No description available.

Methods of reactive magnetron sputtering using the sequential oxidisation of a sputtered metal film from two magnetron sources, in a rotating substrate system, have been developed. A rotation rate of around one revolution per second enhanced atomic level mixing of the film constituents on the substrate. Depending on the materials involved, two very fast feedback methods were employed to automatically control the admission rate of oxygen into the sputtering system. These methods were plasma emission monitoring (PEM), which was used to control the reactive sputter-deposition of In, Zn, W, V, Mo and Ti oxide, and voltage control, which was used to control the reactive sputter-deposition of Zn, Cu, Pb and Al oxide. The stoichiometry of the film was controlled by PEM or voltage control on one magnetron, and dopants were added by sputtering from the other magnetron. In other words, the former magnetron served two purposes; the first was to sputter metal and oxidise it, and the second purpose was to oxidise the metal sputtered from the other magnetron.

Electrochemical ellipsometry is employed to determine the real and imaginary parts of the refractive index and the thickness of thin films as functions of the potential applied to the electrode upon which the film is grown. The relatively recent advent of an analyser with no moving parts, the Stokesmeter, has removed previous time restraints and allows microsecond resolution. The Newcastle system is extremely novel, using a Stokesmeter, and thus being capable of 325 gs resolution, and also being electrochemically interfaced. The ellipsometric studies have concentrated on the growth and behaviour of a series of electroactive polymers derived from salicylaldehydes (Salens). [Ni(SaltMe)] and [Ni(SaIdMe)] were found to yield stable homogeneous films upon polymerisation, however while the behaviour during film growth was similar, marked differences were observed during potential cycling, poly[Ni(SaIdMe)] showing a marked decrease in thickness near the anodic limit not observed for poly[Ni(Saltme)], indicating that even minor changes to ligand structure well away from the site of polymerisation may have significant effects on the resulting film. The behaviour of poly[Ni(OMeSaltMe)] during polymerisation is more complicated; initially a homogeneous film is produced, however about half way through the growth process the film becomes inhomogeneous, and remains so during subsequent potential cycling. This behaviour was also observed for poly[Pd(OMeSalen)], indicating electron donating groups around the phenyl rings of the ligand have a profound effect on the nature of the polymer films, possibly far more so than the identity of the central metal.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

A chemical bath deposition technique has been used in the fabrication of thin film transistors (TFT), which have been deposited on a 200mum polymer substrate. This thesis documents the chemistry and microfabrication techniques used to create the TFTs. Because TFTs have not been fabricated on plastics in this manner before, insights gained from understanding the mechanical properties of the polymer, and how these interact with those of the inorganic components of the TFTs, were used to guide development of processes specifically suited to adapt the polymer to TFT fabrication.

In Australia, the standard structural system for residential construction is brick veneer where the stud wall (whether timber or cold-formed steel) is the load-bearing element and an external skin of brickwork is used for weatherproofing, insulation and aesthetic reasons. The stud wall framed structure has plasterboard interior cladding attached (commonly known as lining), brick-veneer exterior cladding, with terracotta or concrete roof tiles or steel sheet roofing. Therefore, the stud frame is lined on only one side with plasterboard material. This differs from the standard practice used in North America where both sides where both sides of the stud frame are usually lined, one with internal plasterboard material and the other with insulated external cladding material and a brick skin is not used. / Thesis (PhD)--University of South Australia, 2006.

The surface force apparatus (SFA) has been an important technique for making direct force measurements and has contributed enormously to our understanding of colloidal interactions. The conventional SFA has been limited to measuring forces between solid surfaces, until recently when a modified SFA was developed at the Ian Wark Research Institute [1]. A fluid drop (mercury) is introduced into the apparatus which allows a range of deformable surfaces to be studied in the SFA. This project is an extension of this technique. Interactions between a mica sheet and a mercury drop are studied, including the modification of mercury with self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of thiol surfactants, and the drop deformation due to non-equilibrium adsorption effects and hydrodynamic forces. / SAMs can form spontaneously onto a surface by immersing the substrate into an appropriate surfactant solution. They have been used, generally formed on gold surfaces, for biosensors, chemical sensors, micro-electronics and detection of DNA and protein adsorption. In our study, mercury was chosen as the substrate, for its defect-free, renewable and molecularly smooth surface. The additional advantage of being an ideal polarisable electrode allows a potential to be applied to the mercury, and hence control of the surface forces. The charging behaviour of the mercury is changed by introducing a SAM onto the surface. An uncharged SAM (11-mercapto-1-undecanol or 11-mercaptoundecane) modifies the dipole potential of the mercury by replacing the water molecules oriented on the surface, whereas a charge SAM (11-mecapto-1-undecanoic acid) brings additional charges to the surface. / Drop deformation is an important factor when deformable surfaces are involved in colloidal systems, e.g. emulsions, foams, in mineral flotation and in biological systems. Drop profiles of a mercury surface which is already close ( ̃50 nm) to a flat mica sheet, with or without a SAM, were measured using the SFA technique. For the SAM-modified mercury, the negatively charged functional group (-COO⁻) yields a repulsion against mica, and a thin film is formed between the surfaces. When the applied potential was scanned negatively, desorption of thiols occurred at certain potentials, increasing the local solute concentration in the solution. The restricted flow of the solute within the small gap creates an excess osmotic pressure in the thin film compared to the bulk solution. As a result, the film pressure exceeds the internal pressure of the drop, inverting the drop curvature and forming a dimple. We propose that the drainage of the dimple is a diffusion-controlled process, which is supported by the comparison of the data with a simple model calculation. / For the bare mercury drop, a negative potential was applied to the mercury to provide a repulsion to form a thin film. Mica was then driven towards the mercury with an abrupt step. Beyond certain step sizes, a rippled shape - which we dub a “wimple” - was observed before it evolved into a classical hydrodynamic dimple. At small step sizes, no wimple was observed, but curiously the film in the central part thickens before eventually thinning out. This shows that fluid first flows towards the central axis before reversing its flow direction and flowing radially outwards. / Thesis ([PhDApSc(MineralsandMaterials)])--University of South Australia, 2005.

Thesis (PhD)--University of South Australia, 2001