Japan, South Korea, and other industrial nations (commonly known in the U.S. as the "cash for clunkers" program). The U.S. program began in June 2009, when President Obama signed the Consumer Assistance to Recycle and Save (CARS) Act. The report discusses how these various AVR programs affected the automobile industries in the U.S., Japan, and South Korea, specifically. Neither Japan nor South Korea imports large numbers of foreign vehicles, a circumstance not much altered by AVR program implementation.

The mid-infrared (mid-IR, 3 {micro}m -12 {micro}m) is a highly desirable spectral range for imaging and environmental sensing. We propose to develop a new class of mid-IR devices, based on plasmonic and metamaterial concepts, that are dynamically controlled by tunable semiconductor plasma resonances. It is well known that any material resonance (phonons, excitons, electron plasma) impacts dielectric properties; our primary challenge is to implement the tuning of a semiconductor plasma resonance with a voltage bias. We have demonstrated passive tuning of both plasmonic and metamaterial structures in the mid-IR using semiconductors plasmas. In the mid-IR, semiconductor carrier densities on the order of 5E17cm{sup -3} to 2E18cm{sup -3} are desirable for tuning effects. Gate control of carrier densities at the high end of this range is at or near the limit of what has been demonstrated in literature for transistor style devices. Combined with the fact that we are exploiting the optical properties of the device layers, rather than electrical, we are entering into interesting territory that has not been significantly explored to date.

This report discusses the budget for the 2008 Farm Bill, and its reauthorization. Moreover, the report discusses the increasing level of demand for fiscal constraint and the current large budget deficits.

The purpose of the Advanced Fuels Campaign (AFC) Execution Plan is to communicate the structure and management of research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) activities within the Fuel Cycle Research and Development (FCRD) program. Included in this document is an overview of the FCRD program, a description of the difference between revolutionary and evolutionary approaches to nuclear fuel development, the meaning of science-based development of nuclear fuels, and the “Grand Challenge” for the AFC that would, if achieved, provide a transformational technology to the nuclear industry in the form of a high performance, high reliability nuclear fuel system. The activities that will be conducted by the AFC to achieve success towards this grand challenge are described and the goals and milestones over the next 20 to 40 year period of research and development are established.

Two Corning monoliths and a non-carbon-based material have been identified as potential additives for mercury capture in syngas at temperatures above 400°F and pressure of 600 psig. A new Corning monolith formulation, GR-F1-2189, described as an active sample appeared to be the best monolith tested to date. The Corning SR Liquid monolith concept continues to be a strong candidate for mercury capture. Both monolith types allowed mercury reduction to below 5-μg/m{sup 3} (~5 ppb), a current U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) goal for trace metal control. Preparation methods for formulating the SR Liquid monolith impacted the ability of the monolith to capture mercury. The Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC)-prepared Noncarbon Sorbents 1 and 2 appeared to offer potential for sustained and significant reduction of mercury concentration in the simulated fuel gas. The Noncarbon Sorbent 1 allowed sustained mercury reduction to below 5-μg/m{sup 3} (~5 ppb). The non-carbon-based sorbent appeared to offer the potential for regeneration, that is, desorption of mercury by temperature swing (using nitrogen and steam at temperatures above where adsorption takes place). A Corning cordierite monolith treated with a Group IB metal offered limited potential as a mercury sorbent. However, a Corning carbon-based monolith containing prereduced metallic …

America’s dependence on foreign sources for fuel represents a economic and security threat for the country. These non renewable resources are depleting, and the effects of pollutants from fuels such as oil are reaching a problematic that affects the global community. Solar concentration power (SCP) production systems offer the opportunity to harness one of the United States’ most under utilized natural resources; sunlight. While commercialization of this technology is increasing, in order to become a significant source of electricity production in the United States the costs of deploying and operating SCP plants must be further reduced. Parabolic Trough SCP technologies are close to meeting energy production cost levels that would raise interest in the technology and help accelerate its adoption as a method to produce a significant portion of the Country’s electric power needs. During this program, Aspen Aerogels will develop a transparent aerogel insulation that can replace the costly vacuum insulation systems that are currently used in parabolic trough designs. During the Phase I program, Aspen Aerogels will optimize the optical and thermal properties of aerogel to meet the needs of this application. These properties will be tested, and the results will be used to model the performance of …

In this report a model for simulating aerosol cluster impact with rigid walls is presented. The model is based on JKR adhesion theory and is implemented as an enhancement to the granular (DEM) package within the LAMMPS code. The theory behind the model is outlined and preliminary results are shown. Modeling the interactions of small particles is relevant to a number of applications (e.g., soils, powders, colloidal suspensions, etc.). Modeling the behavior of aerosol particles during agglomeration and cluster dynamics upon impact with a wall is of particular interest. In this report we describe preliminary efforts to develop and implement physical models for aerosol particle interactions. Future work will consist of deploying these models to simulate aerosol cluster behavior upon impact with a rigid wall for the purpose of developing relationships for impact speed and probability of stick/bounce/break-up as well as to assess the distribution of cluster sizes if break-up occurs. These relationships will be developed consistent with the need for inputs into system-level codes. Section 2 gives background and details on the physical model as well as implementations issues. Section 3 presents some preliminary results which lead to discussion in Section 4 of future plans.

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "From the start of military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, the U.S. military and its contractors have burned solid waste in open burn pits on or near military bases. According to the Department of Defense (DOD), burn pit emissions can potentially harm human health. U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) guidance directs the military's use of burn pits, and the Department of Veterans' Affairs (VA) provides healthcare and other benefits to veterans and their families. GAO was asked to report on the (1) extent of open pit burning in Afghanistan and Iraq, and whether the military has followed its guidance; (2) alternatives to burn pits, and whether the military has examined them; and (3) extent of efforts to monitor air quality and potential health impacts. GAO visited four burn pits in Iraq, reviewed DOD data on burn pits, and consulted DOD and VA officials and other experts. GAO was unable to visit burn pits in Afghanistan."

This report collects statistics from a variety of sources on casualties sustained during Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF), which began on October 7, 2001, and is ongoing. OEF actions take place primarily in Afghanistan, but OEF casualties also include American casualties in other countries, listed within this report.

This report discusses the current political state of Afghanistan, as well as the Afghan government. This report also discusses Afghanistan's relationship with the United States, particularly U.S. efforts to urge President Hamid Karzai, to address corruption within the Afghan government. The report also includes discussion of election fraud and corruption in Afghanistan.

This report discusses the current political state of Iran, focusing particularly on the influence of the Taliban and other militant groups and on the leadership of Afghan President Hamid Karzai. This report also discusses the U.S.-Iran relationship and U.S. efforts under the Obama Administration to provide military, reconstructive, and stabilization aid.

The United States provides assistance to 47 African countries, and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has 23 missions in Africa. In recent years, U.S. assistance to Africa saw a major increase, especially in health-related programs. This report provides an overview of U.S. aid to Africa, including the strategic objectives that shape U.S. aid to Africa, information about specific aid programs and initiatives, and the Obama Administration's FY2011 foreign aid budget request.

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This report has two sections. The first provides an overview of the current U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) disaster assistance programs: federal crop insurance, NAP payments, emergency disaster loans, the new Supplemental Revenue Assistance Payments Program (SURE), and four other smaller disaster programs authorized in the 2008 farm bill. The second section reviews the recent history of emergency supplemental farm disaster assistance.

This report reviews the evolution of the U.S. biofuels sector and the role that federal policy has played in shaping its development. In addition, it highlights emerging issues that are critical to the biofuels sector and of relevance to Congress.

A “generic” gantry-crane-mounted spreader bar detector has been simulated in the Monte-Carlo radiation transport code MCNP [1]. This model is intended to represent the largest realistically feasible number of detector crystals in a single gantry-crane model intended to sit atop an InterModal Cargo Container (IMCC). Detectors were chosen from among large commonly-available sodium iodide (NaI) crystal scintillators and spaced as evenly as is thought possible with a detector apparatus attached to a gantry crane. Several scenarios were simulated with this model, based on a single IMCC being moved between a ship’s deck or cargo hold and the dock. During measurement, the gantry crane will carry that IMCC through the air and lower it onto a receiving vehicle (e.g. a chassis or a bomb cart). The case of an IMCC being moved through the air from an unknown radiological environment to the ground is somewhat complex; for this initial study a single location was picked at which to simulate background. An HEU source based on earlier validated models was used, and placed at varying depths in a wood cargo. Many statistical realizations of these scenarios are constructed from simulations of the component spectra, simulated to have high statistics. The resultant data …