abstract: Nanowires (NWs) have attracted many interests due to their advance in synthesis and their unique structural, electrical and optical properties. NWs have been realized as promising candidates for future photonic platforms. In this work, erbium chloride silicate (ECS), CdS and CdSSe NWs growth by vapor-liquid-solid mechanism and their characterization were demonstrated. In the ECS NWs part, systematic experiments were performed to investigate the relation between growth temperature and NWs structure. Scanning electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and photoluminescence characterization were used to study the NWs morphology, crystal quality and optical properties. At low growth temperature, there was strong Si Raman signal observed indicating ECS NWs have Si core. At high growth temperature, the excess Si signal was disappeared and the NWs showed better crystal quality and optical properties. The growth temperature is the key parameter that will induce the transition from Si/ECS core-shell NWs structure to solid ECS NWs. With the merits of high Er concentration and long PL lifetime, ECS NWs can serve as optical gain material with emission at 1.5 μm for communications and amplifiers. In the CdS, CdSSe NWs part, the band gap engineering of CdSSe NWs with spatial composition tuning along single NWs were demonstrated. The first step of realizing CdSSe NWs was the controlled growth of CdS NWs. It showed that overall pressure would largely affect the lengths of the CdS NWs. NWs with longer length can be obtained at higher pressure. Then, based on CdS NWs growth and by adding CdSe step by step, composition graded CdSSe alloy NWs were successfully synthesized. The temperature control over the source vapor concentration plays the key role for the growth. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.S. Electrical Engineering 2012

Master of Science / Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering / Behrooz Mirafzal / The rise of Wide Band Gap (WBG) devices has brought excitement in the field of Power converters. The WBG based converter can operate at the very high frequency and temperature making them ideal to use in harsh environments. The commercialization of WBG devices such as SiC and GaN MOSFETs has made it interesting for power engineering professionals all over the world. The use of WBG devices capable of operating at high switching frequencies reduces the overall system size dramatically with added benefit of improved power quality at high temperature. The main goal of this thesis is to design and test an AC-DC converter based on a SiC power module. The designed rectifier can be considered an active rectifier equipped with a controller to constantly provide feedback for modification of switching signals to get the desired output voltage. The designed active rectifier converts the varying frequency input power supply into rectified DC voltage while keeping the power factor of the system to unity. This thesis covers elementary information on power supply design, switching schemes and design of the controller. System arrangement will provide more light on the use of Six Channel MOSFET Gate Driver from CREE with the overall experimental setup. The experimental analysis will summarize the behavior of the system where information on achieved rectification, effect on the line currents at the generator and concluding power factor representation is described.

No description available.

Ternary III-nitride alloys have enabled the design of various devices ranging from optoelectronics to power electronics due to their tunable band gap. BxGa1-xN is a wide band gap semiconductor with applications in detecting devices, power electronics and light-emitting diodes. The band gap can be modulated by changing the Boron concentration. It can be grown by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition as a mixed thin film of wurtzite and zincblende structures. In this work, we investigate the structural and electronic properties of BxGa1-xN (x<0.2) by first-principles calculations for both the wurtzite and zincblende phases. The formation energies of Si and Mg impurities and of a Ga vacancy are also calculated. We find that the wurtzite structure is favored over the zincblende structure. Furthermore, the Si and Mg impurities have relatively low formation energies in their neutral state, which indicates compatibility with BxGa1-xN, while a Ga vacancy has very high formation energy, hence being less likely to form spontaneously. Moreover, in the charged states, the formation energy of Mg is reasonably low for most values of the Fermi level, while the formation energy of Si depends linearly on the Fermi level, indicating challenges in achieving n-type conductivity. For a Ga vacancy in a triple acceptor state, the formation energy is reasonably low close to the conduction band, therefore, Ga vacancies interfere with n-type conductivity.

No description available.

No description available.

Conventional fibers are comprised of a solid glass core and solid glass cladding often protected by a thin polymer sheath. The finely tuned difference in refractive indices, for step index-fibers, is achieved by doping the core with germanium or elements with similar effects. Holey fibers (including photonic crystal fibers) comprise of a pure silica core, and a pure but porous silica cladding of air holes [1]. This provides a huge difference in the refractive indices on the cladding and core without doping. This translates into radiation resistant fibers with very low losses and very robust to high temperatures to mention a few [2]. Several successful attempts have been made for ordered holey optical fibers since the initial publication by Knight et al; random holey optical fibers, which can be just as effective, have yet to be fabricated [3]. Sol-gel processing of silicon alkoxides can be used to fabricate silica monoliths of tailored pore densities and sizes [4]; this makes the process attractive for random holey fiber preform manufacturing. Similar attempts have been made by Okazaki et al [5] to make conventional optical fibers. This paper chronicles efforts to make random holey fiber optical preforms from silica sol-gel monoliths, characterized for some structural properties. Silica monoliths can be made by hydrolysis and condensation of TEOS (tetraethylorthosilicate) or TMOS (tetramethylorthosilicate). These can be catalyzed in a single step or two-step process, aged and dried at ambient pressures and temperatures, as well as by supercritical fluid extraction of CO2. Mechanical strengthening techniques as described by Okazaki [5] have also been employed. The silica gel monoliths are characterized by helium pycnometry and scanning electron microscopy. Various shapes and densities of silica monoliths have been prepared and characterized. Some of these have also drawn into fibers to demonstrate their viability. / Master of Science

Switch mode power supplies are widely used in different applications. High efficiency and high power density are two driving forces for power supply systems. However, high dv/dt and di/dt in switch mode power supplies will cause severe EMI noise issue. In a typical front-end converter, the EMI filter usually occupies 1/3 to 1/4 volume of total converter. Hence, reducing the EMI noise of power converter can help reduce the volume of EMI filter and improving the total power density of the converter. The EMI noise can be separated as differential mode (DM) noise and common mode (CM) noise. For off-line switch mode power supplies, DM noise is dominated by PFC converter. CM noise is a more complicated issue. It is contributed by both PFC converter and DC/DC converter. The DM noise is contributed by input current ripple. Therefore, one method to reduce DM noise is interleaving. There are three methods to reduce CM noise: symmetry, balance and shielding. The idea of symmetry concept is generating another dv/dt source to cancel the original dv/dt source. However, this method is very difficult to achieve and usually has more loss. The balance technique forms a Wheatstone bridge circuit to minimize the CM noise. However, the balance technique cannot achieve very good attenuation at high frequency due to parasitics. Shielding technique is very popular in isolated DC-DC converters to reduce CM noise. However, the previous shielding method requires precise control of parasitic capacitance and dv/dt. It is very difficult to achieve good CM noise attenuation in mass production. In this dissertation, a novel one-layer shielding method for PCB winding transformer is provided. This shielding technique can block CM noise from primary side and also cancel the CM noise from secondary side. In addition, shielding does not increase the loss of converter too much. Furthermore, this shielding technique can be applied to matrix transformer structure. For matrix transformer LLC converter, the inter-winding capacitor is very large and will cause severe CM noise problem. By adding shielding layer, CM noise has been greatly reduced. Although flyback and LLC resonant converter are used as examples to demonstrate the concept, the novel shielding technique can also be applied to other topologies that have similar transformer structure. With Wide-band-gap power devices, the switching frequency of power converter can be pushed 10 times higher than traditional Si based converters. This provides an opportunity to use PCB winding magnetics. In order to reduce the switching loss, critical conduction mode is used in PFC converter. Because of high AC current in the inductor winding, litz wire was used to build the inductor. However, with coupled inductor concept and the proposed winding structure, CRM inductor is integrate into PCB winding for the first time. Furthermore, balance technique is applied to reduce CM noise for PFC converter. With PCB winding, the balance technique has better high frequency performance. The PCB winding inductor can achieve high power density, high efficiency and automated manufacture. Traditionally, two-stage EMI filter was utilized to achieve required EMI noise attenuation. With the developed high frequency, low EMI noise converter, single-stage EMI filter can be applied. However, there are self-parasitic and mutual parasitic components to impact the filter performance on high frequency. The near-field measurement is utilized to visualize the magnetic flux near those filter components. Thus, a better filter design and layout can be achieved to have better high frequency performance. / Ph. D. / Switch mode power supplies are widely used in different applications. High efficiency and high power density are two driving forces for power supply systems. In a world full of electronic devices, it is very important that these devices can work properly in a complicated electromagnetic environment. Thus, electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) is a significant characteristic of electronic devices. However, high dv/dt and di/dt in switch mode power supplies will cause severe EMI noise issue. In a typical front-end converter, the EMI filter usually occupies 1/3 to 1/4 volume of total converter. Hence, reducing the EMI noise of power converter can help reduce the volume of EMI filter and improving the total power density of the converter. In this dissertation, several methods to reduce EMI noise are proposed and analyzed. First, the shielding method for PCB winding transformer is proposed. It can effectively reduce EMI noise at wide frequency range. Second, balance technique is applied to reduce EMI noise of PFC converter. Traditionally, two-stage EMI filter was utilized to achieve required EMI noise attenuation. With the developed high frequency, low EMI noise converter, single-stage EMI filter can be applied. However, there are self-parasitic and mutual parasitic components to impact the filter performance on high frequency. The near-field measurement is utilized to visualize the magnetic flux near those filter components. Thus, a better filter design and layout can be achieved to have better high frequency performance.

Atualmente, os materiais luminescentes que apresentam a luminescência persistente tem ganhando um destaque devido a capacidade de emitir luz por um período de tempo que pode variar de minutos à horas depois de cessada a excitação. Todavia, não há um grande número de estudos quantitativos a respeito dos fatores que influenciam esse fenômeno. Dessa forma, para o estudar do efeito do band gap na luminescência persistente comparou-se as propriedades de duas matrizes similares. A matriz ortossilicato de cádmio, Cd2SiO4, foi comparada com a matriz metassilicato de cádmio, CdSiO3, já descrita na literatura. A matriz ortossilicato de cádmio não dopada e dopada com íons terra rara foi sintetizada via síntese de estado sólido pelo método cerâmico a 1050 °C. A caracterização e o estudo da pureza se deram através das técnicas difração de raios X (DRX) usando radiação Síncrotron e CuK&#945;. O estado de oxidação foi estudado usando espectroscopia de absorção de raios X próximo a borda (XANES) com radiação Síncrotron. As propriedades luminescentes foram compreendidas pelos experimentos de fotoluminescência no UV-Vis e espectroscopia com radiação Síncrotron na região do UV vácuo. Os difratogramas mostraram a presença de pequenas porcentagens de impurezas e a obtenção da fase pura para o Cd2SiO4:Pr3+. O espectro de XANES mostrou a presença apenas de íons terras raras trivalentes. O valor do band gap para a matriz ortossilicato de cádmio em 4,1 eV foi determinado utilizando espectros de excitação e emissão em 77 K dos materiais Cd2SiO4 e Cd2SiO4:Gd3+. Os espectros de excitação e emissão dos materiais Cd2SiO4:Pr3+ e Cd2SiO4:Tb3+ permitiram a comparação das propriedades luminescentes entre a fase ortossilicato e metassilicato, além de indicar a posição de alguns níveis 5d dentro da banda de condução. Com os dados obtidos foi proposto um mecanismo de luminescência persistente para o íon Pr3+ que mostrou-se muito mais eficiente nessa matriz em relação ao metassilicato de cádmio, comportamento oposto ao observado com os íons Tb3+, devido às suas posições dentro do band gap da matriz / Persistent luminescence materials have gained special attention lately due to their special property of emitting light for long time after ceased irradiation. However, hitherto, there is no deep quantitative analysis on the factors that affects this phenomenon. On this way, we compared the persistent luminescence properties on two similar inorganic hosts differing only in their band gap energies. The cadmium orthosilicate (Cd2SiO4) was compared to the cadmium metasilicate (CdSiO3) already well described in literature. The non-doped and rare earth doped cadmium orthosilicate were prepared with solid state synthesis at 1050 °C. The characterization and phase purity study were made with X-ray diffraction techniques using both Synchrotron and Cu&#945;K radiation. The oxidation state was studied with Synchrotron radiation X-ray absorption Near Edge structure measurements (XANES). The photoluminescence study was done with UV-Vis and VUV-UV emission and excitation spectroscopies. The XRD patterns allowed the determination of the phase purity and confirmed the preparation of pure Cd2SiO4:Pr3+. XANES data confirmed the presence of only trivalent rare earths. The band gap was determined as 4.1 eV with the 77 K excitation spectra of Cd2SiO4 and Cd2SiO4:Gd3+. The excitation spectra of Cd2SiO4:Pr3+ and Cd2SiO4:Tb3+ allowed the comparation between the optical properties of meta- and orthosilicate crystal phases like the position of 5d levels which are inside Cd2SiO4 conduction band. The obtained data allowed the proposition of a persistent luminescence mechanism for Pr3+ ion, considerably more efficient on orthosilicate when compared to metasilicate. This behavior is on the opposite way to the one observed for Tb3+ ions, due to their position in the band gap.

Nesse trabalho foram fabricados filmes finos de TiO2 por RF magnetron sputtering reativo sobre substrato de silício (1 0 0). A pressão parcial do oxigênio na câmara foi variada de 5 a 100% em relação ao argônio. Após a deposição os filmes foram submetidos a tratamento térmico em atmosfera de oxigênio. A estequiometria dos filmes e o perfil de profundidade foram obtidos por RBS. A estrutura cristalina foi obtida por XRD. As propriedades ópticas foram obtidas por interferometria e reflectância e as elétricas por meio das curvas C-V. Os valores de espessura dos filmes sem tratamento térmico aumentaram aproximadamente 41% com o aumento do oxigênio na câmara de deposição. Essa variação está ligada ao aumento da eficiência do sputtering do alvo. Os índices de refração dos filmes sem tratamento térmico se mantiveram dentro de um intervalo de aproximadamente 2,3 a 2,4. A diminuição do band gap com o tratamento térmico é consequência da mudança de fase cristalográfica de anatase para rutila. A estequiometria TiOx dos filmes antes do tratamento térmico apresentaram valores de x entre 2,0 e 2,4. A espessura em TFU dos filmes aumentou com o percentual de oxigênio na câmara. As amostras que receberam tratamento térmico apresentaram difusão de titânio na interface do substrato e incorporação de oxigênio no filme. Os valores da constante dielétrica aumentaram com o percentual de oxigênio na câmara, em contraposição com o efeito do tratamento térmico que diminuiu o valor. Todos os resultados observados são coerentes do ponto de vista da mudança de fase anatase rutila e aumento do percentual de oxigênio na câmara. / In this work thin films of TiO2 were produced by reactive RF magnetron sputtering on silicon substrate (1 0 0). The oxygen partial pressure in the chamber was varied from 5 to 100% in relation to argon. After deposition the films were submitted to thermal treatment under an oxygen atmosphere. The stoichiometry of the films and the depth profile were obtained by RBS. The crystal structure was obtained by XRD. Its optical properties were obtained by interferometry and reflectance and the electrical were obtained by means of the C-V curves. The thickness values of films without heat treatment increased approximately 41% with the increase of oxygen in the deposition chamber. This variation is linked to the increased sputtering efficiency of the target. The refractive indexes of films without heat treatment remained within a range of about 2.3 to 2.4. The decrease of the band gap with the heat treatment is a consequence of the change of crystallographic phase from anatase to rutile. The TiOx stoichiometry of the films before the heat treatment showed values of x between 2.0 and 2.4. The TFU thickness of the films increased with the percentage of oxygen in the chamber. The samples that received heat treatment shows diffusion of titanium at the interface of the substrate and incorporation of oxygen in the film. The values of the dielectric constant increased with the percentage of oxygen in the chamber, as opposed to the effect of the thermal treatment that decreased the value. All the results observed are consistent from the point of view of the anatase - rutile phase transition and the increase in the oxygen percentage in the chamber.