Nanoscience and Nanotechnology Commons^™

Peridynamic Model For Dynamic Fracture In Unidirectional Fiber-Reinforced Composites, Wenke Hu, Youn Doh Ha, Florin Bobaru

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

We propose a computational method for a homogenized peridynamics description of fiber-reinforced composites and we use it to simulate dynamic brittle fracture and damage in these materials. With this model we analyze the dynamic effects induced by different types of dynamic loading on the fracture and damage behavior of unidirectional fiber-reinforced composites. In contrast to the results expected from quasi-static loading, the simulations show that dynamic conditions can lead to co-existence of and transitions between fracture modes; matrix shattering can happen before a splitting crack propagates. We observe matrix–fiber splitting fracture, matrix cracking, and crack migration in the matrix, including …

Magnetoplasmon Resonance In A Two-Dimensional Electron System Driven Into A Zero-Resistance State, A. T. Hatke, M. A. Zudov, J. D. Watson, Michael J. Manfra

Birck and NCN Publications

We report on a very strong, and a rather sharp, photoresistance peak originating from a dimensional magnetoplasmon resonance (MPR) in a high-mobility GaAs/AlGaAs quantum well driven by microwave radiation into a zero-resistance state (ZRS). The analysis of the MPR signal reveals a negative background, providing experimental evidence for the concept of absolute negative resistance associated with the ZRS. When the system is further subject to a dc field, the maxima of microwave-induced resistance oscillations decay away and the system reveals a state with close-to-zero differential resistance. The MPR peak, on the other hand, remains essentially unchanged, indicating robust Ohmic behavior …

Field Emission Of Thermally Grown Carbon Nanostructures On Silicon Carbide, Jonathon M. Campbell

Theses and Dissertations

CNTs are known to be excellent field emitter due to their unique physical and electrical properties. Because of their semi-metallic nature, CNT do not suffer the thermal runaway found in metallic emitters, and their near one-dimension shape make them an ideal emission sources. CNTs growth by thermal decomposition of silicon carbide does not utilize a catalyst, therefore relatively defect free. One drawback to this method, however is that the CNT grow in a very dense carpet. This very dense CNT carpet comes under the affect of field emission screening effects which dampen the field emission. In this thesis, silicon carbide …

Multidimensional Spectroscopy Of Semiconductor Quantum Dots, Jason Michael Bylsma

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The coherent properties of semiconductor nanostructures are inherently difficult to measure and one-dimensional spectroscopies are often unable to separate inhomogeneous and homogeneous linewidths. We have refined and improved a method of performing multidimensional Fourier transform spectroscopy based on four-wave

mixing (FWM) experiments in the box geometry. We have modified our system with broadband beamsplitters in all interferometer arms, high-resolution translation stages and the ability to work in reflection geometry. By improving the phase-stability of our setup and scanning pulse delays with sub-optical cycle precision, we are able to

reproduce 2DFT spectra of GaAs multiple quantum wells. With the FWM signal …

Design Of Three-Well Indirect Pumping Terahertz Quantum Cascade Lasers For High Optical Gain Based On Nonequilibrium Green's Function Analysis, Tao Liu, Tillmann Kubis, Qi Jie Wang, Gerhard Klimeck

Birck and NCN Publications

The nonequilibrium Green's function approach is applied to the design of three-well indirect pumping terahertz (THz) quantum cascade lasers (QCLs) based on a resonant phonon depopulation scheme. The effects of the anticrossing of the injector states and the dipole matrix element of the laser levels on the optical gain of THz QCLs are studied. The results show that a design that results in a more pronounced anticrossing of the injector states will achieve a higher optical gain in the indirect pumping scheme compared to the traditional resonant-tunneling injection scheme. This offers in general a more efficient coherent resonant-tunneling transport of …

Enhanced Optical Nonlinearity In Beta-Agvo3 Nanobelts On Decoration With Ag Nanoparticles, Manas R. Parida, C. Vijayan, Chandra Sekhar Rout, C.S. Suchand Sandeep, Reji Philip

Birck and NCN Publications

This paper reports on the optical nonlinearity of beta-AgVO3 nanobelts and the modification in the physical mechanisms of nonlinear response on decorating with silver nanoparticles. The nanobelts are synthesized by a hydrothermal technique and characterized using SEM, TEM, and XRD etc. The nanobelts are found to exhibit large nonlinear optical absorption as revealed by open Z-scan measurements using 5 ns laser pulses at 532 nm. Nonlinearity appears to be arising from a combination of mechanisms of two photon absorption and saturable absorption (SA). Decoration with Ag nanoparticles is found to enhance the saturable absorption and alter the coefficient of nonlinear …

Theory Of Charging And Charge Transport In “Intermediate” Thickness Dielectrics And Its Implications For Characterization And Reliability, Sambit Palit, Muhammad A. Alam

Birck and NCN Publications

Thin film dielectrics have broad applications, and the performance degradation due to charge trapping in these thin films is an important and pervasive reliability concern. It has been presumed since the 1960s that current transport in intermediate-thickness (IT) oxides (∼10–100 nm) can be described by Frenkel-Poole (FP) conduction (originally developed for ∼mm-thick films) and algorithms based on the FP theory can be used to extract defect energy levels and charging-limited lifetime. In this paper, we review the published results to show that the presumption of FP-dominated current in IT oxides is incorrect, and therefore, the methods to extract trap-depths to …

Metal Oxide Graphene Nanocomposites For Organic And Heavy Metal Remediation, Tanvir E. Alam

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis consists of two research problems in the water decontamination area. In the first work, the main focus is to understand the structure and photocatalytic activity of titanium dioxide with graphene (G-TiO2) which is synthesized by using sol-gel method. The photocatalytic activity of TiO2 is limited by the short electron hole pair recombination time. Graphene, with high specific surface area and unique electronic properties, can be used as a good support for TiO2 to enhance the photocatalytic activity. The obtained G-TiO2 photocatalysts has been characterized by X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Raman Spectroscopy, Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), FTIR Spectroscopy and Ultraviolet …

Dynamics Of Surface-Coupled Microcantilevers In Force Modulation Atomic Force Microscopy - Magnetic Vs. Dither Piezo Excitation, Xin Xu, Marisol Koslowski, Arvind Raman

Birck and NCN Publications

Force modulation atomic force microscopy is widely used for mapping the nanoscale mechanical properties of heterogeneous or composite materials using low frequency excitation of a microcantilever scanning the surface. Here we show that the excitation mode - magnetic or dither piezo, has a major influence on the surface-coupled microcantilever dynamics. Not only is the observed material property contrast inverted between these excitation modes but also the frequency response of the surface-coupled cantilever in the magnetic mode is near-ideal with a clear resonance peak and little phase distortion thus enabling quantitative mapping of the local mechanical properties. (C) 2012 American Institute …

Electrochemical Fabrication Of The Ordered Polyaniline Nanowires Array, Yan-Xin Gao, Li-Chao Sun, Su-Yuan Xie, Kang Shi

Journal of Electrochemistry

The effects of electrochemical fabrication methods in different aniline concentrations on the morphologies of polyaniline, which was polymerized on the aligned-multi-walled carbon nanotubes electrode in H₂SO₄ or HClO₄ electrolyte solution, were investigated. It was demonstrated that the polyaniline nanowires would not be prepared by cyclic voltammotry, whereas the nanowires could be obtained by the potentiostatic method without forming the ordered array. Only when the aniline concentration in HClO₄ solution was high enough, the ordered polyaniline nanowires array could be fabricated by the constant current method.

Ag Nanoparticles Self-Assembled Films On Iron Surface And Their Inhibition Properties, Zhe Zhang, Ming-Zi Jia, Le Ruan

Journal of Electrochemistry

The Ag nanoparticles were prepared in aqueous solutions through a chemical reduction method and transferred from water phase to toluene phase with the protection of 1-dodecanethiol (DDT). The polished iron electrode was immersed in the DDT-protected metal nanoparticles toluene solutions to form DDT/Ag nanoparticles self-assembled mixed films. Electrochemical methods such as electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and polarization curve measurement were used to study the inhibition properties of the self-assembled films in the 0.5 mol·L^-1 H₂SO₄ solution. The appearance of elements such as S and Ag from the XPS data identified the presences of DDT and Ag nanoparticles.

Collective Nature Of The Reentrant Integer Quantum Hall States In The Second Landau Level, N. Deng, A. Kumar, Michael J. Manfra, L. N. Pfeiffer, K. W. West, Gabor A. Csathy

Birck and NCN Publications

We report an unexpected sharp peak in the temperature dependence of the magnetoresistance of the reentrant integer quantum Hall states in the second Landau level. This peak defines the onset temperature of these states. We find that in different spin branches the onset temperatures of the reentrant states scale with the Coulomb energy. This scaling provides direct evidence that Coulomb interactions play an important role in the formation of these reentrant states evincing their collective nature.

Direct Measurements And Numerical Simulations Of Gas Charging In Microelectromechanical System Capacitive Switches, A. Venkattraman, A. Garg, Dimitrios Peroulis, Alina A. Alexeenko

Birck and NCN Publications

Gas breakdown in microelectromechanical system capacitive switches is demonstrated using high resolution current measurements and by particle-in-cell/Monte Carlo collision (PIC/MCC) simulations. Measurements show an electric current through a 3 mu m air gap increasing exponentially with voltage, starting at 60 V. PIC/MCC simulations with Fowler-Nordheim [Proc. R. Soc. London, Ser. A 119, 173 (1928)] field emission reveal self-sustained discharges with significant ion enhancement and a positive space charge. The effective ion-enhanced field emission coefficient increases with voltage up to about 0.3 with an electron avalanche occurring at 159 V. The measurements and simulations demonstrate a charging mechanism for microswitches consistent …

Synthesis And Characterization Of Nanocomposites For Electrochemical Capacitors, Farah Alvi

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Presently there are deep concerns over the environmental consequences and the consumption of non-renewable energy sources, with the accelerated greenhouse effect, triggered enormous interest in the use of renewable energy sources e.g., solar, hydropower, wind and geothermal. However the intermittent nature of harvesting renewable energy sources has recently gained considerable attention in the alternative reliable, cost effective, and environmentally friendly energy storage devices. The supercapacitor and lithium ion batteries are considered more efficient electrical energy storage devices than conventional energy storage systems.

Both devices have many useful and important applications; they could be an excellent source for high power and …

Photonically Enhanced Flow Boiling In A Channel Coated With Carbon Nanotubes, Arun S. Kousalya, Chad N. Hunter, Shawn A. Putnam, Timothy Miller, Timothy S. Fisher

Birck and NCN Publications

High heat dissipation rates are enabled by multi-phase cooling schemes owing to latent heat uptake. We demonstrate enhanced flow boiling from a carbon nanotube (CNT)-coated copper surface exposed to low-intensity ultraviolet (UV)-visible excitation. Compared to non-illuminated results, the average boiling incipience temperature decreased by 4.6 degrees C and heat transfer coefficients improved by 41.5% with light exposure. These improved results are attributed to augmented hydrophilicity upon exposure to UV light and possible nanoscale opto-thermal effects, and suggest opportunities for active temperature control of temperature-sensitive devices. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3681594]

The Design And Fabrication Of A Microfluidic Reactor For Synthesis Of Cadmium Selenide Quantum Dots Using Silicon And Glass Substrates, Peter Robert Gonsalves

Master's Theses

A microfluidic reactor for synthesizing cadmium selenide (CdSe) quantum dots (QDs) was synthesized out of a silicon wafer and Pyrex glass. Microfabrication techniques were used to etch channels into the silicon wafer. Holes were wet-drilled into the Pyrex glass using a diamond-tip drill bit. The Pyrex wafer was anodically bonded to the etched silicon wafer to enclose the microfluidic reactor. Conditions for anodic bonding were created by exposing the stacked substrates to 300V at ~350oC under 5.46N of force. A syringe containing a room temperature CdSe solution was interfaced to the microfluidic reactor by using Poly (dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) as an …

Power Handling Of Electrostatic Mems Evanescent-Mode (Eva) Tunable Bandpass Filters, Xiaoguang Liu, Linda P.B. Katehi, William J. Chappell, Dimitrios Peroulis

Birck and NCN Publications

This paper presents the first theoretical and experimental study on the power handling capabilities of electrostatically tunable MEMS cavity filters. The theoretical analysis indicates that the frequency-dependent RF voltage inside a narrow-band filter may play an important role in the generation of electromechanical nonlinearities such as frequency response distortion, frequency shift, and bifurcation instability. This analysis also reveals that the filter's power handling capability is dependent on several critical factors, including the capacitive gap, stiffness of the diaphragm actuator, and the overall quality factor (Q) of the evanescent-mode (EVA) resonators. A nonlinear computer-aided design (CAD) model is proposed as a …

Effects Of Mismatched Electrodes On An At-Cut Quartz Resonator, Huijing He, Jinxi Liu, Jiashi Yang

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

We study thickness-shear and thickness-twist free vibrations of a finite AT-cut quartz resonator with mismatched electrodes. The equations of anisotropic elasticity are used with the omission of the small elastic constant c56. An analytical solution is obtained using Fourier series from which the resonant frequencies, mode shapes, and vibration confinement resulting from the electrode inertia are calculated and examined.

An All-Silicon Passive Optical Diode, Li Fan, Jian Wang, Leo T. Varghese, Hao Shen, Ben Niu, Yi Xuan, Andrew M. Weiner, Minghao Qi

Birck and NCN Publications

A passive optical diode effect would be useful for on-chip optical information processing but has been difficult to achieve. Using a method based on optical nonlinearity, we demonstrate a forward-backward transmission ratio of up to 28 decibels within telecommunication wavelengths. Our device, which uses two silicon rings 5 micrometers in radius, is passive yet maintains optical nonreciprocity for a broad range of input power levels, and it performs equally well even if the backward input power is higher than the forward input. The silicon optical diode is ultracompact and is compatible with current complementary metal-oxide semiconductor processing.

Size Effects In Niti From Density Functional Theory Calculations, Karthik Guda Vishnu, Alejandro Strachan

Birck and NCN Publications

We use density functional theory to characterize how size affects the relative stability of thin NiTi slabs of different crystal structures and its implication on the martensitic phase transition that governs shape memory. We calculate the surface energies of B2' phase (austenite), B19 (orthorhombic), B19' (martensite), and a body-centered orthorhombic phase, the theoretically predicted ground state. We find that (110)(B2) surfaces with in-plane atomic displacements stabilize the austenite phase with respect to B19' and BCO; thus, slabs with such orientations are predicted to exhibit a decrease in martensite transition temperature with decreasing thickness. Our calculations predict a critical thickness of …