Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics Commons^™

Elastic Properties Of Superconductors And Materials With Weakly Correlated Spins, Christian Binek

Christian Binek Publications

It is shown that in the ergodic regime, the temperature dependence of Young’s modulus is solely determined by the magnetic properties of a material. For the large class of materials with paramagnetic or diamagnetic response, simple functional forms of the temperature derivative of Young’s modulus are derived and compared with experimental data and empirical results. Superconducting materials in the Meissner phase are ideal diamagnets. As such, they display remarkable elastic properties. Constant diamagnetic susceptibility gives rise to a temperature independent elastic modulus for ceramic and single crystalline superconductors alike. The thermodynamic approach established in this report, paves the way to …

Observing Orbital Angular Momentum Transfer From Electron Vortex Beams To Matter, Hannah Devyldere

Senior Theses

It is possible to produce electron beams with non-zero orbital angular momentum. Such beams, known as electron vortex beams, are theoretically able to transfer their orbital angular momenta to matter, causing the matter to rotate. Nanoparticles in an aqueous solution were observed with an electron vortex beam to detect the transfer of orbital angular momentum in a low-friction environment. Observing the transfer of orbital angular momentum to particles in solution is difficult due to the necessity of imaging the particles through a liquid and the random movement of particles in the solution. Thus, orbital angular momentum transfer to matter could …

Magnetic Behavior Of Bulk And Nanostructured Mnxtas2, Lucas Paul Beving

Honors Program Theses

At its base, material science research aims to categorize specific materials by their various attributes, such as structure, integrity, electronic properties, magnetic properties, and others. By categorizing materials in this way, it becomes easier to generalize the application of a specific material to those within a broader category. The interest in materials that exhibit useful characteristics at small scales derives directly from the technology industry’s need for smaller and smaller devices. Two-dimensional materials are of great interest for this reason.

Two-dimensional materials are comprised of many single layers, or planes, stacked together to create a crystal. Each layer may be …

Photonicstd-2d: Modeling Light Scattering In Periodic Multilayer Photonic Structures, Alexey Bondarev, Shaimaa Azzam, Zhaxylyk Kudyshev, Alexander V. Kildishev

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Efficient modeling of electromagnetic processes in optical and plasmonic metamaterials is important for enabling new and exciting ways to manipulate light for advanced applications. In this work, we put together a tool for numerical simulation of propagation of normally incident light through a nanostructured multilayer composite material. The user builds a unit cell of a given material layer-by-layer starting from a substrate up to a superstrate, splitting each layer further into segments. The segments are defined by width and material -- dielectric, metal or active medium. Simulations are performed with the finite difference time domain (FDTD) method. A database of …

Plasma Processing Of Superconducting Radio Frequency Cavities, Janardan Upadhyay

Physics Theses & Dissertations

The development of plasma processing technology of superconducting radio frequency (SRF) cavities not only provides a chemical free and less expensive processing method, but also opens up the possibility for controlled modification of the inner surfaces of the cavity for better superconducting properties. The research was focused on the transition of plasma etching from two dimensional flat surfaces to inner surfaces of three dimensional (3D) structures. The results could be applicable to a variety of inner surfaces of 3D structures other than SRF cavities. Understanding the Ar/Cl₂ plasma etching mechanism is crucial for achieving the desired modification of Nb …

Identification Of The Zinc-Oxygen Divacancy In Zno Crystals, Maurio S. Holston, Eric M. Golden, Brant E. Kananen, John W. Mcclory, Nancy C. Giles, Larry E. Halliburton

Faculty Publications

An electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectrum in neutron-irradiated ZnO crystals is assigned to the zinc-oxygen divacancy. These divacancies are observed in the bulk of both hydrothermally grown and seeded-chemical-vapor-transport-grown crystals after irradiations with fast neutrons. Neutral nonparamagnetic complexes consisting of adjacent zinc and oxygen vacancies are formed during the irradiation. Subsequent illumination below ∼150 K with 442 nm laser light converts these (V²⁻_Zn − V²⁺_O)⁰ defects to their EPR-active state (V⁻_Zn − V²⁺_O)⁺ as electrons are transferred to donors. The resulting photoinduced S = 1/2 spectrum of the …

Zncdmgse As A Materials Platform For Advanced Photonic Devices: Broadband Quantum Cascade Detectors And Green Semiconductor Disk Lasers, Joel De Jesus

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The ZnCdMgSe family of II-VI materials has unique and promising characteristics that may be useful in practical applications. For example they can be grown lattice matched to InP substrates with lattice matched bandgaps that span from 2.1 to 3.5 eV, they can be successfully doped n-type, have a large conduction band offset (CBO) with no intervalley scattering present when strained, they have lower average phonon energies, and the InP lattice constant lies in the middle of the ZnSe and CdSe binaries compounds giving room to experiment with tensile and compressive stress. However they have not been studied in detail for …

Beyond Conventional C-Plane Gan-Based Light Emitting Diodes: A Systematic Exploration Of Leds On Semi-Polar Orientations, Morteza Monavarian

Theses and Dissertations

Despite enormous efforts and investments, the efficiency of InGaN-based green and yellow-green light emitters remains relatively low, and that limits progress in developing full color display, laser diodes, and bright light sources for general lighting. The low efficiency of light emitting devices in the green-to-yellow spectral range, also known as the “Green Gap”, is considered a global concern in the LED industry. The polar c-plane orientation of GaN, which is the mainstay in the LED industry, suffers from polarization-induced separation of electrons and hole wavefunctions (also known as the “quantum confined Stark effect”) and low indium incorporation efficiency that …

Uv Light-Induced Aggregation Of Titania Submicron Particles, Can Zhou, Yashar Bashirzadeh, Timothy A. Bernadowsky Jr., Xiaoyu Zhang

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Faculty Publications

In this study, aggregation of TiO₂ (rutile and anatase) submicron particles in deionized (DI) water under ultra-violet (UV) light irradiation was investigated. While no aggregation was observed in the dark, rutile and anatase submicron particles started aggregating upon application of UV light and ceased aggregation in about 2 and 8.4 h, respectively. It has been demonstrated that UV light directly mitigated the particle mobility of TiO₂, resulting in a neutralization effect of the Zeta potential. It was also observed that rutile particles aggregated much faster than anatase particles under UV radiation, indicating that the Zeta potential of …

Interstitial Silicon Ions In Rutile Tio2 Crystals, Eric M. Golden, Nancy C. Giles, Shan Yang, Larry E. Halliburton

Faculty Publications

Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) is used to identify a new and unique photoactive silicon-related point defect in single crystals of rutile TiO₂. The importance of this defect lies in its assignment to interstitial silicon ions and the unexpected establishment of silicon impurities as a major hole trap in TiO₂. Principal g values of this new S=1/2 center are 1.9159, 1.9377, and 1.9668 with principal axes along the [¯110],[001], and [110] directions, respectively. Hyperfine structure in the EPR spectrum shows the unpaired spin interacting equally with two Ti nuclei and unequally with two Si nuclei. These silicon …

Experimental Constraints On Exotic Spin-Dependent Interactions Using Specialized Materials, Rakshya Khatiwada

Open Access Dissertations

Various theories predict the possible existence of symmetry violating forces with mesoscopic range interactions from mm-m [1]. These forces can arise from the coupling of a spin 0 boson to spin 1/2 fermions through scalar (gs) and pseudoscalar (gp) couplings. We discuss two experiments that can investigate these interactions using nucleon rich, impressively low magnetic susceptibility (5-100 times lower than pure water) test masses and electron-spin rich, polarized test masses (spin density: 10^20 h/cm3 ). The first experiment looks for a P-odd, T-odd interaction potential proportional to (S.r) where S is the spin of one particle and r is the …

Theoretical Investigation Of Stabilities And Optical Properties Of Si12C12 Clusters, Xiaofeng F. Duan, Larry W. Burggraf

Faculty Publications

By sorting through hundreds of globally stable Si₁₂C₁₂ isomers using a potential surface search and using simulated annealing, we have identified low-energy structures. Unlike isomers knit together by Si–C bonds, the lowest energy isomers have segregated carbon and silicon regions that maximize stronger C–C bonding. Positing that charge separation between the carbon and silicon regions would produce interesting optical absorption in these cluster molecules, we used time-dependent density functional theory to compare the calculated optical properties of four isomers representing structural classes having different types of silicon and carbon segregation regions. Absorptions involving charge transfer between segregated …

Sulfur Vacancies In Photorefractive Sn2P2S6 Crystals, Eric M. Golden, Sergey A. Basun, A. A. Grabar, I. M. Stoika, Nancy C. Giles, D. R. Evans, Larry E. Halliburton

Faculty Publications

A photoinduced electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectrum in single crystals of Sn2P2S6 (SPS) is assigned to an electron trapped at a sulfur vacancy. These vacancies are unintentionally present in undoped SPS crystals and are expected to play an important role in the photorefractive behavior of the material. Nonparamagnetic sulfur vacancies are formed during the initial growth of the crystal. Subsequent illumination below 100 K with 442 nm laser light easily converts these vacancies to EPR-active defects. The resulting S = 1/2 spectrum shows well-resolved and nearly isotropic hyperfine interactions with two P ions and two Sn ions. Partially resolved interactions …

Atom-Based Geometrical Fingerprinting Of Conformal Two-Dimensional Materials, Mehrshad Mehboudi

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The shape of two-dimensional materials plays a significant role on their chemical and physical properties. Two-dimensional materials are basic meshes that are formed by mesh points (vertices) given by atomic positions, and connecting lines (edges) between points given by chemical bonds. Therefore the study of local shape and geometry of two-dimensional materials is a fundamental prerequisite to investigate physical and chemical properties. Hereby the use of discrete geometry to discuss the shape of two-dimensional materials is initiated.

The local geometry of a surface embodied in 3D space is determined using four invariant numbers from the metric and curvature tensors which …

Nickel Aluminum Shape Memory Alloys Via Molecular Dynamics, Keith Ryan Morrison

Open Access Theses

Shape memory materials are an important class of active materials with a wide range of applications in the aerospace, biomedical, and automobile industries. These materials exhibit the two unique properties of shape memory and superelasticity. Shape memory is the ability to recover its original shape by applying heat after undergoing large deformations. Superelasticity is the ability to undergo large, reversible deformations (up to 10%) that revert back when the load is removed. These special properties originate from a reversible, diffusionless solid-solid phase transformation that occurs between a high temperature austenite phase and a low temperature martensite phase. The development of …

Copper Doping Of Zno Crystals By Transmutation Of 64Zn To 65Cu: An Electron Paramagnetic Resonance And Gamma Spectroscopy Study, Matthew C. Recker, John W. Mcclory, Maurio S. Holston, Eric M. Golden, Nancy C. Giles, Larry E. Halliburton

Faculty Publications

Transmutation of ⁶⁴Zn to ⁶⁵Cu has been observed in a ZnO crystal irradiated with neutrons. The crystal was characterized with electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) before and after the irradiation and with gamma spectroscopy after the irradiation. Major features in the gamma spectrum of the neutron-irradiated crystal included the primary 1115.5 keV gamma ray from the ⁶⁵Zn decay and the positron annihilation peak at 511 keV. Their presence confirmed the successful transmutation of ⁶⁴Zn nuclei to ⁶⁵Cu. Additional direct evidence for transmutation was obtained from the EPR of Cu²⁺ ions (where ⁶³Cu and ^{65 …}

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 …

Applicability Of Continuum Fracture Mechanics In Atomistic Systems, Shao-Huan Cheng

Open Access Dissertations

By quantitating the amplitude of the unbounded stress, the continuum fracture mechanics defines the stress intensity factor K to characterize the stress and displacement fields in the vicinity of the crack tip, thereby developing the relation between the stress singularity and surface energy (energy release rate G). This G-K relation, assigning physical meaning to the stress intensity factor, makes these two fracture parameters widely used in predicting the onset of crack propagation. However, due to the discrete nature of the atomistic structures without stress singularity, there might be discrepancy between the failure prediction and the reality of nanostructured materials. Defining …

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 …

The Effect Of Polarization And Ingan Quantum Well Shape In Multiple Quantum Well Light Emitting Diode Heterostructures, Patrick M. Mcbride

Master's Theses

Previous research in InGaN/GaN light emitting diodes (LEDs) employing semi-classical drift-diffusion models has used reduced polarization constants without much physical explanantion. This paper investigates possible physical explanations for this effective polarization reduction in InGaN LEDs through the use of the simulation software SiLENSe. One major problem of current LED simulations is the assumption of perfectly discrete transitions between the quantum well (QW) and blocking layers when experiments have shown this to not be the case. The In concentration profile within InGaN multiple quantum well (MQW) devices shows much smoother and delayed transitions indicative of indium diffusion and drift during …

Experimental And Theoretical Analysis Of Strain Engineered Aluminium Nitride On Silicon For High Quality Aluminium(X)Indium(Y)Gallium(1-X-Y)Nitride Epitaxy, Mihir Hemant Tungare

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

III-Nitrides on Si are of great technological importance due to the availability of large area, epi ready Si substrates and the ability to heterointegrate with mature silicon micro and nanoelectronics. The major roadblock with realizing this is the large difference in thermal expansion coefficients and lattice constants between the two material systems. A novel technique developed in our research lab shows the potential of simultaneous and substantial reduction in dislocation and crack density in GaN on Si (111). Research undertaken in the current doctoral dissertation, validates the superior GaN quality on Si obtained using our technique and determines the factors …

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 …

Low Temperature Epitaxial Growth Of Ge Quantum Dot On Si (100) - (2×1) By Femtosecond Laser Excitation, Ali Oguz Er, Wei Ren, Hani E. Elsayed-Ali

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Low temperature epitaxy of Ge quantum dots on Si (100) - (2×1) by femtosecond pulsed laser deposition under femtosecond laser excitation was investigated. Reflection high-energy electron diffraction and atomic force microscopy were used to analyze the growth mode and morphology. Epitaxial growth was achieved at ∼70 °C by using femtosecond laser excitation of the substrate. A purely electronic mechanism of enhanced surface diffusion of the Ge adatoms is proposed. © 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3537813]

Electronically Enhanced Surface Diffusion During Ge Growth On Si(100), Ali Orguz Er, Hani E. Elsayed-Ali

Physics Faculty Publications

The effect of nanosecond pulsed laser excitation on surface diffusion during the growth of Ge on Si(100) at 250 °C was studied. In situ reflection high-energy electron diffraction was used to measure the surface diffusion coefficient while ex situ atomic force microscopy was used to probe the structure and morphology of the grown quantum dots. The results show that laser excitation of the substrate increases the surface diffusion during the growth of Ge on Si(100), changes the growth morphology, improves the crystalline structure of the grown quantum dots, and decreases their size distribution. A purely electronic mechanism of enhanced surface …

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 …

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, …

Robust Isothermal Electric Control Of Exchange Bias At Room Temperature, Xi He, Ning Wu, Anthony N. Caruso, Elio Vescovo, Kirill D. Belashchenko, Peter A. Dowben, Christian Binek

Kirill Belashchenko Publications

Voltage-controlled spin electronics is crucial for continued progress in information technology. It aims at reduced power consumption, increased integration density and enhanced functionality where non-volatile memory is combined with highspeed logical processing. Promising spintronic device concepts use the electric control of interface and surface magnetization. From the combination of magnetometry, spin-polarized photoemission spectroscopy, symmetry arguments and first-principles calculations, we show that the (0001) surface of magnetoelectric Cr₂O₃ has a roughness-insensitive, electrically switchable magnetization. Using a ferromagnetic Pd/Co multilayer deposited on the (0001) surface of a Cr₂O₃ single crystal, we achieve reversible, room-temperature isothermal switching …

An Ab-Initio Study Of The Elastic Properties Of Important Group Iv Diborides At High Temperatures, Manny Gonzales

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Presented is an ab-initio Molecular Dynamics (MD) study, employing the Density Functional Theory (DFT), of the lattice parameter, thermal expansion coefficients and elastic constants of ZrB₂, TiB₂ and HfB₂ as a function of temperature. The MD trajectories provide the equilibrium lattice parameters at finite temperatures, and the gradient of the energy from these equilibrium solutions is then used to calculate the components of the stiffness tensor. The results for ZrB₂ are shown to agree well with reported experimental results for the lattice parameters and elastic constants as a function of temperature.

Spectroscopic Study Of The Inhibition Of Calcium Oxalate Calculi By Larrea Tridentata, Luis Alonso Pinales

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The causes of urolithiasis include such influences as diet, metabolic disorders, and genetic factors which have been documented as sources that aggravate urinary calculi depositions and aggregations, and, implicitly, as causes of urolithiasis. This study endeavors to detail the scientific mechanisms involved in calcium oxalate calculi formation, and, more importantly, their inhibition under growth conditions imposed by the traditional medicinal approach using the herbal extract, Larrea tridentata. The calculi were synthesized without and with Larrea tridentata infusion by employing the single diffusion gel technique. A visible decrease in calcium oxalate crystal growth with increasing amounts of Larrea tridentata herbal infusion …

Excitation-Induced Germanium Quantum Dot Formation On Si (100)-(2×1), Ali Oguz Er, Hani E. Elsayed-Ali

Physics Faculty Publications

The effect of nanosecond pulsed laser excitation on the self-assembly of Ge quantum dots grown by pulsed laser deposition on Si (100)-(2×1) was studied. In situ reflection high-energy electron diffraction and ex situ atomic force microscopy were used to probe the quantum dot structure and morphology. At room temperature, applying the excitation laser decreased the surface roughness of the grown Ge film. With surface electronic excitation, crystalline Ge quantum dots were formed at 250 °C, a temperature too low for their formation without excitation. At a substrate temperature of 390 °C, electronic excitation during growth was found to improve the …