Modeling the transport of contaminant metals and designing systems for their remediation requires an understanding of the metal`s speciation. Thus, analysis of contaminant speciation and evaluation of the processes that can change the speciation should be done during characterization of the contaminated site. This approach is being used at the Savannah River Site for a metals contaminated site that will serve as a test platform for metals remediation technologies. The site is adjacent to a coal storage pile and the basin that contains the coal pile runoff. A network of well clusters allows definition of the plume, including profiles of contamination with depth. The groundwater is acidic (pH {approx} 2) and contains high concentrations of sulfate (up to 2300 mg/l) and metals, with chromium, nickel, cadmium and lead exceeding drinking water standards. Aluminum and total iron concentrations range up to 1326 mg/l and 7991 mg/l, respectively. Speciation calculations on dissolved contaminants indicate that as much as 65% of the lead, 54% of the cadmium, and 34% of the nickel may be present in sulfate complexes. Chromium occurs predominantly as Cr{sup +3}. There is evidence that some contaminant metals may be associated with colloidal material. Contamination in the groundwater is stratified …

The authors report FT-ICR measurements of samples trapped in the electron beam ion trap (EBIT) at Livermore. They made use of the access provided by the radial x-ray slots. They constructed two probes that could be inserted into the 2-mm wide slots. The probes each subtend only 25{degree} and face each other 180{degree} apart. They show a typical transformed spectrum of highly charged {sup 84}Kr ions obtained with this system. The spectrum was obtained by exciting with a 300-{mu}s sweep from 17.5 to 19.5 MHz. The resonance peaks of {sup 84}Kr{sup 34+}, {sup 84}Kr{sup 35+}, and {sup 84}Kr{sup 36+} are clearly visible.

We have utilized electroplating technology in a damascene process to produce low resistance copper interconnects in sub-half-micron ULSI patterns having aspect ratios of 2.4:1. The use of a pulsed-voltage plating technique allows trench filling capability without voids. Samples of 150 mm diameter were patterned and sputtered with a barrier layer, followed by a copper seed layer. Pulsed-voltage electroplating, deposited about 2 microns of copper uniformly (1 sigma < 5%) over the surface. The electroplated copper has low levels of impurities, excellent adhesion, excellent step coverage, and rates comparable to other deposition methods. We present details of the electroplating equipment, and data on the filling characteristics of the copper metallization which prevent void formation and reduce contact resistance.

The combline antenna for plasma heating, as proposed by General Atomics, has unique potential for solving many plasma drive problems. The benefit of the combline design is the utilization of the coupling between elements that avoids a more cumbersome multidrive system. This design is being investigated using computational EM modeling codes in the 100-400 MHz band using resources at General Atomics and LLNL. Preliminary experimental results, using a combline mockup, agree well with 3D modeling efforts including resonant frequency alignment and amplitudes. These efforts have been expanded into an endeavor to optimize the combline design using both time and frequency domain codes. This analysis will include plasma coupling but to date has been limited to antenna effects. The combline antenna system is modeled in 3D using a combination of computational tools in the time domain, for temporal feature isolation purposes, and in the frequency domain, for resonant structure analysis. Both time and frequency domain modeling details include the Faraday shield elements, the strap elements, and the feed structure.

At present, there are three seriously considered options for the disposition of excess weapons plutonium: (i) incorporation, partial burn-up and direct disposal of MOX-fuel; (ii) vitrification with defense waste and disposal as glass ``logs``; (iii) deep borehole disposal (National Academy of Sciences Report, 1994). The first two options provide a safeguard due to the high activity of fission products in the irradiated fuel and the defense waste. The latter option has only been examined in a preliminary manner, and the exact form of the plutonium has not been identified. In this paper, we review the potential for the immobilization of plutonium in highly durable crystalline ceramics apatite, pyrochlore, monazite and zircon. Based on available data, we propose zircon as the preferred crystalline ceramic for the permanent disposition of excess weapons plutonium.