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Taylor wave spall experiments were conducted on annealed copper targets using direct explosive loading. The targets were mounted on the back of an explosive disc which was being used for a shock to detonation transition (SDT) test in a gas gun. This technique allows two experiments to be conducted with one piece of explosive. Explosive loading creates a high stress state within the target with a lower strain rate than an equivalent plate impact experiment, although the shock front will also have some curvature. Three shots were performed on two differently annealed batches of copper to investigate the viability of the technique and the effect of annealing on the spall response. One pair of targets was annealed at 850°C for four hours and the other target was annealed at 600°C for one hour. The free surface velocity (FSV) profiles were recorded using a Photonic Doppler Velocimetry (PDV) probe focused on the center of the target. The profiles were compared to predictions from the CREST reactive burn model. ...

Superconducting hot-electron bolometer (HEB) mixers are promising heterodyne detectors for THz frequencies. HEB mixers operating at 4 K or below offer the possibility of near-quantum-limited performance without an upper frequency limit imposed by the superconducting energy gap. High temperature superconductor HEB mixers offer very sensitive, low power heterodyne detectors operating at temperatures approaching 90 K for applications requiring closed-cycle refrigeration. We report on recent progress in fabricating and characterizing high-T/sub c/ mixers based on ultra-thin (10-20 nm) YBa/sub 2/Cu/sub 3/O/sub 7-/spl delta// films patterned to submicrometer dimensions (0.1-1 /spl mu/m) and incorporated into 1-3 THz planar mixer circuits.

Superconducting hot-electron bolometers (HEB) represent a promising candidate for heterodyne mixing at frequencies exceeding 1 THz. Nb HEB mixers offer performance competitive with tunnel junctions without the frequency limit imposed by the superconducting energy gap. Although the performance of YBa/sub 2/Cu/sub 3/O/sub 7-/spl delta// HEB mixers is not projected to be superior to that of Nb devices, which operate at low temperatures, they introduce the possibility of sensitive, low power heterodyne detectors operating at temperatures approaching 90 K for applications requiring portability and closed-cycle refrigeration. We report on the fabrication and characterization, both DC and RF, of high-T/sub c/ mixers based on ultra-thin (/spl les/20 nm) YBa/sub 2/Cu/sub 3/O/sub 7-/spl delta// films patterned to micrometer dimensions and incorporated into 2.5 THz planar mixer circuits.

The Dual-Axis Radiographic Hydrodynamics Test (DARHT) facility will employ two perpendicular electron linear induction accelerators to produce intense, bremsstrahlung X-ray pulses for flash radiography. We intend to produce measurements containing three-dimensional information with sub-millimeter spatial resolution of the interior features of very dense, explosively driven objects. The facility will be completed in two phases with the first phase having become operational in July 1999 utilizing a single-pulse, 20 MeV, 2 kA, 60 ns accelerator, a high-resolution electrooptical X-ray imaging system, and other hydrodynamics testing systems. We describe this machine and discuss its current operating status. The first electron beams will be generated in the second phase of DARHT this year. The second DARHT accelerator consists of a 18.4 MeV, 2 kA, 2-microsecond pulse-width accelerator. Four short electron micropulses of variable pulse-width and spacing will be chopped out of the original, long accelerator pulse for producing time-resolved X-ray images. The second phase also features an extended, high-resolution electro-optical X-ray system with a framing speed of about 2 MHz. We discuss this accelerator by summarizing the overall design of the long-pulse injector and accelerator as well as some component test results. We also discuss the fast kicker used to separate the long-pulse beam into short bursts suitable for radiography.

The mechanical and magnetic alignment of the first eight induction-cell, solenoid magnets of the Integrated Test Stand (ITS) for the Dual-Axis Radiographic Hydrodynamic Test (DARHT) facility were measured by observing the deflection of a fine, taut wire carrying a pulsed current. To achieve the required alignment (less than 0.25 mm offset and less than 5 mrad tilt), the magnet design uses quadrufilar windings and iron field-smoothing rings. After detailed measurements of each solenoid magnet, the cells are assembled and then mechanically aligned using a laser and an alignment target moved along the cell centerline. After the cells are in final position, the pulsed wire method is used to verify the magnetic alignment. The measurements show an average offset of the magnetic axes from the mechanical axis of 0.15 mm, with a maximum offset of 0.3 mm. The average tilt of the magnetic axes was 0.7 mrad with a maximum tilt of 1.4 mrad. Tilts are corrected to less than 0.3 mrad, using dipole trim magnets assembled into each cell. Correction is limited by power supply resolution and by background noise. >

The PHERMEX (Pulsed High-Energy Radiographic Machine Emitting X-rays) standing-wave linear accelerator is a high- current electron beam generator used for flash-radiography. An improved electron gun has been designed employing a flat-thermionic cathode to replace the existing Pierce-geometry gun. The flat cathode yields increased current with the same applied voltage and cathode area as the Pierce gun. The ISIS code simulations indicate a beam current of 1.5 kA at 600 kV vs. 500 A for the old gun. The new geometry also reduces the probability for high voltage breakdown in the A-K gap. A re-entrant magnet captures the expanding electron beam and a bucking coil nulls cathode-fringe field. A third coil is used to optimize the extraction field profile and reduce the effect of nonlinear space charge on the beam emittance. Time-resolved measurements of beam current and voltage have been made. In addition, a streak camera was used to measure beam emittance and spatial profile. Comparisons of measurements with simulations are presented. >

The Dual-Axis Radiographic Hydrodynamics Test (DARHT) facility will employ two perpendicular electron Linear Induction Accelerators to produce intense, bremsstrahlung x-ray pulses for flash radiography. We intend to produce measurements containing three-dimensional information with sub-millimeter spatial resolution of the interior features of very dense, explosively-driven objects. The facility will be completed in two phases with the first phase having become operational in July 1999 utilizing a single-pulse, 20-MeV, 2-kA, 60-ns accelerator, a high-resolution electro-optical x-ray imaging system, and other hydrodynamics testing systems. We will briefly describe this machine. The first electron beams will be generated in the second phase of DARHT this year. The second DARHT accelerator consists of a 18.4-MeV, 2-kA, 2-microsecond pulse-width accelerator. Four short electron micropulses of variable pulse-width and spacing will be chopped out of the original, long accelerator pulse for producing time-resolved x-ray images. The second phase also features an extended, high-resolution electro-optical x-ray system with a framing speed of about 2-MHz. We will discuss this accelerator by summarizing the overall design of the long-pulse injector and accelerator. We will also discuss the fast kicker used to separate the long-pulse beam into short bursts suitable for radiography.

We describe the fabrication of a free‐standing YBa2Cu3C7−δ air bridge for useful applications of microstructures and microcircuits integration. We have used a sacrificial dielectric layer, which was subsequently etched, to produce the air gap between top and bottom layers. We have used conventional photolithographic processing, ion‐beam dry etching, and selective wet etching with HF to create the novel microstructures. Step coverage of epitaxial bridge layers have been achieved without significant degradation of the superconducting properties of YBa2Cu3O7−δ layers.

Los Alamos has designed and proposes to establish an XUV-IR free-electron laser (FEL) user facility for scientific research and industrial applications based on coherent radiation ranging from soft x rays as short as 1 nm to far-infrared wavelengths as long as 100 micrometers . As the next-generation light source beyond low-emittance storage rings with undulator insertion devices, this proposed national FEL user facility should make available to researchers broadly tunable, picosecond-pulse, coherent radiation with 104 to 107 greater spectral flux and brightness. The facility design is based on two series of FEL oscillators including one regenerative amplifier. The primary series of seven FEL oscillators, driven by a single, 1-GeV rf linac, spans the short-wavelength range from 1 to 600 nm. A second 60-MeV rf linac, synchronized with the first, drives a series of three Vis/IR FEL oscillators to cover the 0.5 to 100-micrometers range. This paper presents the motivation for such a facility arising from its inherently high power per unit bandwidth and its potential use for an array of scientific and industrial applications, describes the facility design, output parameters, and user laboratories, makes comparisons with synchrotron radiation sources, and summarizes recent technical progress that supports the technical feasibility.

We have designed, calibrated, and deployed an electron spectrograph to measure the effect of the free‐electron laser interaction on the relativistic electron beam in an FEL. The spectrograph spans a wide energy range (ΔE/E∼1) and is designed for electron energies from 2 to 4 MeV. Calibration was achieved using a 2–6‐keV proton beam, and the measured dispersion is in good agreement with the value predicted from ray tracing. The spectrograph has been used to estimate the extraction efficiency, and the results agree within 25% with the observed microwave power levels.