Matching Items (25)
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- All Subjects: Materials Science
- Creators: Rajagopalan, Jagannathan
Description
In this dissertation, combined photo-induced and thermionic electron emission from low work function diamond films is studied through low energy electron spectroscopy analysis and other associated techniques. Nitrogen-doped, hydrogen-terminated diamond films prepared by the microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition method have been the most focused material. The theme of this research is represented by four interrelated issues. (1) An in-depth study describes combined photo-induced and thermionic emission from nitrogen-doped diamond films on molybdenum substrates, which were illuminated with visible light photons, and the electron emission spectra were recorded as a function of temperature. The diamond films displayed significant emissivity with a low work function of ~ 1.5 eV. The results indicate that these diamond emitters can be applied in combined solar and thermal energy conversion. (2) The nitrogen-doped diamond was further investigated to understand the physical mechanism and material-related properties that enable the combined electron emission. Through analysis of the spectroscopy, optical absorbance and photoelectron microscopy results from sample sets prepared with different configurations, it was deduced that the photo-induced electron generation involves both the ultra-nanocrystalline diamond and the interface between the diamond film and metal substrate. (3) Based on results from the first two studies, possible photon-enhanced thermionic emission was examined from nitrogen-doped diamond films deposited on silicon substrates, which could provide the basis for a novel approach for concentrated solar energy conversion. A significant increase of emission intensity was observed at elevated temperatures, which was analyzed using computer-based modeling and a combination of different emission mechanisms. (4) In addition, the electronic structure of vanadium-oxide-terminated diamond surfaces was studied through in-situ photoemission spectroscopy. Thin layers of vanadium were deposited on oxygen-terminated diamond surfaces which led to oxide formation. After thermal annealing, a negative electron affinity was found on boron-doped diamond, while a positive electron affinity was found on nitrogen-doped diamond. A model based on the barrier at the diamond-oxide interface was employed to analyze the results. Based on results of this dissertation, applications of diamond-based energy conversion devices for combined solar- and thermal energy conversion are proposed.
ContributorsSun, Tianyin (Author) / Nemanich, Robert (Thesis advisor) / Ponce, Fernando (Committee member) / Peng, Xihong (Committee member) / Spence, John (Committee member) / Treacy, Michael (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
The study of the mechanical behavior of nanocrystalline metals using microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) devices lies at the intersection of nanotechnology, mechanical engineering and material science. The extremely small grains that make up nanocrystalline metals lead to higher strength but lower ductility as compared to bulk metals. Effects of strain-rate dependence on the mechanical behavior of nanocrystalline metals are explored. Knowing the strain rate dependence of mechanical properties would enable optimization of material selection for different applications and lead to lighter structural components and enhanced sustainability.
ContributorsHall, Andrea Paulette (Author) / Rajagopalan, Jagannathan (Thesis director) / Liao, Yabin (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Program (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
This paper investigates Surface Mechanical Attrition Treatment (SMAT) and the influence of treatment temperature and initial sample surface finish on the corrosion resistance of 7075-T651 aluminum alloy. Ambient SMAT was performed on AA7075 samples polished to 80-grit initial surface roughness. Potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) tests were used to characterize the corrosion behavior of samples before and after SMAT. Electrochemical tests indicated an improved corrosion resistance after application of SMAT process. The observed improvements in corrosion properties are potentially due to microstructural changes in the material surface induced by SMAT which encouraged the formation of a passive oxide layer. Further testing and research are required to understand the corrosion related effects of cryogenic SMAT and initial-surface finish as the COVID-19 pandemic inhibited experimentation plans.
ContributorsDeorio, Jordan Anthony (Author) / Solanki, Kiran (Thesis director) / Rajagopalan, Jagannathan (Committee member) / Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
Topological insulators with conducting surface states yet insulating bulk states have generated a lot of interest amongst the physics community due to their varied characteristics and possible applications. Doped topological insulators have presented newer physical states of matter where topological order co&ndashexists; with other physical properties (like magnetic order). The electronic states of these materials are very intriguing and pose problems and the possible solutions to understanding their unique behaviors. In this work, we use Electron Energy Loss Spectroscopy (EELS) – an analytical TEM tool to study both core&ndashlevel; and valence&ndashlevel; excitations in Bi2Se3 and Cu(doped)Bi2Se3 topological insulators. We use this technique to retrieve information on the valence, bonding nature, co-ordination and lattice site occupancy of the undoped and the doped systems. Using the reference materials Cu(I)Se and Cu(II)Se we try to compare and understand the nature of doping that copper assumes in the lattice. And lastly we utilize the state of the art monochromated Nion UltraSTEM 100 to study electronic/vibrational excitations at a record energy resolution from sub-nm regions in the sample.
ContributorsSubramanian, Ganesh (Author) / Spence, John (Thesis advisor) / Jiang, Nan (Committee member) / Chen, Tingyong (Committee member) / Chan, Candace (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
Achieving a viable process for advanced manufacturing of ceramics and metal-ceramic composites is a sought-after goal in a wide range of fields including electronics and sensors for harsh environments, microelectromechanical devices, energy storage materials, and structural materials, among others. In this dissertation, the processing, and manufacturing of ceramics and ceramic composites are addressed, specifically, a process for three-dimensional (3D) printing of polymer-derived ceramics (PDC), and a process for low-cost manufacturing as well as healing of metal-ceramic composites is demonstrated.Three-dimensional printing of ceramics is enabled by dispensing the preceramic polymer at the tip of a moving nozzle into a gel that can reversibly switch between fluid and solid states, and subsequently thermally cross-linking the entire printed part “at once” while still inside the same gel was demonstrated. The solid gel converts to fluid at the tip of the moving nozzle, allowing the polymer solution to be dispensed and quickly returns to a solid state to maintain the geometry of the printed polymer both during printing and the subsequent high-temperature (160 °C) cross-linking. After retrieving the cross-linked part from the gel, the green body is converted to ceramic by high-temperature pyrolysis. This scalable process opens new opportunities for low-cost and high-speed production of complex three-dimensional ceramic parts and will be widely used for high-temperature and corrosive environment applications, including electronics and sensors, microelectromechanical systems, energy, and structural applications.
Metal-ceramic composites are technologically significant as structural and functional materials and are among the most expensive materials to manufacture and repair. Hence, technologies for self-healing metal-ceramic composites are important. Here, a concept to fabricate and heal co-continuous metal-ceramic composites at room temperature were demonstrated. The composites were fabricated by infiltration of metal (here Copper) into a porous alumina preform (fabricated by freeze-casting) through electroplating; a low-temperature and low-cost process for the fabrication of such composites. Additionally, the same electroplating process was demonstrated for healing damages such as grooves and cracks in the original composite, such that the healed composite recovered its strength by more than 80%. Such technology may be expanded toward fully autonomous self-healing structures.
ContributorsMahmoudi, Mohammadreza (Author) / Minary-Jolandan, Majid (Thesis advisor) / Rajagopalan, Jagannathan (Committee member) / Cramer, Corson (Committee member) / Kang, Wonmo (Committee member) / Bhate, Dhruv (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022
Description
This thesis presents a study of Boron Nitride (BN) and Copper (Cu)/BN multilayer thin films in terms of synthesis, chemical, structural, morphological, and mechanical properties characterization.
In this study, the influence of Ar/N₂ flow rate in synthesizing stoichiometric BN thin films via magnetron sputtering was investigated initially. Post magnetron sputtering, the crystalline nature and B:N stoichiometric ratio of deposited thin films were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) respectively. Thicknesses revealed by ellipsometry analysis for nearly stoichiometric B:N thin films and their corresponding deposition times were used for estimating BN interlayer deposition times during the deposition of Cu/BN multilayer thin films. To characterize the microstructure of the synthesized Cu/BN multilayer thin films, XRD and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) have been used. Finally, a comparison of nanoindentation measurements on pure Cu and Cu/BN multilayer thin films having different number of BN interlayers were used for studying the influence of BN interlayers on improving mechanical properties such as hardness and elastic modulus.
The results show that the stoichiometry of BN thin films is dependent on the Ar/N₂ flow rate during magnetron sputtering. An optimal Ar/N₂ flow rate of 13:5 during deposition was required to achieve an approximately 1:1 B:N stoichiometry. Grazing incidence and powder XRD analysis on these stoichiometric BN thin films deposited at room temperature did not reveal a phase match when compared to hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) and cubic boron nitride (c-BN) reference XRD patterns. For a BN thin film deposition time of 5 hours, a thickness of approximately 40 nm was achieved, as revealed by ellipsometry. XRD and microstructure analysis using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) on pure Cu and Cu/BN thin films showed that the Cu grain size in Cu/BN thin films is much finer than pure Cu thin films. Interestingly, nanoindentation measurements on pure Cu and Cu/BN thin films having a similar overall thickness demonstrated that hardness and Young’s modulus of the films were improved significantly when BN interlayers are present.
ContributorsCaner, Sumeyye (Author) / Rajagopalan, Jagannathan (Thesis advisor) / Oswald, Jay (Committee member) / Solanki, Kiran (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2023
Description
The increasing demand for structural materials with superior mechanical properties has provided a strong impetus to the discovery of novel materials, and innovations in processing techniques to improve the properties of existing materials. Methods like severe plastic deformation (SPD) and surface mechanical attrition treatment (SMAT) have led to significant enhancement in the strength of traditional structural materials like Al and Fe based alloys via microstructural refinement. However, the nanocrystalline materials produced using these techniques exhibit poor ductility due to the lack of effective strain hardening mechanisms, and as a result the well-known strength-ductility trade-off persists. To overcome this trade-off, researchers have proposed the concept of heterostructured materials, which are composed of domains ranging in size from a few nanometers to several micrometers. Over the last two decades, there has been intense research on the development of new methods to synthesize heterostructured materials. However, none of these methods is capable of providing precise control over key microstructural parameters such as average grain size, grain morphology, and volume fraction and connectivity of coarse and fine grains. Due to the lack of microstructural control, the relationship between these parameters and the deformation behavior of heterostructured materials cannot be investigated systematically, and hence designing heterostructured materials with optimized properties is currently infeasible. This work aims to address this scientific and technological challenge and is composed of two distinct but interrelated parts. The first part concerns the development of a broadly applicable synthesis method to produce heterostructured metallic films with precisely defined architectures. This method exploits two forms of film growth (epitaxial and Volmer-Weber) to generate heterostructured metallic films. The second part investigates the effect of different microstructural parameters on the deformation behavior of heterostructured metallic films with the aim of elucidating their structure-property relationships. Towards this end, freestanding heterostructured Fe films with different architectures were fabricated and uniaxially deformed using MEMS stages. The results from these experiments are presented and their implications for the mechanical properties of heterostructured materials is discussed.
ContributorsBerlia, Rohit (Author) / Rajagopalan, Jagannathan (Thesis advisor) / Sieradzki, Karl (Committee member) / Peralta, Pedro (Committee member) / Crozier, Peter (Committee member) / Solanki, Kiran (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2021
Description
Mechanical behavior of metallic thin films at room temperature (RT) is relatively well characterized. However, measuring the high temperature mechanical properties of thin films poses several challenges. These include ensuring uniformity in sample temperature and minimizing temporal fluctuations due to ambient heat loss, in addition to difficulties involved in mechanical testing of microscale samples. To address these issues, we designed and analyzed a MEMS-based high temperature tensile testing stage made from single crystal silicon. The freestanding thin film specimens were co-fabricated with the stage to ensure uniaxial loading. Multi-physics simulations of Joule heating, incorporating both radiation and convection heat transfer, were carried out using COMSOL to map the temperature distribution across the stage and the specimen. The simulations were validated using temperature measurements from a thermoreflectance microscope.
ContributorsEswarappa Prameela, Suhas (Author) / Rajagopalan, Jagannathan (Thesis advisor) / Wang, Liping (Committee member) / Jiao, Yang (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2016
Description
Electromigration (EM) has been a serious reliability concern in microelectronics packaging for close to half a century now. Whenever the challenges of EM are overcome newer complications arise such as the demand for better performance due to increased miniaturization of semiconductor devices or the problems faced due to undesirable properties of lead-free solders. The motivation for the work is that there exists no fully computational modeling study on EM damage in lead-free solders (and also in lead-based solders). Modeling techniques such as one developed here can give new insights on effects of different grain features and offer high flexibility in varying parameters and study the corresponding effects. In this work, a new computational approach has been developed to study void nucleation and initial void growth in solders due to metal atom diffusion. It involves the creation of a 3D stochastic mesoscale model of the microstructure of a polycrystalline Tin structure. The next step was to identify regions of current crowding or ‘hot-spots’. This was done through solving a finite difference scheme on top of the 3D structure. The nucleation of voids due to atomic diffusion from the regions of current crowding was modeled by diffusion from the identified hot-spot through a rejection free kinetic Monte-Carlo scheme. This resulted in the net movement of atoms from the cathode to the anode. The above steps of identifying the hotspot and diffusing the atoms at the hot-spot were repeated and this lead to the initial growth of the void. This procedure was studied varying different grain parameters. In the future, the goal is to explore the effect of more grain parameters and consider other mechanisms of failure such as the formation of intermetallic compounds due to interstitial diffusion and dissolution of underbump metallurgy.
ContributorsKarunakaran, Deepak (Thesis advisor) / Jiao, Yang (Committee member) / Chawla, Nikhilesh (Committee member) / Rajagopalan, Jagannathan (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2016
Description
Nanolaminate composite materials consist of alternating layers of materials at the nanoscale (≤100 nm). Due to the nanometer scale thickness of their layers, these materials display unique and tailorable properties. This enables us to alter both mechanical attributes such as strength and wear properties, as well as functional characteristics such as biocompatibility, optical, and electronic properties. This dissertation focuses on understanding the mechanical behavior of the Al-SiC system. From a practical perspective, these materials exhibit a combination of high toughness and strength which is attractive for many applications. Scientifically, these materials are interesting due to the large elastic modulus mismatch between the layers. This, paired with the small layer thickness, allows a unique opportunity for scientists to study the plastic deformation of metals under extreme amounts of constraint.
Previous studies are limited in scope and a more diverse range of mechanical characterization is required to understand both the advantages and limitations of these materials. One of the major challenges with testing these materials is that they are only able to be made in thicknesses on the order of micrometers so the testing methods are limited to small volume techniques. This work makes use of both microscale testing techniques from the literature as well as novel methodologies. Using these techniques we are able to gain insight into aspects of the material’s mechanical behavior such as the effects of layer orientation, flaw dependent fracture, tension-compression asymmetry, fracture toughness as a function of layer thickness, and shear behavior as a function of layer thickness.
Previous studies are limited in scope and a more diverse range of mechanical characterization is required to understand both the advantages and limitations of these materials. One of the major challenges with testing these materials is that they are only able to be made in thicknesses on the order of micrometers so the testing methods are limited to small volume techniques. This work makes use of both microscale testing techniques from the literature as well as novel methodologies. Using these techniques we are able to gain insight into aspects of the material’s mechanical behavior such as the effects of layer orientation, flaw dependent fracture, tension-compression asymmetry, fracture toughness as a function of layer thickness, and shear behavior as a function of layer thickness.
ContributorsMayer, Carl Randolph (Author) / Chawla, Nikhilesh (Thesis advisor) / Jiang, Hanqing (Committee member) / Molina-Aldareguia, Jon (Committee member) / Rajagopalan, Jagannathan (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2016