This first issue of the ''ICF Semiannual Report'' contains articles whose diverse subjects attest to the broad technical and scientific challenges that are at the forefront of the ICF program at LLNL. The first article describes the progress being made at solving the surface roughness problem on capsule mandrels. All NIF capsule options, except machined beryllium, require a mandrel upon which the ablator is deposited. This mandrel sets the baseline sphericity of the final capsule. Problems involving defects in the mandrel have been overcome using various techniques so that 2-mm-size mandrels can now be made that meet the NIF design specification. The second article validates and provides a detailed numerical investigation of the shadowgraph technique currently used to diagnose the surface roughness of a fuel ice layer inside of a transparent capsule. It is crucial for the success of the indirect-drive ignition targets that the techniques used to characterize ice-surface roughness be well understood. This study identifies methods for analyzing the bright band that give an accurate measure of the ice-surface roughness. The third article describes a series of realistic laser and target modifications that can lead to 3-4 times more energy coupling and 10 times greater yield from a …

Lasershot peening is an emerging modern process that impresses a compressive stress into the surfaces of metals, improving their operational lifetime. Almost everyone is familiar with taking a strip of metal or a wire and bending it multiple times until it breaks. In this situation, when the metal is bent, the surface of outer radius is stretched into a tensile state. Under tension, any flaw or micro-crack will grow in size with each bending of the metal until the crack grows through the entire strip, breaking it into two pieces. Flexure of metal components occurs in most applications. The teeth of a transmission gear flex as they deliver torque in a vehicle. Springs and valves flex every time they transfer loads. If fatigue failure from flexing occurs in the tooth of a transmission gear of light or heavy vehicles, in a fan blade of a diesel engine, in shock-absorbers or safety-related supporting structures, significant loss of assets and potentially loss of human life occurs. Lasershot peening, better than any other technique, has the potential to extend the fatigue lifetime of metal components. In the process, the laser generates a high intensity shock wave at the surface of the metal, straining …

The development and demonstration of inertial fusion is incredibly challenging because it requires simultaneously controlling and precisely measuring parameters at extreme values in energy, space, and time. The challenges range from building megajoule (10{sup 6} J) drivers that perform with percent-level precision to fabricating targets with submicron specifications to measuring target performance at micron scale (10{sup -6} m) with picosecond (10{sup -12} s) time resolution. Over the past 30 years in attempting to meet this challenge, the inertial fusion community around the world has invented new technologies in lasers, particle beams, pulse power drivers, diagnostics, target fabrication, and other areas. These technologies have found applications in diverse fields of industry and science. Moreover, simply assembling the teams with the background, experience, and personal drive to meet the challenging requirements of inertial fusion has led to spin-offs in unexpected directions, for example, in laser isotope separation, extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography for microelectronics, compact and inexpensive radars, advanced laser materials processing, and medical technology. It is noteworthy that more than 40 R&D 100 awards, the ''Oscars of applied research'' have been received by members of the inertial fusion community over this period. Not surprisingly, the inertial fusion community has created many new …

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Highly charged ions are extracted from an electron beam ion trap and guided to Retrap, a cryogenic Penning trap, where they are merged with laser cooled Be{sup +} ions. The Be{sup +} ions act as a coolant for the hot highly charged ions and their temperature is dropped by about 8 orders of magnitude in a few seconds. Such cold highly charged ions form a strongly coupled nonneutral plasma exhibiting, under such conditions, the aggregation of clusters and crystals. Given the right mixture, these plasmas can be studied as analogues of high density plasmas like white dwarf interiors, and potentially can lead to the development of cold highly charged ion beams for applications in nanotechnology. Due to the virtually non existent Doppler broadening, spectroscopy on highly charged ions can be performed to an unprecedented precision. The density and the temperature of the Be{sup +} plasma were measured and highly charged ions were sympathetically cooled to similar temperatures. Molecular dynamics simulations confirmed the shape, temperature and density of the highly charged ions. Ordered structures were observed in the simulations.

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A superconducting tunnel junction (STJ) in combination with a superconducting absorber of radiation may function as a highly resolving x-ray spectrometer. Electronic excitations, or quasiparticles, are created when a superconductor absorbs an x ray and are detected as an excess tunnel current through the junction. The number of quasiparticles created and the magnitude of the excess current is proportional to the energy of the absorbed x ray. This is similar to existing semiconductor-based spectrometers that measure electron-hole pairs, but with 1000 times more excitations. The energy measurement therefore can be up to 30 times more precise with a superconducting detector than with a semiconductor detector. This work describes the development and testing of an STJ spectrometer design for x-ray fluorescence applications. First, the basic principles of the STJ spectrometer are explained. This is followed by detailed simulations of the variance in the number of quasiparticles produced by absorption of an x ray. This variance is inherent in the detector and establishes an upper limit on the resolving power of the spectrometer. These simulations include effects due to the materials used in the spectrometer and to the multilayer structure of the device. Next, the spectrometer is characterized as functions of operating …

Thesis written by a student in the UNT Honors College discussing the origins of life on Earth and how layered double hydroxides were involved.

Metal/ceramic interfaces can be found in many engineering applications including microelectronic packaging, multi-layered films, coatings, joints, and composite materials. In order to design reliable engineering systems that contain metal/ceramic interfaces, a comprehensive understanding of interfacial and near interfacial failure mechanisms is necessary.

An extensive experimental program to measure the spin structure of the nucleus is underway in Hall B at Jefferson Lab using a polarized electron beam incident on a polarized target. Spin degrees of freedom offer the possibility to test, in an independent way, existing models of resonance electro-production. The present analysis selects the Delta{sup +} (1232) in the exclusive channel {rvec p}({rvec e}, e'p)pi{sup 0} from data of the EG1 run period, taken in the Fall of 1998, to extract single and double asymmetries in a Q{sup 2} range from 0.5 to 1.5 GeV{sup 2}/c{sup 2}. Results of the asymmetries are presented as a function of momentum transfer Q{sup 2}. A comparison with the Effective Lagrangian Model by R. Davidson and N. Mukhopadhyay, the unitary isobar model MAID, and the dynamic model by Sato and Lee was performed. The data were found to be generally in good agreement with the models and a x{sup 2} comparison preferred the Sato-Lee model, which is tailored for the Delta (1232) photo- and electro-production. The present results are the first measurement of asymmetries for the exclusive reaction {rvec p}({rvec e}, e'p)pi{sup 0} and will provide new constraints for the models.

Short story written by a student in the UNT Honors College about a group of people observing a friend as he delves into films and the occult.

The technological age has in large part been driven by the applications of semiconductors, and most notably by silicon. Our lives have been thoroughly changed by devices using the broad range of semiconductor technology developed over the past forty years. Much of the technological development has its foundation in research carried out on the different semiconductors whose properties can be exploited to make transistors, lasers, and many other devices. While the technological focus has largely been on silicon, many other semiconductor systems have applications in industry and offer formidable academic challenges. Diffusion studies belong to the most basic studies in semiconductors, important from both an application as well as research standpoint. Diffusion processes govern the junctions formed for device applications. As the device dimensions are decreased and the dopant concentrations increased, keeping pace with Moore's Law, a deeper understanding of diffusion is necessary to establish and maintain the sharp dopant profiles engineered for optimal device performance. From an academic viewpoint, diffusion in semiconductors allows for the study of point defects. Very few techniques exist which allow for the extraction of as much information of their properties. This study focuses on diffusion in the semiconductor gallium antimonide (GaSb). As will become …

As the dimensions of semiconductor devices are scaled down, in order to achieve higher levels of integration, optical lithography will no longer be sufficient for the needs of the semiconductor industry. Alternative next-generation lithography (NGL) approaches, such as extreme ultra-violet (EUV), X-ray, electron-beam, and ion projection lithography face some challenging issues with complicated mask technology and low throughput. Among the four major alternative NGL approaches, ion beam lithography is the only one that can provide both maskless and resistless patterning. As such, it can potentially make nano-fabrication much simpler. This thesis investigates a focused ion beam system for maskless, resistless patterning that can be made practical for high-volume production. In order to achieve maskless, resistless patterning, the ion source must be able to produce a variety of ion species. The compact FIB system being developed uses a multicusp plasma ion source, which can generate ion beams of various elements, such as O{sub 2}{sup +}, BF{sub 2}{sup +}, P{sup +} etc., for surface modification and doping applications. With optimized source condition, around 85% of BF{sub 2}{sup +}, over 90% of O{sub 2}{sup +} and P{sup +} have been achieved. The brightness of the multicusp-plasma ion source is a key issue for …

The Higgs mechanism preserves the gauge symmetries of the Standard Model while giving masses to the W, Z bosons. Supersymmetry, which protects the Higgs boson mass scale from quantum corrections, predicts at least 5 Higgs bosons, none of which has been directly observed. This thesis presents a search for neutral Higgs bosons, produced in association with bottom quarks. The production rate is greatly enhanced at large values of the Supersymmetric parameter tan {beta}. High-energy p{bar p} collision data, collected from Run II of the Fermilab Tevatron using the D0 detector, are analyzed. In the absence of a signal, values of tan {beta} > 80-120 are excluded at 95% Confidence Level (C.L.), depending on the (CP-odd) neutral Higgs boson mass (studied from 100 to 150 GeV/c{sup 2}).

The measurement of B{sub s}{sup 0} mixing is one of the flagship analyses for the Run II B physics program. The sensitivity of the measurement to the frequency of B{sub s}{sup 0} oscillations strongly depends on the number of reconstructed B{sub s}{sup 0} mesons. They present the measurement of the ratio of branching fractions Br(B{sub s}{sup 0} {yields} D{sub s}{sup -}{pi}{sup +})/Br(B{sup 0} {yields} D{sup -}{pi}{sup +}), which directly influences the number of B{sub s}{sup 0} events available for the measurement of B{sub s}{sup 0} mixing at CDF-II. They analyze 115 pb{sup -1} of data collected with the CDF-II detector in p{bar p} collisions at {radical}s = 1.96 TeV using a novel displaced track trigger. They reconstruct 78 {+-} 11 B{sub s}{sup 0} {yields} D{sub s}{sup -}{pi}{sup +} decays at 1153 {+-} 45 B{sup 0} {yields} D{sup -}{pi}{sup +} decays with good signal to background ratio. This is the world's largest sample of fully reconstructed B{sub s}{sup 0} {yields} D{sub s}{sup -}{pi}{sup +} decays. They find the ratio of production fractions multiplied by the ratio of branching fractions to be: f{sub s}/f{sub d} {center_dot} Br(B{sub s}{sup 0} {yields} D{sub s}{sup -}{pi}{sup +})/Br(B{sup 0} {yields} D{sup -}{pi}{sup +}) = 0.325 {+-} …

The work presented in this thesis describes the first experimental measurement of the photon asymmetry of the exclusive {rvec {gamma}} {yields} {rho}{sup 0}p {yields} {pi}{sup +}{pi}{sup -}p reaction. The data were gathered during the summer of 2001 as a proof of principle study using a polarized beam of photons with the CLAS detector in Hall B of Jefferson Lab for the first time. The aim of the g8a set of experiments is to improve the understanding of the underlying symmetry of the quark degrees of freedom in the nucleon, the nature of the parity exchange between the incident photon and the target nucleon, the mechanism of associated strangeness production in electromagnetic reactions, and to search for evidence for the existence of the so called missing resonances. A beam of tagged and collimated linearly polarized photons (energy range 1.8-2.2 GeV) in conjunction with the large solid angle coverage of CLAS make possible the extraction of polarization observables for the photoproduction of vector mesons. For example, the azimuthal distribution of the {rho}{sup 0} as a function of its polar angle in the ({rvec {gamma}},p) c.m. system enables the measurement of the photon asymmetry parameter, {Sigma}. This has been measured for {theta}{sub c.m.} …

The authors performed a search for the pair production of first-generation leptoquarks using 191 pb{sup -1} of proton-antiproton collision data recorded by the CDF experiment during Run II of the Tevatron. The leptoquarks are sought via their decay into a neutrino and quark, which yields missing transverse energy and several high-E{sub T} jets. Several control regions were studied to check the background estimation from Standard Model sources, with good agreement observed in data. In the leptoquark signal region, 124 events were observed with 118.3 {+-} 14.5 expected from background. Therefore, no evidence for leptoquark production was observed, and limits were set on the cross section times the squared branching ratio. Using the next-to-leading order cross section for leptoquark production, they excluded the mass interval 78 to 117 GeV/c{sup 2} at the 95% confidence level for 100% branching ratio into neutrino plus quark.

The authors have searched for new physics beyond the Standard Model of elementary particle physics in dielectron decay mode at the CDF (Collider Detector at Fermilab) experiment in {bar p}p collisions at {radical}s = 1.96 TeV. The data were collected during the 2002-2003 runs corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 200 pb{sup -1}. Many extensions of the Standard Model have been proposed. Grand Unified Theories (GUT) assumes a larger gauge symmetry group and predict new gauge bosons. GUT has hierarchy problem in it and there have been many attempts to solve the hierarchy problem. Solutions for the hierarchy problem are supersymmetry, technicolor, large extra dimensions, warped extra dimensions and little Higgs models. The authors analyze the differential distribution of dielectron events in terms of their invariant mass and no significant excess is found in very high mass region. They present a 95% confidence level limit on the production cross section times branching ratio for new resonant particles decaying into an electron pair as a function of invariant mass. New resonant particles include new neutral gauge boson Z', Randall-Sundrum graviton, R-parity violating sneutrino, and technicolor particles. They also present limits on the effective Planck scale of large extra dimensions.

Microscopic quantum phenomena such as interference or phase coherence between different quantum states are rarely manifest in macroscopic systems due to a lack of significant correlation between different states. An exciton system is one candidate for observation of possible quantum collective effects. In the dilute limit, excitons in semiconductors behave as bosons and are expected to undergo Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC) at a temperature several orders of magnitude higher than for atomic BEC because of their light mass. Furthermore, well-developed modern semiconductor technologies offer flexible manipulations of an exciton system. Realization of BEC in solid-state systems can thus provide new opportunities for macroscopic quantum coherence research. In semiconductor coupled quantum wells (CQW) under across-well static electric field, excitons exist as separately confined electron-hole pairs. These spatially indirect excitons exhibit a radiative recombination time much longer than their thermal relaxation time a unique feature in direct band gap semiconductor based structures. Their mutual repulsive dipole interaction further stabilizes the exciton system at low temperature and screens in-plane disorder more effectively. All these features make indirect excitons in CQW a promising system to search for quantum collective effects. Properties of indirect excitons in CQW have been analyzed and investigated extensively. The experimental results …

I recently spent a summer as an intern at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. I worked on a project involving the real-time, reagentless, single cell detection of aerosolized pathogens using a novel mass spectrometry approach called Bio-Aerosol Mass Spectrometry (BAMS). Based upon preliminary results showing the differentiation capabilities of BAMS, I would like to explore the development and use of this novel detection system in the context of both environmental and clinical sample pathogen detection. I would also like to explore the broader public health applications that a system such as BAMS might have in terms of infectious disease prevention and control. In order to appreciate the potential of this instrument, I will demonstrate the need for better pathogen detection methods, and outline the instrumentation, data analysis and preliminary results that lead me toward a desire to explore this technology further. I will also discuss potential experiments for the future along with possible problems that may be encountered along the way.

The discovery that ultra-intense laser pulses (I > 10{sup 18} W/cm{sup 2}) can produce short pulse, high energy proton beams has renewed interest in the fundamental mechanisms that govern particle acceleration from laser-solid interactions. Experiments have shown that protons present as hydrocarbon contaminants on laser targets can be accelerated up to energies > 50 MeV. Different theoretical models that explain the observed results have been proposed. One model describes a front-surface acceleration mechanism based on the ponderomotive potential of the laser pulse. At high intensities (I > 10{sup 18} W/cm{sup 2}), the quiver energy of an electron oscillating in the electric field of the laser pulse exceeds the electron rest mass, requiring the consideration of relativistic effects. The relativistically correct ponderomotive potential is given by U{sub p} = ([1 + I{lambda}{sup 2}/1.3 x 10{sup 18}]{sup 1/2} - 1) m{sub o}c{sup 2}, where I{lambda}{sup 2} is the irradiance in W{micro}m{sup 2}/cm{sup 2} and m{sub o}c{sup 2} is the electron rest mass.At laser irradiance of I{lambda}{sup 2} {approx} 10{sup 20} W{micro}m{sup 2}/cm{sup 2}, the ponderomotive potential can be of order several MeV. A few recent experiments--discussed in Chapter 3 of this thesis--consider this ponderomotive potential sufficiently strong to accelerate protons from the …

Quantitative knowledge of the fundamental structure and substrate binding, as well as the direct measurement of conformational changes, are essential to the development of self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) and surface-attached interlocking molecules, catenanes and rotaxanes. These monolayers are vital to development of nano-mechanical, molecular electronic, and biological/chemical sensor applications. This dissertation investigates properties of functionalized SAMs in sulfur-gold based adsorbed molecular monolayers using quantitative spectroscopic techniques including near-edge x-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy (NEXAFS) and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The stability of the gold-thiolate interface is addressed. A simple model SAM consisting of dodecanethiol adsorbed on Au(111) degrades significantly in less than 24 hours under ambient laboratory air. S 2p and O 1s XPS show the gold-bound thiolates oxidize to sulfinates and sulfonates. A reduction of organic material on the surface and a decrease in order are observed as the layer degrades. The effect of the carboxyl vs. carboxylate functionalization on SAM structure is investigated. Carboxyl-terminated layers consisting of long alkyl-chain thiols vs. thioctic acid with short, sterically separated, alkyl groups are compared and contrasted. NEXAFS shows a conformational change, or chemical switchability, with carboxyl groups tilted over and carboxylate endgroups more upright. Surface-attached loops and simple surface-attached rotaxanes are quantitatively …

The D0 detector underwent a major upgrade to maximize its ability to fully exploit Run II at the Fermilab Tevatron, the world's highest energy collider. The upgrade included a completely new central tracking system with an outer scintillating fiber tracker and an inner silicon vertex detector all within a 2T superconducting solenoid. This thesis describes the development of high level trigger algorithms including vertexing, impact parameter significance and invariant mass, that utilize tracks from these detectors. One of the main physics goals of Run II is the observation of B{sub s} oscillations. This measurement, which cannot be performed at the B factories, will significantly constrain the ''unitarity triangle'' associated with Cp violation and so probe the Standard Model of particle physics. Furthermore this is an interesting measurement as the study of mixing in meson systems has a long history for revealing new physics. The second part of this thesis presents a study of the hadronic decay B{sub s} {yields} D{sub s}{pi}. This important mode provides the best proper time resolution for B{sub s} mixing and is reconstructed for the first time at D0. Projections on the sensitivity to B{sub s} oscillations are then presented.

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