Engineering Physics Commons^™

Atomic Hydrogen Cleaning Of Inp(100) For Preparation Of A Negative Electron Affinity Photocathode, K. A. Elamrawi, M. A. Hafez, H. E. Elsayed-Ali

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Atomic hydrogen cleaning is used to clean InP(100) negative electron affinity photocathodes. Reflection high-energy electron diffraction patterns of reconstructed, phosphorus-stabilized, InP(100) surfaces are obtained after cleaning at ∼400 °C. These surfaces produce high quantum efficiency photocathodes (∼8.5%), in response to 632.8 nm light. Without atomic hydrogen cleaning, activation of InP to negative electron affinity requires heating to ∼530 °C. At this high temperature, phosphorus evaporates preferentially and a rough surface is obtained. These surfaces produce low quantum efficiency photocathodes (∼0.1%). The use of reflection high-energy electron diffraction to measure the thickness of the deposited cesium layer during activation by correlating …

Selective Cvd Growth Of Diamond Crystals On Tungsten, Charles Randal Cole

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Typical field emitters consist of sharp metal tips which usually have a short life due to erosion and contamination. To improve the performance of regular field emitters, diamond can be placed on the emitter tip. This is done by selectively growing diamond on tungsten tips using chemical vapor deposition (CVD) processing. Diamond exhibits negative electron affinity, so that electrons will be emitted by properly biasing the tip.

To obtain single crystal growth right at the tip, a cantilever controlled nucleation method was developed which worked better than other methods. Surface preparation was also important to the growth process. An oxide …

High Resolution Wavelength Modulation Spectroscopy For Precise Gaseous Characterization, Audra Michiele Bullock

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Wavelength modulation spectroscopy is a highly sensitive, non-intrusive technique for probing gaseous species. Parameters such as velocity, density, and temperature can be measured and monitored with a high degree of precision. In addition, with the use of this technique multiple molecular species may be identified with a single laser probe. This measurement technique utilizes the well-known principles of modulation absorption spectroscopy in a novel way.

The research focuses on harmonic detection and the advantages gained by performing detection at higher harmonics, those greater than the commonly used second harmonic. We show that there is an increase in the sensitivity to …

Two-Dimensional Drift-Diffusion Simulations Of Silicon Avalanche Shaper (Sas) Devices For High Power Applications, Hamid Jalali

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Silicon Avalanche Shaper devices have been projected as being important components of an inexpensive, semiconductor-based technology for high power switching applications. The primary advantage of this technology is that it is based on Silicon material which is easy to fabricate and has a well established processing technology. Unlike other high power technologies, the SAS devices do not rely on external optical triggering which eliminates the need for lasers and related optical circuitry.

The SAS based high power switching technology has been pioneered and tested by a Russian group. Though preliminary results have been very encouraging, the device reliability and its …

Wavelength Modulation Spectroscopy With Diode Lasers, Ying Lu

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Wavelength Modulation Spectroscopy is a non-intrusive technique which enables several parameters such as concentration, velocity, and temperature of a target specie to be measured. The method involves a modulation of a probe laser beam and detection at the fundamental, or any harmonic frequency, by a phase-sensitive apparatus. The theory of wavelength modulation is discussed. Effects of the finite value of the wavelength modulation index, together with the effects of any residual amplitude modulation that often occurs simultaneously in a diode laser, are included. It is shown that there are several advantages in using detection harmonics orders greater than the second. …

Electron Beam Emission From A Ferroelectric Cathode, Crystal Briana Garland

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The electron beam emission from a LTZ-2 (lead titanate-zirconate) ferroelectric cathode was characterized. The purpose was to determine the operation range for this type of electron emitter. The experimental apparatus consisted of a high voltage driving circuit with a charging voltage up to 30kV. A solid-state SCR switch is used to generate the high voltage pulse which induces a polarization change. Current densities on the order of 80A/cm² 30kV were achieved. The electron beam profile is Guassian. At long anode-cathode distances the measured current densities were found to be above Child-Langmuir space charge limits. The large current densities and …

Frequency Response Enhancement Of A Flow Sensor Using Diamond Thin Films Synthesized By Plasma Cvd, John Curren Hagwood

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Theoretical modeling conducted previously in our Microelectronics Laboratory has shown that a layer of diamond film inserted between a metal film and a substrate will enhance the frequency response of a conventional thin film flow sensor. This thesis involved fabricating and testing a conventional thin film sensor of nickel on quartz (Ni/Q) and a diamond enhanced sensor (Ni/D/Q) for comparative frequency response analysis to validate the theory. Diamond films were grown onto quartz substrates using a microwave plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition process. Conditions were established to synthesize continuous diamond films on quartz substrates. These films were characterized by scanning …

Comparison Of Time-Domain Reflectometry Performance Factors For Several Dielectric Geometries: Theory And Experiments, S. V. Maheshwarla, R. Venkatasubramanian, Robert F. Boehm

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Research

We propose three nontraditional dielectric geometries and present an experimental and theoretical analysis and comparison of time domain reflectometry (TDR) performances for them. The traditional geometry (the probes inserted in material of essentially infinite extent) is compared to three nontraditional geometries where the probes are affixed outside of a core sample, inside of a bore, or flat on the surface of a semi-infinite solid. Our derivation relates the velocity of electromagnetic wave propagation to the complex permittivities and permeabilities of the media and the geometry for the three nontraditional configurations. Experimental results for air, styrofoam, dry sand, wet sand of …

Supralinear Photoconductivity Of Copper Doped Semi-Insulating Gallium Arsenide, K. H. Schoenbach, R. P. Joshi, F. Peterkin, R. L. Druce

Bioelectrics Publications

We report on the intensity dependent supralinear photoconductivity in GaAs:Si:Cu material. The results of our measurements show that the effective carrier lifetime can change over two orders of magnitude with variations in the intensity of the optical excitation. A threshold intensity level has been observed and can be related to the occupancy of the deep copper level. Numerical simulations have also been carried out to analyze the trapping dynamics. The intensity dependent lifetimes obtained from the simulations match the experimental data very well. Finally, based on the nonlinear intensity dependence of the effective lifetimes, a possible low‐energy phototransistor application for …

Multispectral Detection Of Ground Targets In Highly Correlated Backgrounds, Jason E. Thomas

Theses and Dissertations

Multispectral detection methods attempt to discriminate targets in a dominant clutter background using multiple images of the same real-world scene taken in different narrow spectral bands in the infrared. Detection is possible due to the empirically observed phenomenon that the radiance of man-made objects, such as a tank or truck, often lies off the main spectral correlation axis of that of natural backgrounds. Radiometric measurements of several vehicles and a tree canopy background taken over three days in June. 1994 were used to examine the factors affecting multispectral detection. Results clearly showed that the processes which provide for higher spectral …

The Current Voltage Characteristics Of Electron Beam Controlled Thin Film Diamond Switches, Christopher Anthony Molina

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The dark current of natural diamond thin films and the induced current due to electron-beam irradiation was measured up to a range of 7000Ncm'. The contact material was aluminum, annealed and unannealed. Switching experiments were performed with electron energies ranging from 70keV to 172keV. The switching results obtained are strongly dependent on the biasing polarity, incident electron energy, and whether the contact is blocking or Ohmic in nature. A simple model which takes traps into consideration allows us to explain the various switching responses. The range of electrons which define, in part, the switch mode was measured for one sample …

Derivative Absorption Spectroscopy With Tunable Laser Diodes, Andrew D. Jackson

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Derivative Absorption Spectroscopy using tunable diode lasers provides a non­ intrusive, sensitive, and convenient method for monitoring gaseous characteristics such as concentration, temperature, and flow velocity. In addition, the specie type can be identified, and if the equation of state is known, pressure may be deduced.

This technique was used on molecular oxygen, in which the rovibronic transitions of the A-band ( b ¹ ∑_g ⁺ ← X ³ ∑g ^- ; v^II = O, v^I = O) were probed. Phase sensitive detection with a lock-in amplifier provides the flexibility to examine lineshape derivatives; several such derivative …

Using The Cern Program-Library Graphics And Interactive Data Display, Morgan T. Burks, Wilson H. Howe, Christine A. Byrd, Wilfred J. Braithwaite

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

Small scale Monte Carlo programming is growing rapidly due to the ease with which complex problems may be formulated by any programmer. These programmers may choose to exploit graphics and interactive displays available in the program library developed and maintained by CERN (the Center for European Nuclear Research). This paper outlines the use of graphics and interactive data display features of the CERN program library, developed for visualizing simulated data events in particle detectors. One example uses GEANT, CERN's Monte Carlo modeling program, to simulate 300 MeV/c protons incident on a silicon slab. Display packages for GEANT are available both …

Low‐Cost Technique For Preparing N‐Sb2S3/P‐Si Heterojunction Solar Cells, O. Savadogo, K. C. Mandal

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Light Injection From An Active Cladding To The Core Of A Fiber Optic Fluorosensor, Alvin Leon Bryant

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

A fluorosensor works on the basis of light injection from the clad into the core of an optical fiber. The sensitivity of such a sensor depends on the efficiency of light injection. Conditions necessary for a high injection efficiency are experimentally determined. The refractive index difference between the core and the clad,ⁿcore ^-nclad, must be maximized to achieve a high injection efficiency. Since an air clad has the least refractive index, a bare core fiber will have a maximum efficiency. Standard optical fibers used for communication employ a minimum value for ⁿcore ^-nclad, in order …

Absorption Imaging Studies On Intrinsic Gaas, John Samuel Kenney

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

A diagnostic technique has been developed which allows recording of the temporal and spatial development of electric field structures in GaAs photoconductive switches. The optical method is based on the Franz-Keldysh effect. Measurements were performed with a Nd:YAG activation laser and a GaAs laser diode as the probe laser. At low applied voltages a 100 atm wide region of high electric field is seen at the cathode only. With increasing voltage strong domain like structures emerge at the anode also. A calibration measurement shows that the electric fields in these domains are well above 50 kV/cm. At a threshold voltage, …

Electrostatic Positioning Of Droplets In Turbulent Flows (Lstm 375/Te/93), Nihad E. Daidzic, Adrian Melling

Aviation Department Publications

Report LSTM 375/TE/93, Lehrstuhl fuer Stroemungsmechanik Universitaet Erlangen-Nuernberg Cauerstr. 4, 8520 Erlangen Germany.

A Magnetic Suspension System With A Large Angular Range, Colin P. Britcher, Mehran Ghofrani

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Faculty Publications

In order to explore and develop technology required for the magnetic suspension of objects over large ranges of orientation, a small-scale laboratory system, the large-angle magnetic suspension test fixture (LAMSTF) has been constructed at NASA Langley Research Center. This apparatus falls into the category of large-gap, actively stabilized magnetic levitation systems. The hardware comprises five conventional electromagnets in a circular arrangement, each driven from a separate bipolar power amplifier. Electromagnet currents are commanded by a digital control system, implemented on a microcomputer, which in turn derives the position and attitude of the suspended element from an infrared optical system. The …

The Effect Of Contacts On The Performance Of Electron-Beam Controlled Gaas And Diamond Switches, Michael Kevin Kennedy

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The performance of GaAs and diamond as electron-beam controlled closing and opening switches has been studied. An emphasis has been placed on the effect of contacts on the current-voltage characteristics. The two materials studied were GaAs and diamond. Using the same semi-insulating GaAs wafer as a source of material, a bulk device and a p-i-n device have been fabricated and compared. The asymmetry of the pin diode allows operation at higher voltage because of the ability to suppress the lock-on effect. Whereas GaAs was ionized through cathodoluminescence; diamond, in the form of thin films, has been directly ionized by the …

Detection, Location, And Quantification Of Structural Damage By Neural-Netprocessed Moire Profilometry, Barry G. Grossman, Frank S. Gonzalez, Joel H. Blatt, Jeffery A. Hooker

Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Faculty Publications

The development of efficient high speed techniques to recognize, locate, and quantify damage is vitally important for successful automated inspection systems such as ones used for the inspection of undersea pipelines. Two critical problems must be solved to achieve these goals: the reduction of nonuseful information present in the video image and automatic recognition and quantification of extent and location of damage. Artificial neural network processed moire profilometry appears to be a promising technique to accomplish this. Real time video moire techniques have been developed which clearly distinguish damaged and undamaged areas on structures, thus reducing the amount of extraneous …

An Analysis Of One-Dimensional Models Of The Insulating And Conducting Priz, Joseph W. Cook Iii

Theses and Dissertations

This study attempted to analytically reproduce experimental and analytical data, on the single-insulated and conducting PRIZ, presented in 1987 and 1988 by the Soviet scientists Bliznetsov et al. Our onedimensional analytical models, derived from earlier Soviet reports, have consistently reproduced previously reported data on the PRIZ. In this study, the same codes were successfully used to analyze the effects of injection at high and low intensity exposures (30 µW/cm² to 500 mW/cm²) Although the codes qualitatively duplicated the nature of the space charge distribution in the single-insulated and conducting PRIZ, our quantitative results were significantly different from …

Study Of Cathodoluminescence In Semiconductors, Mandakini V. Kale

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Cathodoluminescence in Zn doped GaAs and ZnSe, the materials of interest for electron-beam controlled semiconductor switches, has been investigated. A new diagnostic technique, using telescopic setup of lenses, was developed to study the spatially resolved cathodoluminescence. The setup eliminated the light, other than rays from the sample, parallel to the optical axis, resulting in an enhanced spatial resolution. At high e-beam energies, light was detected, from the Zn layer region in the GaAs. It is proposed to be due to the radiative recombination of electron-hole pairs, created by the e-beam. For the polycrystalline ZnSe no light emission was detected. This …

An Erasable Optical Memory Based On Stimulated Electronic Transition Concept, James D. Satira

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Erasable optical memory systems with a high storage density and a large data transfer rate are required for many real time data acquisition systems such as those placed aboard NASA's space born platforms. A new concept for erasable optical memory involving stimulated electronic transitions (SET) will meet these requirements. The SET concept useful in erasable optical storage systems was demonstrated in MgS and SrS doped with Eu and Sm. The optical properties of these materials were studied. The reading and writing wavelengths for these samples were determined to be 950 and 514 nm respectively. The peaks of the emission spectra …

Deep Level Characterization Studies In Gaas, Gordhan R. Barevadia

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The goal of this research was to investigate deep levels in different types of GaAs, a material for high power optically controlled bulk semiconductor switches. For low resistivity semiconductors, such as silicon doped GaAs material (p =0.054 Ω cm), deep level transient spectroscopy (DLTS) was used to characterize deep levels. Three deep levels (EL6, EL3, and EL2) have been detected in this material. For high resistivity semiconductors (p > 10⁴ Ω cm), difficulty of electrical carrier injection and of making a junction does not permit the use of DLTS technique. Therefore, an experimental set-up of the photo-induced current transient spectroscopy …

An Artificial Neural Approach To The Decomposition Problem, Chandrashekar L. Masti

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The goal of this thesis is to develop an artificial neural approach toward addressing the intractability involved with the decomposition problem. The search for the lattice of substitution property (s. p.) partitions essential to decompositions is cast into the framework of constraint satisfaction. An artificial neural network is developed to provide solutions by performing optimization of a mathematically derived objective function over the problem space. The issue of transitivity is verified to belong to a class of problems beyond the scope of solvability for conventional quadratic-order constraint satisfaction neural networks. A theorem is stated and proved establishing that third-order correlations …

Self Consistent Model Of The Glow Discharge, Hao Chen

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The strong spatial variation of the electric field intensity in the vicinity of the cathode of a gas discharge requires the use of microscopic methods to describe the nonequilibrium behavior of the electron dynamics in this region. A one-dimensional Monte Carlo code was developed. It allows one to obtain the distribution of the electron drift velocity and rate coefficients for a given electric field intensity in the cathode fall. The results of this calculation are used to find the density distribution of charged particles in this region and consequently, by means of Poisson's equation, a corrected electric field intensity. In …

Laser Pump And Probe Excited State Absorption Measurements, Shawpin Jong

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

A pump and probe technique was used to investigate triplet-triplet excited state absorption in solutions of the scintillators 2,5 diphenyloxazole (PPO) and 2,1 naphthyl,5 phenylzole (a-NPO) in several solvents.

KrF excimer radiation (248 nm) was used to pump the samples under investigation as well as a tunable dye laser which was used as the probe. Time-resolution was obtained by changing the optical path difference between the pump and probe beams.

Transient excited state absorption was measured in a wide spectral region between 330 nm and 600 nm, showing a peak at 400 nm for PPO solutions, and two …

A Plasma Focus Interrupting Switch, Gregory Francis Knapp

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The feasibility of using a dense plasma focus (DPF) as a current interrupting device has been investigated. Specifically, a 34-kJ, Mather-type DPF was modified to accept a third electrode so that a discharge could be created between this electrode and the center electrode of the DPF by a 10-kJ inductive energy storage circuit. It was anticipated that the accelerating mechanisms of the DPF pinch, which are known to cause a rapid reduction in the DPF current, would interrupt the 1-kA to 10-kA secondary discharge current thus forcing the secondary current through an external load and hence result in power amplification. …

Radiation Damage To Gaas Solar Cells Including Isotropic Effects, Larry Victor Stock

Physics Theses & Dissertations

A model is developed for the short circuit current of a GaAs solar cell due to radiation (proton or electron) induced defects in the crystal structure. This model is verified by a comparison with proton and electron irradiation results. For electron radiation and energetic protons (energy> 10 MeV), it is found that the damage in the crystal is independent of the angle of incidence. On the other hand, for lower energy proton radiation, the damage as a function of cell thickness is highly dependent on incident angle and energy. The cell's response to low energy protons is strongly dependent on …

Experiments Conducted On The Electron Beam Produced By A Dense Plasma Focus, Mark Steven Pronko

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

An experimental investigation was conducted using a 34-kJ Dense Plasma Focus (DPF) in which the possible enhancement of the electron beam was addressed. Electron beams ejected from the DPF have been observed to exceed 30 kA with pulse durations of a few nanoseconds. Enhancement was considered to be either an increase in the probability that the peak beam current exceeded some lower limit, or an increase in the mean energy of the beam electrons. The investigation was divided into two parts, each addressing one of the aspects of enhancement.

In the first part of the investigation, an axial magnetic field …