In this thesis a tool to be used in experimental design for batch processes is presented. Specifically, this method is to aid in the development of a process model. Currently, experimental design methods are either empirical in nature which need very little understanding of the underlying phenomena and without the objective of more fundamental understanding of the process. Other methods are model based which assume the model is correct and attempt to better define the model parameters or discriminate between models. This new paradigm for experimental design allows for process optimization and process model development to occur simultaneously. The methodology specifically evaluates multiple models as a check to evaluate whether the models are capturing the trend in the experimental data. A new tool for experimental design developed here is called the grid algorithm which is designed to constrain the experimental region to potential optimal points of the user defined objective function for the process. It accomplishes this by using the confidence interval on the objective function value. The objective function value is calculated using the model prediction of the best performing model among a set of models at the predicted optimal point. This new experimental design methodology is tested first on simulated data. The first simulation fits a model to data generated by the modified Himmelblau function (MHF). The second simulation fits multiple models to data generated to simulate a film growth process. In both simulations the grid algorithm leads to improved prediction at the optimal point and better sampling of the region around the optimal point. This experimental design method was then applied to an actual chemical vapor deposition system. The films were analyzed using atomic force microscopy (AFM) to find the resulting film roughness. The methodology was then applied to design experiments using models to predict roughness. The resulting experiments were designed in a region constrained by the grid algorithm and were close to the predicted optimum of the process. We found that the roughness of a thin film depended on the substrate temperature but also showed a relationship to the nucleation density of the thin film.

abstract: Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) is the most widely used method to grow large-scale single layer graphene. However, a systematic experimental study of the relationship between growth parameters and graphene film morphology, especially in the industrially preferred cold wall CVD, has not been undertaken previously. This research endeavored to address this and provide comprehensive insight into the growth physics of graphene on supported solid and liquid Cu films using cold wall CVD. A multi-chamber UHV system was customized and transformed into a cold wall CVD system to perform experiments. The versatile growth process was completely custom-automated by controlling the process parameters with LabVIEW. Graphene growth was explored on solid electrodeposited, recrystallized and thin sputter deposited Cu films as well as on liquid Cu supported on W/Mo refractory substrates under ambient pressure using Ar, H₂ and CH₄ mixtures. The results indicate that graphene grown on Cu films using cold wall CVD follows a classical two-dimensional nucleation and growth mechanism. The nucleation density decreases and average size of graphene crystallites increases with increasing dilution of the CH₄/H₂ mixture by Ar, decrease in total flow rate and decrease in CH₄:H₂ ratio at a fixed substrate temperature and chamber pressure. Thus, the resulting morphological changes correspond with those that would be expected if the precursor deposition rate was varied at a fixed substrate temperature for physical deposition using thermal evaporation. The evolution of graphene crystallite boundary morphology with decreasing effective C deposition rate indicates the effect of edge diffusion of C atoms along the crystallite boundaries, in addition to H₂ etching, on graphene crystallite shape. The roles of temperature gradient, chamber pressure and rapid thermal heating in C precursor-rich environment on graphene growth morphology on thin sputtered Cu films were explained. The growth mechanisms of graphene on substrates annealed under reducing and non-reducing environment were explained from the scaling functions of graphene island size distribution in the pre-coalescence regime. It is anticipated that applying the pre-coalescence size distribution method presented in this work to other 2D material systems may be useful for elucidating atomistic mechanisms of film growth that are otherwise difficult to obtain. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Materials Science and Engineering 2018

Le contrôle spatial et temporel de l'auto-assemblage de molécules fluorescentes en nano-objets organisés et en matériaux mous a été réalisé par photochimie.La photodécarbonylation quantitative du progélifiant dkDDOA sous irradiation génère le super gélifiant 2,3-didécyloxyanthracène (DDOA) à température ambiante et simultanément gélifie le DMSO. DkDDOA est réactif sous excitation avec de la lumière bleue en raison de la fonction alpha-dicétone sensible à la lumière qui est ajoutée au noyau aromatique. De plus,l’ajustement de la couleur de l'émission du gel du bleu au vert a été obtenu en ajoutant un dérivé 1,2-dicétone-5,12-diphényltétracène photo réactif qui donne un 5,12-diphényltétracène émissif vert sensibilisé par un transfert d'énergie efficace.Sous un microscope, l'irradiation laser focalisée permet la structuration de nanofibres émissives sur une surface de verre. Bien que la surface de verre soit non traitée, on peut obtenir des micropattern de nanofibres de DDOA hautement alignées. Ces surfaces émettent une lumière bleue polarisée linéairement, comme le prouve la microscopie de polarisation. L'anisotropie élevée et l'orientation des fibres ont été obtenues en contrôlant la densité de nucléation et la direction de balayage du laser focalisé. Des micropattern orientés perpendiculairement peuvent ainsi être juxtaposés sur la même surface. / The spatial and temporal control of the self-assembly of fluorescent molecules into organized nano-objects and into soft materials was achieved by photochemistry. The quantitative photodecarbonylation of the progelator dkDDOA under irradiation generates the supergelator 2,3-didecyloxyanthracene (DDOA) at room temperature and simultaneously gelates DMSO. dkDDOA is reactive under excitation withblue light due to the light sensitive alpha-diketone moiety that is added to the aromatic core.Additional colour-tuning from blue to green emission from the gel was achieved by adding a similar photoreactive 1,2-diketone-5,12-diphenyltetracene that yields a green emissive 5,12-diphenyltetracene sensitized through an efficient energy transfer. Under a microscope, focused laser irradiation enables the patterning of blue-emissive nanofibers on to a glass surface. Although the surface is non-treated, micropatterns of highly aligned DDOA nanofibers can be obtained. These surfaces emit linearly polarized blue light,as proven with polarization microscopy. The high anisotropy and the orientation of the fibers was achieved by controlling the nucleation density and the direction of scanning of the focused laser. Perpendicularly oriented micropatterns can thereby be juxtaposed on the same surface.