Engineering Science and Materials Commons^™

Deformation Correlations And Machine Learning: Microstructural Inference And Crystal Plasticity Predictions, Michail Tzimas

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

The present thesis makes a connection between spatially resolved strain correlations and material processing history. Such correlations can be used to infer and classify prior deformation history of a sample at various strain levels with the use of Machine Learning approaches. A simple and concrete example of uniaxially compressed crystalline thin films of various sizes, generated by two-dimensional discrete dislocation plasticity simulations is examined. At the nanoscale, thin films exhibit yield-strength size effects with noisy mechanical responses which create an interesting challenge for the application of Machine Learning techniques. Moreover, this thesis demonstrates the prediction of the average mechanical responses …

Surface And Interface Characterization Of Solution-Processed Metal Oxides And Pedot:Pss Using Photoelectron Spectroscopy, Lynette M. Kogler

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Solution-processed materials are appealing for use in printable electronics as a means to lower production costs, but precise control of the process is crucial for achieving the desired properties in the final materials and their interfaces. Electronic interface properties depend on both the involved materials and their fabrication processes, impacting the development and commercialization of these materials. Analyzing the chemical and electronic structure of these materials, particularly at the surfaces and interfaces, is important not only for insuring that the materials have the desired properties, but also for understanding the effects of the fabrication process and how to modify properties …

Spectroscopic Investigation Of The Chemical And Electronic Properties Of Chalcogenide Materials For Thin-Film Optoelectronic Devices, Kimberly Horsley

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Chalcogen-based materials are at the forefront of technologies for sustainable energy production. This progress has come only from decades of research, and further investigation is needed to continue improvement of these materials.

For this dissertation, a number of chalcogenide systems were studied, which have applications in optoelectronic devices, such as LEDs and Photovoltaics. The systems studied include Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGSe) and CuInSe2 (CISe) thin-film absorbers, CdTe-based photovoltaic structures, and CdTe-ZnO nanocomposite materials. For each project, a sample set was prepared through collaboration with outside institutions, and a suite of spectroscopy techniques was employed to answer specific questions about the system. These …

Structure And Electronic Properties Of Pure And Nitrogen Doped Nanocrystalline Tungsten Oxide Thin Films, Vemnkata Rama Sesha Ravi Kumar Vemuri

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Tungsten oxide (WO₃) is a multifunctional material which has applications in electronics, sensors, optoelectronics, and energy-related technologies. Recently, electronic structure modification of WO₃ to design novel photocatalysts has garnered significant attention. However, a fundamental understanding of nitrogen induced changes in the structure, morphology, surface/interface chemistry, and electronic properties of WO₃ is a prerequisite to producing materials with the desired functionality and performance. Also, understanding the effect of thermodynamic and processing variables is highly desirable in order to derive the structure-property relationships in the W-O/W-O-N material system. The present work was, therefore, focused on studying the effects …

Structural, Optical And Electrical Properties Of Yttrium-Doped Hafnium Oxide Nanocrystalline Thin Films, Abhilash Kongu

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Hafnium oxide (HfO2) has emerged as the most promising high-k dielectric for Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor (MOS) devices and has been highlighted as the most suitable dielectric materials to replace silicon oxide because of its comprehensive performance. In the present research, yttrium-doped HfO2 (YDH) thin films were fabricated using RF magnetron sputter deposition onto Si (100) and quartz with a variable thickness. Cross-sectional scanning electron microscopy coupled with Filmetrics revealed that film thickness values range from 700 A° to 7500 A°. Electrical properties such as AC Resistivity and current-voltage (I-V) characteristics of YDH films were studied. YDH films that were relatively thin (<1500 A°) crystallized in monoclinic phase while thicker films crystallized in cubic phase. The band gap (Eg) of the films was calculated from the optical measurements. The band gap was found to be ∼5.60 eV for monoclinic while it is ∼6.05 eV for cubic phase of YDH films. Frequency dependence of the electrical resistivity (ρac) and the total conductivity of the films were measured. Resistivity decreased (by three orders of magnitude) with increasing frequency from 100 Hz to 1 MHz, attributed due to the hopping mechanism in YDH films. Whereas, while ρac∼1Ω-m at low frequencies (100 Hz), it decreased to ∼ 104 Ω-cm at higher frequencies (1 MHz). Aluminum (Al) metal electrodes were deposited to fabricate a thin film capacitor with YDH layer as dielectric film thereby employing Al-YDH-Si capacitor structure. The results indicate that the capacitance of the films decrease with increasing film thickness. A detailed analysis of the electrical characteristics of YDH films is presented.

A Study Of Wo3 And W0.95ti0.05o3 Thin Films Using Comparative Spectroscopy, James Heyward Howard

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Tungsten oxide (WO3) is important and well-studied in materials science, particularly for sensor applications. In this research work, we consider the innovation of adding Ti to thin films of this material. Since the characteristics of any such material are strongly dependent on the conditions and methods used in its deposition, the main objective of this project is to provide a detailed spectroscopic characterization by Raman scattering, infrared absorption, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) of WO3 and of W0.95Ti0.05O3. This characterization will be based on comparison of the morphology and composition of WO3-based thin films, grown by radio frequency magnetron reactive …

Electronic And Structural Properties Of Molybdenum Thin Films As Determined By Real Time Spectroscopic Ellipsometry, J. D. Walker, H. Khatri, V. Ranjan, Jian Li, R. W. Collins, S. Marsillac

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Walker, J.D., Khatri, H., Ranjan, V., Li, J., Collins, R.W., & Marsillac, S. (2009). Electronic and structural properties of molybdenum thin films as determined by real-time spectroscopic ellipsometry. Applied Physics Letters, 94(14). doi: 10.1063/1.3117222