The Square Kilometre Array (SKA) is known to be the most powerful radio telescope of its type. In support of its high observational power, it is estimated that thousands of antenna unit equipped with millions of LNA (low noise amplifier) will be deployed over a large area (radius>3000km). The stringent requirements for high performance and low cost LNA design bring about many challenges in terms of material growth, device fabrication and low noise circuit designs. For the past decade, the Manchester group has been wholeheartedly committed to the research and development of high performance, low cost Monolithic Microwave Integrated Circuit (MMIC) LNA with high breakdown (15V) and low noise characteristics (1.2dB to 1.5dB) for the SKA mid-frequency application (0.4GHz to 1.4GHz). The on-going optimisation of current design is hindered by the restriction of standard i-line 1µm gate lithography. The primary focus of this work is on the design and fabrication of new, submicron gate InGaAs/InAlAs/InP pHEMTs for high frequency applications and future SKA high frequency bands. The study starts with the design and fabrication of InGaAs-InAlAs pHEMT sub-100nm gate structure using E-Beam lithography. To address the problems of short channel effect and parasitic components, devices with 128nm T-gate structure, and with optimised device geometries and enhanced material growth, having fT of 162GHz and fmax of 183GHz are demonstrated, outlining the importance of device scaling for high speed operation. In addition, a gate-sinking technique using Pd/Ti/Au metallisation scheme was investigated to meet the requirement for single voltage supply in circuit design. Device with Pd-buried gate exhibits enhanced DC and RF characteristics and showed no degradation over 5 hours’ annealing at 230˚C. The implementation of this highly thermal stable Pd Schottky gate is key to improving the device’s long-term reliability at high-temperature operation. To solve the problem of low productivity in E-Beam lithography, a simple, low cost, technique termed soft reflow was introduced by utilising the principle of solvent vaporisation in a closed chamber. It provides a hybrid solution for the fabrication of submicron device using low cost i-line lithography. The integration of this new soft reflow process with the Pd-gate sinking technique has enabled the large-scale fabrication of 250nm T-gate pHEMTs, with excellent fT of 108GHz and a fmax of 119GHz and with device yields exceeding 80%. This novel soft reflow technique provides a high yield, fast throughput, solution for the fabrication of submicron gate pHEMT and other ultra-high frequency nanoscale devices.

Crankcase ventilation contributes significantly to diesel engine particulate emissions. Future regulations will not only limit the mass of particulate matter, but also the number of particles. Controlling the source of crankcase emissions is critical to meeting the perennial legislation. Deficiency in the understanding of crankcase emissions generation and the contribution of lubricating oil has been addressed in detail by the experimental study presented in this thesis. A plethora of high speed laser optical diagnostics techniques have been employed to deduce the main mechanisms of crankcase oil aerosol generation. Novel images have captured oil atomisation and passive oil distribution around the crankcase of an optically accessed, motored, four cylinder, off highway, heavy duty, diesel engine. Rayleigh type ligament breakup of oil films present on the surface of dynamic components, most notably the crankshaft, camshaft and valve rockers generated oil drops below 10 micrometers. Data illustrated not only crankcase oil aerosol generation at source, but it has provided valuable information on methods to control oil aerosol generation and improve oil circuit efficiency. The feasibility of utilising computational fluid dynamics to predict crankcase oil aerosol generation has been successfully assessed using the experimental data. Particle sampling has characterised the crankcase emissions from both a fired and motored diesel engine crankcase. The evolution of submicron crankcase particles down to 5 nm has been recorded from both engines, including the isolated contribution of engine oil, at a wide range of engine test points. Results have provided constructive insight into the generation and control of this complex emission. The main mechanism of crankcase oil aerosol generation was found to be crankshaft oil atomisation. This atomisation process has been analysed in detail, involving high speed imaging of primary and satellite drop generation and high speed digital particle image velocity of the crankshaft air flow. A promising mechanism of regulating and controlling crankcase oil aerosol emissions at source has been studied experimentally.

La détection d'agents biologiques dans l'air ambiant est devenue un enjeu majeur notamment en environnement hospitalier et dans la protection contre le bioterrorisme. Dans ce contexte, la miniaturisation des dispositifs d'analyse permet d'envisager leur utilisation directement sur la zone d'étude. Afin d'obtenir un échantillon concentré et représentatif, la filtration de l'air reste cependant un point délicat. Parmi les différents principes exploitables pour la collecte de particules aéroportées, l'emploi des forces électriques semble être prometteur pour améliorer les performances des dispositifs qui se trouvent généralement fondés sur des forces inertielles. Dans cette étude, une modélisation fine des collecteurs électrostatiques a été conduite pour une géométrie fil / cylindre. Elle décrit tout d'abord les champs hydrodynamiques d'un écoulement charriant des inclusions dans lequel est imposée une décharge couronne. Une injection éventuelle de vapeur dans la chambre de collecte a nécessité ensuite la détermination des champs de température et concentration de la vapeur. Une analyse dimensionnelle inspectionnelle a montré que ces champs possèdent deux termes de couplage fort dont on a justifié l'omission dans cette étude ; les phénomènes physiques mis en jeu ont alors pu être classés selon une cascade d'influences non réciproques et la résolution numérique du modèle s'en est trouvée facilitée. Quatre configurations d'écoulement différentes, caractérisées par des recirculations d'origine électro hydrodynamiques, ont été identifiées et leurs impacts sur les rendements de collecte quantifiés. De plus, une procédure de dimensionnement des filtres électrostatiques fondée sur un nombre de Deutsch représentatif des rendements a été mise en place. Son exploitation a montré l'intérêt de la mise en parallèle de petits collecteurs pour filtrer des débits d'air importants. Cette étude s'est achevée par l'analyse des effets engendrés par l'injection de vapeur dans la chambre de collecte. Elle a jeté les bases d'une explication pour l'augmentation des rendements de collecte résultant de cette injection. / Detection of airborne biological agents has become a major challenge especially in hospitals and the protection against bioterrorism. In this context, the miniaturization of analytical devices allows to consider their direct use in the field. To obtain a representative and concentrated sample, air filtration remains a delicate point. Among the various principles used to collect airborne particles, the use of electrical forces seems to be promising to improve performance beyond these of devices that are based on inertial forces.In this study, a detailed model of electrostatic collectors was developed in the wire/cylinder geometry. It first describes the hydrodynamic flow fields carring inclusions in which a corona discharge is imposed. Afterwards, the possible injection of steam into the collection chamber required the determination of the temperature and vapor concentration fields. An inspectionnal dimensional analysis justified the omission of two strong coupling terms. Therefore, in this study, the involved physical phenomena could be classified according to a non-reciprocal influences cascade and the numerical model is become simpler. Four different flow patterns, characterized by their electrohydrodynamic secondary flows, were identified and their impact on the collection efficiencies was quantified. In addition a design procedure of electrostatic filters, based on a representative efficiency Deutsch number, has been developed. This procedure shows the interest of parallelizing small collectors to filter important airflows. This study was completed by the analysis of the effects of steam into the collection chamber. It provides the basis for an explanation of the collection efficiencies increase related to this injection.

Integrated Silicon Photonics has emerged as a powerful platform in the last two decades amongst high-bandwidth technologies, particularly since the adop- tion of CMOS compatible silicon-on-insulator(SOI) substrates. Microring res- onators are one of the fundamental blocks on a photonic integrated circuit chip o ering versatility in varied applications like sensing, optical bu ering, ltering, loss measurements, lasing, nonlinear e ects, understanding cavity optomechanics etc. This thesis covers the design and modeling of microring resonators for biosensing applications. The two applications considered are : homogeneous biosensing and wrist pulse pressure monitoring. Also, the designs have been used to fabricate ring resonator device using three different techniques. The results obtained through characterization of these devices are presented. Following are the observations made in lieu of this: 1) Design modeling and analysis - The analysis of ring resonator requires the study of both the straight and bent waveguide sections. Both rib and strip waveguide geometries have been considered for constructing the device as a building block by computing their respective eigen modes for both quasi-TE and quasi-TM polarizations. The non-uniform evanescent coupling between the straight and curved waveguide has been estimated using coupled mode theory. This method provided in estimating the quality-factor and free spec- tral range (FSR) of the ring-resonator. A case for optimizing the waveguide gap in the directional coupler section of a ring resonator has been presented for homogeneous biosensing application. On similar lines, a model of applying ring resonator for arterial pulse-pressure measurement has been analyzed. The results have been obtained by employing FD-BPM and FDTD including semi- vectorial eigen mode solutions to evaluate the spectral characteristics of ring resonator. The modeling and analytical results are supported by commercial software tools (RSoft). 2) Fabrication and Characterization - For the fabrication, we employ the design of ring resonator of radius 20 m on SOI substrate with two different waveguide gaps of 350 and 700 nm. Three different process sows have been used for fabricating the same device. The rst technique involved using negative e-beam resist HSQ which after exposure becomes SiO2, acts as a mask for Reactive-Ion Etching (RIE); helping in eliminating an additional step. The second technique involved the use of positive e-beam resist, PMMA for device patterning followed by metal deposition with lift-o . The third tech- nique employed was Focussed Ion-beam (FIB) which is resist-less patterning by bombarding Ga+ ions directly onto the top surface of the wafer with the help of a GDS le. The characterization process involved estimation of loss and observing the be- havior of optical elds in the device around the wavelength of 1550 nm using near-field scanning optical microscopy (NSOM) measurement. The estimation of roughness-induced losses has been made by performing Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) measurements. In summary, the thesis presents novel design and analysis of SOI based microring resonators for homogeneous biosensing and wrist pulse pressure sensing applications. Also, the fabrication and characterization of 20 m radius ring- resonator with 500 500 nm rib cross-section is presented. Hence, this study brings forth several practical issues concerning application of ring resonators to biosensing applications.

L'objectif de cette étude était de préparer et de caractériser les particules submicroniques multifonctionnelles utilisables simultanément pour le diagnostic et le traitement de plusieurs maladies mortelles telles que le cancer. Pour ce faire, une étude systématique a été réalisée afin de comprendre les mécanismes impliqués et d'optimiser les paramètres du procédé de double émulsion-évaporation de solvant pour la préparation de ces particules. Pour l’imagerie in vitro, des nanoparticules polymériques fluorescentes (FluoSpheres®) ont été encapsulées dans une matrice polycaprolactone dégradable en utilisant le procédé de l’émulsion double-évaporation de solvant. Pour l’imagerie invivo, des nanoparticules d'or colloïdal ont été préparées et encapsulées via le même procédé et parfaitement caractérisées. Enfin, pour application theranostic, les nanoparticules d'or (comme agent de contraste) et un actif moléculaire (hydrophile Nefopam et hydrophobe benzoate de benzyle) ont été encapsulés simultanément dans des particules de polycaprolactone. Ces particules multifonctionnelles ont été caractérisées et évaluées in vitro comme model de pénétration cutané / The objective of this study was to prepare and characterize multifunctional submicron particles that can be used for diagnosis and therapy of several fatal diseases including cancer (i.e theranostic). For this purpose, a systematic study was performed in order to optimize the process parameters for preparation of polymeric particle that can be used as a platform for effective delivery of drugs and imaging labels. The imaging agent (FluoSpheres®) was encapsulated via double emulsion solvent evaporation technique to be used fluorescent contrast agent and their in vitro evaluation was performed. Then, gold nanoparticles were prepared by using NaBH4 reduction method, characterized and encapsulated by polycaprolactone polymer for in vitro applications. Finally, the gold nanoparticle were loaded into polycaprolactone particle along with a hydrophilic drug (Nefopam) and a hydrophobic drug (benzyl benzoate) simultaneously. The prepared particles were then characterized physicochemically and in vitro skin penetration study was performed

This PhD work involves the utilization of the femtosecond laser technique to fabricate the novel S-shaped Josephson Junctions on the high - T_C superconducting YBCO thin films. Initially, it was envisaged as the title states to fabricate nano sized Josephson Junctions using this femtosecond laser technique. However in this PhD work, micron sized (1 – 2 µm) and near nano sized (500 – 800 nm) Josephson Junctions where achieved. / University of South Africa / Electrical and Mining Engineering

The purpose of this work was to study the synthesis conditions effect on the luminescent and dosimetric properties of aluminum oxide submicron ceramics excited by different types of radiation. We reviewed the research published on the topic of luminescent and dosimetric properties of aluminum oxide and other nanoscale materials. It was found that high-temperature annealing of Al2O3 nanopowder compacts in a vacuum (reducing medium in the presence of carbon) triggers the generation of oxygen vacancies in the oxide, which is confirmed by pulsed cathodoluminescence (PCL) results for the samples under study. It was proved that the samples, when annealed in a vacuum at high temperatures, display maximum thermoluminescence (TL) intensity, which is caused by an increased concentration of oxygen vacancies forming F luminescence center. We obtained a complex of parameters characterizing TL peak at 410 К and thermoluminescence properties and later compared it with the parameters found in references. It was observed that TL peaks intensity at 410 К and 600 K of submicron aluminum oxide depended on the dose of β-irradiation (under 200 Gy) and after electron beams irradiation (under 12 kGy). It was demonstrated that submicron aluminum oxide ceramics would be a promising material to detect ionizing radiation doses in excess of the operating dose range of single crystal α-Al2O3 detectors be more than one order. It was found that the sensitivity of submicron aluminum oxide ceramics after high-dose irradiation returned its initial value when annealed in the atmosphere at the temperature of 600 °C for 1 hour. We analyzed and assessed ecological risks and compliance with safety rules during experimental investigations. / Цель работы – изучение влияния режимов высокотемпературного отжига в восстановительной среде на люминесцентные и дозиметрические свойства субмикронной керамики оксида алюминия. Проведен обзор литературы на тему люминесцентных и дозиметрических свойств оксида алюминия и других наноразмерных материалов. Экспериментально установлено, что высокотемпературный отжиг компактов из нанопорошка в вакууме в сильно-восстановительной среде в присутствии углерода вызывает образование кислородных вакансий в оксиде, что подтверждают спектры импульсной катодолюминесценции исследуемых образцов. Увеличение температуры и времени отжига приводит к росту концентрации центров люминесценции, созданных кислородными вакансиями и, как следствие, увеличению интенсивности термолюминесценции субмикронной керамики оксида алюминия. В результате исследования образцов субмикронной керамики оксида алюминия получен комплекс параметров, характеризующих дозиметрический пик ТЛ (410 К), проведено сравнение найденных параметров с известными литературными данными. Наблюдается зависимость интенсивности пиков ТЛ при 410 К и 600 К синтезированной керамики оксида алюминия от поглощенной дозы β-облучения (до 200 Гр) и при облучении электронными импульсами (до 12 кГр). Установлено, что возврат чувствительности к β-излучению после высокодозного облучения происходит при отжиге в атмосфере при температуре 600 ºС в течение 1 часа. Проведен анализ экологических рисков и соблюдения правил безопасности жизнедеятельности при экспериментальных исследованиях.

Solvent-free extrusion emulsification (SFEE) is a recently developed process for producing submicron particles with high viscosity polymers inside a twin-screw extruder without the use of hazardous solvents. Its dependency on a catastrophic phase inversion makes the process knowingly sensitive to a variety of formulation and operational variables, causing a narrow window of production. The purpose of this thesis was to investigate and improve process stability as well as widening operational window. Transient effects of the start-up procedure was investigated by considering the process stability and particle size distribution. The transient sensitivity corresponded to the residency of material in the dispersion zone. When a sub-optimal water/surfactant fraction was allowed to produce an undesired polymer-water (thick lamella) morphology, this morphology continued to persist until the critical first half of the dispersion zone was purged of existing mass. Lot to lot variability of polyester resin was used to investigate the sensitivities of the SFEE process more deeply to better understand the mechanism involved. In this case, acid number was shown to have a significant effect on the initial amount of water needed in the dispersion zone for phase inversion, resulting in an emulsification boundary dependent on the resin acid number. In fact, a significant correlation was found between the acidic end groups of the resin and the maximum amount of water content that could be used in the dispersion zone. The effect of feed rate, screw speed, dispersion length, and surfactant concentration were studied for their individual influence on widening the emulsification boundary. The most significant improvement was observed by applying a longer dispersion length or lower feed rate because both significantly increase the residence time. The effect of residence time on the emulsification boundary was attributed to the total strain imposed on the polymer/water mixture which was related to interfacial growth in the dispersion zone. / Dissertation / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Zu den wenigen Methoden, die sich für eine prozessnahe Charakterisierung von dispersen Stoffsystemen bezüglich der Partikelgrößenverteilung eignen, zählt die Schalldämpfungsspektroskopie. Dennoch ist ihr Einsatz in der industriellen Praxis auf einen überschaubaren Bereich an Messaufgaben und Stoffsystemen beschränkt. Insbesondere findet sie kaum Einsatz für die Partikelgrößenanalyse von submikronen Emulsionen. Die vorliegende Arbeit macht es sich deshalb zum Ziel, ausgehend von grundsätzlichen Überlegungen die Eignung der Schalldämpfungsspektroskopie zur prozessnahen Charakterisierung des Dispersitätszustandes von submikronen Emulsionen zu bewerten und zu verbessern. Schwerpunkte der Arbeit sind die modellhafte Beschreibung des Schalldämpfungsverhaltens von hoch konzentrierten Partikelsystemen im Submikrometerbereich, die Abschätzung des Einflusses von Emulgatoren auf die Schalldämpfung, die Erkennbarkeit von Einzelheiten der Partikelgrößenverteilung, die Sensitivität berechneter Partikelgrößenverteilungen bezüglich der Partikelkonzentration und der verschiedenen Stoffeigenschaften sowie die Auswertung von Schalldämpfungsspektren bei Unkenntnis dieser Modellparameter. Die angesprochenen Aspekte werden am Beispiel typischer Charakterisierungsaufgaben diskutiert. / The ultrasonic spectroscopy is one of few measurement methods applicable to the online characterization of disperse systems with regard to particle size distribution. However, its application in industrial practise is restricted to a rather low number of measurement tasks and material systems. In particular it is hardly used for the particle size analysis of submicron emulsions. This thesis therefore aims to the evaluation of the ultrasonic spectroscopy regarding its applicability to the online characterization of submicron emulsions. Main issues of the thesis are the modelling of sound attenuation in dense particle systems, the estimation on the influence that surfactant layers exert on sound attenuation, the resolution at which size distribution can be measured, the sensitivity of calculated size distributions to model parameters (particle concentration and material properties) and the analysis of measured attenuation spectra by unknown model parameters. The meanining of these issues are illustrated for typical characterization tasks.

This diploma thesis deals with reduction of metal artifacts in CT data with submicron resolution. The first part of this thesis briefly describes x-ray computed tomography followed by the description of artifacts of tomographic images and existing approaches of the reduction of metal artifacts. In the second part proposed methods of reduction of metal artifacts and their implementation in Matlab programming environment are described. Finally functionality of algorithms is tested on a newly created database and the results are compared, evaluated and discussed.