Electronic Devices and Semiconductor Manufacturing Commons^™

Design, Fabrication And Characterization Of Zero Power Sensor/Harvester For Smart Grid Applications, Zeynel Guler

Mechanical Engineering ETDs

This study presents a flexible sensor/harvester device to be used in both electromagnetic sensing and energy harvesting applications for smart grids. When a current passes through a wire, the sensor detects the magnetic field created by that current. The sensor magnet interacts with the wire magnetic field resulting in a transfer of energy through the piezoelectric cantilever. Piezoelectric, conductive, magnetic, and magnetostrictive composite thin films were prepared to fabricate this device.

Initially, the magnet of the cantilever was optimized considering its shape, thickness, length, taper angle etc. via both simulations and experiments. Peak to peak voltage versus cantilever position graph …

Enhancing The Performance Of Poly(3-Hexylthiophene) Based Organic Thin-Film Transistors Using An Interface Engineering Method, Eyob Negussie Tarekegn

All Dissertations

An original design and photolithographic fabrication process for poly(3-hexylthiophene-2, 5-diyl) (P3HT) based organic thin-film transistors (OTFTs) is presented. The structure of the transistors was based on the bottom gate bottom contact OTFT. The fabrication process was efficient, cost-effective, and relatively straightforward to implement. Current–voltage (I-V) measurements were performed to characterize the primary electronic properties of the transistors. The measured mobility of these transistors was significantly higher than most results reported in the literature for other similar bottom gate bottom contact P3HT OTFTs. The higher mobility is explained primarily by the effectiveness of the fabrication process in keeping the interfacial layers …

Brain Inspired Organic Electronic Devices And Systems For Adaptive Signal Processing, Memory, And Learning., Subhadeep Koner

Doctoral Dissertations

A new class of electronic device has emerged which bear the potential for low powered brain like adaptive signal processing, memory, and learning. It is a non-linear resistor with memory coined as memristor. A memristor is a two-terminal electrical device which simultaneously changes its resistance (processing information) and store the resistance state pertaining to the applied power (memory). Therefore, it can collocate memory and processing much like our brain synapse which can save time and energy for information processing. Leveraging stored memory, it can thereby help future engineered systems to learn autonomously from past experiences. There has been a growing …

Cmos Compatible Carbonization Of Polymer For Elctrochemical Sensors, Mohammad Aminul Haque

Doctoral Dissertations

Carbon-based electrodes that are integrable with CMOS readout electrodes possess great potential in a wide range of cutting-edge applications. The primary scientific contribution is the development of a processing sequence which can be implemented on CMOS chips to fabricate pyrolyzed carbon microelectrodes from 3D printed polymer microstructures to develop lab-on-CMOS monolithic electrochemical sensor systems. Specifically, optimized processing conditions to convert 3D printed polymer micro- and nano-structures to carbonized electrodes have been explored in order to obtain sensing electrodes for lab-on- CMOS electrochemical systems. Processing conditions have been identified, including a sequel of oxidative and inert atmosphere anneals to form pyrolyzed …

Investigation Of Optical And Structural Properties Of Gesn Heterostructures, Oluwatobi Gabriel Olorunsola

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Silicon (Si)-based optoelectronics have gained traction due to its primed versatility at developing light-based technologies. Si, however, features indirect bandgap characteristics and suffers relegated optical properties compared to its III-V counterparts. III-Vs have also been hybridized to Si platforms but the resulting technologies are expensive and incompatible with standard complementary-metal-oxide-semiconductor processes. Germanium (Ge), on the other hand, have been engineered to behave like direct bandgap material through tensile strain interventions but are well short of attaining extensive wavelength coverage. To create a competitive material that evades these challenges, transitional amounts of Sn can be incorporated into Ge matrix to form …

Thermoelectric Transport In Disordered Organic And Inorganic Semiconductors, Meenakshi Upadhyaya

Doctoral Dissertations

The need for alternative energy sources has led to extensive research on optimizing the conversion efficiency of thermoelectric (TE) materials. TE efficiency is governed by figure-of-merit (ZT) and it has been an enormously challenging task to increase ZT > 1 despite decades of research due to the interdependence of material properties. Most doped inorganic semiconductors have a high electrical conductivity and moderate Seebeck coefficient, but ZT is still limited by their high lattice thermal conductivity. One approach to address this problem is to decrease thermal conductivity by means of alloying and nanostructuring, another is to consider materials with an inherently low …

Development Of Light Actuated Chemical Delivery Platform On A 2-D Array Of Micropore Structure, Hojjat Rostami Azmand, Hojjat Rostami Azmand

Dissertations and Theses

Localized chemical delivery plays an essential role in the fundamental information transfers within biological systems. Thus, the ability to mimic the natural chemical signal modulation would provide significant contributions to understand the functional signaling pathway of biological cells and develop new prosthetic devices for neurological disorders. In this paper, we demonstrate a light-controlled hydrogel platform that can be used for localized chemical delivery in a high spatial resolution. By utilizing the photothermal behavior of graphene-hydrogel composites confined within micron-sized fluidic channels, patterned light illumination creates the parallel and independent actuation of chemical release in a group of fluidic ports. The …

Growth And Characterization Of Semiconductor Materials And Devices For Extreme Environments Applications, Abbas Sabbar

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Numerous industries require electronics to operate reliably in harsh environments, such as extreme high temperatures (HTs), low temperature (LT), radiation rich environments, multi-extreme, etc. This dissertation is focused on two harsh environments: HT and multi-extreme.

The first study is on HT optoelectronics for future high-density power module applications. In the power modules design, galvanic isolation is required to pass through the gate control signal, reject the transient noise, and break the ground loops. The optocoupler, which consists of a lighting emitting diode (LED) and photodetector (PD), is commonly used as the solution of galvanic isolation at room temperatures. There is …

Fabrication, Characterization And Applications Of Highly Conductive Wet-Spun Pedot:Pss Fibers, Ruben Sarabia Riquelme

Theses and Dissertations--Chemical and Materials Engineering

Smart electronic textiles cross conventional uses to include functionalities such as light emission, health monitoring, climate control, sensing, storage and conversion of energy, etc. New fibers and yarns that are electrically conductive and mechanically robust are needed as fundamental building blocks for these next generation textiles.

Conjugated polymers are promising candidates in the field of electronic textiles because they are made of earth-abundant, inexpensive elements, have good mechanical properties and flexibility, and can be processed using low-cost large-scale solution processing methods. Currently, the main method to fabricate electrically conductive fibers or yarns from conjugated polymers is the deposition of the …

Investigation Of Critical Technologies Of Chemical Vapor Deposition For Advanced (Si)Gesn Materials, Joshua Matthew Grant

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The development of new materials for efficient optoelectronic devices from Group IV elements is the heart of Group IV photonics. This has direct ties to modern technology as the foundation for the electronics industry is silicon. This has driven the development of silicon-based optoelectronics using these other Group IV materials as silicon is a poor optical material due to its indirect band gap when compared to the III-V semiconductors that are used by most of the optoelectronics industry. While efforts have been made to integrate III-V materials onto silicon substrates, the incompatibility with the complementary metal oxide semiconductor process has …

Direct Printing Of Conductive Inks For Organic Electronics And Wearable Microfluidics, Aditi Naik

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation examines the direct printing of conductive inks on polymeric substrates for applications in organic electronics, microfluidic valving systems, and wearable sweat sensors. The inexpensive production of solution-based electrodes with high electrical conductivity is necessary to enable the next-generation of printed, flexible, and organic electronics. Specifically, the optimization and printing of liquid-phase graphene ink and nanoparticle-based silver ink by soft nanoimprint lithography and inkjet-printing is discussed to achieve printed functional devices. Using scalable low-cost patterning systems, these flexible applications are compatible with roll-to-roll processing, enabling large-scale manufacturing. This research expands the knowledge of high-resolution printing optimization for the direct …

Multivariate Analysis For The Quantification Of Transdermal Volatile Organic Compounds In Humans By Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell System, Ahmed Hasnain Jalal

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In this research, a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) sensor was investigated for specific detection of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) for point-of-care (POC) diagnosis of the physiological conditions of humans. A PEMFC is an electrochemical transducer that converts chemical energy into electrical energy. A Redox reaction takes place at its electrodes whereas the volatile biomolecules (e.g. ethanol) are oxidized at the anode and ambient oxygen is reduced at the cathode. The compounds which were the focus of this investigation were ethanol (C₂H₅OH) and isoflurane (C₃H₂ClF₅O), but theoretically, the sensor …

Voltage-Controlled Deposition Of Nanoparticles For Next Generation Electronic Materials, Subhodip Maulik

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This work presents both a feasibility study and an investigation into the voltage-controlled spray deposition of different nanoparticles, namely, carbon nanotubes (CNTs), as well as molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂) and tungsten disulfide (WS₂) from the transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) family of materials. The study considers five different types of substrates as per their potential application to next-generation device electronics. The substrates selected for this research were: 1) aluminum as a conducting substrate, 2) silicon as a semiconducting substrate, 3) glass, silicon dioxide (SiO₂), and syndiotactic poly methyl methacrylate (syndiotactic PMMA) as insulating substrates.

Since the …

A Multi-Channel 3d-Printed Bioreactor For Evaluation Of Growth And Production In The Microalga Dunaliella Sp, Cristian A. Cox

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

We explored the capabilities of additive manufacturing using a photo-cured jetted material 3D printer to manufacture a milli-microfluidic device with direct application in microalgae Dunaliella sp growth and intracellular compounds biosynthesis tests. A continuous microbioreactor for microalgae culture was CAD designed and successfully built in 1 hour and 49 minutes using black photopolymer cured by UV and a support material. The microreactor was made up of 2 parts including the bioreactor itself and a microchannel network for culture media fluids and microalgae. Both parts were assembled to form a single unit. Additional optical and auxiliar components were added. An external …

Interface And Morphology Engineering In Solution-Processed Electronic And Optoelectronic Devices, Sanjib Das

Doctoral Dissertations

The first part of this dissertation focuses on interface and morphology engineering in polymer- and small molecule-based organic solar cells. High-performance devices were fabricated, and the device performance was correlated with nanoscale structures using various electrical, spectroscopic and microscopic characterization techniques, providing guidelines for high-efficiency cell design.

The second part focuses on perovskite solar cells (PSCs), an emerging photovoltaic technology with skyrocketing rise in power conversion efficiency (PCE) and currently showing comparable PCEs with those of existing thin film photovoltaic technologies such as CIGS and CdTe. Fabrication of large-area PSCs without compromising reproducibility and device PCE requires formation of dense, …

Polymer-Based Thermoelectric Devices, Stuart W. Hilsmier, Edward P. Tomlinson, Bryan Boudouris

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Currently, over 50% of all energy generated in the US is lost as waste heat, and thermoelectric generators offer a promising means to recoup some of this energy, if their efficiency is improved. While organic thermoelectric materials lack the efficiency of their inorganic counterparts, they are composed of highly abundant resources and have low temperature processing conditions. Recently, a new class of redox-active polymers, radical polymers, has exhibited high electrical conductivity in an entirely amorphous medium. In addition, these radical polymers have a simple synthetic scheme and can be highly tunable to provide desired electrical properties. In this study, the …

Lunalight - Bringing Light To The Expanding World, Gabriela M. Igel, Daniel J. Patrick, Kimberley M. Smith

Materials Engineering

The LunaLight, a solar rechargeable light and cell phone charger, addresses the lack of access to electricity faced by 1.4 billion of the world’s population (International Finance Corporation). The LunaTech team has developed a product that is bright, simple, compact, versatile and competitive with existing products. Through a partnership with the non-profit organization One Million Lights, LunaTech has improved a previous team’s design to address user feedback, concerns of durability, and manufacturability.

The LunaLight design includes a 5 component plastic housing held together by 4 screws, a surface mounted PCB, a lithium-ion (Li-Ion) battery, one high-brightness LED, a solar panel, …

Response Characterization Of Electroactive Polymers As Mechanical Sensors, G. Alici, Geoffrey M. Spinks, J. D. Madden, Y. Wu, G G. Wallace

Gursel Alici

The characterization of the dynamic response (including transfer function identification) of trilayer polypyrrole (PPy) type conducting polymer sensors is presented. The sensor was built like a cantilever beam with the free end stimulated through a mechanical lever system, which provided displacement inputs. The voltage generated and current passing between the two outer PPy layers as a result of the input was measured to model the output/input behavior of the sensors based on their experimental current/displacement and voltage/displacement frequency responses. We specifically targeted the low-frequency behavior of the sensor as it is a relatively slowsystem. Experimental transfer function models were generated …

Response Characterization Of Electroactive Polymers As Mechanical Sensors, G. Alici, Geoffrey M. Spinks, J. D. Madden, Y. Wu, G G. Wallace

Gordon Wallace

The characterization of the dynamic response (including transfer function identification) of trilayer polypyrrole (PPy) type conducting polymer sensors is presented. The sensor was built like a cantilever beam with the free end stimulated through a mechanical lever system, which provided displacement inputs. The voltage generated and current passing between the two outer PPy layers as a result of the input was measured to model the output/input behavior of the sensors based on their experimental current/displacement and voltage/displacement frequency responses. We specifically targeted the low-frequency behavior of the sensor as it is a relatively slowsystem. Experimental transfer function models were generated …

Response Characterization Of Electroactive Polymers As Mechanical Sensors, G. Alici, Geoffrey M. Spinks, J. D. Madden, Y. Wu, G G. Wallace

Faculty of Engineering - Papers (Archive)

The characterization of the dynamic response (including transfer function identification) of trilayer polypyrrole (PPy) type conducting polymer sensors is presented. The sensor was built like a cantilever beam with the free end stimulated through a mechanical lever system, which provided displacement inputs. The voltage generated and current passing between the two outer PPy layers as a result of the input was measured to model the output/input behavior of the sensors based on their experimental current/displacement and voltage/displacement frequency responses. We specifically targeted the low-frequency behavior of the sensor as it is a relatively slowsystem. Experimental transfer function models were generated …