Phononic crystals are structures composed of periodically arranged scatterers in a background medium that affect the transmission of elastic waves. They have garnered much interest in recent years for their macro-scale properties that can be modulated by the micro-scale components. The elastic properties of the composite materials, the contrast in the elastic properties of the composite materials, and the material arrangement all directly affect how an elastic wave will behave as it propagates through the sonic structure. The behavior of an elastic wave in a periodic structure is revealed in its transmission bandstructure, and modification of any the elastic parameters will result in tuning of the band structure. In this dissertation, a phononic crystal with properties that can be modulated using electromagnetic radiation, and more specifically, radio-frequency (RF) light will be presented.

A system is presented that is capable of confining an ion beam or plasma within a region that is essentially free of applied fields. An Artificially Structured Boundary (ASB) produces a spatially periodic set of magnetic field cusps that provides charged particle confinement. Electrostatic plugging of the magnetic field cusps enhances confinement. An ASB that has a small spatial period, compared to the dimensions of a confined plasma, generates electro- magneto-static fields with a short range. An ASB-lined volume thus constructed creates an effectively field free region near its center. It is assumed that a non-neutral plasma confined within such a volume relaxes to a Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution. Space charge based confinement of a second species of charged particles is envisioned, where the second species is confined by the space charge of the first non-neutral plasma species. An electron plasma confined within an ASB-lined volume can potentially provide confinement of a positive ion beam or positive ion plasma. Experimental as well as computational results are presented in which a plasma or charged particle beam interact with the electro- magneto-static fields generated by an ASB. A theoretical model is analyzed and solved via self-consistent computational methods to determine the behavior and equilibrium …

In this dissertation, I present that at a vacuum of 3×10-7 Torr, residual O2, CO2, H2 and Ar exposure do not significantly degrade the field emission (FE) properties of ZnO nanorods, but N2 exposure significantly does. I propose that this could be due to the dissociation of N2 into atomic nitrogen species and the reaction of such species with ZnO. I also present the effects of O2, CO2, H2O, N2, H2, and Ar residual gas exposure on the FE properties of GaN and ZnS nanostructure. A brief review of growth of ZnO, GaN and ZnS is provided. In addition, Cs deposition on GaN nanostructures at ultra-high vacuum results in 30% decrease in turn-on voltage and 60% in work function. The improvement in FE properties could be due to a Cs-induced space-charge layer at the surface that reduces the barrier for FE and lowers the work function. I describe a new phenomenon, in which the resistivity of CVD-grown graphene increases to a higher saturated value under light exposure, and depends on the wavelength of the light—the shorter the wavelength, the higher the resistivity. First-principle calculations and theoretical analysis based on density functional theory show that (1) a water molecule close to …

Structural and optical properties of ZnO nanostructures synthesized by low energy ion implantation technique were examined. ZnO molecular ions were implanted into Si/SiO2 substrates at room temperature and then furnace annealed under different temperatures and environments. In all as-implanted samples only Zn nanostructures with varying diameters distributed into the Si/SiO2 matrices were observed. No trace of ZnO was found. The distributions of Zn nanostructures in Si/SiO2 closely matched results from Stopping and Range of Ions in Matter (SRIM) simulations. During annealing at 750 oC, Zn diffused both toward and away from the surface of the substrate and combine with oxygen to form ZnO nanostructures. At higher annealing temperatures ZnO bonding started to break down and transfer to zinc silicate (Zn2SiO4), and at 900 oC the ZnO was completely converted into Zn2SiO4. The average sizes of Zn/ZnO nanostructures depended on the ion fluence. If the fluence increased the average sizes of nanostructures also increased and vice versa. For room temperature photoluminescence (RT-PL), band-edge emission in the ultraviolet (UV) region was observed from all samples annealed at 700 oC/750 oC and were slightly blue shifted as compare to bulk ZnO. Donor-bound exciton (D,X) and acceptor-bound exciton (A,X) transitions were observed in low …

Various techniques to synthesize nanowires and nanotubes as a function of growth temperature and time were investigated. These include growth of nanowires by a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) system using vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) growth mechanism and electro-chemical synthesis of nanowires and nanotubes. Narrow band gap InSb Eg = 0.17 eV at room temp) nanowires were successively synthesized. Using a phase diagram, the transition of the nanowire from metallic- semiconducting- semi-metallic phase was investigated. A thermodynamic model is developed to show that the occurrence of native defects in InSb nanowires influenced by the nanowire growth kinetics and thermodynamics of defect formation. Wide band gap ZnO (Eg = 3.34 eV) and In2O3 (3.7 eV) were also synthesized. ZnO nanowires and nanotubes were successfully doped with a transition metal Fe, making it a Dilute Magnetic Semiconductor of great technological relevance. Structural and electronic characterizations of nanowires were studied for different semiconducting, metallic and semi-metallic nanowires. Electron transport measurements were used to estimate intrinsic material parameters like carrier concentration and mobility. An efficient gas sensing device using a single In2O3 nanowire was studied and which showed sensitivity to reducing gas like NH3 and oxidizing gas like O2 gas at room temperature. The efficiency of the …

Cooperative interactions permeate through nature, bringing about emergent behavior and complexity. Using a simple cooperative model, I illustrate the mean field dynamics that occur at the critical point of a second order phase transition in the framework of Langevin equations. Through this formalism I discuss the response, both linear and nonlinear, to external forces. Emphasis is placed on how information is transferred from one individual to another in order to facilitate the collective response of the cooperative network to a localized perturbation. The results are relevant to a wide variety of systems, ranging from nematic liquid crystals, to flocks and swarms, social groups, and neural networks.