LLNL researchers have developed a method to enhance the performance of polyelectrolyte membranes by using a humidity-controlled crosslinking process which can be applied to precisely adjust the water channels of the membrane.
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![Diffuse discharge circuit breaker with latching switch](/sites/default/files/styles/scale_exact_400x400_/public/2024-02/Diffuse%20discharge%20circuit%20breaker.png?itok=qWpciEtY)
A thyristor will stay conducting until the current through the device is zero (“current zero”) or perhaps slightly negative. LLNL’s approach is to use the opticondistor (“OTV”) to force this current zero in order to force the device into an “off” state. By combining a light-activated thyristor with an OTV, a noise-immune, high efficiency, high-power switching device can be constructed. The…
![A cross-sectional schematic of a diffused Ga2O3 photoconductive semiconductor switch (PCSS)](/sites/default/files/styles/scale_exact_400x400_/public/2024-02/a%20cross-sectional%20schematic%20of%20a%20diffused%20beta-Ga2O3%20PCSS.png?itok=Z41s0FbO)
The researchers’ approach leverages the concept that dopants have high diffusivities in Ga2O3; the key lies in the selection of the appropriate dopant. This LLNL invention describes two device types that employ this design:
![Samples of optimized diamond switches](/sites/default/files/styles/scale_exact_400x400_/public/2024-01/Samples%20of%20optimized%20diamond%20switches.png?itok=5syzdD0q)
Design and construction of a photoconductive switch requires a diamond photoconductor illuminated by light of a certain excitation wavelength.
Characteristics of the LLNL-developed switch are as follows:
![Custom PCB design of a PCSS Laser Diode Driver](/sites/default/files/styles/scale_exact_400x400_/public/2023-11/PCSS%20Laser%20Diode%20Driver.png?itok=WQ2FNHQF)
LLNL researchers have invented an ultrafast PCSS to drive a high-power laser diode with arbitrary pulse widths. These devices operate by supplying a high voltage (>10 kV) to one side of the switch. A short pulse of light illuminates the semiconductor, instantly turning it from highly resistive to highly conductive.
![Livermore researchers support efforts to limit the need for rare-earth elements in U.S. clean-energy technologies.](/sites/default/files/styles/scale_exact_400x400_/public/2023-07/Reducing%20Reliance%20on%20Critical%20Materials.png?itok=IuC6bH4r)
CMI—a DOE Energy Innovation Hub—is a public/private partnership led by the Ames Laboratory that brings together the best and brightest research minds from universities, national laboratories (including LLNL), and the private sector to find innovative technology solutions to make better use of materials critical to the success of clean energy technologies as well as develop resilient and secure…
![One embodiment of a solid-state lithium-air battery based on gyroid foams.](/sites/default/files/styles/scale_exact_400x400_/public/2023-06/Li-Air%20Battery%20Gyroid%20Foam.jpg?itok=gPAwVj0O)
LLNL researchers have developed a new 3D printable lithium-air battery that uses a novel thin solid state ceramic electrolyte. LLNL’s invention overcomes the combined challenges of low power density and low cycle life in previously designed lithium-air batteries by using solid state electrolytes to achieve stability and multiscale structuring of the electrolyte to achieve low interfacial…
![cyber](/sites/default/files/styles/scale_exact_400x400_/public/2023-07/cyber.png?itok=69VZRw3q)
CSP-POST provides the capability to inspect all incoming and outgoing emails while providing after-the-fact forensic capabilities. Using commercially available lightweight and serverless technologies, CSP-POST easily collects all email and parses it into easily searchable metadata, enriched and ready for analysis. The web-based application is deployed in a repeatable, testable, and auditable…
![twister oven component with reflective inner cylinder surface](/sites/default/files/styles/scale_exact_400x400_/public/2023-06/twister%20oven%20component.png?itok=v3jlzm2V)
U.S. Patent No. 11,555,965 describes LLNL’s invention of “Illumination Frustums” for photoconductive switches to capture and “frustrate” the light from leaving the frustum. LLNL researcher’s latest novel invention, “Twister Oven”, achieves this by encouraging laser light absorption in a photo conductor material. Light enters the oven twisting and reflecting, making near normal incident multi…
![A photoconductive switch made from a synthetic, chemical vapor deposition diamond under test](/sites/default/files/styles/scale_exact_400x400_/public/2023-06/Photoconductive%20switch.jpg?itok=xC1O7vXg)
Design and construction of a photoconductive switch requires a diamond photoconductor illuminated by light of a certain excitation wavelength. The diamond material is chosen to be doped with substitutional nitrogen to act as a source of electrons. The device architecture allows maximum light entering the aperture. The top and bottom electrodes are made of ultra-wide bandgap (UWBG)…
![A system to cryptographically distinguish between human-generated text vs. AI-generated text](/sites/default/files/styles/scale_exact_400x400_/public/2023-06/certify%20data%20generated%20likely%20by%20human.png?itok=LbgHf3iX)
LLNL has invented a new system that uses public key cryptography to differentiate between human-generated text and AI-generated text. This invention can be used to validate that text is likely to be human generated for the purposes of sorting or gatekeeping on the internet, can detect cheating on essay assignments, and can be used as an automatic captcha that does away with the hassle of…
![schematic of LLNL’s field emission photocathode device architecture with examples of tunable SiC surface micro- and nanostructures fabricated at LLNL](/sites/default/files/styles/scale_exact_400x400_/public/2023-05/FE%20photocathode%20device.png?itok=z-1Om9v8)
LLNL researchers faced this challenge by bridging the gap between VEDs and solid-state electronics (SSE). Their approach was to create a hybrid vacuum microelectronic device (VMD) architecture that combines the properties of vacuum as the electronic medium and the compact form factor and manufacturing scalability of semiconductor microelectronic chips.
![Segments of transmission line lengths can be switched to open circuit (as shown) or shorted to the ground (not shown)](/sites/default/files/styles/scale_exact_400x400_/public/2023-05/Segments%20of%20tranmission%20line%20lengths.png?itok=FF0qaBGw)
Design and construction of a photoconductive switch requires a diamond photoconductor illuminated by light of a certain excitation wavelength. The diamond material is specifically doped with substitutional nitrogen, which act as a source of electrons. The device architecture allows maximum light entering the aperture. The top and bottom electrodes are made of ultra wide band gap (UWBG)…
![Annular illumination on photo conductor by Conical Total Internal Reflection “CTIR” endcap](/sites/default/files/styles/scale_exact_400x400_/public/2023-05/CONIFR.png?itok=L4wSanXF)
The approach is to use a custom-designed frustrum and attach it to the optical fiber that connects to the PCSS. Light from the fiber enters the frustrum, spreads out, and enters the PCSS. Any unabsorbed light re-enters the frustrum and, because of its geometry, reflects back into the PCSS itself with only a negligible fraction escaping from the fiber. The shape of the novel frustrum is…
![nanocomposite_aerogel.jpg nanocomposite_aerogel](/sites/default/files/styles/scale_exact_400x400_/public/2019-08/nanocomposite_aerogel.jpg?itok=PuNPrvkg)
Livermore researchers have developed two novel TiCl4 based non-alkoxide sol-gel approaches for the synthesis of SiO2/TiO2 nanocomposite aerogels. Composite SiO2-TiO2 aerogels were obtained by epoxide-assisted gelation (EAG route) of TiCl4/DMF solution in the presence SiO2 aerogel particles. Additionally, the same TiCl4/DMF solution was employed to prepare SiO2@TiO2 aerogels by a facile one-…
![Encrypting computer clusters](/sites/default/files/styles/scale_exact_400x400_/public/2022-06/hpcrypt.png?itok=VHVxx51a)
LLNL has developed a new method for securely processing protected data on HPC systems with minimal impact on the existing HPC operations and execution environment. It can be used with no alterations to traditional HPC operations and can be managed locally. It is fully compatible with traditional (unencrypted) processing and can run other jobs, unencrypted or not, on the cluster simultaneously…
![3D printed electrodes](/sites/default/files/styles/scale_exact_400x400_/public/2022-06/3D%20printed%20electrodes.jpg?itok=HPvcODM8)
Nanomaterials that are emerging out of cutting edge nanotechnology research are a key component for an energy revolution. Carbon-based nanomaterials are ushering in the "new carbon age" with carbon nanotubes, nanoporous carbons, and graphene nanosheets that will prove necessary to provide sustainable energy applications that lessen our dependence on fossil fuels.
Carbon aerogels (CAs)…
![Spectroscopic Injection Pulser prototype](/sites/default/files/styles/scale_exact_400x400_/public/2022-06/Spectroscopic%20Injection%20Pulser%20prototype%20.jpg?itok=CQZmEGas)
The technology that is available has the capability to inject realistic radiation detection spectra into the amplifier of a radiation detector and produce the all the observables that are available with that radiation detection instrument; count-rate, spectrum, dose rate, etc.
The system uses the capability of LLNL to generate the source output for virtually any source and determine…
![Batteryless Sensor](/sites/default/files/styles/scale_exact_400x400_/public/2022-06/batteryless%20sensor.jpg?itok=OiEAlv22)
Chemical and biological sensors based on nanowire or nanotube technologies exhibit observable ultrasensitive detection limits due to their unusually large surface-to-volume architecture. This suggests that nanosensors can provide a distinct advantage over conventional designs. This advantage is further enhanced when the nanosensor can harvest its meager power requirements from the surrounding…
![Cell phone 2](/sites/default/files/styles/scale_exact_400x400_/public/2022-07/Cell%20phone%202.png?itok=k7L7xXwx)
LLNL's NeMS system enables network mapping operations by using two LLNL-developed software systems: LLNL's NeMS tool and the Everest visualization system. Each software system can be also used separately for their specific applications. When the two systems are used together as an iterative analysis platform, LLNL's NeMS system provides network security managers and information technology…
![3D printed electrodes](/sites/default/files/styles/scale_exact_400x400_/public/2022-06/3D%20printed%20electrodes.jpg?itok=HPvcODM8)
LLNL has developed novel nanoporous carbon materials for the surface-stress-induced actuator technology. The morphology of these materials has been designed to combine high surface area and mechanical strength. The process allows for the fabrication of large monolithic pieces with low densities and high structural integrity. One actuation technology relies on electrochemically- induced changes…