Thesis (M.S.)--University of Missouri--Rolla, 2007. / Vita. The entire thesis text is included in file. Title from title screen of thesis/dissertation PDF file (viewed December 6, 2007) Includes bibliographical references.

Pulsed laser deposition method was employed to grow MgO thin films with preferred orientation on bare Si(100) and SiO₂/Si(100) substrates. The orientation of MgO thin films was systematically investigated by varying deposition parameters. XRD analysis showed that the preferred orientation of MgO thin films would change from (111) to (100) when laser fluence decreased and oxygen pressure increased to certain extend. But it was difficult to fabricate completely (100)-oriented MgO films. Substrate temperature seemed to have little influence on the orientation of MgO thin films at high laser fluence. SEM images of the MgO thin films on Si(100) deposited at 400°C and the laser fluence of 5J/cm² in the oxygen ambient of 200mTorr demonstrated that there was no presence of interfacial reactions or cracks and the film surface was very smooth. Such film is suitable as buffer layers for the growth of high-quality ferroelectric and superconducting overlayers. / Singapore-MIT Alliance (SMA)

Thin film lithium microbatteries were investigated in this project in which LiCoO₂ cathodes about 200 to 500 nm were fabricated by pulsed-laser deposition (PLD) at different processing parameters such as laser energy and fluence, substrate temperature, background gas pressure, and target-substrate distance. Structure, microstructure and composition of as-deposited LiCoO₂ films were determined by XRD, SEM and XPS. Optimal deposition parameters were identified. Relaxation of open-circuit voltage of as-prepared cells and charge-discharge cycling were conducted to characterize the electrochemical properties of microbatteries made of these LiCoO₂ films. / Singapore-MIT Alliance (SMA)

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Worcester Polytechnic Institute. / Keywords: rapid prototyping; solid freeform fabrication; LENS; laser engineered net shaping; laser; titanium. Includes bibliographical references (p. 83-85).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Oregon State University, 2009. / Printout. Some pages left blank intentionally. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 125-130). Also available on the World Wide Web.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2008. / Title from title screen (site viewed Nov. 20, 2008). PDF text: xvii, 187 p. : ill. (some col.) ; 11 Mb. UMI publication number: AAT 3311304. Includes bibliographical references. Also available in microfilm and microfiche formats.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2005. / The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from title screen of research.pdf file viewed on (July 14, 2006) Includes bibliographical references.

LiNi₀.₅Mn₁.₅O₄ thin films have been grown by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) on stainless steel (SS) substrates. The crystallinity and structure of thin films were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD). Microstructure and surface morphology of the thin films were examined using a field-emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM). The electrochemical properties of the thin films were studied with cyclic voltammetry (CV) and galvanostatic charge-discharge in the potential range between 3.0 and 4.9 V. The electrochemical behavior of LiNi₀.₅Mn₁.₅O₄ thin films showed reversible capacity above 4.7 V and good cycle performance up to 50 cycles. / Singapore-MIT Alliance (SMA)

In this project, we have explored the possibility of growing high quality Heusler alloy thin films from multiphase targets. Bulk targets were found to be partially formed, i.e. not of homogeneous L21 structure, through x-ray diffraction measurements. Pulsed laser deposition is a technique that can provide a congruent transfer of material from the target to the substrate, even in some cases where the target is not of a single crystalline phase. It was the objective of this work to determine whether L21 structured thin films of Co2MnAsxGe(1-x) could be grown from multiphase targets. Measurements have been carried out to study the magnetic and structural properties of the Heusler alloys Co2MnAsxGe(1-x). The optimization parameters that were investigated were substrate type, growth temperature, laser parameters, film thickness, and other common deposition parameters. Temperature-dependent magneto-optic Kerr effect (MOKE) techniques were used to study the qualitative magnetic properties. Alternating current (AC) susceptibility (using a MOKE technique) measurements were made as a function of temperature to view the second-order transition and obtain the Curie temperatures. Frequency dependent AC susceptibility was measured to determine the frequency dependence of the AC susceptibility for Co2MnAsxGe(1-x).

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / This project is aimed at fabricating a smart material. Zinc oxide and vanadium dioxide have received a great deal of attention in recent years because they are used in various applications. ZnO semiconductor in particular has a potential application in optoelectronic devices such as light emitting diodes (LED), sensors and in photovoltaic cell industry as a transparent electrode. VO2 also has found application in smart windows, solar technology and infrared smart devices. Hence the need to synthesis or fabricate a new smart material using VO2 and an active ZnO based nano-composites family in which ZnO matrix will be hosting thermally active VO2 nano-crystals is the basis of this study. Since VO2 behave as an MIT Mott’s type oxides and exhibits a thermally driven semiconductor-metal phase transition at about 68 oC and as a direct result ZnO:VO2 nano-composites would exhibit a reversible and modulated optical transmission in the infra-red (IR) while maintaining a constant optical transmission in the UV-Vis range. The synthesis is possible by pulsed laser deposition and ion implantation. Synthesis by pulsed laser deposition will involve thin films multilayer fabrication. ZnO buffer layer thin film will be deposited on the glass and ZnO single crystals and subsequent layer of VO2 and ZnO will be deposited on the substrate. X-ray diffraction (XRD) reveals that the series of ZnO thin films deposited by Pulsed Laser Deposition (PLD) on glass substrates has the hexagonal wurtzite structure with a c-axis preferential orientation. In addition the XRD results registered for VO2 samples indicate that all thin films exhibits a monoclinic VO2 (M) phase. UV-Vis NIR measurements of multilayered structures showed the optical tunability at the near-IR region and an enhanced transparency (>30 %) at the visible range.