Condensed Matter Physics Commons^™

Graphene: Material That Will Change The Future, Jigar Desai, Darryl Reese

Festival of Communities: UG Symposium (Posters)

Graphene is the most recent material discovered by scientists and is a star on the horizon of materials science and condensed matter physics. The one atom thick, two dimensional materials is an amazing conductor of electricity. Although graphene was not discovered completely until 2004, it has already revealed potential applications and scientists have begun researching ways of developing graphene products for the market. Only two products have been successfully produced so far, but scientists have encountered amazing results. This material has many potential applications in the real world and is about to change the future in a positive way.

Ultrafast High-Energy Electron Diffraction Study Of Photoexcited Bismuth Nanoclusters By Femtosecond Laser Pulses, Ahmed R. Esmail

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The advancement in ultrafast electron crystallography (UEC) over the past few decades facilitated the study of structural dynamics in all phases of matter induced by femtosecond laser pulses. This technique became very powerful when the spatial resolution was combined with the temporal resolution, and succeeded in studying chemical reactions by ultrafast electron diffraction, bulk crystal phonons and melting by X-ray diffraction.

In this dissertation, I demonstrate the uniqueness of UEC and its potential in monitoring in real time the structural dynamics of bismuth (Bi) nanoclusters and islands induced by femtosecond laser pulses. Our approach to accomplish this task includes building …

Surface Geometry And Heat Flux Effect On Thin Wire Nucleate Pool Boiling Of Subcooled Water In Microgravity, Troy Munro, Andrew Fassman, Heng Ban, Jr Dennision

Conference Proceedings

In the summer of 2010, undergraduates from the USU Get Away Special team flew a nucleate pool boiling experiment on NASA’s Weightless Wonder to study nucleate boiling heat transfer in microgravity. The motivation of this research was to understand the effects of surface geometry and heat flux applied to a thin wire heater for the design and development of efficient thermal management systems for space applications. The specific objectives were to observe and characterize behaviors of boiling onset, steady state heat transfer, and bubble dynamics with respect to nucleate boiling of subcooled water.. Using three thin platinum wire geometries and …

Phonons Of Single Quintuple Bi2te3 And Bi2se3 Films And Bulk Materials, Wei Cheng, Shang-Fen Ren

Faculty publications – Physics

Phonons of single quintuple films of Bi2Te3 and Bi2Se3 and corresponding bulk materials are calculated in detail by MedeA (a trademark of Materials Design) and Vienna ab initio simulation package (VASP). The calculated results with and without spin-orbit couplings are compared, and the important roles that the spin-orbit coupling plays in these materials are discussed. A symmetry breaking caused by the anharmonic potentials around Bi atoms in the single quintuple films is identified and discussed. The observed Raman intensity features in Bi2Te3 and Bi2Se3 quintuple films are explained.

Sbs-Based Radar True Time Delay, Mark Bashkansky, David Walker, Armen Gulian, Michael Steiner

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

Stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) based slow light is considered for application to squint-free (true time delay) steering of phased array radar antennae. Results are presented on true time delay radar requirements, including delay precision and bandwidth. We experimentally investigated the level of delay precision that exists in actual slow-light systems (based on Brillouin scattering). The practical use of SBS to meet the necessary requirements for radar use is discussed.

Raman Scattering Analysis Of Silicon Dioxide Single Crystal Treated By Direct Current Plasma Discharge, Dusan M. Poparic, Vladimir Milosavljevic, Andrijana Zekic, N Romcevic, Steven Daniels

Articles

Low-k materials such as silicon dioxide (SiO2) play an important role in the semiconductor industry. Plasma has become indispensable for advanced materials processing. In this work a treatment of SiO2single crystal by direct current plasma discharge is studied in detail. Offline metrology is conducted for silicon dioxide wafers by Raman scattering, energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy, and ellipsometry. Broad Raman peak at around 2800 cm−1 is observed for the treatedSiO2 wafers. Effects of plasma treatment on position of this peak are reported in the paper. An analysis of this correlation could be a framework for creating virtual etch rate sensors, which might …

Highly Spin-Polarized Conducting State At The Interface Between Nonmagnetic Band Insulators: Laalo3/Fes2 (001), John D. Burton, Evgeny Y. Tsymbal

Evgeny Tsymbal Publications

First-principles density functional calculations demonstrate that a spin-polarized two-dimensional conducting state can be realized at the interface between two nonmagnetic band insulators. The (001) surface of the diamagnetic insulator FeS₂ (pyrite) supports a localized surface state deriving from Fe d orbitals near the conduction band minimum. The deposition of a few unit cells of the polar perovskite oxide LaAlO₃ leads to electron transfer into these surface bands, thereby creating a conducting interface. The occupation of these narrow bands leads to an exchange splitting between the spin subbands, yielding a highly spin-polarized conducting state distinct from the rest of …

Tailoring A Two-Dimensional Electron Gas At The Laalo3 ∕ Srtio3 (001) Interface By Epitaxial Strain, C. W. Bark, D. A. Felker, Yong Wang, H. W. Jang, C. M. Folkman, J. W. Park, S. H. Baek, H. Zhou, D. D. Fong, X. Q. Pan, Evgeny Y. Tsymbal, M. S. Rzchowski, Chang-Beom Eom

Evgeny Tsymbal Publications

Recently a metallic state was discovered at the interface between insulating oxides, most notably LaAlO₃ and SrTiO₃. Properties of this two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) have attracted significant interest due to its potential applications in nanoelectronics. Control over this carrier density and mobility of the 2DEG is essential for applications of these unique systems, and may be achieved by epitaxial strain. However, despite the rich nature of strain effects on oxide materials properties, such as ferroelectricity, magnetism, and superconductivity, the relationship between the strain and electrical properties of the 2DEG at the LaAlO₃∕SrTiO₃ heterointerface remains …

A Novel Integrated Platform Combining Atomic Force Microscopy And Fluorescence Correlation Spectroscopy, Venkatesh Subba Rao

Wayne State University Dissertations

At the nanoscale near an interface, the discrete nature of liquids is expected to influence various properties, such as density, viscosity or diffusion constants. Understanding interfacial properties of liquids is important for the development of nanotechnology, especially for the fields of nano-rheology and nano-tribology, and also for understanding various mechanisms in biological systems at the molecular level, such as protein folding or the self-assembly of lipid vesicles, which invariably involve liquids. Atomic force microscope (AFM) and fluorescence correlation spectroscope (FCS) are two complimentary techniques that are commonly employed investigate mechanics and dynamics of liquids at interfaces. In this thesis, the …

Dynamics Of Nanoparticles In Complex Fluids., Rami Ahmad Saleh Omari

Wayne State University Dissertations

Soft matter is a subfield of condensed matter including polymers, colloidal dispersions, surfactants, and liquid crystals. These materials are familiar from our everyday life- glues, paints, soaps, and plastics are examples of soft materials. Many phenomena in these systems have the same underlying physical mechanics. Moreover, it has been recognized that combinations of these systems, like for example polymers and colloids, exhibit new properties which are found in each system separately. These mixed systems have a higher degree of complexity than the separate systems. In order to understand their behavior, knowledge from each subfields of soft matter has to be …

The Study Of Weak Ferromagnetism By Andreev Reflection Spin Spectroscopy And Development Of Bimorph Electro-Thermal Actuators, Pushkal Thapa

Wayne State University Dissertations

It is well accepted that spin polarization of materials has a major role in spintronics to improve the efficiency of spintronic devices. Point contact Andreev reflection (PCAR) spectroscopy, one of the most popular and reliable techniques, was used to obtain the conductance and by analyzing them by modified BTK model, spin polarizations of various materials, generally with low ferromagnetism, were extracted in order to understand the transport properties of spin polarized current and find the relation of spin polarization with other parameters such as saturation magnetization or the Curie temperature so that better spintronic materials can be identified and developed. …

Schottky Barrier Formation At The Au To Rare Earth Doped Gan Thin Film Interface, S. R. Mchale, J. W. Mcclory, J. C. Petrosky, J. Wu, R. Palai, Yaroslav B. Losovyj, Peter A. Dowben

Peter Dowben Publications

The Schottky barriers formed at the interface between gold and various rare earth doped GaN thin films (RE = Yb, Er, Gd) were investigated in situ using synchrotron photoemission spectroscopy. The resultant Schottky barrier heights were measured as 1.68 ± 0.1 eV (Yb:GaN), 1.64 ± 0.1 eV (Er:GaN), and 1.33 ± 0.1 eV (Gd:GaN). We find compelling evidence that thin layers of gold do not wet and uniformly cover the GaN surface, even with rare earth doping of the GaN. Furthermore, the trend of the Schottky barrier heights follows the trend of the rare earth metal work function.

Mesoscale Flux-Closure Domain Formation In Single-Crystal Batio3, R. G.P. Mcquaid, L. J. Mcgilly, Pankaj Sharma, Alexei Gruverman, J. M. Gregg

Alexei Gruverman Publications

Over 60 years ago, Charles Kittel predicted that quadrant domains should spontaneously form in small ferromagnetic platelets. He expected that the direction of magnetization within each quadrant should lie parallel to the platelet surface, minimizing demagnetizing fields, and that magnetic moments should be configured into an overall closed loop, or flux-closure arrangement. Although now a ubiquitous observation in ferromagnets, obvious flux-closure patterns have been somewhat elusive in ferroelectric materials. This is despite the analogous behaviour between these two ferroic subgroups and the recent prediction of dipole closure states by atomistic simulations research. Here we show Piezoresponse Force Microscopy images of …

Scanning Capacitance Spectroscopy On N+-P Asymmetrical Junctions In Multicrystalline Si Solar Cells, Chun-Sheng Jiang, Jennifer T. Heath, Helio R. Moutinho, Mowafak M. Al-Jassim

Faculty Publications

We report on a scanning capacitance spectroscopy (SCS) study on the n⁺-p junction of multicrystalline silicon solar cells. We found that the spectra taken at space intervals of ∼10 nm exhibit characteristic features that depend strongly on the location relative to the junction. The capacitance-voltage spectra exhibit a local minimum capacitance value at the electrical junction, which allows the junction to be identified with ∼10-nm resolution. The spectra also show complicated transitions from the junction to the n-region with two local capacitance minima on the capacitance-voltage curves; similar spectra to that have not been previously reported in …

Hydrodynamic Correlation Functions Of A Driven Granular Fluid In Steady State, Katharina Vollmayr-Lee, Timo Aspelmeier, Annette Zippelius

Faculty Journal Articles

No abstract provided.

Electron-Phonon Interactions And Quantum Confinement Effects On Optical Transitions In Nanoscale Silicon Films, Vimal Kumar Kamineni

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Theoretical studies have attributed the temperature dependence of the linear optical response (dielectric function) of bulk semiconductors to electron-phonon interactions and thermal expansion of the lattice. However, the role of phonons in the optical properties of nanoscale structures is often overlooked. This thesis systematically investigates the impact of both carrier confinement and electron-phonon interactions using nanoscale films of silicon in crystalline silicon quantum wells (c-Si QW). Spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE) is a linear optical technique used to of extract the dielectric function and thickness of very thin films. X-ray reflectivity (XRR) was used as the complementary thickness metrology method. The dielectric …

Band Structures Of Layered Carbon/Boron Nitride Materials With Commensurate Lattices, Christopher C. Wells

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The electronic structures of systems consisting of hexagonal boron nitride layers and graphite sheets have been investigated in detail using density functional theory methods with two exchange correlation functions (local density approximation and generalized gradient approximation). The experimental data of graphene, graphite, monolayer hexagonal BN, and hexagonal BN were reproduced well with computational models. The commensurate models used in the investigation were generated by taking the averages of the lattice constants for graphite and h-BN.

Structure And Magnetism Of Mnau Nanoclusters, X. Wei, Damien Le Roy, Ralph Skomski, Xingzhong Li, Zhiguang Sun, Jeffrey E. Shield, M. J. Kramer, David J. Sellmyer

Nebraska Center for Materials and Nanoscience: Faculty Publications

Equiatomic MnAu clusters with average sizes of 4 and 10 nm are produced by inert-gas condensation. As-produced clusters are used to form both dense cluster films and films with clusters embedded in a W matrix with a cluster volume fraction of 25%. Both structure and magnetism are size-dependent. Structural analysis of the 10 nm clusters indicate a distorted tetragonal body-centered cubic structure with lattice parameters a=0.315 and c=0.329 nm. The 4 nm clusters have a partially ordered tetragonal L10 structure with lattice parameters a=0.410 nm and c=0.395 nm. Magnetic properties of the clusters show evidence at …

Metastability Of Free Cobalt And Iron Clusters: A Possible Precursor To Bulk Ferromagnetism, Xiaoshan Xu, Shuangye Yin, Ramiro Moro, Anthony Liang, John Bowlan, Walt A. De Heer

Xiaoshan Xu Papers

Homonuclear cobalt and iron clusters Co_N and Fe_N measured in a cryogenic molecular beam exist in two states with distinct magnetic moments (μ), polarizabilities, and ionization potentials, indicating distinct valences. The μ is approximately quantized: μ_N ~ 2Nμ_B in the ground states and μ_N* ~ Nμ_B in the excited states for Co; μ_N ~ 3N μ_B and μ_N * ~ Nμ_B for Fe. At a large size, the average μ of the two states converges to the bulk value with diminishing ionization potential differences. …

Analysis Of Electrodeposited Nickel-Iron Alloy Film Composition Using Particle-Induced X-Ray Emission, Alyssa Frey, Nicholas Wozniak, Timothy Nagi, Matthew Keller, J. Mark Lunderberg, Graham F. Peaslee, Paul Deyoung, Jennifer R. Hampton

Faculty Publications

The elemental composition of electrodeposited NiFe thin films was analyzed with particle-induced X-ray emission (PIXE). The thin films were electrodeposited on polycrystalline Au substrates from a 100mM NiSO₄, 10 mM FeSO₄, 0.5M H₃BO₃, and 1M Na₂SO₄ solution. PIXE spectra of these films were analyzed to obtain relative amounts of Ni and Fe as a function of deposition potential and deposition time. The results show that PIXE can measure the total deposited metal in a sample over at least four orders of magnitude with similar fractional uncertainties. The technique is …