In this study, two semi-analytical models of microsegregation were developed to predict the concentration fields of solute in the liquid and solid regions for dendritic solidification of binary metallic alloys. Both models assume that the growing dendrites are cylindrical in shape. This assumption is more realistic compared to the common assumptions of plate-like dendrites that most of the earlier researchers employed in their microsegregation modeling study. The solute redistribution profile, in the developing solid layer, necessary to determine the back diffusion parameter was derived from Fick's second law for the model without coarsening. The application of this parameter in a wide range of conditions and the use of its basic form in the model with coarsening was verified. The concept of coordinate transformation and enhancement of back-diffusion Fourier number were used in deriving the model which took into account the coarsening of dendrites. The models are then extended to deal with rapid solidification, peritectic transformations and multi-component systems and the results were compared with relevant experimental data. A good agreement between the model predictions and experimental results was found. / The second part of this study was focused on developing a fully numerical microsegregation model. The numerical model built upon a previously proposed phase change model which relied upon a coordinate transformation technique. The model was extended to deal with moving boundaries with solute diffusion. A suitable computational procedure was developed to solve the model equations which are strongly coupled to each other. To verify the accuracy of the present algorithm with regard to the capability of tracking the moving interfaces, analytical solution of the Stefan problem was used for verification purposes. A good agreement between the model predictions and the analytical solution was found. Evolution of concentration fields during solidification was calculated in the growing solid as well as in the shrinking liquid regions for rectangular, cylindrical and spherical dendrite geometries. The effects of various cooling conditions and relevant parametric values on microsegregation were analyzed and discussed.

Quantum-dot Cellular Automata (QCA) is a new paradigm for computation that utilizes polarization states instead of using current switching. It is being studied because of the realization of the quickly approaching limitation of the current CMOS technology. The location of two excess electrons located within four or five quantum dots on a particular cell can transmit the binary information. These dots are located in the corner of a square cell, and if there is a fifth dot it is located in the center. The electrons are allowed to tunnel freely among the dots, but are restricted from tunneling between neighboring cells. Because of the interaction between the electrons, they will anti-align within the cell giving one of two particular configurations. This configuration can be transmitted to neighboring cells. In other words, data is flowing.We present a numerical study of the fabrication defect's influence on Quantum-dot Cellular Automata (QCA) operation. The statistical model that has been introduced simulates the random distribution of positional defects of the dots within cells and of cells within arrays. Missing dots within a QCA cell structure have also been studied.We have studied specific non-clocked QCA devices using the Inter-cellular Hartree Approximation, for different temperatures. Parameters such as success rate and breakdown displacement factor were defined and calculated numerically. Results show the thermal dependence of the breakdown displacement factor of the QCA devices. It has been shown, that the breakdown displacement factor decreases with increasing temperature. As expected, multiple defects within the same QCA array have shown a reduction in success rate greater than that of a single defect influencing the system. / Department of Physics and Astronomy

To have a useful QCA device it is first necessary to study how to control data flow in a device, then study how temperature and manufacturing defects will affect the proper output of the device. Theoretically a "quantum wire" of perfectly aligned QCA cells at zero Kelvin temperature has been examined. However, QCA processors will not be operating at a temperature of zero Kelvin and inherently the manufacturing process will introduce defects into the system. Many different types of defects could occur at the device level and the individual cell level, both kinds of defects should be examined. Device defects include but are not limited to linear and/or rotational translation, and missing or extra cell(s). The internal cell defects would include an odd sized cell, and one or more miss-sized or dislocated quantum dot(s). These defects may have little effect on the operation of the QCA device, or could cause a complete failure. In addition, the thermal effect on the QCA devices may also cause a failure of the device or system. The defect and thermal operating limit of a QCA device must be determined.In the present investigation, the thermal and defect tolerance of clocked QCA devices will be studied. In order to study tolerance of QCA devices theoretical models will be developed. In particular, some existing computer simulation programs will be studied and expanded. / Department of Physics and Astronomy

No description available.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Chemistry / Viktor Chikan / Ever depleting sources of fossil fuel has triggered more research in the field of alternate sources of energy. Over the past few years, CdSe nanoparticles have emerged as a material with a great potential for optoelectronic applications because of its easy exciton generation and charge separation. Electronic properties of CdSe nanoparticles are highly dependent on their size, shape and electronic environment. The main focus of this research is to explore the effect of different electronic environments on various spectroscopic properties of CdSe nanoparticles and link this to solar cell performance. To attain that goal, CdSe quantum dots (QDs) and nanorods (NRs) have been synthesized and either doped with metal dopants or embedded in polymer matrices. Electronic properties of these nanocomposites have been studied using several spectroscopic techniques such as absorption, photoluminescence, time-resolved photoluminescence, confocal microscopy and wide field microscopy. Indium and tin are the two metal dopants that have been used in the past to study the effect of doping on conductivity of CdSe QDs. Based on the photoluminescence quenching experiments, photoluminescence of both indium and tin doped samples suggest that they behave as n-type semiconductors. A comparison between theoretical and experimental data suggests that energy levels of indium doped and tin doped QDs are 280 meV and 100 meV lower than that of the lowest level of conduction band respectively. CdSe nanorods embedded in two different polymer matrices have been investigated using wide field fluorescence microscopy and confocal microscopy. The data reveals significant enhancement in bandedge luminescence of NRs in the vicinity of a conjugated polymer such as P3HT. Photoactive charge transfer from polymers to the surface traps of NRs may account for the observed behavior. Further study shows anti-correlation between bandedge and trap state emission of CdSe NRs. A recombination model has been proposed to explain the results. The origin of traps is also investigated and plausible explanations are drawn from the acquired data.

published_or_final_version / Physics / Master / Master of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / abstract / Physics / Master / Master of Philosophy

Zinc oxide (ZnO) is a promising material for ultra-violet optoelectronics applications due to its direct band gap and large exciton binding energy. Defect in semiconductor plays an important role in determining the optical and electrical properties. It is thus crucial to understand the defects‟ performance for realizing the device fabrication. Green luminescence (GL) having the peak at 2.4-2.5 eV is a defect related emission band commonly found in the luminescence spectra of many of the ZnO materials. Despite of the effort devoted for several decades, its origin and emission mechanism remain controversial. In this thesis, the origin of the GL emitted from the ZnO films grown by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) is studied using a comprehensive spectroscopic approach, including the Hall effect measurement, photoluminescence (PL), Raman spectroscopy, positron annihilation spectroscopy (PAS), and secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS). ZnO thin films are grown by PLD method with the growth parameters (namely the substrate temperature and oxygen pressure during the growth) systemically varied. Annealing studies in argon atmosphere reveal the correlation between the free electron concentration and the hydrogen concentration in the samples. Two oxygen deficient defect related Raman modes are also identified and they anneal out after annealing at high temperature. We have investigated the introduction the GL systematically grown by different growth parameters, undergone different post-growth annealing treatment, and different methods of growth. Two kinds of GL’s are identified. The first kind of GLs has peak at 2.47 eV without the fine structure, and the other has the peak at 2.45 eV having the fine structure of separation of 0.07 eV. The GL with the fine structure is originated from the surficial region of the ZnO film. The GL without the fine structure is introduced after the annealing 900℃ irrespective of the initial growth conditions. PAS results show a strong correlation between the thermal introductions of a kind of Zn-vacancy and the GL without the fine structure. Moreover, a donor-acceptor-pair (DAP) emission is induced in the low temperature PL spectrum after the same annealing temperature of 900℃. The GL and the DAP emissions are thus associated with the involvement of the VZn. Furthermore by comparing the photon energies of the GL and DAP with the previous first principle calculated results, the GL is ascribed to the conduction band to the (-/2-) acceptor level of VZn, and the DAP involves the (0/-) acceptor level of VZn The presence of the conduction band to the (0/-) level transition is compatible with the results of the photoluminescence excitation (PLE) study. / published_or_final_version / Physics / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

No description available.

No description available.