Pressure recovery studies on a supersonic COIL with central ejector configuration

A chemical oxygen-iodine laser (COIL) is an electronic transition, low pressure, high throughput system. The field use of this laser demands the development of suitable pressure recovery systems. Ejector based pressure recovery systems form a potent alternative for open cycle COIL operation. The two possible configurations of motive gas injection in ejectors are peripheral and central. The present paper focuses on the investigation of a central injection low pressure ejector operated with a small scale supersonic COIL (SCOIL). The ejector handles a motive flow of nearly 120 g s⁻¹ and an entrained laser flow of nearly 3 g s⁻¹. The predicted geometry using integral methods has been validated numerically by employing Fluent 6.1 software in a 2-d axisymmetric viscous turbulent flow formulation. The numerical predictions have been experimentally validated, which indicate a pressure recovery of 63 Torr at design conditions. The results also show that the recovered pressure improves to 75 Torr for an off-design condition of higher motive flow rate.     

High throughput jet singlet oxygen generator for multi kilowatt SCOIL

A jet flow singlet oxygen generator (JSOG) capable of handling chlorine flows of nearly 1.5 mol s⁻¹ has been designed, developed, and tested. The generator is designed in a modular configuration taking into consideration the practical aspects of handling high throughput flows without catastrophic BHP carry over. While for such high flow rates a cross-flow configuration has been reported, the generator utilized in the present study is a counter flow configuration. A near vertical extraction of singlet oxygen is effected at the generator exit, followed by a 90° rotation of the flow forming a novel verti-horizontal COIL scheme. This allows the COIL to be operated with a vertical extraction SOG followed by the horizontal arrangement of subsequent COIL systems such as supersonic nozzle, cavity, supersonic diffuser, etc. This enables a more uniform weight distribution from point of view of mobile and other platform mounted systems, which is highly relevant for large scale systems. The present study discusses the design aspects of the jet singlet oxygen generator along with its test results for various operating ranges. Typically, for the intended design flow rates, the chlorine utilization and singlet oxygen yield have been observed to be ∼94% and ∼64%, respectively.     

Realization of an advanced nozzle concept for compact chemical oxygen iodine laser

Conventional supersonic chemical oxygen–iodine lasers (SCOIL) are not only low-pressure systems, with cavity pressure of 2–3 Torr and Mach number of approximately 1.5, but also are high-throughput systems with a typical laser power per unit evacuation capacity of nearly 1 J/l, thus demanding high capacity vacuum systems which mainly determine the compactness of the system. These conventional nozzle-based systems usually require a minimum of a two-stage ejector system for realization of atmospheric pressure recovery in a SCOIL. Typically for a 500 W class SCOIL, a first stage requires a motive gas flow (air) of 120 gm/s to entrain a laser gas flow of 3 g/s and is capable of achieving the pressure recovery in the range of 60–80 Torr. On the other hand, the second stage ejector requires 4.5 kg/s of motive gas (air) to achieve atmospheric pressure recovery. An advanced nozzle, also known as ejector nozzle, suitable for a 500 W-class SCOIL employing an active medium flow of nearly 12 g/s, has been developed and used instead of a conventional slit nozzle. The nozzle has been tested in both cold as well as hot run conditions of SCOIL, achieving a typical cavity pressure of nearly 10 Torr, stagnation pressure of approximately 85 Torr and a cavity Mach number of 2.5. The present study details the gas dynamic aspects of this ejector nozzle and highlights its potential as a SCOIL pressure recovery device. This nozzle in conjunction with a diffuser is capable of achieving pressure recovery equivalent to a more cumbersome first stage of the pressure recovery system used in the case of a conventional slit nozzle-based system. Thus, use of this nozzle in place of a conventional slit nozzle can achieve atmospheric discharge using a single stage ejector system, thereby making the pressure recovery system quite compact.     

Pressure broadening by argon in the hyperfine resolved P(10) and P(70) (17,1) transitions of I2 XΣ(0g)→BΠ(0u) using sub-Doppler laser saturation spectroscopy

The dependence of pressure broadening upon hyperfine component in the P(10) and P(70) lines of the (17,1) band of the I₂ X¹Σ(0_g⁺)→B³Π(0_u⁺) has been studied using laser saturation spectroscopy. By limiting absorption to the zero velocity group, Doppler broadening is removed, lineshapes with widths (FWHM) <9 MHz are detectable, and collision-induced broadening is measured at pressures of 0.2-1.2 Torr. The rates for broadening by argon are 8.3±0.3 and 10.7±0.4 MHz/Torr for the P(70) and P(10) lines, respectively. No significant variation in broadening rates is observed for the 15 hyperfine components of these even rotational lines. The effects of velocity cross-relaxation introduce a broad baseline into the spectra, which is strongly dependent on rotational state, pressure, and laser modulation frequency. The observed broadening rates correlate well with prior measurements and the polarizability of the collision partner.     

Sputter deposition of high transparent TiO2−xNx/TiO2/ZnO layers on glass for development of photocatalytic self-cleaning application

In this study, TiO_2−xN_x/TiO₂ double layers thin film was deposited on ZnO (80 nm thickness)/soda-lime glass substrate by a dc reactive magnetron sputtering. The TiO₂ film was deposited under different total gas pressures of 1 Pa, 2 Pa, and 4 Pa with constant oxygen flow rate of 0.8 sccm. Then, the deposition was continued with various nitrogen flow rates of 0.4, 0.8, and 1.2 sccm in constant total gas pressure of 4 Pa. Post annealing was performed on as-deposited films at various annealing temperatures of 400, 500, and 600 °C in air atmosphere to achieve films crystallinity. The structure and morphology of deposited films were evaluated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The chemical composition of top layer doped by nitrogen was evaluated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Photocatalytic activity of samples was measured by degradation of Methylene Blue (MB) dye. The optical transmittance of the multilayer film was also measured using ultraviolet-visible light (UV-vis) spectrophotometer. The results showed that by nitrogen doping of a fraction (∼1/5) of TiO₂ film thickness, the optical transmittance of TiO_2−xN_x/TiO₂ film was compared with TiO₂ thin film. Deposited films showed also good photocatalytic and hydrophilicity activity at visible light.     

Structural characterization of AlN films synthesized by pulsed laser deposition

We obtained AlN thin films by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) from a polycrystalline AlN target using a pulsed KrF* excimer laser source (248 nm, 25 ns, intensity of ∼4 × 10⁸ W/cm², repetition rate 3 Hz, 10 J/cm² laser fluence). The target-Si substrate distance was 5 cm. Films were grown either in vacuum (10⁻⁴ Pa residual pressure) or in nitrogen at a dynamic pressure of 0.1 and 10 Pa, using a total of 20,000 subsequent pulses. The films structure was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and spectral ellipsometry (SE). Our TEM and XRD studies showed a strong dependence of the film structure on the nitrogen content in the ambient gas. The films deposited in vacuum exhibited a high quality polycrystalline structure with a hexagonal phase. The crystallite growth proceeds along the c-axis, perpendicular to the substrate surface, resulting in a columnar and strongly textured structure. The films grown at low nitrogen pressure (0.1 Pa) were amorphous as seen by TEM and XRD, but SE data analysis revealed ∼1.7 vol.% crystallites embedded in the amorphous AlN matrix. Increasing the nitrogen pressure to 10 Pa promotes the formation of cubic (≤10 nm) crystallites as seen by TEM but their density was still low to be detected by XRD. SE data analysis confirmed the results obtained from the TEM and XRD observations.     

Temperature-dependent mid-IR absorption spectra of gaseous hydrocarbons

Quantitative mid-IR absorption spectra (2500-3400 cm⁻¹) for 12 pure hydrocarbon compounds are measured at temperatures ranging from 25 to 500 °C using an FTIR spectrometer. The hydrocarbons studied are n-pentane, n-heptane, n-dodecane, 2,2,4-trimethyl-pentane (iso-octane), 2-methyl-butane, 2-methyl-pentane, 2,4,4-trimethyl-1-pentene, 2-methyl-2-butene, propene, toluene, m-xylene, and ethylbenzene. Room-temperature measurements of neat hydrocarbon vapor were made with an instrument resolution of both 0.1 and 1 cm⁻¹ (FWHM) to confirm that the high-resolution setting was required only to resolve the propene absorption spectrum while the spectra of the other hydrocarbons could be resolved with 1 cm⁻¹ resolution. High-resolution (0.1 cm⁻¹), room-temperature measurements of neat hydrocarbons were made at low pressure (∼1 Torr, 133 Pa) and compared to measurements of hydrocarbon/N₂ mixtures at atmospheric pressure to verify that no pressure broadening could be observed over this pressure range. The temperature was varied between 25 and 500 °C for atmospheric-pressure measurements of hydrocarbon/N₂ mixtures (X_hydrocarbon∼0.06-1.5%) and it was found that the absorption cross section shows simple temperature-dependent behavior for a fixed wavelength over this temperature range. Comparisons with previous FTIR data over a limited temperature range and with high-resolution laser absorption data over a wide temperature range show good agreement.     

Structural and surface properties of Si1−xGex thin films obtained by reduced pressure CVD

This paper investigates the structure and surface characteristics, and electrical properties of the polycrystalline silicon-germanium (poly-Si_1−xGe_x) alloy thin films, deposited by vertical reduced pressure CVD (RPCVD) in the temperature range between 500 and 750 °C and a total pressure of 5 or 10 Torr. The samples exhibited a very uniform good quality films formation, with smooth surface with rms roughness as low as 7 nm for all temperature range, Ge mole fraction up to 32% (at 600 °C), textures of 〈2 2 0〉 preferred orientation at lower temperatures and strong 〈1 1 1〉 at 750 °C, for both 5 and 10 Torr deposition pressures. The ³¹P⁺ and ¹¹B⁺ doped poly-Si_1−xGe_x films exhibited always lower electrical resistivity values in comparison to similar poly-Si films, regardless of the employed anneal temperature or implantat dose. The results indicated also that poly-Si_1−xGe_x films require much lower temperature and ion implant dose than poly-Si to achieve the same film resistivity. These characteristics indicate a high quality of obtained poly-Si_1−xGe_x films, suitable as a gate electrode material for submicron CMOS devices.     

Study of the structure and electrical properties of the copper nitride thin films deposited by pulsed laser deposition

Copper nitride thin films were prepared on glass and silicon substrates by ablating a copper target at different pressure of nitrogen. The films were characterized in situ by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) and ex situ by X-ray diffraction (XRD). The nitrogen content in the samples, x = [N]/[Cu], changed between 0 and 0.33 for a corresponding variation in nitrogen pressure of 9 × 10⁻² to 1.3 × 10⁻¹ Torr. Using this methodology, it is possible to achieve sub-, over- and stoichiometric films by controlling the nitrogen pressure. The XPS results show that is possible to obtain copper nitride with x = 0.33 (Cu₃N) and x = 0.25 (Cu₄N) when the nitrogen pressure is 1.3 × 10⁻¹ and 5 × 10⁻² Torr, respectively. The lattice constants obtained from XRD results for copper nitride with x = 0.25 is of 3.850 Å and with x = 0.33 have values between 3.810 and 3.830 Å. The electrical properties of the films were studied as a function of the lattice constant. These results show that the electrical resistivity increases when the lattice parameter is decreasing. The electrical resistivity of copper nitride with x = 0.25 was smaller than samples with x = 0.33.     

An ab initio-based approach to phase diagram calculations for GaN(0 0 0 1) surfaces

Surface phase diagrams of GaN(0 0 0 1)-(2 × 2) and pseudo-(1 × 1) surfaces are systematically investigated by using our ab initio-based approach. The phase diagrams are obtained as functions of temperature T and Ga beam equivalent pressure p_Ga by comparing chemical potentials of Ga atom in the vapor phase with that on the surface. The calculated results imply that the (2 × 2) surface is stable in the temperature range of 700-1000 K at 10⁻⁸ Torr and 900-1400 K at 10⁻² Torr. This is consistent with experimental stable temperature range for the (2 × 2). On the other hand, the pseudo-(1 × 1) phase is stable in the temperature range less than 700 K at 10⁻⁸ Torr and less than 1000 K at 10⁻² Torr. Furthermore, the stable region of the pseudo-(1 × 1) phase almost coincides with that of the (2 × 2) with excess Ga adatom. This suggests that Ga adsorption or desorption during GaN MBE growth can easily change the pseudo-(1 × 1) to the (2 × 2) with Ga adatom and vice versa.     

Study on contamination of projection optics surface for extreme ultraviolet lithography

Ru-capped Mo/Si multilayer mirrors were irradiated by EUV in a vacuum atmosphere with ethanol or decane gas, and their reflectivity changes by contamination were investigated by changing the amount of introduced gas. The reflectivity hardly decreased by EUV irradiation in the ethanol-introduced atmosphere. On the other hand, the reflectivity decreased by about 5% in the decane-introduced atmosphere at a decane pressure of P_Decane = 1.3 × 10⁻⁴ Pa, an EUV power of about 200 mW/mm², and an EUV dose of 150 J/mm². EUV irradiation to the Ru-capped multilayer mirrors was also performed in the presence of water vapor and decane. The surface oxidation by EUV irradiation with a water vapor pressure of PH₂O=1.3×10⁻⁵ Pa was controlled by the introduction of decane at a pressure of P_Decane = 7.0 × 10⁻⁷ to 1.3 × 10⁻⁶ Pa.     

Influence of plasma pressure on the growth characteristics and ferroelectric properties of sputter-deposited PZT thin films

PZT thin films of thickness (320-1040) nm were synthesized on Si/SiO₂/Ti/Pt multilayered substrates by radio frequency magnetron sputtering. The influence of plasma pressure in the range of (0.24-4.9) Pa, during deposition, on the structural, electrical and ferroelectric properties of the PZT films was systematically studied. X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy (XTEM) were employed for structural study. Nano-probe Energy Dispersive (EDX) line scanning was employed to investigate the elemental distribution across the film-bottom electrode interface. I-V characteristics and polarization-electric field (P-E) hysteresis loop of the films were measured. The study reveals that the plasma pressure has a strong influence on the evolution and texture of the ferroelectric perovskite phase and microstructure of the films. At an optimum plasma pressure of 4.1 Pa, PZT films are grown with 93% perovskite phase with (1 1 1) preferred orientation and uniform granular microstructure. These films show a saturation polarization of 67 μC/cm², remnant polarization of 30 μC/cm² and coercive field of 28 kV/cm which, according to the literature, seem to be suitable for device applications.Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) study shows that at a plasma pressure of 4.1 Pa, the PZT/bottom Pt interface is sharp and no amorphous interlayer is formed at the interface. At a higher plasma pressure of 4.9 Pa, poor I-V and P-E hysteresis loop are observed which are interpreted as due to an amorphous interlayer at the film-bottom electrode interface which is possibly enriched in Pb, Zr, O and Pt.     

Influence of the deposition pressure on the properties of transparent conducting zirconium-doped zinc oxide films prepared by RF magnetron sputtering

Transparent and conducting zirconium-doped zinc oxide films with high transparency and relatively low resistivity have been successfully prepared by RF magnetron sputtering at room temperature. The deposition pressure was varied from 0.6 to 2.5 Pa. A transformation from a relatively compact structure to individual grains was observed with the increase of deposition pressure. As the deposition pressure increases, the resistivity increases sharply due to both, the decrease of hall mobility and carrier concentration. The lowest resistivity achieved was 2.07 × 10⁻³ Ω cm at a deposition pressure of 0.6 Pa with a hall mobility of 16 cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹ and a carrier concentration of 1.95 × 10²⁰ cm⁻³. The films are polycrystalline with a hexagonal structure and a preferred orientation along the c-axis. All the films present a high transmittance of above 90% in the visible range. The optical band gap decreases from 3.35 to 3.20 eV as the deposition pressure increases from 0.6 to 2.5 Pa.     

Computation of streamwise vorticity in a compressible flow of a winglet nozzle-based COIL device

Chemical oxygen iodine laser (COIL) is a high-power laser with potential applications in both military as well as in the industry. COIL is the only chemical laser based on electronic transition with a wavelength of 1.315 μm, which falls in the near-infrared (IR) range. Thus, COIL beam can also be transported via optical fibers for remote applications such as dismantling of nuclear reactors. The efficiency of a supersonic COIL is essentially a function of mixing specially in systems employing cross-stream injection of the secondary lasing (I₂) flow in supersonic regime into the primary pumping (O₂¹Δ_g) flow. Streamwise vorticity has been proven to be among the most effective manner of enhancing mixing and has been utilized in jet engines for thrust augmentation, noise reduction, supersonic combustion, etc. Therefore, a computational study of the generation of streamwise vorticity in the supersonic flow field of a COIL device employing a winglet nozzle with various delta wing angles of 5°, 10°, and 22.5° has been carried out. The study predicts a typical Mach number of approximately 1.75 for all the winglet geometries. The analysis also confirms that the winglet geometry doubles up both as a nozzle and as a vortex generator. The region of maximum turbulence and fully developed streamwise vortices is observed to occur close to the exit, at x/λ of 0.5, of the winglets making it the most suitable region for secondary flow injection for achieving efficient mixing. The predicted length scale of the scalloped mixer formed by the winglet nozzle is 4λ. Also, the winglet nozzle with 10° lobe angle is most suitable from the point of view of mixing developing cross-stream velocity of 120 m/s with acceptable pressure drop of 0.7 Torr. The winglet geometry with 5° lobe angle is associated with a low cross-stream velocity of 60 m/s, whereas the one with 22.5° lobe angle is associated with a large static and total pressure drop of 1.87 and 9.37 Torr, respectively, making both the geometries unsuitable for COIL systems. The experimental validation shows a close agreement with the computationally predicted values. The studies for the most suitable 10° lobe angle geometry show an observed Mach number of 1.72 with an improved mixing efficiency of 74% due to the occurrence of predicted streamwise vortices in the flow.     

Ab initio chemical kinetics for the reactions of HNCN with O(P) and O2

The kinetics and mechanisms of the reactions of cyanomidyl radical (HNCN) with oxygen atoms and molecules have been investigated by ab initio calculations with rate constant prediction. The doublet and quartet state potential energy surfaces (PESs) of the two reactions have been calculated by single-point calculations at the CCSD(T)/6-311+G(3df, 2p) level based on geometries optimized at the CCSD/6-311++G(d, p) level. The rate constants for various product channels of the two reactions in the temperature range of 300-3000 K are predicted by variational transition state and RRKM theories. The predicted total rate constants of the O(³P) + HNCN reaction at 760 Torr Ar pressure can be represented by the expressions k_total (O + HNCN) = 3.12 × 10⁻¹⁰ × T^−0.05 exp (−37/T) cm³ molecule⁻¹ s⁻¹ at T = 300-3000 K. The branching ratios of primary channels of the O(³P) + HNCN are predicted: k₁ for producing the NO + CNH accounts for 0.72-0.64, k₂ + k₉ for producing the ³NH + NCO accounts for 0.27-0.32, and k₆ for producing the CN + HNO accounts for 0.01-0.07 in the temperature range studied. Meanwhile, the predicted total rate constants of the O₂ + HNCN reaction at 760 Torr Ar pressure can be represented by the expression, k_total(O₂ + HNCN) = 2.10 × 10⁻¹⁶ × T^1.28exp (−12200/T) cm³ molecule⁻¹ s⁻¹ at T = 300-3000 K. The predicted branching ratio for k₁₁ + k₁₃ producing HO₂ + ³NCN as the primary products accounts for 0.98-1.00 in the temperature range studied.     

Development of structural and optical properties of WOx films upon increasing oxygen partial pressure during reactive sputtering

WO_x films were prepared by reactive dc magnetron sputtering using tungsten target. Sputtering was carried out at a total pressure of 1.2 Pa using a mixture of argon plus oxygen in an effort to determine the influence of the oxygen partial pressure on structural and optical properties of the films. The deposition rate decreases significantly as the surface of the target is oxidized. X-Ray diffraction revealed the amorphous nature of all the films prepared at oxygen partial pressures higher than 1.71×10⁻³ Pa. For higher oxygen partial pressures, fully transparent films were deposited, which showed a slight increase in optical band gap with increasing oxygen partial pressure, while the refractive index was simultaneously decreased.     

Properties of dc magnetron sputtered Cu2O films prepared at different sputtering pressures

The sputtering pressures maintained during the deposition of Cu₂O films, by dc reactive magnetron sputtering, influence the structural, electrical and optical properties. The crystalline orientation mainly depends on the sputtering pressure. The films deposited at a sputtering pressure of 4 Pa showed single-phase Cu₂O films along (1 1 1) direction. The electrical resistivity of the films increased from 1.1 × 10¹ Ω cm to 3.2 × 10³ Ω cm. The transmittance of the films increased from 69% to 88% with the increase of sputtering pressure from 2.5 Pa to 8 Pa.     

PLD of Fe3O4 thin films: Influence of background gas on surface morphology and magnetic properties

Ablation of Fe₃O₄ targets has been performed using a pulsed UV laser (KrF, λ = 248 nm, 30 ns pulse duration) onto Si(100) substrates, in reactive atmospheres of O₂ and/or Ar, with different oxygen partial pressures. The as-deposited films were characterised by atomic force microscopy (AFM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), conversion electron Mössbauer spectroscopy (CEMS) and extraction magnetometry, in order to optimise the deposition conditions in the low temperature range. The results show that a background mixture of oxygen and argon improves the Fe:O ratio in the films as long as the oxygen partial pressure is maintained in the 10⁻² Pa range. Thin films of almost stoichiometric single phase polycrystalline magnetite, Fe_2.99O₄, have been obtained at 483 K and working pressure of 7.8 × 10⁻² Pa, with a high-field magnetization of ∼490 emu/cm³ and Verwey transition temperature of 112 K, close to the values reported in the literature for bulk magnetite.     

Surface chemical changes of CaTiO3:Pr upon electron beam irradiation

Surface chemical changes of CaTiO₃:Pr³⁺ phosphor material and their effect on the red emission intensity of the ¹D₂→³H₄ transition of Pr³⁺, upon electron beam irradiation are presented. Red emission at 613 nm was obtained upon probing the surface with a 2 keV electron beam. The surface chemical changes and Pr³⁺ red emission were monitored using an Auger Electron Spectroscopy (AES) and Cathodoluminescence (CL) spectrometer, respectively. The CL intensity decreased with a decrease in O on the surface at 1×10⁻⁸ Torr base pressure and decreased with an increase in O on the surface at 1×10⁻⁶ Torr O₂. The X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) revealed that CL degradation at 1×10⁻⁶ Torr O₂ is due to the formation of CaO and CaO_x as well as TiO₂/Ti₂O₃ non-luminescent species on the surface.     

Influence of the synthesis conditions of silicon nanodots in an industrial low pressure chemical vapor deposition reactor

Experiments conducted in an industrial tubular low pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD) reactor have demonstrated the reproducibility and spatial uniformity of silicon nanodots (NDs) area density and mean radius. The wafer to wafer uniformity was satisfactory (density and radius standard deviations <10%) for the whole conditions tested except for low silane flow rates, high silane partial pressures and short run durations (<20 s). Original synthesis conditions have then been searched to reach both excellent wafer to wafer uniformities along the industrial load of wafers and high NDs densities. From previous results, it was deduced that the key was to markedly increase run duration in decreasing temperature and in increasing silane pressure. At 773 K, run durations as long as 180 and 240 s have thus allowed to reach NDs densities respectively equal to 9 × 10¹¹ and 6.5 × 10¹¹ NDs/cm² for the two highest silane pressures tested in the range 60-150 Pa.