The theme of this thesis is MBE growth of high resistivity semiconductor epi-layers and MBD growth of silicon oxide anti-reflection films. For MBE growth of high resistivity semiconductor epi-layers, In0.523Al0.477As and In0.527Al0.228Ga0.245As lattice matched to InP and grown by MBE at 400¢J has been investigated. We construct n-i-n and p-i-n structure diode models to evidence that the nonlinear I-V characteristics are an intrinsic property of 400¢J In0.523Al0.477As and In0.527Al0.228Ga0.245As, and not due to barriers to current injection at the n+ InGaAs/ high resistivity epi-layer and high resistivity epi-layer/n+ InP heterojunctions. We obtained the effective resistivities of 400¢J In0.523Al0.477As and In0.527Al0.228Ga0.245As at 7V are still more than 109 £[ cm and 107 £[ cm, respectively, in n-i-n structure. They are more than sufficient for most practical applications. For MBD growth of silicon oxide anti-reflection films, we have set up the SiO MBD system in our lab. Then we measured the index of the SiO film that we deposited in the wavelength of 1550nm is about 1.85. Finally, we coated SiO anti-reflection film on one cleaved facet of a Fabry-Perot laser. The reflectance R of the coated facet is reduced to about 1.7¡Ñ10-4 in the vicinity of £f¡×1580 nm.

Recent progress in the field of semiconductor nanocrystals or Quantum Dots (QDs) has seen them find wider acceptance as a tool in biomedical research labs. As produced, high quality QDs synthesized by high temperature organometallic synthesis, are coated with a hydrophobic ligand. Therefore, they must be further processed to be soluble in water and made biocompatible. A process to coat the QDs with silk fibroin, a fibrous protein derived from the Bombyx mori silk worm, is described. Following the coating process, the characterization of size, optical properties and biocompatibility profile of these particle systems is described. In addition, conjugation of the silk fibroin coated QDs to different labeling proteins such as phalloidin and streptavidin is described. Proteins on the surface of ovarian cancer cells (HeyA8) and of cytoskeletal components participating in the formation of focal adhesion complex (FAC), such as F-actin in endothelial cells (HUVECS) were labeled using the bio-conjugated QDs. Various imaging techniques such as epi-fluorescence, TIRF and AFM were used to study the QD labeled cells. Overall the project has produced luminescent nanoprobes that enable the study of FAC formation dynamics and potentially a better in vivo fluorescent marker tool.

In this study, the AZO thin films were deposited with various manufacturing conditions, such as working pressure of oxygen and substrate temperature, by e-beam evaporation. The microstructure of the AZO film was observed by SEM and AFM. Sheet resistance was measured using four-point probe method. Optical transmittance was measured in the visible range by UV spectrophotometer. Finally, AZO transparent film was used as a substitute for ITO to fabricate the radiation-resistant glasses. The optimum parameters for depositing AZO films are glass substrates of 80¢J and working pressure of 1¡Ñ10-4 Torr. The film resistance is 9.2¡Ñ10-4 £[-cm with a film thickness of 60 nm. The refractive index was measured to be 2.05 at a wavelength of 510 nm. The optical transmittance of the prepared films was above 83 % in the visible range. The manufacturing conditions for depositing AZO multilayer coatings are working pressure of 5.0¡Ñ10-5 Torr, ion gun working pressure of 6.0¡Ñ10-5 Torr, voltage of 6.2 V, oxygen gas flow rate of 36 sccm and glass substrates of 80¢J. The optical transmittance of the glass was above 94 % in the visible range.

In this dissertation, an electrical discharge coating uses an isolated sleeve to form a closed space between the end surface of electrode and the work to deposit a thin film onto a substrate. The discharge occurs at the location where the two surfaces are closest and the dielectric fluid ionizes at this location to create a path for the discharge. Hence, this closed space is heated to extremely high temperature, so that a small portion of the work surface is suddenly melted with the particles in the dielectric fluid and then coated to increase its coating speed and quality. The electrode material is made of brass, the work material SKD11, and the dielectric fluid is kerosene with the WC powder concentration of 50g/L. The pulse-on and pulse-off times are 25 and 500£gs, respectively. The effects of supply voltage, electrical discharge coating time, electrical discharge gap, and powder added cycle on the coating characteristics are investigated. According to the experimental results, the electrical discharge with isolated sleeve can achieve a complete coating layer onto the surface of work. The coating thickness increases with increasing electrical discharge coating time and gap as the supply voltage is larger than the threshold voltage of electrical discharge. At the supply voltage below 250V and the added powder cycle less than 10, the coating thickness increases with increasing supply voltage and cycle. The quality of coating layer is better at the low gap distance and the high supply voltage. The hardness of coating layer is about HV 1687 which is approximately 5 times of substrate hardness using micro-hardness test. The electrical discharge without isolated sleeve cannot achieve the above-mentioned advantages.

<p>Paper coatings or coating colours are high solidssuspensions that are applied to paper to improve chieflyprintability and optical properties. A paper coatingsuspension, including pigments, binders and thickeners, is acomplex system which must be understood if the end-useproperties of paper are to be improved. Some of the importantissues that need to be addressed are the mechanisms ofmigration of latices in a drying film, the influence ofthickener on the overall consolidation and the behaviour ofpaper coatings under compression.U nderstanding theconsolidation of paper coatings is essential as the aggregatestructures formed at this stage largely determine theperformance of the paper coating.Similarly, the forming ofpaper itself from pulp fibres requires a detailed understandingof the consolidation and dewatering process.</p><p>In this thesis several approaches have been used in order tostudy the consolidation of paper coatings before and afterapplication to substrates. The techniques utilised arerheometry, centrifugation with NMR-imaging, scanning electronmicroscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM).Furthermore, investigations of the compressional rheology offibre systems has indicated that stepped pressure filtrationcan be a useful tool in the study of fibre dewatering.</p><p>The primary findings presented in this thesis can besummarised as follows. Studies of the compressive yield stressand rheological properties of ground calcium carbonate (GCC)suspensions indicate that the addition of a commonly usedthickener can cause flocculation, most likely of a depletiontype, which leads to more compact structures during dewatering.When applied to substrates, migration and film formation ofbinder latices in the presence of calcium carbonate pigmentsand CMC thickeners occurs concurrently and collectively. Thisis shown to influence the consolidation of the top layer of thecoating to a great extent. It was found that CMC retards themigration of latices and that ethyl(hydroxyethyl)cellulose(EHEC) adsorbs to latex and creates a composite material uponlocal film formation. The composite retains an internalhoneycomb structure in the film, that is revealed by mapping ofelastic variations using AFM phase imaging.</p><p>For fibre systems, the novel method of stepped pressurefiltration has been applied to study the compressional rheologyof pulp suspensions, and the effect of added surfactantsinvestigated. The technique is shown to be a promising tool forthe study of structure-dewatering relationships in fibresuspensions.</p>

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Lehigh University, 2000. / Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 202-206).

Thesis (M.S.)--West Virginia University, 1999. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains x, 74 p. : ill. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 70-71).

The accumulation of undesired matter at heat transfer surfaces (fouling) is a severe problem to industry. The growth of calcium sulphate dihydrate on heated metal surfaces has been examined and a mechanism for the effect of surface roughness on the amount of deposition has been proposed. A novel piece of equipment was designed and constructed in which the growth of crystals on heat transfer surfaces with different surface roughnesses could be observed under controlled solution conditions. The test section was a transparent rectangular channel into Rhich three 25 mm diameter test pieces could be inserted such that the polished faces were planar with the rear face of the channel. The back faces of these test pieces were heated by contact with hot Mater. Using Reynolds numbers of 300 to 13,500 and calcium sulphate 2+ solutions with bulk concentrations from 20 to 50 mH Ca , no gross effect due to surface roughness was seen. However a limited effect, which distinguished grit-blasted surfaces from polished surfaces, was 2+ found in experiments with a bulk concentration from 28 to 33 mH Ca . In all of the experiments it was observed that the presence of bubbles enhanced crystal growth. It was also found that the amount of deposition formed on any surface decreased with decreasing dissolved oxygen content of the bulk solution. It is suggested that a bulk concentration of approximately 33 mH 2+ Ca is a critical level of supersaturation, which corresponds with the so-called metastable limit of supersaturation. The surface roughness effect may be associated with two factors. Firstly, as the critical supersaturation is approached crystal growth is enhanced at certain sites. in particular the edges of bubbles. Secondly, very rough surfaces. such as grit-blasted surfaces. more readily support and initiate bubble formation and consequently the grit-blasted surface shows greater growth. Additional work with a different test rig. using a stagnant solution, indicated that suppression of bubble formation during an experiment, either by initially degassing the surface or by pressurising the system, decreased the amount of crystal growth. This work suggests that a surface roughness effect exists which is related to the presence of bubbles at the surface. Consequently the amount of deposition can be decreased either by controlling the formation of the bubbles (e.g. by completely degassing both the solution and the surface. and pressurising the system). or by polishing the surface. However. the surface roughness effect was most apparent between the very coarse, grit-blasted surfaces (R ~ 2.90 um) and the a medium finish 180 or 240 Grit surfaces (R ~ 0.23 um). a Little or no further improvement was obtained in polishing to a mirror finish. i. e. 0.25 or 0.1 um (R ~ 0.03 um). a further polishing beyond removing gross roughness would not appear to Therefore. for industrial purposes, yield sufficient benefit to justify the large cost involved. It is recommended that further work be undertaken to determine whether the deposition which occurs in the absence of bubbles is influenced by the surface roughness, and whether other chemical system and surfaces behave similar to the calcium sulphate - stainless steel system studied in this work. Moreover, additional work should be undertaken to examine the effect of surface physical properties on crystal and bubble nucleation and growth.

No description available.

In recent years, magnesium and magnesium alloys have received much attention as a new biomaterial in orthopaedic applications due to their biodegradability, biocompatibility, and their mechanical properties that are similar to natural bone tissue. The most common problem associated with magnesium as a biomaterial is low corrosion resistance in physiological solutions. This decreases the mechanical integrity of the implants in the early stages of healing and has a negative impact on the overall biocompatibility. The main goal of this study was to create a multi-layered coating consisting of a silica sol-gel under-layer to protect the substrate from corrosion in body fluids and a mesoporous silica top-layer to enhance the bioactivity of the coated implant material. The results indicate that the deposited multi-layered coating enhances both the bioactivity and the corrosion resistance of the material.