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Full-Text Articles in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology
Zirconium Diboride, Hexagonal Boron Nitride, And Amorphous Alumina Thin Films For High Temperature Applications, David Murdock Stewart
Zirconium Diboride, Hexagonal Boron Nitride, And Amorphous Alumina Thin Films For High Temperature Applications, David Murdock Stewart
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
The use of microelectronic sensors and actuators in harsh, high temperature environments, such as power plants, turbine engines, and industrial manufacturing, could greatly improve the safety, reliability, and energy efficiency of these processes. The primary challenge in implementing this technology is the breakdown and degradation of thin films used in fabricating these devices when exposed to high temperatures >800 °C and oxidizing atmospheres. Zirconium diboride, hexagonal boron nitride, and amorphous alumina are candidate materials for use as thin film sensor components due to their high melting temperatures and stable phases. Zirconium diboride thin films have metallic-like electrical conductivity and remain …
Inter-Droplet Membranes For Mechanical Sensing Applications, Nima Tamaddoni Jahromi
Inter-Droplet Membranes For Mechanical Sensing Applications, Nima Tamaddoni Jahromi
Doctoral Dissertations
This dissertation combines self-assembly phenomena of amphiphilic molecules with soft materials to create and characterize mechanoelectrical transducers and sensors whose sensing elements are thin-film bioinspired membranes comprised of phospholipids or amphiphilic polymers. We show that the structures of these amphiphilic molecules tune the mechanical and electrical properties of these membranes. We show that these properties affect the mechanoelectrical sensing characteristic and range of operation of these membrane transducers. In the experiments, we construct and characterize a membrane-based hair cell embodiment that enables the membrane to be responsive to mechanical perturbations of the hair. The resulting oscillations of membranes formed between …