Nucleation in atomic layer deposition (ALD) determines how many cycles are required to initiate growth and to form a continuous film. Nucleation has been exploited for the formation of nanoparticles, catalysts, and for area-selective ALD. Although sometimes overlooked or misrepresented in ALD reports, nucleation is also critical for multicomponent ALD...
In the first part of this work, thin films of Al₂O₃ deposited via atomic layer deposition (ALD) are demonstrated to improve the thermal stability of cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) aerogels. ALD is a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) like method in which sequential precursor exposures and self-limited surface reactions produce a conformal...
Over the last 60 years, supplemental strength and conditioning for improving sport performance has gone from being nearly non-existent to a cornerstone feature of elite collegiate, amateur, and professional athletics. Concurrent with this profession-related evolution, technologies for monitoring and tracking physical performance have become more prevalent and useful. As an...
Back end of line (BEOL) metal-insulator-metal capacitors (MIMCAPs) have become a core passive component in modern integrated circuits. International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (ITRS) projections for scaling of analog/mixed-signal MIMCAP applications require simultaneously increasing capacitance density while maintaining low leakage current density and low voltage nonlinearity (characterized by the quadratic...
Resistive random access memory (RRAM) is a non-volatile memory technology based on resistive switching in a dielectric or semiconductor sandwiched between two different metals. Also known as memristors, these devices are potential candidates for a next-generation replacement for flash memory. In this thesis, bipolar resistive switching is reported for the...
The memristor is a resistive switching random access memory (RRAM) with a basic metal/insulator/metal (MIM) structure. These nano devices are nonvolatile, have a conceptually simple crossbar device structure, are power efficient and have the capability of switching between high and low resistance states in nanoseconds making them promising to replace...
Nanolaminate dielectrics combine two or more insulating materials in a many-layered film. These structures can be made to significantly outperform films composed of a single one of their constituent materials by adjusting the composition ratio, arrangement, and size of the component layers. In this work, atomic layer deposition (ALD) is...
Work on individually constructed devices has demonstrated that nanowires (NWs) offer great promise for applications such as sensing and optoelectronics. Despite this work, reliable large scale alignment and integration of these individual nanostructures into a lithographically defined process remains a challenge.
Dielectrophoresis (DEP) is a promising alignment method in which...
Diabetes is a pandemic that affects nearly 29.1 million Americans and the fourth leading cause of mortality in the US. Type 1 diabetes is a chronic condition which occurs due to little to no production of insulin by the pancreas. This form of diabetes requires constant monitoring of blood glucose...
The population dynamics and reproductive strategies of the
stream snail Oxytrema silicula were examined in four coastal streams
in Oregon representing a small first order stream, a wider third
order stream and a fourth and sixth order stream. Samples were
taken in each type of stream bottom for each stream...