Quality control of the inertial confinement fusion (ICF) target in the laser fusion program is vital to ensure that energy deposition from the lasers results in uniform compression and minimization of Rayleigh–Taylor instabilities. The technique of nuclear microscopy with ion beam analysis is a powerful method to provide characterization of ICF targets. Distribution of elements, depth profile, and density image of ICF targets can be identified by particle-induced X-ray emission, Rutherford backscattering spectrometry, and scanning transmission ion microscopy. We present examples of ICF target characterization by nuclear microscopy at Fudan University in order to demonstrate their potential impact in assessing target fabrication processes.

A multi-component, multiple-relaxation-time (MRT) lattice Boltzmann (LB) model has been employed to study transport processes in the nanostructured cathode catalyst layer of a prototype proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell. The electrode consists of an array of ordered and aligned nanorods that are continuously coated with platinum (Pt). The effect of spacing between the nanorods was studied. Simulation results showed that smaller spacing in nanorods leads to lower utilization of the Pt catalyst due to O2 mass transport limitations. Results from the LB model were found to be in good agreement with the continuum model using the finite element method (FEM) with the same boundary conditions until the systems reached the O2 mass transport limited regions, where the solutions diverged.

We present molecular dynamics simulation of molecules transporting through carbon nanotubes for applications in engineered flow channels, focusing on the dynamics of molecules spontaneously inserted into the nanotube channel in aqueous environment. The molecules studied include a C60 molecule, a finite segment of carbon nanotube with smaller diameter, and single/double- stranded DNA molecules. We show that in the absence of water solvation, the van der Waals interaction between the molecule and the nanotube wall can induce a rapid spontaneous encapsulation of the molecule inside the nanotube channel. The encapsulation process is strongly impeded for nanotube dissolved in water due to the competition between the van der Waals, hydrophobic and hydrogen bonding interactions in the nanotube/water/molecule complex. Water adsorption inside the nanotube channel plays an important role in determining the dynamics of the spontaneous insertion process.

We present an atomistic self-consistent study of the electronic and transport properties of semiconducting carbon nanotubes in contact with metal electrodes at different contact geometries. We analyze the Schottky barrier effect at the metal-nanotube interface by examining the electrostatics, the band line up and the conductance of the metal-nanotube wire-metal junction as a function of the nanotube channel length, which leads to an effective decoupling of interface and bulk effects in electron transport through nanotube junction devices.

We present a microscopic theory of electromagnetic energy transport in nanostructured media based on the Lagrangian formulation of semiclassical electrodynamics. We show the importance of the interplay between transverse and longitudinal local fields in determining the light-matter interaction in nanostructured media. We derive rigorously the coupled-dipole equation of the local fields and apply the theory to analyze energy transport in metal nanoparticle chain waveguide.

We describe a theory of coulomb blockade of tunneling through molecular-assembled metallic nanoparticles based on the Non-equilibrium Green's function method. We apply the theory to study current transport through a single metallic nanoparticle connected to the leads through two molecular bridges with arbitrary metal-molecule coupling and electron-molecular vibration coupling. We present model calculations of the current-voltage characteristics.

We present microscopic study of electronic and transport properties of single molecules sandwiched between two metallic contacts using Green's function based modeling approach within both ab initio and self-consistent semi-empirical framework. The methods are applied to thiol-based organic molecules and finite-size single-wall carbon nanotubes respectively. Results on electrostatics, transmission and current-voltage characteristics are presented.

We present microscopic study of electronic and transport properties of single molecules sandwiched between two metallic contacts using Green's function based modeling approach within both ab initio and self-consistent semi-empirical framework. The methods are applied to thiol-based organic molecules and finite-size single-wall carbon nanotubes respectively. Results on electrostatics, transmission and current-voltage characteristics are presented.