ASU Electronic Theses and Dissertations
This collection includes most of the ASU Theses and Dissertations from 2011 to present. ASU Theses and Dissertations are available in downloadable PDF format; however, a small percentage of items are under embargo. Information about the dissertations/theses includes degree information, committee members, an abstract, supporting data or media.
In addition to the electronic theses found in the ASU Digital Repository, ASU Theses and Dissertations can be found in the ASU Library Catalog.
Dissertations and Theses granted by Arizona State University are archived and made available through a joint effort of the ASU Graduate College and the ASU Libraries. For more information or questions about this collection contact or visit the Digital Repository ETD Library Guide or contact the ASU Graduate College at gradformat@asu.edu.
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- All Subjects: nanotechnology
This dissertation first discusses the use of gold nanowires as narrow-band selective metamaterial absorbers. An investigation into plasmonic localized heating indicated that film-coupled gold nanoparticles exhibit tunable selective absorption based on the size of the nanoparticles. By using anodized aluminum oxide templates, aluminum nanodisc narrow-band absorbers were fabricated. A metrology instrument to measure the reflectance and transmittance of micro-scale samples was also developed and used to measure the reflectance of the aluminum nanodisc absorbers (220 µm diameter area). Tuning of the resonance wavelengths of these absorbers can be achieved through changing their geometry. Broadband absorption can be achieved by using a combination of geometries for these metamaterials which would facilitate their use as solar absorbers.
Recently, solar energy harvesting has become a topic of considerable research investigation due to it being an environmentally conscious alternative to fossil fuels. The next section discusses the steady-state temperature measurement of a lab-scale multilayer solar absorber, named metafilm. A lab-scale experimental setup is developed to characterize the solar thermal performance of selective solar absorbers. Under a concentration factor of 20.3 suns, a steady-state temperature of ~500 degrees Celsius was achieved for the metafilm compared to 375 degrees Celsius for a commercial black absorber under the same conditions. Thermal durability testing showed that the metafilm could withstand up to 700 degrees Celsius in vacuum conditions and up to 400 degrees Celsius in atmospheric conditions with little degradation of its optical and radiative properties. Moreover, cost analysis of the metafilm found it to cost significantly less ($2.22 per square meter) than commercial solar coatings ($5.41-100 per square meter).
Finally, this dissertation concludes with recommendations for further studies like using these selective metamaterials and metafilms as absorbers and emitters and using the aluminum nanodiscs on glass as selective filters for photovoltaic cells to enhance solar thermophotovoltaic energy conversion.
In this dissertation, two types of devices are demonstrated: optoelectronic and electronic devices. Commercial polar c-plane LEDs suffer from reduced efficiency with increasing current densities, knowns as “efficiency droop”, while nonpolar/semipolar LEDs exhibit a very low efficiency droop. A modified ABC model with weak phase space filling effects is proposed to explain the low droop performance, providing insights for designing droop-free LEDs. The other emerging optoelectronics is nonpolar/semipolar III-nitride intersubband transition (ISBT) based photodetectors in terahertz and far infrared regime due to the large optical phonon energy and band offset, and the potential of room-temperature operation. ISBT properties are systematically studied for devices with different structures parameters.
In terms of electronic devices, vertical GaN p-n diodes and Schottky barrier diodes (SBDs) with high breakdown voltages are homoepitaxially grown on GaN bulk substrates with much reduced defect densities and improved device performance. The advantages of the vertical structure over the lateral structure are multifold: smaller chip area, larger current, less sensitivity to surface states, better scalability, and smaller current dispersion. Three methods are proposed to boost the device performances: thick buffer layer design, hydrogen-plasma based edge termination technique, and multiple drift layer design. In addition, newly emerged Ga2O3 and AlN power electronics may outperform GaN devices. Because of the highly anisotropic crystal structure of Ga2O3, anisotropic electrical properties have been observed in Ga2O3 electronics. The first 1-kV-class AlN SBDs are demonstrated on cost-effective sapphire substrates. Several future topics are also proposed including selective-area doping in GaN power devices, vertical AlN power devices, and (Al,Ga,In)2O3 materials and devices.
Graphene has been used as a channel material for magnetic sensors demonstrating the potential for very high sensitivities, especially for Hall sensors, due to its extremely high mobility and low carrier concentration. However, the two-carrier nature of graphene near the charge neutrality point (CNP) causes a nonlinearity issue for graphene Hall sensors, which limits useful operating ranges and has not been fully studied. In this dissertation, a two-channel model was used to describe the transport of graphene near the CNP. The model was carefully validated by experiments and then was used to explore the optimization of graphene sensor performance by tuning the gate operating bias under realistic constraints on linearity and power dissipation.
The manipulation of spin in graphene that is desired for spintronic applications is limited by its weak spin-orbit coupling (SOC). Proximity induced ferromagnetism (PIFM) from an adjacent ferromagnetic insulator (FMI) provides a method for enhancing SOC in graphene without degrading its transport properties. However, suitable FMIs are uncommon and difficult to integrate with graphene. In this dissertation, PIFM in graphene from an adjacent Fe3O4 magnetic nanoparticle (MNP) array was demonstrated for the first time. Observation of the anomalous Hall effect (AHE) in the device structures provided the signature of PIFM. Comparison of the test samples with different control samples conclusively proved that exchange interaction at the MNP/graphene interface was responsible for the observed characteristics. The PIFM in graphene was shown to persist at room temperature and to be gate-tunable, which are desirable features for electrically controlled spintronic device applications.
The observation of PIFM in the MNP/graphene devices indicates that the spin transfer torque (STT) from spin-polarized current in the graphene can interact with the magnetization of the MNPs. If there is sufficient STT, spin torque oscillation (STO) could be realized in this structure. In this dissertation, three methods were employed to search for signatures of STO in the devices. STO was not observed in our devices, most likely due to the weak spin-polarization for current injected from conventional ferromagnetic contacts to graphene. Calculation indicates that graphene should provide sufficient spin-polarized current for exciting STO in optimized structures that miniaturize the device area and utilize optimized tunnel-barrier contacts for improved spin injection.