Declines in populations of anadromous salmonids (Oncorhynchus spp.) in the Columbia River drainage basin have resulted in extensive programs to annually release large numbers of hatchery-raised juvenile salmonids in an effort to support salmonid restoration. The Pacific Flyway population of Caspian terns (Hydroprogne caspia) has grown from around 3,500 nesting...
Exciton-polaritons are a form of light-matter coupling that have potential applications as photonic transistors and logic gates. In order for a photonic transistor or logic gate to be integrated with room temperature fiber-optic technology, excitons-polaritons need to be stable at room temperature and compatible with the red and near-infrared wavelengths...
Low-dimensional electronic materials offer a platform to observe biological processes with unprecedented spatial and temporal resolution. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are the closest physical analog to an ideal 1D system and can be scaled and integrated into multiplexed electronic circuitry. The molecular structure of a CNT is also biocompatible, making them...
I investigate the feasibility of a micron-sized biosensor designed to measure neural activity. The circuitry of the biosensor is composed of graphene, some photodiodes, and a light-emitting diode. Many of these biosensors would be injected into a subject’s brain, and when powered by near-infrared light, they would glow in response...
As electronics reach nanometer size scales, new avenues of integrating biology and electronics become available. For example, nanoscale field-effect transistors have been integrated with single neurons to detect neural activity. Researchers have also used nanoscale materials to build electronic ears and noses. Another exciting development is the use of nanoscale...
CNTs also offer new opportunities to study new science and develop new technology enabled by their strong electron-electron (e-e) interactions. The lack of dielectric screening inherent in nanoscale structures like CNTs leads to strong e-e interactions, which produce unique physical phenomena. In this thesis, we study the effects of strong...
Using a simple dry transfer process, I construct and characterize three nanoscale MoS2 devices using current-voltage curves, Raman spectroscopy, optical and atomic force microscopy. I compare these devices, the thinnest of which was few layer ( ≤ 10 nm) MoS₂ capable of showing photoconductance, with a current whose magnitude is...
At the macroscopic scale, we have pumps that use the classical laws of physics to move liquids at a well defined rate. In the microscopic world, physicists are exploring pumps that make use of quantum mechanical behavior to build analogous pumps for quantum particles. The importance of such “quantum pumps”...
Physicists who study semiconductor devices are fascinated by the fundamental limits of device performance. From the sub-threshold swing of transistors to the power conversion efficiency of photocells, performance is limited by the electronic structure of the materials used to build them. To surpass traditional device limits, we must turn to...
In nanoscale materials, the Coulombic interaction between electrons are stronger than in bulk materials. These stronger interactions, caused by confinement and reduced dielectric screening, have interesting consequences for light-matter interactions. In carbon nanotubes (CNTs), strong interactions can enhance the impact ionization process, and thus assist photocurrent generation in CNTs. Conversely,...