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A modified CVD reactor was designed with a deposition chamber capable of accommodating 8" wafers, with the capacity to remotely pyrolyze two different precursors. The design was based on a previous working reactor, with the most notable improvements being a showerhead design for more even delivery of gaseous precursor and a separate heating control of the substrate holder and deposition chamber walls. The performance of the reactor was analyzed by testing the pressure gradients within and the thickness uniformity of films deposited on 8" wafers. The reactor exhibited a linear pressure gradient within, and the thickness uniformity was excellent, with a slight increase in thickness towards inlet of the showerhead. The thickness difference between the maximum and minimum thickness on an 8" wafer was 14%. Films of polyparaxylylene (PPXN), polychloroparaxylylene (PPXC), SiO₂, and PPXC/SiO₂ were deposited, with deposition rates and indices of refraction comparable to those obtained on the old reactor design. A full factorial study was performed to determine the effect of the substrate temperature, the sublimation temperature, and the pyrolysis temperature on the deposition rates of PPXC. It was determined that the substrate temperature has the greatest effect, with about 50% contribution, and deposition rates increased with decreasing substrate temperature. The sublimation temperature contributed 25%, with increasing sublimation rates leading to higher deposition rates. The pyrolysis contributes very little, with about 2%, and the variance ratio did not fall within a 90% confidence level. A low dielectric constant polymer, poly(tetrafluoro-p-xylylene) (VT-4), was synthesized by chemical vapor deposition from 4,5,7,8,12,13,15,16-octafluoro-[2.2]-paracyclophane (DVT-4). The main motivation was to find a cheaper alternative to poly( alpha, alpha , alpha ', alpha '-tetrafluoro-p-xylylene) (AF-4) with similar properties. The dielectric constant of VT-4 was measured as 2.42 at 1 MHz, and the in-plane and out-of-plane indices of refraction were 1.61 and 1.47 at 630 nm. The large negative birefringence suggests a low out-of-plane dielectric constant, which is desired for interlayer dielectrics. The VT-4 polymer was found to be stable at 460 °C by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Polymer/Siloxane nanocomposites were studied as an alternate path to a polymer/silica composite. This study showed that incorporation of a four-ringed liquid siloxane precursor into the parylene PPXC is not feasible. A solid precursor cube-like molecule, vinyl-T8, was incorporated with ease. Pyrolysis of vinyl-T8 at different temperatures revealed complex behavior, with the formation of polymerized vinyl-T8 (through free radical addition at the vinyl groups) as well as silica-like structures forming above 500 °C as a result of the breaking up of the cage structure of vinyl-T8. Codepositions of PPXC and vinyl-T8 were then examined as a possible path towards a polymer/silica nanocomposite. At deposition temperatures below 5 °C, precipitation of excess vinyl-T8 into cubic micron-sized crystals occurred. As this was undesirable, studies were continued at higher deposition temperatures. A Taguchi orthogonal array was set up to study the effect of the sublimation temperatures of the two precursors as well as the pyrolysis temperature and the substrate temperature on the deposition rate, the index of refraction and the weight loss after a 500 °C anneal. The deposition rate depended mostly on the sublimation temperature of the PPXC and the substrate temperature. The lowest index of refraction (and thus the lowest dielectric constant) was obtained with the lowest sublimation temperatures of 134 °C for PPXC and 195 °C for vinyl-T8 and a pyrolysis temperature of 200 °C. Each of the factors was found to have an effect on the index of refraction, with the sublimation temperature of vinyl-T8 having the most influence. The films degraded at 500 °C, indicating that post-deposition annealing of the films did not lead to a conversion of the vinyl-T8 to a SiO₂-like structure (which would be stable at that temperature). X-ray diffraction spectra of the films revealed peaks which were not present for any of the vinyl-T8 films or characteristic of PPXC. Therefore, some type of interaction between the two components occurred and affected the morphology, most likely the formation of a block copolymer. Thus, though polymer/silica films were not attained, the resulting composites had comparable properties with higher deposition rates and a cleaner process. / Master of Science

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No description available.

Ground penetrating radar (GPR) technology has been used for the past 20 years for a variety of applications to assess transportation infrastructure. However, the main issue after all these years remains: "How well does GPR work and under what conditions?" Results show that GPR works well for some situations, but is not an appropriate tool for other situations. It is not used currently on a routine basis by the US Departments of Transportation (DOTs) due mainly to difficulties encountered with data interpretation. Data interpretation difficulties are mainly attributed to the fact that images obtained from the reflected signals are not photographs of the features that are beneath the surface being investigated. The images show the amplitude of the radar-reflected signals from the interfaces with different dielectric properties. Therefore, a considerable amount of experience and operator skill may be required to correctly interpret sub-surface radar results. To better understand reflected GPR signals, this research was conducted with the following objectives: to determine the dielectric properties of concrete over the used GPR frequency range; to synthesize the reflected air-coupled radar signals and compare them with measured waveforms; to model and study the effects of simulated defects in concrete on the reflected air-coupled and ground-coupled radar signals; and to validate the research results in the field by predicting layer thicknesses of flexible pavements and detecting moisture in flexible pavement systems. Several concrete slabs, 1.5x1.5 m, were constructed with known thicknesses, simulated defects, and different reinforcement configurations. The concrete mixes included four different bridge deck mixes and one concrete pavement mix used in the State of Virginia. Results have shown that the dielectric constant of concrete is frequency and mix dependent. However, modeling the reflected signals using an average complex dielectric constant over the entire radar frequency range led to modeled waveforms comparable to the measured waveforms. Although air- and water-filled voids did distort the reflected waveforms, a model was developed to predict the reflected waveforms from the simulated defects. Reinforcement was found to affect the reflected waveforms only when it was oriented in a direction perpendicular to the GPR antennas. A model was also developed to predict the GPR waveforms obtained from flexible pavements. This model could be used in a procedure to measure layer thicknesses more accurately by including losses that occur inside the pavement materials. Two different case studies, where a ground-coupled GPR system was used to locate moisture at different layers, have led to the conclusion that the ground-coupled GPR is a feasible tool to detect moisture inside pavements. / Ph. D.

Three main objectives have been set for this research. The first is to develop an accurate method for measuring the dielectric constant of PCC using a capacitor probe (C-Probe) that has been recently developed at Virginia Tech and validate it for field application to detect internal PCC flaws such as delamination. The C-Probe consists of two flexible conducting plates, connected to a Network Analyzer, with a specific separation between them. The second is to optimize the C-Probe design configuration for different PCC slab thicknesses. The third objective is to develop a predictive model that correlates the bulk dielectric constant of PCC with its critical parameters (cement, aggregate, and air content). Five calibration methods have been developed and evaluated for the C-Probe to measure the dielectric properties of PCC. This evaluation has demonstrated that open, short, Teflon material (OSM) calibration method is the most appropriate one for the C-Probe. The selected calibration method was used to validate the C-Probe fixture for field application by measuring 1.5 x 1.5 m PCC slabs prepared with different mix properties, thicknesses, and induced deterioration. The C-Probe has been proved to detect induced voids in the PCC slabs. In addition, the effect of steel reinforcement on measurements can be mastered by controlling the penetration of electromagnetic (EM) field in the PCC slabs. The effective penetration depth of the EM field for different C-Probe design configuration was optimized by computer simulation. The results have been used to develop a predictive model that correlates the effective penetration depth with the plates' size, separation between them, and the dielectric constant of the PCC under test. Thus, an optimum design for different desired penetration depth was achieved. Two experimental designs were developed to identify the critical parameters that affect the bulk dielectric constant of PCC. A computer simulation was used to identify the significance of each parameter. A predictive model has been developed to correlate the PCC bulk dielectric constant to the critical parameters. The estimated dielectric constant of PCC using the predictive model was correlated to that obtained by other theoretical mixture models; the predictive model has found to correlate well with Looyenga theoretical mixture model. / Ph. D.

High dielectric constant materials are of technological importance as they lead to the miniaturization of the electronic devices. For instance, in the case of memory devices based on capacitive components, such as static and dynamic random access memories, the dielectric constant will ultimately decide the level of miniaturization. In this context, the observation of anomalously high dielectric constant (>10) in the double perovskite Sr2SbMnO6 (SSM) over wide frequency (100 Hz1 MHz) and (190373 K) temperature range has attracted a great deal of attention. However, unfortunately their dielectric losses were also high which limit their use for possible capacitor and related applications. The dielectric loss however was known to decrease with decreasing crystallite size in electroceramics. Therefore, the present work has been focused on the synthesis of nanocrystalline SSM powders by moltensalt route. The characterization of the ceramics fabricated from these powders for their microstructural and dielectric properties. A cubic phase of SSM powder was obtained by calcining the as synthesized powders at 900°C/10h by using sulphate flux. The crystallite size was ~ 60 nm. The activation energy associated with the particle growth was found to be 95 ± 5 kJmol-1 . The ceramic sintered at 1075°C/16h exhibited high dielectric constant (>10at 1 kHz) with low loss (0.72 at 1 kHz) at room temperature. The results are interpreted in terms of a twolayer model with conducting grains partitioned from each other by poorly conducting grain boundaries. Using this model, we attributed the two electrical responses in impedance and modulus formalisms to the grain and grain boundary effects, respectively, while the detected Debyelike relaxation and large dielectric constant were explained in terms of MaxwellWagner relaxation.

This paper describes how water content reflectometers (WCRs) were analyzed to develop a calibration equation. Time domain reflectometry (TDR) technique is the most prevalent method in in-situ moisture monitoring; and WCR is a type of low frequency TDR sensors, which is sensitive to soil type. Developing soil-specific calibration and investigating different environmental effects on WCR calibration is important. This study focused on investigation of the soil dry density and temperature effects on WCR calibration in RMA soil. Two series of tests to develop soil-specific calibration with dry density and temperature offset were conducted. Results from testing program showed that WCR response was positive related to volumetric water content, dry density, and temperature. Equations were developed to illustrate the response-density-temperature-moisture relation. Application to a field site was also presented to illustrate the difference in volumetric water contents obtained by using manufacturer method and the calibration procedure drawn in this paper. / text

Owing to the large electric-field-dependent permittivity, ferroelectric thin films have attracted a great deal of attention on applications in miniature tunable microwave components with high performance and cost reduction, such as phase shifters, tunable oscillators, delay lines, and antennas. These tunable devices require large change in the dielectric constant with applied field and a low loss at microwave frequencies. As one of the promising ferroelectric materials, barium strontium titanate thin film, especially Ba0.5Sr0.5TiO3 (BST) films, have raises great research interests due to its high dielectric constant, which is tunable in an external electric field, combined with relative low loss at microwave frequencies. Tunable microwave components, such as phase shifter, based on the BST films have been widely investigated. Since the polarization, the significant characterization of ferroelectrics, is very sensitive to distortion in crystal structure of ferroelectrics, strain can be effectively utilized to tailor the dielectric properties of BST films. Due to the lattice-mismatch from the substrate and various deposition conditions, epitaxial BST thin film usually contains residual strain generated during film growth. Strain control by improved deposition technique and implementing thermal treatment as well as choosing suitable substrate has attracted intensive attentions in ferroelectric film fabrication. Theory predicts that high dielectric properties can be achieved when free strain or slightly tensile strain left in the BST thin film at room temperature. Microwave application, such as phase shifter, also expects the enhanced tunability by an applied electric field. In this dissertation, single crystalline BST thin films deposited by radio frequency magnetron sputtering on SrTiO3 and DyScO3 substrates were studied. The crystal structure characteristics, including lattice parameters and film strain, were determined using X-ray diffraction. A new growth technique, three-step technique, was introduced and implemented into BST thin film deposition. The application of this new technique in deposition dramatically reduced the compressive strain in the films. We use microwave measurements on coplanar waveguides to evidence the improvement on dielectric properties achieved by tailoring the film strain. Additionally, we studied the BST film deposited by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) with introducing a sputtered seed layer of BST thin film. Compared with the BST film directly deposited on the substrate by PLD deposition, the films with a seed layer showed a large enhancement on the dielectric constant and tunability. The discussion on the change in film strain and dielectric performance of the PLD deposited films further proved the influence of film strain on dielectric properties. We discussed the design, fabrication, and measurement of coplanar waveguide transmission lines as phase shifters fabricated BST films. The thin BST films (~700 nm) on DyScO3 substrates deposited by sputtering demonstrated that the three-step deposition technique improved differential phase shift and microwave figure of merit to a great extent. The introduction of the sputtered seed layer into the PLD deposition of a thicker BST film (~2.15 μm) showed a dramatically enhancement on differential phase shift and microwave figure of merit. The enhanced performance on different series of BST films in microwave frequencies is consistent with the improvement on crystal structure, especially with the change in film strain.

Engineers know well from an early point in their training the trials and tribulations of having to make design tradeoffs in order to optimize one performance parameter for another. Discovering tradeoff conditions that result in the elimination of a loss associated with the enhancement of some other parameter (an improvement over a typical tradeoff), therefore, ushers in a new paradigm of design in which the constraints which are typical of the task at hand are alleviated. We call such a design paradigm “tuning” as opposed to “trading off”, and this is the central theme of this work. We investigate two types of microwave electronic devices, namely GaN-based heterostructure field effect transistors (HFETs) and tunable ferroelectric-ferrite-based microwave phase shifters. The “tuning” associated with these types of devices arises from the notion of an optimal 2DEG density, capable of achieving higher performance in terms of electron velocity and enhanced reliability in the case of the HFET, and the coupling of ferroelectric and ferrite materials in tunable microwave phase shifters, capable of achieving high differential phase shifts while at the same time mitigating the losses associated with impedance mismatching which typically arise when the phase is tuned. Promises and problems associated with HFET devices based on the intriguing InAlN/GaN material system will be described. We focus on the fundamental problem associated with the induction of the large density of carriers at the interface, namely the disintegration of an excess of longitudinal optical phonons (hot phonons) in the channel. We use microwave measurements in conjunction with stress tests to evidence the existence of an optimal 2DEG density wherein the hot phonon effect can be “tuned,” which allows for enhanced high frequency performance as well as device reliability. Next, we focus on the design, fabrication, and measurement of tunable phase shifters consisting of thin films of BaxSr1-xTiO3 (BST), which has the advantage of having high dielectric tunability as well as relatively low microwave loss. We discuss the design, fabrication, and measurement of a simple coplanar waveguide (CPW) type of phase shifter as well as a more complicated “hybrid” phase shifter consisting of a ferrite (YIG) in addition to BST. The use of such a bilayer allows one to “tune” the impedance of the phase shifters independently of the phase velocity through careful selection of the DC biasing magnetic fields, or alternatively through the use of an additional piezoelectric layer, bonded to YIG whose permeability can then be tuned through magnetostriction.