COUNTERFEIT CURRENCYIS NO MATCH FOR

LOS ALAMOS TECHNOLOGY

NEAR-INFRARED SPECTROSCOPY

IDENTIFIES PHONY BILLS

I magine a foolproof way of telling funny money from the real thing. Or

plastic turquoise from the genuinegemstone. Researchers at Los Alamoshave found that a technology used tocharacterize rubber and plastic inradioactive waste can also distinguishbona fide articles from phony ones.

The Laboratory uses near-infrared spectroscopyto analyze the contents of decades-old barrels ofradioactively contaminated waste bound forstorage or further study. In near-infrared spec-troscopy, light just beyond the visible spectrumshines through a fiber optic cable onto a materialsample. Sensors pick up the reflected light atmany wavelengths and convert their varyingintensities into electrical signals that are then

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1

ÈNat ive

Amer icanart ists who se l l

the ir jewelryunder the

porta l of thePalace of theGovernors inSanta Fe arerequired to

vouch for theauthent ic i ty oftheir mater ia ls .

But in otherplaces,

shoppers maynot have that

k ind ofguarantee.

A MONTHLY PUBLICATION OF THEPUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICE OF

LOS ALAMOS NATIONAL LABORATORY

LOS ALAMOS NATIONAL LABORATORY, AN AFFIRMATIVE ACTION / EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER, IS OPERATED BY THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA FOR THE U.S. DEPARTMENT

OF ENERGY UNDER CONTRACT NO. W-7405-ENG-36

LOS ALAMOS NATIONAL LABORATORY PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICE, MS-A118

LOS ALAMOS, NM 87545

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EDITORDiane Banegas

MANAGING EDITORMeredith Coonley

(505) 665-3982 • suki@lanl.gov

STAFF WRITERJulie Anne Overton

CONTRIBUTING WRITERSJohn R. Gustafson • Kathy DeLucas

CONTRIBUTING ILLUSTRATORDavid Simmons

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERSJoseph Banegas • James Rickman

PRINTING COORDINATORG.D. Archuleta

LOS ALAMOS NATIONAL LABORATORY

PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICE, MS P355

LOS ALAMOS, NM 87545

digitized and fed into an accom-panying computer. Since everymaterial creates its own uniquereflectance pattern from those wave-lengths, the computer can analyzethe reflected light pattern, or “finger-print,” match it against storedpatterns, and provide an analysis ofthe sample’s composition.

Because near-infrared spectroscopy isnoninvasive and nondestructive, thetechnology lends itself to a variety ofapplications. For example, it has beenused to analyze paper for severalyears, which led researcher Don Burnsto wonder if the technology could beused to identify counterfeit currency.

It takes 65 complicated and distinct steps to print a dollar bill, but ascomputers and optical scanners improve, so does the quality of thecounterfeiter’s product. According to the Secret Service, the division ofthe U.S. Treasury Department charged with enforcing currency law,American money is the easiest and most profitable to fake. In 1993,

ÈResearcher

Don Burns usesnear- infrared

spectroscopy toanalyze

radioact ive lycontaminated

plast ics andrubber ins ide

the g love box.Burns appl ied

the sametechnology to

rea l andcounterfe it

currency andpicked out the

funny money100 percent of

the t ime.

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federal agencies seized $120 million in counterfeit American cash over-seas, up $90 million from the year before.

The Secret Service, interested in near-infrared spectroscopy’s potential,sent Burns several high-quality counterfeit $20 bills which were indistin-guishable from the real thing to the naked eye.Burns analyzed both real and fake bank notesand discovered dramatic differences in theirreflectance patterns. He had a 100-percent suc-cess rate in identifying the phonies. As a result ofBurns’ tests, the Secret Service has asked theLaboratory to work on counterfeit deterrence.

A local news story aboutfake Indian arts and craftsturned Burns’ attention toanother lucrative scam thatmight be thwarted by near-infrared spectroscopy. Thepopularity of southwesternsilver and turquoise has ledsome unscrupulous jewel-ry makers to increase their profit margins by substituting plastic for thegemstone, in spite of state laws forbidding such fraud. Some of the plas-tics look so real they even fool experienced dealers. And then there arethe stones that are “stabilized” with plastic polymers and resins, leavinganxious tourists unsure about the quality of their investments.

One way to test turquoise — literally putting a torch to it to see if itmelts — struck Burns as archaic. Because he has a computer library ofmany different plastics, he can analyze the infrared light reflected off asample stone and see if it matches any of the plastic patterns in hisarchive. If it does, there is almost no doubt that the stone is not what itseems. Burns has already had calls from Native American jewelers eagerto use the technology to authenticate their raw materials.

Burns has applied for patents to use near-infrared spectroscopy to dis-tinguish between counterfeit and genuine currency and between fakeand real turquoise.

C O N T A C T : D O N A L D B U R N S

A D V A N C E D C H E M I C A L D I A G N O S T I C S I N S T R U M E N T A T I O N

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ÓReal turquoiseor a p last icfacs imi le?Near- infraredspectroscopymay soon bethe best wayto te l l whether yoursouthwesternjewelry i s worthwhat you pa idfor i t .

EVERY COMPUTERNEEDS A N.E.R.D.

LOS ALAMOS DEVELOPS A UNIQUE TOOL

TO MANAGE COMPLEX COMPUTER NETWORKS

A nyone responsible for managing a large computer network could probably use a NERD — a Network

Event Recording Device, that is. Los Alamos National Laboratory’s computer network is one of thelargest and most complex computing resources in the world. It servesmore than 9,000 users on a variety of supercomputers, mainframes,minicomputers, and workstations as well as file storage devices, com-munications interfaces, routers, bridges, and terminals. The magnitudeof the system and the importance of protecting it from security breacheswere driving forces behind the development of NERD.

A one-of-a-kind computer monitoring tool, NERD was developed bysystems engineer David Simmons, now at Sun Microsystems, as asuite of programs that run simultaneously to monitor the overallhealth of the Laboratory’s computer network. By logging all net-

work events as they happen, NERD responds topre-programmed instructions and alerts operators to

trouble before the system crashes.

It has always been possible for network andsecurity managers to review computer logfiles for evidence of irregularities after thefact. NERD is the first network managementsystem that provides access to log informa-

tion in real time. With NERD, system operatorscan see what’s going on as it happens and

actively troubleshoot the system.

When something goes wrong, NERD notifies network managers viaelectronic mail, digital pager, or, if the system requires immediate atten-tion, synthesized speech over a public address system. The timelynotification feature means system operators can act immediately to avertcostly and time-consuming system crashes. It also means operators don’thave to be on-site at all times; a computer-generated message can bringthem back in an emergency.

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NERD

ÕSystem

managers cancount on NERD

to te l l themeverything they

a lways wantedto know about

their computernetworks.

5

Because so many systems in the Los Alamos network process classifiedmaterial, the Laboratory must be concerned about computer security.NERD enhances system security with an auditing feature that keeps

track of who is connecting and disconnecting through whichgateways. For example, it allows system managers to see

repeated failed attempts to log on.

NERD backs up all log files in asingle location to ensure an accu-

rate archive of network data. Ifthe system crashes, NERD

makes it much easier for operators tolook at the system’s history and figure outexactly what happened. It also maintains

the integrity of network data in theevent of a crash.

Because of the variety of comput-ing systems at Los Alamos, the Laboratory’s network managementsystem has to be blind to differences in hardware and operating sys-tems. Using a common network logging process called “syslogd,”NERD can be used in any network environment withUNIX-based computers by making a one-linechange to a configuration file — a file that tells thecomputer software where to send different typesof messages. NERD requires no distribution ofspecialized software, a huge advantage whenNERD is ready for the marketplace.

NERD is operational at Los Alamos. Manyother sites, including universities and othernational laboratories, have expressedinterest in the system. Although NERD isstill under development, researchers hope to make it available commer-cially in the near future. More information about NERD is available athttp://info-server.lanl.gov:52271/usr/u111241/nerdpaper.html on theWorld Wide Web.

C O N T A C T : R O N A L D W I L K I N S

N E T W O R K E N G I N E E R I N G

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ÕNERD warns

computeroperators of a

system crashbefore the

hammer h its .

ÕSystemmanagers don’thave to sweatover networksecur i ty withNERD.

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THE ELECTRIC CARMOVES CLOSER

TO A COMMERCIAL REALITYAUTOMOTIVE-SCALE FUEL CELL TESTED

T he race to produce an electric car speeds up as researchers begin testing a realistic model of a fuel cell

developed as a result of a collaboration between Los Alamos,the Department of Energy, and General Motors.Fuel cells convert chemical energy to electrical energy without combus-tion. They have been fairly common in the space program, but until nowthey have not been able to provide enough sustained power at a reason-able cost and size for use in the automotive industry.

DOE awarded a $35 million contract tothe government-industry team to com-plete the project’s second phase, a30-month effort. Phase one of the projectwas completed recently at Los Alamoswith the development of a 10-kilowattgross output engine. An electric vehicle’sengine will require between 30 and 50kilowatts to perform as well as today’sgas-powered automobiles.

To reach the wattage goal, project researchers are designing an electro-chemical engine that runs on stacks of proton-exchange membrane fuelcells and the liquid fuel methanol. An onboard fuel processor convertsthe methanol into hydrogen and carbon dioxide. The fuel cell electro-chemically combines the hydrogen with oxygen from outside air toproduce direct current electricity. The electricity, in turn, powers thetraction motors that turn the car’s wheels.

In many ways a fuel cell operates like a car battery except that reactantsare fed to the cell as it needs them, whereas a conventional batteryrequires recharging when its electrical output falls.

The first generation 30-kilowatt fuel-cell stack will have a volume ofabout 50 liters — about half the size of a microwave oven. Initial testingof cells involves determining voltage output as the electrical load andthe hydrogen- and air-feed conditions vary. By the end of the project

ÓKirk Weisbrodof Los A lamos( left ) and JeffRock of Genera lMotorsdes igned th isoperat iona lautomotive-sca le fuel ce l las part of ajo int researchprogram tobui ld a car thatruns onmethanol ,re leas ing onlycarbon diox ideand water asbyproducts .

phase, the fuel-cell stack will be incorporated into a complete methanol-to-electric engine. Researchers will then test the new engine oversimulated driving cycles and demonstrate engine-fuel economy withfewer emissions.

Another research milestone in the program is a recently developed fuelprocessor that promises to respond quickly to changing fuel demandsduring acceleration and hill climbing and minimizes the need for neces-sary battery backup to accommodate startup. Previous fuel processors, avital part of the electrochemical engine, have been slow to start and slowto adjust fuel to meet power demands.

Another advantage of the enginedesign is that it uses methanol, a rela-tively benign and inexpensive liquidfuel. Methanol, or wood alcohol, isbetter for the environment than gaso-line because its byproducts are carbondioxide and water. Because it isderived from agricultural wastes ornatural gas, it promises to be a nearlylimitless resource.

The electrochemical engine offers attractive advantages over anall-electric battery-powered system. Unlike a battery-powered vehiclethat requires long recharging stops and has a limited driving range, a carequipped with an electrochemical engine will be able to refuel quicklyand have nearly the same driving range and performance as a conven-tional four-cylinder car.

The overall goal of the joint development project is to more than doublea car’s fuel economy and reduce federally regulated emissions such asnitrogen oxides, hydrocarbons, and particulates by more than 90 per-cent and reduce carbon dioxide emission by more than 40 percent.

On a national scale, converting gas stations to methanol would be lessexpensive than building battery recharging stations and power plants tosupport a large number of all-electric, battery-powered cars.

C O N T A C T : K E N S T R O H

E N G I N E E R I N G S C I E N C E S A N D A P P L I C A T I O N S

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ÕThis fuel ce l l i scurrent ly be ingtested as partof a jo intproject withGenera l Motors .In i t ia l test ingof ce l l s involvesdeterminingvoltage outputas the e lectr ica lload and thehydrogen/a irfeed condit ionsvary. By theend of theproject phase,the fuel-ce l lstack wi l l beincorporatedinto a completemethanol-to-e lectr ic engine.

U.S. AND RUSSIADEVELOP “MOXE”

TO MONITOR THE SKY’SX-RAY SOURCES

INSTRUMENT TO BE LAUNCHED ABOARD

INTERNATIONAL SATELLITE LATE NEXT YEAR

A n instrument being developed jointly by U.S. and Russian scientists to monitor X-ray emissions from across

the sky is in its final stages of development and on schedulefor delivery to Russia this year for launch in late 1997.The instrument, called MOXE (pronounced “MOX-EY”) for MonitoringX-Ray Experiment, is one of 11 instruments to be carried onboard theSpectrum-X-Gamma satellite, a major astrophysics observatory thatinvolves 16 nations in all and is being built under the leadership ofRussia’s Space Research Institute.

MOXE will monitor several hundred of the sky’s brightest X-ray sources.It will also, in a sense, serve as a scout for the other onboard instrumentsbecause its six pinhole cameras will stare continuously at nearly theentire sky. MOXE’s wide-eyed view will enable it to alert the spacecraft’sother instruments — which have narrow fields of view — if suddenX-ray activity appears from some point in the sky. Scientists from LosAlamos, NASA’s Goddard Spaceflight Center, and the Russian SpaceResearch Institute are collaborating on the instrument.

MOXE’s developmentincluded initial deliveryin early 1992 of a modelthat was subjected tothermal, vibrational, andstatic load testing. Thatwas followed by an engi-neering model deliveredto Russia in November1993, which passed aseries of complicatedacceptance tests. TheMOXE team is now

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ÓAn engineer ingmodel of MOXE,which passed aser ies ofcompl icatedacceptancetests , was sentto Russ iain 1993. Photo courtesy of

NASA Goddard

Spacef l ight Center .

completing a flightmodel of the system thatwill be launched intoorbit with the satellite.The flight model is duein Russia this winter.

MOXE’s detectors aresensitive to X-ray ener-gies of between 2,000and 25,000 electron-volts. At these energies,the sky is dominated by

emissions from X-ray binary stars in our galaxy and from the centers ofactive galaxies or a hot gas that pervades some clusters of galaxies.

X-ray sources typically flare into view, then rapidly subside. MOXE willbe especially sensitive to these types of rapid changes in the sky, provid-ing a real-time alarm for transient phenomena such as X-ray andgamma-ray bursts and novae.

The alarm capability allows the more sensitive and narrowly focusedinstruments onboard Spectrum-X-Gamma to be put into play to studya transient phenomenon in detail within 48 hours. Astronomers work-ing with other space-based instruments and optical and radioastronomers working from the ground can also study a transient eventbefore it fades away, provided the time scale is sufficiently long. Suchstudies have found scientists’ best candidates for black holes.

In addition to serving as an alarm, MOXE will allow scientists todevelop a long-term archival record of the sky’s X-ray behavior. Suchdata make it possible to conduct long-term studies of celestial move-ment, including star rotation and orbit.

Los Alamos’ first X-ray monitor was launched in 1969 on the Vela 5Bsatellite for nuclear weapons treaty verification. In 1973, Los Alamossensors on Vela discovered gamma-ray bursts, an enigmatic high-energyastrophysics phenomenon that remains unexplained.

C O N T A C T : B I L L P R I E D H O R S K Y

A S T R O P H Y S I C S A N D R A D I A T I O N M E A S U R E M E N T S

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ÕMOXE is one of11 instruments

to be carr iedonboard the

Spectrum X-Gamma

Spacecraft . Thesate l l i te i s

scheduled forlaunch in

late 1997.I l lustrat ion courtesy

of Sandia Nat iona l

Laborator ies .

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LOS ALAMOS COORDINATESRESEARCH TO MAKE A

SMALLER, BETTERSEMICONDUCTORDOE SIGNS AGREEMENT WITH

INTEGRATED CIRCUIT INDUSTRY

T hree national laboratories, including Los Alamos,

have joined forces withthe semiconductor industryand leading universities tokeep future generationsof American-made semi-conductors competitive in aworld market.

The Semiconductor Research Corp., a consortium of more than 60 com-panies and government agencies, and the Department of Energy havesigned a $100 million, 5-year cooperative research and developmentagreement. Los Alamos, Sandia, and Lawrence Livermore laboratorieswill use their high-performance computing capability to improve indus-try’s ability to model and simulate semiconductor materials, devices,systems, and manufacturing processes.

The SRC, a non-profit organization, was created in 1982 by industrygiants like Intel, Texas Instruments, and Motorola to fund long-termresearch that might be applicable to future commercial semiconductordevices. Under the new agreement, the DOE has established the Centerfor Semiconductor Modeling and Simulation at Los Alamos to coordi-nate work done at the three national laboratories.

The process of manufacturing semiconductors takes more than a hun-dred steps. Hundreds of copies of an integrated circuit are deposited on asingle wafer by forming eight to 20 layers that create electrically activeregions in and on the wafer surface.

Manufacturers want to put faster circuitry on smaller chips to achievebetter performance and lower cost per chip. But the increasing complex-ity of etching ever-smaller features into silicon means that predictive

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ÓCoordinatedresearch byindustry andthe nat ionallabs wi l l keepAmerican-madesemiconductorsl ike th isd ime-s izedexample at theforefront ofintegrated-c ircuittechnology.

O C T O B E R I S S U E 1 9 9 5

modeling and simulation are imperative to avoid costly errors in thedesign of faster chips.

The national laboratories are at the forefront of these technologies.Researchers will use new advanced computational algorithms to modelcomplex, three-dimensional chip structures and manufacturingprocesses. They also are developing a combined equipment-wafersimulator that will describe how surface topography is affected by thedeposition and etching phases of the circuit-manufacturing process. The laboratories also will develop better simulation tools to predictelectron behavior in semiconductors and better ways to predictfailure in interconnects.

The end result will be increased miniaturization of circuits, perhaps evento atomic sizes, and vast improvements in manufacturing techniquesand materials composition.

This year, the worldwide market for semiconductor-based electronics isabout $800 billion, and industry projections are for sales to reach$1.3 trillion by the year 2000. The integrated circuit technology devel-

oped under thisagreement shouldmove into the mar-ketplace by 2007.Close collaborationbetween the compa-nies that makeintegrated circuits andresearch laboratorieslike Los Alamoswill guarantee theU.S. semiconductorindustry’s competitiveedge well into thenext century.

C O N T A C T : D A V I D C A R T W R I G H T

T H E O R E T I C A L D I V I S I O N A N D

A P P L I E D T H E O R E T I C A L P H Y S I C S D I V I S I O N

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ÈA magnif ied

look at Inte l ’sPent ium® chipi l lustrates the

increas ingcomplex ity of

manufactur ingfaster , smal ler

semiconductorsat lower cost .

Photo courtesy

of Inte l .

A MONTHLY PUBLICATION OF THEPUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICE OF

LOS ALAMOS NATIONAL LABORATORY

Nonprofit Organization U.S. Postage Paid

Los Alamos, NM Permit No.107

A MONTHLY PUBLICATION OF THEPUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICE OF

LOS ALAMOS NATIONAL LABORATORY

Nonprofit Organization U.S. Postage Paid

Los Alamos, NM Permit No.107

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BRIEFLY …

Los Alamos and potential industrial partners are working on a strategy to take thehigh-temperature superconducting tape developed by the Laboratory into themarketplace. At a recent conference, Los Alamos offered U.S. companies the opportunityto sign access agreements to study the promising technology and non-exclusive licenseagreements to commercialize it. More than 40 representatives from industry and otherresearch organizations attended the meeting to find out more about the three-layer metal-ceramic tape thatcan carry more than one million amperes of electricity per square centimeter at liquid nitrogen tempera-ture. The current $1.5 billion market for superconductors is expected to grow to as much as $12 billion bythe year 2000, and to $200 billion by 2020. Los Alamos will continue to help the U.S. superconductorindustry maintain a competitive position in the global market. (See the August 1995 issue of

Dateline: LosAlamos for more information on the high-temperature superconducting tape.) C O N T A C T : R A N D O L P H

T R E M P E R , I N D U S T R I A L P A R T N E R S H I P O F F I C E , ( 5 0 5 ) 6 6 5 - 2 1 3 4 .

LALP-95-2-10

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IN THIS ISSUE:

COUNTERFEIT CURRENCY

IS NO MATCH FOR LOS

ALAMOS TECHNOLOGYP A G E 1

EVERY COMPUTER

NEEDS A N.E.R.D.P A G E 4

THE ELECTRIC CAR

MOVES CLOSER TO A

COMMERCIAL REALITYP A G E 6

U.S. AND RUSSIA

DEVELOP “MOXE” TO

MONITOR THE SKY’SX-RAY SOURCES

P A G E 8

LOS ALAMOS

COORDINATES RESEARCH

TO MAKE A SMALLER,BETTER SEMICONDUCTOR

P A G E 1 0