This PhD thesis presents the outcome of employing both nanosecond and femtosecond pulsed lasers in order to modify the surface structure of a material at the micro and nano scales. Literature review was carried out on micro/nano fabrication technologies involved in the semiconductor industry, which are the basis of many current micro and nano-manufacturing processes. The first experiments concentrated on direct laser scanning of Si to produce surface microstructures. This type of texturing was very effective at reducing surface reflectivity and can be implemented in photovoltaic devices. It was also found that the ablation efficiency can be improved if laser processing is performed in an argon environment where oxidation can be suppressed. Moreover, a significant relationship between laser-texture characteristics (i.e. topography/morphology and periodicity) and total surface reflectance was demonstrated. Short-circuit modelling of the laser texture showed that electrical performance of the cell can be improved by 41.3% in the 360-1100 spectrum, even in the near-infrared for which Si is a weak absorber. From these experimental results, it was also noticed that the laser-generated micro-structures made the surface significantly wettable; but as the laser fluence was reduced, the contact angle of the surface could be changed. This led to the investigation of the wetting properties of nano-bumps produced on Si at fluences below the ablation threshold. Their wetting behaviour was reported for the first time. An effect named as 'invisible marking' in this thesis was demonstrated: vapour condenses into water drops of different size depending on the lattice arrangement of c-Si or a-Si. Such an interaction at the near-ablation threshold was also explored for another type of material: NiP/Al data storage disks. From this research, elliptical bumps with vertical dimension in the sub-nanometre scale were fabricated with extremely high repeatability (± 0.4 nm). In addition, it was found that elliptical bumps can offer better stiction performance than circular shapes, even at ultra-low flying height. This type of laser texture could be utilised as a means for tribological optimization of surfaces that are in close proximity and relative motion. Following the use of low-fluences by nanosecond pulses, this was also applied to scanning over a microsphere lens array. So far, the research on near-field effects produced at the bottom of transparent particles has focused on how to generate parallel nano-patterns by single pulses. However, the present work has demonstrated that a focused beam with a tight-focus can be used to fabricate single lines or shapes rather than repeated patterns. In this way, a femtosecond laser was introduced to meet such a challenge. Moreover, laser-induced periodic surface structures (LIPSS) by fs pulses were also identified along the near-field generated nano-patterns. The evolution of such a periodic, self-assembly structuring was also investigated, and new optical characteristics of structural colour were found.

One of the many promising applications of metal/ceramic joining is in biomedical implantable devices. This work is focused on vacuum brazing of C.P titanium to 96% alumina ceramic using pure gold as the filler metal. A novel method of brazing is developed where resistance heating of C.P titanium is done inside a thermal evaporator using a Ta heating electrode. The design of electrode is optimized using Ansys resistive heating simulations. The materials chosen in this study are biocompatible and have prior history in implantable devices approved by FDA. This research is part of Boston Retinal implant project to make a biocompatible implantable device (www.bostonretina.org). Pure gold braze has been used in the construction of single terminal feedthrough in low density hermetic packages utilizing a single platinum pin brazed to an alumina or sapphire ceramic donut ( brazed to a titanium case or ferrule for many years in implantable pacemakers. Pure gold (99.99%) brazing of 96% alumina ceramic with CP titanium has been performed and evaluated in this dissertation. Brazing has been done by using electrical resistance heating. The 96% alumina ceramic disk was manufactured by high temperature cofired ceramic (HTCC) processing while the Ti ferrule and gold performs were purchased from outside. Hermetic joints having leak rate of the order of 1.6 X 10-8 atm-cc/ sec on a helium leak detector were measured. Alumina ceramics made by HTCC processing were centreless grounded utilizing 800 grit diamond wheel to provide a smooth surface for sputtering of a thin film of Nb. Since pure alumina demonstrates no adhesion or wetting to gold, an adhesion layer must be used on the alumina surface. Niobium (Nb), Tantalum (Ta) and Tungsten (W) were chosen for evaluation since all are refractory (less dissolution into molten gold), all form stable oxides (necessary for adhesion to alumina) and all are readily thin film deposited as metals. Wetting studies are also performed to determine the wetting angle of pure gold to Ti, Ta, Nb and W substrates. Nano tribological scratch testing of thin film of Nb (which demonstrated the best wetting properties towards gold) on polished 96% alumina ceramic is performed to determine the adhesion strength of thin film to the substrate. The wetting studies also determined the thickness of the intermetallic compounds layers formed between Ti and gold, reaction microstructure and the dissolution of the metal into the molten gold.

No description available.

In this study the author reports the effects of surface roughness on dynamic behavior of water droplets on different types of rough structures. First, the influence of roughness geometry on the Wenzel/ Cassie-Baxter transition of water droplets on one-tier (solid substrates with Si micropillars) surfaces is studied (Chapter 3). In order to address distinct wetting behaviors of the advancing and receding motions, the author investigates the Wenzel/ Cassie-Baxter transition of water droplets on one-tier surfaces over a wide range of contact line velocities and droplet volumes in both advancing and receding movements. The discussions are strengthened by experimental results. According to the author’s analysis, the advancing contact zone tends to follow the Cassie-Baxter behavior for a wider range of geometric ratios than the receding contact zone. Physical phenomena such as advancing contact line rolling mechanism and the pinning of the receding contact line are introduced to justify distinct transition points of the advancing and receding movements respectively. Based on the analysis provided in Chapter 3, the author experimentally investigates the contact line fluctuations and contact line friction coefficients of water droplets on smooth, one-tier, and two-tier (with carbon nanotubes (CNTs) grown on Si micropillars) surfaces in Chapters 4 and 5. Both the advancing and receding contact line fluctuations/friction coefficients have been measured, analyzed and compared on smooth, one-tier, and two-tier surfaces over a wide range of contact line velocities and droplet volumes. A comprehensive analysis is provided to explain the experimental observations.

La thèse porte sur l’étude de l’influence des textures sur le mouillage et la propulsion. Trois situations ont été considérées, selon la taille des textures utilisées.Des textures nanométriques hydrophobes permettent d’obtenir des surfaces aérophiles. Lorsque ces surfaces sont immergées dans un bain, elles restent recouvertes d’un fin film d’air et ouvrent toute une classe de nouveaux problèmes de mouillage, où les interfaces gaz – liquide sont inversées par rapport aux situations traditionnelles. Nous avons décrit l’étalement d’une bulle d’air sur une surface aérophile, la dépression capillaire ou encore la dynamique de bulles sur des fils.En situation de lévitation, des textures de l’ordre du millimètre permettent de rediriger efficacement le flux d’air qui sépare un objet de son support. L’écoulement étant contrôlé, une direction privilégiée peut être choisie et l’objet se trouve alors efficacement propulsé. Selon l’emplacement des textures, un entrainement visqueux ou une propulsion par effet fusée peuvent être observés.Sur des créneaux millimétriques recouverts de nanotextures hydrophobes, l’eau est en situation non-mouillante. Il suffit d’une toute petite inclinaison de la surface pour qu’une goutte dévale, et elle atteint rapidement des vitesses importantes puisque la friction est très faible. La présence des macrotextures sur la surface permet de ralentir considérablement la goutte : l’étude a porté sur l’optimisation du contrôle d’une goutte, éventuellement visqueuse. / This thesis deals with the influence of textures on wetting and propulsion. Three situations have been considered, depending on the texture size.Aerophilic surfaces can be obtained with hydrophobic nanometric structures. When immerged in a liquid bath, these surfaces remain covered by a thin plastron of air. This oppens a new class of problems where gas – liquid interfaces are exchanged, compared to usual studies. We described the spreading of an air bulle over an aerophilic surface, capillary depression and the dynamics of a bubble on a wire.Millimetric sutructures allow an efficient redirection of the air cushion between a levitating object and its substrate. Because the flux is controlled, a specific direction can appear, and the object is efficiently propelled. Depending on the textures location, viscous entrainement or rocket effect can be the propulsive mechanism.Hydrophobic nanotextures are used to generate non-wetting situation of water. A tiny angle of tilt of the surface is enough to see a drop mouving; its velocity is high because of the low friction. Macrotextures, as millimetric crennels slow down very efficiently the drop: the study optimized the control of the drop (possibly viscous) motion.

Dans la galvanisation à chaud, les aciers sont protégés contre la corrosion par une mince couche de zinc obtenue par immersion dans un bain d’alliage de zinc. Avant ce processus, les tôles d'acier subissent un recuit de recristallisation afin d'éliminer l’écrouissage après laminage à froid. Les conditions de recuit utilisées réduisent le film d'oxyde de fer natif, ce qui favorise la mouillabilité de la surface de l'acier par le zinc liquide. Cependant, les nouveaux aciers à haute résistance contiennent des quantités importantes d'éléments d’addition, tels que le silicium et le manganèse. Ces élements diffusent à la surface de l'acier pendant le recuit de recristallisation et forment des particules ou des films d'oxyde par oxydation sélective externe. Si le fer pur est bien mouillé par le zinc liquide, ces oxydes ne le sont pas et leur présence à la surface peut entraîner des défauts dans le revêtement final.Pour étudier l'influence de la taille et de la distribution des oxydes sur le mouillage par le métal liquide, nous avons étudié un mouillage non réactif du plomb liquide sur une surface hétérogène texturée Fe / silice en utilisant la technique de chute de goutte.Ces surfaces ont été conçues par dépôt chimique en phase vapeur assisté par plasma, suivi d'un procédé photolithographique.Après l'impact, la goutte s'étend jusqu'à son diamètre d'étalement maximal. S’ensuit une phase de recule de la goutte. Pendant son recul, la goutte est plus ou moins retenue, en fonction du taux de couverture de silice, sur le fer pur: phénomène d’accrochage-glissement. Sur les surfaces à faible teneur en silice, ce phénomène entraîne une déformation de la forme de la goutte qui est plus allongée dans un sens et quelquefois à la division de la goutte.Il a été démontré que le mouillage est affecté principalement par la fraction de surface de la silice.Enfin, nous avons modélisé les différentes phases de l'étalement de la goutte sur ces surfaces hétérogènes. Des modèles de littérature ont été revus et adaptés et nous avons proposé des modèles macroscopiques de l'oscillation de la goutte pendant son étalement. / In hot-dip galvanizing, steel sheets are protected against corrosion by a thin layer of zinc obtained by immersion in a zinc alloy bath. Before this process, the steel sheets undergo recrystallization annealing to eliminate stresses after cold-rolling. The annealing conditions used reduce the native iron oxide film, which promotes the wettability of the steel surface with liquid zinc. However, new high-strength steels contain significant quantities of addition elements, such as silicon and manganese. These elements diffuse on the surface of the steel sheets during recrystallization annealing and form oxide particles or films by selective external oxidation. If pure iron is well wet with liquid zinc, these oxides are not and their presence on the surface can lead to defects in the final coating.To study the influence of oxide size and their distribution on liquid metal wetting, we studied a non-reactive wetting of liquid lead on a heterogeneous Fe / silica textured surface using the dispensed technique.These surfaces were designed by plasma-assisted chemical vapour deposition followed by a photolithographic process.After impact, the drop extends to its maximum spreading diameter. This is followed by a phase of drop receding. During this, the drop is more or less retained, depending on the silica coverage rate, on the pure iron: stick-slip motion. On surfaces with low silica content, this phenomenon causes a deformation of the drop shape which is more elongated in one direction and sometimes at the division of the drop.We showed that wetting is mainly affected by the surface fraction of silica.Finally, we modelled the different phases of drop spreading on these heterogeneous surfaces. Literature models were reviewed and adapted and macroscopic models of the oscillation of the drop during its spreading were proposed.

Le contact entre l'électrode et l'électrolyte est primordial pour le bon fonctionnement d'une batterie Lithium-Ion. L'imprégnation de l'électrode positive par un électrolyte liquide a toujours été considérée comme totale, cependant les phénomènes ne sont pas exactement connus. Ainsi, ces travaux s'intéressent à l'influence de la composition de l'électrode positive (matière active et agent conducteur) sur cette imprégnation. Après une première étude des propriétés conductrices, électrochimiques et morphologiques d'électrodes présentant des formulations plus ou moins éloignées des formulations industrielles, une méthode utilisant l'équation de Washburn a été développée afin d'étudier l'imprégnation des pores modélisés par un ensemble de tubes capillaires. L'utilisation de l'hexadecane, considéré comme un liquide parfaitement mouillant, a permis de déterminer la taille effective des pores indépendamment de l'électrolyte, et celle-ci a pu être comparée à des résultats obtenus grâce à la méthode de thermoporosimétrie. Puis, les régimes de Washburn obtenus lors de la diffusion de l'électrolyte ont mis en évidence les cinétiques d'ascension. Par la suite, la méthode de Washburn a été utilisée afin de caractériser les propriétés d'imprégnation d'électrodes élaborées avec un nouveau liant et selon un procédé innovant s'affranchissant de l'utilisation de solvant. L'utilisation d'un additif permettant la création de porosité d'une part, et la réticulation du liant d'autre part permettent d'obtenir une imprégnation de l'électrolyte comparable à celle observée pour les électrodes fabriquées par voie solvant / The contact between the electrode and the electrolyte is essential for a Lithium-Ion battery functioning. The impregnation of a positive electrode by the electrolyte has always been considered as total; however the phenomena are not exactly known. Thus, in this work, the influence of the positive electrode composition (active material, conductive agent and binder) on the impregnation has been investigated. After a first study focusing on the conductive, electrochemical and morphological properties of the electrodes, with different types of formulation, a method using Washburn equation has been developed in order to study the impregnation of the electrode’s pores, which were modeled as capillary tubes. With the use of hexadecane, considered as a perfectly wetting liquid, the effective pore size has been determined and then compared to the results given by the thermoporosimetry method. Then, the kinetics of ascension have been identified with the Washburn regimes obtained with the diffusion of the electrolyte in the cathodes. Afterwards, Washburn method has been used in order to characterize the impregnation properties of electrodes elaborated with an innovative process without solvent. Thanks to the use of an additive allowing the creation of porosity in one hand and the reticulation of the binder in the other hand, an impregnation of these new electrode by the electrolyte has been considered as comparable to the one observed for the cathodes made with solvent

Soft soil stabilization frequently uses cement, lime, fly ash, etc., but very limited studies were conducted on the long-term durability of stabilized soil. The present research work deals with the long-term durability of commercially available soil (i.e., EPK clay) stabilized with ordinary Portland cement and polypropylene fiber using a realistic approach, where the effect can be noticed in each weathering cycle. In the present study, two different tests (i.e., wetting-drying and freezing-thawing) were conducted to analyze the long-term durability of stabilized soil. Cycles of higher temperature followed by rainfall, which generally occurs in southern states of the US, were analyzed by the wetting-drying test; and on the other hand, cycles of freezing temperature followed by normal temperature, which generally occurs in northern states of the US and Canada, were analyzed by the freezing-thawing test. For the mid-continental region where freezing, normal, and higher temperature followed by rainfall are expected to occur, hence both the test method i.e., wetting-drying and freezing-thawing, were suggested. Laboratory experimental investigations were conducted to find the percentage loss of stabilized soil during wetting-drying and freezing-thawing tests, which were used as a durability indicator for cement and cement-fiber stabilized soil. Stabilized samples were subjected to harsh environmental conditions in a laboratory set up, and their deterioration was observed and studied after each wetting-drying and freezing-thawing cycle. In the real world, stabilized soil encounters seasonal cycles of monsoon and summer in long run of its service life which was simulated in rapid weathering cycles in laboratory setup. EPK clay samples were stabilized with different percentages of cement, and a mix of cement-fiber combination and were subjected to 12 cycles of wetting-drying and freezing-thawing cycles separately to determine the percentage loss of soil in accordance with the ASTM standards. Finally, based on percentage loss of soil of those stabilized samples which survived up to 12 cycles of weathering action, the optimum content of stabilizing agent was determined for wetting-drying and freezing-thawing tests. Results of wetting-drying tests indicate that EPK clay stabilized with ordinary Portland cement and fiber combination survived up to 12 cycles, but only 10% cement + 0.5% fiber was durable against wetting-drying based on percentage loss. For all the samples stabilized with 10% cement + 0.5% fiber combination, the percentage loss of soil when subjected to durability test was less than 7%, which satisfy the Portland Cement Association’s (PCAs) durability specification. The results of freezing-thawing tests indicate that the EPK clay stabilized with 10% cement, 5% cement + 0.5% fiber, and 10% cement + 0.5% fiber survived up to 12 cycles and were durable against freezing-thawing based on percentage loss of soil i.e., less than 7% which satisfy the Portland Cement Association’s durability specification.

No description available.

No description available.