MATERIALS DEVELOPMENT INC — Department of Energy SBIR Phase I: 12b

Description

This project addresses the need to access and control extreme temperature sample environments that are used in many research applications at neutron beamline facilities- Development and integration of controlled and extreme sample environments and new measurement techniques is an important aspect of beamline operations and user support- In combination with advanced sample environments, high flux neutron sources such as SNS provide an opportunity to revolutionize advanced materials research- Processing and solidifying liquids is a critical value adding step in manufacturing semiconductors, optical materials, metals and in the operation of many energy conversion and medical devices- Research on advanced materials is hampered by difficulty in accessing short- lived metastable states that play a crucial role in determining the material's ultimate structure and properties- This project will lead to development of a novel sample environment and event- based data processing technologies that will enable studies of materials under extreme conditions that relate to production of semiconductors, optical glasses, medical device materials and energy conversion materials- Research will be performed jointly by the small business and the Spallation Neutron Source at Oak Ridge National Laboratory- The proposed solution is to integrate a novel container-less sample environment and an event-based data acquisition system with a high flux neutron beam line- The use of laser beam heating allows rapid heating (100 K/s) and cooling to access metastable states that cannot be obtained using a conventional furnace- The R&D will: (i) evaluate instrument requirements, (ii) design and construct a test instrument that integrates an advanced “aero-acoustic” container-less sample environment that combines the advantages of both aerodynamic and acoustic techniques to achieve unprecedented control over the sample in a beamline, (iii) implement test experiments including event-based measurements, and (iv) analyze results and prepare a plan for development of the instrument that will be constructed, tested, and delivered in Phase II and offered for sale as a commercial research product-