Os antigos e já bem desenvolvidos dispositivos para tratamentos e/ou análise de amostras têm sido grandemente estudados para novas adaptações, devido à importância de se construir sistemas miniaturizados. A obtenção destes sistemas miniaturizados baseia-se não apenas na construção ou metodologia, mas pode depender de modificação superficial para melhoria de desempenho ou diferenciação de aplicações. A modificação de superfície com filmes finos obtidos por plasma é bem conhecida na Microeletrônica. Assim, este trabalho teve como objetivo avaliar a possibilidade do uso da modificação superficial pela produção de filmes finos a partir da polimerização por plasma de Tetraetilortossilicato, TEOS - para fabricação de estruturas miniaturizadas, principalmente para retenção e/ou pré-concentração, em pré-tratamento de amostras ou mesmo para proteção de sistemas de detecção. A metodologia utilizada correspondeu a testes destes filmes em canais ou membranas seletivas. Quanto aos canais utilizou-se geometria planar e/ou tridimensional; as membranas foram testadas em geometria planar. Microcanais tridimensionais, usados tanto em fase gasosa como líquida, foram testados para determinação de retenção/pré-concentração de compostos orgânicos voláteis. Para testes de retenção de compostos inorgânicos em fase líquida (água como solvente) utilizaram-se não só microcanais, tridimensionais ou planares, como também membranas. Proteção de sistemas de detecção exigiu o uso de geometria plana. Quanto ao filme a base de TEOS, este foi testado imediatamente após a deposição, após envelhecimento por no mínimo seis meses ou após exposição a condições adversas como a que levam à hidrólise de radicais orgânicos presentes no filme, ou mesmo após hidrofobização da superfície, por exposição à Hexametildissilazana, HMDS. A construção de dispositivos, com canal planar ou tridimensional, permitiu o desenvolvimento de diferentes sistemas de tratamento, e respectivos métodos de análise, para separação, retenção e pré-concentração de amostras. Os resultados obtidos demonstraram que um dispositivo com canal tridimensional, tratado pela deposição a base de TEOS e posterior hidrólise do filme, permite a retenção de íons e formação de clusters de cobre, em fase líquida. Do mesmo modo, permite a separação de compostos orgânicos em pequena concentração e retenção de compostos polares, em fase gasosa. Para dispositivo planar foi observada a separação de íons através de estrutura plana, similar às utilizadas em eletrocromatografia. Os estudos processados permitiram propor pequenos dispositivos, de baixo custo e fabricação simples, que podem ser facilmente implantados na área de análises. Assim, o canal tridimensional testado tem comportamento semelhante ao de uma pré-coluna. Como é de simples construção e sua entrada e saída possui similaridades com uma pré-coluna comercial, a instalação desta pré-coluna em um cromatógrafo miniaturizado requererá poucas etapas. Essa nova pré-coluna também apresentaria grandes vantagens se fosse adicionada imediatamente antes de detectores não específicos, tais como os usados no nariz eletrônico. Pela diminuição de compostos presentes na mistura, as dificuldades de análise dos resultados igualmente decresce, pela maior facilidade de criação de padrões. / The long-established and well-known devices for sample pretreatment and/or analysis have been widely studied to new adaptations due to the miniaturization trend. The production of these miniaturized systems requires not only new approach on manufacturing and methodology but also depends on surface modification for performance improvement or new applications development. Surface modification using plasma-produced thin films is well established in Microelectronics. Therefore, the aim was to evaluate the use of Plasma polymerized Tetraethylorthosilicate surface modification on manufacturing of miniaturized structures. The main use of such a modification is on devices for sample pretreatment - retention, pre-concentration, or even for protecting detection system surface. The methodology carried out tested these thin films in channels and selective membranes. Whereas channels used three-dimensional and planar geometries, membranes were tested only with planar geometries. Three-dimensional microchannels, used in gaseous or liquid phase, were tested for retention/preconcentration of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Retention of inorganic compounds in aqueous liquid phase was tested using not only three-dimensional and planar microchannels but also membranes. Protection of detection systems required planar geometry. TEOS thin film was tested after: deposition, ageing for several months; exposition to severe environmental conditions that leads to hydrolysis of organic radicals present in the film; surface hydrophobization due to hexamethyldisilazane, HMDS, exposure. Manufacturing of miniaturized three-dimensional and planar devices leads to some solutions on sample pretreatment and respective analysis methodology. These devices can be used for separation, retention and pre-concentration. The results pointed out that a threedimensional microchannel with plasma deposited TEOS film previously hydrolyzed allows ion retention and clusters formation in a copper aqueous solution. Furthermore, in gaseous phase, VOCs in small concentration can be separated whereas polar compounds can be retained. Planar device allows separation of inorganic ions in a structure similar to the ones used in electrochromatography. Small and low-cost devices are thus here provided, which can easily be machined and are very useful in the chemical analysis field. The three-dimensional microchannel presented behavior similar to the one of a chromatographic pre-column. This microchannel can also be easily adapted to a miniaturized chromatograph. Other possible use is in sample pretreatment, coupled ahead of non-specific detectors, such as electronic noise arrays, since it can decrease the numbers of compounds to be detected and, consequently, reduce drawbacks concerning results analysis.

Nas últimas décadas, o consumo de dispositivos eletrônicos e a alta demanda por armazenamento de dados tem mostrado grandes oportunidades para a criação de novas tecnologias que garantam as necessidades mundiais na área de computação e desenvolvimento. Alguns materiais multiferroicos tem sido amplamente estudados e o BiFeO3, considerado o único material multiferroico em temperatura ambiente, ganhou destaque como candidato para produção de dispositivos lógicos e de memória. O uso de técnicas de crescimento como a deposição por laser pulsado permitiu a produção de filmes finos de BiFeO3 com elevado controle de qualidade. Heteroestruturas de filmes multiferroicos de BiFeO3 e LaBiFeO3 foram crescidas com diferentes espessuras sobre substratos de SrTiO3(100), DyScO3(110) e SrTiO3/Si(100) para avaliação e teste de suas propriedades elétricas e magnéticas. Filmes ferromagnéticos de Co0,9Fe0,1 foram depositados por sputtering sobre os filmes multiferroicos para avaliação da interação interfacial entre ordenamentos magnéticos. Técnicas como fotolitografia foram utilizadas para padronização de microdispositivos gravados sobre as amostras. Tanto os filmes finos de BiFeO3 como os de LaBiFeO3 foram crescidos epitaxialmente sobre os substratos já cobertos com uma camada buffer de SrRuO3 usado como contato elétrico inferior. A estrutura cristalina romboédrica das ferritas de bismuto foi confirmada pelos dados de difração de raios X, bem como a manutenção de tensão estrutural causada pela rede cristalina do substrato para amostras de 20 nm. Os valores de coeficiente do tensor piezelétrico d33 foram da ordem de 0,15 V (∼ 60 kV.cm-2) para amostras com 20 nm de espessura enquanto que os valores de voltagem coerciva para as análises de histerese elétrica foram da ordem de 0,5 V para as mesmas amostras. A relação de coercividade elétrica com a espessura corresponde ao perfil encontrado na literatura pela relação E≈d-2/3. As amostras de CoFe/BFO e CoFe/LBFO depositadas em diferentes substratos apresentam acoplamento interfacial entre ordenamento ferromagnético e antiferromagnético com momento ferromagnético de rede. / For the last few decades, the consumption of electronic devices and the high demand for data storage have shown great opportunities to create modern technologies that assure the worldwide needs in computing and development. Some multiferroic materials have been extensively studied and BiFeO3, considered the only multiferroic material at room temperature, has received attention as a candidate to produce logic and memory devices. The use of growth techniques such as pulsed laser deposition allowed the production of thin films of BiFeO3 with high quality control. Multiferroic film heterostructures of BiFeO3 and LaBiFeO3 were grown with different thicknesses on SrTiO3 (100), DyScO3 (110) and SrTiO3/Si (100) substrates to evaluate and test their electrical and magnetic properties. The allow Co0.9Fe0.1 ferromagnetic films were deposited by sputtering on the multiferroic films to evaluate the interfacial interaction between magnetic ordering. Techniques such as photolithography were used to pattern microdevices on the samples. Both the BiFeO3 and LaBiFeO3 thin films were grown epitaxially on the substrates already covered with a SrRuO3 buffer layer used as the lower electrical contact. The rhombohedral crystalline structure of the bismuth ferrites was confirmed by the X-ray diffraction data as well as the strain maintenance caused by the crystal lattice of the substrate for 20 nm samples. The coefficient values of the piezoelectric tensor d33 were around 0.15 V (∼ 60 kV.cm-2) for 20 nm thick samples whereas the coercive voltage values for the electrical hysteresis analyzes were about 0.5 V for the same samples. The relation between electric coercivity and the thickness corresponds to the profile found in the literature by the relation E≈d-2/3. The samples of CoFe/BFO and CoFe/LBFO deposited in different substrates present interfacial coupling between ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic arrangement with net ferromagnetic moment.

Thesis advisor: Michael J. Naughton / Surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) are hybridized quasiparticles of photons and electron density waves. They are confined to propagate along metal-dielectric interfaces, and decay exponentially along the direction perpendicular to the interfaces. In the past two decades, SPPs have drawn intensive attention and undergone rapid development due to their potential for application in a vast range of fields, including but not limited to subwavelength imaging, biochemical/biomedical sensing, enhanced light trapping for solar cells, and plasmonic logic gates. These applications utilize the following intrinsic properties of SPPs: (1) the wavelength of SPPs is shorter (and can be much shorter) than that of free photons with the same frequency; (2) the local electric field intensity associated with SPPs can be orders of magnitude larger than that of free photons; and (3) SPPs are bound to metal surfaces, and are thus easily modulated by the geometry of those surfaces. Here, we present studies on SPPs along metal surfaces with novel structures, including the following: (1) SPP standing waves formed along circular metal surfaces that lead to a "plasmonic halo" effect; (2) directional reflectionless conversion between free photons and SPPs in asymmetric metal-insulator-metal arrays; and (3) broadband absorbance enhancement of embedded metallic nanopatterns in a photovoltaic absorber layer. These works may prove useful for new schemes for SPP generation, plasmon-photon modulation, ultrasensitive dielectric/bio sensing, and high efficiency thin film solar cells. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2014. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Physics.

The use of semiconductor materials applied in gas sensing devices is currently one of the most researched topics in air quality control and environmental protection. The research is focused on the production of new sensing materials with improved detection limits, selectivity, working temperatures and response times of the known semiconductor materials. Although theoretical models show the great importance of morphology on gas detection, a direct relation between structure size/morphology and the gas sensing properties has not been experimentally established. In this work, Radio Frequency-sputtering method is used to deposit and produce zinc oxide thin films from ceramic and metallic targets, in which the latter are submitted to thermal oxidation to obtaining ZnO porous films. The samples are deposited on platinum interdigitated electrodes and the electrical behavior is analyzed when exposed to ozone. The effects of feature size and film porosity are studied regarding the enhancement of sensor performance. The results show sensors with small features and low porosity present low ozone sensitivity and fast response; while greater features in highly porous films exhibit low sensitivity and slower responses. The optimum sensing performance is found to be somewhere between when the apparent surface area available for adsorption is maximized and the best ozone response is registered. On the other hand, the electrical behavior of doped films when exposed to ozone demonstrates cobalt presence plays a fundamental role. By inserting cobalt, we could improve the sensor response by 62% under the same conditions. However, the increase of doping concentration modify the zinc oxide conductivity to p-type and drastically decrease the sensor response due to the possible formation of cobalt oxide segregates. Our results propose RF sputtering deposition as a versatile technique in the production of semiconductor gas sensors, once high porosity and, therefore, sensitivity can be controlled through the deposition of metals, and dopants, followed by thermal oxidation. / O uso de materiais semicondutores aplicados como dispositivos sensores é atualmente um dos tópicos mais pesquisados na área de controle da qualidade do ar e proteção ambiental. As pesquisas são focadas na produção de novos materiais sensores com limites de detecção, seletividade, temperaturas de trabalho e tempos de resposta, melhores que as apresentadas pelos materiais já conhecidos. Embora os modelos teóricos mostrem a grande importância da morfologia na detecção de gases, uma relação direta entre a estrutura, tamanho/morfologia e as propriedades sensoras não tem sido experimentalmente estabelecida na literatura. Neste trabalho, sputtering de rádio frequência é utilizado para depositar e produzir filmes finos de oxido de zinco a partir de alvos cerâmicos e metálicos, em que o último é submetido à oxidação térmica para obter filmes porosos de ZnO. As amostras são depositadas em interdigitados de platina e foi estudado o seu comportamento elétrico quando é exposto a ozônio. Os efeitos de tamanhos de estrutura e porosidade dos filmes são estudados em relação à melhoria da resposta sensora. Os resultados obtidos mostram que os sensores com tamanhos de estrutura menores e baixa porosidade apresentam baixa sensibilidade e rápidas respostas; no entanto, as estruturas maiores em filmes altamente porosos exibem baixas sensibilidades e maiores tempos de resposta. O melhor desempenho sensor encontra-se em um ponto médio em que a aparente área superficial para adsorção é maximizada e é registrada a melhor reposta ao ozônio. Por outro lado, o comportamento elétrico dos filmes dopados demonstrou que a presença de cobalto desempenha um papel fundamental. Com a inserção de cobalto, a resposta sensora foi melhorada em 62% sob as mesmas condições de medida. Porém, o aumento das concentrações de cobalto modificou a condutividade do oxido de zinco para comportamentos tipo-p e diminuiu drasticamente a resposta do sensor, devido a possível segregação de óxido de cobalto. Os nossos resultados propõem o método de deposição RF-Sputtering como uma técnica versátil na produção de sensores semicondutores para gases, uma vez que a porosidade e assim a sensibilidade pode ser controlada por meio da deposição de metais e dopantes seguido por oxidação térmica.

Nas últimas décadas, o consumo de dispositivos eletrônicos e a alta demanda por armazenamento de dados tem mostrado grandes oportunidades para a criação de novas tecnologias que garantam as necessidades mundiais na área de computação e desenvolvimento. Alguns materiais multiferroicos tem sido amplamente estudados e o BiFeO3, considerado o único material multiferroico em temperatura ambiente, ganhou destaque como candidato para produção de dispositivos lógicos e de memória. O uso de técnicas de crescimento como a deposição por laser pulsado permitiu a produção de filmes finos de BiFeO3 com elevado controle de qualidade. Heteroestruturas de filmes multiferroicos de BiFeO3 e LaBiFeO3 foram crescidas com diferentes espessuras sobre substratos de SrTiO3(100), DyScO3(110) e SrTiO3/Si(100) para avaliação e teste de suas propriedades elétricas e magnéticas. Filmes ferromagnéticos de Co0,9Fe0,1 foram depositados por sputtering sobre os filmes multiferroicos para avaliação da interação interfacial entre ordenamentos magnéticos. Técnicas como fotolitografia foram utilizadas para padronização de microdispositivos gravados sobre as amostras. Tanto os filmes finos de BiFeO3 como os de LaBiFeO3 foram crescidos epitaxialmente sobre os substratos já cobertos com uma camada buffer de SrRuO3 usado como contato elétrico inferior. A estrutura cristalina romboédrica das ferritas de bismuto foi confirmada pelos dados de difração de raios X, bem como a manutenção de tensão estrutural causada pela rede cristalina do substrato para amostras de 20 nm. Os valores de coeficiente do tensor piezelétrico d33 foram da ordem de 0,15 V (∼ 60 kV.cm-2) para amostras com 20 nm de espessura enquanto que os valores de voltagem coerciva para as análises de histerese elétrica foram da ordem de 0,5 V para as mesmas amostras. A relação de coercividade elétrica com a espessura corresponde ao perfil encontrado na literatura pela relação E≈d-2/3. As amostras de CoFe/BFO e CoFe/LBFO depositadas em diferentes substratos apresentam acoplamento interfacial entre ordenamento ferromagnético e antiferromagnético com momento ferromagnético de rede. / For the last few decades, the consumption of electronic devices and the high demand for data storage have shown great opportunities to create modern technologies that assure the worldwide needs in computing and development. Some multiferroic materials have been extensively studied and BiFeO3, considered the only multiferroic material at room temperature, has received attention as a candidate to produce logic and memory devices. The use of growth techniques such as pulsed laser deposition allowed the production of thin films of BiFeO3 with high quality control. Multiferroic film heterostructures of BiFeO3 and LaBiFeO3 were grown with different thicknesses on SrTiO3 (100), DyScO3 (110) and SrTiO3/Si (100) substrates to evaluate and test their electrical and magnetic properties. The allow Co0.9Fe0.1 ferromagnetic films were deposited by sputtering on the multiferroic films to evaluate the interfacial interaction between magnetic ordering. Techniques such as photolithography were used to pattern microdevices on the samples. Both the BiFeO3 and LaBiFeO3 thin films were grown epitaxially on the substrates already covered with a SrRuO3 buffer layer used as the lower electrical contact. The rhombohedral crystalline structure of the bismuth ferrites was confirmed by the X-ray diffraction data as well as the strain maintenance caused by the crystal lattice of the substrate for 20 nm samples. The coefficient values of the piezoelectric tensor d33 were around 0.15 V (∼ 60 kV.cm-2) for 20 nm thick samples whereas the coercive voltage values for the electrical hysteresis analyzes were about 0.5 V for the same samples. The relation between electric coercivity and the thickness corresponds to the profile found in the literature by the relation E≈d-2/3. The samples of CoFe/BFO and CoFe/LBFO deposited in different substrates present interfacial coupling between ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic arrangement with net ferromagnetic moment.

This thesis ‘’An Investigation of Tin Chalcogenide Precursors and Thin Film Materials for Applications in Energy Harvesting Devices’’ encompasses a range of research areas. The report can be divided into two categories: The first is the design of novel heavy tin chalcogenide complexes and compounds that demonstrate the recent advances in main group chemistry and act as potential precursor candidates for CVD processes. The second category follows on from the previous, and focuses on materials deposited and their successive development, characterisation and optimisation for device applications. Subsequently, an array of metal chalcogenide thin films have been deposited and characterised within this project. By designing of a number of the tin chalcogenide precursors and precursor solutions it has been possible to selectively deposit thin films of Sn, α-SnS and cubic-SnS polymorphs, SnS2, SnSe, and SnTe via a low-cost deposition route known as aerosol assisted chemical vapour deposition (AA-CVD). It is proposed that the processes developed in this PhD can be adapted to deposit a wider spectrum of metal chalcogenide materials using cost effective techniques. Even though there is a wide scope of the possible applications for the aforementioned materials, the study has only been extended towards the characterisation of the optoelectronic properties of phase pure α-SnS and cubic-SnS samples, and SnS2 thin films deposited onto FTO, Mo and graphene substrates. The optimum deposition parameters for the application of these materials has been defined. In collaboration with a research group at the Institut de Recerca de Energia de Catalunya (iREC), Barcelona, Spain, an extended study of the photovoltaic properties of the α-SnS and Cubic-SnS samples is also presented, from which a series of SnS based thin film photovoltaic devices have been fabricated and characterised. This study present some of the few reports explicitly comparing the PV properties of the two α-SnS and Cubic-SnS polymorphs.

Este trabalho apresenta a produção e a caracterização de filmes finos produzidos a partir da técnica de RF Magnetron Sputtering. Foram produzidos filmes finos sobre substrato de silício a partir de alvos vítreos de germânio de GeO2-PbO preparados com e sem os reagentes AgNO3 e Cu2O. Foi desenvolvida metodologia adequada para a obtenção de nanopartículas em filmes finos por meio de tratamento térmico. Os filmes foram caracterizados por técnicas de perfilometria, elipsometria, Microscopia de Força Atômica (AFM), Rutherford Backscattering (RBS), Microscopia Eletrônica de Transmissão (TEM) e medidas elétricas para a obtenção das curvas de capacitância e corrente em função da tensão. Os valores dos índices de refração medidos ficaram em torno de 1,9, isto é, próximo do valor do alvo vítreo utilizado para as deposições. Através do AFM foi observado que a rugosidade vale-pico variou de 2 a 4 nm. Através de TEM verificou-se em todos os filmes a presença de nanopartículas metálicas e também facetas cristalinas formadas pelos próprios elementos da matriz. Pelas medidas elétricas, foram obtidos os resultados das constantes dielétricas que variaram com o tratamento térmico. Os valores variaram de 8 a 15 superando o valor do SiO2 que é de 3,9. Com todos os resultados elétricos, foi notado que o filme preparado com o reagente CU2O foi o que apresentou maior estabilidade com o tratamento térmico o que é adequado para o preparo de dispositivos MOS. Neste caso o valor obtido para a constante dielétrica foi de 14. / This work presents the production and characterization of thin films produced by the RF Magnetron Sputtering technique. There were produced thin films on silicon substrate from vitreous targets of GeO2-PbO prepared with and without AgNO3 and Cu2O reagents. It was developed adequate methodology to obtain metallic nanoparticles in thin films by means of heat treatment. The films were characterized using perfilomitry, ellipsometry, Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), Rutherford Backscattering (RBS), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) techniques and electrical measurements in order to obtain the curves of current and capacitance as a function of the voltage. The values of refractive indices were measured around 1.9 next to the value of the vitreous target used for the deposition. Through the AFM, it was observed that the valley-peak roughness varied from 2 to 4 nm. Through TEM, it was observed in all films the presence of metallic nanoparticles and also some crystalline faces formed by the elements of the matrix. With the electrical measurements, there were obtained the dielectric constants that varied with the heat treatment. The values ranged from 8 to 15 surpassing the value of SiO2 which is 3.9. With all the electric results, it was noted that the film prepared with copper was the one that presented the highest stability with the heat treatment that is appropriate for the preparation of MOS devices.

This work mainly investigates the use of aerosol assisted chemical vapour deposition (AACVD) process to fabricate thin film materials for energy efficient glazing and thin film solar cells applications. Ga-doped ZnO thin films were firstly deposited onto glass substrates by AACVD of zinc and gallium acetylacetonates in methanol. After optimizing the doping concentration, film thickness and heating temperature, ZnO:Ga coatings with high visible transparency (> 80 %) and infrared reflection (up to 48.9 % at 2500 nm) were obtained, which is close to the optical requirements for commercial energy saving glazing. Pyramid-shaped and plate-shaped zinc oxides films were then deposited on glass substrates by AACVD of zinc-acetate-dihydrate, acetic acid and deionized water in methanol. These surface-textured ZnO films exhibited good visible transparency (~70 %), low sheet resistance (~60 Ω sq-1) and ultra large haze factor (up to 98.5 %), which is the most hazy ZnO ever reported and can be potentially used as the front contact in thin-film solar cells. Finally, uniform compact CH3NH3PbI3 perovskite films with high phase purity and micron-sized pinhole-free grains were deposited on glass substrates by a novel two-step and three-step sequential AACVD process. In conclusion, AACVD shows a great potential for the scalable fabrication of ZnO-based and organometallic halide-based thin film materials.

New thin-film solar cell materials and a greater understanding of their properties are needed to meet the urgent demand for sustainable, lower-cost and scalable photovoltaics. Computational techniques have been used to investigate Cu2ZnSnS4, CuSbS2 and CuBiS2 , which are potential absorber layer materials in thin-film photovoltaics. Their low cost, low toxicity and their constituent’s relative abundance make them suitable replacements for current thin-film absorbers, which are CdTe or Cu(In, Ga)(S, Se)2 based systems. Firstly, we have used hybrid Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations to study CuSbS2 and CuBiS2. We calculate band gaps of 1.69 eV and 1.55 eV respectively, placing CuBiS2 within the optimal range for a viable absorber material. The density of states for both these materials indicate that formation of electron hole charge carriers will occur in the Cu d10 band. Consequently, photoexcitation leads to the oxidation of Cu(I). Secondly, we have derived interatomic potentials which describe the complex structure of Cu2ZnSnS4 accurately. We find that the Cu/Zn antisite defect represents the lowest energy form of intrinsic defect disorder. For these antisite defects, we find a preference for small neutral defect clusters, which suggests a degree of self-passivation exists. Investigations of Cu-ion transport find VCu migration is possible via a vacancy hopping mechanism. There are pathways which can be connected to give 3D long-range diffusion. Investigations of the Cu/Zn site disorder in Cu2ZnSnS4 find that configurations which are kesterite-like will dominate synthetic samples. However, perfectly ordered kesterite will not be formed due to entropic effects. The simulations indicate the stannite and stannite-like polymorphs are less favourable, and can only account for ≈2.5% of a sample. Investigations of the surfaces of Cu2ZnSnS4, suggest that the vast majority of the low index surfaces are dipolar and that only the (1 1 2), (0 1 0) and (1 0 1) surfaces have low surface energies.

Direct numerical simulations, where both the large and small scales in the flow are fully resolved, provide an excellent instrument to validate multiphase flow processes and also further our understanding of it. Three multiphase systems are studied using a finite difference/front-tracking method developed for direct numerical simulations of time-dependent system¬¬s. The purpose of these studies is to demonstrate the benefit in developing accurate sub-grid models that can be coupled with the direct numerical simulations to reduce the computational time. The primary reason to use the models is that the systems under consideration are sufficiently large that resolving the smallest scales is impractical. The processes that are examined are: (1) droplet motion and impact (2) nucleate boiling and (3) convective mass transfer. For droplet impact on solid walls and thin liquid films, the splash characteristics are studied. The collision of a fluid drop with a wall is examined and a multiscale approach is developed to compute the flow in the film between the drop and the wall. By using a semi-analytical model for the flow in the film we capture the evolution of films thinner than the grid spacing reasonably well. In the nucleate boiling simulations, the growth of a single vapor from a nucleation site and its associated dynamics are studied. The challenge here is the accurate representation of the nucleation site and the small-scale motion near the wall. To capture the evaporation of the microlayer left behind as the base of the bubble expands we use a semi-analytical model that is solved concurrently with the rest of the simulations. The heat transfer from the heated wall, the evolution of the bubble size and the departure diameter are evaluated and compared with the existing numerical results. The mass transfer near the interface, without fully resolving the layer by refining the grid is accommodated by using a boundary layer approximation to capture it. The behavior of the concentration profile is taken to be self-similar. A collection of potential profiles is tested and the accuracy of each of these models is compared with the full simulations.