Physics Commons^™

Investigating The Influence Of Interface And Vacancy Defects On The Growth Of Silicon Quantum Dots In Sio2, John Phelan

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The effects of interface and vacancy defects on silicon quantum dot (Si-QD) growth are investigated using measurements of Time Resolved Photoluminescence (TRPL), Photoluminescence (PL) Spectroscopy and Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR). Thermally grown SiO₂ thin films (280nm) were irradiated with high energy (400keV – 1MeV) silicon ions in order to introduce defects into the Si-QD growth layer of SiO₂. A noticeable increase in PL emission intensity is seen with the highest energy pre-implanted sample over a single implant sample. TRPL results show increased radiative lifetimes for the lower energy (400keV) pre-implant while little or no difference is seen …

The Study Of Nanophotonic Switching Mechanisms In Photonic And Metallic Heterostructures, Joel Cox

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

In this thesis, nanophotonic switching mechanisms and light-matter interactions are explored in photonic and metallic heterostructures and nanocomposites. These heterostructures are made using various combinations of photonic crystals (PCs), quantum dots (QDs), and graphene or metal nanoparticles (MNPs).

PC heterostructures are formed by combining different PCs so that photons in a specific energy range can propagate in certain regions along one direction and cannot propagate in others. This band structure engineering is used to form photonic quantum wells (PQWs) that have discrete energy states along one dimension. By simulating the photon transmission along the direction of confinement, resonant photon tunnelling …

On The Physical Explanation For Quantum Computational Speedup, Michael Cuffaro

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The aim of this dissertation is to clarify the debate over the explanation of quantum speedup and to submit, for the reader’s consideration, a tentative resolution to it. In particular, I argue that the physical explanation for quantum speedup is precisely the fact that the phenomenon of quantum entanglement enables a quantum computer to fully exploit the representational capacity of Hilbert space. This is impossible for classical systems, joint states of which must always be representable as product states. I begin the dissertation by considering, in Chapter 2, the most popular of the candidate physical explanations for quantum speedup: the …

The Study Of Optoelectronics In Semiconductor And Metallic Nanoparticle Hybrid Systems, Daniel G. Schindel

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This thesis examines optoelectronics of photonic crystals and photonic nanofibers, especially with quantum dots and metallic nanoparticles doped into them. The simulations produced focus on the quantum dots, which are presented in an ensemble of 3-level systems.

In order to consider a photonic nanofiber in isolation, a model was developed for the density of photonic states. We studied two profiles, a square cross-section and a circular cross-section. In addition, we consider two architectures, one where a photonic crystal surrounds a dielectric fiber, and one where the fiber is another photonic crystal. We found several photonic nanofibers with a single bound …