Nanoscience and Nanotechnology Commons^™

Exploration Of The Limits To Mobility In Two-Dimensional Hole Systems In Gaas/Algaas Quantum Wells, J.D. Watson, S. Mondal, G. Gardner, Gabor A. Csathy, Michael J. Manfra

Birck and NCN Publications

We report on the growth and electrical characterization of a series of two-dimensional hole systems (2DHSs) used to study the density dependence of low temperature mobility in 20-nm GaAs/AlGaAs quantum wells. The hole density was controlled by changing the Al mole fraction and the setback of the delta-doping layer. We varied the density over a range from 1.8 x 10(10) cm(-2) to 1.9 x 10(11) cm(-2) finding a nonmonotonic dependence of mobility on density at T = 0.3 K. Surprisingly, a peak mobility of 2.3 x 10(6) cm(2)/Vs was measured at a density of 6.5 x 10(10) cm(-2), with further …

Interface Barriers At The Interfaces Of Polar Gaas(111) Faces With Al2o3, H.Y. Chou, E. O'Connor, P.K. Hurley, V.V. Afanas'ev, M. Houssa, A. Stesmans, Peide Ye, S.B. Newcomb

Birck and NCN Publications

Internal photoemission measurements of barriers for electrons at interfaces between GaAs(111) and atomic-layer deposited Al2O3 indicate that changing the GaAs polar crystal face orientation from the Ga-terminated (111)A to the As-terminated (111)B has no effect on the barrier height and remains the same as at the non-polar GaAs(100)/Al2O3 interface. Moreover, the presence of native oxide on GaAs(111) or passivation of this surface with sulphur also have no measurable influence on the GaAs(111)/Al2O3 barrier. These results suggest that the orientation and composition-sensitive surface dipoles conventionally observed at GaAs surfaces are effectively compensated at GaAs/oxide interfaces. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. …

Basic Capillary Microfluidic Chip And Highly Sensitive Optical Detector For Point Of Care Application, Mingjin Yao

Doctoral Dissertations

A cost-effective and highly sensitive portable diagnostic device is needed to enable much more widespread monitoring of health conditions in disease prevention, detection, and control. Miniaturized and easy-to-operate devices can reduce the inherent costs and inefficiencies associated with healthcare testing in central laboratories. Hence, clinicians are beginning to use point of care (POC) testing and flexible clinical chemistry testing devices which are beneficial for the patient.

In our work, a low-cost and simple autonomous microfluidic device for biochemical detection was developed. The pumpless capillary system with capillary stop valves and trigger valves is fabricated on a silicon (Si) wafer and …

Fabrication And Characterization Of Hybrid Energy Harvesting Microdevices, Zhongcheng Gong

Doctoral Dissertations

In this dissertation, a hybrid energy harvesting system based on a lead zirconate titanate (PZT) and carbon nanotube film (CNF) cantilever structure has been designed, fabricated and studied. It has the ability to harvest light and thermal radiation energy from ambient energy and convert them to electricity.

The proposed micro-scale energy harvesting device consists of a composite cantilever beam (SU-8/CNF/Pt/PZT/Pt) which is fixed on a silicon based anchor and two electrode pads for wire bonding. The CNF acts as an antenna to receive radiation energy and convert it to heat energy and then transfer to the whole cantilever structure. The …

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 …

Folate Nanoparticle Conjugates, Safwat A. Masood

All Capstone Projects

The folate receptor is overexpressed on the surface of numerous cancer cell types including those of the breast, lung, kidney, ovary, and brain. Recent interest has exploded in the use of folate to deliver payloads and imaging agents to folate receptor positive cancer cells based on several positive clinical trials including phase III trials of EC-145, which is poised to become the first folate targeted, FDA approved drug. Given the success of EC-145 and numerous other agents in the pharmaceutical pipeline, there remains a great interest in the exploitation of this technology in the delivery of nanoscale agents to folate …

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 …

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.

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.

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]