Many minerals, such as calcite and magnetite, show diagnostic overtone and combination bands in the 350-2500 nm window. Sand, though an important unconsolidated material with great abundance on the Earth’s surface, is largely overlooked in spectroscopic studies. Over 100 sand samples were analyzed through traditional microscopic methods and compared to spectral reflectance collected via an ASD Spectroradiometer. Multiple methods were chosen to compare spectroscopic data to sand composition and grain size: 1) existing spectral indices, 2) continuum removal, 3) derivative analysis, and 4) correlation analysis. Particular focus was given to carbonate content. Results from derivative and correlation analysis showed strong correlations in the 2180-2240 nm and 2300-2360 nm windows to carbonate content. Proposed here is the Normalized Difference Carbonate Sand Index (NDCSI), which showed Pearson correlations of r=-0.78 for light-colored samples and r=-0.77 for all samples used. This index is viable for use with carbonate-rich sands. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2016. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Nenhuma / Tem sido demonstrado que as propriedades eletrônicas e ópticas de nanotubos de paredes simples (SWNT) sofrem grande influência do ambiente químico externo. O estudo deste efeito é de grande relevância tanto para o entendimento da estrutura eletrônica de cada nanotubo, quanto para a determinação da concentração de diferentes SWNTs em uma amostra, especialmente nos estudos de separação por tipo, onde o ambiente químico antes e após o processo de separação muda drasticamente. Visando contribuir neste tema, o presente trabalho teve como objetivo estudar os efeitos de diferentes ambientes químicos nos fenômenos de absorção e emissão de luz por SWNTs dispersos em água na forma de tubos individuais. O estudo foi conduzido com nanotubos de pequeno diâmetro produzidos pelo processo comercial HiPco (diâmetros entre 0,7 e 1,2 nm), os quais foram dispersos em soluções aquosas de diferentes agentes dispersantes: i) surfactantes aniônicos dodecilsulfato de sódio (SDS), dodecilbenzenosulfanato de sódio (NaDDBS), colato de sódio (NaC); ii) um oligonucleotídeo de DNA do tipo poli d(GT)10. Algumas dispersões foram preparadas em com diferentes concentrações de SWNTs e agente dispersante. A dispersabilidade dos SWNTs em água for estudada, avaliando-se as propriedades ópticas dos tubos e feixes dispersos nos diferentes ambientes químicos por meio das técnicas de espectroscopia de absorção óptica na região do UV-vis-NIR (AO), fotoluminescência (PL) e fotoexcitação de luminescência (PLE) (photoluminescence excitation spectroscopy). Os valores de energia para os processos de absorção e emissão para os SWNTs nos quatro ambientes químicos estudados foram extraídos dos mapas de PLE e dos dados de absorção óptica. Não foram vistos deslocamentos entre as posições das Eii para os SWNTs dispersos com os três surfactantes aniônicos (SDS, NAC e NaDDBS), indicando que estas substâncias propiciam uma vizinhança química para os tubos bastante semelhante. O mesmo não ocorreu na presença de DNA, onde os valores de Eii para os diferentes SWNTs presentes na amostra, apresentaram um deslocamento batocrômico (para menores energias) de ~ 20 meV em relação aos valores observados para os surfactantes aniônicos. Este deslocamento foi atribuído ao arranjo helicoidal da molécula de DNA em torno do tubo, que expõe a superfície, permitindo maior acesso das moléculas de água e acarretando no aumento da constante dielétrica efetiva nas vicissitudes dos tubos. Foi também investigada a influência do tipo e concentração de agente dispersante, e concentração de SWNT na eficiência de emissão de luz pelos nanotubos suspensos. Neste estudo, a combinação das técnicas de absorção óptica e PLE se mostrou muito útil na investigação do processo de dispersão dos nanotubos. Baseando-se no fato de que o processo de emissão de luz em nanotubos de carbono é altamente sensível ao estado de agregação devido ao efeito de quenching que ocorre quando os SWNTs semicondutores ficam em contato com SWNTs metálicos, enquanto o processo de absorção de luz é pouco afetado, a análise da razão das intensidades dos sinais de PLE e de absorção óptica mostrou ser uma ferramenta poderosa para avaliar a extensão da desagregação dos SWNTs colocados em suspensão. Desta forma, foi possível determinar as melhores condições para maximizar a emissão de luz das dispersões aqui estudadas. Foi verificado que nas condições experimentais usadas, a concentração de SWNTs em solução aumenta na seqüência NaDDBS < NaC < DNA < SDS. Entretanto, embora NaDDBS e NaC produzam dispersões mais diluídas, observou-se pela análise da razão entre os sinais de PL e absorção óptica que a concentração de tubos individuais nestes sistemas é bem maior. Nas dispersões com SDS e o oligonucleotídeo DNA, muitos tubos apresentam-se agregados, provavelmente na forma de feixes estreitos, diminuindo consideravelmente a eficiência de emissão de luz. / It has been demonstrated that the electronic and optical properties of single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWNT) are strongly affected by the environment. This strong environmental effect is very relevant in analyzing the composition of carbon nanotube samples using optical techniques, especially in the case of separation experiments, where the SWNT environments are generally very different before and after the separation process. In this context, this work aimed at studying the effects of different surrounding materials on the absorption and emission of light by the individualized SWNT suspended in water. The study was carried out with small-diameter HiPco SWNT (with diameters between 0.7 and 1.2 nm) which were dispersed in aqueous solutions of different dispersing agents: i) anionic surfactants sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate (NaDDBS) and sodium cholate (NaC); ii) DNA oligonucleotide poly d(GT)10. Samples were prepared with different concentrations of SWNT and surfactants and were analyzed by UV-vis-NIR optical absorption (OA), photoluminescence (PL) and photoluminescence excitation (PLE) spectroscopies. The energies of the emission and absorption peaks for the samples in the four different environments were obtained from PL maps and OA data. The optical transition energies for the nanotubes wrapped by the three surfactants (SDS, NaC and NaDDBS) present basically the same values, thereby indicating that the nanotubes experience a very similar chemical environment. On the other hand, the optical transition energies for DNA-wrapped nanotubes are redshifted by ~ 20 meV as compared to the surfactant-wrapped ones. This shift was associated to the change of dielectric environment because a smaller nanotube coverage by the DNA molecule as compared with those caused by the anionic surfactants. The surfactant molecules cover most of the nanotube surface while the DNA coverage is guided by the self-organization of DNA macromolecule around the nanotube in a helical conformation. The higher exposure of the nanotube surface to the water molecules in DNA system is responsible for the increase in the effective dielectric constant and, consequently, for the redshift in the optical transition energies due to excitonic effects. We have also focused our attention on the role played by the type of surfactant, surfactant concentration, and SWNT concentration on the efficiency of the emission of light by the suspended nanotubes. Based on the fact that the OA intensity is proportional to the concentration of nanotubes in the solution, while the PL signal is quenched when SWNT are aggregated into bundles, it was demonstrated in this work that the ratio between PL and OA intensities gives comparative information on emission efficiency. The PL/OA ratio can be associated, as a first approximation, with the relative amount of isolated nanotubes in the solution, since a nanotube dispersion which presents a high isolated/bundle ratio is expected to maximize the light emission efficiency. SWNT and surfactant concentrations are strongly related to the emission efficiency since different aggregation states are obtained when different concentrations of SWNT and surfactant are used for dispersing SWNT in water. Using this approach, it was possible to determine the best conditions to improve the PL efficiency of SWNT dispersions here investigated. Experimental results have shown that the SWNT concentration follows the sequence: NaDDBS < NaC < DNA < SDS. However, even though NaDDBS and NaC led to dispersions with the lowest net SWNT concentrations, the PL/absorption ratio analysis showed they are the best dispersing agents to obtain the highest concentrations of individually SWNT using the dispersion procedure performed in this work. In DNA and SDS dispersion, most of the SWNT are in the form of ropes or bundles, decreasing the efficiency of light emission.

As nuvens cirrus cobrem uma grande fração das latitudes tropicais e desempenham um papel importante no balanço de radiação da Terra. As propriedades ópticas, altitude, extensão vertical, e cobertura horizontal de nuvens controlam sua forçante radiativa. Além disso, nuvens cirrus tropicais podem influenciar a distribuição vertical do aquecimento radiativo na tropopausa tropical e pesquisas recentes também apontam para um aumento do vapor de água estratosférico ligado principalmente à ocorrência de nuvens cirrus na camada da tropopausa tropical (TTL). Apesar de sua importância, estudos relatando propriedades de nuvens cirrus sobre florestas tropicais como a Amazônia são ainda escassos. A maioria estão baseados em imagens de satélites de órbita polar que não fornecem informações sobre o ciclo diurno, nem sobre a estrutura vertical destas nuvens. Ao mesmo tempo, os estudos com lidar em solo são restritos a poucos estudos de caso, em geral associados a campanhas de campo de curta duração. Este panorama começou a mudar em 2011 com a instalação do sistema lidar do Laboratório de Física Atmosférica do IF-USP próximo à cidade de Manaus, Brasil. Neste trabalho, um conjunto de um ano de dados (de julho de 2011 a junho de 2012) foi utilizado para caracterizar as propriedades macro, microfísicas e ópticas das nuvens cirrus sobre a região amazônica e, posteriormente, calcular o papel que essas nuvens têm no balanço radiativo do planeta. Para tanto, foi desenvolvido um algoritmo automático para detectar as nuvens e para obter as propriedades ópticas, incluindo a correção de múltiplo-espalhamento. As forçantes radiativas foram estimadas com dois modelos diferentes, a partir dos perfis de extinção medido com o lidar e de uma parametrização para estimar o raio efetivo dos cristais de gelo. Nossos resultados mostraram que as nuvens cirrus na alta troposfera foram mais frequentes na Amazônia do que relatado previamente em outras regiões tropicais. A frequência de ocorrência foi de 88 % durante a estação chuvosa e não inferior a 50 % durante a estação seca. O ciclo diurno mostrou um mínimo ao redor do meio-dia local e máximo durante o final da tarde, associado ao ciclo diurno da precipitação. Os valores médios das alturas de topo e base, da espessura e da profundidade óptica da nuvem foram de 14,3 +- 1,9 (desv. pad.) km, 12,9 +- 2,2 km, 1,4 +- 1,1 km e 0,25 +- 0,46, respectivamente. As nuvens cirrus foram encontradas em temperaturas de até -90 degC, com 6 % ocorrendo acima da tropopausa. A distribuição vertical não se mostrou uniforme, e nuvens cirrus finas (0,03 < COD < 0,3) e subvisuais (COD < 0,03) ocorreram mais frequentemente nas proximidades da tropopausa. A razão lidar média foi de 23,3 +- 8,0 sr. Contudo, para as nuvens cirrus subvisuais foi encontrada uma distribuição bimodal com um pico secundário em torno de 44 sr, sugerindo uma composição mista dos cristais de gelo. Não foi encontrada uma dependência da razão lidar com a temperatura da nuvem (altitude), indicando que as nuvens estão verticalmente bem misturadas. A frequência de ocorrência relativa das camadas de nuvens cirrus classificadas como subvisuais foi de 41,6 %, enquanto que 37,8 % foram cirrus finos e 20,5 % de cirrus opacos (COD > 0,3), com uma superposição média de 1,41 +- 0,63 camadas por perfil. Assim, na Amazônia central não ocorre apenas uma alta frequência de nuvens cirrus, mas também uma grande fração de nuvens cirrus subvisuais, o que pode estar contaminando as medidas de fotômetros solares e sensores orbitais. As propriedades medidas foram utilizadas no cálculo da forçante radiativa das nuvens cirrus (CRF) e dos perfis da taxa de aquecimento da atmosfera, em detalhe pelo libRadtran e aproximadamente pelo modelo de Corti e Peter (modelo CP). Com tamanha frequência de ocorrência e residindo tão alto sobre a intocada floresta Amazônica (albedo ~ 0,12), essas nuvens produziram uma CRF líquida no topo da atmosfera e na superfície (TOA e BOA) de +15,3 +- 0,4 e -3,7 +- 0,2 W m-2, respectivamente, muito mais intenso do que o estimado sobre a Europa (0,9 a 1,7 W m-2 no TOA). Cirrus opticamente mais espessas, em geral, apresentaram CRF líquido maior, com CRF instantâneo atingindo valores máximos (mínimos) de 140 (-65) W m-2 para o período noturno (diurno) no TOA. Juntos, os perfis verticais com COD_Coluna > 0,3 foram responsáveis por cerca de 72 % (62 %) do CRF líquido no TOA (BOA), o que significa que uma importante fração do CRF é gerada por cirrus opticamente mais finos (COD_Coluna < 0,3), que são mais difíceis de serem detectados por radares e instrumentos passivos a bordo de satélites. O ciclo diurno da profundidade óptica das nuvens cirrus teve reflexo em sua forçante radiativa. Observamos um ciclo diurno do valor médio da CRF líquida no TOA (BOA), que vaiou entre 1,7 (-23) W m-2 à tarde e 47 (3,1) W m-2 durante a noite. As nuvens cirrus promovem um aquecimento aproximadamente constante de 1,2 K dia-1 no perfil vertical entre 8 e 18 km (dentro da nuvem), mas com valores instantâneos superiores a 10 K dia-1 para porções da nuvem com alto IWC. Acredita-se que esse perfil de aquecimento gerado pelas nuvens cirrus tenha um papel importante na circulação da alta troposfera/baixa estratosfera, gerando um fluxo ascendente médio de massa de ar entre 2 e 15 kg m-2 dia-1 para altitudes entre 13 e 16,5 km, contribuindo para a manutenção da camada de cirrus próximo da tropopausa tropical. / Cirrus clouds cover a large fraction of tropical latitudes and play an important role in the Earth\'s radiation balance. Their optical properties, altitude, vertical extension, and horizontal cover control their radiative effect. In addition, tropical cirrus clouds can influence the vertical distribution of radiative heating near the tropopause, and recent research associate the moistening of the lower stratosphere with the occurrence of cirrus clouds in the tropical tropopause layer (TTL). Despite their importance, studies describing the properties of cirrus clouds over tropical forests like the Amazon are still scarce. Most studies are based on images from polar orbiting satellites, which do not give information on the diurnal cycle nor on the vertical structure of these clouds. At the same time, the studies based on ground-based lidars are restricted to a few case studies, from short-term field campaigns. This panorama started to change in 2011 with the installation of a lidar system from the Laboratory of Atmospheric Physics of IF-USP near the city of Manaus, Brazil. In this study, data from July 2011 to June 2012 was used to characterize the macro, microphysical and optical properties of cirrus clouds over the Amazon region, and then to calculate the role of those clouds in the radiative balance of the planet. An automatic algorithm was developed to detect the cloud layers and to obtain the optical properties, already considering the multiple-scattering correction. Two different models, using as input the measured extinction profiles and a parameterization for the ice crystals effective radius, were used to estimate the cirrus radiative effect. Our results showed that cirrus clouds are more frequent in Amazonia than in other tropical regions. The frequency of occurrence was 88 % during the rainy season and not less than 50 % during the dry season. The diurnal cycle showed a minimum around local noon and a maximum around late afternoon, associated with the diurnal cycle of precipitation. The average values of the top and cloud base heights, thickness, and optical depth were 14.3 +- 1.9 km, 12.9 +- 2.2 km, 1.4 +- 1.1 km, and 0.25 +- 0.46, respectively. Cirrus clouds were found at temperatures as low as -90 degC, with 6 % occurring above the tropopause. The vertical distribution was not uniform, and thin cirrus (0.03 < COD <0.3) and subvisible (COD <0.03) were more frequent in the vicinity of the tropopause. The mean lidar-ratio was 23.3 +- 8.0 sr. However, for the subvisible clouds a bimodal distribution with a secondary peak at about 44 sr was found, suggesting a mixture of ice crystals habits. No dependence of the lidar-ratio with temperature (altitude) was found, suggesting these clouds are well mixed vertically. The relative frequency of occurrence of cirrus layers classified as subvisible was 41.6 %, while 37.8 % were thin cirrus and 20.5 % opaque cirrus (COD > 0.3), with an average overlap of 1.41 +- 0.63 layers per profile. Therefore, in central Amazonia, there is not only a high incidence of cirrus clouds, but also a large fraction of subvisible clouds, which may be contaminating the measurements of sunphotometers and satellite sensors. These measured properties were used for the calculation of the cirrus radiative forcing (CRF) and the heating rate profiles, in detail with libRadtran, and approximately with the model of Corti and Peter (modelo CP). Given their high frequency of occurrence and location at high altitude over the pristine Amazon forest (albedo ~ 0,12), these clouds produced a net CRF at the top and bottom of the atmosphere (TOA and BOA) of +15.3 +- 0.4 and -3.7 +- 0.2 W m-2, respectively. This is greater than what was found over Europe (0.9, to 1.7 W m-2 at TOA). Optically thicker cirrus usually had larger CRF, with instantaneous CRF reaching peak (minimum) values of 140 (-65) W m-2 for the nocturnal (diurnal) period at TOA. The vertical profiles with COD_Column> 0.3 were responsible for about 72 % (62 %) of the net CRF at TOA (BOA), which means that a significant fraction of the cirrus CRF is generated by optically thin cirrus (COD_Column <0.3), which are more difficult to detect by radars and passive instruments on satellites. The diurnal cycle of the cirrus clouds optical depth had influence in its radiative forcing. We observed a diurnal cycle of the mean value of net CRF at TOA (BOA), which ranged from 1.7 (-23) W m-2 in the afternoon to 47 (3.1) W m-2 at night. The heating rates associated with these cirrus clouds were approximately constant, with 1.2 K day-1 from 8 to 18 km (within the cloud), but with instantaneous values that reached values higher than 10 K day-1 for portions with higher IWC. It is believed that this warming profile plays an important role in the circulation of the upper troposphere/low stratosphere, generating an average air mass flux between 2 and 15 kg m-2 day-1 for altitudes between 13 and 16.5 km, a positive feedback for the maintenance of the cirrus layer near the tropical tropopause.

Neste trabalho apresentamos uma instrumentação que é capaz de estabilizar e medir o comprimento de onda emitido por um laser de semicondutor em 1 parte de 106. Para obtermos essa precisão foi necessário desenvolver um controlador de temperatura, uma fonte de corrente e um medidor de onda. / In this work we present an instrumentation that is able to stabilize and measure the semiconductor laser wavelength with a precision of 1 part in 106. To obtain this precision was necessary to develop a temperature controller, current source and wave meter.

O estudo da propagação da luz nas porcelanas é importante para entender seu comportamento óptico frente a situações clínicas como fotoativação de cimentos resinosos e sua resposta estética, quando observada sobre diferentes fundos. Este trabalho estudou a influência da espessura, cor, opacidade e marca comercial das porcelanas feldspáticas na propagação da luz visível, através da teoria de KubelkaMunk (KM), nos intervalos de comprimento de onda de 410500nm e de 410700nm. Foram confeccionados discos de 12,5mm por 1 mm de espessura de porcelana feldspática de duas opacidades, corpo (B) e corpo opaco (BO), das marcas Vintage Halo (HALO), Noritake Super Porcelain EX3 (NORI) e IPS dSIGN (IPS), nas cores A1, A35 e B3 (n=7). Os discos foram polidos através de uma série de lixas abrasivas até a granulação 600 e acondicionados individualmente em ambiente seco. Os discos tiveram suas curvas espectrais de refletância obtidos em contato óptico, sobre fundo branco e preto, através do uso de um espectrofotômetro com esfera de integração acoplada, no intervalo de comprimento de onda de 410700nm. As curvas de refletância foram inseridas na teoria KM, para obtenção e análise quantitativa e qualitativa das propriedades ópticas de cada material. As análises qualitativas envolveram a observação do comportamento espectral das curvas de espalhamento, absorção, espessura infinita e reflexão para todos aos materiais em função do comprimento de onda. As análises quantitativas envolveram a obtenção das espessuras ópticas estimadas em extinções crescentes de 50% (X50), 90% (X90), 95% (X95) e infinita 99.9% (X99.9), para o intervalo de comprimento de onda de 410500nm e a obtenção da espessura óptica infinita 99.9% (X) e dos Parâmetros de Translucidez (TP), estimados nas espessuras de 0.5mm (TP0.5), 1.25mm (TP1.25) e 2.00mm (TP2.00), para o intervalo de comprimento de onda de 410700nm. Os Parâmetros de Translucidez foram utilizados para avaliar o efeito de mascaramento da porcelana sobre os fundos utilizados. Os resultados mostraram que todos os fatores (cor, opacidade e marca comercial) exerceram influência para atenuar a propagação da luz através dos espécimes. De maneira geral, a maior atenuação de luz esteve ligada à porcelanas de corpo opaco e mais saturadas (cor A35 e B3). Em relação à marca comercial a porcelana IPS, atenuou de maneira geral mais luz nas cores A35 e B3 em relação às mesmas cores das marcas HALO e NORI nas espessuras ópticas estudadas. Os valores de espessura óptica infinita (espessura onde a energia transmitida é praticamente zero), para ambos os intervalos de comprimento de onda, para todos os materiais, superaram os limites de espessura clínica indicados pela literatura. Isto implicou que, no caso do intervalo de 410 a 500nm, a energia transmitida pode girar de 20 a 5% para as porcelanas de corpo, e de 10 a 5%, para as de corpo opaco e, no caso do mascaramento, as porcelanas serão mais influenciadas por fundos que apresentarem resposta colorimétrica acentuada nas regiões alaranjadas e avermelhadas do espectro visível. As análises qualitativas mostraram que para todos os materiais e espessuras a luz será preferencialmente atenuada no início do espectro, intervalo de 410 a 500nm e menos atenuada em direção ao final do espectro visível. Os resultados também mostraram que com o aumento da espessura, a atenuação aumentou, e que a relação entre espessura e atenuação é não linear. / The study of light propagation through porcelains is important to understand its optical behavior in front of clinical situations such as the photoactivation of luting cements and their esthetic responses, when observed against different backgrounds. This research studies the influence of thickness, shade, opacity, and commercial brands of feldspatic porcelains on the propagation of visible light through the Kubelka Munk Theory for the wavelength intervals of 410500nm and 410700nm. Discs with 12,5mm in diameter and thickness of 1mm were prepared with feldspatic porcelain in two opacities, body (B) and opaque body (BO), three commercial brands; Vintage Halo (HALO), Noritake Super Porcelain EX3 (NORI), and IPS dSIGN (IPS), and three shades, A1, A35, and B3 (n=7). The discs were polished with a series of waterproof sandpapers down to a #600 grade sandpaper, and individually stored in a dry environment. The spectral reflectance curves were acquired from the disks on optical contact, against white and black backgrounds, with a spectrometer with a diffuse reflectance attachment (an attached integration sphere), in the wavelength interval of 410700nm. The reflectance spectra were inserted in the KM theory to quantitatively and qualitatively obtain and analyze the optical properties of each material. The qualitative analyses were obtained from the observation of the spectral behavior of scattering, absorption, infinite optical thickness, and reflection spectra for all materials as a function of the wavelength. The quantitative analyses involved obtaining the predicted optical thicknesses in extinctions with increments of 50% (X50), 90% (X90), 95% (X95) and infinite 99.9% (X99.9), for the wavelength interval of 410500nm and the obtaining of the infinite optical thickness 99.9% (X) and the translucency parameter (TP) estimated as 0.5mm (TP0.5), 1.25mm (TP1.25) e 2.00mm (TP2.00) thicknesses, for the wavelength interval of 410700nm. The Translucency parameters were used to evaluate the porcelain masking effect against the tested backgrounds. The results showed that all factors (Shade, Opacity, and Commercial Brand) exerted influence to attenuate the light propagation through the specimens. In general, a higher light attenuation was linked to porcelains exhibiting more saturated shades (A35, and B3) and body opaque types. The commercial brand IPS porcelain shades A35 and B3, generally attenuated more light than the same shades of HALO and NORI for the studied optical thicknesses. The infinite optical thicknesses values (thicknesses where the transmitted light is close to zero) is above the clinical thickness reported in the literature for all materials and both wavelength intervals. This fact implied that regarding the 410500nm interval, the body porcelain could transmit from 20 to 5% of the energy, while the opaque body transmits from 10 to 5%. The masking effect of the porcelains will be increasingly translucid against the background with increased colorimetric response on the Red Orange regions of the visible spectra. The qualitative analysis showed that for all materials and thicknesses, the light will preferably be attenuated in the beginning of the spectra, on the 410500nm interval e and will be less attenuated towards the ending of the visible spectra. The results also showed that the attenuation increased with the increase of the thickness, and the relationship between thickness and attenuation is nonlinear.

Finally, we also propose and demonstrate an integrated Mach-Zehnder optical diplexer (IMZOD) for possible use in an integrated silicon optical amplifier. The diplexer is based on two rnultimode interferometers (MMIs) and a Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI), and has potential use in an integrated silicon waveguide optical amplifier, to combine or separate the pump signal (1440nm) and probe signal (1556nm) for monolithic implementation of a silicon Raman amplifier. / Helium ion implantation can not only reduce the free-carrier loss, but can also enhance the detection responsivity of below-bandgap wavelengths (1440 1590 nm). We propose and demonstrate an in-line channel power monitor (ICPM) based on helium ion implanted silicon waveguides. The implanted waveguide can detect light at 1440 1590 nm which are normally not detectable by silicon. We study the enhanced photoresponse of helium ion implanted waveguide samples which were annealed at different temperatures and for different durations. / Recently there has been much interest in silicon optical amplifiers and lasers relying on stimulated Raman scattering (SRS), which, despite the much shorter waveguide lengths possible in silicon compared with silica optical fiber, can still provide large optical gain because of the large Raman coefficient of silicon and small mode field areas. However, two-photon absorption (TPA) generated free-carrier absorption (FCA) loss can exceed the Raman gain. In this thesis, experiments and theoretical model will he discussed and analyzed, showing that helium ion implantation can successfully reduce the optical losses due to free-carriers and allow net gain to be attained by continuous-wave (CW)-pumped SRS without requiring external bias to remove the photo-generated free carriers. The theoretical study of dynamics of free carrier lifetime of the silicon waveguides will be described. The effective nonlinear length of the silicon waveguides is defined and studied. The theoretical and experimental studies of the enhanced spectral broaden induced by self-phase-modulation (SPM) are carried out in helium on implanted silicon waveguides. / Silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafers are an attractive platform for the fabrication of planar lightwave circuits (PLCs) because they offer the potential for low-cost fabrication using mature complementary metal--organic--semiconductor (CMOS) compatible processes developed in the microelectronics industry. At the wavelengths of interest for telecommunications, SOI waveguides can have low optical losses (0.1dB/cm). Besides, the strong optical confinement offered by the high index contrast between silicon (Si) (n=3.45) and silicon dioxide (SiO2) (n=1.45) makes it possible to scale photonic devices to sub-micron level. In addition, the high optical intensity arising from the strong optical confinement inside the waveguide makes it possible to observe nonlinear optical effects, such as Raman and Kerr effects, in chip-scale devices. / We then make use of the ICPM to perform a system application, called optical-burst-and-transient-equalizer (OBTE). The OBTE may provide a compact and low-cost solution to compensate gain-transient, gain-spectrum-tilt and to equalize the upstream packet amplitude in erbium doped fiber amplifier (EDFA) amplified hybrid dense-wavelength-division-multiplexed (DWDM) and time-division-multiplexed (TDM) passive-optical-networks (PONs). The OBTE may be monolithically integrated on SOI platform and is potentially low cost and compact. The OBTE can compensate complicated gain slope shape, which may be generated in cascaded EDFAs or deliberate channel add/drop, based on individual channel equalization. 15-dB receiver sensitivity improvement at 10 Gbit/s bit-error-rate (BER) measurements of 10-9 was achieved by the compensation. / Liu, Yang. / "August 2007." / Adviser: Hon Ki Tsang. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 69-02, Section: B, page: 1212. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references. / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. [Ann Arbor, MI] : ProQuest Information and Learning, [200-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstract in English and Chinese. / School code: 1307.

As nuvens cirrus cobrem uma grande fração das latitudes tropicais e desempenham um papel importante no balanço de radiação da Terra. As propriedades ópticas, altitude, extensão vertical, e cobertura horizontal de nuvens controlam sua forçante radiativa. Além disso, nuvens cirrus tropicais podem influenciar a distribuição vertical do aquecimento radiativo na tropopausa tropical e pesquisas recentes também apontam para um aumento do vapor de água estratosférico ligado principalmente à ocorrência de nuvens cirrus na camada da tropopausa tropical (TTL). Apesar de sua importância, estudos relatando propriedades de nuvens cirrus sobre florestas tropicais como a Amazônia são ainda escassos. A maioria estão baseados em imagens de satélites de órbita polar que não fornecem informações sobre o ciclo diurno, nem sobre a estrutura vertical destas nuvens. Ao mesmo tempo, os estudos com lidar em solo são restritos a poucos estudos de caso, em geral associados a campanhas de campo de curta duração. Este panorama começou a mudar em 2011 com a instalação do sistema lidar do Laboratório de Física Atmosférica do IF-USP próximo à cidade de Manaus, Brasil. Neste trabalho, um conjunto de um ano de dados (de julho de 2011 a junho de 2012) foi utilizado para caracterizar as propriedades macro, microfísicas e ópticas das nuvens cirrus sobre a região amazônica e, posteriormente, calcular o papel que essas nuvens têm no balanço radiativo do planeta. Para tanto, foi desenvolvido um algoritmo automático para detectar as nuvens e para obter as propriedades ópticas, incluindo a correção de múltiplo-espalhamento. As forçantes radiativas foram estimadas com dois modelos diferentes, a partir dos perfis de extinção medido com o lidar e de uma parametrização para estimar o raio efetivo dos cristais de gelo. Nossos resultados mostraram que as nuvens cirrus na alta troposfera foram mais frequentes na Amazônia do que relatado previamente em outras regiões tropicais. A frequência de ocorrência foi de 88 % durante a estação chuvosa e não inferior a 50 % durante a estação seca. O ciclo diurno mostrou um mínimo ao redor do meio-dia local e máximo durante o final da tarde, associado ao ciclo diurno da precipitação. Os valores médios das alturas de topo e base, da espessura e da profundidade óptica da nuvem foram de 14,3 +- 1,9 (desv. pad.) km, 12,9 +- 2,2 km, 1,4 +- 1,1 km e 0,25 +- 0,46, respectivamente. As nuvens cirrus foram encontradas em temperaturas de até -90 degC, com 6 % ocorrendo acima da tropopausa. A distribuição vertical não se mostrou uniforme, e nuvens cirrus finas (0,03 < COD < 0,3) e subvisuais (COD < 0,03) ocorreram mais frequentemente nas proximidades da tropopausa. A razão lidar média foi de 23,3 +- 8,0 sr. Contudo, para as nuvens cirrus subvisuais foi encontrada uma distribuição bimodal com um pico secundário em torno de 44 sr, sugerindo uma composição mista dos cristais de gelo. Não foi encontrada uma dependência da razão lidar com a temperatura da nuvem (altitude), indicando que as nuvens estão verticalmente bem misturadas. A frequência de ocorrência relativa das camadas de nuvens cirrus classificadas como subvisuais foi de 41,6 %, enquanto que 37,8 % foram cirrus finos e 20,5 % de cirrus opacos (COD > 0,3), com uma superposição média de 1,41 +- 0,63 camadas por perfil. Assim, na Amazônia central não ocorre apenas uma alta frequência de nuvens cirrus, mas também uma grande fração de nuvens cirrus subvisuais, o que pode estar contaminando as medidas de fotômetros solares e sensores orbitais. As propriedades medidas foram utilizadas no cálculo da forçante radiativa das nuvens cirrus (CRF) e dos perfis da taxa de aquecimento da atmosfera, em detalhe pelo libRadtran e aproximadamente pelo modelo de Corti e Peter (modelo CP). Com tamanha frequência de ocorrência e residindo tão alto sobre a intocada floresta Amazônica (albedo ~ 0,12), essas nuvens produziram uma CRF líquida no topo da atmosfera e na superfície (TOA e BOA) de +15,3 +- 0,4 e -3,7 +- 0,2 W m-2, respectivamente, muito mais intenso do que o estimado sobre a Europa (0,9 a 1,7 W m-2 no TOA). Cirrus opticamente mais espessas, em geral, apresentaram CRF líquido maior, com CRF instantâneo atingindo valores máximos (mínimos) de 140 (-65) W m-2 para o período noturno (diurno) no TOA. Juntos, os perfis verticais com COD_Coluna > 0,3 foram responsáveis por cerca de 72 % (62 %) do CRF líquido no TOA (BOA), o que significa que uma importante fração do CRF é gerada por cirrus opticamente mais finos (COD_Coluna < 0,3), que são mais difíceis de serem detectados por radares e instrumentos passivos a bordo de satélites. O ciclo diurno da profundidade óptica das nuvens cirrus teve reflexo em sua forçante radiativa. Observamos um ciclo diurno do valor médio da CRF líquida no TOA (BOA), que vaiou entre 1,7 (-23) W m-2 à tarde e 47 (3,1) W m-2 durante a noite. As nuvens cirrus promovem um aquecimento aproximadamente constante de 1,2 K dia-1 no perfil vertical entre 8 e 18 km (dentro da nuvem), mas com valores instantâneos superiores a 10 K dia-1 para porções da nuvem com alto IWC. Acredita-se que esse perfil de aquecimento gerado pelas nuvens cirrus tenha um papel importante na circulação da alta troposfera/baixa estratosfera, gerando um fluxo ascendente médio de massa de ar entre 2 e 15 kg m-2 dia-1 para altitudes entre 13 e 16,5 km, contribuindo para a manutenção da camada de cirrus próximo da tropopausa tropical. / Cirrus clouds cover a large fraction of tropical latitudes and play an important role in the Earth\'s radiation balance. Their optical properties, altitude, vertical extension, and horizontal cover control their radiative effect. In addition, tropical cirrus clouds can influence the vertical distribution of radiative heating near the tropopause, and recent research associate the moistening of the lower stratosphere with the occurrence of cirrus clouds in the tropical tropopause layer (TTL). Despite their importance, studies describing the properties of cirrus clouds over tropical forests like the Amazon are still scarce. Most studies are based on images from polar orbiting satellites, which do not give information on the diurnal cycle nor on the vertical structure of these clouds. At the same time, the studies based on ground-based lidars are restricted to a few case studies, from short-term field campaigns. This panorama started to change in 2011 with the installation of a lidar system from the Laboratory of Atmospheric Physics of IF-USP near the city of Manaus, Brazil. In this study, data from July 2011 to June 2012 was used to characterize the macro, microphysical and optical properties of cirrus clouds over the Amazon region, and then to calculate the role of those clouds in the radiative balance of the planet. An automatic algorithm was developed to detect the cloud layers and to obtain the optical properties, already considering the multiple-scattering correction. Two different models, using as input the measured extinction profiles and a parameterization for the ice crystals effective radius, were used to estimate the cirrus radiative effect. Our results showed that cirrus clouds are more frequent in Amazonia than in other tropical regions. The frequency of occurrence was 88 % during the rainy season and not less than 50 % during the dry season. The diurnal cycle showed a minimum around local noon and a maximum around late afternoon, associated with the diurnal cycle of precipitation. The average values of the top and cloud base heights, thickness, and optical depth were 14.3 +- 1.9 km, 12.9 +- 2.2 km, 1.4 +- 1.1 km, and 0.25 +- 0.46, respectively. Cirrus clouds were found at temperatures as low as -90 degC, with 6 % occurring above the tropopause. The vertical distribution was not uniform, and thin cirrus (0.03 < COD <0.3) and subvisible (COD <0.03) were more frequent in the vicinity of the tropopause. The mean lidar-ratio was 23.3 +- 8.0 sr. However, for the subvisible clouds a bimodal distribution with a secondary peak at about 44 sr was found, suggesting a mixture of ice crystals habits. No dependence of the lidar-ratio with temperature (altitude) was found, suggesting these clouds are well mixed vertically. The relative frequency of occurrence of cirrus layers classified as subvisible was 41.6 %, while 37.8 % were thin cirrus and 20.5 % opaque cirrus (COD > 0.3), with an average overlap of 1.41 +- 0.63 layers per profile. Therefore, in central Amazonia, there is not only a high incidence of cirrus clouds, but also a large fraction of subvisible clouds, which may be contaminating the measurements of sunphotometers and satellite sensors. These measured properties were used for the calculation of the cirrus radiative forcing (CRF) and the heating rate profiles, in detail with libRadtran, and approximately with the model of Corti and Peter (modelo CP). Given their high frequency of occurrence and location at high altitude over the pristine Amazon forest (albedo ~ 0,12), these clouds produced a net CRF at the top and bottom of the atmosphere (TOA and BOA) of +15.3 +- 0.4 and -3.7 +- 0.2 W m-2, respectively. This is greater than what was found over Europe (0.9, to 1.7 W m-2 at TOA). Optically thicker cirrus usually had larger CRF, with instantaneous CRF reaching peak (minimum) values of 140 (-65) W m-2 for the nocturnal (diurnal) period at TOA. The vertical profiles with COD_Column> 0.3 were responsible for about 72 % (62 %) of the net CRF at TOA (BOA), which means that a significant fraction of the cirrus CRF is generated by optically thin cirrus (COD_Column <0.3), which are more difficult to detect by radars and passive instruments on satellites. The diurnal cycle of the cirrus clouds optical depth had influence in its radiative forcing. We observed a diurnal cycle of the mean value of net CRF at TOA (BOA), which ranged from 1.7 (-23) W m-2 in the afternoon to 47 (3.1) W m-2 at night. The heating rates associated with these cirrus clouds were approximately constant, with 1.2 K day-1 from 8 to 18 km (within the cloud), but with instantaneous values that reached values higher than 10 K day-1 for portions with higher IWC. It is believed that this warming profile plays an important role in the circulation of the upper troposphere/low stratosphere, generating an average air mass flux between 2 and 15 kg m-2 day-1 for altitudes between 13 and 16.5 km, a positive feedback for the maintenance of the cirrus layer near the tropical tropopause.

by Fung Chi Keung = 採用脈衝直流電源對靶濺射技術製備銦錫氧化物薄膜的硏究 / 馮志強. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2000. / Includes bibliographical references. / Text in English; abstracts in English and Chinese. / by Fung Chi Keung = Cai yong mai chong zhi liu dian yuan dui ba jian she ji shu zhi bei yin xi yang hua wu bo mo de yan jiu / Feng Zhiqiang. / Acknowledgements --- p.i / Abstract --- p.ii / 論文摘要 --- p.iii / Table of contents --- p.iv / List of figures --- p.viii / List of tables --- p.xii / Chapter Chapter 1 --- Introduction --- p.1-1 / Chapter 1.1 --- Genesis --- p.1-1 / Chapter 1.2 --- Aims and Objectives --- p.1-1 / Chapter 1.3 --- Layout of Thesis --- p.1-3 / References --- p.1-4 / Chapter Chapter 2 --- Literature Review --- p.2-1 / Chapter 2.1 --- Introduction to transparent conducting oxides (TCOs) --- p.2-1 / Chapter 2.2 --- Indium tin oxide (ITO) --- p.2-2 / Chapter 2.2.1 --- Use of ITO --- p.2-2 / Chapter 2.2.2 --- Structure and properties of ITO --- p.2-3 / Chapter 2.3 --- Properties of ITO films deposited by different growth techniques --- p.2-8 / Chapter 2.3.1 --- Sputtering --- p.2-9 / Chapter 2.3.2 --- Vacuum evaporation --- p.2-11 / Chapter 2.3.3 --- Spray pyrolysis --- p.2-11 / Chapter 2.3.4 --- Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) --- p.2-12 / Chapter 2.3.5 --- Reactive ion plating --- p.2-12 / Chapter 2.4 --- Contradictions in existing literature --- p.2-13 / References --- p.2-15 / Chapter Chapter 3 --- Thin Film Fabrication and Process --- p.3-1 / Chapter 3.1 --- Facing-target sputtering (FTS) --- p.3-1 / Chapter 3.2 --- Asymmetric bipolar pulsed DC power source --- p.3-3 / Chapter 3.2.1 --- Target poisoning --- p.3-3 / Chapter 3.2.2 --- Preferential sputtering --- p.3-4 / Chapter 3.2.3 --- Discussion --- p.3-4 / Chapter 3.3 --- Substrates --- p.3-6 / Chapter 3.3.1 --- Microscopic glass --- p.3-7 / Chapter 3.3.2 --- Corning 7059 glass --- p.3-8 / Chapter 3.3.3 --- Epitaxial growth --- p.3-8 / Chapter 3.3.3.1 --- Epitaxial lattice matching --- p.3-8 / Chapter 3.3.3.2 --- Yttrium stabilized zirconia (YSZ) --- p.3-9 / Chapter 3.3.3.3 --- Sapphire --- p.3-9 / Chapter 3.3.3.4 --- Silicon wafer --- p.3-11 / Chapter 3.3.4 --- Substrate cleaning --- p.3-11 / Chapter 3.4 --- Targets for the reactive sputtering of ITO films --- p.3-13 / Chapter 3.4.1 --- Indium Tin Oxide target (90wt% ln203 : 10wt% Sn04) --- p.3-14 / Chapter 3.4.2 --- Indium Tin alloy target (90wt% In : 10wt% Sn) --- p.3-14 / Chapter 3.5 --- Deposition conditions --- p.3-16 / Chapter 3.5.1 --- Sputter atmosphere --- p.3-16 / Chapter 3.5.2 --- Deposition pressure --- p.3-16 / Chapter 3.5.3 --- Deposition power --- p.3-17 / Chapter 3.5.4 --- Target to substrate distance --- p.3-17 / Chapter 3.5.5 --- Pulse frequency and pulse width --- p.3-17 / Chapter 3.6 --- Deposition --- p.3-17 / References --- p.3-19 / Chapter Chapter 4 --- Measurement and Analysis Techniques --- p.4-1 / Chapter 4.1 --- Resistivity measurement --- p.4-1 / Chapter 4.2 --- "Transmittance, reflectivity and absorption measurements" --- p.4-3 / Chapter 4.3 --- Thickness measurement --- p.4-4 / Chapter 4.4 --- "Crystal structure, surface morphology and roughness measurements" --- p.4-4 / Chapter 4.5 --- Photolithography --- p.4-7 / Chapter 4.6 --- Hall effect measurements --- p.4-8 / References --- p.4-10 / Chapter Chapter 5 --- Experimental results and discussions --- p.5-1 / Chapter 5.1 --- Effect of O2 partial pressure --- p.5-1 / Chapter 5.1.1 --- Deposition rate --- p.5-2 / Chapter 5.1.2 --- Electrical and optical properties --- p.5-4 / Chapter 5.1.3 --- Structure and orientation --- p.5-16 / Chapter 5.1.4 --- Surface morphology and roughness --- p.5-22 / Chapter 5.1.5 --- Conclusion --- p.5-29 / Chapter 5.2 --- Effect of substrate temperature --- p.5-29 / Chapter 5.2.1 --- Electrical and optical properties --- p.5-29 / Chapter 5.2.2 --- Structure and orientation --- p.5-44 / Chapter 5.2.3 --- Surface morphology and roughness --- p.5-49 / Chapter 5.2.4 --- Conclusion --- p.5-54 / Chapter 5.3 --- Effect of vacuum annealing --- p.5-54 / Chapter 5.3.1 --- Electrical and optical properties --- p.5-54 / Chapter 5.3.2 --- Conclusion --- p.5-59 / Chapter 5.4 --- Effect of different substrates --- p.5-59 / Chapter 5.4.1 --- Comparison of heteroepitaxial and polycrystalline ITO films --- p.5-60 / Chapter 5.4.2 --- Conclusion --- p.5-63 / Chapter 5.5 --- Effect of film thickness --- p.5-64 / Chapter 5.5.1 --- Film thickness calibration --- p.5-64 / Chapter 5.5.2 --- Electrical properties --- p.5-64 / Chapter 5.5.3 --- Conclusion --- p.5-67 / Chapter 5.6 --- Effect of deposition pressure --- p.5-68 / Chapter 5.6.1 --- Deposition rate --- p.5-68 / Chapter 5.6.2 --- Electrical properties --- p.5-70 / Chapter 5.6.3 --- Conclusion --- p.5-70 / Chapter 5.7 --- Effect of target pre-conditioning --- p.5-72 / Chapter 5.8 --- Conclusion --- p.5-72 / References --- p.5-74 / Chapter Chapter 6 --- Further works --- p.6-1 / Appendix I

by Yeung Mei Ki. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 122-127). / Text in English; abstracts in English and Chinese. / by Yeung Mei Ki. / Abstract --- p.i / 論文摘要 --- p.iii / Acknowledgements --- p.iv / Table of Contents --- p.v / List of Figures --- p.viii / List of Tables --- p.xi / Abbreviations --- p.xii / Chapter Chapter 1 --- Introduction / Chapter 1.1 --- Polymer light emitting devides --- p.1 / Chapter 1.1.1 --- Development history of PLEDs --- p.3 / Chapter 1.1.2 --- Basic structure of the PLEDs --- p.4 / Chapter 1.1.3 --- Operation principle of the PLEDs --- p.7 / Chapter 1.1.4 --- Electroluminescent (EL) polymers --- p.9 / Chapter 1.2 --- Research motivation and aim of study --- p.11 / Chapter 1.3 --- Thesis outline --- p.16 / Chapter Chapter 2 --- Instrumentation / Chapter 2.1 --- Thermal analysis --- p.18 / Chapter 2.1.1 --- Thermogravimetry (TG) --- p.19 / Chapter 2.1.2 --- Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) --- p.22 / Chapter 2.2 --- Spectroscopic analysis --- p.27 / Chapter 2.2.1 --- Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) --- p.27 / Chapter 2.2.2 --- X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) --- p.32 / Chapter 2.2.3 --- Photoluminescence spectroscopy (PL) --- p.36 / Chapter Chapter 3 --- Experimental metods to charaterize the elimination of / Chapter 3.1 --- Introduction --- p.41 / Chapter 3.2 --- Synthesis of the PPV precursor polymer --- p.43 / Chapter 3.3 --- Average molecular weight of the PPV precursor --- p.46 / Chapter 3.4 --- Thermal elimination of the precursor polymer --- p.48 / Chapter 3.5 --- Thermal stability of the PPV precursor polymer --- p.50 / Chapter 3.5.1 --- Sample preparation --- p.50 / Chapter 3.5.2 --- Experimental --- p.51 / Chapter 3.5.3 --- Results and discussion --- p.52 / Chapter 3.6 --- Structural changes of the precursor polymer during elimination --- p.57 / Chapter 3.6.1 --- Sample preparation --- p.57 / Chapter 3.6.2 --- Experimental --- p.58 / Chapter 3.6.3 --- Results and discussion --- p.58 / Chapter 3.7 --- Chemical composition of the precursor polymer upon elimination --- p.67 / Chapter 3.7.1 --- Sample preparation --- p.67 / Chapter 3.7.2 --- Experimental --- p.67 / Chapter 3.7.3 --- Results and discussion --- p.68 / Chapter 3.8 --- Effect of the conjugation length of the polymer on photoluminescence --- p.74 / Chapter 3.8.1 --- Sample preparation --- p.76 / Chapter 3.8.2 --- Experimental --- p.78 / Chapter 3.8.3 --- Results and discussion --- p.79 / Chapter 3.9 --- Conclusions --- p.89 / Chapter Chapter 4 --- Experimental methods to characterize the water absorption by PEDOT:PSS / Chapter 4.1 --- Introduction --- p.90 / Chapter 4.2 --- Determination of the water content of PEDOT:PSS at different relative humidity using TG --- p.93 / Chapter 4.2.1 --- Experimental --- p.94 / Chapter 4.2.2 --- Results and discussion --- p.96 / Chapter 4.3 --- Determination of bounded water content of PEDOT:PSS at different RH by DSC --- p.98 / Chapter 4.3.1 --- Experimental --- p.98 / Chapter 4.3.2 --- Results and discussion --- p.100 / Chapter 4.4 --- Determination of bounded water content of PEDOT:PSS at different RH by FTIR --- p.108 / Chapter 4.4.1 --- Experimental --- p.109 / Chapter 4.4.2 --- Results and discussion --- p.112 / Chapter 4.5 --- Conclusions --- p.118 / Chapter Chapter 5 --- Conclusions --- p.120 / References --- p.122

by Wong Kin Sang. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1998. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 61-62). / Text in English; abstract also in Chinese. / by Wong Kin Sang. / Table of contents --- p.I / Chapter Chapter 1 --- Introduction / Chapter 1.1 --- Interest in ZnxCd1-x Se/InP --- p.1 / Chapter 1.2 --- Conditions of thermal annealing --- p.2 / Chapter 1.3 --- Advantages of using photoluminescence (PL) --- p.3 / Chapter 1.4 --- Our work --- p.4 / Chapter Chapter 2 --- Experimental setup and procedures / Chapter 2.1 --- PL measurements --- p.6 / Chapter 2.1.1 --- Setup --- p.6 / Chapter 2.1.2 --- Types of PL measurements --- p.6 / Chapter 2.2 --- Annealing experiments --- p.8 / Chapter 2.2.1 --- Setup --- p.8 / Chapter 2.2.2 --- Types of annealing --- p.10 / Chapter 2.2.3 --- Procedures --- p.11 / Chapter Chapter 3 --- Results and discussions / Chapter 3.1 --- Room temperature PL studies of ZnxCd1-xSe/InP --- p.12 / Chapter 3.1.1 --- As-grown ZnxCd1-x Se/InP --- p.12 / Chapter 3.1.1.1 --- Peak energy vs concentration --- p.12 / Chapter 3.1.2 --- Annealing studies --- p.15 / Chapter 3.1.2.1 --- Isothermal annealing --- p.15 / Chapter 3.1.2.2 --- Isochronal annealing --- p.20 / Chapter 3.2 --- PL studies of ZnxCd1-xSe/InP at 10 K temperature --- p.22 / Chapter 3.2.1 --- As-grown ZnxCd1-xSe/InP --- p.22 / Chapter 3.2.1.1 --- Excitation power density dependence --- p.22 / Chapter 3.2.1.2 --- Peak energy vs Zn concentration --- p.26 / Chapter 3.2.2 --- Annealing studies --- p.29 / Chapter 3.2.2.1 --- Isothermal annealing --- p.29 / Chapter 3.2.2.2 --- Isochronal annealing --- p.33 / Chapter 3.3 --- Temperature dependent PL studies of ZnxCd1-xSe/InP --- p.37 / Chapter 3.3.1 --- As-grown ZnxCd1-xSe/InP --- p.37 / Chapter 3.3.1.1 --- Peak energy vs temperature --- p.37 / Chapter 3.3.1.2 --- Peak width vs temperature --- p.46 / Chapter 3.3.2 --- Annealing studies --- p.50 / Chapter 3.3.1.1 --- Peak energy vs temperature --- p.50 / Chapter 3.3.1.2 --- Peak width vs temperature --- p.55 / Chapter Chapter 4 --- Conclusions --- p.59 / References --- p.61