The purpose of this study is to characterize radiation-induced luminescence of terbium-doped silicate glasses. Experiments performed investigated the optical properties, isothermal time-evolution, and temperature dependence of the radiation-induced luminescence of two commercially available terbium-doped glasses. A problem common to this type of glass is the persistent luminescence, or afterglow, that occurs following the end of excitation from an external source of radiation. While the processes that govern characteristic luminescence of rare earth ions, including terbium, are well understood, the processes that give rise to afterglow in doped glasses are not. Identifying the source of long-term luminescence is essential for controlling problems that may arise from practical applications of luminescent glasses.;It was determined that the stimulation of terbium fluorescence is the result of direct excitation from the external radiation source, and indirect excitation from the delayed recombination of charge carriers releasing from traps in the host glass. The range of trap depths is found to be well represented by quasi-continuous distribution functions. The characteristic decay time during the initial response of both glasses studied is approximately 3.5 milliseconds. Decay of the afterglow was observed to persist for several hours, depending on the acquired dose of radiation. Comparison of the response to x-rays and ultraviolet radiation yielded the same results, indicating that the same processes are involved in producing afterglow for both cases. This result suggests a more efficient means of characterizing scintillating glasses by using ultraviolet lasers instead of x-rays.

The discovery of tunneling magneto-resistance has led to a great deal of interest in the study of ferromagnet-insulator-ferromagnet (FIF) systems due to potential sensor and magnetic storage applications. An analysis of the band structure of the 3d ferromagnets shows that the conduction electrons become spin polarized by the molecular field. The transmission coefficient of these electrons across a tunneling gap therefore depends upon the relative alignment of the molecular field between the two ferromagnets.;In this work the manufacture of such tunneling gaps through compression molding of powdered ferromagnetic iron with a high performance polyimide has been studied for the first time. The percent change in the resistance with applied magnetic field depends critically on the volume percentage of ferromagnetic material in the composite. A peak in the tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR) occurs at a volume concentration just beneath the percolation threshold of the ferromagnetic material. The change in resistance relative to the resistance at zero field, DeltaR/R0, obtains a room temperature peak value of -4.5% at 20% iron volume concentration.;Granular conducting systems near the percolation threshold are also subject to variable range hopping (VRH) conduction. The charging energy of small metallic grains results in an energy barrier for the acceptance of an additional electron. Electronic conduction requires thermal activation over this barrier along with tunneling through the insulating regime. The result of these two combined processes is a temperature dependent tunneling distance and a conductivity of the form ln sigma ∝ T-x, with 1/4 ≤ x ≤ 1/2.;The theoretical development and experimental measurements of TMR and VRH in iron polyimide nanocomposites are thoroughly developed and analyzed in this work. Ferromagnet particle size and band structure effects on TMR are also explored in an effort to optimize the material for sensor applications.

In this dissertation we study the electronic properties of certain two-dimensional chiral electron systems. We study the static and dynamic screening of gapped bilayer graphene and find important qualitative differences between the dielectric screening function obtained using a simplified 2-band model and that obtained using a more sophisticated 4-band model. We also formulate a continuum model to study the low-energy electronic properties of heterostructures formed by graphene on a strong three-dimensional topological insulator (TI) both for the case of commensurate and incommensurate stacking. We find that the proximity of the TI induces a strong enhancement of the spin-orbit coupling in graphene that can be tuned via the twist angle. Additionally, we examine the effect of a spin-active interface on the symmetry of proximity-induced superconducting pairing amplitudes in topological insulators. We compare our results to those for normal metals and ferromagnetic materials finding that the nontrivial spin chirality of the TI leads to qualitatively different behavior of the pairing amplitude. Lastly, we study the many-body instabilities of the Dirac states predicted to arise on the surfaces of topological Kondo insulators identifying regions of parameter space in which the system exhibits spin density wave, and charge density wave order.

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Nanostructure systems possessing certain desirable features can arise from the self-organization of fundamental building blocks. In this thesis we explore two types of controlled self-assembly mechanisms in hetero-epitaxy: (a) classical assembly of atom vacancies into quasi one-dimensional line structures and (b) quantum-driven assembly of atoms into atomically-smooth two-dimensional thin films. In the classical assembly phenomenon, adatom vacancies, created via elastic strain-relaxation in compressively strained atom chains on a silicon substrate, self-organize into meandering vacancy lines. The average spacing between these line defects can be varied by adjusting the chemical potential μ of the adsorbed atoms. We implemented a lattice model that quantitatively connects density functional theory calculations for perfectly ordered structures to the fluctuating disorder seen in experiment and the experimental control parameter μ. The quantum-mechanical thin-film assembly explored in this thesis has an electronic origin. It is made possible by strong quantum size effects at the nanoscale and can be controlled experimentally by tuning the quantum mechanical boundary conditions and free carrier density of an ultrathin metal film. This is accomplished via atomic-scale template modification and chemical doping, respectively. Our investigations focused on the formation and structure-property relationship of these engineered quantum films, and specifically on the emergence of collective phenomena such as superconductivity and plasmon excitations. We succeeded in growing atomically-smooth Pb1-xGax (x = 0.06) alloy films on a Si(111)-7 × 7 substrate through quantum confinement, a remarkable observation because Pb and Ga are totally immiscible in the bulk. The resulting films exhibit large uniform-depth holes which turn out to be responsible for the exceptionally large critical current density in these films. Remarkably, the critical current density increases with temperature up to 3.25 K, a phenomenon that has not been seen before and that can be attributed to the unusual quantum-growth morphology of this material. The alloying experiments furthermore elucidate the likely origin of the Tc suppression generally observed in thin films. Finally, we demonstrate the existence of quantized plasmon modes in ultrathin metal films. Controlled self-organization experiments thus enable stabilization of novel nanophase materials, which in turn leads to discovery and understanding of novel collective properties.

High-temperature superconductivity has been a focus of much study over the past 20 years, particularly within the cuprate class of superconductors. The effectiveness of these cuprate superconductors is limited by factors including the formation of vortices within the superconductor, orientation within external magnetic fields, the strength of these magnetic fields, temperature, and whether any doping agents have been used. Any of these factors individually can affect the transport critical current levels. In this research, YBaCuO and NdBaCuO-based coated conductors were studied in a liquid-nitrogen-cooled environment at either 77 K or 65 K. Field levels were varied between 0 T and 8 T while orientation was held constant, as well as orientation varying through 140 degrees of rotation while the field was held constant. From the data, n-values (in the voltage-current power-law relation V / In) and values (a power-law relation Jc / H) were calculated, and plots of angular and field dependencies were made. The results showed parallels between doping and improved pinning ability of vortices in addition to an unsuspected weak variation of n-values in relation to orientation within constant magnetic fields.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Syracuse University, 2009. / "Publication number: AAT 3385846 ."