Visible light emitting diodes (LEDs) are widely used in daily consumer electronics systems, such as general lighting, displays, communication, sensing, and also biomedical applications. To mitigate the ever increasing technology demand, there are tremendous on-going efforts in improving material properties and micro-fabrication techniques. In general, visible LEDs are environmentally friendly, robust and reliable light emitters with small device footprint, and are capable of delivering high luminous efficacy. Typically, LEDs rely on group-III-nitride materials to generate visible light. One of the techniques to generate white light is to coat blue LEDs with yellow phosphor, or ultraviolet (UV) LEDs with red-green-blue (RGB) phosphor. Other scheme relies on combination of RGB LEDs, where high brightness green and blue LEDs are generally grown on robust sapphire substrate. But the current challenges in high threading dislocation density of III-Nitride materials on sapphire or hetero-substrate, phosphor degradation, and bulk-LED mechanical design constraints imposed by the supporting substrate wafer motivate further scientific investigations into strain-engineering, novel reliable phosphor-semiconductor, color-tuning techniques, and transferrable III-nitride vertical LEDs. The current research presents a significant step towards the utilization of annealed porous GaN as a template for subsequent growth of fully relaxed GaN-based epitaxy materials. In our study, we observed significant compressive strain relaxation of 0.41 ± 0.04 GPa in annealed porous GaN fabricated using UV-assisted electroless etching. Moreover the use of GaN nanoparticles with large wavelength tunability and 10 µm InGaN microstructures with different indium composition ushers a new way of making reliable phosphor for white light generation. We also investigate the epitaxial lift-off of InGaN LED structures by selectively etching unintentionally doped GaN sacrificial buffer layer. High GaN/InGaN etching selectivity of 100/1 and with GaN lateral etch-rate of 5 µm/min was achieved using the photo assisted electroless etching process. The kinetics of electron hole transfer in the diffusion limited etching reaction is discussed. Transferred LEDs onto flexible and glass substrates showed ~10 times higher optical power output, 2 times lower series resistance and a lower turn-on voltage than bulk LEDs fabricated from the same wafer. This innovative technique offers a low cost optoelectronic platform for the formation of pixelated red, green and blue (RGB) display on any flexible, transparent or rigid substrates. The technique will also enable new platform for sensing, wearable electronics/optoelectronics and biomedical applications.

L'utilisation de filtre mosaïque hyperspectral semble être la solution idéale pour alléger les imageurs spectraux utilisés lors des missions spatiales. Les contraintes liées à ce type d'utilisation imposent l'emploi de filtres interférentiels multicouches. Ces travaux ont pour but de trouver des solutions pour réaliser un filtre mosaïque hyperspectral avec des filtres interférentiels et non avec les résines colorées traditionnellement utilisées. Pour ce faire une étude théorique sur la simplification des designs des empilements interférentiels a été effectuée. Il en ressort que les empilements restent épais, ce qui complique leur structuration. Plusieurs méthodes de structurations ont été étudiées. En particulier le lift-off qui est la technique actuellement utilisé aujourd'hui et le lift-up. Cette dernière présente l'avantage de ne pas mettre en série le risque technologique associé à chaque réalisation de filtre. Un trade-off entre ces deux techniques a été fait ainsi que des réalisations expérimentales. Celles-ci ont ensuite été caractérisées par un banc de mesure développé dans ce but qui a permis de valider expérimentalement la technique utilisée. / Hyperspectral mosaic filter appears to be the perfect solution to lighten the spectral imagers used in space missions. Such applications require the use of multilayer interference filters. This work aims to find solutions to achieve hyperspectral mosaic filter with interference filters rather than the conventionally used coloured resins. In order to achieve this, a theoretical study on the simplification of multilayer designs was performed. It appears that the stacks are thicker, which makes them difficult to pattern. Several methods of patterning were studied, especially the lift-off technique which is traditionally used and the lift-up. The latter has the advantage to avoid adding the technological risk associated with each filter production. A trade-off between these two techniques was done as well as experimental productions. These were then characterized by a bench developed for this purpose which has experimentally validate the technique used.

Nous étudions la possibilité de réaliser des cellules à base de diséléniure de cuivre, indium et gallium (CIGSe) à absorbeur ultra-mince, en réduisant l’épaisseur de la couche de CIGSe de 2500 nm jusqu’à 100 nm, tout en conservant un haut rendement de conversion.Grâce à l’utilisation d’outils de simulation numérique, nous étudions l’influence de la réduction d’épaisseur de l’absorbeur sur les paramètres photovoltaïques de la cellule. Une importante dégradation du rendement est observée, principalement attribuée à une réduction de la fraction de lumière absorbée par le CIGSe ainsi qu’à une collecte des porteurs de charge réduite dans les dispositifs ultraminces. Des solutions permettant de surmonter ces problèmes sont proposées et leur influence potentielle est numériquement simulée ; nous démontrons qu’une ingénierie de face avant (couche tampon alternative, couche anti-réfléchissante…) et de face arrière (contact arrière réfléchissant, diffusion de la lumière) sur une cellule CIGSe à absorbeur ultramince permet de potentiellement améliorer le rendement de la cellule solaire au niveau de celui d’une cellule à absorbeur référence (2.5 μm).Grâce à l’utilisation de techniques de gravure chimique sur des échantillons standards de CIGSe épais, nous réalisons des cellules solaires avec différentes épaisseurs d’absorbeurs, et nous étudions l’influence de l’épaisseur du CIGSe sur les paramètres photovoltaïques des cellules. Le comportement similaire aux simulations numériques.Une ingénierie du contact avant sur des cellules CIGSe à différentes épaisseurs est réalisée pour spécifiquement améliorer l’absorption dans la couche de CIGSe. Nous étudions l’influence d’une couche tampon alternative de ZnS, de la texturation de la fenêtre avant de ZnO:Al, et d’une couche anti-reflet sur la cellule solaire. D’importantes améliorations sont observées quelque soit l’épaisseur de la couche de CIGSe, ce qui permet d’obtenir des rendements de conversions supérieurs à ceux obtenus dans la configuration standard des dispositifs.Une ingénierie du contact arrière à basse température est également réalisée avec l’utilisation d’un procédé novateur combinant la gravure chimique du CIGSe avec un « lift-off » mécanique de la couche de CIGSe afin de la séparer du substrat de Molybdène. De nouveaux matériaux fortement réflecteur de lumière et précédemment incompatible avec le procédé de croissance du CIGSe sont utilisés comme contact arrière pour des cellules CIGSe ultra-minces. Une étude comparative en fonction de l’épaisseur de CIGSe entre des cellules avec contact arrière réfléchissant en Or (Au) et cellules solaires avec contact arrière standard Mo est effectuée. Le contact Au permet d’augmenter significativement le rendement de conversion des cellules solaires à absorbeur sub-microniques comparé au contact standard Mo avec un rendement de conversion supérieur à 10% obtenu sur une cellule CIGSe de 400 nm (comparé à 7.9% avec Mo).Afin de réduire encore plus l’épaisseur de la couche de CIGSe, jusque 100-200 nm, les modèles numériques montrent qu’il est nécessaire d’utiliser un réflecteur lambertien sur la face arrière de la cellule afin de maximiser l’absorption de la lumière. Un dispositif preuve de concept expérimental est réalisé avec une épaisseur de CIGSe de 200 nm et un réflecteur arrière lambertien, et ce dispositif est caractérisé par spectroscopie de transmission/réflexion. La réponse spectrale est déterminée en combinant des valeurs issues de simulation numérique et la mesure expérimental de l’absorption du dispositif. Nous calculons un courant de court circuit de 26 mA.cm-2 pour ce dispositif avec réflecteur lambertien, bien supérieur à ce qui est calculé pour la même structure sans réflecteur (15 mA.cm-2), et comparable au courant mesuré sur une cellule de référence de 2500 nm (28 mA.cm-2). L’utilisation de réflecteur lambertien pour des cellules CIGSe ultraminces est donc particulièrement adaptée pour maintenir de hauts rendements. / In this thesis, we investigate on the possibility to realize ultrathin absorber Copper Indium Gallium Di-Selenide (CIGSe) solar cells, by reducing the CIGSe thickness from 2500 nm down to 100 nm, while conserving a high conversion efficiency.Using numerical modeling, we first study the evolution of the photovoltaic parameters when reducing the absorber thickness. A strong decrease of the efficiency of the solar cell is observed, mainly related to a reduced light absorption and carrier collection for thin and ultrathin CIGSe solar cells. Solutions to overcome these problems are proposed and the potential improvements are modeled; we show that front side (buffer layer, antireflection coating) and back side (reflective back contact, light scattering) engineering of an ultrathin device can potentially increase the conversion efficiency up to the level of a standard thick CIGSe solar cell.By using chemical bromine etching on a standard thick CIGSe layer, we realize solar cells with different absorber thicknesses and experimentally study the influence of the absorber thickness on the photovoltaic parameters of the devices. Experiments show a similar trends to that observed in numerical modeling.Front contact engineering on thin CIGSe solar cell is realized to increase the specific absorption in CIGSe, including alternative ZnS buffer, front ZnO:Al window texturation and anti-reflection coating. Substantial improvements are observed whatever the CIGSe thickness, with efficiencies higher that the default configuration.A back contact engineering at low temperature is realized by using an innovative approach combining chemical etching of the CIGSe and mechanical lift-off of the CIGSe from the original Molybdenum (Mo) substrate. New highly reflective materials previously incompatible with the standard solar cell process are used as back contact for thin and ultrathin CIGSe solar cells, and a comparative study between standard Mo back contact and alternative reflective Au back contact solar cells is performed. The Au back reflector significantly enhance the efficiency of solar cell with sub-micrometer absorbers compared to the standard Mo back reflector; an efficiency higher than 10 % on a 400 nm CIGSe is obtained with Au back contact (7.9% with standard Mo back contact). For further reduction of the absorber thickness down to 100-200 nm, numerical modeling show that a lambertian back reflector is needed to fully absorb the incident light in the CIGSe. An experimental proof of concept device with a CIGSe thickness of 200 nm and a lambertian back reflector is realized and characterized by reflection/transmission spectroscopy, and the experimental spectral response is determined by combining simulation and experimentally measured absorption. A short circuit current of 26 mA.cm-2 is determined with the lambertian back reflector, which is much higher than what is obtained for the same device with no reflector (15 mA.cm-2), and comparable to the short circuit current measured on a reference 2500 nm thick CIGSe solar cell (28 mA.cm-2). Lambertian back reflectors are therefore found to be the most effective way to enhance the efficiency of an ultrathin CIGSe solar cell up to the level of a reference thick CIGSe solar cell.

The widespread application of pressurized SF6 gas and its mixtures as insulating medium in many electric power applications is the result of recent advances in technologies. The likelihood of failure for a Gas Insulated Substation or Transmission Line (GIS/GITL) is primarily due to the presence of defects inside the equipment. Defects can be introduced into the GIS/GITL system for various reasons. Partial discharge (PD) is a natural phenomenon occurring in the GIS/GITL systems, which invariably contains defects. During commissioning or routine tests PD measurements serve to identify the type and status of a defect. Of particular interest for this research work will be the critical review of PD measurement for different types of free conducting particles in the gas using the UHF method due to its superiority among others. The work highlights the integrity of the method as a tool for both commissioning and routine tests and its alignment with the high voltage SF6 test standards is reviewed. 80/20 N2/SF6 mixture is used to reduce the surface roughness effect in pure SF6, as well as for the reduction of economical and environmental risks.

Bismuth Hall effect sensors with active sizes in the range 0.1µm - 2µm have been fabricated by electron beam lithography and lift-off techniques for applications in scanning Hall probe microscopy (SHPM). The key figures of merit of the sensors have been systematically characterised as a function of device size. The miniumum detectable field of 100nm probes at room temperature is found to be Bmin=0.9mT/Hz0.5, with scope for more than a factor of ten reduction by using higher Hall probe currents. This is significantly lower than in similar samples fabricated by focussed ion beam (FIB) milling of continuous Bi films, suggesting that the elimination of FIB damage and Ga+ ion incorporation through the use of lift-off techniques leads to superior figures of merit. A number of ways in which the T=300K performance of our sensors could be improved still futher are discussed. High resolution scanning Hall probe microscopy (SHPM) with semiconductor 2DEG Hall probe devices has been used to search for novel phases of vortex matter in single crystals of the high temperature superconductor Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+. In the crossing lattices regime of these highly anisotropic superconductors under tilted magnetic fields two orthogonal types of flux structure are formed known as Josephson and pancake vortices (JVs and PVs). SHPM has been used to study interacting JV-PV matter with very high in-plane fields. The spacing of JV chains has been systematically quantified as a function of both in-plane and out-of-plane fields. Surprisingly, it is found that the JV chain spacing is not solely a function of the in-plane field, as previously assumed, and the effective anisotropy, γ_eff, is shown to depend strongly on the out-of-plane field strength. Moreover, for a fixed in-plane field the JV stack spacing shows pronounced sawtooth-like oscillations as a function of the out-of-plane field. These measurements are giving us unique new insights into the properties of crossing vortex lattices in highly anisotropic cuprate superconductors at high Josephson vortex stack densities.

Terrestrial auroras are visible-light events caused by charged particles trapped by the Earth's magnetic eld precipitating into the atmosphere along magnetic eld lines near the poles. Auroral events are very dynamic, changing rapidly in time and across large spatial scales. Better knowledge of the low of energy during an aurora will improve understanding of the heating processes in the atmosphere during geomagnetic and solar storms. The Auroral Spatial Structures Probe is a sounding rocket campaign to observe the middle-atmosphere plasma and electromagnetic environment during an auroral event with multipoint simultaneous measurements for fine temporal and spatial resolution. The auroral event in question occurred on January 28, 2015, with liftoff the rocket at 10:41:01 UTC. The goal of this thesis is to produce clear observations of the magnetic eld that may be used to model the current systems of the auroral event. To achieve this, the attitude of ASSP's 7 independent payloads must be estimated, and a new attitude determination method is attempted. The new solution uses nonlinear least-squares parameter estimation with a rigid-body dynamics simulation to determine attitude with an estimated accuracy of a few degrees. Observed magnetic eld perturbations found using the new attitude solution are presented, where structures of the perturbations are consistent with previous observations and electromagnetic theory.

Dans les biotechnologies, les particules magnétiques sont de plus en plus utilisées dans diverses applications, de thérapies ou de diagnostics : " Drug delivery ", traitements de cancers, IRM, etc. Inscrit dans le démarrage d'un nouvel axe de recherche du laboratoire SPINTEC, le travail de thèse a mis en œuvre des particules élaborées par une approche de type "top-down". Les matériaux utilisés sont antiferromagnétiques synthétiques (SAF). L'intérêt des nanoparticules magnétiques dans les domaines biomédicaux a été présenté en introduction. L'étude réalisée à SPINTEC a tout d'abord consisté à caractériser et modéliser différents matériaux SAF, et développer les procédés technologiques permettant la fabrication des particules. Ensuite le travail a été consacré à l'observation et la modélisation du comportement des particules en suspension dans un champ magnétique appliqué. Un modèle des phénomènes d'autopolarisation et d'agglomération des particules SAF a permis de déterminer une susceptibilité seuil en dessous de laquelle les particules restent dispersées en solution, évitant les phénomènes d'agglomération.

abstract: The first part of this dissertation reports the study of the vertical carrier transport and device application in InAs/InAs1-xSbx strain-balanced type-II superlattice. It is known that the low hole mobility in the InAs/InAs1-xSbx superlattice is considered as the main reason for the low internal quantum efficiency of its mid-wave and long-wave infrared photodetectors, compared with that of its HgCdTe counterparts. Optical measurements using time-resolved photoluminescence and steady-state photoluminescence spectroscopy are implemented to extract the diffusion coefficients and mobilities of holes in the superlattices at various temperatures from 12 K to 210 K. The sample structure consists of a mid-wave infrared superlattice absorber region grown atop a long-wave infrared superlattice probe region. An ambipolar diffusion model is adopted to extract the hole mobility. The results show that the hole mobility first increases from 0.2 cm2/Vs at 12 K and then levels off at ~50 cm2/Vs as the temperature exceeds ~60 K. An InAs/InAs1-xSbx type-II superlattice nBn long-wavelength barrier infrared photodetector has also been demonstrated with a measured dark current density of 9.5×10-4 A/cm2 and a maximum resistance-area product of 563 Ω-cm2 at 77 K under a bias of -0.5 V. The Arrhenius plot of the dark current density reveals a possible high-operating-temperature of 110 K.The second part of the dissertation reports a lift-off technology using a water-soluble sacrificial MgTe layer grown on InSb. This technique enables the seamless integration of materials with lattice constants near 6.5 Å, such as InSb, CdTe, PbTe, HgTe and Sn. Coherently strained MgTe with a lattice constant close to 6.5 Å acts as a sacrificial layer which reacts with water and releases the film above it. Freestanding CdTe/MgxCd1-xTe double-heterostructures resulting from the lift-off process show increased photoluminescence intensity due to enhanced extraction efficiency and photon-recycling effect. The lifted-off thin films show smooth and flat surfaces with 6.7 Å root-mean-square roughness revealed by atomic-force microscopy profiles. The increased photoluminescence intensity also confirms that the CdTe/MgxCd1-xTe double-heterostructures maintain the high optical quality after epitaxial lift-off. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Electrical Engineering 2020

This thesis aim to provide SSC, Swedish Space Corporation, with a foundation for understanding the key ideas behind water injection during rocket lift-off, including problems to be avoided when simulating the phenomena. This investigation focus on finding approaches suitable for obtaining a rough estimate of the reduction in noise generation, when too expensive equipment required is absent. The main idea was to compare different methods at the end as an alternative suitable way of verifying, since validation data was not available. The setup of the simulations consisted of two cases, one with water injection and the second case was without, and they were simulated the OpenFOAM software while the mesh was constructed using the GMSH software. A 1D analytical prediction model was computed using Matlab to estimate the noise generated. The result of the simulation showed an error of approximately 300-400 m/s within the rocket engine when compared to the Rocket Propulsion Analysis (RPA) software result. The maximum sound pressure level without water injection (SPL) from the analytical prediction model, ended up at approximately 172dB as well as 164dB depending on where it was "recorded". The maximum SPL with water injection was approximately 7dB lower in both recorded locations which was achieved by using optimal initial values. The biggest error observed by researches using this prediction model is approximately +2 dB above the real value. However, the error from this specific setup could not be estimated. The challenges and approximations encountered throughout this investigation is thoroughly discussed within the thesis and despite the absence of accurate results this investigation provides a thorough insight into water injection during rocket lift-off, with the potential of achieving better results using a more advanced solver in OpenFOAM.

Experimental measurements of the lift-off velocity and lift-off height, and numerical simulations were conducted on the liftoff and stabilization phenomena of laminar jet diffusion flames of inert-diluted C3H8 and CH4 fuels. Both non-reacting and reacting jets were investigated, including effects of multi-component diffusivities and heat release (buoyancy and gas expansion). The role of Schmidt number for non-reacting jets was investigated, with no conclusive Schmidt number criterion for liftoff previously known in similarity solutions. The cold-flow simulation for He-diluted CH4 fuel does not predict flame liftoff; however, adding heat release reaction leads to the prediction of liftoff, which is consistent with experimental observations. Including reaction was also found to improve liftoff height prediction for C3H8 flames, with the flame base location differing from that in the similarity solution - the intersection of the stoichiometric and iso-velocity contours is not necessary for flame stabilization (and thus lift-off). Possible mechanisms other than that proposed for similarity solution may better help to explain the stabilization and liftoff phenomena. The stretch rate at a wide range of isotherms near the base of the lifted tribrachial flame were also quantitatively plotted and analyzed.