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Full-Text Articles in Physics

Multienergetic External-Beam Pixe As A Means Of Stydying The Surface Enrichment Effect In Coins, Scott Evans Perry Jul 2003

Multienergetic External-Beam Pixe As A Means Of Stydying The Surface Enrichment Effect In Coins, Scott Evans Perry

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis paper examines the feasibility of using external-beam PIXE to study the surface enrichment effect in metal artifacts. By varying the energy of the incident proton beam, we penetrated the artifact's surface to different levels and were able to produce a depth profile of the elemental composition of the sample. In this study, the sample set we chose to examine consisted of ancient and modern coins. This paper first describes the surface enrichment effect and theoretically how PIXE can be used to study it. It then details the construction of the components of the external-beam setup. Many of the …


Iteration Methods For Approximating The Lowest Order Energy Eigenstate Of A Given Symmetry For One- And Two-Dimensional Systems, Chad Everett Junkermeier Jun 2003

Iteration Methods For Approximating The Lowest Order Energy Eigenstate Of A Given Symmetry For One- And Two-Dimensional Systems, Chad Everett Junkermeier

Theses and Dissertations

Using the idea that a quantum mechanical system drops to its ground state as its temperature goes to absolute zero several operators are devised to enable the approximation of the lowest order energy eigenstate of a given symmetry; as well as an approximation to the energy eigenvalue of the same order.


Broadening And Shifting Of Atomic Strontium And Diatomic Bismuth Spectral Lines, Jeremy C. Holtgrave May 2003

Broadening And Shifting Of Atomic Strontium And Diatomic Bismuth Spectral Lines, Jeremy C. Holtgrave

Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this research is to study the effects of noble gases on atomic strontium and diatomic bismuth visible transitions, Specifically, this research seeks to determine if the line broadening and, in the case of atomic strontium, line shifting rates of these transitions in the presence of noble gases depend on the total angular momenta of the energy states involved. It has been known for more than a century that atomic and molecular spectral lines are broadened and shifted by perturbing species. While a considerable body of theoretical work has been accomplished on this topic over the years, only …


Spacecraft Charging At Geosynchronous Altitudes: Current Balance And Critical Temperature In A Non-Maxwellian Plasma, Jose T. Harris Mar 2003

Spacecraft Charging At Geosynchronous Altitudes: Current Balance And Critical Temperature In A Non-Maxwellian Plasma, Jose T. Harris

Theses and Dissertations

Spacecraft charging threatens to disable spacecraft components and adversely impact any satellite function. Electrostatic charge, and especially discharge, can hinder the proper operation of, or destroy, spacecraft components, thereby rendering the spacecraft ineffective or inoperative. The level of charging is dependent on the particle energy (speed) distribution. Current spacecraft design and material provide limited protection against the dangers of electrostatic discharge, and active measures such as beam emission are also employed.


Quantum Mechanical Calculations Of Monoxides Of Silicon Carbide Molecules, John W. Roberts Jr. Mar 2003

Quantum Mechanical Calculations Of Monoxides Of Silicon Carbide Molecules, John W. Roberts Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

Modern semiconductor devices are principally made using the element silicon. In recent years, silicon carbide (SiC), with its wide band-gap, high thermal conductivity, and radiation resistance, has shown prospects as a semiconductor material for use in high temperature and radiation environments such as jet engines and satellites. A limiting factor in the performance of many SiC semiconductor components is the presence of lattice defects formed at oxide dielectric junctions during processing. Recent theoretical work has used small quantum mechanical systems embedded in larger molecular mechanics structures to attempt to better understand SiC surfaces and bulk materials and their oxidation. This …


Optical Characterization Of Antimony-Based, Types-I And Ii, Multiple Quantum-Well Semiconductor Structures For Mid-Infrared Laser Applications, Edward G. Ferguson Mar 2003

Optical Characterization Of Antimony-Based, Types-I And Ii, Multiple Quantum-Well Semiconductor Structures For Mid-Infrared Laser Applications, Edward G. Ferguson

Theses and Dissertations

This experiment characterizes antimony-based, multiple quantum-well, types-I and -II, semiconductor samples designed for laser applications. The samples emit light in the 3-5-micron range to exploit an atmospheric transmission window, making them ideal for infrared (IR)-seeking missile countermeasures. Photoluminescence (PL) spectra were collected and yielded bandgap (E(sub g)) dependence-on-temperature relationships. The type-I sample was found to follow the Varshni equation, while the type-II samples showed a rise with temperature in a portion of the curve that should be linear according to the Varshni equation. The type-II samples followed the Varshni equation well at higher temperature. The PL study indicated that the …


Effect Of Multi-Mode Vibration On Signature Estimation Using A Laser Vibration Sensor, Ngoya Pepela Mar 2003

Effect Of Multi-Mode Vibration On Signature Estimation Using A Laser Vibration Sensor, Ngoya Pepela

Theses and Dissertations

A laser vibration sensor (LVS) can be used to determine the vibrational spectrum of targets such as vehicles using heterodyne laser Doppler velocimetry. The vibrational spectra of exterior skin of vehicles are known to have characteristic resonances due to the physical structure driven by motor gears and other moving parts. Each particular class of vehicle has a unique vibrational spectrum. This research shows how a body vibrating in higher order modes has the opportunity to eliminate spectral content of the target's vibrational spectrum while using an LVS to perform spectrum estimation. This is due to roughly equal amounts of laser …


Phasing A Dual Optical Path System Using An Optical Fiber As A Phase Conjugate Mirror, Shawn M. Willis Mar 2003

Phasing A Dual Optical Path System Using An Optical Fiber As A Phase Conjugate Mirror, Shawn M. Willis

Theses and Dissertations

Phase conjugation properties of stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) in a short multimode fiber have been investigated with an eye towards its application for a multi-channel double pass master oscillator power amplifier (MOPA) system. In particular, properties of the SBS beam to compensate for the axial and transverse phase distortion between individual channels in a multi-channel amplifier system were studied. Two optical paths were created by covering half of the laser beam with a microscope slide, and also by spatially splitting the wavefronts with a 4 prism set-up. The Stokes beams that traversed the same optical paths as the pump beams …


Detection Of Special Nuclear Material With High Purity Germanium (Hpge) And Mercuric Iodide (Hgi2) Gamma Detectors, Michael B. Nelson Mar 2003

Detection Of Special Nuclear Material With High Purity Germanium (Hpge) And Mercuric Iodide (Hgi2) Gamma Detectors, Michael B. Nelson

Theses and Dissertations

The Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) contracted for two gamma radiation detectors: mercuric iodide (HgI2) and electromechanically cooled (EMC) high purity germanium (HPGe) to support arms control inspection efforts. This project investigated whether these detectors could measure the quality and quantity of special nuclear material (SNM), particularly Pu-239 for the treaty verification mission. The project investigated two areas of detector capabilities: 1) HgI2 and HPGe detector performance necessary to characterize the quality of plutonium and the presence of shielding materials and 2) HgI2 and EMC HPGe detector performance degradation by high noise levels and EMC HPGe …


Single-Mode Raman Fiber Laser In A Multimode Fiber, Matthew B. Crookston Mar 2003

Single-Mode Raman Fiber Laser In A Multimode Fiber, Matthew B. Crookston

Theses and Dissertations

The feasibility of a transverse single-mode Raman fiber laser using a multimode fiber has been investigated. The Raman fiber laser operates in low-order transverse modes despite the fact the fiber supports multimode beam propagation. The performance characteristics of the Raman fiber laser are compared with those of the single-pass SRS beam.


Building Blocks For Time-Resolved Laser Emission In Mid-Infrared Quantum Well Lasers, Gabriel D. Mounce Mar 2003

Building Blocks For Time-Resolved Laser Emission In Mid-Infrared Quantum Well Lasers, Gabriel D. Mounce

Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this research is to improve the performance of mid-infrared semiconductor quantum-well lasers. Lasers operating in the mid-infrared are useful for many Air Force applications which include infrared (IR) countermeasures in particular. Countermeasure applications require lasers that are compact, and able to emit at high powers while operating at room temperature. Limits to power increases are seen in the transverse modal development of laser oscillation. These modes typically form in the waveguiding active region contributing to the laser output. However, competing modes outside of this region also develop when the confining structural layers have the right characteristics. These …


Afm, Cafm, And Efm Studies Of The Gan System, John C. Dickinson Jan 2003

Afm, Cafm, And Efm Studies Of The Gan System, John C. Dickinson

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis discusses a variety of techniques based on the atomic force microscope (AFM), and their application to the GaN materials system. In particular, the local conductivity and contact potential of surfaces have been measured using the techniques of Conductive AFM (CAFM) and Surface Potential Electric Force Microscopy (SPEFM), respectively. CAFM studies of GaN surfaces have revealed that prismatic planes around islands and pits on surfaces can lead to enhanced conductivity, which may be related to leakage problems in device applications. With regard to SP-EFM work, the change in surface potential associated with inversion domains on Ga-polar GaN has been …