The optical properties of solar cells greatly affect their efficiencies. Decreasing the broadband and directional reflectance of solar cells increases the solar irradiance transmitted and absorbed by the cell, thereby increasing the production of electron-hole pairs. Traditional optical enhancements such as light trapping and anti-reflection coatings reduce the reflectance of silicon at an optimized wavelength and angle of incidence. They do not perform as well at high angles of incidence or over the broadband solar spectrum. Theoretical studies suggest that layers with a suitable gradient-index of refraction can create both a broadband and directional anti-reflective coating. Through their variations in height and tapered growth, Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanowires can create a gradient index anti-reflection coating. ZnO is a wide-band gap semiconductor that is non-absorbing over most of the solar spectrum. With low cost, low temperature techniques, ZnO nanowires can be grown with a variety of morphologies. ZnO nanowires were grown by aqueous chemical growth and by electrodeposition on silicon to create a gradient-index anti-reflective coating for solar cell applications. The nanowire arrays were characterized using SEM images, goniometer scattering measurements, and integrating sphere total reflectance measurements. ZnO nanowires grown by aqueous chemical growth on silicon had average diameters between 60 nm and 100 nm and average lengths between 800 nm and 1100 nm. The nanowires had vertical alignment. They exhibited relatively small diffuse reflectivities and relatively large specular reflectivities. ZnO nanowires grown by electrodeposition had greater variances in length and diameter, with average diameters between 85 nm and 180 nm and average lengths between 500 nm and 1200 nm. Electrodeposited ZnO nanowires were randomly arrayed and exhibited relatively large diffuse reflectivities and relatively small specular reflectivities. Total reflectance measurements showed that all nanowire arrays reduced the broadband reflectance of silicon. Smaller nanowire arrays outperformed the larger crystal growths. A five-fold decrease in the broadband reflectance of silicon was obtained from both vertical and randomly oriented nanowire arrays. The reflectances were constant for angles of incident below 35°. Measurements at angles of incidence greater than 35° are required to determine whether ZnO nanowires can perform as directional anti-reflective coatings and whether the morphology of the nanowires affects the directional reflectances.

No description available.

No description available.

Optical spectroscopy is a real-time technique that holds promise as a potential surgical guidance tool. Fiber-optic diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) is a technique capable of intraoperative tissue differentiation. The common DRS focuses on estimating chromophore concentrations in the visible (VIS) wavelength range (400-1000 nm), where spectroscopic features of the blood, pigments, and tissue densities are present between 400 and 700 nm. Recently, extended-wavelength DRS (EWDRS), which extends the spectral window from the VIS through the short wave-infrared region (SWIR) up to 1800 nm, has emerged as a promising approach for identifying nerves and nerve bundles due to the SWIR including robust tissue absorption features associated with nerve-tissue related chromophores, including lipids, water and collagen proteins. One potential application of EWDRS is guiding minimally invasive surgical techniques, such as laparoscopy, where inadvertent injury to pelvic autonomic nerves (PANs) is a primary complication that can result in over 70% of patients suffering long-term side effects, including urinary incontinence and sexual dysfunction. There is a need for objective laparoscopic surgical guidance to precisely identify PANs from other tissues, and an improved basis for EWDRS development could assist clinical translation. Prior development of Fiber-optic DRS for tissue classification in the VIS greatly benefited from the application of modeling techniques for simulation of optical measurements, analysis, and fiber-probe design. Model-based analysis can inform fundamental understanding of measured signals in different measurement scenarios, such as the varying tissue morphologies possible in laparoscopic procedures, and guide application-specific fiber-probe design through comparison of unique illumination/collection geometries; however, the demonstration of these approaches in EWDRS is not widely reported. This dissertation focuses on the advancement of platforms for model-driven analysis of EWDRS for nerve identification. In order to advance the current state of EWDRS, a model-based characterization platform for analysis of a custom-developed fiber-optic EWDRS system was developed in Aim 1, which demonstrated agreement between data collected from optical phantoms, ex vivo microsurgical model, and Monte Carlo (MC) computational simulations of EWDRS measurements. In Aim 2, the model-based platform was used to perform a detailed analysis of two similar EWDRS fiber-optic probes, which indicated subtle differences in the depth-dependent measurement performance. Finally, in Aim 3, the custom EWDRS was prepared for adapting laparoscopic use to demonstrate laparoscopic measurement feasibility, including evaluation of placement variance and customized EWDRS package for short-distance transportation. The successful completion of this dissertation will enable improved analyses of EWDRS devices for a variety of future intraoperative applications. / Bioengineering

With the increasing scarcity of water resources, soil moisture stress is the single most threat to global soybean production causing extensive yield losses. The objectives of this study were to investigate soil moisture stress effects on all aspects of soybean growth and development processes and to develop functional algorithms that could be used for field management decisions and in soybean crop modeling. To fulfill these objectives, six experiments were conducted; one in vitro osmotic stress study on seed germination, four studies by imposing five soil moisture treatments, 100, 80, 60, 40, and 20% of daily evapotranspiration of the control at different growth stages using sunlit plant growth chambers, and one transgenerational study on seed germination at different osmotic levels and offspring growth at three irrigation treatments (100, 66, and 33% based on field capacity) for plants grown at different soil moisture levels. Two cultivars from maturity group V, Asgrow AG5332 and Progeny P5333RY, with different growth habits were used in all these studies. Midday leaf water potential, plant height, mainstem nodes, gas-exchange traits, canopy reflectance, and several yield components including pod weight, seed yield, and seed quality were measured. Soil moisture stress decreased biomass, net photosynthesis, yield, individual seed weight, maximum seed germination, protein, fatty acids, sucrose, N, and P and increased oil, stachyose, Fe, Mg, Zn, Cu, and B contents. Overall, Asgrow AG5332 was more tolerant to drought stress than Progeny P5333RY. Soil moisture stress induced changes in seed quality that were correlated with seed germination and seedling vigor in the F1 generation. These data can be used to build a model-based decision support system capable of predicting yield under field conditions.

The goal of this study was to demonstrate the application of aerial imagery as a tool in detecting water quality indicators in a three mile segment of Tibbee Creek in, Clay County, Mississippi. Water samples from 10 transects were collected per sampling date over two periods in 2010 and 2011. Temperature and dissolved oxygen (DO) were measured at each point, and water samples were tested for turbidity and total suspended solids (TSS). Relative reflectance was extracted from high resolution (0.5 meter) multispectral aerial images. A regression model was developed for turbidity and TSS as a function of values for specific sampling dates. The best model was used to predict turbidity and TSS using datasets outside the original model date. The development of an appropriate predictive model for water quality assessment based on the relative reflectance of aerial imagery is affected by the quality of imagery and time of sampling.

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The work in this licentiate thesis examines the adsorption of polyelectrolyte multilayers (PEM) onto wood fibres as a new way to influence the properties of the fibre surfaces and hence the fibres. Fundamental aspects of PEM formation on wood fibres have been studied, and discussed in terms of paper strength and wood fibre wettability. PEMs have been formed from three different polymer systems: 1) two strong polyelectrolytes (i.e., fully charged over a wide pH range), polydimethyldiallylammonium chloride (PDADMAC) and polystyrene sulphonate (PSS); 2) polyethylene oxide (PEO) and polyacrylic acid (PAA), formed at low pH and held together by hydrogen bonding; and 3) two weak polyelectrolytes, polyallylamine hydrochloride (PAH) and polyacrylic acid (PAA). The PEMs formed from PDADMAC/PSS and PEO/PAA were studied using Stagnation Point Adsorption Reflectometry (SPAR), with SiO2 as the substrate. This was done to establish the formation of PEMs and, using PDADMAC/PSS, also to predict the influence of salt concentration during PEM formation. The amount of PDADMAC/PSS adsorbed was found to increase with salt concentration up to approximately 0.1 M NaCl. The formation of PEMs from PAH/PAA has already been studied in terms of structure; amount adsorbed, and influence on paper strength. Sheets were formed from fibres treated with either PDADMAC/PSS or PEO/PAA PEMs and tested to determine paper tensile strength. Both PEM systems increased the tensile index and strain at break in the range of 100% when approximately 10 layers had been adsorbed. After several PEM layers had been adsorbed, the sheets made of fibres treated with PDADMAC/PSS differed in tensile strength depending on the polymer adsorbed in the outermost layer. A higher tensile strength was detected when PDADMAC rather than PSS was adsorbed in the outermost layer. Sheets made of fibres treated with PEO/PAA displayed a linear increase in strength, independent of which polymer that was adsorbed in the outermost layer. The amount of adsorbed PDADMAC/PSS, as analysed using nitrogen and sulphur analysis, respectively, increased linearly, but with a higher amount adsorbed in the first layer. A comparison of the adsorption onto the SiO2-surfaces (SPAR-measurements) and fibres shows some differences. This is apparent both regarding the adsorption in the first layer and in the change in adsorbed amount with salt concentration. Despite this, one can conclude that SiO2 and wood fibres show very similar trends, and that SiO2 can be used as a convenient model surface in predicting PEM formation on wood fibres. Individual fibres were also partially treated using a Dynamic Contact Angle Analyser, and the treated and untreated parts were analysed in terms of wettability and surface structure. The differences in wettability are significant, depending on the polymer system used and, with PAH/PAA PEMs, the pH strategy show a large influence in wettability. PDADMAC/PSS and PAH/PAA PEMs both had a large influence on wettability, depending on the polymer adsorbed in the outermost layer, wettability being lower when the cationic polymer was adsorbed in the outermost layer. With the PEO/PAA system, however, the polymer adsorbed in the outermost layer caused no detectable difference. These results, when compared against the paper strength results, indicate that the strongest sheets are formed of the fibres with the lowest wettability. This may be explained in terms of wet adhesion: since the fibre networks are formed in water, lower wettability would give a stronger force between the fibres during consolidation, resulting in a greater contact area and thus probably a stronger dry adhesion between the fibres in the formed sheet. This is furthermore also supported by wet adhesion measurements using Atomic Force Microscopy where PEMs formed from PAH/PAA, show that the pull-off force is increased when PAH is adsorbed in the outermost layer, compared to when PAA is adsorbed in the outermost layer. / Denna licentiatavhandling behandlar adsorption av polyelektrolytmultiskikt (multiskikt) på cellulosafibrer som ett nytt sätt att påverka en fibers ytegenskaper. Grundläggande förutsättningar för bildandet av multiskikt på fibrer diskuteras i termer av pappersstyrka och fibervätning. Multiskikt har bildats med hjälp av tre olika polymerkombinationer; 1.) två starka polyelektrolyter, polydiallyldimetylammoniumklorid (PDADMAC) och polystyrensulfanat (PSS), 2.) polyetylenoxid (PEO) och polyakrylsyra (PAA), adsorberade vid lågt pH och sammanhållna av icke elektrostatiska vätebindningar, och 3.) två svaga polyelektrolyter, polyallylaminhydroklorid (PAH) och PAA. Uppbyggnaden av multiskikt bestående av PDADMAC/PSS och PEO/PAA på kiseloxid studerades med Stagnationspunktsreflektometri (SPAR) för att undersöka att uppbyggnad av PEM skett, samt att studera hur uppbyggnaden påverkas av koncentrationen NaCl i polymerlösningen. Försöken visade att den adsorberade mängden PDADMAC/PSS ökade med saltkoncentrationen upp till 0,05-0,1 M NaCl. Uppbyggnaden av multiskikt bestående av PAH/PAA är sedan tidigare studerad undersöks därför inte specifikt i detta arbete. Laboratorieark tillverkades av fibrer som behandlats med multiskikt bestående av PDADMAC/PSS, respektive PAH/PAA. Fysikalisk pappersprovning av arken visade för båda systemen en ökning med cirka 100 % i dragindex för ark som tillverkats av fibrer som behandlats med cirka tio lager, jämfört med ark som tillverkats av icke-behandlade fibrer. Ark tillverkade från PDADMAC/PSS-behandlade fibrer visade att när 5-7 lager adsorberats, ett högre dragindex då PDADMAC adsorberats i det yttersta lagret, jämfört med då PSS adsorberats i det yttersta lagret. Ark tillverkade från fibrer behandlade med PEO/PAA visade ingen skillnad i dragindex beroende av vilken polymer som adsorberats i det yttersta lagret. Den adsorberade mängden PDADMAC/PSS på fibrerna bestämdes med hjälp av kväve- respektive svavelanalys. Den adsorberade mängden polymer ökad linjärt som en funktion av antalet adsorberade lager, men med en högre adsorberad mängd i det första lagret. Dessa resultat har jämförts med den adsorberade mängden för multiskikt uppbyggda med SPAR på kiseloxid. Jämförelsen visade att det finns skillnader i uppbyggnaden mellan skikt byggda på kiseloxid och fibrer, men att kiseloxid med god tillförlitlighet kan användas som modellyta för att förutsäga generella trender för adsorptionen av samma polymersystem på cellulosafibrer. Multiskikt har också bildats på enskilda fibrer med hjälp av en dynamisk kontaktvinkelmätare (DCA). Genom att behandla en del av en fiber, och jämföra den behandlade delen med den obehandlade delen på samma, kan ett multiskikts inverkan på fiberns ytstruktur och vätningsegenskaper studeras. De olika polymersystemen visade en avsevärd skillnad i förmågan att påverka en fibers vätningsegenskaper. För fibrer behandlade med PAH/PAA är också pH av stor betydelse för graden inverkan på fiberns vätningsegenskaper. Fibrer behandlade med PDADMAC/PSS och PAH/PAA, visade en sämre vätningsförmåga då den katjoniska polymeren adsorberats i det yttersta lagret, och vice versa. För enskilda fibrer behandlade med PEO/PAA, kunde inte konstateras någon skillnad beroende av vilken polymer som adsorberats i det yttersta lagret. Vid en jämförelse mellan vätningsförmåga och pappersstyrka kan konstateras att de ark som visade den högsta styrkan tillverkats av fibrer där den lägsta vätningsförmågan har kunnat konstateras. Denna skillnad kan diskuteras med utgångspunkten i att en lägre vätningsförmåga resulterar i en högre våt adhesion och därmed en starkare interaktion mellan de polymerbehandlade ytorna i vått tillstånd. Det föreslås i avhandlingen att den ökade kraft som detta resulterar i vid bildandet av en fiber-fiberfog ger upphov till en högre kontaktarea och därmed, förmodligen, också en högre torr adhesion. Kraftmätningar i vått tillstånd för behandlade kiselmodellytor med hjälp av atomkraftsmikroskopi (AFM) har för PAH/PAA visat att den våta adhesionen är högre då PAH är adsorberats i det yttersta lagret, jämfört med då PAA adsorberats i det yttersta lagret. Detta stödjer hypotesen att en lägre vätning gynnar uppkomsten av en stark fiber-fiberfog. / QC 20101118

The thesis deals with incorporating the shape-from-shading technique into the multi-view stereo (MVS) reconstruction framework using the Oren-Nayar reflectance model for rough natural materials. Two methods for enhancing the MVS algorithm with new photo-consistency measure are proposed. Experiments with the laboratory images as well as with images of Mars's surface were conducted, proving that the proposed plane-sweeping method using shading information suitable for combining with MVS can nd the correct position of surface in 3D scene. The experiments also showed, that the Oren-Nayar reflectance model is very accurate for some real-world materials and it can be succesfuly used in the plane-sweeping method to accomplish better results than the Lambert's reflectance model. With precisely estimated material parameters and the light source and camera directions, it is possible to achieve the accuracy of few centimeters in estimating the position of real surface in the scene. / <p>Validerat; 20110825 (anonymous)</p>

A sequence of burned surfaces aged 0, 1, 2, 24, and 80 years was investigated regarding changes in the spectral distribution of reflected light. Controls were introduced to isolate diurnal and seasonal effects. The results show gradually increasing reflectance with increasing age of burn. With the establishment of vegetation a new set of absorbtion and reflectance criteria are established substantially altering the spectral characteristics. The apparent effect of a mature forest canopy is ambiguous. Diffuse and overcast conditions reduce the reflectance for all surfaces. Further work is suggested to reinforce results for surfaces with low sampling replication. / Thesis / Bachelor of Science (BSc)