Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Physics Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Articles 31 - 60 of 287

Full-Text Articles in Physics

Nanoscale Surface Patterning And Applications: Using Top-Down Patterning Methods To Aid Bottom-Up Fabrication, Anthony Craig Pearson Aug 2012

Nanoscale Surface Patterning And Applications: Using Top-Down Patterning Methods To Aid Bottom-Up Fabrication, Anthony Craig Pearson

Theses and Dissertations

Bottom-up self-assembly can be used to create structures with sub-20 nm feature sizes or materials with advanced electrical properties. Here I demonstrate processes to enable such self-assembling systems including block copolymers and DNA origami, to be integrated into nanoelectronic devices. Additionally, I present a method which utilizes the high stability and electrical conductivity of graphene, which is a material formed using a bottom-up growth process, to create archival data storage devices. Specifically, I show a technique using block copolymer micelle lithography to fabricate arrays of 5 nm gold nanoparticles, which are chemically modified with a single-stranded DNA molecule and used …


Curious Growth Of A Buried Sio2 Layer, Thomas O. Mcconkie Aug 2012

Curious Growth Of A Buried Sio2 Layer, Thomas O. Mcconkie

Theses and Dissertations

Initial investigation of Moxtek wire grid polarizers composed of Al and coated with SiO2 - SiX - SiO2 (where SiX is used to indicate a Si rich layer whose complete composition is not to be disclosed for proprietary reasons) showed a growth of 3x in the inner (closest to Al) SiO2 layer after baking. Upon removing the X and varying rib composition and layering composition and geometries in 12 sets of before and after samples, no obvious growth was observed. Even baking the original unbaked sample yielded no growth. Our data suggest that the initial conclusion of buried oxide growth …


Quantum Dynamics Using Lie Algebras, With Explorations In The Chaotic Behavior Of Oscillators, Ryan Thomas Sayer Aug 2012

Quantum Dynamics Using Lie Algebras, With Explorations In The Chaotic Behavior Of Oscillators, Ryan Thomas Sayer

Theses and Dissertations

We study the time evolution of driven quantum systems using analytic, algebraic, and numerical methods. First, we obtain analytic solutions for driven free and oscillator systems by shifting the coordinate and phase of the undriven wave function. We also factorize the quantum evolution operator using the generators of the Lie algebra comprising the Hamiltonian. We obtain coupled ODE's for the time evolution of the Lie algebra parameters. These parameters allow us to find physical properties of oscillator dynamics. In particular we find phase-space trajectories and transition probabilities. We then search for chaotic behavior in the Lie algebra parameters as a …


Array-Based Characterization Of Military Jet Aircraft Noise, David William Krueger Jul 2012

Array-Based Characterization Of Military Jet Aircraft Noise, David William Krueger

Theses and Dissertations

Since the 1950s the jet aeroacoustics community has been involved in predicting and measuring the noise distribution in jets. In this work, cylindrical and planar Fourier near-field acoustical holography are used to investigate radiation from a full-scale, installed jet engine. Practical problems involving measurement aperture and the highly directional nature of the source are addressed. Insights from numerical simulations reveal usable reconstruction regions. A comparison of cylindrical and planar NAH for the respective measurement apertures shows cylindrical NAH outperforms planar NAH on reconstructions both towards and away from the source.


Analog Feedback Control Of Broadband Fan Noise, Cole Victor Duke Jul 2012

Analog Feedback Control Of Broadband Fan Noise, Cole Victor Duke

Theses and Dissertations

Active noise control (ANC) has been implemented using analog filters to reduce broadband noise from a small axial cooling fan. Previous work successfully attenuated narrow-band, tonal portions of the noise using a digital controller. The practical performance limits of this system were reached and it was desirable to attenuate the noise further. Additional research, therefore, sought to attenuate broadband noise from the fan using a digital controller, but performance was limited by the group delay inherent in the digital signal processor (DSP). Current research attempts to further attenuate broadband noise and improve performance of the system by combining the tonal …


Active Noise Control Of A Centrifugal Fan Mounted In A Mock Laptop Enclosure, John J. Esplin Jun 2012

Active Noise Control Of A Centrifugal Fan Mounted In A Mock Laptop Enclosure, John J. Esplin

Theses and Dissertations

Noise from information technology (IT) equipment is a significant problem in today's modern society. Active Noise Control (ANC) has shown promise in reducing the effect of IT fan noise on users. Though ANC has been applied to axial fans (such as those found in desktop computers), it has not been applied to centrifugal fans, such as those found in laptop computers. This work applies an ANC method to a centrifugal fan mounted in a mock laptop enclosure. This method is applied in four steps. First, secondary sources are placed in the vicinity of the fan. Second, an accurate model of …


Electron Microscopy Characterization Of Vanadium Dioxide Thin Films And Nanoparticles, Felipe Rivera Mar 2012

Electron Microscopy Characterization Of Vanadium Dioxide Thin Films And Nanoparticles, Felipe Rivera

Theses and Dissertations

Vanadium dioxide (VO_2) is a material of particular interest due to its exhibited metal to insulator phase transition at 68°C that is accompanied by an abrupt and significant change in its electronic and optical properties. Since this material can exhibit a reversible drop in resistivity of up to five orders of magnitude and a reversible drop in infrared optical transmission of up to 80%, this material holds promise in several technological applications. Solid phase crystallization of VO_2 thin films was obtained by a post-deposition annealing process of a VO_{x,x approx 2} amorphous film sputtered on an amorphous silicon dioxide (SiO_2) …


Measurement Of Plasma Density In A Gas-Filled Ionizing Laser Focus, Nathan Edward Heilmann Feb 2012

Measurement Of Plasma Density In A Gas-Filled Ionizing Laser Focus, Nathan Edward Heilmann

Theses and Dissertations

We use an interferometric method for measuring the plasma density in a laser-induced plasma as a function of time. Any changes in the density within 5 ns of generation is due plasma expansion and not recombination. The analytic solution for plasma expansion derived for ultracold Neutral Plasmas describes the expansion of our laser produced Neon plasma of densities up to approximately 40 Torr. A model for the utlracold neutral plasmas, in comparison with measurements of our plasmas, can be used to extract an electron temperature. Currently our plasmas have shown to have an electron temperature of approximately 44 eV.


Ground-State Characterizations Of Systems Predicted To Exhibit L11 Or L13 Crystal Structures, Lance J. Nelson, Gus L. W. Hart, Stefano Curtarolo Feb 2012

Ground-State Characterizations Of Systems Predicted To Exhibit L11 Or L13 Crystal Structures, Lance J. Nelson, Gus L. W. Hart, Stefano Curtarolo

Faculty Publications

Despite their geometric simplicity, the crystal structures L11 (CuPt) and L13 (CdPt3) do not appear as ground states experimentally, except in Cu-Pt. We investigate the possibility that these phases are ground states in other binary intermetallic systems, but overlooked experimentally. Via the synergy between high-throughput and cluster-expansion computational methods, we conduct a thorough search for systems that may exhibit these phases and calculate order-disorder transition temperatures when they are predicted. High-throughput calculations predict L11 ground states in the systems Ag-Pd, Ag-Pt, Cu-Pt, Pd-Pt, Li-Pd, Li-Pt and L13 ground states in the systems Cd-Pt, Cu-Pt, Pd-Pt, Li-Pd, Li-Pt. Cluster expansions confirm …


Stable Ordered Structures Of Binary Technetium Alloys From First Principles, Gus L. W. Hart, Ohad Levy, Junkai Xue, Shidong Wang, Stefano Curtarolo Jan 2012

Stable Ordered Structures Of Binary Technetium Alloys From First Principles, Gus L. W. Hart, Ohad Levy, Junkai Xue, Shidong Wang, Stefano Curtarolo

Faculty Publications

Technetium, element 43, is the only radioactive transition metal. It occurs naturally on earth in only trace amounts. Experimental investigation of its possible compounds is thus inherently difficult and limited. Half of the Tc-transition-metal systems (14 out of 28) are reported to be phase separating or lack experimental data. Using high-throughput first-principles calculations, we present a comprehensive investigation of the binary alloys of technetium with the transition metals. The calculations predict stable, ordered structures in nine of these 14 binary systems. They also predict additional compounds in all nine known compound-forming systems and in two of the five systems reported …


Ordered Phases In Ruthenium Binary Alloys From High-Throughput First-Principles Calculations, Gus L. W. Hart, Lance J. Nelson, Michal Jahnátek, Ohad Levy, Roman V. Chepulskii, J. Xue, Stephano Curtarolo Dec 2011

Ordered Phases In Ruthenium Binary Alloys From High-Throughput First-Principles Calculations, Gus L. W. Hart, Lance J. Nelson, Michal Jahnátek, Ohad Levy, Roman V. Chepulskii, J. Xue, Stephano Curtarolo

Faculty Publications

Despite the increasing importance of ruthenium in numerous technological applications, e.g., catalysis and electronic devices, experimental and computational data on its binary alloys are sparse. In particular, data are scant on those binary systems believed to be phase-separating. We performed a comprehensive study of ruthenium binary systems with the 28 transition metals, using high-throughput first-principles calculations. These computations predict novel unsuspected compounds in 7 of the 16 binary systems previously believed to be phase-separating and in two of the three systems reported with only a high-temperature σ phase. They also predict a few unreported compounds in five additional systems and …


Development Of A Strontium-87 Ion Interferometer, Christopher Joseph Erickson Dec 2011

Development Of A Strontium-87 Ion Interferometer, Christopher Joseph Erickson

Theses and Dissertations

I present the construction of a low-velocity intense source (LVIS) of laser-cooled neutral strontium using permanent ring magnets. The LVIS consists of a magneto-optical trap from which cold strontium is extracted in a well-collimated beam. I also present the development and implementation of a full suite of low-noise, high-bandwidth laser control electronics including a microcontroller unit. This microcontroller remotely controls and monitors the current driver, temperature controller, and PID lock circuit for each diode laser simultaneously. The current driver output is accurate to within 2 micro-amps and repeatable to with a few nano-amps. The noise spectral density of the current …


Electron Screening And Disorder-Induced Heating In Ultracold Neutral Plasmas, Mary Elizabeth Lyon Dec 2011

Electron Screening And Disorder-Induced Heating In Ultracold Neutral Plasmas, Mary Elizabeth Lyon

Theses and Dissertations

Disorder-induced heating (DIH) is a nonequilibrium, ultrafast relaxation process that occurs when laser-cooled atoms are photoionized to make an ultracold plasma. Its effects dominate the ion motion during the first 100 ns of the plasma evolution. Using tools of atomic physics we study DIH with ns time resolution for different plasma densities and temperatures. By changing the frequency of the laser beam we use to probe the ions, we map out the time evolution of the velocity distribution. We can compare this to a fluorescence simulation in order to more clearly determine the relationship between the fluorescence signal and the …


A Search For And Characterization Of Young Stellar Objects In N206, An H Ii Complex In The Large Magellanic Cloud, Tabitha Christi Buehler Dec 2011

A Search For And Characterization Of Young Stellar Objects In N206, An H Ii Complex In The Large Magellanic Cloud, Tabitha Christi Buehler

Theses and Dissertations

I have identified 51 young stellar object candidates in N206, an H II complex in the nearby Large Magellanic Cloud galaxy. Using archival images from the Spitzer Space Telescope, supplemented with other infrared and optical images, I located point sources in this region. I distinguished possible young stellar objects based on their spectral energy distributions, morphologies, and locations in color-magnitude space. I classified the young stellar object candidates based on their likelihood of being young stellar objects and based on their apparent evolutionary stages. The spatial distribution of these candidates in N206 indicates that star formation is being triggered …


Fabrication And Application Of Vertically Aligned Carbon Nanotube Templated Silicon Nanomaterials, Jun Song Oct 2011

Fabrication And Application Of Vertically Aligned Carbon Nanotube Templated Silicon Nanomaterials, Jun Song

Theses and Dissertations

A process, called carbon nanotube templated microfabrication (CNT-M) makes high aspect ratio microstructures out of a wide variety of materials by growing patterned vertically aligned carbon nanotubes (VACNTs) as a framework and then infiltrating various materials into the frameworks by chemical vapor deposition (CVD). By using the CNT-M procedure, a partial Si infiltration of carbon nanotube frameworks results in porous three dimensional microscale shapes consisting of silicon-carbon nanotube composites. The addition of thin silicon shells to the vertically aligned CNTs (VACNTs) enables the fabrication of robust silicon nanostructures with edibility to design a wide range of geometries. Nanoscale dimensions are …


Guiding The Experimental Discovery Of Magnesium Alloys, Richard H. Taylor, Gus L. W. Hart, Stefano Curtarolo Aug 2011

Guiding The Experimental Discovery Of Magnesium Alloys, Richard H. Taylor, Gus L. W. Hart, Stefano Curtarolo

Faculty Publications

Magnesium alloys are among the lightest structural materials known and are of considerable technological interest. To develop superior magnesium alloys, experimentalists must have a thorough understanding of the concentration-dependent precipitates that form in a given system, and hence, the thermodynamic stability of crystal phases must be determined. This information is often lacking but can be supplied by first-principles methods. Within the high-throughput framework, AFLOW, T = 0 K ground-state predictions are made by scanning a large set of known candidate structures for thermodynamic (formation energy) minima. The following 34 systems are investigated: AlMg, AuMg, CaMg, CdMg, CuMg, FeMg , GeMg, …


On The Measurement Of Angular Dependent Sound Transmission Through Airborne Supercritical Plates, Matthew D. Shaw Aug 2011

On The Measurement Of Angular Dependent Sound Transmission Through Airborne Supercritical Plates, Matthew D. Shaw

Theses and Dissertations

A method of measuring angular dependence of acoustic transmission through supercritical plates in air is discussed. The coincidence effect occurs in a supercritical plate when the component of the acoustic wave number parallel to the plate matches the bending wave number in the plate. The transmission of sound is a maximum at the angle where this trace wave number matching occurs. The theory of the coincidence effect is well-defined for unbounded thin plates using plane-wave excitation. However, experimental results for finite plates are known to diverge from theory, especially near grazing angles. An experimental setup has been developed in order …


Scaling Carbon Nanotube Localization By Floating Potential Dielectrophoresis: An Enabling Geometry, Brian S. Davis Aug 2011

Scaling Carbon Nanotube Localization By Floating Potential Dielectrophoresis: An Enabling Geometry, Brian S. Davis

Theses and Dissertations

Dielectrophoresis has been used as a technique for the parallel localization and alignment of both semiconducting and metallic carbon nanotubes (CNTs) at junctions between electrodes. A variation of this technique known as Floating Potential Dielectrophoresis (FPD) allows for a self-limiting number of CNTs to be localized at each junction, on a massively parallel scale. However, the smallest FPD geometries to date are restricted to conductive substrates and have a lower limit on floating electrode size. We present a geometry which eliminates this lower limit and enables FPD to be performed on non-conducting substrates. We also discuss experiments clarifying the self-limiting …


Photoemission By Large Electron Wave Packets Emitted Out The Side Of A Relativistic Laser Focus, Eric Flint Cunningham Jul 2011

Photoemission By Large Electron Wave Packets Emitted Out The Side Of A Relativistic Laser Focus, Eric Flint Cunningham

Theses and Dissertations

There are at least two common models for calculating the photoemission of accelerated electrons. The 'extended-charge-distribution' method uses the quantum probability current (multiplied by the electron charge) as a source current for Maxwell's equations. The 'point-like-emitter' method treats the electron like a point particle instead of like a diffuse body of charge. Our goal is to differentiate between these two viewpoints empirically. To do this, we consider a large electron wave packet in a high-intensity laser field, in which case the two viewpoints predict measurable photoemission rates that differ by orders of magnitude. Under the treatment of the 'extended-charge-distribution' model, …


Photoemission From A Laser-Driven Electron Wave Packet, John Purvis Corson Jun 2011

Photoemission From A Laser-Driven Electron Wave Packet, John Purvis Corson

Theses and Dissertations

We use quantum electrodynamics (QED) to investigate the possibility of radiative interference from a single laser-driven electron wave packet. Intuition gleaned from classical electrodynamics suggests that radiation from a large electron wave packet might interfere destructively when different regions of the packet oscillate out of phase with each other. We show that when the incident light is represented with a multi-mode coherent state, the relative phases of the electron's constituent momenta have no influence of the amount of scattered light. Hence, the radiation does not depend on the amount of free-particle spreading experienced by the electron before the interaction. This …


Polymer Molded Templates For Nanostructured Amorphous Silicon Photovoltaics, Lei Pei, Amy Balls, Cary Tippets, Jonathan Abbott, Matthew R. Linford, David D. Allred, Richard R. Vanfleet, Robert C. Davis, Jian Hu, Arun Madan Apr 2011

Polymer Molded Templates For Nanostructured Amorphous Silicon Photovoltaics, Lei Pei, Amy Balls, Cary Tippets, Jonathan Abbott, Matthew R. Linford, David D. Allred, Richard R. Vanfleet, Robert C. Davis, Jian Hu, Arun Madan

Faculty Publications

Here, the authors report the fabrication of transparent polymer templates for nanostructured amorphous silicon photovoltaics using low-cost nanoimprint lithography of polydimethylsiloxane. The template contains a square two-dimensional array of high-aspect-ratio nanoholes (300 nm diameter by 1 µm deep holes) on a 500X500 nm^2 pitch. A 100 nm thick layer of a-Si:H was deposited on the template surface resulting in a periodically nanostructured film. The optical characterization of the nanopatterned film showed lower light transmission at 600-850 nm wavelengths and lower light reflection at 400-650 nm wavelengths, resulting in 20% higher optical absorbance at AM 1.5 spectral irradiance versus a nonpatterned …


Impact Of A Finite-Temperature Equation Of State On Neutron Stars, Christian D. Draper Mar 2011

Impact Of A Finite-Temperature Equation Of State On Neutron Stars, Christian D. Draper

Theses and Dissertations

In this research, we study how a finite-temperature nuclear equation of state suitable for astrophysical simulations impacts the oscillation modes of neutron stars. We chose the Shen equation of state (EOS) because it accurately describes both stable and unstable nuclei as well as nuclear incompressibilities. I modified the existing MHD code at BYU, the HAD code, to call a lookup table for the Shen EOS for use at run time, and added a Newton-Raphson method algorithm to convert conserved variables to primitive variables. The algorithm was tested and verified by evolving a stable neutron star for several dynamical times and …


High-Quality Broadband Bvri Photometry Of Benchmark Open Clusters, Michael Deloss Joner Mar 2011

High-Quality Broadband Bvri Photometry Of Benchmark Open Clusters, Michael Deloss Joner

Theses and Dissertations

Photometric techniques are often used to observe stars and it can be demonstrated that fundamental stellar properties can be observationally determined using calibrated sets of photometric data. Many of the most powerful techniques utilized to calibrate stellar photometry employ the use of stars in clusters since the individual stars are believed to have many common properties such as age, composition, and approximate distance. Broadband photometric Johnson/Cousins BVRI observations are presented for several nearby open clusters. The new photometry has been tested for consistency relative to archival work and shown to be both accurate and precise. The careful use of a …


Time-Series Observations Of The High Mass X-Ray Binary 4u 2206+54 To Monitor Light Variation, Jessica Lynn Bugno Mar 2011

Time-Series Observations Of The High Mass X-Ray Binary 4u 2206+54 To Monitor Light Variation, Jessica Lynn Bugno

Theses and Dissertations

The high mass X-ray binary 4U 2206+54 has been a very controversial system due to variability in spectral data as well as photometric data. We, at Brigham Young University, have been observing this system in multiple filters with several telescopes. This thesis presents our methods of observations, reductions, and results. It also compares what we have been detecting to other groups looking at the same target in different wavelengths. Furthermore, this thesis discusses some of the peculiarities of 4U 2206+54 and possible theories to explain these phenomena. Based on our photometric observations for the past three years, we believe the …


Comparison Of H-Alpha And H-Beta Temperature Indices In The Hyades And Coma Star Clusters And Selected H-Beta Standard Stars, Miriam Anne West Dec 2010

Comparison Of H-Alpha And H-Beta Temperature Indices In The Hyades And Coma Star Clusters And Selected H-Beta Standard Stars, Miriam Anne West

Theses and Dissertations

Using the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory's 1.2-m McKellar Telescope, we have obtained spectra on 81 stars from the Hyades Cluster, the Coma Cluster, and selected H-beta standard stars. These spectra cover from 4500 Å to 6900 Å which includes both the H-β and H-α absorption lines. The H-β absorption line has a long history of being used as a temperature index and more recently, calibration of an H-α index has been established for photometric observations. Through spectrophotometric comparison of temperature indices from the H-α and H-β absorption lines we find the expected strong correlation between photometric indices based on the strength …


Generalized Acoustic Energy Density And Its Applications, Buye Xu Sep 2010

Generalized Acoustic Energy Density And Its Applications, Buye Xu

Theses and Dissertations

The properties of acoustic kinetic energy density and total energy density of sound fields in lightly damped enclosures have been explored thoroughly in the literature. Their increased spatial uniformity makes them more favorable measurement quantities for various applications than acoustic potential energy density (or squared pressure), which is most often used. In this dissertation, a new acoustic energy quantity, the generalized acoustic energy density (GED), will be introduced. It is defined by introducing weighting factors, α and 1 − α, in the formulation of total acoustic energy density. With the additional degree of freedom, the GED can conform to the …


Acoustical Analysis Of A Horn-Loaded Compression Drivers Using Numerical Analysis, Daniel Ross Tengelsen Aug 2010

Acoustical Analysis Of A Horn-Loaded Compression Drivers Using Numerical Analysis, Daniel Ross Tengelsen

Theses and Dissertations

Two numerical techniques, the boundary-element method (BEM) and the finite-difference method (FDM), are used for simulating the radiation from horn-loaded compression drivers and from an infinitely-baffled, finite-length pipe. While computations of the horn-loaded compression driver are in steady state, transient analysis of the finite-length pipe is studied as a precursor to transient analysis within the horn-loaded compression driver. BEM numerical simulations show promise for the development of new designs. Numerical simulations serve as a good tool for time and cost-effective prototyping as poor designs are detected before they are built.


Temperature And Variability Of Three Ionian Volcanoes, Daniel R. Allen Aug 2010

Temperature And Variability Of Three Ionian Volcanoes, Daniel R. Allen

Theses and Dissertations

Cassini spacecraft images of Io obtained during its flyby of Jupiter in late 2000 and early 2001 were used to determine the lava composition and eruption style of three faint hotspots, Pillan, Wayland, and Loki. We found a maximum color temperature of 1130+/-289 K for Pillan and maximum color temperatures of 1297+/-289 K and 1387+/-287 K for Wayland and Loki, respectively. These temperatures are suggestive of basaltic lava. The temperatures with the best signal-to-noise ratios also suggested basaltic lava and were found to be 780+/-189 K, 1116+/-250 K, and 1017+/-177 K for Pillan, Wayland, and Loki, respectively. Pillan showed increased …


Prediction And Study Of Binary Alloys Using First-Principles Methods, Richard Hansen Taylor Ii Jul 2010

Prediction And Study Of Binary Alloys Using First-Principles Methods, Richard Hansen Taylor Ii

Theses and Dissertations

The utility of first-principles methods in the study and prediction of binary alloys is showcased by three detailed studies. In particular, the T = 0K cluster expansion methodology in conjunction with finite temperature statistical modeling by a Monte Carlo method is used to study two systems of practical interest, Mg-Li (magnesium-lithium) and Rh-W (rhodium-tungsten). Also, an empirically-informed, high-throughput approach to crystal structure prediction is shown by a study of the Pt$_8$Ti (the Pietrokowsky phase) phase and a broad and detailed analysis of binary Mg-X phases in 39 systems (X=Ag, Al, Au, Ca, Cd, Cu, Fe, Ga, Ge, Hf, Hg, In, …


Charged, Rotating Black Holes In Higher Dimensions, Christopher Bruce Verhaaren Jul 2010

Charged, Rotating Black Holes In Higher Dimensions, Christopher Bruce Verhaaren

Theses and Dissertations

We present a method for solving the Einstein-Maxwell equations in a five dimensional, asymptotically flat, black hole spacetime with three commuting Killing vector fields. In particular, we show that by reducing the dimension of the Einstein-Maxwell equations in a Kaluza-Klein like manner we can determine the components of the metric and vector potential which lie in the direction of the Killing vector fields. These components are determined by nine scalar fields each of which satisfy a partial differential equation in two variables. These equations take the form of an elliptic operator set equal to a nonlinear source. We find evidence …