Surface modification of electrodes becomes a powerful process to improve the performance of organic electronic devices such as organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) and organic photovoltaic cells (OPVs), boosting their further commercialization. Effective improvement can be achieved by introducing several types of nanoparticles onto the electrodes. Magnetic fields also have influence in the organic electronics, due to charge transport mechanisms of organic semiconducting materials. Therefore, magnetic nanoparticles are of particular interest. Magnetic γ-Fe2O3 nanoparticles have been produced using diblock copolymer reverse micelles method. The processes were elucidated in detail by Raman spectroscopy to reveal the iron oxide evolution. Compositional and structural information of individual γ-Fe2O3 nanoparticles were also characterized thoroughly by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) equipped with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS), while their magnetic properties of the nanoparticles arrays were also evaluated by superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) magnetometer. The low temperature annealing process was developed to facilitate the incorporation of γ-Fe2O3 nanoparticles in practical devices. Introducing γ-Fe2O3 nanoparticles onto the anode of basic OPV devices showed a positive effect on performance during the preliminary test. By using several methods, dispersion of γ-Fe2O3 nanoparticles can be tuned, examined by disLocate which is a comprehensive suite of tools for quantitative dispersion analysis. Additionally, the size of the nanoparticles can be changed simply by changing the loading ratio of FeCl3 below the maximum loading which was determined by quantum mechanical mapping using atomic force microscopy (AFM-QNM). With high control in terms of size and dispersion, the magnetic γ-Fe2O3 nanoparticles are ready to be employed to study the surface modification and magnetic effect on organic electronic devices. / Thesis / Master of Applied Science (MASc)

Fatigue and dispersion strengthening are reviewed generally. Experiments are described in which thin film transmission electron microscopy, as well as optical and electron fractography were employed to elucidate the mechanism of fatigue failure in dispersion strengthened nickel. It was found that whereas fatigue crack initiation occurs as in conventional materials, the propagation of both fatigue and tensile cracks is abnormal. The material fails in shear wherever possible although this is prevented where triaxial tensile stresses exist. Particle-matrix detachment does not occur during either tensile or fatigue stressing. / Thesis / Master of Science (MS)

This thesis investigates Stochastic Separated Flow (SSF) models for particle dispersion in turbulent shear flows. A new model is presented that accounts for anisotropy and incorporates a temporal and a spatial autocorrelation in the description of the fluctuating component of the turbulent gas-phase velocity. This model and three SSF models available in the literature are evaluated by comparing predictions with the shear layer experiments of Lazaro and Lasheras (1989), Hishida et al (1992) and the turbulent round jet experiment of Yuu et al (1978). Results are discussed and deficiencies in the models explored. The new model of Evinou and Lightstone compensates for the crossing trajectory effect with the inclusion of a spatial correlation based on the relative velocity of the particle and the time step employed. / Thesis / Master of Applied Science (MASc)

Optical coherent techniques are used to eliminate the power fading found in optical subcarrier multiplexed systems. In a double-side band optical subcarrier system the signal experiences a periodic power fading that is dependent on the fiber dispersion and subcarrier frequency. This power fading is manifested during the direct detection of the subcarrier system using a square-law photodetector. Using a modified optical local oscillator to coherently detect the subcarrier channel this power fading can be eliminated. An optical local oscillator is centered at the optical carrier in order to perform homodyne detection. However, the local oscillator is modulated by a term equal the subcarrier frequency of interest. This is then a dual-frequency optical local oscillator. By controlling the phases of the local oscillator and the local subcarrier oscillator independently in the homodyne detection scheme, both the phase error and power fading of the detected subcarrier channel can be eliminated. This technique also allows the subcarrier to be selected optically, before the optical-to-electrical conversion. Analytical and simulation results are given to show the benefits of optical coherent detection in double-sideband subcarrier systems. By eliminating the periodic power loss found in the double-sideband subcarrier system the signal becomes dispersion limited and not power limited. A comparison of double-sideband and single-sideband subcarrier systems is presented. Multiple subcarriers and subcarrier spacing are also investigated for both double sideband and single sideband subcarrier systems. Optical phase and modulator noise are also considered in the analysis and simulation of coherent detection using a dual frequency optical local oscillator. Since the implementation used to eliminate the power fading is a phase correction based process, the phase noise of both the source and local oscillator lasers must be considered and the technique compared to typical direct and coherent detection techniques. Also, the effects of modulator nonlinearity are simulated for multichannel subcarrier multiplexed systems and comparisons made between the performance of using the dual-frequency local oscillator and typical detection techniques. It is shown that the advantages of the dual-frequency LO are retained in the presence of both phase noise and modulator nonlinearity. / Ph. D.

Success in geotechnical analysis, design, and construction invariably requires that we have proper knowledge and understanding of (1) the strength, (2) the fluid flow properties, and (3) the stress-deformation behavior of the earth materials. These important engineering properties are primarily determined by the components and structure of a soil, which also dictate the soil's responses in an electromagnetic field. As a nondestructive technique, the electromagnetic property measurement offers a promising approach to characterize earth materials and identify the effects of changes in environments. However, despite many investigations in the last several decades, the relationship between the frequency-dependent electromagnetic properties of soils and their components and structure are still not well understood. Hence, estimation of engineering properties of a soil in a quantitative way from electromagnetic measurements can be uncertain. In this research several tasks have been accomplished: (1) Development of a physically based model that provides a means of investigating the coupled effects of important polarization mechanisms on soil electromagnetic properties, and a means of relating the electromagnetic properties of a soil to its fines content, clay mineralogy, anisotropy, degree of flocculation and pore fluid chemistry; (2) Proposal of a practically applicable method to determine the volumetric water content, specific surface area and pore fluid salt concentration simultaneously from the dielectric spectrum; (3) Deduction of the wide-frequency electromagnetic properties of a soil by measuring its responses to a step pulse voltage using time domain reflectometry (TDR); (4) Establishment of the relationships between the specific surface area and compressibility, residual shear strength and hydraulic conductivity. This study establishes a framework for quantifying soil engineering properties from their electromagnetic properties. If properly determined and interpreted, the electromagnetic properties can also provide insights into the causes of soil property changes over time and can be very useful in studying the effects of biological factors in geotechnical engineering, a field that may offer great potential for future advances. / Ph. D.

The dielectric-dispersion, curve of cellulose nitrate may be obtained over a 1ow frequency range in h-butyl acetate. The parallel resistance method is used for capacitance measurements is a nickel cell. Comparison of the distribution curve and the dispersion curve above a distinct similarity between the two curves. A relationship of the log frequency to intrinsic viscosity has been derived and appears to be acceptable with ±10% of the values obtained from fractional precipitation. Thus the distribution curve of cellulose nitrate may be determined from the dielectric dispersion curve. / Master of Science

A generalized analysis of multiple-clad cylindrical dielectric structures with step-index profiles is presented. This analysis yields unified expressions for fields, dispersion equation and cutoff conditions for weakly guiding optical fibers with step-index but otherwise arbitrary profiles. The formulation focuses on triple-clad fibers, but can accommodate single and double-clad fibers as special limiting cases. Using the generalized solutions, transmission properties of several types of specialty fibers for broadband applications, including dispersion-shifted, dispersion-flattened, and dispersion compensating fibers, are studied. Improved designs for dispersion-shifted and dispersion compensating fibers are achieved. Fiber parameters and material compositions for the improved designs are provided. The proposed design for the dispersion-shifted fiber yields zero second-order as well as third-order dispersion at the 1.55 micrometer wavelength. The dispersion compensating fiber proposed here provides a large negative dispersion of about -400 ps/nm.km at the 1.55 micrometer wavelength for the fundamental mode. Numerical results for dispersion characteristics, cutoff wavelengths, and radial field distributions are provided. / Master of Science

In fiber optic communication systems, the main linear phenomenon that causes optical pulse broadening is called dispersion, which limits the transmission data rate and distance. The principle nonlinear effect, called self-phase modulation, can also limit the system performance by causing spectral broadening. Hence, to achieve the optimal system performance, high data rate and low bandwidth occupancy, those effects must be overcome or compensated. In a nonlinear dispersive fiber, properties of a transmitting pulse: width, chirp, and spectra, are changed along the way and are complicated to predict. Although there is a well-known differential equation, called the Nonlinear Schrodinger Equation, which describes the complex envelope of the optical pulse subject to the nonlinear and dispersion effects, the equation cannot generally be solved in closed form. Although, the split-step Fourier method can be used to numerically determine pulse properties from this nonlinear equation, numerical results are time consuming to obtain and provide limited insight into functional relationships and how to design input pulses. One technique, called the Variational Method, is an approximate but accurate way to solve the nonlinear Schrodinger equation in closed form. This method is exploited throughout this thesis to study the pulse properties in a nonlinear dispersive fiber, and to explore ways to compensate dispersion for both single link and concatenated link systems. In a single link system, dispersion compensation can be achieved by appropriately pre-chirping the input pulse. In this thesis, the variational method is then used to calculate the optimal values of pre-chirping, in which: (i) the initial pulse and spectral width are restored at the output, (ii) output pulse width is minimized, (iii) the output pulse is transform limited, and (iv) the output time-bandwidth product is minimized. For a concatenated link system, the variational calculation is used to (i) show the symmetry of pulse width around the chirp-free point in the plot of pulse width versus distance, (ii) find the optimal dispersion constant of the dispersion compensation fiber in the nonlinear dispersive regime, and (iii) suggest the dispersion maps for two and four link systems in which initial conditions (or parameters) are restored at the output end. The accuracy of the variational approximation is confirmed by split-step Fourier simulation throughout this thesis. In addition, the comparisons show that the accuracy of the variational method improves as the nonlinear effects become small. / Master of Science

A time domain chromatic dispersion measurement system for single-mode optical fibers is presented for easy measurements in both the laboratory and the field. This technique uses a relative group delay of a band of light at slightly different wavelengths from a single pulsed laser diode to determine chromatic dispersion and the zero chromatic dispersion (ZCD) wavelength of the fiber. Time domain dispersion measurements find the group delay directly, eliminating the need for a vector voltmeter and the added phase calibration and group delay calculations needed in most frequency (phase) domain techniques. With the use of a monochromator as a bandpass filter, a number of group delay data points can be taken throughout the spectral width of a single laser diode. Since the group delay data are relative measurements, access is needed only to the output of a length of fiber. This makes this time domain technique especially well suited for field use. Using the modified Sellmeier equation, only three group delay measurements need to be taken to find the zero chromatic dispersion (ZCD) wavelength and a highly accurate approximation to the chromatic dispersion curve. The modified Sellmeier equation coefficients are found by a simple BASIC program, eliminating the need for curve-fitting and numerical differentiation routines. The desired chromatic dispersion curve and ZCD wavelength are found by straightforward differentiation. / M.S.

The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the effect of dispersion on a spectrum-sliced WDM (SS-WDM) system, specifically a system employing a single-mode optical fiber. The system performance is expressed in term of the receiver sensitivity defined as the average number of photon per bit <i>N_p</i>required for a given probability of bit error <i>P_e</i>. The receiver sensitivity is expressed in terms of two normalized parameters: the ratio of the optical bandwidth per channel and the bit rate <i>m</i>=<i>B</i>₀<i>/R_b</i>=<i>B</i>₀<i>T</i>, and the transmission distance normalized by the dispersion distance <i>z/L_D</i>. The former represents the effect of the excess beat noise caused by the signal fluctuation. The latter represents the effect of dispersion. The excess beat noise can be reduced by increasing the value of <i>m</i> (increasing the optical bandwidth<i> B</i>₀ for a given bit rate<i> R_b</i>). However, a large <i>m</i> implies that the degradation due to the dispersion is severe in a system employing a single-mode fiber. Therefore, there should be an optimum <i>m</i> resulting from the two effects. The theoretical results obtained from our analysis have confirmed this prediction. It is also shown that the optimum <i>m</i> (<i>m_opt</i>) decreases with an increase in the normalized distance. This suggests that the dispersion strongly affects the system performance. The increase in the excess beat noise is traded for the decrease in the dispersion effect. Additionally, the maximum transmission distance is relatively short, compared to that in a laser-based system. This suggests that the SS-WDM systems with single-mode fibers are suitable for short-haul systems, such as high-speed local-access network where the operating bit rate is high but the transmission distance is relatively short. / Master of Science