The propagation of ultrasound through two- and three-dimensional strongly scattering media, with either random or ordered internal structures, has been investigated through experiments and finite element simulations. All media investigated have strong scattering resonances, leading to novel transport behaviour. The two-dimensional samples consist of nylon rods immersed in water. When the nylon rods are arranged in a triangular lattice to form two-dimensional phononic crystals, very unusual dispersion properties are observed when the lattice constant is adjusted so that Bragg and hybridization gaps overlap in frequency. This behaviour is attributed to the competition between two co-existing propagating modes, leading to a new method for tuning bandgap properties and adjusting the transmission by orders of magnitude. The scattering resonance of the nylon rods also leads to unusual Dirac cone properties at the K point of the triangular lattice. The three-dimensional media were fabricated by brazing aluminum beads together to form a disordered porous solid network, with either vacuum or air in the pores, depending on the experiment. This system is of particular interest because it has been shown to exhibit Anderson localization of ultrasound. Two experimental approaches were developed to investigate previously unstudied properties of this system. By directly counting the modes in the frequency domain, the density of states was measured. At intermediate frequencies, the density of states was found to be approximately independent of frequency, while at higher frequencies, the frequency dependence was consistent with traditional density-of-states models. The level statistics of the modes was also investigated to determine the conditions under which level repulsion occurs. By using a laser interferometer to measure the ultrasonic displacements on the surface of a large slab-shaped sample, sub-diffusive behaviour was observed, demonstrating the feasibility of using such measurements to investigate the transition to Anderson localization in these samples.

Le stockage de données par holographie suscite un intérêt renouvelé. Il semble bien placé pour conduire à une nouvelle génération de mémoires optiques aux capacités et débits de lecture bien supérieurs à ceux des disques optiques actuels basés sur l'enregistrement dit surfacique. Dans ce travail de thèse, nous proposons une nouvelle architecture de stockage optique de données qui s'inspire du principe de la photographie interférentielle de Lippmann. Les informations y sont inscrites dans le volume du matériau d'enregistrement sous la forme de pages de données par multiplexage en longueur d'onde en exploitant la sélectivité de Bragg. Cette technique, bien que très voisine de l'holographie, n'avait jamais été envisagée pour le stockage à hautes capacités. L'objectif de la thèse a été d'analyser cette nouvelle architecture afin de déterminer les conditions pouvant conduire à de très hautes capacités. Cette analyse s'est appuyée sur un outil de simulation numérique des processus de diffraction en jeu dans cette mémoire interférentielle. Elle nous a permis de définir deux conditions sous lesquelles ces hautes capacités sont atteignables. En respectant ces conditions, nous avons conçu un démonstrateur de mémoire dit de " Lippmann " et avons ainsi démontré expérimentalement que la capacité est bien proportionnelle à l'épaisseur du matériau d'enregistrement. Avec une telle architecture, des capacités de l'ordre du Téraoctet sont attendues pour des disques de 12 cm de diamètre.

Ces travaux portent sur la génération d'un peigne de longueurs d'ondes à haut-débit pour les télécommunications. Ce manuscrit s'articule autour de trois grandes parties. Dans un premier temps, nous nous sommes intéressés aux cavités laser fonctionnant en blocage de modes passif. Les expériences ont notamment permis de générer à chaque aller et retour dans la cavité des paquets d'impulsions liées et séparées d'une période correspondant à une cadence de 100-160 GHz. Dans la seconde partie, nous montrons la possibilité de générer des horloges à haute cadence (100 GHz - 1 THz) en exploitant les bonnes propriétés des lasers à îlots quantiques à blocage de modes, par l'ajout de filtres. La sélection des fréquences a été réalisée, au début de la thèse, par l'application de points de température induisant des sautsde phase sur un réseau de Bragg à pas variable, puis par l'utilisation d'un filtrage spatial utilisant un appareil commercial. La stabilité des horloges optiques, de fréquences variables pouvant atteindre 1,5 THz, a été validée par des mesures de taux d'erreurs. Enfin, nous montrons qu'il est possible réaliser des convertisseurs de fréquence permettant de récupérer une horloge à la sous harmonique f à partir d'un signal binaire cadencée à N × f. En conclusion, nous dressons les perspectives liées à ces résultats.

Most of the research conducted to measure credibility has focused on comparing one type of media with another, i.e., newspaper vs. television. Other research has looked into how different target audiences of corporate or company newspapers perceive the credibility of the publication. To date, there has been little research into how the target audiences perceive the credibility of a military installation's command newspaper. This study examined how active-duty Army personnel perceived the credibility of an Army installation's command newspaper; specifically, The Paraglide from Fort Bragg, North Carolina.The study employed the model developed by Meyer (1988) to measure perceptions of credibility. The study also used a model developed by Surlin and Walker (1975) to measure the respondent's self-agreement with how three hypothetical "bad news" stories should and would be covered by the command newspaper. The independent variables for the study were: civilian education level, years of service in the military, and job level/rank. The data was collected using a survey questionnaire distributed to Army units assigned to the 82nd Infantry Division (Airborne). Respondents were directed by their supervisors to complete the survey.The results indicated education level was not significant in perceptions of credibility; years of service was significant in perceptions of credibility; and job level/rank was significant in perceptions of credibility. Additionally, education level, years of service, and job level/rank were all significant in the respondent's self-agreement with how controversial issues were covered, but the significance appeared to be issue dependent. / Department of Journalism

This thesis concerns with the development of a dual-parameter sensor based on fiber Bragg grating (FBG) and a packaging design for high pressure sensing in harsh environment. This thesis starts by introducing a novel design of a partially coated FBG, using a metallic insert and a thermal curing epoxy. An analytical opto-mechanical model, based on couple mode theory, was developed and presented. The experimental and modelling result of the optical response of the partially coated FBG were compared and shown to be in excellent agreement. The experiments were executed on a custom-built fiber optic calibration station. The coated FBG sensor has a temperature sensitivity of 26.9 ± 0.3 pm/°C, which is 2.7 times higher than a bare fiber; and a force sensitivity of 0.104 nm/N, which is 13 times smaller than a bare fiber. The zero reference of the sensor has a drift of a maximum of 70 pm but the sensor is shown to settle within ±5 pm after 3 thermal cycles and 10 tensile loading cycles. A low profile packaging design is presented for a maximum pressure of 20.68 MPa (3000 psi) for harsh environment applications. A detailed study with FEM analysis revealed the optimal design for the package’s sleeve thickness is 0.5 mm. The temperature sensitivity is in close agreement with the unpackaged coated sensor with 10% difference. Compared to the modelling, the equivalent force sensitivity is 27% lower due to prototype dimensional uncertainties and modelling uncertainties with the material properties. The lack of pre-tension of the FBG sensor in the package also attributed to lower force sensitivity at pressure level lower than 4.13 MPa (600 psi).

A novel nano-structure is proposed to enhance extraordinary optical transmission from a periodic array of nano-holes. The Plasmonic Bragg reflector works by recapturing surface plasmons that are scattered off the edge of the array during the extraordinary optical transmission process, and reflecting them back towards the array where they can interfere with the light and enhance transmission. This reduces losses from a subwavelength aperture array. The reflectors are positioned to reflect in-phase with the light transmission. Polarization sensitivity of the plasmonic Bragg reflector is demonstrated. Modulation of the transmission is achieved by varying the separation between the array and reflectors. Isolation of adjacent structures on a plasmonic device by the use of the Bragg reflectors is attempted. Transmission and diffraction properties of quasiperiodic nano-hole arrays in a gold film are studied. Resonant transmission is observed, whose values do not simply match surface plasmon wave-vector values. Rotationally symmetric diffraction from the quasicrystal nano-hole array. This diffraction is seen to be controllable by the polarization of the excitation laser. Finite difference time domain calculations of the quasiperiodic array are performed to better understand the origin of the observed transmission resonances. Good agreement between theory and experiment is observed. Calculations show the formation of near-field hot-spots over the structure.

Two in-fibre Bragg grating based optical pressure sensors were developed to address the limitations of conventional solid-state electronic biomedical sensors. The first sensor, developed for intervertebral disc pressure measurements varying over several MPa, had a major diameter of only 400 μm and sensing area of 0.03 mm2. This sensor was validated in spine biomechanics studies and was shown to: give accurate and repeatable measurements, be compatible with the small (e.g. cervical) discs, and alter disc mechanics less than the current alternative sensor. This sensor is also the smallest, most mechanically compliant disc pressure sensor presented to date. The second FBG sensor was developed to measure sub-kPa pressure variations and had a major diameter and sensing area of only 200 μm and 0.02 mm2, respectively. This sensor achieves sub-kPa repeatability through a novel design that is approximately 100 times smaller than other FBG sensors presented with sub-kPa pressure repeatability.

Fibre-optic sensing techniques for application in polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEMFC) are presented in this thesis. Temperature, relative humidity (RH) and air-water two-phase flow sensors are developed and demonstrated based on optical fibre Bragg gratings (FBG). Bragg gratings offer the following characteristics that warrant their development for application in PEMFCs: small size, environmental compatibility and the possibility of multiplexed multi-parameter sensing. Contributions of this work are in novel sensor development and implementation strategies. Important installation design considerations include the sensor proximity to the catalyst layer, sensor strain relief and minimal bending of the fibre. With these considerations, the dynamic and steady-state performance of FBG temperature sensors distributed throughout the flow-field of a single cell PEMFC was validated with a co-located micro-thermocouple. In the development of FBGs for in situ measurement of relative humidity, a polyimide-coated FBG based RH sensor is presented with significantly improved response time and sensitivity over previously reported designs. The RH inside a PEMFC under transient operating conditions is monitored. Step increases in current induce significantly larger increases in RH near the outlet than near the inlet of the cell, and associated transients within the fuel cell are found on a time scale approaching the sensor response time. Finally, to complete the suite of FBG sensors for water management in PEMFCs, an evanescent field based FBG sensor embedded in a microchannel for the measurement of two-phase flow dynamics is presented. Using high speed video for validation, it is established that the novel sensor enables the measurement of droplet average velocity and size in flow regimes representative of an operating fuel cell. / Graduate

Advanced composite materials are becoming increasingly more valuable in a plethora of engineering applications due to properties such as tailorability, low specific strength and stiffness and resistance to fatigue and corrosion. Compared to more traditional metallic and ceramic materials, advanced composites such as carbon, aramid or glass reinforced plastic are relatively new and still require research to optimize their capabilities. Three areas that composites stand to benefit from improvement are processing, damage detection and life prediction. Fiber optic sensors and piezoelectric transducers show great potential for advances in these areas. This dissertation presents the research performed on improving the efficiency of advanced composite materials through the use of embedded fiber optic sensors and surface mounted piezoelectric transducers. Embedded fiber optic sensors are used to detect the presence of resin during the injection stage of resin transfer molding, monitor the degree of cure and predict the remaining useful life while in service. A sophisticated resin transfer molding apparatus was developed with the ability of embedding fiber optics into the composite and a glass viewing window so that resin flow sensors could be verified visually. A novel technique for embedding optical fiber into both 2- and 3-D structures was developed. A theoretical model to predict the remaining useful life was developed and a systematic test program was conducted to verify this model. A network of piezoelectric transducers was bonded to a composite panel in order to develop a structural health monitoring algorithm capable of detecting and locating damage in a composite structure. A network configuration was introduced that allows for a modular expansion of the system to accommodate larger structures and an algorithm based on damage progression history was developed to implement the network. The details and results of this research are contained in four manuscripts that are included in Appendices A-D while the body of the dissertation provides background information and a summary of the results. / Graduate

This thesis explored the theory, design, fabrication and characterization of AlGaAs Bragg reflection waveguides (BRW) towards the goal of a platform for monolithic integration of active and optically nonlinear devices. Through integration of a diode laser and nonlinear phase-matched cavity, the possibility of on-chip nonlinear frequency generation was explored. Such integrated devices would be highly useful as a robust, alignment free, small footprint and electrically injected alternative to bulk optic systems. A theoretical framework for modal analysis of arbitrary 1-D photonic crystal defect waveguides is developed. This method relies on the transverse resonance condition. It is then demonstrated in the context of several types of Bragg reflection waveguides. The framework is then extended to phase-match second-order nonlinearities and incorporating quantum-wells for diode lasers. Experiments within a slab and ridge waveguide demonstrated phase-matched Type-I second harmonic generation at fundamental wavelength of 1587 and 1600 nm, respectively; a first for this type of waveguide. For the slab waveguide, conversion efficiency was 0.1 %/W. In the more strongly confined ridge waveguides, efficiency increased to 8.6 %/W owing to the increased intensity. The normalized conversion efficiency was estimated to be at 600 %/Wcm^2. Diode lasers emitting at 980 nm in the BRW mode were also fabricated. Verification of the Bragg mode was performed through imaging the near- field of the mode. Propagation loss of this type of mode was measured directly for the first time at 14 cm^-1. The lasers were found to be very insensitive with characteristic temperature at 215 K. Two designs incorporating both laser and phase-matched nonlinearity within the same cavity were fabricated, for degenerate and non-degenerate down-conversion. Though the lasers were sub-optimal, a parametric fluorescence signal was readily detected. Fluorescence power as high as 4 nW for the degenerate design and 5 nW for the non-degenerate design were detected. The conversion efficiency was 4176 %/Wcm^2 and 874 %/Wcm^2, respectively. Neither design was found to emit near the design wavelength. In general, the signal is between 1600-1800 nm and the idler is between 2200-2400 nm. Improvements in laser performance are expected to drastically increase the conversion efficiency.