Materials Science and Engineering Commons^™

Spectrally Selective, Matched Emitters For Thermophotovoltaic Energy Conversion Processed By Tape Casting, L. G. Ferguson, Fatih Dogan

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The thermophotovoltaic (TPV) generator converts radiant energy from a high temperature emitter element into electric power using infrared responding photovoltaic cells. Spectral control is a primary issue in TPV applications. Conventional TPV generators have relied on filters to achieve selectivity and spectral control with near-blackbody ceramic emitters. Several practical problems have limited the success of this approach, particularly the present lack of a satisfactory wide-band infrared filter. A new, spectrally selective emitter is described in this work, and will be called the “bandgap matched” emitter because its emissive power spectrum is very efficiently matched with the infrared response of the …

Dynamics Of Pancake Vortices In A Finite Stack Of Superconducting Copper Oxide Layers, Mariam Mustafa Ahmad Al Marzoqi

Theses

The high temperature superconductors are very promising materials in a wide range of applications, starting from the electricity power supply. They play a lifesaving function through imaging systems. Even major internet and communication advances depend on these materials.

Superconductivity in these materials occurs particularly in the copper-oxide planes. However, since these materials are type-II superconductors, magnetic fields can penetrate these materials in quantized amounts of flux called vortices without destroying completely superconductivity, but producing some resistance, due to vortex motion. In order to overcome the resistance problem, vortices must be pinned to prevent their motion and hence eliminate the resistance. …

Optical Properties Of Wide Band Gap Indium Sulphide Thin Films Obtained By Physical Vapor Deposition, N. Barreau, S. Marsillac, J. C. Bernède, T. Ben Nasrallah, S. Belgacem

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Thin films of indium sulphide containing oxygen have been synthesized following a dry physical process. The constituents are deposited by thermal evaporation on glass substrates and then annealed under argon flow. Polycrystalline β-In₂S₃ containing oxygen thin films are obtained as soon as the temperature of annealing is between 623 and 723 K. In this paper, these β-In₂S₃ thin films have optically been studied. The optical band gap is direct. Its value is not dependent on the temperature of annealing. It is about 2.8 eV, which is higher than that of β-In₂S_{3 …}

A Direct Correlation Function For Mesomorphic Polymers And Its Application To The ‘Smectic’ Phase Of Isotactic Polypropylene, Y Cohen, Ravi F. Saraf

Papers in Materials Science

A general model to calculate the structure of a smectic to nematic-like order in polymer systems is proposed. The model is limited to well-aligned molecules with respect to each other. It is especially suited for systems where the packing between neighboring chains is described by liquid-like disorder with axial registration in the chain-axis direction. In such a case the diffraction pattern from the oriented structure exhibits broad liquid-like reflections on the equatorial but sharper reflections on the layer lines. An Ornstein-Zernike approach is adopted to calculate the inter-chain packing and inter-chain registration, where the direct correlation function of packing and …

Glass Transition Behavior Of Pmma Thin Films, Moses T. Kabomo, Frank D. Blum

Chemistry Faculty Research & Creative Works

In the last decade there has been an increased interest in the study of the properties of supported thin polymer films. This has been prompted by the incorporation of thin films into device applications and many other technologies. Although not without controversy, a large body of experimental work indicates departures from bulk behavior by thin films. Strong evidence from both theoretical and experimental work shows that the interaction of polymer with a substrate alters the polymer conformation and mobility. A variety of techniques has been employed to probe the mobility of thin supported polymer films. Some of these techniques indirectly …

Graduated Segmental Mobility In Polymer Layers On Silica, Frank D. Blum, Crystal E. Porter, Wuu-Yung Lin

Chemistry Faculty Research & Creative Works

The behavior of thin polymer layers on oxide substrates has gotten a great deal of attention as the size of materials, and hence polymer films, has gotten smaller. Indeed, the properties of adsorbed polymers are such that they can be different from those of bulk polymers, especially when the films are very thin. A wide variety of studies have been made on adsorbed polymers and sometimes the results seem contradictory. One of the properties often measured in thin films is the apparent glasstransition temperature, Tg. In principle, many techniques are sensitive to phenomenological changes occurring around Tg and, therefore, can …