amounts to a laser version of a radar gun a laser velocimeter
system to measure the speed of tiny metal particles shooting toward the work surface during Cold Spray
deposition.
(Photo by Randy Montoya)
Happy birthday! MTI satellite
is one year old
Paul Robinson paper
considers nuclear
weapons policy for a
new century
Sandia Senior Scientist Jeff Brinkers paper on nano-
structures that report on their environment by changing
color is being published this week in the journal
Nature. Above, colorless transparent nanostructure
films change colors as conditions they are exposed to
change. See the story on page 5.
Do nuclear weapons still have a role to play in
US national security? Does the nations nuclear
stockpile as it is now configured provide the range
of deterrent options needed in the post-Cold War
era? For that matter, does US policy regarding
nuclear weapons reflect the 21st century threat in
all its many dimensions?
These questions or variations of them are
part of a policy debate that has been going on in
the highest levels of the nations national security
establishment since the Manhattan Project. After
several decades during which the answers seemed
mostly settled and agreed upon, the questions
have taken on a new urgency. The dissolution of
the Soviet Union, the proliferation of nuclear
weapons among nations not necessarily friendly to
the US, the emergence of rogue states and sub-state
groups with the potential to threaten US interests
with weapons of mass destruction (chemical, bio-
logical, radiological, and nuclear) these develop-
ments have added new levels of complexity that
make the strategic calculations of the Cold War era
seem almost simple by comparison.
Now, Labs Director C. Paul Robinson has
weighed in publicly with a white paper offering his
voice to the debate. The paper, Pursuing a New
Nuclear Weapons Policy for the 21st Century, rep-
By Bill Murphy
New ALEGRA software code v. 4.0 released;
models Z machine events, nuclear environments
Kevin Flemings stunning wood art will be
showcased at Smithsonians annual craft show
5
12
Extreme excitement: Celebration
marks EUVL microchip milestone
California site hosts industry-labs-government dignitaries and
media; event marks huge step toward next-generation microchips
It seems that EUV is winning out, Craig
Barrett, president and CEO of Intel Corp.,
observed at a big celebration event at Sandias
California site last week.
EUV, extreme ultraviolet lithography, is
being developed through an industry-funded
consortium by Sandia, Lawrence Livermore,
and Lawrence Berkeley national laboratories as
a way to create ever-finer features on
microchips. (See April 6 Lab News for a four-
page retrospective on the entire research pro-
ject and partnership.)
When it was first made feasible in the 1990s,
Barrett said at the April 11 event held in the Com-
bustion Research Facility auditorium, EUV lithog-
raphy was perhaps one of the dark horses
among competing potential approaches under
consideration for next-generation chip-making
lithography. Now, he said, it has become more
the leading horse in the race.
A new approach is needed because the cur-
rent chip-printing technique, traditional optical
lithography, is hitting a physical limit around
2005 and wont be able to continue increasing
functionality by doubling the number of transis-
tors that can be etched on a sliver of silicon every
18 months or so a pace the semiconductor
industry has enjoyed since the 1960s.
In the last four years, an industry consor-
By Nancy Garcia
Sandia is studying the science of splat.
Working with a consortium of eight US
companies that includes automakers and air-
craft engine manufacturers, researchers at
Sandias Thermal Spray Research Laboratory are
using experimental and computer-modeling
capabilities to improve the worlds fundamental
scientific understanding of an emerging
manufacturing technique called Cold Spray (Lab News, Jan. 26, 2001).
Cold Spray involves injecting microscopic
powdered particles of metal or other solids into a
supersonic jet of rapidly expanding gas and
shooting them at a target surface. When these
10- to 50-micron-wide particles hit the substrate,
they splat so hard they stick like a bug to a
windshield.
Building a reputation
Consortium members want to use new Cold
Spray processes refined at Sandia to create wear-
resistant coatings on car- or aircraft-engine com-
ponents, for instance, or to deposit layers of reac-
tive metals such as aluminum or copper onto
substrates for use as heat-tolerant circuits.
The Sandians ultimately want to employ suc-
cessfully commercialized Cold Spray processes,
which originated, ironically, at a Soviet-era
research lab in Siberia, to improve US nuclear
weapons components. (See The promise of Cold
By John German
The Multispectral Ther-
mal Imager (MTI) satel-
lite, developed by a
Sandia-led team, was
launched last March.
To celebrate the
anniversary, the Lab
News is pleased to pub-
lish three of the satel-
lites most memorable
images in color. See
them on pages 6-7. Some 300 government officials and foreign
affairs experts representing the United Nations,
NATO, and more than 40 countries will gather in
Albuquerque this weekend, April 20-22, to discuss
the threat of chemical, biological, and nuclear
weapons and the policies needed to control them.
The 11th Annual International Arms Control
Conference, hosted by National Security Programs
Div. 5000, will feature panel discussions on:
New Paradigms in Arms Control: Offense
versus Defense
US-Russia Cooperative Efforts in Threat
Reduction: Lessons Learned and Future Concerns
The Century of Biology: Implications for
Global Security and Arms Control
Getting the Democratic Peoples Republic of
Korea Out of the Proliferation Game
Homeland Defense: Is It Real?
Keynote addresses will be given by Gen.
Charles Boyd (ret.), Executive Director, U.S. Com-
mission on National Security/21st Century; and
Amb. Wolfgang Hoffmann, Executive Secretary,
Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Organization.
Labs President Paul Robinson and VP-5000
Roger Hagengruber also will speak.
This conference brings together key leaders
and policymakers in the arms control and nonpro-
liferation communities to discuss issues that are of
concern to nations around the world, says confer-
ence chair Jim Brown (5325). Previous confer-
ences have allowed for a creative exchange of ideas
and have resulted in valuable relationships among
some of the worlds top arms control and nonpro-
liferation experts.
Sandia to host 11th
International Arms
Control Conference
New longevity leader Technical staffer Merrill Jones (5743) now
has the Sandia record for most years of service. Merrill has worked here
52.7 years, breaking the old record of 52.2 established by Roy Crumley,
who retired in late 1999.
Ten more Sandians have been at the Labs 43 years or more (with
organization numbers and years of service in parentheses, current as of
April 5): Horace Poteet (5933, 49.4), Donald Robbins (2993, 48.5), Gordon
Boettcher (2616, 47.7), Donald Lewis (12332, 45.7), Ben Sedlack (2954,
44.7), Alfred Foster (15413, 44.5), Robert Foster (2544, 43.8), Harold
Spahr (9115, 43.8), Diana Mares (3341, 43.3), and Mary James (10501, 43.1).
Thanks to Bonnie Vigil (3051) for providing this information.
* * *
Husband/wife record? Checking the list above reminded me that a
Sandia husband/wife team whose pictures were in the last issue will retire
with a whopping combined 77-plus years of service.
George Kolesar (5744), who officially retires in a few weeks, has
39-plus years, and his wife Mary (retired April 6) had 37-plus. (It totals
more than 77 when their extra months are added in.) Anyone know whether
any other husband/wife team here ever accumulated more total service?
* * *
Big dealing at the CU Someone does a good job training Sandia Lab
Federal Credit Union employees to stay friendly even under trying circum-
stances, such as when typical Sandians count their change twice carefully.
When I visit the CU, I sometimes assume the role of Mr. Trying
Circumstances just to spice up the employees day, but I may have
overdone it recently. When I asked to cash a $50 check at the CU a month
or so ago, a pleasant young teller asked how I wanted the money. I said,
Three twenties would be fine. She smiled, saying, I dont think I can
do that, sir. So I told her I was just kidding and would like my $50 in
shiny new dollar coins. She took a brief look at her cash drawer before
looking up to see whether I was serious. I gave her a sheepish look and
said, OK, Ill be serious now. Just give me a twenty, three tens, and
two fives and Ill get out of your hair. Shed had enough, handing me
two twenties and a ten and said, Thats the best deal youre getting
here today! Ive been back several times since, but havent seen her
again. I may have guided her into a new career.
* * *
A shining light for pensioners Speaking of money, if you read
our April 6 pension story, you know Sandia management will soon have a
new pension plan improvement proposal ready to discuss with Lockheed
Martin and DOE. We hear from quite a few Sandians who are quickly tiring
of pension improvement talk and eager for some action. We promise to keep
you posted about any new developments. In the meantime, keep in mind that
K-Mart has reinstated its blue-light specials, that day-old bread stores
have some fine deals if you get there early, and that if you look hard
enough, you can find some spiffy duds at your local Goodwill store.
Larry Perrine (845-8511, M