Analysis of Terahertz Detection with A 2D Hot-Electron Quantum Well Detector

The operation of a previously proposed terahertz (THZ) detector is formulated in detail. The detector is based on the hot-electron effect of the 2D electron gas (2DEG) in the quantum well (QW) of a GaAs/AIGaAs heterostructure. The interaction between the THz radiation and the 2DEG, the current enhancement due to hot -electron effect, and the noise performance of the detector are analyzed

Nonlinear Dynamics of Multiple Quantum Well Lasers: Chaos and Multistability

This thesis presents analytical and numerical results from studies based on the multiple quantum well laser rate equation model. We address the problem of controlling chaos produced by direct modulation of laser diodes. We consider the delay feedback control methods for this purpose and study their performance using numerical simulation. Besides the control of chaos, control of other nonlinear effects such as quasiperiodicity and bistability using delay feedback methods are also investigated.A number of secure communication schemes based on synchronization of chaos semiconductor lasers have been successfully demonstrated theoretically and experimentally. The current investigations in these field include the study of practical issues on the implementations of such encryption schemes. We theoretically study the issues such as channel delay, phase mismatch and frequency detuning on the synchronization of chaos in directly modulated laser diodes. It would be helpful for designing and implementing chaotic encryption schemes using synchronization of chaos in modulated semiconductor lasers.

Applications of cardanol in rubber processing

This research project explores the utilization of cardanol in various capacities for rubber processing. Cardanol is a phenol with a long side chain in the meta position of the benzene ring. It is obtained by the vacuum distillation of cashew Hut shell liquid (CNSL) which is a cheap agro-byproduct. In this study, the plasticizer property of cardanol was investigated in silica filled and HAF black filled NR, NBR, EPDM and CR by comparing cure characteristics and mechanical properties of vulcanizates containing conventional plasticizer with those containing cardanol as plasticizer. The co-activator, antioxidant and accelerator properties were investigated in gum samples of NR, NBR, EPDM and CR by comparing the properties of vulcanizates which contain conventional co-activator, antioxidant and accelerator with those in which each of them was replaced by cardanol. The general effectiveness of cardanol was investigated by determination of cure time , measurement of physical and mechanical properties, ageing studies, crosslink density, extractability, FTIR spectra, TGA etc.The results show that cardanol can be a substitute for aromatic oil in both silica filled and HAF black filled NR. Again, it can replace dioctyl phthalate in both silica filled and HAF black filled NBR. Similarly, cardanol Can replace naphthenic oil in silica filled as well as HAF black filled EPDM and CR. The cure characteristics and mechanical properties are comparable in all the eight cases. The co-activator property of cardanol is comparable to stearic acid in all the four rubbers. The cure characteristics and mechanical properties in this case are also comparable. The antioxidant ,property of cardanol is comparable to TQ in all the four rubbers. The antioxidant property of cardanol is comparable to TQ in all the four case of NBR and EPDM.The accelerator property of cardarlol is comparable with CBS in the case of NBR and EPDM. No accelerator property is observed in the case of NR. The accelerator property of cardanol in CR is not negligible when compared with TMTD.

Studies on new processing aids and other compounding ingredients in special purpose rubbers

In the first part of the study we probed the effectiveness of rice bran oil as a multipurpose compounding ingredient for nitrile (NBR) and chloroprene (CR) rubbers. This oil has already been successfully employed in the compounding of NR and SBR in this laboratory.In this context we thought it worthwhile to try this oil in the polar rubbers viz, NBR and CR also. The principle of like dissolves like as applicable to solvents is equally applicable while selecting a plasticiser, elastomer combination. Because of the compatibility considerations polar plasticisers are preferred for polar rubbers like NBR and CR. Although plasticisation is a physical phenomenon and no chemical reaction is involved, the chemical structure of plasticisers determines how much physical attraction there is between the rubber and the plasticiser. In this context it is interesting to note that the various fatty acids present in rice bran oil have a long paraffinic chain, characteristic of waxes, with an acid group at the end of the molecule. The paraffinic end of the molecule contributes lubricating effects and limits compatibility whereas the acid end group contributes some polarity and is also chemically reactive. Because of absorption of acid group on the surface of pigments, these acids will have active pigment wetting characteristics also. These factors justifies the role of rice bran oil as a co-activator and lubricating agent for NBR and CR. In fact in our study we successfully replaced stearic acid as co-activator and aromatic oillDOP as processing aid for CR and NBR with rice bran oil.This part of the study has got special significance in the fact that rubber industry now heavily depends on petroleum industry for process oils. The conventional process oils like aromatic, naphthenic and paraffinic oils are increasingly becoming costlier, as its resources in nature are fast depleting. Moreover aromatic process oils are reported to be carcinogenic because of the presence of higher levels of polycyclic aromatic compounds in these oils.As a result of these factors, a great amount research is going on world over for newer processing aids which are cost effective, nontoxic and performanance wise at par with the conventional ones used in the rubber industry. Trials with vegetable oils in this direction is worth trying.Antioxidants are usually added to the rubber compound to minimise ageing effects from heat, light, oxygen etc. As rice bran oil contains significant amount of tocopherols and oryzanol which are natural antioxidants, we replaced a phenolic antioxidant like styrenated phenol (SP) from the compound recipe of both the rubbers with RBO and ascertained whether this oil could function in the role of antioxidant as well.Preparation and use of epoxidised rice bran oil as plasticiser has already been reported.The crude rice bran oil having an iodine value of 92 was epoxidised in this laboratory using peracetic acid in presence of sulphuric acid as catalyst. The epoxy content of the epoxidised oil was determined volumetrically by treating a known weight of the oil with excess HCI and back titrating the residual HCI with standard alkali solution. The epoxidised oil having an epoxy content of 3.4% was tried in the compounding of NBR and CR as processing aids. And results of these investigations are also included in this chapter. In the second part of the study we tried how RBO/ERBO could perform when used as a processing aid in place of aromatic oil in the compounding of black filled NRCR blends. Elastomers cannot have all the properties required for a particular applications, so it is common practice in rubber industry to blend two elastomers to have desired property for the resulting blend.In this RBO/ERBO was tried as a processing aid for plasticisation, dispersion of fillers, and vulcanisation of black filled NR-CR blends.Aromatic oil was used as a control. The results of our study indicate that these oils could function as a processing aid and when added together with carbon black function as a cure accelerator also.PVC is compatible with nitrile rubber in all proportions, provided NBR has an acrylonitrile content of 25 to 40%. Lower or higher ACN content in NBR makes it incompatible with PVC.PVC is usually blended with NBR at high temperatures. In order to reduce torque during mixing, additional amounts of plasticisers like DOP are added. The plasticiser should be compatible both with PVC and NBR so as to get a homogeneous blend. Epoxidised soyaben oil is reported to have been used in the compounding of PVC as it can perfonn both as an efficient plasticiser and heat stabilizer.At present DOP constitute the largest consumed plasticiser in the PVC compounding. The migration of this plasticiser from food packaging materials made of PVC poses great health hazards as this is harmful to human body. In such a scenario we also thought it worthwhile to see whether DOP could be replaced by rice bran oil in the compounding of NBR-PVC blends Different blends of NBR-PVC were prepared with RBO and were vulcanized using sulphur and conventional accelerators. The various physical and mechanical properties of the vulcanisates were evaluated and compared with those prepared with DOP as the control plasticiser. Epoxidised rice bran oil was also tried as plasticiser for the preparation of NBR-PVC blends. A comparison of the processability and cure characteristics of the different blends prepared with DOP and ERBO showed that ERBO based blends have better processability and lower cure time values. However the elastographic maximum torque values are higher for the DOP based blends. Almost all of the physical properties evaluated are found to be slightly better for the DOP based blends over the ERBO based ones. However a notable feature of the ERBO based blends is the better percentage retention of elongation at break values after ageing over the DOP based blends. The results of these studies using rice bran oil and its epoxidised variety indicated that they could be used as efficient plasticisers in place of DOP and justifies their role as novel, nontoxic, and cheap plasticisers for NBR-PVC blends.

‘Reliability Concepts in Quantile-based Analysis of Lifetime Data

Reliability analysis is a well established branch of statistics that deals with the statistical study of different aspects of lifetimes of a system of components. As we pointed out earlier that major part of the theory and applications in connection with reliability analysis were discussed based on the measures in terms of distribution function. In the beginning chapters of the thesis, we have described some attractive features of quantile functions and the relevance of its use in reliability analysis. Motivated by the works of Parzen (1979), Freimer et al. (1988) and Gilchrist (2000), who indicated the scope of quantile functions in reliability analysis and as a follow up of the systematic study in this connection by Nair and Sankaran (2009), in the present work we tried to extend their ideas to develop necessary theoretical framework for lifetime data analysis. In Chapter 1, we have given the relevance and scope of the study and a brief outline of the work we have carried out. Chapter 2 of this thesis is devoted to the presentation of various concepts and their brief reviews, which were useful for the discussions in the subsequent chapters .In the introduction of Chapter 4, we have pointed out the role of ageing concepts in reliability analysis and in identifying life distributions .In Chapter 6, we have studied the first two L-moments of residual life and their relevance in various applications of reliability analysis. We have shown that the first L-moment of residual function is equivalent to the vitality function, which have been widely discussed in the literature .In Chapter 7, we have defined percentile residual life in reversed time (RPRL) and derived its relationship with reversed hazard rate (RHR). We have discussed the characterization problem of RPRL and demonstrated with an example that the RPRL for given does not determine the distribution uniquely

Influence of compounding and process variables on quality of condams made from natural rubber latex

Condoms are widely accepted as a contraceptive for family planning and population control. It is also accepted as the most effective barrier against sexually transmitted diseases, especially AIDS, the incurable disease. But presence of pinholes and low film strength of condoms make it unsuitable for the purpose. Quality improvement of condoms by reducing the pinhole formation and increasing the film strength is thus an essential requirement for population control as well as for preventing the spread of sexually transmitted diseases. Strict implementation of WHO specification of condoms further increases the rejection percentage. This causes higher rejection loss to condom manufacturers because the defects could be identified only at the final stage of processing. If the influence of various factors which cause these defects is known, manufacturers can take remedial measures to reduce the defectives so that rejection loss can be decreased and quality of condoms increased. In the present study, it was proposed to conduct experiments to improve the quality of condoms by reducing the pinhole rejection percentage and increasing the tensile properties, burst volume, and burst pressure. Ageing property improvement also was an important target among other parameters. Until a cure for AIDS is found, a high quality latex condom is the only effective device in the prevention of the spread of HIV, AIDS and STD's. Hence it is all the more necessary to have high quality condoms.

Fabrication of a quantum well heterostructure based on plasma polymerized aniline and its characterization using STM/STS

Two-dimensional electronic systems play a crucial role in modern electronics and offer a multitude of opportunities to study the fundamental phenomena at low dimensional physics. A quantum well heterostructure based on polyaniline (P) and iodine doped polyaniline (I) thin films were fabricated using radio frequency plasma polymerization on indium tin oxide coated glass plate. Scanning probe microscopy and scanning electron microscopy studies were employed to study the morphology and roughness of the polymer thin films. Local electronic density of states (LDOS) of the P–I–P heterostructures is probed using scanning tunnelling spectroscopy (STS). A step like LDOS is observed in the P–I–P heterostructure and is attributed to the quantum well confinement of electrons in the polymer heterostructure.