Artificial magnetic materials (AMMs) are a type of metamaterials which are engineered to exhibit desirable magnetic properties not found in nature. AMMs are realized by embedding electrically small metallic resonators aligned in parallel planes in a host dielectric medium. In the presence of a magnetic field, an electric current is induced on the inclusions leading to the emergence of an enhanced magnetic response inside the medium at the resonance frequency of the inclusions. AMMs with negative permeability are used to develop single negative, or double negative metamaterials. AMMs with enhanced positive permeability are used to provide magneto-dielectric materials at microwave or optical frequencies where the natural magnetic materials fail to work efficiently. Artificial magnetic materials have proliferating applications in microwave and optical frequency region. Such applications include inversely refracting the light beam, invisibility cloaking, ultra miniaturizing and frequency bandwidth enhancing low profile antennas, planar superlensing, super-sensitive sensing, decoupling proximal high profile antennas, and enhancing solar cells efficiency, among others. AMMs have unique enabling features that allow for these important applications. Fundamental limitations on the performance of artificial magnetic materials have been derived. The first limitation which depends on the generic model of permeability functions expresses that the frequency dispersion in an AMM is limited by the desired operational bandwidth. The other constraints are derived based on the geometrical limitations of inclusions. These limitations are calculated based on a circuit model. Therefore, a formulation for permeability and magnetic susceptibility of the media based on a circuit model is developed. The formulation is in terms of a geometrical parameter that represents the geometrical characteristics of the inclusions such as area, perimeter and curvature, and a physical parameter that represents the physical, structural and fabrication characteristics of the medium. The effect of the newly introduced parameters on the effective permeability of the medium and the magnetic loss tangent are studied. In addition, the constraints and relations are used to methodically design artificial magnetic material meeting specific operational requirements. A novel design methodology based on an introduced analytical formulation for artificial magnetic material with desired properties is implemented. The synthesis methodology is performed in an iterative four-step algorithm. In the first step, the feasibility of the design is tested to meet the fundamental constraints. In consecutive steps, the geometrical and physical factors which are attributed to the area and perimeter of the inclusion are synthesized and calculated. An updated range of the inclusion's area and perimeter is obtained through consecutive iterations. Finally, the outcome of the iterative procedure is checked for geometrical realizability. The strategy behind the design methodology is generic and can be applied to any adopted circuit based model for AMMs. Several generic geometries are introduced to realize any combination of geometrically realizable area and perimeter (s,l) pairs. A realizable geometry is referred to a contour that satisfies Dido's inequality. The generic geometries introduced here can be used to fabricate feasible AMMs. The novel generic geometries not only can be used to enhance magnetic properties, but also they can be configured to provide specific permeability with desired dispersion function over a certain frequency bandwidth with a maximum magnetic loss tangent. The proposed generic geometries are parametric contours with uncorrelated perimeter and area function. Geometries are configured by tuning parameters in order to possess specified perimeter and surface area. The produced contour is considered as the inclusion's shape. The inclusions are accordingly termed Rose curve resonators (RCRs), Corrugated rectangular resonators (CRRs) and Sine oval resonators (SORs). Moreover, the detailed characteristics of the RCR are studied. The RCRs are used as complementary resonators in design of the ground plane in a microstrip stop-band filter, and as the substrate in design of a miniaturized patch antenna. The performance of new designs is compared with the counterpart devices, and the advantages are discussed.

Semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) have emerged as a new class of fluorescent probes and labeling agents for biological samples. QDs are bright, highly photostable and allow simultaneous excitation of multiple emissions. Owing to these properties, QDs hold exceptional promise in enabling intracellular biochemical studies and diagnosis with unprecedented sensitivity and accuracy. However, use of QD probes inside living cells remains a challenge due to difficulties in delivery of nanoparticles without causing aggregation and imaging single nanoparticles inside living cells. In this dissertation, a systematic approach to deliver, image and locate single QDs inside living cells is presented and the properties of molecular motor protein driven QD transport are studied. First, spectroscopic and imaging methods capable of differentiating single nanoparticles from the aggregates were developed. These technologies were validated by differentiating surface protein expression on viral particles and by enabling rapid counting of single biomolecules. Second, controlled delivery of single QDs into living cells is demonstrated. A surprising finding is that single QDs associate non-specifically with the dynein motor protein complex and are transported to the microtubule organizing center. Accurate localization and tracking of QDs inside cell cytoplasm revealed multiple dynein motor protein attachment resulting in increased velocity of the QDs. Further, spectrin molecule which is known to recruit dynein motor protein complex to phospholipid micelles was found to associate with the QDs. These results may serve as a benchmark for developing new QD surface coatings suitable for intracellular applications. Since, nanoparticles are similar in size to viral pathogens; better understanding of nanoparticle-cell interactions should also help engineer nanoparticle models to study virus-host cell interactions. (Contains AVI format multimedia files)

Wireless communications have been an indispensable aspect of everyday life, and there is an increasing consumer demand for accessing several wireless communication technologies from a single, compact, mobile device. System-on-package (SOP) technology is an advanced packaging technology that has been proven to realize the convergence of multiple functions into miniaturized, high-performance systems to meet this demand. With the advancements in the SOP technology, the miniaturization of the front-end module has been achieved using embedded passives in multilayer packages. However, the integration of the antenna directly on the module package is still the barrier to achieve a fully-integrated, high-performance RF SOP system. The main reason for this missing link is that integrating the antenna on the package requires miniaturizing the antenna, which is a difficult task. The focus of this dissertation is to design high-performance antennas along with developing techniques for miniaturization and system-on-package (SOP) integration of these antennas to achieve fully-integrated SOP systems using advanced multilayer organic substrates and thin-film magneto-dielectric materials. The targeted spectrum for the antenna designs are 2.4/5 GHz WLAN/WiMAX and 60 GHz WPAN bands. Several novel antenna designs and configurations to integrate the antenna on the package along with the module are discussed in this dissertation. The advanced polymers used in this research are Liquid Crystalline Polymer (LCP), RXP, and thin-film magneto-dielectrics.

La première partie est consacrée à l'étude du comportement asymptotique des solutions de Navier-Stokes incompressible à l'infini de la variable d'espace. On obtient des résultats optimaux de propagation de la décroissance en terme d'espaces à poids, ainsi qu'un developpement asymptotique de la vitesse et de la pression analogue à la loi de Bernoulli. La théorie s'étend à un modèle de la MHD.<br />La seconde partie est consacrée à l'étude des espaces de Sobolev associés à une famille de champs de vecteurs, de type sous-elliptique. Les principaux résultats sont la description des régularités fractionnaires avec la distance de Carnot, la démonstration d'inégalités de Hardy et, dans le cas du groupe de Heisenberg, la théorie des traces sur une hypersurface caractéristique générique.

Artificial magnetic materials (AMMs) are a type of metamaterials which are engineered to exhibit desirable magnetic properties not found in nature. AMMs are realized by embedding electrically small metallic resonators aligned in parallel planes in a host dielectric medium. In the presence of a magnetic field, an electric current is induced on the inclusions leading to the emergence of an enhanced magnetic response inside the medium at the resonance frequency of the inclusions. AMMs with negative permeability are used to develop single negative, or double negative metamaterials. AMMs with enhanced positive permeability are used to provide magneto-dielectric materials at microwave or optical frequencies where the natural magnetic materials fail to work efficiently. Artificial magnetic materials have proliferating applications in microwave and optical frequency region. Such applications include inversely refracting the light beam, invisibility cloaking, ultra miniaturizing and frequency bandwidth enhancing low profile antennas, planar superlensing, super-sensitive sensing, decoupling proximal high profile antennas, and enhancing solar cells efficiency, among others. AMMs have unique enabling features that allow for these important applications. Fundamental limitations on the performance of artificial magnetic materials have been derived. The first limitation which depends on the generic model of permeability functions expresses that the frequency dispersion in an AMM is limited by the desired operational bandwidth. The other constraints are derived based on the geometrical limitations of inclusions. These limitations are calculated based on a circuit model. Therefore, a formulation for permeability and magnetic susceptibility of the media based on a circuit model is developed. The formulation is in terms of a geometrical parameter that represents the geometrical characteristics of the inclusions such as area, perimeter and curvature, and a physical parameter that represents the physical, structural and fabrication characteristics of the medium. The effect of the newly introduced parameters on the effective permeability of the medium and the magnetic loss tangent are studied. In addition, the constraints and relations are used to methodically design artificial magnetic material meeting specific operational requirements. A novel design methodology based on an introduced analytical formulation for artificial magnetic material with desired properties is implemented. The synthesis methodology is performed in an iterative four-step algorithm. In the first step, the feasibility of the design is tested to meet the fundamental constraints. In consecutive steps, the geometrical and physical factors which are attributed to the area and perimeter of the inclusion are synthesized and calculated. An updated range of the inclusion's area and perimeter is obtained through consecutive iterations. Finally, the outcome of the iterative procedure is checked for geometrical realizability. The strategy behind the design methodology is generic and can be applied to any adopted circuit based model for AMMs. Several generic geometries are introduced to realize any combination of geometrically realizable area and perimeter (s,l) pairs. A realizable geometry is referred to a contour that satisfies Dido's inequality. The generic geometries introduced here can be used to fabricate feasible AMMs. The novel generic geometries not only can be used to enhance magnetic properties, but also they can be configured to provide specific permeability with desired dispersion function over a certain frequency bandwidth with a maximum magnetic loss tangent. The proposed generic geometries are parametric contours with uncorrelated perimeter and area function. Geometries are configured by tuning parameters in order to possess specified perimeter and surface area. The produced contour is considered as the inclusion's shape. The inclusions are accordingly termed Rose curve resonators (RCRs), Corrugated rectangular resonators (CRRs) and Sine oval resonators (SORs). Moreover, the detailed characteristics of the RCR are studied. The RCRs are used as complementary resonators in design of the ground plane in a microstrip stop-band filter, and as the substrate in design of a miniaturized patch antenna. The performance of new designs is compared with the counterpart devices, and the advantages are discussed.

No description available.

Tunnelmagnetowiderstandselemente (MTJ) mit einer kristallinen MgO Tunnelbarriere zwischen amorphen CoFeB-Elektroden haben Aufgrund ihres hohen Tunnelmagnetowiderstandes (TMR) und der guten Integrationsmöglichkeit in bestehende Prozesse viel Aufmerksamkeit bekommen. Dabei zeigten vorherige Berechnungen, dass die strukturellen und chemischen Eigenschaften der Grenzfläche einen signifikanten Einfluss auf den TMR aufweisen, weshalb diese Grenzfläche im Rahmen dieser Arbeit mittels quantitativer, hochauflösender und analytischer Transmissionselektronenmikroskopie analysiert wurde. Um einen hohen TMR in die diesen Systemen zu erzielen ist ein kristalliner Übergang zwischen der Tunnelbarriere und den Elektroden notwendig. Berechnungen zeigten, dass bereits wenige Monolagen kristallinen Materials an der Grenzfläche ausreichen, um einen hohen TMR in diesen Systemen zu erzielen. Ausgehend von diesen Berechnungen wurde die Mikrostruktur auf der Subnanometer-Skala an der kristallin/amorphen Grenzfläche von MgO-CoFeB in dieser Arbeit untersucht. Die experimentellen Daten wurden hierfür mittels aberrationskorrigierter, hochauflösender Transmissionselektronenmikroskopie (HRTEM) an Modellsystemproben erstellt und die vom MgO induzierte kristalline Ordnung an der Grenzfläche zum CoFeB mittels iterativen Bildserienvergleichs mit simulierten Daten quantifiziert. Zur Simulation der HRTEM-Grenzflächenabbildungen wurde die „Averaged-Projected-Potential“-Näherung genutzt, welche im Rahmen dieser Arbeit um die Berücksichtigung von monoatomaren Stufen entlang der Strahlrichtung des Mikroskops erweitert wurde. Es zeigte sich, dass mit dieser Methode die Ordnung an der MgO-CoFeB-Grenzfläche von nicht ausgelagerten Systemen gut beschrieben werden kann. In ausgelagerten Systemen kommt es dagegen zu einer Bor-diffusion aus dem a-CoFeB heraus um damit eine Kristallisation am MgO zu ermöglichen. Im zweiten Teil dieser Arbeit werden die Bordiffusion und die Kristallisation in Abhängigkeit von der Deckschicht als auch der MgO-Depositionsmethode sowohl an Modellsystemproben als auch an funktionsfähigen MTJs untersucht. Elektronen-Energie-Verlustspektroskopie (EELS) an diesen Proben konnten zeigen, dass sowohl die Deckschicht also auch die MgO-Depositionsmethode einen entscheidenden Einfluss auf die Bor-Diffusion in diesen Systemen ausüben.

La réfrigération magnétique attire beaucoup d’attention ces dernières années parce qu’elle est considérée comme une technologie respectueuse de l’environnement et énergétiquement économique. Aujourd’hui, cette technologie avancée est encore en phase de recherche que des dispositifs de réfrigérations magnétiques soient déjà opérationnels. Ce travail de thèse consiste à étudier la potentialité de résistance à la corrosion de différents types de matériaux magnétocaloriques (Gd6Co1.67Si3, Ni2Mn0.75Cu0.25Ga et Pr0.66Sr0.34MnO3) en contact avec un fluide caloporteur. Afin de comprendre les propriétés magnétocaloriques des matériaux, nos recherches se sont aussi focalisées sur les relations entre la transition magnéto-structurales d’alliages Heusler Ni2Mn0.75Cu0.25Ga et (i) la distribution cationique au sein de la structure cristalline et/ou (ii) la microstructure. Finalement, le diagramme de phase magnétique et nucléaire en lien avec les effets magnétocalorique obtenu grâce à la diffraction de neutrons et de pérovskite Pr1-xSrxMnO3 (0.25≤x≤0.45) est également présenté. / Magnetic refrigeration has gained lot of importance and attention as they are highlighted to be environmental friendly, energy efficient. Presently, though at research stage, the magnetic refrigerators are pushed towards realization in domestic application with extensive work on materials and with few working models. One critical issue, the potential resistance to corrosion in case of different class of magnetocaloric materials (Gd6Co1.67Si3, Ni2Mn0.75Cu0.25Ga and Pr0.66Sr0.34MnO3) against the heat transport fluid is addressed. To better understand and improve the observed magnetocaloric properties in Heulser alloys Ni2Mn0.75Cu0.25Ga and to elaborate the same with the magneto-structural relation, studies on (i) cation distribution with in crystal structure and/or (ii) microstructural dependence are presented. Nuclear and magnetic phase diagram based on detailed neutron diffraction and magnetism studies for magnetocaloric perovskite oxide Pr1-xSrxMnO3 (0.25≤x≤0.45) is also presented

La Magneto-Impédance Géante (GMI) consiste en une forte variation de l’impédance d’un matériau ferromagnétique doux parcouru par un courant d’excitation alternatif haute fréquence lorsqu’il est soumis à un champ magnétique extérieur. Ce travail de thèse introduit de nouvelles techniques numériques et les pistes d’optimisation associées pour les capteurs GMI à haute sensibilité. L'originalité réside dans l'intégration d'un synthétiseur de fréquence et d'un récepteur entièrement numérique pilotés par un processeur de traitement de signal. Ce choix instrumental se justifie par le souhait de réduire le bruit de l’électronique de conditionnement qui limite le niveau de bruit équivalent en champ. Ce dernier caractérise le plus petit champ mesurable par le capteur. Le système de conditionnement conçu est associé à la configuration magnétique off-diagonal pour accroître la sensibilité intrinsèque de l’élément sensible. Cette configuration magnétique consiste en l’utilisation d’une bobine de détection autour du matériau ferromagnétique. Cette association permet en outre d’obtenir une caractéristique impaire de la réponse du capteur autour du champ nul, et par conséquent de pouvoir mettre en œuvre et d’utiliser le capteur sans avoir recours à une polarisation magnétique. Ce choix permet ainsi d’éliminer, ou au moins de minimiser les problématiques liées aux offsets des dispositifs GMI, tout en validant l’intérêt de cette configuration magnétique, notamment sur le choix du point de fonctionnement. Une modélisation des performances en bruit de toute la chaîne de mesure, incluant le système de conditionnement numérique, est réalisée. Une comparaison entre les niveaux de bruit équivalent en champ attendus par le modèle et mesurés est effectuée. Les résultats obtenus ont permis de dégager des lois générales d’optimisation des performances pour un capteur GMI numérique. Partant de ces pistes d’optimisation, un prototype de capteur complet et optimisé a été implémenté sur FPGA. Ce capteur affiche un niveau de bruit équivalent en champ de l’ordre de 1 pT/√Hz en zone de bruit blanc. En outre, ce travail permet de valider l’intérêt des techniques numériques dans la réalisation de dispositifs de mesure à haute sensibilité. / The Giant Magneto-Impedance (GMI) is a large change of the impedance of some soft ferromagnetic materials, supplied by an alternating high-frequency excitation current, when they are submitted to an external magnetic field. This thesis presents the design and performance of an original digital architecture for high-sensitivity GMI sensors. The core of the design is a Digital Signal Processor (DSP) which controls two other key elements: a Direct Digital Synthesizer (DDS) and a Software Defined Radio (SDR) or digital receiver. The choice of these digital concepts is justified by the will to reduce the conditioning electronics noise that limits the equivalent magnetic noise level. The latter characterizes the smallest measurable field by the sensor. The developed conditioning system is associated with the off-diagonal magnetic configuration in order to increase the intrinsic sensitivity of the sensitive element. This magnetic configuration consists of the use of an additional a pick-up coil wound around the ferromagnetic material. This association also makes it possible to obtain an asymmetrical characteristic (odd function) of the sensor response near the zero-field point and to consequently allow for sensor implementation and use without any bias magnetic field. Thus, this choice eliminates, or at least minimizes, the problems related to the offset cancelling of the GMI devices. Also, it validates the advantage of this magnetic configuration, especially the choice of the operating point. Modeling of the noise performance of the entire measurement chain, including the digital conditioning, is performed. A comparison between the expected and measured equivalent magnetic noise levels is then carried out. The results yield general optimization laws for a digital GMI sensor. Using these laws, an optimized prototype of a GMI sensor is designed and implemented on FPGA. An equivalent magnetic noise level in a white noise zone region of approximately 1 pT/√ Hz is obtained. Furthermore, this work also makes it possible to validate the interest of digital techniques in the realization of a high-sensitivity measuring devices.

Cette thèse est dédiée à l'étude des propriétés de magnéto-transport des gaz d'électrons bidimensionnel, et plus spécifiquement du graphène sur carbure de silicium (G/SiC) ainsi qu’à l'interface entre les oxydes complexes LaAlO3 (LAO) et SrTiO3 (STO). Nous exploitons la génération d’un champ magnétique intense (jusqu'à 80 T) et les très basses températures (jusqu'à 40 mK) pour étudier les propriétés de transport quantique, qui sont évocatrices de la structure de bandes électroniques sous-jacente. Dans G/SiC, à la limite du régime d’effet Hall quantique, nous mesurons un plateau de Hall ultra-large quantifié à R=h/2e² couvrant un champ magnétique de plus de 70 T (de 7 T à 80 T). La résistance longitudinale est proche de zéro mais présente, de manière inattendue, de faibles oscillations périodiques avec l’inverse du champ magnétique. Sur la base d’observations microscopiques, ce gaz d’électrons 2D est modélisé par une matrice de graphène ayant une densité de porteurs de charge faible, parsemée d’ilots de taille micrométrique ayant un dopage plus important. Les simulations numériques des propriétés de transport reproduisent bien le plateau de Hall et la présence des oscillations. Au-delà du substrat de SiC qui agit comme un réservoir de charge et stabilise le facteur de remplissage à ν=2, un transfert de charge dépendant du champ magnétique entre les ilots chargés est responsable de la présence des oscillations de la magnétorésistance. Cette étude originale fournit de nouvelles perspectives pour des applications en métrologie. Les propriétés remarquables des gaz d’électrons 2D à l'interface entre les oxydes complexes LAO et STO sont aujourd'hui envisagées pour le développement de futurs dispositifs multifonctionnels. Toutefois, leurs propriétés électroniques sont encore mal connues et nécessitent des recherches plus approfondies. Dans ces systèmes, la magnétorésistance montre des oscillations de Shubnikov-de Haas (SdH) quasi-périodiques et un effet Hall linéaire jusqu'à 55 T à basse température. Nous observons une différence d’un ordre de grandeur entre la densité de porteurs extraite de la période des oscillations SdH et la pente de la résistance de Hall, impliquant la présence de nombreuses sous-bandes à l'énergie de Fermi. Les oscillations quasi-périodiques de la magnétorésistance sont bien reproduites par des simulations numériques prenant en compte l'effet Rashba à l'interface. De plus, à partir de l'évolution des oscillations SdH avec la tension de grille à très basse température (40mK), nous identifions les sous-bandes électroniques contribuant au transport, les orbitales atomiques dont elles dérivent, ainsi que leur localisation spatiale dans la profondeur de l'interface. / This thesis is devoted to the study of the magneto-transport properties of two dimensional electron gas (2DEG), and more specifically graphene on silicon carbide (G/SiC) as well as the interface between two complex oxides LaAlO3 / SrTiO3 (LAO/STO). We take advantage of very high magnetic field (up to 80 T) and very low temperature (down to 40 mK) to investigate the quantum transport properties, which are evocative of the underlying electronic band-structure. In G/SiC, close to the quantum Hall breakdown regime, we measure an ultra-broad quantum Hall plateau at R=h/2e² covering a magnetic field range of more than 70 T (from 7 T to 80 T). Accordingly, the longitudinal resistance is close to zero, but displays unexpected weak 1/B-periodic oscillations. Based on microscopic observations, this 2DEG is modeled as a low charge carrier density graphene matrix decorated by micrometers-size puddles with larger doping. Numerical simulations of the transport properties reproduce well both the broad Quantum Hall plateau and the presence of the oscillations. Besides the SiC substrate which acts as a charge reservoir and stabilizes the quantum Hall state at filling factor ν=2, a magnetic field dependent transfer of charges involving the puddles is responsible for the presence of the oscillating features. This original study provides new insights for resistance metrology purposes. The 2DEG arising at the interface between the complex oxides LAO and STO is nowadays envisioned for future multi-functional devices. Their electronic properties are still a matter of debate and require further investigations. The high field magneto-resistance of this 2DEG displays quasi-periodic Shubnikov-de Haas Oscillations (SdHO) and a linear Hall effect up to 55 T at low temperature. We observe a large discrepancy between the carrier density extracted from the period of the SdHO and the slope of the Hall resistance, which constitutes a strong evidence for the presence of many sub-bands crossing the Fermi energy. The quasi-periodic oscillations of the magneto-resistance are well reproduced by numerical simulations taking into account the strong Rashba effect at the interface. In addition, from the back-gate voltage evolution of the SdHO at sub-kelvin temperature, we identify the electronic sub-bands contributing to transport, the orbital symmetry from which they derive, as well as their spatial localization along the interface.