Related papers: Evaluation and mitigation of trace $^{210}$Pb cont…
A new surface treatment technique for niobium (Nb) Superconducting Radio Frequency (SRF) cavities called Buffered Electropolishing (BEP) has been developed at JLab. It was found that BEP could produce the smoothest surface finish on Nb…
The World Health Organisation (WHO) presents an upper limit for lead in drinking water of 10 parts per billion ppb. Typically, to reach this level of sensitivity, expensive metrology is required. To increase the sensitivity of low cost…
Naturally occurring radionuclide $^{210}$Pb ($T_{1/2}$=22.2 y) is an important source of background in rare event searches, such as neutrinoless double-$\beta$ decay and dark matter direct detection experiments. When a sample mass of…
The polarization of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) can be used to search for parity-violating processes like that predicted by a Chern-Simons coupling to a light pseudoscalar field. Such an interaction rotates $E$ modes into $B$…
In this article we explore the availability of radiopure tungsten and its potential as high density shield material for low background applications. For compact shield designs, conventionally, lead is used. Metallic tungsten and tungsten…
A variety of severe plastic deformation (SPD) techniques have been developed to process materials to high strains and impart microstructural refinement. High pressure torsion (HPT) is one technique that imparts inhomogeneous strain to…
Pulsed-laser dry printing of noble-metal microrings with a tunable internal porous structure, which can be revealed via an ion-beam etching post-procedure, was demonstrated. Abundance and average size of the pores inside the microrings were…
We present an experimental system to study the Bose polaron by immersion of single, well-controllable neutral Cs impurities into a Rb Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC). We show that, by proper optical traps, independent control over impurity…
Levels of trace radiopurity in active detector materials is a subject of major concern in low-background experiments. Among the radio-isotopes, $\k40$ is one of the most abundant and yet whose signatures are difficult to reject. Procedures…
The nature and concentration of defects near niobium-silicon interfaces prepared with different silicon surface treatments were characterized using current-voltage (I-V), deep level transient spectroscopy (DLTS), and secondary ion mass…
Lithium (Li) plating on graphite is a significant degradation mechanism in Li-ion batteries. While numerous experimental techniques have been used to study Li plating in laboratory cells, investigations of commercial high-energy cells often…
Widespread Pb (lead) contamination of urban soil significantly impacts food safety and public health and hinders city greening efforts. However, most existing technologies for measuring Pb are labor-intensive and costly. In this study, we…
Microbiologically influenced corrosion (MIC) compromises the integrity of many technologically relevant metals. Protective coatings based on synthetic materials pose potential environmental impacts. Here, we report a MIC resistant coating…
In order to investigate the dependence of conditioning and field-holding on temperature, three pairs of copper electrodes underwent high voltage conditioning with direct current (DC) pulses while kept at a single temperature, unique for…
We present a method for generating a one-dimensional random metal surface of finite length L that suppresses leakage, i.e. the roughness-induced conversion of a surface plasmon polariton propagating on it into volume electromagnetic waves…
High-pressure torsion (HPT) imparts inhomogeneous strain to process discs with low strain in the center and higher strain at the outer edge. Microscopy and microhardness indentation have been used to characterize and correlate this…
Self-sputtering of copper under high electric fields is considered to contribute to plasma buildup during a vacuum breakdown event frequently observed near metal surfaces, even in ultra high vacuum condition in different electric devices.…
Pd-based anodes for alcohol oxidation suffer from surface poisoning and sluggish kinetics. Here, we developed Pd-Nb2O5/C nanocomposites to improve ethanol electrooxidation kinetics and CO tolerance in alkaline media. Orthorhombic Nb2O5…
In low-background particle physics experiments, surface deposition of radon progeny presents a significant background challenge. To characterize this contamination, a high-sensitivity surface $\alpha$-activity measurement system was…
We measured a spin polarization above a Pt (111) surface in the vicinity of a Co nanostripe by spin-polarized scanning tunneling spectroscopy. The spin polarization is exponentially decaying away from the Pt/Co interface and is detectable…