Browsing by Subject "Scattering"
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Item The application of light trapping structures and of InGaAs/GaAs quantum wells and quantum dots to improving the performance of single-junction GaAs solar cells(2012-05) McPheeters, Claiborne Ott; Yu, Edward T.; Alu, Andrea; Bank, Seth R.; Chen, Ray T.; Zhang, John X.High efficiency photovoltaic solar cells are expected to continue to be important for a variety of terrestrial and space power applications. Solar cells made of optically thick materials often cannot meet the cost, efficiency, or physical requirements for specialized applications and, increasingly, for traditional applications. This dissertation investigates improving the performance of single-junction GaAs solar cells by incorporating InGaAs/GaAs quantum wells and quantum dots to increase their spectral response bandwidth, and by incorporating structures that confine light in the devices to improve their absorption of it. InGaAs/GaAs quantum dots-in-wells extend the response of GaAs homojunction devices to wavelengths >1200 nm. Nanoparticles that are randomly deposited on the top of optically thick devices scatter light into waveguide modes of the device structures, increasing their absorption of electromagnetic energy and improving their short-circuit current by up to 16%. Multiply periodic diffractive structures have been optimized using rigorous software algorithms and fabricated on the back sides of thin film quantum dot-in-well solar cells, improving their spectral response at wavelengths 850 nm to 1200 nm, where only the quantum dot-in-well structures absorb light, by factors of up to 10. The improvement results from coupling of diffracted light to waveguide modes of the thin film device structure, and from Fabry-Perot interference effects. Simulations of absorption in these device structures corroborate the measured results and indicate that quantum well solar cells of ~2 µm in thickness, and which are equipped with optimized backside gratings, can achieve 1 Sun Airmass 0 short-circuit current densities of up to ~5 mA/cm2 (15%) greater than GaAs homojunction devices, and of up to >2 mA/cm2 (7%) greater than quantum well devices, with planar back reflectors. A combination of Fabry-Perot interference and diffraction into waveguide modes of the thin devices is shown to dominate the simulated device response spectra. Simulations also demonstrate the importance of low-loss metals for realizing optimal light trapping structures. Such device geometries are promising for reducing the cost of high efficiency solar cells that may be suitable for a variety of traditional and emerging applications.Item Chaos, quasibound states, and classical periodic orbits in HOCI(2011-05) Barr, Alexander Michael; Reichl, L. E.; Bengtson, Roger D.; Kopp, Sacha; Sitz, Greg O.; Wyatt, Robert E.We study the classical nonlinear dynamics and the quantum vibrational energy eigenstates of the molecule HOCl. The classical vibrational dynamics, at energies below the HO+Cl dissociation energy, contains several saddle-center and period doubling bifurcations. The saddle-center bifurcations are shown to be due to a 2:1, and at higher energies a 3:1, nonlinear resonance between bend and stretch motions in various periodic orbits. The sequence of bifurcations takes the system from nearly integrable at low energies to almost completely chaotic at energies near the HO+Cl dissociation energy. At energies above dissociation we study the chaotic scattering of the Cl atom off the HO dimer. This scattering is governed by a homoclinic tangle formed by the stable and unstable manifolds of a parabolic periodic orbit at infinity. We construct the first three segments of the homoclinic tangle in phase space and use scattering functions to investigate its higher-order structure. For the quantum system we use a discrete variable representation to efficiently calculate the Hamiltonian matrix. We find 365 even and 357 odd parity eigenstates with energies below the dissociation energy. By plotting the eigenstates in configuration space we show that almost every quantum eigenstate can be associated with one or more of the classical periodic orbits. The classical bifurcations that give rise to new periodic orbits are manifest quantum mechanically through the sudden appearance of new classes of eigenstates. Despite the high degree of chaos in the classical dynamics at energies near the dissociation energy most quantum eigenstates remain highly ordered with recognizable nodal patterns. We use R-matrix theory together with a discrete variable representation to calculate quasibound states with energies above the dissociation energy. We find quasibound states with lifetimes ranging over 5 orders of magnitude. Using configuration space plots and Husimi distributions we show that the long-lived quasibound states are supported by unstable periodic orbits in the classical dynamics and medium-lived quasibound states are spread throughout the chaotic region of the classical phase space. Short-lived quasibound states show some similarity to unstable periodic orbits that stretch along the dissociation channel.Item Computation of the scattering properties of nonspherical ice crystals(Texas A&M University, 2004-11-15) Zhang, ZhiboThis thesis is made up of three parts on the computation of scattering properties of nonspherical particles in the atmosphere. In the first part, a new crystal type-droxtal-is introduced to make a better representation of the shape of small ice crystals in the uppermost portions of midlatitude and tropical cirrus clouds. Scattering properties of droxtal ice crystals are investigated by using the Improved-Geometric Optic (IGO) method. At the visible wavelength, due to the presence of the hexagonal structure, all elements of the phase matrix of droxtal ice crystals share some common features with hexagonal ice crystals, such as 220 and 460 halos. In the second part of this thesis, the possibility of enhancing the performance of current Anomalous Diffraction Theory (ADT) is investigated. In conventional ADT models, integrations are usually carried out in the domain of the particle projection. By transforming the integration domain to the domain of scaled projectile length, the algorithm of conventional ADT models is enhanced. Because the distribution of scaled projectile length is independent of the particle's physical size as long as the shape remains the same, the new algorithm is especially efficient for the calculation of a large number of particles with the same shape but different sizes. Finally, in the third part, the backscattering properties of nonspherical ice crystals at the 94GHz frequency are studied by employing the Finite-Difference Time- Domain (FDTD) method. The most important factor that controls the backscattering cross section is found to be the ratio of the volume-equal radius to the maximum dimension of the ice crystal. Substantial differences in backscattering cross sections are found between horizontal orientated and randomly oriented ice crystals. An analytical formula is derived for the relationship between the ice water (IWC) content and the radar reflectivity ( e Z ). It is shown that a change to the concentration of ice crystals without any changes on the size distribution or particle habits leads only to a linear e Z IWC - relationship. The famous power law e Z IWC - relationship is the result of the shift of the peak of particle size distribution.Item Computational modeling of stimulated emission depletion microscopy in biological cells under one- and two-photon excitation(2014-12) Mark, Andrew Evan; Dunn, Andrew Kenneth, 1970-The finite-difference time-domain method is used to simulate the propagation of focused beams used for stimulated emission depletion (STED) microscopy as they scatter through layers of biological cells. Depletion beams that facilitate axial and lateral confinement of the fluorescence emission are modeled, and the effective point spread function of the system as a function of focal depth is assessed under one- and two-photon excitation. Results show that the lateral depletion beam retains a well-defined minimum up to the maximum simulation depth of 42 µm. In addition, the relative spatial shift between excitation and de-excitation beam foci is less than 44 nm for all simulated depths. PSF calculations suggest that sub-diffraction imaging is possible beyond the maximum simulated depth, as long as the fluorescence emission is detectable. However, strong attenuation of the fluorescence emission by the axial confinement beam may make this beam unsuitable for sub-diffraction imaging in scattering samples.Item The effect of epitaxial strain and R³+ magnetism on the interfaces between polar perovskites and SrTiO₃(2011-05) Monti, Mark Charles; Markert, John T.; Markert, John T.; de Lozanne, Alex; Tsoi, Maxim; Yao, Zhen; Campion, AlanWe have embarked on a systematic study of novel charge states at oxide interfaces. We have performed pulsed laser deposition (PLD) growth of epitaxial oxide thin films on single crystal oxide substrates. We studied the effects of epitaxial strain and rare-earth composition of the metal oxide thin films. We have successfully created TiO₂ terminated SrTiO₃ (STO) substrates and have grown epitaxial thin films of LaAlO₃ (LAO), LaGaO₃ (LGO), and RAlO₃ on STO using a KrF pulsed excimer laser. Current work emphasizes the importance of understanding the effect of both epitaxial strain and R³+ magnetism on the interface between RAlO₃ and STO. We have demonstrated that the interfaces between LAO/STO and LGO/STO are metallic with carrier concentrations of 1.1 x 10¹⁴ cm[superscript -2] and 4.5 x 10¹⁴ cm[superscript −2], respectively. Rare-earth aluminate films, RAlO₃, with R = Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, and Tb, were also grown on STO. Conducting interfaces were found for R = Pr, Nd and Gd, and the results indicate that for R [does not equal] La the magnetic nature of the R³+ ion causes increased scattering with decreasing temperature that is modeled by the Kondo effect. Epitaxial strain between the polar RAlO₃ films and STO appears to play a crucial role in the transport properties of the metallic interface, where a decrease in the R³+ ion size causes an increase in sheet resistance and an increase in the onset temperatures for increased scattering.Item Global well-posedness and scattering for the defocusing energy-supercritical cubic nonlinear wave equation(2011-08) Bulut, Aynur; Beckner, William; Pavlovic, Natasa; Caffarelli, Luis; Gamba, Irene; Staffilani, Gigliola; Uhlenbeck, Karen; Vishik, MikhailWe study the initial value problem for the defocusing nonlinear wave equation with cubic nonlinearity F(u)=|u|^2u in the energy-supercritical regime, that is dimensions d\geq 5. We prove that solutions to this equation satisfying an a priori bound in the critical homogeneous Sobolev space exist globally in time and scatter in the case of spatial dimensions d\geq 6 with general (possibly non-radial) initial data, and in the case of spatial dimension d=5 with radial initial data.Item On using physical properties to make mathematical choices in quantum mechanical scattering(2015-08) Hebert, Joshua Russell; Bohm, Arno, 1936-; Dicus, Duane; Morrison, Phil; Li, Elaine X; Pavlovic, NatasaTraditional Quantum Scattering theory is built upon a Hilbert space formalism. The nature of the Hilbert space has led to a number of ideas about the nature of scattering systems, chief among them being the understanding that the decay of unstable quan- tum systems cannot be purely exponential and that there can only be an approximate relationship between the width Γ of a scattering resonance and the lifetime τ of the resonant state whose formation gives rise to it. That such physical conclusions are de- rived from purely mathematical properties of the underlying topological vector space inform the notion that, in choosing a particular space, one is choosing the mathemat- ical representation of the physical universe for the system. With this notion in mind, purely physical characteristics of quantum systems are used to answer the question: “What is the proper mathematical space for quantum mechanical calculations?” In the particular case of quantum scattering, it is shown that this approach casts the choice of the Hilbert space into doubt and motivates instead the use of rigged Hilbert spaces employing Hardy spaces; in these Hardy rigged Hilbert spaces, exponential decay is permissible and the time evolution of decaying states is governed by semigroups. The original theories concerning deviation from exponential decay in the Hilbert space are revisited to reveal how their conclusions flow from a mathematical property whose physical interpretation is problematic. Finally, an application of a Hardy rigged Hilbert space formalism is presented: Time Asymmetric Quantum Mechanics, as developed by A. Bohm, M. Gadella, and S. Wickramasekara.Item Study of initial void formation and electron wind force for scaling effects on electromigration in Cu interconnects(2013-05) Wu, Zhuojie; Ho, P. S.The continuing scaling of integrated circuits beyond 22nm technology node poses increasing challenges to Electromigration (EM) reliability for Cu on-chip interconnects. First, the width of Cu lines in advanced technology nodes is less than the electron mean free path which is 39nm in Cu at room temperature. This is a new size regime where any new scaling effect on EM is of basic interest. And second, the reduced line width necessitates the development of new methods to analyze the EM characteristics. Such studies will require the development of well controlled processes to fabricate suitable test structures for EM study and model verification. This dissertation is to address these critical issues for EM in Cu interconnects. The dissertation first studies the initial void growth under EM, which is critical for measurement of the EM lifetime and statistics. A method based on analyzing the resistance traces obtained from EM tests of multi-link structures has been developed. The results indicated that there are three stages in the resistance traces where the rate of the initial void growth in Stage I is lower than that in Stage III after interconnect failure and they are linearly correlated. An analysis extending the Korhonen model has been formulated to account for the initial void formation. In this analysis, the stress evolution in the line during void growth under EM was analyzed in two regions and an analytic solution was deduced for the void growth rate. A Monte Carlo grain growth simulation based on the Potts model was performed to obtain grain structures for void growth analysis. The results from this analysis agreed reasonably well with the EM experiments. The next part of the dissertation is to study the size effect on the electron wind force for a thin film and for a line with a rectangular cross section. The electron wind force was modeled by considering the momentum transfer during collision between electrons and an atom. The scaling effect on the electron wind force was found to be represented by a size factor depending on the film/line dimensions. In general, the electron wind force is enhanced with increasing dimensional confinement. Finally, a process for fabrication of Si nanotrenches was developed for deposition of Cu nanolines with well-defined profiles. A self-aligned sub-lithographic mask technique was developed using polymer residues formed on Si surfaces during reactive ion etching of Si dioxide in a fluorocarbon plasma. This method was capable to fabricate ultra-narrow Si nanotrenches down to 20nm range with rectangular profiles and smooth sidewalls, which are ideal for studying EM damage mechanisms and model verification for future technology nodes.Item The seasonality of aerosol properties in Big Bend National Park(Texas A&M University, 2007-04-25) Allen, Christopher LeeTwo-week sampling periods during the spring, summer, and fall of 2003, and the winter of 2004 were conducted utilizing a tandem differential mobility analyzer (TDMA) and, during the spring and summer, an aerodynamic particle sizer (APS), to characterize the seasonal variability of the Big Bend regions aerosol optical properties. Mass extinction efficiencies and relative humidity scattering enhancement factors were calculated for both externally and internally mixed aerosol populations for all size distributions collected, in an effort to possibly improve upon the default EPA mass extinction efficiencies used for all Class 1 areas across the United States. The mass extinction efficiencies calculated differed to some extent form the default values employed by the EPA. Sulfate, nitrate, and light absorbing carbon (LAC) exhibited a strong dependence on assumed mixing state, while, additionally, sulfate was also dependent on the assumed dominant aerosol. Seasonal variability was seen with all particle types, excluding LAC, with sulfate mass extinction efficiencies displaying the greatest variability with season. Calculated back trajectories indicated that air masses originating from the southeast had elevated mass extinction efficiencies, while, conversely, air masses originating from the southwest and northwest had the smallest mass extinction efficiencies.Item Three transdimensional factors for the conversion of 2D acoustic rough surface scattering model results for comparison with 3D scattering(2013-12) Tran, Bryant Minh; Wilson, Preston S.; Isakson, Marcia J.Rough surface scattering is a problem of interest in underwater acoustic remote sensing applications. To model this problem, a fully three-dimensional (3D) finite element model has been developed, but it requires an abundance of time and computational resources. Two-dimensional (2D) models that are much easier to compute are often employed though they don’t natively represent the physical environment. Three quantities have been developed that, when applied, allow 2D rough surface scattering models to be used to predict 3D scattering. The first factor, referred to as the spreading factor, adopted from the work of Sumedh Joshi [1], accounts for geometrical differences between equivalent 2D and 3D model environments. A second factor, referred to as the perturbative factor, is developed through the use of small perturbation theory. This factor is well-suited to account for differences in the scattered field between a 2D model and scattering from an isotropically rough 2D surface in 3D. Lastly, a third composite factor, referred to as the combined factor, of the previous two is developed by taking their minimum. This work deals only with scattering within the plane of the incident wave perpendicular to the scatterer. The applicability of these factors are tested by comparing a 2D scattering model with a fully three-dimensional Monte Carlo finite element method model for a variety of von Karman and Gaussian power spectra. The combined factor shows promise towards a robust method to adequately characterize isotropic 3D rough surfaces using 2D numerical simulations.