Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Spectroscopic End Point Detection With An Electron Beam Evaporator, Ryan Mcgraw

University Honors Theses

Spectroscopic end point detection is a common tool used for measuring slope changes in wavelength intensity. Using algorithms able to apply this concept, coatings will be able to be dynamically measured in real time and stopped at the appropriate level to ensure process uniformity. It is currently applied to reductive processes such as etching, where the surface will start to be eaten away, creating a plasma. When the entire amount of a material on a substrate has been eaten away, the plasma will change color as it is beginning to etch a different material. Using a spectrometer, this point where …

Birkhoff Summation Of Irrational Rotations: A Surprising Result For The Golden Mean, Heather Moore

University Honors Theses

This thesis presents a surprising result that the difference in a certain sums of constant rotations by the golden mean approaches exactly 1/5. Specifically, we focus on the Birkhoff sums of these rotations, with the number of terms equal to squared Fibonacci numbers. The proof relies on the properties of continued fraction approximants, Vajda's identity and the explicit formula for the Fibonacci numbers.

Understanding Waveguides In Resonance, Pieter Johannes Daniel Vandenberge

Dissertations and Theses

Several important classes of modern optical waveguides, including anti-resonant reflecting and photonic bandgap fibers, make use of geometries that guide energy in low refractive index material, a property that makes them of significant interest in numerous applications, notably including high-power delivery and guidance. These waveguides frequently exhibit resonance phenomena, in which their ability to propagate an input signal is sharply curtailed at particular operating frequencies. In this work we detail new advances in understanding these resonance effects and their implications for numerical modeling of these structures.

Part 1 focuses on the fields of slab waveguides, relatively simple structures for which …

Supply Is Not Limulus: Research Review Of Horseshoe Crab Conservation In The Face Of Intense Pharmaceutical Demand, Zoya Galeev

University Honors Theses

Horseshoe crabs are being used by the pharmaceutical industry to conduct endotoxin tests using LAL derived from the organism’s blood to ensure safe medical practice. Their annual collection and bleeding, while not always leading to mortality, affects horseshoe crab behavior and health. This research seeks to understand how the American horseshoe crab, L. polyphemus, is being used by pharmaceutical agencies and the implications that their harvesting has on the industry and the conservation of the species. Studies were collected from the past decade across two databases, Web of Science (WOS) and PubMed, to assess present conservation techniques to reduce …

Mmwave Rat Optimization: Mac Layer Initial Access Design And Transport Layer Integration, Suresh Srinivasan

Dissertations and Theses

MmWave Radio Access Technology (RAT) is a promising technology for wireless communication due its large bandwidth and is already being deployed in 5G cellular and emerging WiFi technologies. MmWave systems use highly directional beams with narrow beamwidths to overcome the high path loss associated with their frequency bands. A mmWave radio can be used either in a standalone mode (where all radios use the same technology) or simultaneously with other technologies such as LTE and low frequency WiFi in a communication mode commonly referred to as integrated mode. This thesis proposes two methods to optimize mmWave RAT performance in both …