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1998

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Articles 1 - 30 of 116

Full-Text Articles in Electrical and Computer Engineering

An Image Model Based On Occluding Object Images And Maximum Entropy, John A. Stuller, Rahul Shah Dec 1998

An Image Model Based On Occluding Object Images And Maximum Entropy, John A. Stuller, Rahul Shah

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This Paper Introduces a Statistical Image Model based on Occlusion and Maximum Entropy. the Statistical Model Combines a Fundamental Property of Image Formation, Occlusion, with Both Object-Image Shape and Nonuniform Object-Image Intensity. the Model is a Composition of Individual Object-Images that Have Random Positions, Shapes, and Intensities, and that Occlude Both Background and One Another. We Derive the Autocorrelation and Second-Order Probability Density Functions of This Model and Give Several Examples. © 1998 IEEE.


A Recursive Green's Function Method For Boundary Integral Analysis Of Inhomogeneous Domains, Jim D. Freeze, Michael A. Jensen Dec 1998

A Recursive Green's Function Method For Boundary Integral Analysis Of Inhomogeneous Domains, Jim D. Freeze, Michael A. Jensen

Faculty Publications

The recursive Green's function method (RGFM) for computation of fields scattered by two-dimensional (2-D) inhomogeneous dielectric bodies is presented. The algorithm efficiently constructs the Green's function for the inhomogeneous region by recursively combining known Green's functions from smaller subdomains. The fields on the scatterer surface are then computed using a boundary integral formulation. Proper implementation of the RGFM results in computational and storage complexities which scale as N1.5 and N, respectively, where N is the total number of discrete cells in a domain. Comparisons of results obtained using the RGFM with those computed from moment method and exact solutions show …


Powergraf: An Educational Software Package For Power Systems Analysis And Design, Tian Yane, Max Darwin Anderson Dec 1998

Powergraf: An Educational Software Package For Power Systems Analysis And Design, Tian Yane, Max Darwin Anderson

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The purpose of PowerGraf is to present a graphical user interface (GUI) and a convenient tool for building one-line diagrams displaying data. The GUI is open and friendly for power systems design, analysis and control, because a picture provides a better illustration of cause-and-effect relationships than a tabular printout does. Basic elements such as buses, lines and transformers are given such that the power system topology is easily drawn with this tool, and the system parameters are entered on the picture and checked visually. This enables the power system topology and the system data to be shown on one picture …


What Can Humor And Advertising Teach Us About Legal Drafting?, Dallin D. Oaks, Jeremy Lewis Dec 1998

What Can Humor And Advertising Teach Us About Legal Drafting?, Dallin D. Oaks, Jeremy Lewis

Faculty Publications

In his book Legal Drafting in a Nutshell, Haggard includes a useful chapter of nearly 50 pages in which he lists various lexical and structural elements and explains how these can lead to ambiguous writing. The kind of inventory approach that he presents is helpful and reveals that ambiguity doesn't just happen but often results from the careless use of identifiable structures or particular words.


A Virtual Classroom Via Dataconferencing: A Multi-Institutional Experience, Shelli K. Starrett, Anil Pahwa, Kraig J. Olejniczak, S. D. Sudhoff, Mariesa Crow Nov 1998

A Virtual Classroom Via Dataconferencing: A Multi-Institutional Experience, Shelli K. Starrett, Anil Pahwa, Kraig J. Olejniczak, S. D. Sudhoff, Mariesa Crow

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This paper presents the experience of five faculty from four universities who are co-developing and team teaching courses using the world-wide web (WWW). In particular two novel power engineering courses, Flexible Control of Transmission Systems and Flexible Control of Distribuction Systems, introduce the student to the application of power electronic-based controllers, known specifically as flexible AC transmission systems (FACTS) controllers, to enhance the performance of the transmission and distribution systems in an electric power system. In order to leverage faculty expertise in the various topics included in each course, a unique partnership was formed among five faculty from the following …


Self-Enhancement Of Dynamic Gratings In Photogalvanic Crystals, Nickolai Kukhtarev, Sergei F. Lyuksyutov, Preben Buchhave, Tatiana Kukhtareva, K. Sayano, Partha P. Banerjee Nov 1998

Self-Enhancement Of Dynamic Gratings In Photogalvanic Crystals, Nickolai Kukhtarev, Sergei F. Lyuksyutov, Preben Buchhave, Tatiana Kukhtareva, K. Sayano, Partha P. Banerjee

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

We have developed a compact closed-form solution of the band transport model for high-contrast gratings in photogalvanic crystals. Our solution predicts the effect of the photoconductivity and the electric field grating enhancement due to the photogalvanic effect. We predict a pronounced dependence of the steady-state photogalvanic current on the contrast of the interference pattern and an increase of holographic storage time due to the enhancement of the photoconductivity grating contrast. In the high contrast limit and a large photogalvanic effect the refractive index grating will be shifted from the position of the intensity modulation pattern, contrary to the usually adopted …


An Intelligent Reactive Controller For Ocean Science Autonomous Underwater Vehicles, Roy M. Turner Oct 1998

An Intelligent Reactive Controller For Ocean Science Autonomous Underwater Vehicles, Roy M. Turner

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

Most of the research activities performed during this grant period had to do with designing and implementing the Orca intelligent autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) controller. This entailed a requirements analysis early in the project, followed by the design and implementation of the program. The latter two activities were interleaved; Orca was designed and implemented in a phased manner, with each new version of the program having more functionality.


Deriving Of Single Intensive Picosecond Optical Pulses From A High-Power Gain-Switched Laser Diode By Spectral Filtering, S. N. Vainshtein, Grigory Simin, J. T. Kostamovaara Oct 1998

Deriving Of Single Intensive Picosecond Optical Pulses From A High-Power Gain-Switched Laser Diode By Spectral Filtering, S. N. Vainshtein, Grigory Simin, J. T. Kostamovaara

Faculty Publications

Single 25 ps/16 W optical pulses were achieved by spectral filtering from a multiheterostructure gain-switched laser diode with its quasisteady-state modes suppressed by a factor of 103 as compared with the peak power. A significant transient spectrum broadening makes this possible provided that a very high dI/dt rate of the pumping current pulse is used. A simple numerical model is suggested which describes adequately both the spectral and transient features of the observed phenomenon. It follows from the model that single picosecond optical pulses can be obtained from any type of high power semiconductor laser.


Extension Of The Generalized Hebbian Algorithm For Principal Component Extraction, Fredric M. Ham, Inho Kim Oct 1998

Extension Of The Generalized Hebbian Algorithm For Principal Component Extraction, Fredric M. Ham, Inho Kim

Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Faculty Publications

Principal component analysis (PCA) plays an important role in various areas. In many applications it is necessary to adaptively compute the principal components of the input data. Over the past several years, there have been numerous neural network approaches to adaptively extract principal components for PCA. One of he most popular learning rules for training a single-layer linear network for principal component extraction is Sanger's generalized Hebbian algorithm (GHA). We have extended the GHA (EGHA) by including a positive-definite symmetric weighting matrix in the representation error-cost function that is used to derive the learning rule to train the network. The …


Validation Of Waimss Incident Duration Estimation Model, Wei Wu, Pushkin Kachroo, Kaan Ozbay Oct 1998

Validation Of Waimss Incident Duration Estimation Model, Wei Wu, Pushkin Kachroo, Kaan Ozbay

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Research

This paper presents an effort to validate the traffic incident duration estimation model of WAIMSS (wide area incident management support system). Duration estimation model of WAIMSS predicts the incident duration based on an estimation tree which was calibrated using incident data collected in Northern Virginia. Due to the limited sample size, a full scale test of the distribution, mean and variance of incident duration was performed only for the root node of the estimation tree, white only mean tests were executed at all other nodes whenever a data subset was available. Further studies were also conducted on the model error …


Wide-Area Incident Management System On The Internet, Kaan Ozbay, Pushkin Kachroo Oct 1998

Wide-Area Incident Management System On The Internet, Kaan Ozbay, Pushkin Kachroo

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Research

The incident management process consists of four sequential steps-incident detection, response, clearance and recovery. Each of these components comprises of a number of operations and coordinated decision-making between the agencies involved. The provision of computer based support tools for the personnel involved will help develop appropriate strategies and increase efficiency and expediency. Existing systems are developed on various traditional computing platforms. However, with the advent of World Wide Web and Internet based programming tools such as Java, it is now possible to develop platform independent decision support tools for the incident management agencies. Any agency will be able to use …


Incorporating Vertical Discontinuities In Power-Bus Modeling Using A Mixed-Potential Integral Equation And Circuit Extraction Formulation, Jun Fan, Hao Shi, James L. Drewniak, Todd H. Hubing, Richard E. Dubroff, Thomas Van Doren Oct 1998

Incorporating Vertical Discontinuities In Power-Bus Modeling Using A Mixed-Potential Integral Equation And Circuit Extraction Formulation, Jun Fan, Hao Shi, James L. Drewniak, Todd H. Hubing, Richard E. Dubroff, Thomas Van Doren

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Noise on the DC power-bus attributed to device switching is among the primary sources of EMI and signal integrity problems. A mixed-potential integral equation formulation with circuit extraction approach is used to model the planar multi-layer power-bus geometry, which can also include arbitrary shaped power regions on multiple layers. Incorporating vertical discontinuities, e.g., decoupling capacitor interconnects, is a critical aspect of the modeling, and must be done properly since they are included as a lumped element model and not a part of the MPIE formulation. Agreement with experimental results demonstrate the present approach.


New Cmos Universal Constant-Gm Input Stage, Vladimir I. Prodanov, Michael M. Green Sep 1998

New Cmos Universal Constant-Gm Input Stage, Vladimir I. Prodanov, Michael M. Green

Electrical Engineering

Conceptually new constant-Gm input-stage architecture is presented. It provides near constant net transconductance independent of transistor operating region-strong, moderate or weak inversion. One possible implementation of the proposed architecture is discussed in details. Its operation has been experimentally verified. Results from performed measurements are included.


A Neural Network Pruning Algorithm With Embedded Gradient-Conjugate Training For The Identification Of Large Flexible Space Structures, Xiao-Hua Yu Sep 1998

A Neural Network Pruning Algorithm With Embedded Gradient-Conjugate Training For The Identification Of Large Flexible Space Structures, Xiao-Hua Yu

Electrical Engineering

The choice of network dimension is a fundamental issue in the design of artificial neural networks. A larger neural network is powerful for solving problems while a smaller neural network is always advantageous in real-time environment where speed is crucial. In this paper, a network pruning algorithm with embedded gradient-conjugate training is investigated and applied to the identification of a large flexible space structure. Computer simulation results show that this approach can dramatically reduce the size of neural network while maintaining compatible identification accuracy.


Production And Propagation Of Hermite–Sinusoidal-Gaussian Laser Beams, Lee W. Casperson, Anthony A. Tovar Sep 1998

Production And Propagation Of Hermite–Sinusoidal-Gaussian Laser Beams, Lee W. Casperson, Anthony A. Tovar

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Hermite–sinusoidal-Gaussian solutions to the wave equation have recently been obtained. In the limit of large Hermite–Gaussian beam size, the sinusoidal factors are dominant and reduce to the conventional modes of a rectangular waveguide. In the opposite limit the beams reduce to the familiar Hermite–Gaussian form. The propagation of these beams is examined in detail, and resonators are designed that will produce them. As an example, a special resonator is designed to produce hyperbolic-sine-Gaussian beams. This ring resonator contains a hyperbolic-cosine-Gaussian apodized aperture. The beam mode has finite energy and is perturbation stable.


An Efficient And Effective Approach To Column-Based Input/Output Encoding In Functional Decomposition, Michael Burns, Marek Perkowski, Stanislaw Grygiel, Lech Jozwiak Sep 1998

An Efficient And Effective Approach To Column-Based Input/Output Encoding In Functional Decomposition, Michael Burns, Marek Perkowski, Stanislaw Grygiel, Lech Jozwiak

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Encoding in Curtis-style decompositions is the process of assigning codes to groups of compatible columns (or cubes) so that the binary logic descriptions of the predecessor and successor sub-functions can be created for further decomposition. In doing so, the sub-functions created are functionally equivalent to the set of care values specified in the original function. In this paper an input/output encoding algorithm DC_ENC is presented that is designed to achieve the simplest total complexity of the predecessor and successor sub-functions, and to increase the total number of don't cares for their further utilization in subsequent decomposition steps of these sub-functions.


Performance Of Optimal Trade-Off And Distance-Classifier Circular Filters For Rotation Invariance, Samuel Peter Kozaitis, Sila Thangwaritorn Aug 1998

Performance Of Optimal Trade-Off And Distance-Classifier Circular Filters For Rotation Invariance, Samuel Peter Kozaitis, Sila Thangwaritorn

Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Faculty Publications

We evaluated the performance of circular optimal trade-off SDF (OTSDF) and distance classifier correlation filters (DCCFs) as rotation-invariant correlation filters. Because the filters are designed using different parameters we compared the filter's performance in terms of an equivalent effect of probability of error. The use of OTSDF and DCCF filters as circular filters allows their calculation to be greatly simplified when compared to using rotated views of an object to create filters. We found that both types of filters can be used for rotation-invariant object recognition in a noisy environment. In addition, the filters generated were real-valued so they may …


Signal Monitoring Apparatus For Wavelength Divison Multiplexed Optical Telecommunication Networks, Dennis J. Derickson, Roger Lee Jungerman Aug 1998

Signal Monitoring Apparatus For Wavelength Divison Multiplexed Optical Telecommunication Networks, Dennis J. Derickson, Roger Lee Jungerman

Electrical Engineering

A detector array spectrometer simultaneously monitors wavelength, power, and signal-to-noise ratio of wavelength division multiplexed (WDM) channels in telecommunication networks. A spectrometer spatially separates signals from the WDM channels according to the channels' wavelengths. The separated signals are incident on an array of split-detectors that conforms to the spatial separation of the signals provided by the spectrometer. While the split-detectors are positioned to receive a signal from each WDM channel, a noise detector is positioned between adjacent split-detectors to measure noise. A common mode output from two halves of each split-detector indicates the power in a WDM channel, while a …


Sensor For Rotational Velocity And Rotational Acceleration, Rasheed M.A. Azzam Aug 1998

Sensor For Rotational Velocity And Rotational Acceleration, Rasheed M.A. Azzam

University of New Orleans Patents

Novel rotation sensors are disclosed. sensors with a temporal resolution of one measurement per rotation. A transparent or absorbing substrate can be coated with a transparent thin film to produce a linear response in reflectance versus angle of incidence over a certain range of angles. The best results were obtained when the incident light was s-polarized For example. a Si substrate coated with an SiO2 film was used in constructing a reflection rotation sensor. Experimental results and an error analysis of this rotation sensor are presented.


Considerations For Magnetic-Field Coupling Resulting In Radiated Emi, David M. Hockanson, James L. Drewniak, Richard E. Dubroff, Todd H. Hubing, Thomas Van Doren Aug 1998

Considerations For Magnetic-Field Coupling Resulting In Radiated Emi, David M. Hockanson, James L. Drewniak, Richard E. Dubroff, Todd H. Hubing, Thomas Van Doren

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Parasitic inductance in printed circuit board geometries can worsen the EMI performance and signal integrity of high-speed digital designs. Partial-inductance theory is a powerful tool for analyzing inductance issues in signal integrity. However, partial inductances may not adequately model magnetic flux coupling to EMI antennas because the EMI antennas are typically open loops. Therefore, partial inductances may not always accurately predict radiated EMI from noise sources, unless used in a full-wave analysis such as PEEC. Partial inductances can be used, however, to estimate branch inductances, which can be used to predict EMI. This paper presents a method for decomposing loop …


An Impact Of Layer Stack-Up On Emi, S. Radu, Theodore M. Zeeff, Joe Nuebel, James L. Drewniak, Todd H. Hubing, Thomas Van Doren Aug 1998

An Impact Of Layer Stack-Up On Emi, S. Radu, Theodore M. Zeeff, Joe Nuebel, James L. Drewniak, Todd H. Hubing, Thomas Van Doren

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Investigation of a server shows the heatsink of the CPU module as a primary component of the EMI coupling path. In order to identify the specific noise source and coupling path to the heatsink, a series of experiments were defined to provide support for one source and eliminate others. Based on experiments with two different versions of the CPU module, a stack-up related design guideline is proposed: a ground layer should be the first entire plane (as opposed to Vcc) on the active component side of the board. If there are known IC sources that switch significant currents …


Modeling Multilayered Pcb Power-Bus Designs Using An Mpie Based Circuit Extraction Technique, Hao Shi, Jun Fan, James L. Drewniak, Todd H. Hubing, Thomas Van Doren Aug 1998

Modeling Multilayered Pcb Power-Bus Designs Using An Mpie Based Circuit Extraction Technique, Hao Shi, Jun Fan, James L. Drewniak, Todd H. Hubing, Thomas Van Doren

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A circuit extraction tool (CEMPIE) has been developed based on the mixed-potential integral equation (MPIE) using a quasi-static approximation. A power-bus in a multi-layered PCB consisting of a pair of dedicated ground and power planes is studied using this tool. The distributed behavior of a power-bus is represented by a collection of passive circuit elements, which is valid up to several gigahertz. The decoupling performance of a power-bus due to its layer spacing and the dielectric constant is evaluated for simple test geometries. The impact of the relative distance between the noise source and the potential receiver is also studied. …


Design Of Airflow Aperture Arrays In Shielding Enclosures, Min Li, S. Radu, J. Neubel, James L. Drewniak, Todd H. Hubing, Thomas Van Doren Aug 1998

Design Of Airflow Aperture Arrays In Shielding Enclosures, Min Li, S. Radu, J. Neubel, James L. Drewniak, Todd H. Hubing, Thomas Van Doren

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

EMI through perforation patterns for airflow in shielding enclosures resulting from coupling of interior sources is investigated numerically with FDTD simulations and experimentally. The FDTD simulations are compared with measurements on perforation patterns. A simple empirical design approach for the relation between aperture size, the number of apertures and shielding effectiveness is extracted. A double perforation pattern structure is proposed for perforation pattern designs where a high percentage of open area is required. Frequencies where the enclosure will support cavity modes are of primary concern.


Evaluation Of Personal Communications Dual-Antenna Handset Diversity Performance, Michael A. Jensen, Joseph S. Colburn, Yahya Rahmat-Samii, Gregory J. Pottie Aug 1998

Evaluation Of Personal Communications Dual-Antenna Handset Diversity Performance, Michael A. Jensen, Joseph S. Colburn, Yahya Rahmat-Samii, Gregory J. Pottie

Faculty Publications

In personal wireless communications systems, multipath propagation has a significant effect on system design and performance. Signal strength fading caused by destructive interference between multiple replicas of the signal of interest arriving at the receiver over different paths often is the limiting factor in system range/fidelity. Antenna diversity is one technique that can be used to help overcome multipath fading. This paper presents a description of experiments, data processing, and results used to evaluate the diversity performance of three candidate dual-antenna handset configurations: two side-mounted planar-inverted F antennas (PIFAs), a back-mounted PIFA with a top-mounted helix, a top-mounted PIFA, and …


Time History Extrapolation For Fdtd Modeling Of Shielding Enclosure Designs And Emi Antenna Geometries, Xiao Luo, Min Li, James L. Drewniak Aug 1998

Time History Extrapolation For Fdtd Modeling Of Shielding Enclosure Designs And Emi Antenna Geometries, Xiao Luo, Min Li, James L. Drewniak

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The GPOF (generalized pencil-of-function) method was used to extrapolate the time response from FDTD simulations of EMI problems by approximating the time history as a sum of complex exponentials. This method can significantly shorten the FDTD program execution time. However, various difficulties can arise from parameterization during data-processing. The GPOF is applied to, and studied for, two relevant EMI problems, enclosure design and EMI antenna modeling. The merits of GPOF in modeling shielding enclosures and EMI antennas is evaluated through several examples


Photographic Studies Of Laser-Induced Bubble Formation In Absorbing Liquids And On Submerged Targets: Implications For Drug Delivery With Microsecond Laser Pulses, Hanqun Shangguan, Lee W. Casperson, Dennis L. Paisley, Scott A. Prahl Aug 1998

Photographic Studies Of Laser-Induced Bubble Formation In Absorbing Liquids And On Submerged Targets: Implications For Drug Delivery With Microsecond Laser Pulses, Hanqun Shangguan, Lee W. Casperson, Dennis L. Paisley, Scott A. Prahl

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Pulsed laser ablation of blood clots in a fluid-filled blood vessel is accompanied by an explosive evaporation process. The resulting vapor bubble rapidly expands and collapses to disrupt the thrombus (blood clot). The hydrodynamic pressures following the bubble expansion and collapse can also be used as a driving force to deliver clot-dissolving agents into thrombus for enhancement of laser thrombolysis. Thus, the laser-induced bubble formation plays an important role in the thrombus removal process. We investigate the effects of boundary configurations and materials on bubble formation with time-resolved flash photography and high-speed photography. Potential applications in drug delivery using microsecond …


A Feasibility Study Of On-Line Excitation System Parameter Estimation, Eric Ludwig, K. Shah, Kelvin T. Erickson, Mariesa Crow Aug 1998

A Feasibility Study Of On-Line Excitation System Parameter Estimation, Eric Ludwig, K. Shah, Kelvin T. Erickson, Mariesa Crow

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This paper details a feasibility study of estimating excitation system parameters during online operation using time-domain system identification. This study concentrates on identifying the appropriate exciter model, developing an input signal that would provide a proper level of perturbation such that the dynamics of the system can be captured, analyzing the effects of both systematic and random noise, developing algorithms to perform the parameter estimation, testing and validating the obtained system parameters. This study established a strong basis for estimating the system parameters during online operation.


Wavelet-Based Noise Reduction In Multispectral Imagery, Abdullah A. Basuhail, Samuel Peter Kozaitis Jul 1998

Wavelet-Based Noise Reduction In Multispectral Imagery, Abdullah A. Basuhail, Samuel Peter Kozaitis

Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Faculty Publications

We used a 3-D wavelet-based denoising method to reduce the noise from multispectral imagery. In our approach, we compared denoising of different bands of a multispectral image using a 2-D denoising technique, by which the wavelet coefficients corresponding to each band were denoised independent of each band, and a 3-D denoising technique by which the wavelet coefficients were denoised by involving all bands in thresholding the wavelet coefficients. Due to the high correlation of the multispectral imagery data along the wavelength axis, the noise can be easily reduced by applying the wavelet transform along the wavelength direction. Our results showed …


Binary Multilevel Convolutional Codes With Unequal Error Protection Capabilities, Robert H. Morelos-Zaragoza, Hideki Imai Jul 1998

Binary Multilevel Convolutional Codes With Unequal Error Protection Capabilities, Robert H. Morelos-Zaragoza, Hideki Imai

Faculty Publications

Binary multilevel convolutional codes (CCs) with unequal error protection (UEP) capabilities are studied. These codes belong to the class of generalized concatenated (GC) codes. Binary CCs are used as outer codes. Binary linear block codes of short length, and selected subcodes in their two-way subcode partition chain, are used as inner codes. Multistage decodings are presented that use Viterbi decoders operating on trellises with similar structure to that of the constituent binary CCs. Simulation results of example binary two-level CC's are also reported.


In Situ Infrared And Visible-Light Ellipsometric Investigations Of Boron Nitride Thin Films At Elevated Temperatures, E. Franke, Mathias Schubert, J.-D. Hecht, H. Neumann, T. E. Tiwald, Daniel W. Thompson, H. Yao, John A. Woollam Jul 1998

In Situ Infrared And Visible-Light Ellipsometric Investigations Of Boron Nitride Thin Films At Elevated Temperatures, E. Franke, Mathias Schubert, J.-D. Hecht, H. Neumann, T. E. Tiwald, Daniel W. Thompson, H. Yao, John A. Woollam

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering: Faculty Publications

In situ infrared (IR) spectroscopy and visible-light (VIS) spectroscopic ellipsometry over the spectral range from 700 to 2000 cm-1 and 1.5–3.5 eV, respectively, were used to investigate the optical behavior of boron nitride (BN) thin films at temperatures from room temperature (RT) to 600 °C. The polycrystalline hexagonal (h) and mixed-phase h- and cubic (c)-BN thin films were deposited by magnetron sputtering on [001] silicon. We observe a reversible moisture incorporation process in as-grown h-BN samples. When stored in normal ambient, the h-BN thin films absorb water into thin-film micropores. When annealed in ultrahigh vacuum or a …