A microfluidic nanofiltration module has been designed, fabricated and applied to the continuous-flow, pressure-driven, post-synthetic purification of macromolecules and nanoparticles via diafiltration using a commercially available organic solvent resistant nanofiltration membrane, STARMEM 122. This module will readily interface with other microscale components within a
"nanofactory" for the rapid synthesis, purification...
The aim of this dissertation is to develop oxide semiconductors by radio-frequency
sputtering for thin-film transistor (TFT) applications. A variety of oxide semiconductors
are used as the TFT channel layer, including indium gallium oxide (IGO), zinc tin
oxide (ZTO), and indium gallium zinc oxide (IGZO). The variety of materials used...
Exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons such as benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P) has been determined to be a risk factor for various forms of human cancer. PAH DNA adducts have been shown to cause mutations, but carcinogenesis is also accompanied by alterations in gene expression. Inhibiting individual cytochrome P450s could clarify the interaction...
In this thesis I studied several THz components that can be used for potential THz
technology. THz waves were generated in nonlinear medium via optical rectification
of femtosecond optical pulses. Utilizing the phase matching condition between the
optical and THz waves in a ZnTe crystal, single-cycle broad-band THz pulses were...
This work comprises two main parts: creating and shaping narrowband, pulsed THz radiation in a table-top optical setup; and applying THz pulses to semiconductor nanostructures to study electron dynamics.
I developed a scheme to shape the THz output of a fanned-out periodically poled lithium niobate (PPLN) crystal. The pulses are...
Electronic structure calculations for free and immersed atoms are performed in the context of unrestricted Hartree-Fock Theory. Spherical symmetry is broken, lifting de-generacies in electronic configurations involving the magnetic quantum number m. Basis sets, produced from density functional theory, are then explored for completeness. Com-parison to spectroscopic data is done...
The Gd3+ ion has been used to induce quantum splitting in luminescent
materials by using cross-relaxation energy transfer (CRET). In Nd:LiGdF4, quantum
splitting results from a two-step CRET between Gd3+ and Nd3+, first involving a
transition 6G→6I on Gd3+ and an excitation within the 4f3 configuration of Nd3+
followed by...
Computer simulations invoking the Metropolis Algorithm and Monte Carlo techniques were constructed to model the behavior ofvarious systems of magnetic semiconductors. Among the systems modeled were bulk type II FCC antiferromagnets and simple cubic thin films and superlattices. Studies of bulk antiferromagnets revealed dependence of Neel Temperature on nearest neighbor...
The results of an investigation into carrier dynamics in several novel functionalized and solution-processable pentacene and anthradithiophene derivatives are reported. Measurements were made of real-time photoresponse of polycrystalline thin films of these materials to ultrafast laser pulses, on picosecond to microsecond time-scales, as well as measurements of dark current and...