This dissertation explores the engineering of carbon nanotube electronic devices using atomic force microscopy (AFM) based techniques. A possible application for such devices is an electronic interface with individual biological molecules. This single molecule biosensing application is explored both experimentally and with computational modeling.
Scanning probe microscopy techniques, such as...
Shocked porous granular material experiences pressure dependent compaction. D. John
Pastine introduced a model in which the degree of compaction is dependent on the pressure induced
by the shock wave, the shear strength of the material, and the distribution of void sizes. In the
past, the model could only be...
Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs) are the most energetic explosions in the Universe, producing up to $\sim10^{53}$ ergs of energy in the first few seconds of their emission -- the so-called prompt phase that is dominated by high energy X-ray and $\gamma$-ray photons. The very large luminosities released in these events...
The development and some applications of holographic optical tweezers (HOT) are presented. Our HOT system uses a spatial light modulator (SLM) to control the location and properties of the optical trap. We have developed a method for optimizing the diffraction efficiency of a SLM that can be applied in situ...
Carbon Nanotubes are a unique family of nanostructures that have shown remarkable promise for mechanical, electrical, and optical applications. Fundamentally similar to the earlier discovered Buckminsterfullerene (C₆₀), carbon nanotubes are hollow cylinders formed from a single sheet of carbon atoms. The research presented in this dissertation investigates several carbon nanotube...
The photophysical properties of two-dimensional (2D) layered van der Waals (vdW) materials, and their heterostructures are manifestly distinct from crystalline bulk materials. Recently, the discovery of new 2D vdW materials and strongly-bound interlayer excitons in these materials has created a new branch in nanoscience. As such, there are a number...
Outflowing streams of matter or jets are a common phenomenon in the observeduniverse. The most extreme and powerful jets are relativistic, i.e., they travel at speedscomparable to the of speed light. Gamma Ray-Bursts (GRBs) and Active Galactic Nuclei(AGNs) are two sources of these relativistic jets. In this work I will...
This thesis presents the results from Monte Carlo calculations on classical vector spins in
face-centered-cubic (FCC) lattices. The goal of the study was to understand the effect of
interlayer coupling, dilution of magnetic atoms in the lattice, and symmetry-changing
strain.
Experimental work by T. M. Giebultowicz et al. and J....