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Articles 151 - 180 of 335

Full-Text Articles in Materials Science and Engineering

Carbon Allotrope Dependence On Temperature And Pressure During Thermal Decomposition Of Silicon Carbide, Munson J. Anderson Mar 2014

Carbon Allotrope Dependence On Temperature And Pressure During Thermal Decomposition Of Silicon Carbide, Munson J. Anderson

Theses and Dissertations

Bulk CNT and graphene films form on SiC using a metal-catalyst-free thermal decomposition approach. In this work, the background vacuum pressure and temperature used in the decomposition process are varied to investigate their impact on the type and quality of carbon allotrope formed on the SiC substrate. The carbon nanostructure growth is performed using two approaches, both of which involve intense heating (1400-1700°C) of SiC under moderate vacuum conditions (0.01 - 0.00001 Torr). The first growth method uses a conventional graphite resistance furnace capable of annealing waferscale samples over 1700°C under vacuum. Using this approach, post-growth characterization is performed using …

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Hydrothermal Crystal Growth Of Lithium Tetraborate And Lithium 𝛾-Metaborate, Jeffrey J. Graham Mar 2014

Hydrothermal Crystal Growth Of Lithium Tetraborate And Lithium 𝛾-Metaborate, Jeffrey J. Graham

Theses and Dissertations

Growth of lithium tetraborate by the hydrothermal method was attempted in 10-6 M LiOH, both by spontaneous nucleation and transport growth. Tetraborate grew out of the first spontaneous nucleation reaction, while the seed dissolved and lithium gamma-metaborate formed during the transport growth reactions. A species thermodynamic stability study showed gamma-metaborate formed exclusively from 350°C to 550°C, and Li3B5O8(OH)2 was observed at 250°C; tetraborate was not observed. A solubility study on lithium tetraborate did not achieve equilibrium conditions, but did demonstrate that gamma-metaborate is significantly more thermodynamically stable than tetraborate under the tested …

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Investigation Of The Potential For Ftir As A Nondestructive Inspection Technique For Aircraft Coating Degradation, Hans G. Korth Mar 2014

Investigation Of The Potential For Ftir As A Nondestructive Inspection Technique For Aircraft Coating Degradation, Hans G. Korth

Theses and Dissertations

Polyurethane-based aircraft coating degradation was examined using Diffuse Reflectance Infrared Fourier Transform spectroscopy (DRIFTs). Two sample sets were aged in an autoclave; each containing four samples. Sample set A contained two as-cured samples and two samples treated to a level of visual degradation. Sample set B contained one sample left as-cured and three samples of differing degradation. DRIFTs spectra were collected on sample set B and singular value decomposition (SVD) was used to reveal trends between the degradation levels. Linear discriminant analysis (LDA) was then applied to the SVD coefficients to determine the most accurate spectral band for classification of …

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Memristive Responses Of Jammed Granular Copper Array Sensors To Mechanical Stress, Gary A. Willey Mar 2014

Memristive Responses Of Jammed Granular Copper Array Sensors To Mechanical Stress, Gary A. Willey

Theses and Dissertations

A granular memristive device with the end goal of creating a novel system protection device is introduced in a 1-Dimension array. The electromechanical network will lay the groundwork for future 2-Dimensional and 3-Dimensional devices for simultaneous protection from intrusion. Off the shelf copper spheres with diameter of 710 ± 11microns were found through nano-indentation measurements to have elastic modulus of 106GPa, and compressive yield strength of 729MPa, these spheres were prepared for test in a 1-Dimensional array device. The arrays response to mechanical perturbations modeled by Hertz contact mechanics can be monitored by simultaneous electrical measurements across the multiple metal-insulator-metal …

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Ceramic Matrix Characterization Under A Gas Turbine Combustion And Loading Environment, Dustin J. Bertrand Mar 2014

Ceramic Matrix Characterization Under A Gas Turbine Combustion And Loading Environment, Dustin J. Bertrand

Theses and Dissertations

The fatigue behavior of Hyper-Therm High Temperature Composites (HTC) Sylramic-iBN/BN/CVI SiC material was investigated while being subjected to a unique high temperature environment. The specimens used in this research were subjected to a high temperature combustion environment intended to simulate the conditions this material would see in turbine engine applications. Results show that the effects of the combustion environment on the materials fatigue behavior are significant with increasing temperature.

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Experimental Investigation Of Mechanical Behavior Of An Oxide/Oxide Ceramic Composite In Interlaminar Shear And Under Combined Tension-Torsion Loading, Skyler R. Hilburn Mar 2014

Experimental Investigation Of Mechanical Behavior Of An Oxide/Oxide Ceramic Composite In Interlaminar Shear And Under Combined Tension-Torsion Loading, Skyler R. Hilburn

Theses and Dissertations

Creep behavior in interlaminar shear of an oxide-oxide ceramic composite, Nextel 720™/aluminosilicate (N720/AS), was investigated at 1100°C in laboratory air and in steam. The interlaminar shear strength (ILSS) was determined as 7.65 MPa. The creep behavior was examined for interlaminar shear stresses in the 2-6 MPa range. Primary and secondary creep regimes were observed in all tests conducted in air and in steam. Tertiary creep was noted in the tests performed at 6 MPa. Larger creep strains and higher creep strain rates were produced in steam. Surprisingly, the presence of steam had a beneficial effect on creep lifetimes. It appears …

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Triplet Ground State Of The Neutral Oxygen-Vacancy Donor In Rutile Tio2, A. T. Brant, Eric M. Golden, Nancy C. Giles, Shan Yang, M. A. R. Sarker, S. Watauchi, M. Nagao, I. Tanaka, D. A. Tryk, A. Manivannan, Larry E. Halliburton Mar 2014

Triplet Ground State Of The Neutral Oxygen-Vacancy Donor In Rutile Tio2, A. T. Brant, Eric M. Golden, Nancy C. Giles, Shan Yang, M. A. R. Sarker, S. Watauchi, M. Nagao, I. Tanaka, D. A. Tryk, A. Manivannan, Larry E. Halliburton

Faculty Publications

Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) is used to investigate the triplet (S = 1) ground state of the neutral oxygen vacancy in bulk rutile TiO2 crystals. This shallow donor consists of an oxygen vacancy with two nearest-neighbor, exchange-coupled 3+ ions located along the [001] direction and equidistant from the vacancy. The spins of the two trapped electrons, one at each 3+ ion, align parallel to give the S = 1 state. These neutral oxygen vacancies are formed near 25 K in as-grown oxidized TiO2 crystals by illuminating with sub-band-gap 442 nm laser light. The angular dependence of the EPR …

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A Systematic Study Of The Optical And Electrical Properties Of Ge1-YSnY And Ge1-X-YSiXSnY Semiconductor Alloys, Thomas R. Harris Feb 2014

A Systematic Study Of The Optical And Electrical Properties Of Ge1-YSnY And Ge1-X-YSiXSnY Semiconductor Alloys, Thomas R. Harris

Theses and Dissertations

In order to fully utilize newly developed Ge1-ySny and Ge1-x-ySixSny materials for new novel optoelectronic devices, the optical and electrical properties of these alloys were investigated using photoluminescence (PL) and Hall-effect measurements. Direct bandgap PL emission was observed from almost all the samples, making them very promising candidates for Si-based light emitting devices. T-dependent PL studies also indicate that the indirect-to-direct bandgap transition of Ge1-ySny alloys might take place at a much lower Sn content than the theory predicts. T-dependent Hall-effect measurements showed both degenerate parallel conducting layers as …

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A Clamped Dual-Ridged Waveguide Measurement System For The Broadband, Nondestructive Characterization Of Sheet Materials, Milo W. Hyde Iv, Michael J. Havrilla Oct 2013

A Clamped Dual-Ridged Waveguide Measurement System For The Broadband, Nondestructive Characterization Of Sheet Materials, Milo W. Hyde Iv, Michael J. Havrilla

Faculty Publications

A novel two-port probe which uses dual-ridged waveguides for the nondestructive, broadband characterization of sheet materials is presented. The new probe is shown to possess approximately 2 to 3 times the bandwidth of traditional coaxial and rectangular/circular waveguide probe systems while maintaining the structural robustness characteristic of rectangular/circular waveguide probe systems. The theoretical development of the probe is presented, namely, by applying Love’s equivalence theorem and enforcing the continuity of transverse fields at the dual-ridged waveguide apertures, a system of coupled magnetic field integral equations is derived. The system of coupled magnetic field integral equations is solved using the method …

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Reversible Mn Segregation At The Polar Surface Of Lithium Tetraborate, Christina L. Dugan, Robert L. Hengehold, Stephen R. Mchale, Juan A. Colon Santana, John W. Mcclory, Volodymyr T. Adamiv, Yaroslav V. Burak, Ya B. Losovyj, Peter A. Dowben Apr 2013

Reversible Mn Segregation At The Polar Surface Of Lithium Tetraborate, Christina L. Dugan, Robert L. Hengehold, Stephen R. Mchale, Juan A. Colon Santana, John W. Mcclory, Volodymyr T. Adamiv, Yaroslav V. Burak, Ya B. Losovyj, Peter A. Dowben

Faculty Publications

We find Mn surface segregation for single crystals of Mn doped Li2B4O7, nominally Li1.95Mn0.05B4O7(001), but as the temperature increases, evidence of this Mn surface segregation diminishes significantly. At room temperature, the surface photovoltaic charging is significant for this pyroelectric material but is quenched at a temperature well below that seen for the undoped Li2B4O7 samples. The suppression of surface charging in the region of 120 °C that accompanies the temperature of Mn dissolution in the bulk of Li2B4 …

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Metamaterial Structure Design Optimization: A Study Of The Cylindrical Cloak, Jason V. Paul Mar 2013

Metamaterial Structure Design Optimization: A Study Of The Cylindrical Cloak, Jason V. Paul

Theses and Dissertations

Previously, Transformational Optics (TO) has been used as a foundation for designing cylindrical cloaks. The TO method uses a coordinate transform to dictate an anisotropic material parameter gradient in a cylinder coating that guides waves around the cylinder to reduce the Radar Cross Section (RCS). The problem is that the material parameters required for the TO cloak are not physically realizable and thus must be approximated. This problem is compounded by the fact that any approximation deviates from the ideal design and will allow fields to penetrate the cloak layer and interact with the object to be cloaked. Since the …

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Guided Wave-Based J-Integral Estimation For Dynamic Stress Intensity Factors Using 3d Scanning Laser Doppler Vibrometry, J. Ayers, Christopher Todd Owen, Eric D. Swenson, Anindya Ghoshal, V. Weiss Jan 2013

Guided Wave-Based J-Integral Estimation For Dynamic Stress Intensity Factors Using 3d Scanning Laser Doppler Vibrometry, J. Ayers, Christopher Todd Owen, Eric D. Swenson, Anindya Ghoshal, V. Weiss

Faculty Publications

The application of guided waves to interrogate remote areas of structural components has been researched extensively in characterizing damage. However, there exists a sparsity of work in using piezoelectric transducer-generated guided waves as a method of assessing stress intensity factors (SIF). This quantitative information enables accurate estimation of the remaining life of metallic structures exhibiting cracks, such as military and commercial transport vehicles. The proposed full wavefield approach, based on 3D laser vibrometry and piezoelectric transducer-generated guided waves, provides a practical means for estimation of dynamic stress intensity factors (DSIF) through local strain energy mapping via the J-integral. Strain energies …

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Epr And Endor Studies Of Point Defects In Lithium Tetraborate Crystals, Douglas A. Buchanan Dec 2012

Epr And Endor Studies Of Point Defects In Lithium Tetraborate Crystals, Douglas A. Buchanan

Theses and Dissertations

Lithium tetraborate (Li2B4O7 or LTB) is a promising material for both radiation dosimetry and neutron detection applications. LTB crystals can be grown pure or doped with different impurities including transition-metal and rare-earth ions. Research in this dissertation focuses on undoped LTB crystals and LTB crystals doped with copper and silver. Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) and electron-nuclear double resonance (ENDOR) are used to characterize point defects in the lithium tetraborate crystals. Thermoluminescence (TL), photoluminescence (PL), photoluminescence excitation (PLE), and optical absorption (OA) are also used. An intrinsic hole trap associated with lithium vacancies is characterized with …

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Electromagnetic Interference Behavior Of Multiwall Carbon Nanotubes And Carbon Nanofibers Composites Under Fatigue, Peter A. Hunt Mar 2012

Electromagnetic Interference Behavior Of Multiwall Carbon Nanotubes And Carbon Nanofibers Composites Under Fatigue, Peter A. Hunt

Theses and Dissertations

The United States military is researching the use of nanocomposite materials for structural applications on space vehicle systems. To reduce vehicle weight and mitigate the electromagnetic interference (EMI) brought on by the harsh space environment, today's space vehicles are made of composites coated with expensive conductive materials. Research on composites made of carbon nanotubes (CNT) and carbon nanofibers (CNF) has shown better EMI shielding performance with these materials compared to the current composites coated with expensive conductive materials. Thus, CNTs and CNFs offer the potential to replace the current composites. This study evaluated the effects of EMI behavior on one …

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Creep Behavior In Interlaminar Shear Of A Cvi Sic/Sic Composite At Elevated Temperatures In Air And Steam, Matthew T. Pope Mar 2012

Creep Behavior In Interlaminar Shear Of A Cvi Sic/Sic Composite At Elevated Temperatures In Air And Steam, Matthew T. Pope

Theses and Dissertations

This research investigated the interlaminar shear performance of a SiC/SiC ceramic matrix composite. The interlaminar shear performance was observed in compression of double notched specimens (DNS) at 1200°C in both laboratory air and in steam. Compression to failure tests determined the as-processed interlaminar shear strength and interlaminar shear creep tests were conducted with stresses ranging from -22 MPa to -16 MPa. Primary and secondary creep regimes were observed in all creep tests. The specimens tested in creep at -16 MPa in air achieved run-out, defined as 100 hours at creep stress. The residual strength decreased slightly after 100 h of …

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Structural Health Monitoring Of M1114 High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle Armor System, Frank T. Sha Mar 2012

Structural Health Monitoring Of M1114 High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle Armor System, Frank T. Sha

Theses and Dissertations

The M1114 High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV) has been the workhorse vehicle of the U.S. Armed Forces in Afghanistan and Iraq. Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of Defense, was faced with massive public criticism in 2004 for not equipping our military personnel in Afghanistan and Iraq with M1114s that had the proper ballistic armor. In May 2004, a $618M Senate Bill was passed to increase the production level of HMMWVs and improve their ballistic protection capabilities while minimizing additional weight. While the military is taking advantage of using composite armor on the HMMWV, it does not have a rigorous method to …

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Distributed Spacing Stochastic Feature Selection And Its Application To Textile Classification, Jeffrey D. Clark Sep 2011

Distributed Spacing Stochastic Feature Selection And Its Application To Textile Classification, Jeffrey D. Clark

Theses and Dissertations

Many situations require the need to quickly and accurately locate dismounted individuals in a variety of environments. In conjunction with other dismount detection techniques, being able to detect and classify clothing (textiles) provides a more comprehensive and complete dismount characterization capability. Because textile classification depends on distinguishing between different material types, hyperspectral data, which consists of several hundred spectral channels sampled from a continuous electromagnetic spectrum, is used as a data source. However, a hyperspectral image generates vast amounts of information and can be computationally intractable to analyze. A primary means to reduce the computational complexity is to use feature …

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Ir Nonlinear Absorption Leading To Laser-Induced Damage In Ge & Gasb, Torrey J. Wagner, Matthew J. Bohn, Ronald A. Coutu Jr., L. P. Gonzales, J. M. Murray, K. L. Schepler, S. Guha Jun 2011

Ir Nonlinear Absorption Leading To Laser-Induced Damage In Ge & Gasb, Torrey J. Wagner, Matthew J. Bohn, Ronald A. Coutu Jr., L. P. Gonzales, J. M. Murray, K. L. Schepler, S. Guha

Faculty Publications

Using a simultaneous fitting technique to extract nonlinear absorption coefficients from data at two pulse widths, we measure two-photon and free-carrier absorption coefficients for Ge and GaSb at 2.05 and 2.5 μm for the first time. Results agreed well with published theory. Single-shot damage thresholds were also measured at 2.5 μm and agreed well with modeled thresholds using experimentally determined parameters including nonlinear absorption coefficients and temperature dependent linear absorption. The damage threshold for a single-layer Al2O3 anti-reflective coating on Ge was 55% or 35% lower than the uncoated threshold for ps or ns pulses, respectively. Wavelength-dependant …

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Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor-Compatible Detector Materials With Enhanced 1550 Nm Responsivity Via Sn-Doping Of Ge/Si(100), Richard T. Beeler, Jay Mathews, Mee-Yi Ryu, Yung-Kee Yeo, Jose Menendez, John Kouvetakis May 2011

Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor-Compatible Detector Materials With Enhanced 1550 Nm Responsivity Via Sn-Doping Of Ge/Si(100), Richard T. Beeler, Jay Mathews, Mee-Yi Ryu, Yung-Kee Yeo, Jose Menendez, John Kouvetakis

Faculty Publications

Previously developed methods used to grow Ge1−ySny alloys on Si are extended to Sn concentrations in the 1019−1020 cm−3 range. These concentrations are shown to be sufficient to engineer large increases in the responsivity of detectors operating at 1550 nm. The dopant levels of Sn are incorporated at temperatures in the 370–390 °C range, yielding atomically smooth layers devoid of threading defects at high growth rates of 15–30 nm/min. These conditions are far more compatible with complementary metal-oxide semiconductor processing than the high growth and processing temperatures required to achieve the same …

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Electromagnetic Modeling And Measurement Of Adaptive Metamaterial Structural Elements, Matthew E. Jussaume Mar 2011

Electromagnetic Modeling And Measurement Of Adaptive Metamaterial Structural Elements, Matthew E. Jussaume

Theses and Dissertations

This document addresses two major obstacles facing metamaterial development: uncertainty in the characterization of electromagnetic field behavior in metamaterial structures and the relatively small operational bandwidth of metamaterial structures. To address the first obstacle, a method of prediction aided measurement is developed and exploited to examine the field interactions within metamaterial devices. The fusion of simulation and measurement techniques enhances the understanding of the physical interactions of fields in the presence of metamaterials. To address the second obstacle, this document characterizes the effectiveness of an adaptive metamaterial design that incorporates a microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) variable capacitor. Applying voltages to the …

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Memristive Properties Of Thin Film Cuprous Oxide, Brett C. Castle Mar 2011

Memristive Properties Of Thin Film Cuprous Oxide, Brett C. Castle

Theses and Dissertations

Memristive properties of thin film copper oxides with different grain sizes were characterized using tunneling atomic force microscopy (TUNA) and optical reflection measurements. The thin films containing copper ions of different chemical states were prepared by thermal oxidation of metallic copper thin films, deposited via magnetron sputtering onto silicon wafer substrates at an elevated temperature for various lengths of time. The TUNA measurements showed a memristive hysteresis in the I-V curves under an applied bias profile with an initial bias of -3.5V, a ramp up to 3.5V, and subsequent return to -3.5V. Histogram analysis of the barrier height distribution for …

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An Analytical Model Of Nanometer Scale Viscoelastic Properties Of Polymer Surfaces Measured Using An Atomic Force Microscope, Jacob B. Goldberg Mar 2011

An Analytical Model Of Nanometer Scale Viscoelastic Properties Of Polymer Surfaces Measured Using An Atomic Force Microscope, Jacob B. Goldberg

Theses and Dissertations

The United States Air Force and the Department of Defense is increasingly interested in nanomaterials. To study these materials, one needs to measure the mechanics of materials on the nanoscale. Over the past few decades the atomic force microscope (AFM) has been used in various methods to establish local surface properties at the nanoscale. In particular, surface elasticity measurements are crucial to understanding nanoscale surface properties. Problems arise, however, when measuring soft surfaces such as polymers and biological specimens, because these materials have a more complex viscoelastic response. This research focuses on modeling an AFM dynamic nanoindentation experiment intended to …

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Measurement And Modeling Of Infrared Nonlinear Absorption Coefficients And Laser-Induced Damage Thresholds In Ge And Gasb, Torrey J. Wagner, Matthew J. Bohn, Ronald A. Coutu Jr., L. P. Gonzales, J. M. Murray, K. L. Schepler, S. Guha Oct 2010

Measurement And Modeling Of Infrared Nonlinear Absorption Coefficients And Laser-Induced Damage Thresholds In Ge And Gasb, Torrey J. Wagner, Matthew J. Bohn, Ronald A. Coutu Jr., L. P. Gonzales, J. M. Murray, K. L. Schepler, S. Guha

Faculty Publications

Using a simultaneous fitting technique to extract nonlinear absorption coefficients from data at two pulse widths, we measure two-photon and free-carrier absorption coefficients for Ge and GaSb at 2.05 and 2.5 µm for the first time, to our knowledge. Results agreed well with published theory. Single-shot damage thresholds were also measured at 2.5 µm and agreed well with modeled thresholds using experimentally determined parameters including nonlinear absorption coefficients and temperature dependent linear absorption. The damage threshold for a single-layer Al2O3 anti-reflective coating on Ge was 55% or 35% lower than the uncoated threshold for picosecond or nanosecond …

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The Electronic Structure And Secondary Pyroelectric Properties Of Lithium Tetraborate, Volodymyr T. Adamiv, Yaroslav V. Burak, David J. Wooten, John W. Mcclory, James C. Petrosky, Ihor Ketsman, Ya B. Losovyj, Peter A. Dowben, Jie Xiao Sep 2010

The Electronic Structure And Secondary Pyroelectric Properties Of Lithium Tetraborate, Volodymyr T. Adamiv, Yaroslav V. Burak, David J. Wooten, John W. Mcclory, James C. Petrosky, Ihor Ketsman, Ya B. Losovyj, Peter A. Dowben, Jie Xiao

Faculty Publications

We review the pyroelectric properties and electronic structure of Li2B4O7(110) and Li2B4O7(100) surfaces. There is evidence for a pyroelectric current along the [110] direction of stoichiometric Li2B4O7 so that the pyroelectric coefficient is nonzero but roughly 103 smaller than along the [001] direction of spontaneous polarization. Abrupt decreases in the pyroelectric coefficient along the [110] direction can be correlated with anomalies in the elastic stiffness contributing to the concept that the pyroelectric coefficient is not simply a vector but has qualities of …

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All Solid-State Mid-Ir Laser Development, Nonlinear Absorption Investigation And Laser-Induced Damage Study, Torrey J. Wagner Sep 2010

All Solid-State Mid-Ir Laser Development, Nonlinear Absorption Investigation And Laser-Induced Damage Study, Torrey J. Wagner

Theses and Dissertations

In this research, nonlinear optical absorption coefficients and laser-induced damage thresholds are measured in Ge and GaSb, which are materials that are used in IR detectors. Using a simultaneous fitting technique to extract nonlinear absorption coefficients from data at two pulse widths, two-photon and free-carrier absorption coefficients are measured in Ge and GaSb at 2.05 and 2.5 μm for the first time. At these wavelengths, nonlinear absorption is the primary damage mechanism, and damage thresholds at picosecond and nanosecond pulse widths were measured and agreed well with modeled thresholds using experimentally measured parameters. The damage threshold for a single-layer Al …

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Characterization And Measurement Of Passive And Active Metamaterial Devices, Christopher A. Lundell Mar 2010

Characterization And Measurement Of Passive And Active Metamaterial Devices, Christopher A. Lundell

Theses and Dissertations

This document addresses two major obstacles facing metamaterial development: uncertainty in the characterization of electromagnetic field behavior in metamaterial structures and the relatively small operational bandwidth of metamaterial structures. To address the first obstacle, a new method to characterize electromagnetic field behavior in a metamaterial is presented. This new method is a bistatic radar cross section (RCS) measurement technique. RCS measurements are well-suited to measuring bulk metamaterial samples because they show frequency dependence of scattering angles and offer common postprocessing techniques that can be useful for visualizing results. To address the second obstacle, this document characterizes the effectiveness of an …

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Optical And Electrical Characterization Of Bulk Grown Indium-Gallium-Arsenide Alloys, Austin C. Bergstrom Mar 2010

Optical And Electrical Characterization Of Bulk Grown Indium-Gallium-Arsenide Alloys, Austin C. Bergstrom

Theses and Dissertations

Advances in crystal growth techniques have allowed increased quality in growth of bulk ternary InxGa1-xAs. Here, the optical and electrical properties of samples grown through the vertical Bridgman (or multi-component zone melting growth) method have been investigated through photoluminescence spectroscopy and Hall effect measurements. Indium mole fractions varied from 0.75 for 1. Hall effect measurements at temperatures ranging from 10 to 300 K revealed moderate n-type doping with carrier concentrations ranging from 1.5 to 9.6×1016 cm-3 at 10 to 15 K. Carriers from deep donor levels became appreciable between 50 and 100 K. Hall …

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Rubidium Recycling In A High Intensity Short Duration Pulsed Alkali Laser, Wooddy S. Miller Mar 2010

Rubidium Recycling In A High Intensity Short Duration Pulsed Alkali Laser, Wooddy S. Miller

Theses and Dissertations

Laser induced fluorescence was used to study how pump pulse duration and alkali recycle time effects maximum power output in a Diode Pumped Alkali Laser (DPAL) system. A high intensity short pulsed pump source was used to excited rubidium atoms inside a DPAL-type laser. The maximum output power of the laser showed a strong dependence upon the temporal width of the pump pulse in addition to the input pump intensity. A linear relationship was observed between the maximum output power and the pulse width due to the effective lifetime of the excited state, defined as the time it takes for …

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Afm-Patterned 2-D Thin-Film Photonic Crystal Analyzed By Complete Angle Scatter, Nicholas C. Herr Mar 2010

Afm-Patterned 2-D Thin-Film Photonic Crystal Analyzed By Complete Angle Scatter, Nicholas C. Herr

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to use an atomic force microscope (AFM) to generate a 2-D square array of sub-wavelength surface features from a single material over a region large enough to permit optical characterization. This work is an extension of previous AFIT nano-patterning work and is in response to the small subunit sizes demanded for the production of optical metamaterials and photonic crystals. A diamond nano-indentation AFM probe was used to produce a 325-μm by 200-μm array of indentations in a 120-nm thick polystyrene film deposited on silicon. Indentation spacing of 400 nm produced well-defined surface features with …

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Hard Collisions In Rubidium Using Sub-Doppler Spectroscopy, Douglas E. Thornton Mar 2010

Hard Collisions In Rubidium Using Sub-Doppler Spectroscopy, Douglas E. Thornton

Theses and Dissertations

To better understand the laser kinetics of an alkali gain medium, hard collisions, or velocity-changing collisions, has been studied and a velocity-changing collisional rate has been calculated. Previous works have studied these collisions, but no rate has been calculated. Using the precise tool of sub-Doppler spectroscopy, atomic hard collisions can be observed. The collected spectra are fitted with two different line shapes to demonstrate the accuracy of this method. From the fits, the number of hard collisions can be extracted. The time scale of the hard collisions in rubidium is interpolated by varying the chopping frequency of the pump beam, …

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