The thesis deals with RF spectroscopic methods, which are applicable for the detection of hazardous substances such as explosives or drugs. Particular attention is focused on promising method of nuclear quadrupole resonance. Abroad this method has recently been applied in the detection of energetic materials in hazardous locations. The cornerstone of the nuclear quadrupole resonance is to evaluate the interaction between electromagnetic radiation, in the range of medium to very short waves, and the researched substance. Observed parameter are the resonant frequencies of the substance. Spectral analysis of signal is used for their evaluation. Resonant frequencies are always typical for the crystalline structure, therefore every explosive or drug is clearly identifiable by this method.

<p>Crude oil is a mixture of hydrocarbons so complex that it is predicted to comprise as many compounds as there are genes in the human genome. Developing methods to not only recover crude oil from the ground but also to convert crude oil into desirable products is challenging due to its complex nature. Thus, the petroleum industry relies heavily on analytical techniques to characterize the oil in reservoirs prior to enhanced oil recovery efforts and to evaluate the chemical compositions of their crude oil based products. Mass spectrometry (MS) is the only analytical technique that has the potential to provide elemental composition as well as structural information for the individual compounds that comprise petroleum samples. The continuous development of ionization techniques and mass analyzers, and other instrumentation advances, have primed mass spectrometry as the go-to analytical technique for providing solutions to problems faced by the petroleum industry. The research discussed in this dissertation can be divided into three parts: developing novel mass spectrometry-based methods to characterize mixtures of saturated hydrocarbons in petroleum products (Chapters 3 and 5), exploring the cause of fragmentation of saturated hydrocarbons upon atmospheric pressure chemical ionization to improve the analysis of samples containing these compounds (Chapter 4), and developing a better understanding of the chemical composition of crude oil that tightly binds to reservoir surfaces to improve chemically enhanced oil recovery (Chapter 6). </p>

This thesis provides a feasibility study on the determination of formation anisotropy parameters from logging-while-drilling (LWD) borehole acoustic measurements. For this reason, the wave propagation in fluid-filled boreholes surrounded by transverse isotropic (TI) formations is investigated in great detail using the finite-difference method. While the focus is put on quadrupole waves, the sensitivities of monopole and flexural waves are evaluated as well. All three wave types are considered with/without the presence of an LWD tool. Moreover, anisotropy-induced mode contaminants are discussed for various TI configurations. In addition, the well-known plane wave Alford rotation has been generalized to cylindrical borehole waves of any order, except for the monopole. This formulation has been extended to allow for non-orthogonal multipole firings, and associated inversion methods have been developed to compute formation shear principal velocities and accompanying polarization directions, utilizing various LWD (cross-) quadrupole measurements.:1 Introduction 1.1 Borehole acoustic configurations 1.2 Wave propagation in a fluid-filled borehole in the absence of a logging tool 1.3 Wave propagation in a fluid-filled borehole in the presence of a logging tool 1.4 Anisotropy 2 Theory 2.1 Stiffness and compliance tensor 2.1.1 Triclinic symmetry 2.1.2 Monoclinic symmetry 2.1.3 Orthotropic symmetry 2.1.4 Transverse isotropic (TI) symmetry 2.1.5 Isotropy 2.2 Reference frames 2.3 Seismic wave equations for a linear elastic, anisotropic medium 2.3.1 Basic equations 2.3.2 Integral transforms 2.3.3 Christoffel equation 2.3.4 Phase slowness surfaces 2.3.5 Group velocity 2.4 Solution in cylindrical coordinates for the borehole geometry 2.4.1 Special case: vertical transverse isotropy (VTI) 2.4.2 General case: triclinic symmetry 3 Finite-difference modeling of wave propagation in anisotropic media 3.1 Finite-difference method 3.2 Spatial finite-difference grids 3.2.1 Standard staggered grid 3.2.2 Lebedev grid 3.3 Heterogeneous media 3.4 Finite-difference properties and grid dispersion 3.5 Initial conditions 3.6 Boundary conditions 3.7 Parallelization 3.8 Finite-difference parameters 4 Wave propagation in fluid-filled boreholes surrounded by TI media 4.1 Vertical transverse isotropy (VTI) 4.1.1 Monopole excitation 4.1.2 Dipole excitation 4.1.3 Quadrupole excitation 4.1.4 Summary 4.2 Horizontal transverse isotropy (HTI) 4.2.1 Monopole excitation 4.2.2 Theory of cross-multipole shear wave splitting 4.2.3 Dipole excitation 4.2.4 Quadrupole excitation 4.2.5 Hexapole waves 4.2.6 Summary 4.3 Tilted transverse isotropy (TTI) 4.3.1 Monopole excitation 4.3.2 Dipole excitation 4.3.3 Quadrupole excitation 4.3.4 Summary 4.4 Anisotropy-induced mode contaminants 4.4.1 Vertical transverse isotropy (VTI) 4.4.2 Horizontal transverse isotropy (HTI) 4.4.3 Tilted transverse isotropy (TTI) 4.4.4 Summary 5 Inversion methods 5.1 Vertical transverse isotropy (VTI) 5.2 Horizontal transverse isotropy (HTI) 5.2.1 Inverse generalized Alford rotation 5.2.2 Inversion method based on dipole excitations 5.2.3 Inversion method based on quadrupole excitations 5.3 Tilted transverse isotropy (TTI) 5.4 Challenges in real measurements 5.4.1 Signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) 5.4.2 Tool eccentricity 6 Conclusions References List of Abbreviations and Symbols List of Figures List of Tables A Integral transforms A.1 Laplace transform A.2 Spatial Fourier transform A.3 Azimuthal Fourier transform A.4 Meijer transform B Stiffness and compliance tensor B.1 Rotation between reference frames B.2 Cylindrical coordinates C Christoffel equation C.1 Cartesian coordinates C.2 Cylindrical coordinates D Processing of borehole acoustic waveform array data D.1 Time-domain methods D.2 Frequency-domain methods D.2.1 Weighted spectral semblance method D.2.2 Modified matrix pencil method

The physical properties of glycerophospholipids (GPLs) are not only determined by the head group (HG), but also by their fatty acid (FA) chains, which affect their distribution and function within membranes in the cell. Understanding the microheterogenity of lipid membranes on a molecular level requires qualitative and quantitative characterization of individual lipids and identification of their FA moieties. The aim of my study was to introduce the new technology of multiple precursor ion scanning (MPIS) on a QSTAR Pulsar time-of-flight mass spectrometer (QqTOF) to analyze lipids. Detailed information on fatty acid composition of individual GPL molecules could be obtained in parallel with conventional profiling of lipid classes, and this could be done by direct analysis of total lipid extracts. This method was termed Fatty Acid Scanning (FAS) and Head Group Scanning HGS, respectively. In this way the molecular GPL composition of total lipid extracts could be charted in a single analysis accurately and rapidly at a low picomole concentration level. Furthermore, combining FAS and HGS together with ion trap MS3 analysis allowed complete charting of the molecular composition of PCs, including quantification of their positional isomers, thus providing a detailed and comprehensive characterization of molecular composition of the pool of PCs. Development of the Lipid Profiler software allowed full automation and rapid processing of complex data, including identification and quantification of molecular GPLs. This approach was evaluated by preliminary applications. First, the molecular composition of PCs of total lipid extracts of MDCK cells and of human red blood cells (RBC) could accurately be charted. Significant presence of positional isomers was observed increasing the total number of individual PC species close to one hundred. Secondly, the molecular PC and SM species distribution in detergent resistant membranes (DRMs) prepared by Triton X-100 DRMs were analyzed and were found to be enriched in distinct GPLs. The distribution in PCs and SMs of Triton X-100 DRMs of RBC were compared with those of the DRMs of MDCK cells. Finally, combining the use of a 96 well plate and a robotic system demonstrated that these analyses can be automated and analyzed with high throughput. This system we termed Shotgun Lipidomics. Taken together, this mass spectrometric methodology provides rapid and detailed insight into the distribution of the molecular GPLs of membranes and membrane sub-fractions.

No description available.

Mass spectrometry is an indispensable tool in lipidomics research. Current advances and progress in the technology of mass spectrometry have allowed for the identification, quantification and characterization of lipid molecular species to further our understanding of their biological roles. In this thesis, I assessed the influence post-mortem times have on quantitative lipidomics. Using liquid chromatography - electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (LC-ESIMS/MS) on a triple-quadrupole mass spectrometer and multiple-reaction-monitoring (MRM) mode, the glycerophosphocholine (GPC) metabolites and second messengers in the hippocampus of N3 & N4 C57BL/6 x 129/SV were profiled at various post-mortem interval (PMI). I found that disruption to the GPC metabolite and second messengers lipidome occured as early as 1 hour postmortem and fluctuate up till at least 12 hours post-mortem. Therefore, PMI is a variable in lipidomic studies that must be controlled for, and brain samples which are collected with PMI variations must be matched to avoid misinterpretation. Subsequently, I developed a working protocol to visualize the location and distribution of different classes of glycerophospholipids, ceramides, and sphingomyelin in whole mouse brain sections. This visualization technique is novel because it does not require tissue staining or immunohistochemistry; instead, it was performed using an atmospheric-pressure matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (AP-MALDI) source coupled to an orbitrap mass spectrometer. As part of this lipid visualization technique, I also developed a protocol for sublimation as a simple, effective and reproducible matrix application method for brain tissue. The lipid-compatible matrix, 2,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid (DHB), was assessed and optimized for imaging lipid targets. The high mass-resolution and accuracy characteristics of the orbitrap mass spectrometer and its capability to perform tandem mass spectrometry via high-collision dissociation allowed for the identification of approximately 200 different lipid species directly from brain tissue using the visualization technique I developed. Altogether, the work in this thesis has showed that post-mortem changes in the lipidome are quantifiable and has provided a novel avenue to further assess these changes by means of imaging mass spectrometry.

In this thesis, we study the phenomenon of thermally induced polarisation using a combination of theory and computer simulation. Molecules of sufficiently low symmetry exhibit thermo-molecular orientation when subjected to a temperature gradient, leading to considerable electrostatic fields in polar liquids. Here, we first use non-equilibrium molecular dynamics simulations to study this interesting effect numerically. To this end, we propose an integration algorithm to impose a constant heat flux in simulations and show that it greatly improves energy conservation compared to a previous algorithm. We next investigate the thermal polarisation of water and find that truncation of electrostatic interactions can lead to severe artefacts, such as the wrong sign of polarisation and an overestimation of the electric field. We further show that the quadrupole-moment contribution to the electric field is significant and responsible for an inversion of its sign. To facilitate the theoretical description of electrostatic interactions, we propose a new dipolar model fluid as a perturbation of a Stockmayer fluid. Using this modified Stockmayer model, we provide numerical evidence for the recently proposed phenomenon of thermally induced monopoles. We show that the electrostatic field generated by a pair of heated/cooled colloidal particles immersed in such a solvent can be trivially described by two Coulomb charges. Finally, we propose a mean-field theory to predict the thermo-polarisation effect exhibited by our model fluid theoretically, and demonstrate near quantitative agreement with simulation results.

In this work, a new method for mass determination of single low-charged particles in the sub-picogram regime is developed. It opens applications to chemical physics and surface science via determination of growth rates. The method combines the well-known electrodynamic quadrupole ion trap in a UHV-chamber and fourier transformation of scattered light. The achieved mass resolution of down to $10^{-4}$ at 100 fg mass on a time scale of ten seconds allows a resolution of a few percent of the mass of an adsorbed monolayer and to determine growth rates down to one molecule per second on a time scale of one day. The observation of temperature dependent sticking coefficients results in the measures of the energy of an adsorption barrier. Observation of discrete steps in the rate gives information about the density of molecules in an ordered layer. Temperature dependent desorption data gives the binding energy. The dependence of these observables on the controllable curvature and charge of the substrate's surface is measurable. The first part of this dissertation consists of a description of the common theory of the quadrupole ion trap with the completion of not widely known, newly introduced, contributions to the trapping potential. These contributions lead to systematic shifts in the mass determination. In particular the influence of the inhomogenity of the electrical field, that is used for compensating the gravitational force, is investigated analytically and corroborated experimentally. It is assumed, that the particle's finite size effects in a further shift. In the experimental part initial demonstrative measurements are presented: the time-resolved adsorption of fullerene, anthracene and NO on silica spheres with 500nm diameter has been measured at room temperature. In addition the secondary electron yield of in-situ prepared particles during irradiation with monoenergetic electrons has been determined by analyzing the distribution of change of the number of elementary charges by single events of charging.

Ruthenium und sein elektrisch leitfähiges Rutheniumdioxid sind viel versprechende Kandidaten als Elektrodenmaterial in MIM (Metall-Isolator-Metall-)Kondensatoren mit Dielektrika hoher Permittivität der nächsten Generation von DRAM-Speichern, als Metall-Gate-Elektroden in p-Kanal-MOS-Transistoren mit Dielektrika hoher Permittivität, oder als Keimschicht für das direkte elektrochemische Abscheiden von Kupfer-Verbindungsleitungen. Die ALD (Atomic Layer Deposition) wächst Materiallagen mit weniger als einem Zehntel Nanometer Dicke, indem sie gasförmige Reaktanden abwechselnd, getrennt durch spülende Pulse, in die Reaktionskammer einleitet. Dadurch wird mit jeder zyklischen Wiederholung idealerweise selbstbeendender Gas-Festkörper-Reaktionen stets die gleiche Materialmenge abgeschieden, bis eine gewünschte Schichtdicke erreicht ist. Wie sich die Oberfläche aufgrund der Materialabscheidung während der ALD verändert, kann mit der in-situ SE (Spektroskopische Ellipsometrie) beobachtet werden. Die Ellipsometrie misst die Änderung eines Polarisationszustands bzgl. Amplitude und Phase, nachdem ein einfallender Lichtstrahl von einer (schichtbedeckten) Oberfläche reflektiert und/ oder durch diese transmittiert wurde. Die ellipsometrischen Daten stehen im direkten Zusammenhang mit optischen Materialparametern und sind somit physikalisch interpretierbar – oder sie werden in eindimensionale strukturelle Größen, wie die Schichtdicke übersetzt. In dieser Arbeit wurden Schichten aus Ruthenium und Rutheniumdioxid aus dem Präkursor ECPR, [(Ethylcyclopentadienyl)(Pyrrolyl)Ruthenium(II)], und molekularem Sauerstoff per ALD gewachsen. Die chemischen Teilreaktionen wurden während der ALD von Ruthenium und Rutheniumoxid auf frisch abgeschiedenen Schichtoberflächen per in-situ SE, on-site QMS (Quadrupol-Massenspektrometrie) und XPS (Röntgen-Photoelektronenspektroskopie) ohne Vakuumunterbrechung untersucht. Weiterhin wurden Experimente zum Schichtwachstum auf frisch abgeschiedenen Schichten sowie einer Ausgangssubstratoberfläche per in-situ und Echtzeit SE durchgeführt, wobei die folgenden Prozessparameter variiert wurden: die jeweilige Reaktanden Dosis, die Spülpulsdauern, die Substrattemperatur und der Prozessdruck. / Ruthenium and its conductive dioxide are promising candidates as electrodes in MIM (metal-insulator-metal) capacitors with high-k dielectrics of next generation DRAM (dynamic random access memory) devices, as metal-gate electrodes in pMOS-Transistors with high-k dielectrics, and as seed layer for direct electrochemical plating of copper interconnects. ALD (atomic layer deposition) grows material layers with less than a tenth of a nanometer thickness, pulsing gaseous reactants alternately into the reaction chamber, separated by purging pulses. Hence, every cyclic recurrence of ideally self-limiting gas-solid reactions deposits a fixed material amount, until the desired film thickness is achieved. So, the surface’s chemical composition changes through material deposition during ALD, observable by in-situ SE (spectroscopic ellipsometry). Ellipsometry measures the polarization state’s change in amplitude and phase, reflecting an incident light beam from and/ or transmitting it through a (film covered) surface. The ellipsometric data can be directly related to optical material parameters and are thus physically interpretable – or they are translated into one-dimensional structural values, like film thickness. In this work, ruthenium and ruthenium dioxide films were grown from ECPR, [(ethylcyclopentadienyl)(pyrrolyl)ruthenium(II)], and molecular oxygen. Reaction mechanisms during the ALD of ruthenium and ruthenium dioxide were studied on the as-deposited film surface by in-situ SE, on-site QMS (quadrupole mass spectrometry), as well as XPS (x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy) without vacuum break. Additionally, film growth experiments were performed on the as-deposited film and the initial substrate surface by in-situ and real-time SE, varying the process parameters: reactant doses, purging times, substrate temperature and total pressure.

Le travail de cette thèse porte sur l’identification et le contrôle des propriétés thermiques et acoustiques de nanostructures à fort potentiel thermoélectrique appelés « Super-réseaux ». Le manuscrit comporte trois parties : La première partie est consacrée à la description théorique des phénomènes de transport thermique par diffusion dans les solides isolants et semi-conducteurs. Nous abordons tout d’abord le point de vue atomique, puis macroscopique en utilisant la méthode des quadripôles thermiques. La fin du chapitre est consacrée aux propriétés acoustiques et thermiques des super-réseaux. La deuxième partie présente et compare les méthodes de Thermoreflectance laser synchrone et asynchrone utilisées pour extraire les propriétés thermiques de couches minces et de super-réseaux. Nous montrons que dans le cas synchrone, les signaux sont soumis à des artefacts modifiant leur allure et rendant difficile l’identification des propriétés thermiques. Dans le cas asynchrone, la suppression de tous les éléments mobiles permet d’obtenir un signal sans artéfact. Nous traitons ensuite des fonctions de sensibilité au modèle développé puis nous validons la méthode d’identification en estimant la conductivité thermique d’un film mince de SiO2. La troisième partie présente les résultats des identifications de la conductivité thermique de différents super-réseaux de SiGe. Nous montrons que les résistances d’interface jouent un rôle majeur dans l’explication de la réduction de la conductivité thermique. Nous étudions également des super-réseaux contenant des îlots de Ge, nous montrons que de telles structures permettent d’obtenir non seulement des conductivités proches de celles des matériaux amorphes, mais le comportement linéaire de la conductivité en fonction de la période montre qu’il est possible de contrôler cette dernière. Enfin, nous utilisons la Thermoreflectance pour réaliser une étude de spectroscopie THz de phonons cohérents dans les super-réseaux et nous mettons en évidence la sélectivité spectrale des ces nanostructures. / The work presented in this thesis deals with identification and control of the thermal and acoustic properties of high thermoelectric potential nanostructures called “superlattices”. This thesis is divided in three parts: The first part gives a theoretical description of thermal diffusion in insulating and semiconducting materials. We first broach the atomic description then the macroscopic view using the Thermal Quadrupole model. The end of this chapter deals with acoustic and thermal properties specific to superlattices. The second part describes and compares synchronous and asynchronous thermoreflectance techniques used to extract thermal properties of thin films and superlattices. We find that for the synchronous case signals are subject to artifacts which confound parameter estimations. For the asynchronous case, we find that lack of a mechanical translation stage removes these artifacts. We then investigate the sensitivity functions, and finally validate our identification method by estimation of the thermal conductivity of a SiO2 thin film. The third part presents the results of thermal parameter identification in SiGe superlattices. We show that thermal interfaces play a major role to in the overall thermal conductivity. We also study superlattices with Ge nanodots and show that for such structures we are able to obtain thermal conductivity values near the amorphous values. Moreover, the linear behavior of the thermal conductivity with period thickness shows that it is possible to control this value. Finally, we use Thermoreflectance to perform THz coherent phonon spectroscopy of superlattices, revealing the spectral selectivity of these nanostructures.