LANL’s James Maxwell
Q. How Do You Grow Cloth? A. With a Laser, of Course
August / September 2010
Volume 8 Number 4
James Maxwell, an engineer with the applied electromagnetics group at Los Alamos National Laboratory has been involved in laser and microchemical processing for more than 14 years. His work has pushed the frontiers of nanotechnology with groundbreaking technologies that have garnered R&D 100 Awards for the past three years in a row.
In 2008, Maxwell won the award for Laser-Weave, a process involving hyperbaric laser chemical vapor deposition that allows scientists, engineers and manufacturers to grow high-strength inorganic fibers into useful shapes and complex patterns, or braid or weave strong cables, cloth or composites. This can produce high-value, cost-effective refractory ropes and textiles and prototype high-aspect ratio micro-electrical mechanical systems used in industry.
“To put it simply, we grow things from gases using lasers,” said Maxwell, who holds a doctorate in mechanical engineering with a specialty in laser microchemical processing from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Maxwell’s technique lets him grow structures and fibers at astonishing speeds. For example, he says Laser-Weave is able to produce carbon fibers up to 13 centimeters long in a single second and many other materials at millimeter per second growth rates. When laser-woven fibers are braided together, the resulting cloth is exceptionally strong, able to withstand high temperatures, and can be employed in a variety of applications.
“It can be used in anything from the inside of your toaster to exhaust nozzles in rocket engines,” Maxwell said.
The next year, Maxwell built upon Laser-Weave to develop Lasonix, the technology that facilitated a novel method of microelectronic fabrication that can revolutionize many facets of society, from household electronics to medical x-ray machines. Lasonix enables hybrid circuits of micro vacuum electronic devices, optoelectronics and traditional silicon-based devices to be integrated in an automated fashion through a single tool without the use of mechanical assembly or circuit boards.
“It’s the next wave of microelectronics miniaturization and integration and could generate an entirely new industry,” said Maxwell. “We’ll see even greater computing speeds, smaller electronic systems, and more capable and complex circuits and systems.”
Using Lasonix, Maxwell and his team have created the first-ever three-dimensional diodes in the form of fibers, which he explains are akin to the revolution that occurred with the first semiconductor devices in the late 1940s. “Lasonix illustrates the ability of the laboratory—specifically that of Maxwell and his team—to truly push the envelope of current manufacturing techniques. They’ve created a technology that someday could enhance the very way we live our everyday lives,” said Glenn Mara, principal associate director for weapons programs.
Maxwell’s success continues with his most recent win of a 2010 R&D 100 Award for Ultraconductus, a technology that has the potential to increase the conductivity of metallic wiring by at least 100 times. He worked with a team of researchers from across the laboratory, including Fred Mueller of the superconductivity technology center and Chris Rose of Darht Physics and Pulsed Power.
Ultraconductus can be applied to create high-voltage cables used to transmit power to homes and businesses around the world, as well as motors and generators that power everything from simple electronics to complex manufacturing systems, or for electrical wires used in cell phones and televisions to specialized devices in which the tensile strength of copper or aluminum conductors is insufficient.
The technology can also be applied to magnetic storage devices that enable the use of alternative energy sources that require enhanced grid stability and use wind, solar, or other intermittent energy sources. One of the major benefits of using Ultraconductus-produced cables is that it yields annual energy savings of approximately 150 billion kilowatt-hours of energy and an associated $15 billion in cost savings by replacing just one-half of existing high-voltage cables with Ultraconductus-produced cables. Additionally, there is no need for expensive cooling to achieve ultraconductivity, and it creates lighter-weight, smaller cross-section conductors that greatly reduce the infrastructure needed to support heavy cabling.
Jacqueline Shen is a communications specialist at Los Alamos National Laboratory.
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