Uma investigação experimental sobre a influência da estimulação elétrica direta na regeneração do nervo usando uma lesão por esmagamento do nervo ciático de ratos como modelo foi realizada. Quarenta e dois ratos foram utilizados e divididos em quatro grupos, de acordo com o procedimento: 1) Sem lesão e sem estimulação; 2) lesão por esmagamento, sem estimulação; 3) sem lesão, com estimulação; 4) lesão por esmagamento, com estimulação. O nervo ciático foi exposto através de uma incisão lateral na coxa direita e submetido à lesão por esmagamento numa máquina universal de testes com uma carga de 15.000 g concentrada em um segmento de 5 mm por 10 minutos, nos grupos 2 e 4. Um estimulador elétrico foi desenvolvido para liberar uma corrente elétrica contínua de baixa intensidade (1 &#956A). O mesmo foi implantado no espaço subcutâneo próximo a coluna lombar, o ânodo foi colocado proximalmente e o catôdo distalmente ao esmagamento. A recuperação funcional foi avaliada em intervalos semanais até o 21º dia pós-operatório, através do Índice Funcional do Ciático (IFC) e calculada por um programa específico, apresentando melhora progressiva em ambos os grupos com lesão por esmagamento, porém mais acentuada naqueles com estimulação elétrica. Os animais foram sacrificados no 21º dia pós-operatório para análise histológica e morfométrica dos nervos, onde os resultados mostraram aumento da densidade das fibras nervosas mas decréscimo do diâmetro das fibras nervosas, assim como um aumento no número e diâmetro dos vasos sangüíneos intra e extra~fasciculares no grupo estimulado. Similar, mas um menos evidente fenômeno foi observado no grupo sem lesão por esmagamento mas com estimulação elétrica. Concluiu-se que a estimulação elétrica direta de baixa intensidade provoca a regeneração nervosa após lesão por esmagamento em condições controladas e que o IFC é um método confiável para avaliar a recuperação nervosa uma vez que seus resultados aproximam-se do estudo morfométrico. / An experimental investigation of the influence of direct electrical stimulation on nerve regeneration using a crush injury of the sciatic nerve of rats as model was undertaken. Forty two rats were used and divided into four groups according to the procedure carried out: 1) no injury, no stimulation; 2) crush injury, no stimulation; 3) no injury, stimulation; 4) crush injury, stimulation. The sciatic nerve was exposed through a lateral incision on the Iight thigh and submitted to a crush injury in an universal testing machine with a 15000 g load concentrated on a 5 mm-long segment for 10 minutes, in groups 2 and 4. An electrical stimulator was developed to deliver a continuous direct low intensity electrical current (1 &#956A). The device was implanted into the subcutaneous space near the lumbar spine, the anode placed proximally and the cathode distally to the crush injury. Functional recovery was checked at weekly intervals up to the 21st postoperative day, by means of the Sciatic Functional Index (SFI) as calculated by a specific software and showed progressive improvement in both groups with crush injury but more marked in that with electrical stimulation (4). The animals were killed on the 21st post operative day for morphometric and histological examination of the nerves, whose results showed an increased nerve fiber density but decreased nerve fíber diameter, as well as increased number and diameter of intra and extrafascicular blood vessels in the stimulated group. Similar but less marked phenomena were observed in the group without crush injury but with electrical stimulation. It was concluded that low intensity direct electrical stimulation enhances nerve regeneration followíng a crush injury in controlled conditions and that the SFI is a reliable method to evaluate the nerve recovery since its results closely matched those of the morphometric study.

Actuellement, la majorité des composants à semi-conducteur pour l'électronique de puissance est réalisée à partir de silicium. Afin de répondre aux nouvelles contraintes électriques et thermiques imposées par la montée en tension et en densité de puissance des convertisseurs d'énergie électrique, une solution repose sur l'emploi d'un semi-conducteur à large bande interdite tel que le carbure de silicium (SiC), du fait de son champ électrique critique (EC) environ dix fois plus élevé que celui du silicium et de sa capacité à fonctionner à des températures supérieures à 200 °C. Une revue des nombreuses publications concernant des diodes en SiC de tenue en tension élevée, voire leur disponibilité commerciale (jusqu'à 10 kV), est présentée, qui montre les progrès réalisés grâce aux efforts portés sur l'amélioration du matériau et l'optimisation de la protection périphérique des composants. L'étape de passivation primaire reste une étape critique très souvent mentionnée. Beaucoup moins de travaux prennent en considération l'impact des matériaux de passivation secondaire et d'encapsulation. L'objectif de cette thèse est de contribuer à une meilleure connaissance des paramètres et des mécanismes de rupture impactant la tenue en tension à l'état bloqué de l'ensemble que forment la puce et son l'environnement isolant électrique. Ainsi, une étude expérimentale de l'influence de différents paramètres liés au semi-conducteur ainsi qu'aux matériaux de passivation et d'encapsulation présents en surface de la puce a été menée, à l'aide de diodes en SiC-4H avec protection périphérique par poche implantée, réalisées par la société IBS, dans le cadre du projet de recherche 'FilSiC'. Dans un premier temps, une étude par simulation numérique de l'ensemble de la structure (SiC, électrodes métalliques, isolants) a été effectuée à l'aide du logiciel Sentaurus Device (Synopsys). Elle a permis de quantifier les contraintes en champ électrique dans toute la structure pour une tension appliquée donnée, et leur sensibilité aux caractéristiques des matériaux isolants prises en compte. Cette étude a également servi au choix des paramètres liés au substrat épitaxié et à la géométrie latérale et en surface des diodes (les paramètres technologiques étant fixés par ailleurs), pertinents pour l'étude expérimentale de leur tension de rupture, dans une gamme de 1 kV à 6 kV. En parallèle, la caractérisation électrique, au sein de structures Métal-Isolant-Semi-conducteur, du matériau de passivation primaire utilisé (dépôt épais de dioxyde de silicium), dans une gamme de température jusqu'à 300 °C, a permis de déterminer ses propriétés électriques, dont la rigidité diélectrique. Le travail a ensuite porté sur la caractérisation à température ambiante de la tension de rupture de la structure complète des différentes diodes fabriquées, effectuée sous vide et sous azote à la pression atmosphérique. Les comportements expérimentaux visualisés sous vide au moment du claquage, et couplés aux informations issues des simulations, ont notamment permis d'estimer les valeurs des champs maximaux induits dans les différents matériaux isolants, et de corréler leur impact avec les valeurs de rigidité diélectrique connues pour ces isolants. Les résultats complémentaires sous azote ont permis de confirmer certains paramètres technologiques et mécanismes mis en jeu lors du claquage des diodes d'autre part. Plusieurs conclusions utiles pour l'optimisation des paramètres technologiques (épitaxie et poche) et des couches isolantes de passivation et d'encapsulation (épaisseur, permittivité) de la diode 'haute tension' en SiC ont pu être dégagées de ces travaux. / Nowadays, most of the semiconductor devices used in power electronics are silicon (Si) based devices. In order to meet the new electrical and thermal constraints induced by the demand in rising both the operating voltage and the power density of the electrical energy converters, the use of wide band gap semiconductors such as silicon carbide (SiC) may represent an adequate solution, thanks to their critical electric field (EC) which is about ten times higher than that of Si and to their ability of operating at temperatures beyond 200 °C. A state-of-the-art on the readily (commercially) available high voltage SiC diodes (10kV or higher) is presented, highlighting the progress made in improving the materials themselves as well as their peripheral protection. However, regarding the die insulating materials, the studies mainly focus on the primary passivation step, which was often mentioned as the most critical one. Obviously much less work is carried out on the impact of the secondary passivation and encapsulation materials. The goal of this study is to contribute to a better knowledge of the mechanisms involved in the SiC chips and electrically insulating environment breakdown while in a blocking state, as well as to the identification of the most relevant parameters acting on these phenomena. Thus, a study of the correlated properties of the semiconductor and the passivation and encapsulation materials present on the surface of the chip was carried out on SiC-4H bipolar diodes protected by junction termination extension (JTE), supplied by IBS society, within the framework of the 'FilSiC' research project. First, a numerical simulation study of the entire structure (SiC and insulating materials) was carried out using the Sentaurus Device software (Synopsys). This allowed for quantifying the electric field stresses throughout the structure for a given applied voltage as well as their dependence on the properties of the considered insulating materials. This study was equally used for choosing the appropriate parameters of the epitaxial substrate and for designing the lateral and the surface geometry of the diodes (the technological parameters being fixed elsewhere), in view of the subsequent experimental study of their breakdown voltage in the 1kV-6kV range. Concurrently, the electrical characterization of the primary passivation material used (thick silicon dioxide layer) was performed by using MIS (metal-insulator-semiconductor) type structures, in a temperature range of up to 300 °C. This allowed to determine its main electrical properties, particularly the dielectric breakdown voltage. The work then focused on the room-temperature characterization of the breakdown voltage of the full structures built around the different manufactured diodes. The tests were carried out both under high vacuum conditions and under nitrogen at atmospheric pressure. The behavior of the different study cases observed under vacuum conditions during the breakdown, coupled with the simulation results, allowed to determine the values of the maximum electric fields induced in the different insulating materials and to correlate them to their known dielectric breakdown values. On the other hand, additional results obtained under nitrogen atmosphere confirmed some technological parameters and mechanisms at play during the breakdown of the diodes. Several guidelines for the optimization of these technological parameters (epitaxy and JTE) and of the insulating passivation and encapsulation layers (thickness, permittivity) of the "high voltage" SiC diode were derived from this study.

We consider both a long-wave model and a first-order weighted-residual integral boundary layer (WIBL) model in the investigation of thin film flow down a topographical incline whilst under the effects of a normal electric field. The liquid is assumed to be a perfect dielectric, although is trivially extended to the case of a perfect conductor. The perfect dielectric case with no topography includes a simple modified electric Weber number which incorporates the relative electrical permittivity constant into itself. Linear stability analysis is carried out for both models, and critical Reynolds numbers which depend on the electric Weber number and the capillary number are produced. Regions of stability, convective instability and absolute instability are then determined for both models in terms of our electric Weber number and Reynolds number parameters in the case of no topography. Time-dependent simulations are produced to corroborate the aforementioned regions and investigate the effect of normal electric field strength in addition to sinusoidal and rectangular topographical amplitude on our system for various domain sizes. For the time-dependent simulations we find strong agreement with the linear stability analysis, and the results suggest that the inclusion of a normal electric field may have some stabilising properties in the long-wave model which are absent in the case of a flat wall, for which the electric field is always linearly destabilising. This stabilising effect is not observed for the same parameters in the WIBL model with a sinusoidal wall, although a similar effect is noticed in the WIBL model with a rectangular wall. We also investigate the simultaneous effect of domain size, wall amplitude and electric field strength on the critical Reynolds numbers for both models, and find that increasing the electric field strength can make large-amplitude sinusoidal topography stabilising rather than destabilising for the long-wave model. Continuation curves of steady solutions and bifurcation diagrams are also produced, and comparisons between the two models are made for various parameter values, which show excellent agreement with the literature. Subharmonic branches and time-periodic solutions are additionally included, similarly showing very good agreement with the literature.

A química computacional apresenta a grande vantagem de prover informações fundamentais para espécies moleculares propostas, antes mesmo de sua síntese em laboratório. A Teoria do Funcional da Densidade é bastante utilizada nesta área, produzindo resultados satisfatórios para um grande número de propriedades e sistemas, mas com uma menor demanda por recursos computacionais que métodos mais avançados. Entretanto, o desenvolvimento de funcionais que incluem efeitos relativísticos ainda se encontra num estágio inicial. Em geral, tais efeitos são importantes em compostos de átomos pesados, embora devam ser considerados também em sistemas com átomos mais leves se a propriedade em estudo for particularmente sensível, como é o caso do gradiente de campo elétrico na posição de núcleos em moléculas. Assim, na primeira etapa desta dissertação foi avaliado o desempenho de funcionais comuns de troca-correlação não relativísticos, quando utilizados em conjunto com o formalismo de quatro componentes (tratamento relativístico), no estudo dos gradientes de campo elétrico em núcleos de átomos (índio, antimônio, iodo, lutécio e háfnio) constituindo moléculas diatômicas. Foram investigados funcionais baseados nas aproximações da densidade local e do gradiente generalizado, funcionais híbridos e que incluem correções em termos da atenuação com a distância. Nossos resultados, que estão em acordo com observações da literatura, ressaltam o melhor desempenho de funcionais híbridos e com correções de atenuação para esta propriedade e demonstram a importância do uso do método indireto. Posteriormente, foi feita uma nova parametrização de alguns dos melhores funcionais não relativísticos selecionados na etapa anterior (B3LYP, PBE0 e CAM-B3LYP), dentro do formalismo de quatro componentes, para uso no cálculo destes mesmos gradientes num grupo teste de átomos (cobre, iodo, lantânio e ouro) em moléculas lineares. Nestes casos, os funcionais modificados propostos tiveram um bom desempenho geral e foram particularmente bem sucedidos para cobre e ouro. Finalmente, é possível destacar o funcional híbrido PBE0 e sua modificação, proposta neste estudo, por conta de seu desempenho excelente, tanto para os metais como para os demais elementos que tiveram seus EFGs investigados aqui. / The computational chemistry has the great advantage of providing fundamental information for proposed molecular species even before their synthesis in laboratory. The Density Functional Theory is widely used in this area, producing satisfactory results for a large number of properties and systems, but with a lower demand for computational resources than that of more advanced methods. However, the development of functionals that include relativistic effects is still at an early stage. In general, these effects are important in compounds containing heavy elements, but they must also be considered in systems of lighter atoms if the studied property was particularly sensitive, as occurs for the electric field gradient at the position of nuclei in molecules. Thus, the first step of this dissertation was to evaluate the performance of common non-relativistic exchange-correlation functionals when used in conjunction with the four component formalism (relativistic treatment) in the study of electric field gradients at the nuclei of atoms (indium, antimony, iodine, lutetium and hafnium) forming diatomic molecules. Functionals based on the local density approximation and generalized gradient approximation, hybrid functionals and the ones that include attenuation corrections were investigated. Our results, which are in agreement with observations in the literature, highlight the best performance of hybrid functionals and attenuation corrections for this property and demonstrate the importance of using the indirect approach. Subsequently, there was a new parameterization of some of the best non-relativistic functionals selected in the previous step (B3LYP, PBE0 and CAM - B3LYP) within the four component formalism for calculations of these same gradients in a trial group of atoms (copper, iodine, lanthanum and gold) into linear molecules. In these cases, the modified functionals proposed had a satisfactory overall performance and were particularly successful for copper and gold. Finally, it is possible to mention the excellent performance of the hybrid functional PBE0 and its modification proposed in this study for both metals and the other elements that had their EFGs investigated here.

Os resultados apresentados neste trabalho estão sistematizados em três partes. Em uma primeira etapa, efetuamos um estudo sistemático do comportamento da estrutura eletrônica em super-redes de deltas em função do período da super-rede e em função da concentração planar de dopantes. Uma nova abordagem, que se baseia no método celular e na solução autoconsistente das equações de Schroedinger e de Poisson, foi desenvolvida e aplicada para super-redes com dopagem planar tipo n em GaAs e em silício. Em ambos os casos, foi observada a transição de um comportamento eletrônico de caráter bi- para tridimensional conforme o período da super- rede diminui. No caso de super-redes de deltas de Si em GaAs foi empreendido o cálculo da energia de corte nos espectros de fotoluminescência de excitação. Uma boa concordância com as medidas experimentais foi obtida. O estudo da estrutura eletrônica para o caso de super-rede de deltas de Sb em Si foi pioneiro. Isto tornou os resultados de nossa investigação teórica de importância fundamental para experimentais e teóricos atuando na 6rea. A concordância entre nossas previsões teóricas e dados experimentais da literatura demonstram a consistência e o poder da abordagem desenvolvida. Em uma segunda etapa, foi efetuado o estudo da distribuição espacial do campo elétrico interno em heteroestruturas contendo camadas tipo \"bulk\", compostas por GaAs e (A1Ga)As. Uma nova abordagem foi desenvolvida para a execuqi3o de cálculos dos perfis de potencial eletrostático e de campo elétrico, sem assumir a ionização total dos dopantes e a não-degenerescência do material. Nosso método transforma a equação de Poisson em uma equação integral que deve ser resolvida autoconsistentemente. Os exemplos numéricos demonstram a aplicabilidade de nossa abordagem a sistemas reais. Perfis do campo elétrico calculados são usados para interpretar os espectros de fotorefletância. Em uma terceira etapa, a teoria geral da fotorefletância de heteroestruturas semicondutoras foi desenvolvida neste trabalho para tornar a interpretação de espectros de fotorefletância precisa e de aplicação eficiente. Um novo metodo de cdculo do coeficiente de reflexgo na presenga de inomogeneidade espacial da funggo dieletrica no interior de cada camada fmeceu um novo patamar de cornpreens20 dos espectros de fotorefletiincia. Este metodo e baseado na construgiio de uma matriz de transferhcia que iraclui as inomogeneidades no interior da camada de um mod0 integral. Portanto, para descrever uma camada de heteroestrutura e preciso ter apenas uma ma& de transferencia. 0s resultados de simulag6es numericas de espectros da fotoreflethcia estilo em uma concordhcia bastante boa com aqueles obtidos atravb de medidas opticas. A eficiencia de nosso metodo o torna aplicavel a simulag6es tip0 \"on-line\". 0s resultados dos metodos anteriores sgo reproduzidos como casos limites de nossa abordagem geral. / The results presented in this work can be displayed along the following three lines. In the first we performed a systematical study of the electronic structure behavior in delta superlattices as a function of superlattice period and sheet doping concentration. A new approach, based on the cellular method and on the selfconsistent solution of Schroedinger and Poisson equations, was developed and applied to superlattices with n-type delta doping in GaAs and silicon. In both cases, a transition from bi- to three- dimensional electronic behavior with the decrease of superlattice period was observed. For Si delta-doping superlattices in GaAs we performed calculations of the energy threshold in the photoluminescence excitation spectra. A good agreement with experimentally measured values was observed. Our investigation of the electronic structure of Sb delta-doping superlattices in Si was a pioneer theoretical study. Due to thls fact, the results of our work are of great importance for experimentalists and theoreticians acting in this area. The agreement between our theoretical predictions and the available experimental data demonstrates the consistency and the power of the developed approach. Along the second line we studied electric field spatial distribution inside of heterosinctures containing bulk layers of GaAs and (A1Ga)As. A new approach was developed to calculate the electrostatic potential and electric field profiles, providing the possibility to take .into account the incomplete ionization of impurities and the degeneracy of the materials. Our method transforms the Poisson equation into an integral equation, which must be solved selfconsistently. Numerical examples show the way to apply our approach to real systems. Internal electric field proiiles, calculated by means of our method are used to interpret photoreflectance spectra. In the third line, a general theory of photoreflectance for semiconductor heterostructures was developed in this work to make the interpretation of fotoreflectance spectra more precise and straightfornard. A new method to calculate the reflection coefficient in the presence of weak spatial inhomogenities of the dielectrical function inside each layer, provided us with a new degree of comprehension of the photoreflectance spectra. This method is based on the construction of a transfer matrix which includes the inhomogenities inside the layer in an integral way. This explains why we need only one matrix to describe one layer of the heterostructure. Results of our numerical simulations are in very good agreement with data of optical measurements. The efficiency of our method makes it suitable for on-line simulations. The results of previous methods emerge from our general approach as limit cases.

The developing flow field in a parallel plate microchannel, induced by wall motion, has been modeled numerically. This type of flow simulates the physical driving mechanism that exists in electro-osmotically generated flow with large channel diameter-to-Debye length ratios (Z). The physics of the flow field were compared between the moving wall model (MWM) and electro-osmotic flow (EOF) at Reynolds numbers of 1 and 1800, and Z > 2500. Also, Z-values between 50 and 500 were studied to investigate the accuracy of the MWM. Results show that for Z-values greater than 100 the MWM shows good agreement with EOF. The dynamics of the developing flow field for the MWM were explored for channel length-to-hydraulic diameter ratios (aspect ratio) of 5, 10, 20 and 40 at ten Reynolds numbers, Re (based on the wall velocity), below Re < 2000. The results show that far from the inlet the maximum fluid velocity occurs at the walls, as is expected, and the minimum velocity occurs at the channel center. Near the channel inlet, however, the centerline velocity is not a minimum but reaches a local maximum due to a resulting pressure imbalance generated by the wall motion. As the aspect ratio increases, the centerline velocity tends to approach the wall velocity far downstream from the inlet. Increases in the Reynolds number have the opposite effect on the centerline velocity. The hydrodynamic developing region, defined by that section of the channel where the wall shear stress is changing, also depends on the channel aspect ratio and Re, and is greater than the developing region for classical pressure-driven flow of a parallel plate channel. Also, the flow field physics was analyzed for a process called electro-mobility focusing (EMF). EMF is a process that separates and detects species of like charge with the use of electro-phoresis and EOF utilizing a varying voltage gradient. The velocity distribution and the effective diffusion were solved for analytically, for both a linear and non-linear voltage gradient, using the MWM and the creeping flow approximations. The resulting equations aid in optimizing the detection system by forcing the lowest effective diffusion (uniform velocity profile) to the detection location.

This thesis deals with the fabrication and the characterization of periodically-poled crystals for use in lasers to generate visible and UV radiation by second-harmonic generation (SHG) through quasi-phasematching (QPM). Such lasers are of practical importance in many applications like high-density optical storage, biomedical instrumentation, colour printing, and for laser displays. The main goals of this work were: (1) to develop effective monitoring methods for poling of crystals from the KTiOPO4 (KTP) family, (2) to develop useful non-destructive domain characterization techniques, (3) to try to find alternative crystals to KTP for easier, periodic poling, (4) to investigate the physical mechanisms responsible for optical damage in KTP. The work shows that the in-situ SHG technique used together with electro-optic monitoring, makes it possible to obtain reliable, real-time information regarding the poling quality over the whole crystal aperture during the electric-field poling process. Using this combined monitoring method, both KTP and Rb-doped KTP (RKTP) crystals were successfully poled. By comparing these two crystals, we found that a low-doped KTP has a substantially reduced ionic conductivity and, thus, a high-quality periodic poling can be obtained without otherwise affecting the properties of the crystal. RKTP is a good alternative candidate to KTP for poling purpose. We have also shown that Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) is an informative tool for investigating domain nucleation, growth, and merging. Furthermore, we have demonstrated a simple technique for 3D characterization of QPM samples. It utilizes a group-velocity mismatched, type-II SHG of femtosecond pulses for layer-by-layer monitoring of the effective nonlinearity along the propagation direction of the beam. The quality of these crystals was finally reflected in a number of SHG experiments with a variety of laser sources. High energies and high efficiencies were thus demonstrated using CW, mode-locked and Q-switched lasers. Gratings with pitches smaller than 3 µm, were demonstrated for first-order UV generation. Type-II QPM SHG was demonstrated as a technique for reducing the fabrication constraints. High intensity light in the visible and the UV leads to modification of the material properties and, eventually, to optical damage. In KTP and its isomorphs, the first sign of material change is an optically-induced absorption. We have used thermal-lens spectroscopy with a common-path interferometer for high-sensitivity measurements of green light-induced infrared absorption dynamics in single-domain and periodically-poled KTP (PPKTP). The saturated, green light-induced absorption has been shown to be consistently higher in periodically-poled crystals, and is attributed to the creation of stoichiometric and interstitial defects in the crystals during the poling process. Finally, irreversible bulk damage thresholds in PPKTP have been determined for pulsed frequency converters. As the characteristics of optical damage are closely related to the material quality, this investigation can provide useful information for crystal manufactures and will help to optimise the crystal growth conditions.

No description available.

Optical parametric oscillators (OPOs) and optical parametricamplifiers (OPAs) constitute a class of optical frequencyconverting devices that have many possible applications, e.g.in range finding, molecular spectroscopy and medicine. They canconvert the frequency of the incident pump field with highefficiency, and generate two waves at new frequencies that willbe continuously tuneable over a wide spectral range. Virtuallyany wavelengths within the transparency region of the nonlinearmaterial can be generated if the material can bequasi-phasematched (QPM). In addition, QPM gives thepossibility to utilise the largest nonlinear tensor element ofthe material and allows walk-off free interaction between thewaves. The aims of this thesis have been to investigate thepossibility to use QPM KTiOPO4crystals as nonlinear material in nanosecond OPOsand OPAs operating at room-temperature, and to explore theadvantages and shortcomings of these devices. The technique ofelectric field poling has been employed to implement the QPMstructure in flux grown KTiOPO4(KTP). The main conclusion is that periodically poled KTP (PPKTP)is a suitable material to use in nanosecond OPOs and OPAs. Thematerial properties that foremost make KTP into an attractivenonlinear material are: The large value of the nonlinearcoefficient d33, the high resistance to optically inducedbreakdown, the low susceptibility to grey-track formation, theinsensitivity to the photorefractive effect, the widetransparency and the low coercive field. The thesis shows that it is possible to pole large volumesof KTP with a high quality of the QPM structure. Highlyefficient nanosecond OPOs have been constructed during thisproject. Maximum conversion efficiencies have reached 45 % inthe case of a singly resonant OPO (SRO) built around a 3 mmthick PPKTP crystal. Total pulse energies for both the signal(1.72 µm) and the idler (2.8 µm) of up to 18 mJ wasreached and an average output power of 2 W was obtained forthis sample. However, up to 24 W was produced in a doublyresonant OPO operating close to degeneracy. The efficiencyreached 48 % for that case. Truly continuous and very widespectral tuning has also been demonstrated, as well as a narrowbandwidth OPO operating on one single longitudinal mode. <b>Keywords:</b>optical parametric oscillators, opticalparametric amplifiers, quasi-phasematching, KTiOPO4, nonlinear optics, frequency conversion, periodicelectric field poling, ferroelectrics, high-order secondharmonic generation, electro-optic effect.

Ferroelectric crystals are commonly used in nonlinear optics for frequency conversion of laser radiation. The quasi-phase matching (QPM) approach uses a periodically modulated nonlinearity that can be achieved by periodically inverting domains in ferroelectric crystals and allows versatile and efficient frequency conversion in the whole transparency region of the material. KTiOPO4 (KTP) is one of the most attractive ferroelectric non-linear optical material for periodic domain-inversion engineering due to its excellent non-linearity, high resistance for photorefractive damage, and its relatively low coercive field. A periodic structure of reversed domains can be created in the crystal by lithographic patterning with subsequent electric field poling. The performance of the periodically poled KTP crystals (PPKTP) as frequency converters rely directly upon the poling quality. Therefore, characterization methods that lead to a deeper understanding of the polarization switching process are of utmost importance. In this work, several techniques have been used and developed to study domain structure in KTP, both in-situ and ex-situ. The results obtained have been utilized to characterize different aspects of the polarization switching processes in KTP, both for patterned and unpatterned samples. It has also been demonstrated that it is possible to fabricate sub-micrometer (sub-μm) PPKTP for novel optical devices. Lithographic processes based on e-beam lithography and deep UV-laser lithography have been developed and proven useful to pattern sub- μm pitches, where the later has been the most convenient method. A poling method based on a periodical modulation of the K-stoichiometry has been developed, and it has resulted in a sub-μm domain grating with a period of 720 nm for a 1 mm thick KTP crystal. To the best of our knowledge, this is the largest domain aspect-ratio achieved for a bulk ferroelectric crystal. The sub-micrometer PPKTP samples have been used for demonstration of 6:th and 7:th QPM order backward second-harmonic generation with continuous wave laser excitation, as well as a demonstration of narrow wavelength electrically-adjustable Bragg reflectivity. / QC 20100930