Physics Commons^™

Grand Challenges In Low Temperature Plasmas, Xinpei Lu, Peter J. Bruggeman, Stephan Reuter, George Naidis, Annemie Bogaerts, Mounir Laroussi, Michael Keidar, Eric Robert, Jean-Michel Pouvesle, Dawei Liu, Kostya (Ken) Ostrikov

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Low temperature plasmas (LTPs) enable to create a highly reactive environment at near ambient temperatures due to the energetic electrons with typical kinetic energies in the range of 1 to 10 eV (1 eV = 11600K), which are being used in applications ranging from plasma etching of electronic chips and additive manufacturing to plasma-assisted combustion. LTPs are at the core of many advanced technologies. Without LTPs, many of the conveniences of modern society would simply not exist. New applications of LTPs are continuously being proposed. Researchers are facing many grand challenges before these new applications can be translated to practice. …

Transient Behavior Of Drift And Ionization In Atmospheric Pressure Nitrogen Discharge, S. K. Dhali

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

The fluid models are frequently used to describe a non-thermal plasma such as a streamer discharge. The required electron transport data and rate coefficients for the fluid model are parametrized using the local field approximation (LFA) in first order models and the local-mean-energy approximation (LMEA) in second order models. We performed Monte Carlo simulations in Nitrogen gas with step changes in the E/N (reduced electric field) to study the behavior of the transport properties in the transient phase. During the transient phase of the simulation, we extract the instantaneous electron mean energy, which is different from the steady state mean …

High Voltage Design And Evaluation Of Wien Filters For The Cebaf 200 Kev Injector Upgrade, Gabriel Palacios-Serrano, Helmut Baumgart, C. Hernández-García, P. Adderley, J. Benesch, D. Bullard, J. Grames, A. Hofler, D. Machie, M. Poelker, M. Stutzman, R. Suleiman

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

High-energy nuclear physics experiments at the Jefferson Lab Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility (CEBAF) require highly spin-polarization electron beams, produced from strained super-lattice GaAs photocathodes, activated to negative electron affinity in a photogun operating at 130 kV dc. A pair of Wien filter spin rotators in the injector defines the orientation of the electron beam polarization at the end station target. An upgrade of the CEBAF injector to better support the upcoming MOLLER experiment requires increasing the electron beam energy to 200 keV, to reduce unwanted helicity correlated intensity and position systematics and provide precise control of the polarization orientation. …

Interface Model Of Pem Fuel Cell Membrane Steady-Dtate Behavior, Russell L. Edwards, Ayodeji Demuren

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Faculty Publications

Modeling works which simulate the proton-exchange membrane fuel cell with the computational fluid dynamics approach involve the simultaneous solution of multiple, interconnected physics equations for fluid flows, heat transport, electrochemical reactions, and both protonic and electronic conduction. Modeling efforts vary by how they treat the physics within and adjacent to the membrane-electrode assembly (MEA). Certain approaches treat the MEA not as part of the computational domain, but rather an interface connecting the anode and cathode computational domains. These approaches may lack the ability to consistently model catalyst layer losses and MEA ohmic resistance. This work presents an upgraded interface formulation …

The 3d Stress-Tensor Bootstrap, Anatoly Dymarsky, Filip Kos, Petr Kravchuk, David Poland, David Simmons-Duffin

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

We study the conformal bootstrap for 4-point functions of stress tensors in parity-preserving 3d CFTs. To set up the bootstrap equations, we analyze the constraints of conformal symmetry, permutation symmetry, and conservation on the stress-tensor 4-point function and identify a non-redundant set of crossing equations. Studying these equations numerically using semidefinite optimization, we compute bounds on the central charge as a function of the independent coefficient in the stress-tensor 3-point function. With no additional assumptions, these bounds numerically reproduce the conformal collider bounds and give a general lower bound on the central charge. We also study the effect of gaps …

Three Dimensional View Of Arbitrary Q Syk Models, Sumit R. Das, Aminik Ghosh, Antal Jevicki, Kenta Suzuki

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

In [15] it was shown that the spectrum and bilocal propagator of SYK model with four fermion interactions can be realized as a three dimensional model in AdS₂ ×S¹/Z₂ with nontrivial boundary conditions in the additional dimension. In this paper we show that a similar picture holds for generalizations of the SYK model with q-fermion interactions. The 3D realization is now given on a space whose metric is conformal to AdS₂ × S¹/Z₂ and is subject to a non-trivial potential in addition to a delta function at the center of …

Universality Of Fast Quenches From The Conformal Perturbation Theory, Anatoly Dymarsky, Michael Smolkin

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

We consider global quantum quenches, a protocol when a continuous field theoretic system in the ground state is driven by a homogeneous time-dependent external interaction. When the typical inverse time scale of the interaction is much larger than all relevant scales except for the UV-cutoff the system’s response exhibits universal scaling behavior. We provide both qualitative and quantitative explanations of this universality and argue that physics of the response during and shortly after the quench is governed by the conformal perturbation theory around the UV fixed point. We proceed to calculate the response of one and two-point correlation functions confirming …

Probing The Wave Nature Of Light-Matter Interaction, D. E. Boone, C. H. Jackson, A. T. Swecker, J. S. Hergenrather, K. S. Wenger, O. Kokhan, Balša Terzić, I. Melnikov, I. N. Ivanov, E. C. Stevens, G. Scarel

Physics Faculty Publications

The wave-particle duality of light is a controversial topic in modern physics. In this context, this work highlights the ability of the wave-nature of light on its own to account for the conservation of energy in light-matter interaction. Two simple fundamental properties of light as wave are involved: its period and its power P. The power P depends only on the amplitude of the wave’s electric and magnetic fields (Poynting’s vector), and can easily be measured with a power sensor for visible and infrared lasers. The advantage of such a wave-based approach is that it unveils unexpected effects of light’s …

Resilient And Real-Time Control For The Optimum Management Of Hybrid Energy Storage Systems With Distributed Dynamic Demands, Christopher R. Lashway

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A continuous increase in demands from the utility grid and traction applications have steered public attention toward the integration of energy storage (ES) and hybrid ES (HESS) solutions. Modern technologies are no longer limited to batteries, but can include supercapacitors (SC) and flywheel electromechanical ES well. However, insufficient control and algorithms to monitor these devices can result in a wide range of operational issues. A modern day control platform must have a deep understanding of the source. In this dissertation, specialized modular Energy Storage Management Controllers (ESMC) were developed to interface with a variety of ES devices. The EMSC provides …

Ionic Thermoelectric Paper, Fei Jiao, Ali Naderi, Dan Zhao, Joshua Schlueter, Maryam Shahi, Jonas Sundström, Hjalmar Granberg, Jesper Edberg, Ujwala Ail, Joseph W. Brill, Tom Lindström, Magnus Berggren, Xavier Crispin

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

Ionic thermoelectric materials, for example, polyelectrolytes such as polystyrene sulfonate sodium (PSSNa), constitute a new class of materials which are attracting interest because of their large Seebeck coefficient and the possibility that they could be used in ionic thermoelectric SCs (ITESCs) and field effect transistors. However, pure polyelectrolyte membranes are not robust or flexible. In this paper, the preparation of ionic thermoelectric paper using a simple, scalable and cost-effective method is described. After a composite was fabricated with nanofibrillated cellulose (NFC), the resulting NFC–PSSNa paper is flexible and mechanically robust, which is desirable if it is to be used in …

Hardware Design Theory (Using Raspberry Pi), Anthony Kelly, Thomas Blum Dr.

Undergraduate Research

The concept for this research proposal is focused on achieving three main objectives:

1) To understand the logic and design behind the Raspberry Pi (RbP) mini-computer model, including: all hardware components and their functions, the capabilities [and limits] of the RbP, and the circuit engineering for these components.

2) To be able to, using the Python high-level language, duplicate, manipulate, and create RbP projects ranging from basic user-input and response systems to the theories behind more intricate and complicated observatory sensors.

3) Simultaneously, in order to combine a mutual shared interest of History and to blend in work done within …

Quantum Dot Band Gap Investigations, John Ryan Peterson

Student Works

Improving solar panel efficiency has become increasingly important as the world searches for cheap renewable energy. Recent developments in the industry have focused on multi-layer cells, some of which use semiconducting dyes to absorb light in place of crystalline solids. In this paper, I characterize various dyes recently synthesized for use in solar panels. These dyes contain semiconducting nanoparticles enclosed primarily by the protein ferritin to limit particle size. The band gaps were measured using either optical absorption spectroscopy or measuring the photoluminescence spectrum, depending on the type of semiconductor. The results indicate that both manganese oxide and lead sulfide …

An Organic Mixed Ion-Electron Conductor For Power Electronics, Abdellah Malti, Jesper Edberg, Hjalmar Granberg, Zia Ullah Khan, Jens W. Andreasen, Xianjie Liu, Dan Zhao, Hao Zhang, Yulong Yao, Joseph W. Brill, Isak Engquist, Mats Fahlman, Lars Wågberg, Xavier Crispin, Magnus Berggren

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

A mixed ionic–electronic conductor based on nanofibrillated cellulose composited with poly(3,4-ethylene-dioxythio­phene):­poly(styrene-sulfonate) along with high boiling point solvents is demonstrated in bulky electrochemical devices. The high electronic and ionic conductivities of the resulting nanopaper are exploited in devices which exhibit record values for the charge storage capacitance (1F) in supercapacitors and transconductance (1S) in electrochemical transistors.

Temporary Bonding With Polydimethylglutarimide Based Lift Off Resist As A Layer Transfer Platform, T. Matsumae, A. D. Koehler, J. D. Greenlee, T. J. Anderson, H. Baumgart, G. G. Jernigan, K. D. Hobart, F. J. Kub

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Bonding of lift off resist (LOR) was performed to realize temporary wafer bonding without residue. Bonding process conditions such as spin speed, pre-bake temperature, and bonding temperature were optimized to obtain a large bonded area with high bond strength. Under optimized process conditions, a bonded area covering over 98% of the wafer surface, with a room temperature bond strength of nearly 5 J/m² is achieved. During razor blade testing, fracture often occurs at the Si wafer. Moreover, debonding using an N-Methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP)-based solvent left the wafer surface extremely small amount of residue. Thus, the optimized bonding processed developed in …

A Prototype Microwave Cavity Control Circuit For Use In Next Generation Free Electron Laser, Josh Thompson, Peter Neal Barrina, Jiayi Jiang, Joe Frisch, Steve Smith, Daniel Van Winkle

STAR Program Research Presentations

One of the current programs at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory is the Linac Coherent Light Source, or LCLS. Using the existing hardware of the last third of their linear accelerator (or “linac”), SLAC has created one of the most energetic X-ray free electron lasers (or “FEL”). Since 2009, LCLS has used this FEL to perform a wide range of experiments across all sciences, most notably ultrafast filming at the molecular scale. As requests for beam-time with this laser increases, SLAC is purposing a linac upgrade to better match this demand. This upgrade, named LCLS-II, will replace existing copper radio frequency …

Experimental Determination Of Electron-Hole Pair Creation Energy In 4h-Sic Epitaxial Layer: An Absolute Calibration Approach, S. K. Chaudhuri, K. J. Zavalla, K. C. Mandal

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

In Situ And Ex Situ Studies Of Molybdenum Thin Films Deposited By Rf And Dc Magnetron Sputtering As A Back Contact For Cigs Solar Cells, K. P. Aryal, H. Khatri, R. W. Collins, S. Marsillac

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Molybdenum thin films were deposited by rf and dc magnetron sputtering and their properties analyzed with regards to their potential application as a back contact for CIGS solar cells. It is shown that both types of films tend to transition from tensile to compressive strain when the deposition pressure increases, while the conductivity and the grain size decreas. The nucleation of the films characterized by in situ and real time spectroscopic ellipsometry shows that both films follow a Volmer-Weber growth, with a higher surface roughness and lower deposition rate for the rf deposited films. The electronic relaxation time was then …

Coupled Photonic Crystal Micro-Cavities With Ultra-Low Threshold Power For Stiumulated Raman Scattering, Qiang Liu, Zhengbiao Ouyang, Sacharia Albin

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

We propose coupled cavities to realize a strong enhancement of the Raman scattering. Five sub cavities are embedded in the photonic crystals. Simulations through finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method demonstrate that one cavity, which is used to propagate the pump beam at the optical-communication wavelength, has a Q factor as high as 1.254 × 10⁸ and modal volume as small as 0.03μm³ (0.3192(λ/n)³). These parameters result in ultra-small threshold lasing power ~17.7nW and 2.58nW for Stokes and anti-Stokes respectively. The cavities are designed to support the required Stokes and anti-Stokes modal spacing in silicon. The proposed structure …

Cuin1-Xalxse2 Thin Films And Solar Cells, P. D. Paulson, M. W. Haimbodi, S. Marsillac, R. W. Birkmire, W. N. Shafarman

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

CuIn[sub 1-x]Al[sub x]Se[sub 2] thin films are investigated for their application as the absorber layer material for high efficiency solar cells. Single-phase CuIn[sub 1-x]Al[sub x]Se[sub 2] films were deposited by four source elemental evaporation with a composition range of 0≤x≤0.6. All these films demonstrate a normalized subband gap transmission >85% with 2 µm film thickness. Band gaps obtained from spectroscopic ellipsometry show an increase with the Al content in the CuIn[sub 1-x]Al[sub x]Se[sub 2] film with a bowing parameter of 0.62. The structural properties investigated using x-ray diffraction measurements show a decrease in lattice spacing as the Al content increases. …

High-Efficiency Solar Cells Based On Cu(Inal)Se[Sub 2] Thin Films, S. Marsillac, P. D. Paulson, M. W. Haimbodi, R. W. Birkmire, W. N. Shafarman

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

A Cu(InAl)Se₂solar cell with 16.9% efficiency is demonstrated using a Cu(InAl)Se₂thin film deposited by four-source elemental evaporation and a device structure of glass/Mo/Cu(InAl)Se₂/CdS/ZnO/indium tin oxide/(Ni/Algrid)/MgF₂. A key to high efficiency is improved adhesion between the Cu(InAl)Se₂ and the Mo back contact layer, provided by a 5-nm-thick Ga interlayer, which enabled the Cu(InAl)Se₂ to be deposited at a 530 °C substrate temperature. Film and device properties are compared to Cu(InGa)Se₂ with the same band gap of 1.16 eV. The solar cells have similar behavior, with performance limited by recombination through …

Low‐Cost Technique For Preparing N‐Sb2S3/P‐Si Heterojunction Solar Cells, O. Savadogo, K. C. Mandal

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.