Award Data

Increasingly, superconducting radio-frequency (SRF) technology is replacing conventional copper radio frequency (RF) technology in new and upgraded particle accelerators. SRF cavities consume less power than conventional cavities to produce a given accelerating gradient, leading to smaller accelerators and higher beam energies. Currently, niobium is the only superconductor in wide usage by the SRF ...

Relative to conventional RF-based accelerators, Laser Wakefield Acceleration (LWFA) has demonstrated a quantum leap in electron beam acceleration over a given length. This technology is poised to bring high energy electron beams within reach of a host of new applications in research, industry, and medicine. However, much research needs to be done to understand the basic physics of the wakefield ac ...

High Intensity Discharge (HID) lamps ¿ which are used extensively for large area lighting, such as parking lots, streets, and warehouses ¿ increasingly are being used for general lighting in stores and homes. HID lighting currently accounts for 26 percent of the lighting energy used in the United States, and this number is increasing. Based on this large usage, small efficiency improvements to e ...

Refractive lenses can dramatically improve neutron instrumentation in DOE facilities. In previous experiments, compound refractive lenses (CRLs) were shown to be capable of imaging using thermal neutrons. However, a number of problems exist that prevent the full implementation of these lenses: the initial prototype lenses, which used compression molding of metals, have long focal lengths, small fi ...

Wide band-gap devices such as silicon carbide (SiC) are becoming more attractive in energy storage and power electronics applications related to the electrical grid. High-temperature high-power-density packaging will be essential to the development of these SiC devices. However, present interconnections still use traditional wire bonding, making it the weakest link in the overall package. This pro ...

Semivolatile organic matter is pervasive in the atmosphere. Its effect on the radiation balance of the earth depends on how this material is partitioned between the vapor and particle phases. Yet, no currently available instrumentation provides simultaneous, quantitative measurement of semivolatile organic vapor and particle phases at the molecular level. Previous work involved the development ...

The next generation of silicon-based detectors for tracking charged-particles in high energy physics experiments must meet demanding requirements to limit material and stability, often in the presence of substantial heat loads and high radiation fields. In particular, a continuing advancement is needed in carbon-based composite material technology to minimize support-structure mass without sacrifi ...

Scanning Probe Microscopy, SPM, is a strategically vital tool for nanotechnology research, a 250 million dollars per year industry essential to such multibillion-dollar downstream industries as materials and pharmaceuticals. However, the single biggest drawback to SPM is its inability to obtain any chemical information on its samples. This drawback impacts DOE researchers in the Genome to Life p ...

Many critically important biological processes ¿ such as oxygen production during photosynthesis, nitrogen fixation, biogenic hydrogen production, and the evolution of the bioavailability of heavy metal contaminants ¿ are associated with changes in the oxidation state of metal ions. The most effective technique for studying the chemistry of these dilute systems is synchrotron-based, fluorescenc ...

Continuous improvements in high-brightness light emitting diode (HB/LED) technologies have opened up the possibility for utilization of these devices for general illumination. However, before HB/LEDs can replace traditional lighting sources, improvements to their thermal management schemes, particularly the bonding technologies that hold the device components together, must be developed to ensure ...