Matching Items (9)
Filtering by
- All Subjects: Nanoscience
- Creators: Yu, Hongbin
- Creators: Karady, George G.
- Member of: Theses and Dissertations
Description
Integrated photonics requires high gain optical materials in the telecom wavelength range for optical amplifiers and coherent light sources. Erbium (Er) containing materials are ideal candidates due to the 1.5 μm emission from Er3+ ions. However, the Er density in typical Er-doped materials is less than 1 x 1020 cm-3, thus limiting the maximum optical gain to a few dB/cm, too small to be useful for integrated photonics applications. Er compounds could potentially solve this problem since they contain much higher Er density. So far the existing Er compounds suffer from short lifetime and strong upconversion effects, mainly due to poor quality of crystals produced by various methods of thin film growth and deposition. This dissertation explores a new Er compound: erbium chloride silicate (ECS, Er3(SiO4)2Cl ) in the nanowire form, which facilitates the growth of high quality single crystals. Growth methods for such single crystal ECS nanowires have been established. Various structural and optical characterizations have been carried out. The high crystal quality of ECS material leads to a long lifetime of the first excited state of Er3+ ions up to 1 ms at Er density higher than 1022 cm-3. This Er lifetime-density product was found to be the largest among all Er containing materials. A unique integrating sphere method was developed to measure the absorption cross section of ECS nanowires from 440 to 1580 nm. Pump-probe experiments demonstrated a 644 dB/cm signal enhancement from a single ECS wire. It was estimated that such large signal enhancement can overcome the absorption to result in a net material gain, but not sufficient to compensate waveguide propagation loss. In order to suppress the upconversion process in ECS, Ytterbium (Yb) and Yttrium (Y) ions are introduced as substituent ions of Er in the ECS crystal structure to reduce Er density. While the addition of Yb ions only partially succeeded, erbium yttrium chloride silicate (EYCS) with controllable Er density was synthesized successfully. EYCS with 30 at. % Er was found to be the best. It shows the strongest PL emission at 1.5 μm, and thus can be potentially used as a high gain material.
ContributorsYin, Leijun (Author) / Ning, Cun-Zheng (Thesis advisor) / Chamberlin, Ralph (Committee member) / Yu, Hongbin (Committee member) / Menéndez, Jose (Committee member) / Ponce, Fernando (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
Battery energy storage has shown a lot of potential in the recent past to be effective in various grid services due to its near instantaneous ramp rates and modularity. This thesis aims to determine the commercial viability of customer premises and substation sited battery energy storage systems. Five different types of services have been analyzed considering current market pricing of Lithium-ion batteries and power conditioning equipment. Energy Storage Valuation Tool 3.0 (Beta) has been used to exclusively determine the value of energy storage in the services analyzed. The results indicate that on the residential level, Lithium-ion battery energy storage may not be a cost beneficial option for retail tariff management or demand charge management as only 20-30% of the initial investment is recovered at the end of 15 year plant life. SRP's two retail Time-of-Use price plans E-21 and E-26 were analyzed in respect of their ability to increase returns from storage compared to those with flat pricing. It was observed that without a coupled PV component, E-21 was more suitable for customer premises energy storage, however, its revenue stream reduces with addition to PV. On the grid scale, however, with carefully chosen service hierarchy such as distribution investment deferral, spinning or balancing reserve support, the initial investment can be recovered to an extent of about 50-70%. The study done here is specific to Salt River Project inputs and data. Results for all the services analyzed are highly location specific and are only indicative of the overall viability and returns from them.
ContributorsNadkarni, Aditya (Author) / Karady, George G. (Thesis advisor) / Ayyanar, Raja (Committee member) / Hedman, Kory (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
In today's world there is a great need for sensing methods as tools to provide critical information to solve today's problems in security applications. Real time detection of trace chemicals, such as explosives, in a complex environment containing various interferents using a portable device that can be reliably deployed in a field has been a difficult challenge. A hybrid nanosensor based on the electrochemical reduction of trinitrotoluene (TNT) and the interaction of the reduction products with conducting polymer nanojunctions in an ionic liquid was fabricated. The sensor simultaneously measures the electrochemical current from the reduction of TNT and the conductance change of the polymer nanojunction caused from the reduction product. The hybrid detection mechanism, together with the unique selective preconcentration capability of the ionic liquid, provides a selective, fast, and sensitive detection of TNT. The sensor, in its current form, is capable of detecting parts per trillion level TNT in the presence of various interferents within a few minutes. A novel hybrid electrochemical-colorimetric (EC-C) sensing platform was also designed and fabricated to meet these challenges. The hybrid sensor is based on electrochemical reactions of trace explosives, colorimetric detection of the reaction products, and unique properties of the explosives in an ionic liquid (IL). This approach affords not only increased sensitivity but also selectivity as evident from the demonstrated null rate of false positives and low detection limits. Using an inexpensive webcam a detection limit of part per billion in volume (ppbV) has been achieved and demonstrated selective detection of explosives in the presence of common interferences (perfumes, mouth wash, cleaners, petroleum products, etc.). The works presented in this dissertation, were published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society (JACS, 2009) and Nano Letters (2010), won first place in the National Defense Research contest in (2009) and has been granted a patent (WO 2010/030874 A1). In addition, other work related to conductive polymer junctions and their sensing capabilities has been published in Applied Physics Letters (2005) and IEEE sensors journal (2008).
ContributorsDiaz Aguilar, Alvaro (Author) / Tao, Nongjian (Thesis advisor) / Tsui, Raymond (Committee member) / Barnaby, Hugh (Committee member) / Yu, Hongbin (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
Li-ion batteries are being used on a large scale varying from consumer electronics to electric vehicles. The key to efficient use of batteries is implementing a well-developed battery management system. Also, there is an opportunity for research for improving the battery performance in terms of size and capacity. For all this it is imperative to develop Li-ion cell model that replicate the performance of a physical cell unit. This report discusses a dual polarization cell model and a battery management system implemented to control the operation of the battery. The Li-ion cell is modelled, and the performance is observed in PLECS environment.
The main aspect of this report studies the viability of Li-ion battery application in Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) in Modular multilevel converter (MMC). MMC-based BESS is a promising solution for grid-level battery energy storage to accelerate utilization and integration of intermittent renewable energy resources, i.e., solar and wind energy. When the battery units are directly integrated in submodules (SMs) without dc-dc interfaced converters, this configuration provides highest system efficiency and lowest cost. However, the lifetime of battery will be affected by the low-frequency components contained in arm currents, which has not been thoroughly investigated. This paper investigates impact of various low-frequency arm-current ripples on lifetime of Li-ion battery cells and evaluate performance of battery charging and discharging in an MMC-BESS without dc-dc interfaced converters.
The main aspect of this report studies the viability of Li-ion battery application in Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) in Modular multilevel converter (MMC). MMC-based BESS is a promising solution for grid-level battery energy storage to accelerate utilization and integration of intermittent renewable energy resources, i.e., solar and wind energy. When the battery units are directly integrated in submodules (SMs) without dc-dc interfaced converters, this configuration provides highest system efficiency and lowest cost. However, the lifetime of battery will be affected by the low-frequency components contained in arm currents, which has not been thoroughly investigated. This paper investigates impact of various low-frequency arm-current ripples on lifetime of Li-ion battery cells and evaluate performance of battery charging and discharging in an MMC-BESS without dc-dc interfaced converters.
ContributorsPuranik, Ishaan (Author) / Qin, Jiangchao (Thesis advisor) / Karady, George G. (Committee member) / Yu, Hongbin (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
Description
ABSTRACT
Autonomous smart windows may be integrated with a stack of active components, such as electrochromic devices, to modulate the opacity/transparency by an applied voltage. Here, we describe the processing and performance of two classes of visibly-transparent photovoltaic materials, namely inorganic (ZnO thin film) and fully organic (PCDTBT:PC70BM), for integration with electrochromic stacks.
Sputtered ZnO (2% Mn) films on ITO, with transparency in the visible range, were used to fabricate metal-semiconductor (MS), metal-insulator-semiconductor (MIS), and p-i-n heterojunction devices, and their photovoltaic conversion under ultraviolet (UV) illumination was evaluated with and without oxygen plasma-treated surface electrodes (Au, Ag, Al, and Ti/Ag). The MS Schottky parameters were fitted against the generalized Bardeen model to obtain the density of interface states (Dit ≈ 8.0×1011 eV−1cm−2) and neutral level (Eo ≈ -5.2 eV). These devices exhibited photoconductive behavior at λ = 365 nm, and low-noise Ag-ZnO detectors exhibited responsivity (R) and photoconductive gain (G) of 1.93×10−4 A/W and 6.57×10−4, respectively. Confirmed via matched-pair analysis, post-metallization, oxygen plasma treatment of Ag and Ti/Ag electrodes resulted in increased Schottky barrier heights, which maximized with a 2 nm SiO2 electron blocking layer (EBL), coupled with the suppression of recombination at the metal/semiconductor interface and blocking of majority carriers. For interdigitated devices under monochromatic UV-C illumination, the open-circuit voltage (Voc) was 1.2 V and short circuit current density (Jsc), due to minority carrier tunneling, was 0.68 mA/cm2.
A fully organic bulk heterojunction photovoltaic device, composed of poly[N-9’-heptadecanyl-2,7-carbazole-alt-5,5-(4’,7’-di-2-thienyli2’,1’,3’-benzothiadiazole)]:phenyl-C71-butyric-acidmethyl (PCDTBT:PC70BM), with corresponding electron and hole transport layers, i.e., LiF with Al contact and conducting
on-conducting (nc) PEDOT:PSS (with ITO/PET or Ag nanowire/PDMS contacts; the illuminating side), respectively, was developed. The PCDTBT/PC70BM/PEDOT:PSS(nc)/ITO/PET stack exhibited the highest performance: power conversion efficiency (PCE) ≈ 3%, Voc = 0.9V, and Jsc ≈ 10-15 mA/cm2. These stacks exhibited high visible range transparency, and provided the requisite power for a switchable electrochromic stack having an inkjet-printed, optically-active layer of tungsten trioxide (WO3), peroxo-tungstic acid dihydrate, and titania (TiO2) nano-particle-based blend. The electrochromic stacks (i.e., PET/ITO/LiClO4/WO3 on ITO/PET and Ag nanowire/PDMS substrates) exhibited optical switching under external bias from the PV stack (or an electrical outlet), with 7 s coloration time, 8 s bleaching time, and 0.36-0.75 optical modulation at λ = 525 nm. The devices were paired using an Internet of Things controller that enabled wireless switching.
Autonomous smart windows may be integrated with a stack of active components, such as electrochromic devices, to modulate the opacity/transparency by an applied voltage. Here, we describe the processing and performance of two classes of visibly-transparent photovoltaic materials, namely inorganic (ZnO thin film) and fully organic (PCDTBT:PC70BM), for integration with electrochromic stacks.
Sputtered ZnO (2% Mn) films on ITO, with transparency in the visible range, were used to fabricate metal-semiconductor (MS), metal-insulator-semiconductor (MIS), and p-i-n heterojunction devices, and their photovoltaic conversion under ultraviolet (UV) illumination was evaluated with and without oxygen plasma-treated surface electrodes (Au, Ag, Al, and Ti/Ag). The MS Schottky parameters were fitted against the generalized Bardeen model to obtain the density of interface states (Dit ≈ 8.0×1011 eV−1cm−2) and neutral level (Eo ≈ -5.2 eV). These devices exhibited photoconductive behavior at λ = 365 nm, and low-noise Ag-ZnO detectors exhibited responsivity (R) and photoconductive gain (G) of 1.93×10−4 A/W and 6.57×10−4, respectively. Confirmed via matched-pair analysis, post-metallization, oxygen plasma treatment of Ag and Ti/Ag electrodes resulted in increased Schottky barrier heights, which maximized with a 2 nm SiO2 electron blocking layer (EBL), coupled with the suppression of recombination at the metal/semiconductor interface and blocking of majority carriers. For interdigitated devices under monochromatic UV-C illumination, the open-circuit voltage (Voc) was 1.2 V and short circuit current density (Jsc), due to minority carrier tunneling, was 0.68 mA/cm2.
A fully organic bulk heterojunction photovoltaic device, composed of poly[N-9’-heptadecanyl-2,7-carbazole-alt-5,5-(4’,7’-di-2-thienyli2’,1’,3’-benzothiadiazole)]:phenyl-C71-butyric-acidmethyl (PCDTBT:PC70BM), with corresponding electron and hole transport layers, i.e., LiF with Al contact and conducting
on-conducting (nc) PEDOT:PSS (with ITO/PET or Ag nanowire/PDMS contacts; the illuminating side), respectively, was developed. The PCDTBT/PC70BM/PEDOT:PSS(nc)/ITO/PET stack exhibited the highest performance: power conversion efficiency (PCE) ≈ 3%, Voc = 0.9V, and Jsc ≈ 10-15 mA/cm2. These stacks exhibited high visible range transparency, and provided the requisite power for a switchable electrochromic stack having an inkjet-printed, optically-active layer of tungsten trioxide (WO3), peroxo-tungstic acid dihydrate, and titania (TiO2) nano-particle-based blend. The electrochromic stacks (i.e., PET/ITO/LiClO4/WO3 on ITO/PET and Ag nanowire/PDMS substrates) exhibited optical switching under external bias from the PV stack (or an electrical outlet), with 7 s coloration time, 8 s bleaching time, and 0.36-0.75 optical modulation at λ = 525 nm. The devices were paired using an Internet of Things controller that enabled wireless switching.
ContributorsAzhar, Ebraheem (Author) / Yu, Hongbin (Thesis advisor) / Dey, Sandwip (Thesis advisor) / Goryll, Michael (Committee member) / Alford, Terry (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
Description
Due to the increasing trend of electricity price for the future and the price reduction of solar electronics price led by the policy stimulus and the technological improvement, the residential distribution solar photovoltaic (PV) system’s market is prosperous. Excess energy can be sold back to the grid, however peak demand of a residential customer typically occurs in late afternoon/early evening when PV systems are not a productive. The solar PV system can provide residential customers sufficient energy during the daytime, even the exceeding energy can be sold back to the grid especially during the day with good sunlight, however, the peak demand of a regular family always appears during late afternoon and early evening which are not productive time for PV system. In this case, the PV customers only need the grid energy when other customers also need it the most. Because of the lower contribution of PV systems during times of peak demand, utilities are beginning to adjust rate structures to better align the bills paid by PV customers with the cost to the utility to serve those customers. Different rate structures include higher fixed charges, higher on-peak electricity prices, on-peak demand charges, or prices based on avoided costs. The demand charge and the on-peak energy charge significantly reduced the savings brought by the PV system. This will result in a longer the customer’s payback period. Eventually PV customers are not saving a lot in their electricity bill compare to those customers who do not own a PV system.
A battery system is a promising technology that can improve monthly bill savings since a battery can store the solar energy and the off-peak grid energy and release it later during the on-peak hours. Sponsored by Salt River Project (SRP), a smart home model consists 1.35 kW PV panels, a 7.76 kWh lithium-ion battery and an adjustable resistive load bank was built on the roof of Engineering Research Center (ERC) building. For analysis, data was scaled up by 6/1.35 times to simulate a real residential PV setup. The testing data had been continuously recorded for more than one year (Aug.2014 - Oct.2015) and a battery charging strategy was developed based on those data. The work of this thesis deals with the idea of this charging strategy and the economic benefits this charging strategy can bring to the PV customers. Part of this research work has been wrote into a conference paper which is accepted by IEEE PES General Meeting 2016. A new and larger system has been installed on the roof with 6 kW PV modules and 6 kW output integrated electronics. This project will go on and the method come up by this thesis will be tested.
A battery system is a promising technology that can improve monthly bill savings since a battery can store the solar energy and the off-peak grid energy and release it later during the on-peak hours. Sponsored by Salt River Project (SRP), a smart home model consists 1.35 kW PV panels, a 7.76 kWh lithium-ion battery and an adjustable resistive load bank was built on the roof of Engineering Research Center (ERC) building. For analysis, data was scaled up by 6/1.35 times to simulate a real residential PV setup. The testing data had been continuously recorded for more than one year (Aug.2014 - Oct.2015) and a battery charging strategy was developed based on those data. The work of this thesis deals with the idea of this charging strategy and the economic benefits this charging strategy can bring to the PV customers. Part of this research work has been wrote into a conference paper which is accepted by IEEE PES General Meeting 2016. A new and larger system has been installed on the roof with 6 kW PV modules and 6 kW output integrated electronics. This project will go on and the method come up by this thesis will be tested.
ContributorsWang, Xin'an (Author) / Karady, George G. (Thesis advisor) / Smedley, Grant (Committee member) / Qin, Jiangchao (Committee member) / Ayyanar, Raja (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2016
Description
Lithium ion batteries are quintessential components of modern life. They are used to power smart devices — phones, tablets, laptops, and are rapidly becoming major elements in the automotive industry. Demand projections for lithium are skyrocketing with production struggling to keep up pace. This drive is due mostly to the rapid adoption of electric vehicles; sales of electric vehicles in 2020 are more than double what they were only a year prior. With such staggering growth it is important to understand how lithium is sourced and what that means for the environment. Will production even be capable of meeting the demand as more industries make use of this valuable element? How will the environmental impact of lithium affect growth? This thesis attempts to answer these questions as the world looks to a decade of rapid growth for lithium ion batteries.
ContributorsMelton, John (Author) / Brian, Jennifer (Thesis director) / Karwat, Darshawn (Committee member) / Chemical Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2021-05
Description
The objective of this dissertation is to study the optical and radiative properties of inhomogeneous metallic structures. In the ongoing search for new materials with tunable optical characteristics, porous metals and nanowires provides an extensive design space to engineer its optical response based on the morphology-dependent phenomena.This dissertation firstly discusses the use of aluminum nanopillar array on a quartz substrate as spectrally selective optical filter with narrowband transmission for thermophotovoltaic systems. The narrow-band transmission enhancement is attributed to the magnetic polariton resonance between neighboring aluminum nanopillars. Tuning of the resonance wavelengths for selective filters was achieved by changing the nanopillar geometry. It concludes by showing improved efficiency of Gallium-Antimonide thermophotovoltaic system by coupling the designed filter with the cell.
Next, isotropic nanoporous gold films are investigated for applications in energy conversion and three-dimensional laser printing. The fabricated nanoporous gold samples are characterized by scanning electron microscopy, and the spectral hemispherical reflectance is measured with an integrating sphere. The effective isotropic optical constants of nanoporous gold with varying pore volume fraction are modeled using the Bruggeman effective medium theory.
Nanoporous gold are metastable and to understand its temperature dependent optical properties, a lab-scale fiber-based optical spectrometer setup is developed to characterize the in-situ specular reflectance of nanoporous gold thin films at temperatures ranging from 25 to 500 oC. The in-situ and the ex-situ measurements suggest that the
ii
specular, diffuse, and hemispherical reflectance varies as a function of temperature due to the morphology (ligament diameter) change observed.
The dissertation continues with modeling and measurements of the radiative properties of porous powders. The study shows the enhanced absorption by mixing porous copper to copper powder. This is important from the viewpoint of scalability to get end products such as sheets and tubes with the requirement of high absorptance that can be produced through three-dimensional printing.
Finally, the dissertation concludes with recommendations on the methods to fabricate the suggested optical filters to improve thermophotovoltaic system efficiencies. The results presented in this dissertation will facilitate not only the manufacturing of materials but also the promising applications in solar thermal energy and optical systems.
ContributorsRamesh, Rajagopalan (Author) / Wang, Liping (Thesis advisor) / Azeredo, Bruno (Thesis advisor) / Phelan, Patrick (Committee member) / Yu, Hongbin (Committee member) / Rykaczewski, Konrad (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022
Description
Graphene has been extensively researched for both scientific and technological interests since its first isolation from graphite. The excellent transport properties and long spin diffusion length of graphene make it a promising material for electronic and spintronic device applications. This dissertation deals with the optimization of magnetic field sensing in graphene and the realization of nanoparticle induced ferromagnetism in graphene towards spintronic device applications.
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.
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.
ContributorsSong, Guibin (Author) / Kiehl, Richard A. (Committee member) / Yu, Hongbin (Committee member) / Chen, Tingyong (Committee member) / Rizzo, Nicholas D (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019