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Full-Text Articles in Physics

Microelectromechanical Optical Beam Steering Systems, David M. Burns Dec 1997

Microelectromechanical Optical Beam Steering Systems, David M. Burns

Theses and Dissertations

The development of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) has matured to the point where the fabrication of micron sized devices is feasible. State of the art MEMS construction processes now support the fabrication of novel optical devices that could not previously be built. This dissertation reports on the development of innovative micro optical devices such as Variable Blaze Gratings (VBGs) using state of the art MEMS construction processes. The principle application of the micro optical devices described in this dissertation is steering optical beams; however other applications such as spectral analysis are identified. Specific optical beam steering systems developed and characterized in …


Reactive Quantum Scattering In Two Dimensions, Roy S. Calfas Dec 1997

Reactive Quantum Scattering In Two Dimensions, Roy S. Calfas

Theses and Dissertations

In an effort to develop a more efficient time dependent approach for calculating scattering matrix elements, absorbing boundary conditions are combined together with the channel packet method. As an introduction to scattering, scattering matrix elements are presented for a one-dimensional square well and a one-dimensional potential consisting of a Gaussian well with symmetric Gaussian barriers. Next, the combination of the channel packet method together with absorbing boundary conditions yields an order of magnitude savings in the time necessary to compute the correlation function for the collinear H+H


Collisional Broadening Of Spectral Lines In The X → B System Of O2 And The First Vibrational Band Of No By The Noble Gases, John J. Cornicelli Dec 1997

Collisional Broadening Of Spectral Lines In The X → B System Of O2 And The First Vibrational Band Of No By The Noble Gases, John J. Cornicelli

Theses and Dissertations

Collisional broadening of the rotational spectral lines of the X to b system of O2 and the first vibrational band of NO by the noble gases is examined by Fourier transform spectroscopy. Peaks of the individual rotational lines are modeled with a Voigt function, from which Lorentzian half widths are extracted. Lorentzian widths are plotted vs. pressure of foreign gas, from which the pressure broadening coefficients and pressure broadening cross sections are calculated. The pressure broadening coefficients are compared to theoretical values determined by past research for O2. NO coefficients are compared to similar research using N …


Time Resolved Photoluminescence Spectra Of A Mid-Infrared Multiple Quantum Well Semiconductor Laser, Anthony L. Franz Dec 1997

Time Resolved Photoluminescence Spectra Of A Mid-Infrared Multiple Quantum Well Semiconductor Laser, Anthony L. Franz

Theses and Dissertations

Recombination mechanisms in mid-IR semiconductor lasers are strongly dependent on the carrier density of the active region. The objective of this research is to improve previous carrier density estimates through the incorporation of spectral information. One hundred photoluminescence (PL) spectra were calculated for a variety of carrier densities. Calculations were made for an InAsSb/InAlAsSb multiple quantum well laser sample assuming parabolic bands. The widths of the calculated spectral profiles were tabulated as a function of carrier density. Actual spectra were measured using the Ultrafast Mid-Infrared Photoluminescence System, which uses upconversion to measure the PL intensity in time steps smaller than …


Reduced Computational Cost, Totally Symmetric Angular Quadrature Sets For Discrete Ordinates Radiation Transport, Joseph M. Oder Dec 1997

Reduced Computational Cost, Totally Symmetric Angular Quadrature Sets For Discrete Ordinates Radiation Transport, Joseph M. Oder

Theses and Dissertations

Several new quadrature sets for use in the discrete ordinates method of solving the Boltzmann neutral particle transport equation are derived. These symmetric quadratures extend the traditional symmetric quadratures by allowing ordinates perpendicular to one or two of the coordinate axes. Comparable accuracy with fewer required ordinates is obtained. Quadratures up to seventh order are presented. The validity and efficiency of the quadratures is then tested and compared with the Sn level symmetric quadratures relative to a Monte Carlo benchmark solution. The criteria for comparison include current through the surface, scalar flux at the surface, volume average scalar flux, and …


Displacement Of The Earth's Bow Shock And Magnetopause Due To An Impinging Interplanetary Shock Wave, William A. Olson Dec 1997

Displacement Of The Earth's Bow Shock And Magnetopause Due To An Impinging Interplanetary Shock Wave, William A. Olson

Theses and Dissertations

Interplanetary shock waves (ISWs) propagating through the solar wind can collide with the earth's bow shock, resulting in a series of new shocks, contact discontinuities, and rarefaction waves which interact to effectively move the bow shock and magnetopause toward the earth. A one dimensional MacCormack predictor corrector algorithm with Flux Corrected Transport (FCT) was developed to model the ISW bow shock and magnetopause interactions, and to numerically predict their propagation speeds after collision. Analytic relationships for the Mach numbers and propagation speeds of the generated shock waves and contact discontinuities were used to validate the model and to compare numerical …


An Analytical Method To Calculate Activity From Measurements Affected By Coincidence Summing, Anthony P. Popovich Dec 1997

An Analytical Method To Calculate Activity From Measurements Affected By Coincidence Summing, Anthony P. Popovich

Theses and Dissertations

An analytical method is developed and applied to find the activities of two radioisotopes based on measurements influenced by true coincidence summing. The method incorporates the solid angle subtended by the detector, the macroscopic cross sections of the materials present, the absolute peak and total efficiencies of the detector, and the modes and probabilities of decay of the radioisotope. With this information, the method corrects for both summing-in and summing-out events. Summing events affect peak counts and cause the calculated activity to differ from the true activity. Thin disk sources of Mo-99 and Cs-136 on the face of a closed-end, …


Spontaneous Emission In Microcavity Lasers, Dustin Philip Ziegler Dec 1997

Spontaneous Emission In Microcavity Lasers, Dustin Philip Ziegler

Theses and Dissertations

An understanding of spontaneous emission processes within microcavities is crucial in addressing the need to make tomorrow's microlasers more efficient. One approach to improving the device efficiency is to reduce the threshold input energy at which lasing begins to occur. It has been suggested that the threshold in a microcavity laser can be decreased by increasing the fraction of spontaneous emission into the lasing mode, this can be accomplished by preferentially coupling the gain medium of the laser to the electromagnetic cavity mode of interest. It therefore becomes necessary to understand the mechanism by which this coupling takes place. This …


Photoluminescence Study Of Gan Implanted With Erbium And Erbium-Oxygen, Lori R. Everitt Dec 1997

Photoluminescence Study Of Gan Implanted With Erbium And Erbium-Oxygen, Lori R. Everitt

Theses and Dissertations

Erbium emits at 1540 nm, which propagates well through fiber optic cables. This work studies the photoluminescence (PL) from GaN, GaN implanted with Er alone, and GaN implanted with both Er and O as functions of excitation laser energy and sample temperature. When the exciton bound to a neutral donor recombined, a photon was emitted at 3.47 eV. A photon emitted at 3.457 eV may have been evidence of the recombination of an exciton bound to a neutral acceptor. Second, the Er-ion transitions were observed in two groups around 0.805 and 1.25 eV. The PL intensity was measured at four …


Analysis Of Uranium Oxide Weathering By Molecular Spectroscopy, Matthew S. Zickafoose Nov 1997

Analysis Of Uranium Oxide Weathering By Molecular Spectroscopy, Matthew S. Zickafoose

Theses and Dissertations

A preliminary study of the weathering of uranium oxide particles diluted in diamond dust at ambient environmental conditions is presented. The primary weathering reaction is oxidation of the uranium from the 4 to 6 oxidation state, although formation of compounds such as carbonates and hydroxides is possible. Identification of the state of uranium oxide has been attempted using luminescence spectroscopy and diffuse reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy DRIFTS. Luminescence spectra of nominal samples of three common oxides, UO3, U3O8, and UO2, have been measured showing significant spectral differences in peaks at 494 nm, 507 nm, 529 nm, and 553 nm. …


A Validation Of The Parameterized Real-Time Ionospheric Specification Model (Prism) Version 1.7b, Shawn D. Filby Nov 1997

A Validation Of The Parameterized Real-Time Ionospheric Specification Model (Prism) Version 1.7b, Shawn D. Filby

Theses and Dissertations

The most current version of the Parameterized Real-time Ionospheric Specification Model (PRISM), version 1.7b, was validated using Digital Ionospheric Sounding System (DISS) measurements of F2 layer critical frequency (foF2) and F2 peak electron density height (hmF2) as the "ground truth." PRISM was executed, first, with no real-time input parameter and, second, with Global Positioning System (GPS) Total Electron Content (TEC) measurements as the sole real-time parameter. Hourly values of hmF2 and foF2 over 123 days in 1994-1996 (solar minimum conditions) and covering three seasons (equinox, summer solstice, and winter solstice) were compared for Wallops Island, Virginia, and Point Arguello, California, …


Hybrid Quantum And Molecular Mechanics Embedded Cluster Models For Chemistry On Silicon And Silicon Carbide Surfaces, James R. Shoemaker Oct 1997

Hybrid Quantum And Molecular Mechanics Embedded Cluster Models For Chemistry On Silicon And Silicon Carbide Surfaces, James R. Shoemaker

Theses and Dissertations

Fabrication of silicon carbide SiC semiconductor devices are of interest for aerospace applications because of their high-temperature tolerance. Growth of an insulating SiO2 layer on SiC is a poorly understood process, and sometimes produces interface defects that degrade device performance. Accurate theoretical models of surface chemistry, using quantum mechanics QM, do not exist because of the huge computational cost of solving Schroedingers equation for a molecular cluster large enough to represent a surface. Molecular mechanics MM, which describes a molecule as a collection of atoms interacting through classical potentials, is a fast computational method, good at predicting molecular structure, …


Shock Waves In Nonequilibrium Gases And Plasmas, William M. Hilbun Oct 1997

Shock Waves In Nonequilibrium Gases And Plasmas, William M. Hilbun

Theses and Dissertations

An analysis and assessment of three mechanisms describing plasma/shock wave interactions was conducted under conditions typically encountered in a weakly ionized glow discharge. The mechanisms of ion-acoustic wave damping, post-shock energy addition and thermal inhomogeneities were examined by numerically solving the Euler equations with appropriate source terms adapted for each mechanism. Ion-acoustic wave damping was examined by modeling the partially ionized plasma as two fluids in one spatial dimension using the Riemann problem as a basis. Post-shock energy addition in the form of nonequilibrium vibrational energy relaxation was also examined in one spatial dimension using the Riemann problem as a …


Experimental Investigation Of Nonlinear Dynamics In Single Mode Semiconductor Laser Diodes With Phase Conjugate Feedback, Gordon T. Hengst Aug 1997

Experimental Investigation Of Nonlinear Dynamics In Single Mode Semiconductor Laser Diodes With Phase Conjugate Feedback, Gordon T. Hengst

Theses and Dissertations

The semiconductor laser diode offers a unique system to investigate nonlinear dynamics when optical feedback is applied. Although there is extensive research of laser diodes with optical feedback from normal dielectric mirrors, very little has been done experimentally to analyze the effects of degenerate phase conjugate feedback from a BaTiO3 crystal. This research experimentally investigated the dynamics of a single-mode laser diode with weak phase conjugate feedback using both the self-pumped and double phase conjugate geometries. The experimental results validated a mathematical model which numerically evaluates the Lang-Kobayahsi coupled differential equations. The model simulated the nonlinear behavior of a …


Kinetics And Spectroscopy Of Brno, Patrick E. Godfrey Jun 1997

Kinetics And Spectroscopy Of Brno, Patrick E. Godfrey

Theses and Dissertations

The infrared spectra and photochemistry of nitrosyl bromide, BrNO, are important to characterizing the performance of a recently demonstrated Br(2P1/2)-NO(v=2 → v=1) transfer laser pumped by photolysis of iodine molecules. This wavelength agile, mid-infrared laser may be a desirable source for remote sensing and infrared countermeasures missions. Nitrosyl bromide also plays a role in the destruction of stratospheric ozone. The kinetics of BrNO formation and destruction were examined using time-resolved photolysis techniques. The equilibrium constant for the dark reaction Br2 + 2NO (reversible reaction) 2BrNO was determined as Keq 168 ± 23 /atm and …


Optimization Considerations For Adaptive Optics Digital Imagery Systems, Robert T. Brigantic Jun 1997

Optimization Considerations For Adaptive Optics Digital Imagery Systems, Robert T. Brigantic

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation had three objectives. The first objective was to develop image quality metrics that characterize Adaptive Optics System (AOS) performance. The second objective was to delineate control settings that maximize AOS performance. The third objective was to identify and characterize trade-offs between fully and partially compensated adaptive. For the first objective, three candidate image quality metrics were considered: the Strehl ratio, a novel metric that modifies the Strehl ratio by integrating the modulus of the average system optical transfer function to a 'noise-effective-cutoff' frequency at which some specified image spectrum signal-to-noise-ratio level is attained, and the noise-effective-cutoff frequency. It …


Evaluation And Application Of Space Telescope Aberration Sensing Using Phase Diversity, David J. Lee Apr 1997

Evaluation And Application Of Space Telescope Aberration Sensing Using Phase Diversity, David J. Lee

Theses and Dissertations

Due to mechanical aspects of fabrication, launch, and operational environment, space telescope optics can suffer from unforeseen aberrations, detracting from their intended diffraction-limited performance goals. This dissertation gives the results of simulation and theoretical studies designed to explore how wavefront aberration information for such "nearly diffraction-limited" telescopes can be estimated via the Gonsalves (least-squares) phase diversity technique. In traditional phase diversity, aberrations are estimated from two images—one conventional, focused image and one image that has been defocused by a known amount. These studies are original and significant in that this effort represents the first time the effects of photon noise …


Spectroscopic And Kinetic Studies Of Bismuth Dimers, Robert Eugene Frankin Jan 1997

Spectroscopic And Kinetic Studies Of Bismuth Dimers, Robert Eugene Frankin

Theses and Dissertations

The spectroscopy of high rotational levels (J ≤ 211) in Bi2 X(Og+) and A(Ou+) was investigated for 2≤v"≤5 and 0≤v'≤4 by observing total fluorescence from laser excitation. Dunham coefficients were derived that fit all observed rotational lines to within 0.01 cm-1. Franck-Condon factors were calculated and experimentally verified for transitions originating from the initially populated levels 0≤v'≤5. Vibrational energy transfer upon collision with rare gas collision partners was investigated for the low-lying vibrational levels of the A-state using spectrally resolved, continuous wave laser induced fluorescence. Vibrational transfer was adequately modeled by …


Investigation Of The Optical Properties Of Ordered Semiconductor Materials, Jack E. Mccrae Jr. Jan 1997

Investigation Of The Optical Properties Of Ordered Semiconductor Materials, Jack E. Mccrae Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

Optical studies have been conducted upon CdGeAs2 and ZnGeP2, two of the most promising semiconductors being developed for mid-infrared non-linear optics applications. These experiments included photoluminescence (PL) studies of both compounds as well as photoreflectance (PR) measurements upon CdGeAs2. In addition, Hall effect measurements were carried out upon CdGeAs2, to aid in interpretation of the optical data. PL was measured as a function of laser power, sample temperature, and crystal orientation for CdGeAs2. One broad weak peak near 0.38 eV, and another somewhat narrower and often far brighter peak near 0.57 …


Four-Wave Mixing And Optical Phase Conjugation In Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Devices, Gregory J. Vansuch Jan 1997

Four-Wave Mixing And Optical Phase Conjugation In Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Devices, Gregory J. Vansuch

Theses and Dissertations

Four-wave mixing (FWM), a nonlinear optical process, was investigated in resonant cavity light emitting diodes (RCLEDs) and vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSELs) below lasing threshold. These semiconductor photonic devices consisted of an optical gain region of quantum wells sandwiched between two distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) mirrors. Pump and probe lasers were injected into the devices to generate FWM. The dependence of FWM on bias current, pump laser power, and spectral and spatial separation between pump and probe lasers was investigated experimentally. A computer model of FWM based on the wave and carrier density equations was developed and agreed well …