Matching Items (3)
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- All Subjects: Materials Science
- Creators: Krause, Stephen
- Creators: Bakshi, Kayshavi
- Member of: Barrett, The Honors College Thesis/Creative Project Collection
Description
Graphene has the ability to advance many common fields, including: membranes, composites and coatings, energy, and electronics. For membranes, graphene will be used as a filter for desalination plants which will reduce the cost of desalination and greatly increase water security in developing countries. For composites and coatings, graphene's strength, flexibility, and lightweight will be instrumental in producing the next generation of athletic wear and sports equipment. Graphene's use in energy comes from its theorized ability to charge a phone battery in seconds or an electric car in minutes. Finally, for electronics, graphene will be used to create faster transistors, flexible electronics, and fully integrated wearable technology.
ContributorsSiegel, Adam (Author) / Adams, James (Thesis director) / Krause, Stephen (Committee member) / Materials Science and Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
Perovskite films are the future of solar cell technology as they are not only low cost to produce and lightweight but also have a 26% conversion efficiency. This is extremely close to the standard silicon solar cell. The key challenge limiting the commercialization potential of these films is their fragility and durability to outdoors conditions. This project investigates the mechanical and material properties of these perovskite materials in order to understand their future manufacturing capabilities. Through the use of a spin coater, blade coater, and a double cantilever beam testing set up, the fracture energy (or toughness), Gc, of Perovskite films is determined. Understanding the properties of these films can help manufacturers determine how to best make durable films that can be used in everyday energy generation. Furthermore, this study offers strategies to improve the fracture energy of these films by adding polymers and food-additive starches to the recipe. The findings collected in this project present a technique to study the mechanical properties of perovskite-based solar technology and films and further aid the technology to become commercially viable.
ContributorsBakshi, Kayshavi (Author) / Rolston, Nicholas (Thesis director) / Li, Muzhi (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Materials Science and Engineering Program (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Program (Contributor)
Created2023-12
Description
The transition to lead-free solder in the electronics industry has benefited the environment in many ways. However, with new materials systems comes new materials issues. During the processing of copper pads, a protective surface treatment is needed to prevent the copper from oxidizing. Characterizing the copper oxidation underneath the surface treatment is challenging but necessary for product reliability and failure analysis. Currently, FIB-SEM, which is time-consuming and expensive, is what is used to understand and analyze the surface treatment-copper oxide(s)-copper system. This project's goals were to determine a characterization methodology that cuts both characterization time and cost in half for characterizing copper oxidation beneath a surface treatment and to determine which protective surface treatment is the best as defined by multiple criterion such as cost, sustainability, and reliability. Two protective surface treatments, organic solderability preservative (OSP) and chromium zincate, were investigated, and multiple characterization techniques were researched. Six techniques were tested, and three were deemed promising. Through our studies, it was determined that the best surface treatment was organic solderability preservative (OSP) and the ideal characterization methodology would be using FIB-SEM to calibrate a QCM model, along with using SERA to confirm the QCM model results. The methodology we propose would result in a 91% reduction in characterization cost and a 92% reduction in characterization time. Future work includes further calibration of the QCM model using more FIB/SEM data points and eventually creating a model for oxide layer thickness as a function of exposure time and processing temperature using QCM as the primary data source. An additional short essay on the role of SEM on the continuing miniaturization of integrated circuits is included at the end. This paper explores the intertwined histories of the scanning electron microscope and the integrated circuit, highlighting how advances in SEM influence integrated circuit advances.
ContributorsSmith, Bethany Blair (Co-author) / Marion, Branch Kelly (Co-author) / Cruz, Hernandez (Co-author) / Kimberly, McGuiness (Co-author) / Adams, James (Thesis director) / Krause, Stephen (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Materials Science and Engineering Program (Contributor)
Created2015-05