North Carolina State University

About: North Carolina State University is a education organization based out in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Thin film. The organization has 44161 authors who have published 101744 publications receiving 3456774 citations. The organization is also known as: NCSU & North Carolina State University at Raleigh.

Pulsed-laser evaporation technique for deposition of thin films: Physics and theoretical model.

Abstract: We have studied in detail the physical phenomena involved in the interaction of high-powered nanosecond excimer-laser pulses with bulk targets resulting in evaporation, plasma formation, and subsequent deposition of thin films. A theoretical model for simulating these laser-plasma--solid interactions has been developed. In this model, the laser-generated plasma is treated as an ideal gas at high pressure and temperature, which is initially confined in small dimensions, and is suddenly allowed to expand in vacuum. The three-dimensional expansion of this plasma gives rise to the characteristic spatial thickness and compositional variations observed in laser-deposited thin films of multicomponent systems. The forward-directed nature of the laser evaporation process has been found to result from anisotropic expansion velocities of the atomic species which are controlled by the dimensions of the expanding plasma.Based on the nature of interaction of the laser beam with the target and the evaporated material, the pulsed-laser evaporation (PLE) process can be classified into three separate regimes: (i) interaction of the laser beam with the bulk target, (ii) plasma formation, heating, and initial three-dimensional isothermal expansion, and (iii) adiabatic expansion and deposition of thin films. The first two processes occur during the time interval of the laser pulse, while the last process initiates after the laser pulse terminates. Under PLE conditions, the evaporation of the target is assumed to be thermal in nature, while the plasma expansion dynamics is nonthermal as a result of interaction of the laser beam with the evaporated material. The equations of compressible gas dynamics are set up to simulate the expansion of the plasma in the last two regimes. The solution of the gas-dynamics equations shows that the expansion velocities of the plasma are related to its initial dimensions and temperature, and the atomic weight of the species. Detailed simulations analyzing the salient features of the laser-deposition process have been carried out. The effects of various beam and substrate parameters including pulse energy density, substrate-target distance, irradiated spot size, and atomic mass of the species have been theoretically analyzed. This model predicts most of the characteristic experimental features of the laser evaporation and deposition of thin films. These characteristic features include (a) the effect of pulse energy density on atomic velocities, (b) the forward-directed nature of the deposit and its dependence on energy density, (c) spatial compositional variations in multicomponent thin films as a function of energy density, (d) dependence of the atomic velocities with atomic weights of various species in multicomponent films, (e) athermal non-Maxwellian-type velocity distribution of the atomic and molecular species, and (f) thickness and compositional variations as a function of substrate-target distance and irradiated spot size.

Review of Solid-State Transformer Technologies and Their Application in Power Distribution Systems

Abstract: The solid-state transformer (SST), which has been regarded as one of the 10 most emerging technologies by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Technology Review in 2010, has gained increasing importance in the future power distribution system. This paper presents a systematical technology review essential for the development and application of SST in the distribution system. The state-of-the-art technologies of four critical areas are reviewed, including high-voltage power devices, high-power and high-frequency transformers, ac/ac converter topologies, and applications of SST in the distribution system. In addition, future research directions are presented. It is concluded that the SST is an emerging technology for the future distribution system.

Wearable multifunctional sensors using printed stretchable conductors made of silver nanowires

Abstract: Considerable efforts have been made to achieve highly sensitive and wearable sensors that can simultaneously detect multiple stimuli such as stretch, pressure, temperature or touch. Here we develop highly stretchable multifunctional sensors that can detect strain (up to 50%), pressure (up to ∼1.2 MPa) and finger touch with high sensitivity, fast response time (∼40 ms) and good pressure mapping function. The reported sensors utilize the capacitive sensing mechanism, where silver nanowires are used as electrodes (conductors) and Ecoflex is used as a dielectric. The silver nanowire electrodes are screen printed. Our sensors have been demonstrated for several wearable applications including monitoring thumb movement, sensing the strain of the knee joint in patellar reflex (knee-jerk) and other human motions such as walking, running and jumping from squatting, illustrating the potential utilities of such sensors in robotic systems, prosthetics, healthcare and flexible touch panels.

Changing disturbance regimes, ecological memory, and forest resilience

Abstract: Ecological memory is central to how ecosystems respond to disturbance and is maintained by two types of legacies – information and material. Species life-history traits represent an adaptive response to disturbance and are an information legacy; in contrast, the abiotic and biotic structures (such as seeds or nutrients) produced by single disturbance events are material legacies. Disturbance characteristics that support or maintain these legacies enhance ecological resilience and maintain a “safe operating space” for ecosystem recovery. However, legacies can be lost or diminished as disturbance regimes and environmental conditions change, generating a “resilience debt” that manifests only after the system is disturbed. Strong effects of ecological memory on post-disturbance dynamics imply that contingencies (effects that cannot be predicted with certainty) of individual disturbances, interactions among disturbances, and climate variability combine to affect ecosystem resilience. We illustrate these concepts and introduce a novel ecosystem resilience framework with examples of forest disturbances, primarily from North America. Identifying legacies that support resilience in a particular ecosystem can help scientists and resource managers anticipate when disturbances may trigger abrupt shifts in forest ecosystems, and when forests are likely to be resilient.

Electron and hole mobilities in silicon as a function of concentration and temperature

Abstract: An analytical expression has been derived for the electron and hole mobility in silicon based on both experimental data and modified Brooks-Herring theory of mobility. The resulting expression allows one to obtain electron and hole mobility as a function of concentration up to \sim 10^{20} cm-3in an extended and continuous temperature range (250-500 K) within ± 13 percent of the reported experimental values.